 Zero Hour: MxM Collection def. Spanish Announce ProjectThe Maximum Male Models gimmick was dead on arrival in WWE because LA Knight had no business being a part of it, but once Knight left the group, Mace and Mansoor were actually pretty entertaining on their own. WWE never gave them a chance to show that on television and thus they got released. All of that said, they're a great fit in Ring of Honor. This was a little too competitive for my liking, but MxM Collection got to shine and won in their debut as they should have. Zero Hour: Marina Shafir def. Angelica RiskMy biggest issue with Shafir's renewed push (aside from the fact that she isn't, hasn't been and will never be interesting) is that it isn't consistent. She hasn't won a singles match on ROH TV in over a month, so these wins aren't amounting to anything. The best thing I can say about this is that it was kept incredibly brief with Shafir decimating Risk in under a minute. Anything longer than that would've been unnecessary. Zero Hour: The Infantry def. Anthony Henry and Griff GarrisonThe commentators mentioned that Cole Karter is out injured at the moment, and I assume Hendry's tag partner JD Drake is also sidelined with an injury. There was no reason for that makeshift team to win here, so this was the correct outcome. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about the match itself, but I'm glad The Infantry were able to pick up a victory to hopefully build some momentum. Zero Hour: Top Flight def. The OutrunnersThe Outrunners had Erica Leigh in their corner. Their trio with Dalton Castle has been on hold with Castle out injured for the remainder of the year, so it looks like they're back to doing what they were doing before. It's a fine spot for them, but Top Flight deserve better than the pre-show. They really should be the ones to dethrone The Undisputed Kingdom as ROH World Tag Team Champions. This was a serviceable match to give Top Flight a win. The Beast Mortos def. KomanderDespite not having any stakes and being one of those random last-minute additions to the card, this was a blast of an opener. Komander always delivers and Mortos is an outstanding talent in his own right. I'm still amazed TNA didn't do much with him beyond the Decay stuff. It was announced later on that Mortos will face Hologram on Saturday's Collision. ROH World Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) def. The Conglomeration (Kyle O'Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii)The Conglomeration group still feels like a lazy way to give O'Reilly, Ishii, Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe busy, but at least this match made sense with them feuding with Undisputed Kingdom as of late. It was the really good match you'd expect given who was involved. ROH has a pretty deep tag team division and I'm hoping one of those teams can dethrone Undisputed Kingdom soon because their reign has lasted long enough. "Legit" Leyla Hirsch def. Diamante in a Texas Death MatchI was wondering why they had a Lights Out match on ROH TV before Death Before Dishonor, and now we know they why. Granted, I don't think that last encounter needed to be a Lights Out matchup if this was going to have a similar situation, but at least they headlined that episode of ROH TV and went all out here. This was a wild, bloody brawl. Both women put forth an incredible effort and the crowd gave them the respect they deserved by reacting to all of the violence. The feud was never personal enough to warrant such a stipulation, but they more than made the most of it. Lee Moriarty def. Wheeler Yuta in a Pure Rules Match to Win the ROH Pure Championship Moriarty shockingly went the distance with Yuta in one of those Proving Ground matches a few weeks ago to earn this opportunity. The Pure Rules matches are obviously wrestling-based and sometimes aren't the most exciting due to how they're laid out, but this was actually excellent. Moriarty taking the title was the correct call as it's hardly had a presence in ROH this year (yes, Yuta was injured, but now he can be a regular in AEW with the rest of Blackpool Combat Club instead of also having to appear in ROH). Red Velvet def. Billie Starkz to Win the ROH Women's World Television ChampionshipI've mentioned before that I haven't seen too many Red Velvet matches over the years that were anything special, but to her credit, this was one of the best bouts she's ever had in her time with AEW/ROH. Of course, it didn't hurt to have an opponent as skilled as Starkz, but Velvet did have a strong showing. I wasn't a fan of Starkz feigning a serious injury again, but at least Velvet wasn't dumb enough to fall for it. Velvet winning her first title on a major stage made for a nice moment. Dustin Rhodes and The Von Erichs def. The Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynold and Evil Uno) to Advance to the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match at AEW Battle of the Belts XIRhodes and The Von Erichs is the perfect pairing and a smart use of all three guys. Rhodes hasn't been involved in anything of note in a few years, so joining forces with The Von Erichs gives him something significant to do. Plus, he has enough experience to aid The Von Erichs in their development. This was a fairly average outing and I don't know why it needed to last as long as it did, but the right trio went over. ROH World Television Champion Atlantis Jr. def. Brian Cage, Lee Johnson, Johnny TV, Lio Rush and Shane Taylor in a Survival of the Fittest MatchI've been impressed by what I've seen from Atlantis Jr. this year in AEW and ROH, but would it have killed Tony Khan to determine a number one contender to the ROH World Television Championship ahead of time instead of booking an unnecessary six-way match? Don't get me wrong, this was enjoyable, but it felt like Khan's way of getting as many people on the card as possible. I'm slightly surprised Atlantis Jr.'s reign wasn't cut short because he very well could have lost it here, but I'm not complaining. ROH Women's World Champion Athena def. Queen AminataAthena never ceases to deliver in these high-profile title defenses on pay-per-view. Her title defenses on ROH TV are top-notch, too, but she seems to steal the show on pay-per-view every single time. This was a wonderful match with Aminata coming close only to fall short. She had an out for losing with the interference from Starkz and even Lexy Nair, so they could go to a rematch, but I still think Starkz dethroning Athena is the endgame. Hopefully that happens soon because Athena is extremely overdue for a return to the AEW roster. ROH World Champion Mark Brisoce def. Roderick StrongSimilar to most matches on this show, this would've benefited from a longer build, but Briscoe and Strong had a superb match, nonetheless. Strong being back on the ROH stage for the first time in nearly a decade felt right and Briscoe doesn't feel out of place in the slightest as the ROH World Champion. This had awesome action and closed out the night on a high note. Overall ShowI hate to sound like a broken record, but it's worth repeating: ROH TV is completely pointless in its current state, but Khan has hit a home run with most (if not all) of the ROH pay-per-views under the AEW banner over the last two years. From an in-ring standpoint, this was a fantastic show. Does it make me any more excited for ROH TV on Thursdays? Not at all because it'll remain inconsequential, but I'm glad the pay-per-views can restore some life to the brand every few months.
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