Ring of Honor Review - September 5, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rocky Romero def. Aaron Solo

Almost anything involving Solo immediately loses my interest. Not because he's a bad wrestling (he's obviously skilled in the ring) but rather because he never when it matters most. In fact, he rarely wins at all. Romero can always be counted on for a quality contest, but I wish these matches and victories meant something. It was a well-worked match, but that's about it.

Lee Johnson def. Nick Comoroto

You can tell these tapings are old because Comoroto went under the knife a few weeks ago, yet he was in action here. I can't recall a single match he's won since joining forces with Jacoby Watts, so I have no idea why he hasn't turned on him yet. This was another loss for Comoroto and the match was decent. Comoroto and Watts attacked Johnson afterward before EJ Nduka made the save.

Rachael Ellering def. Gigi Rey

It feels like Ellering has had zero direction since her storyline with Leyla Hirsh was put on hold earlier this year because Ellering got hurt. Now, she's having matches for the sake of having matches. Having her rack up wins makes sense, but it'd nice if they amounted to something at some point. This served its purpose as a short and sweet showcase for Ellering.

Anthony Henry and BEEF def. Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki

I appreciate that Henry is being kept busy in JD Drake's absence by teaming with his "cousin" (he said they're related through marriage, but is that legit?) BEEF and clearly not being happy with it. It's a fine undercard storyline that will hopefully culminate with Drake returning and destroying BEEF. They're winning matches in the meantime, but it's always against no-namers, so these matches tend to drag.

Spanish Announce Project def. Iron Savages (Bronson and Boulder)

Ah, two of my least favorite teams in Ring of Honor. Spanish Announce Project have been significantly less goofy without Luther, so that's been a positive, but Iron Savages are still channel-changing material, at least in terms of their gimmick. There was nothing technically wrong with this match from an in-ring standpoint, but it was virtually impossible to care, especially since I don't see it leading anywhere for either tandem.

ROH Women's World Television Champion Red Velvet def. Lady Frost in an ROH Women's World Television Championship Proving Ground Match

It's been months since Frost had her last match on ROH TV, but she did have a handful of matches on AEW TV over the summer. Even by my standards for a Red Velvet match, this was disappointing. I thought they'd have stronger chemistry and the constant pin attempts (to crickets, mind you) quickly grew tiresome. I'm glad Velvet had actual competition in a Proving Ground match, but they're definitely capable of better.

The Righteous and Lance Archer def. Lights, Camera, Faction

I see a lot of stupid jobber names across all the wrestling shows I watch, but admittedly, Lights, Camera, Faction is a damn clever name for a stable. I don't think those are their individual names but rather their name collectively as a group. Anyway, this was a standard squash for Archer and The Righteous. They haven't teamed in a few months, but this was more of the same from them.

Diamante def. Tiara James

Of all the enhancement matches ROH TV features every week, this was one I wouldn't have minded seeing go a little longer because I've been impressed by what I've seen from James in MLW and on the northeast independent scene. Unfortunately, this was over within a minute or so. Velvet went after Diamante afterward, so I guess we now who Velvet's next challenger is going to be.

Griff Garrison def. "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker

While it wasn't the most exciting program, at least Parker's feud with Zak Knight gave him a minor momentum boost. He's had absolutely nothing to do since it abruptly ended. Garrison beating him was actually shocking (even if Garrison needed help from Maria Kanellis-Bennett to do it), but perhaps there's more to come from them. We can get Parker and Matt Menard vs. Garrison and Cole Karter eventually if Karter isn't out injured indefinitely.

Premier Athletes (Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese) def. Joe Alonzo and Josiah Jean

You can throw Premier Athletes into that category of people that I simply can't invest in because the formula their booking follows is so damn predictable. They'll lose whenever they face established stars but beat the local athletes. In other words, these matches are a complete waste of time. They're more bearable than Iron Savages, but they're still incredibly overexposed.

John Silver def. Fuego Del Sol

This was a battle of two of the biggest losers in ROH. Silver and Fuego can go in the ring, but much like a majority of the matches we get on ROH TV every single week, what was the reason for this to exist? It was a well-wrestled outing and it gave Silver a rare win, but that's really it. Sure, they made the most of their time, but it wasn't necessary on a show that ended up being over two hours long.

Abadon def. Rache Chanel

It's well documented that Abadon is headed for an opportunity at Athena's ROH Women's World Championship, so having them get something going with a string of wins is logical. It was a brief bout as it should have been. There's been no indication when we'll get Athena vs. Abadon, but I imagine it will happen on a random edition of ROH TV without being advertised in advance (other than on social media).

Katsuyori Shibata def. Josh Woods

I could've sworn we've seen this match before. It's not illegal for them to run it back, but there are so many wrestlers on the AEW and ROH rosters that you'd think Shibata could've had a fresh match with someone else instead. They had a good match. I've said this before, but I feel like Shibata being back in ROH is a step backward for him considering he was a regular on AEW TV up until recently. He can pull double duty, but where's the value in that?

Mina Shirakawa def. Taya Valkyrie

I liked that this main event actually had some buildup behind it with Valkyrie attacking Shirakawa following her win last week and addressing it in a backstage interview earlier in this episode. It was a worthy main event for this show. Valkyrie is essentially a stepping stone at this point, but it was refreshing to see her in the spotlight for a change and it was another notable win for Shirakawa.

Overall Show

I feel bad for this crowd for having to sit through so many matches being taped for so many weeks of ROH TV last month. AEW's taping schedule as of late has been hectic and they haven't been able to tape ROH TV the way they normally would, but you'd think the shows would be shorter. Two hours of the same stuff is ridiculous. This was yet another inconsequential episode with only the main event remotely standing out.

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