Ring of Honor Review - September 28, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Josh Woods def. Brayden Erving

It's been made clear for weeks that Woods has his sights set on the ROH Pure Championship and thus his winning streak is supposed to earn him another opportunity. The problem is that Katsuyori Shibata has made more appearances on AEW TV than ROH TV as of late and Shibata doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned with Woods. On the bright side, this was over in under two minutes and gave Woods another decisive victory.

Scorpio Sky def. Tony Nese

It was cool seeing Sky back in Ring of Honor for the first time in almost five years since his farewell at Final Battle 2018 (which I was in attendance for at the Hammerstein Ballroom). The commentators played up his accomplishments in the company, including being one of the few to own a singles victory over Jay Briscoe. It'll be interesting to see if he remains a regular in ROH going forward after recently resurfacing on Collision.

Gravity def. Lee Johnson

Johnson hasn't had a lot of luck lately having lost to Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty and now Gravity on the last three episodes. He hasn't been straight-up squashed, but he obviously won't be used as anything other than a stepping stone on this show. This was an enjoyable, well-wrestled affair while it lasted, though. A reason should have been given as to why this existed or what both men are striving for.

Billie Starkz def. Lady Frost

This storyline with Starkz and Athena has been one of the best things going in ROH for a while now. Then again, it's not like there are many storylines to speak of on the show at the moment. It's giving Starkz more exposure as well as experience the more matches she has. Frost can go, of course, so this was a nice little match. I liked how Starkz was conflicted when Athena attacked Frost post-match.

Action Andretti and Darius Martin def. The Outrunners

Outrunners received some mic time backstage earlier in the episode as well as a televised entrance, so it's safe to say they're signed to some sort of ROH deal. They're a perfectly fine enhancement team, but I don't know if this needed to be as competitive as it was. Andretti and Martin won that Fight Without Honor against The Kingdom months ago but haven't been involved in the ROH Tag Team Championship conversation at all. Explain that one.

"Legit" Leyla Hirsch def. Laynie Luck

Luck attempted to show some spunk, but thankfully, Hirsch didn't waste time putting her away. This was the usual domination from Hirsch as it should have been. Maria Kanellis-Bennett was once again shown standing on the stage, doing absolutely nothing. There was finally some progression in a backstage segment afterward where Hirsch told Maria that she didn't need her help and that she hasn't delivered on her promise of getting her a match with Athena (which the Board of Directors granted her, anyway).

Shane Taylor def. Jimmy Jacobs

Amazingly, this marked Jacobs' first ROH match since Supercard of Honor 2015. He went on to work for WWE as a Creative Writer and later in a backstage role for IMPACT. He's apparently been Tony Khan's righthand man since signing with AEW this year, but I see no reason why him wrestling the occasional match in ROH (a la Christopher Daniels). He and Taylor had a good match and Taylor winning was the right result.

Dalton Castle and The Boys def. Ren Jones, Trenton Tormenta and Xavier Walker

What the hell ever happened to Castle working his way toward a rematch with Samoa Joe for the ROH World Television Championship? Maybe Joe being busy with CM Punk and MJF in recent months put plans for that program on the back burner, but Castle going back to the six-man tag team ranks doesn't leave me thinking he and Joe will resume their rivalry anytime soon. This was a standard showcase for them and maybe they'll face the new champs The Elite for the titles one of these weeks on AEW TV (because we know The Elite aren't working ROH TV at this point).

Cole Karter and Griff Garrison def. The Infantry

Karter is walking around wearing a shirt that says "I Love Hot Moms" and acting obsessed with Maria while Garrison is desperate for a chance to show what he can do because he fears he'll suffer the same fate as his old partner Brian Pillman Jr. They're a part of this new faction Maria is putting together and I can't say I'm the least bit interested. For what it's worth, they had a quality contest with The Infantry here, but personally, I'd rather see The Infantry get pushed.

Mercedes Martinez def. Allysin Kay

I assume Kay is signed as well now that's starting to appear more frequently, which is awesome news if so. She and Martinez are both seasoned and can help out the rest of the division simply by working with them. This was a solid match and Kay's losing streak continues. On a side note, Martinez was with Diamante during her backstage interview earlier on and I'm glad that partnership isn't over because both can benefit from it.

The Gates of Agony def. Iron Savages (Bronson and Boulder)

Gates of Agony are coming off their loss of the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship to The Elite last week on the Grand Slam edition of Rampage, so it was imperative that they went over here. Did Iron Savages gain anything from answering FTR's AEW World Tag Team Championship open challenge two weeks ago? In my opinion, no. If nothing else, this was a well-worked hoss fight.

"All Ego" Ethan Page def. Rohit Raju

Raju returned to IMPACT just two weeks ago for a one-off with Champagne Singh to reunite with Desi Hit Squad against Team 3D. I wasn't sure what his status in AEW/ROH was because I feel like we haven't seen him in a bit, but I'm happy he was back here. Granted, this was all about Page, but it needed to be. I'm digging what they're doing with Page as he finds his footing as a babyface and gets his mojo back with some wins.

Brian Cage def. Metalik

ROH TV continues to feature random main events, likely because they're taped last and most of the fans have left the building by that point (they're typically taped post-Collision). That said, Cage and Metalik actually had a fun match. I have no idea what purpose it was supposed to serve other than to get Cage back on track now that he's no longer a champion, but at least they made the most of their time and had one of the better bouts on the show.

Overall Show

I've say it countless times before and I'll say it again: ROH TV does not need to be two hours long. This wasn't their worst show in recent memory as it was pretty tolerable on the whole and flowed nicely, but some stuff can easily be cut out, especially the matches that don't matter. They're trying with a few different storylines, but only a few have piqued my interest. Unfortunately, ROH TV has become a total afterthought with most of the titles appearing/being defended exclusively on AEW programming.

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