CMLL
Viernes Espectacular
September 12, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
BRODIDO (BANDIDO & BRODY KING) [C] DEF. GALEON FANTASMA (DIFUNTO & ZANDOKAN JR.)
I really wanted to write about how much fun this match was and I’m sure it would have been if not for Zandokan Jr. hurting his knee early in the match. And I have no idea why after Zandokan was given the ok to continue they would go for a “Chicken Fight” spot with Difunto standing on his injured partner’s shoulders but they did. Bandido & Difunto both fell. This almost went from bad to worse as Difunto almost landed on his head. I really hope that Zankokan’s injury isn’t a bad one and I’m glad that Difunto didn’t in fact land on his head. So last week I mentioned that I’m ok with a little silliness in my wrestling in reference to the Outrunners/Dalton Castle vignette. A vignette is one thing but Bandido doing the Macarena in the middle of a title defense in the main event is another. No es bueno. So Brodido retains the titles here and I do still really like this team, but I have doubts they will make it out of All Out with the belts.
I also checked out Collision from 9/13 with FTR vs Adam Priest & Tommy Billington II being the match I was most looking forward to. Another good one in this rematch from last week. Seeing Priest & Billington in their new matching gear is getting my hopes up that there are plans for this team going forward! Before that we got an appearance from ROH’s Blake Christian & Lee Johnson aka the Swirl. They got into it with Jerry Lynn, Anthony Bowens & Max Caster. Jerry Lynn has been trying to get the Acclaimed to see the light and reform their tag team but The Swirl thought Lynn was wasting his time and should be focused on the Swirl. I could see Jerry Lynn ending up as the manager of the Acclaimed with a returning Billy Gunn coming back to manage the Swirl.
We shall see in the coming weeks.
Ring of Honor
ROH on HonorClub #133
September 18, 2025
Philadelphia, PA
The best commentary team in wrestling is back this week, Ian Riccaboni & Caprice Coleman.
MISTICO (W/ ALEX ABRAHANTES) DEF. MANSOOR (W/ MASON MADDEN, JOHNNY TV & TAYA VALKYRIE)
Well this is a match I never thought I would see. Mistico is back and has a 5-0 record in Ring of Honor going into this one. It would be nice if he continued his winning ways and got a title shot against Bandido on HonorClub or even in Columbus, Ohio at Final Battle. There was a fair bit of shenanigans in this one including interference from Mansoor’s stable mates and also an appearance from Jon Cruz, top hat and all. Mistico unsurprisingly gets the win here with La Mistica making Mansoor tap out. I really loved all the plugs for the upcoming CMLL 92nd Anniversario which I am very much looking forward to. I’m a little surprised that Bandido isn’t on that show. I know he has a match the following night in Canada but so does Mascara Dorada & Hechicero.
Up next we got a vignette hyping the ROH Women’s Pure Title Tournament.
PURE RULES MATCH
OLYMPIA DEF. VIVA VAN
I am surprised to learn that Viva Van is apparently signed with AEW. I haven’t seen much of her in ROH or AEW recently. I am not surprised to learn that her opponent is a competitive bodybuilder. Olympia is a CMLL mainstay who is a very impressive looking athlete and the daughter of El Valiente. Olympia overpowered Van here and got the pinfall after a Swing Out Slam. There is not much to see here but Olympia is someone to keep an eye on in the future and will be facing Billie Starkz in the quarter finals of the Women’s Pure Title Tournament.
Next week we are getting Rush & Sammy Guevara defending their ROH Tag Team Titles against the Von Erichs.
THE BEAST MORTOS DEF. ALAN ANGLES
Glad to see the former Dark Order member and current Garden State Pro Wrestling Openweight Champion Alan Angels making his ROH debut. Hopefully Angels gets a shot in ROH as I think he is a good fit. This one didn’t last long as Mortos got the win with a Pop Up Samoan Drop. Ian mentioned that Mortos was 11-0 in singles competition. So, we could be getting Mortos vs Bandido or perhaps a 3 Way with Mistico coming up.
Jon Cruz is backstage hyping Mistico vs MJF in Arena Mexico at the 92nd Anniversario.
PURE RULES MATCH
KATSUYORI SHIBATA DEF. MATT MAKO
I have one question. What was wrong with Makowski? I really want to know the answer to that question. Regardless of the shortened name I am glad to see Mako back on my screen. I wish they would do ROH graphics like in AEW so I know when people are officially signed but I have a feeling if he isn’t he will be very soon. And I think this is a great use of Shibata. I like the Opps and all, but I really wish they would lose those Trios titles soon and have a team win them who are a little more Trios if you know what I mean? These two worked really well together and this is my favorite ROH match since Death Before Dishonor as Shibata gets the win with the PK.
Then we got a vignette recapping all the recent stuff going on with The Premier Athletes as of late including the arrival of Stori Denali who will be making her debut next week in a Mixed Tag Team Match.
MIXED TAG TEAM MATCH
WHEELER YUTA & MARINA SHAFIR DEF. ALEAH JAMES & MAN LIKE DEREISS
Happy to see the debut of the PROGRESS World Champion Man Like DeReiss but unfortunately, we didn’t get his “01/21” intro. I, like a lot of people, thought DeReiss was WWE bound but hopefully this is a sign that there is interest from ROH/AEW. Honestly, I don’t like it when any wrestler I enjoy goes to WWE and he would be a welcome addition with his charisma and athleticism. James is a former NXT UK wrestler who is returning to ROH after a loss to Trish Adora back in July. Shafir was really rag dolling James during this one and then got her to tap out to Mother’s Milk and it’s a victory for the Death Riders. I hope nobody informs Paul tomorrow about this or it may be the last time we see DeReiss on ROH.
They go backstage where Lance Archer was beating people up, including Alec Price & BEEF. Archer was advertised for a match, but I guess it was called off due to all this.
Another vignette but this time it’s for the Frat House. In this one we had someone bonging a beer, a mascot and a slip and slide. I appreciate the effort but seeing Five earlier makes me want Ten back even more.
SATNAM SINGH DEF. CPA
CPA is a “comedy” wrestler who recently lost the WrestlePro Gold Title to Matt Cardona. Not my cup of Tea and I think we have had enough “comedy” on this show already. Singh came out alone and made quick work of CPA scoring the pin after a Choke Slam.
QTV is up next. The usual stuff here from QT, Aaron Solo & Harley Cameron. At one point they were going to show a confrontation between Don Callis & Big Boom AJ but the clip got cut off by QT. Again, there is a bit too much comedy, but I appreciate the vignettes and video packages.
YUKA SAKAZAKI DEF. JANAI KAI
This was the third pure rules match on this episode and honestly, I’m ok with it. These matches set ROH aside from everything else and they are trying to get this new Women’s Pure Division off the ground. Kai is a former MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion who is back in ROH after a loss to Trish Adora last month in my hometown of Roanoke, VA. I’m glad to see Yuka back as she gets ready for Sarena Deeb in the Women’s Pure Title Tournament. Sakazaki gets the win after a Miracle Merry-Go-Round. I would like to see more of Kai too as she adds something different to the Women’s Pure Division.
They went backstage with the ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions, STP. They said they were ready to defend against anyone, at any time and any place. That was followed by a recap of Shane Taylor’s victory over AR Fox from Dean 3 last week on ROH.
ROH SIX MAN TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
SHANE TAYLOR PROMOTIONS (SHANE TAYLOR, SHAWN DEAN & CARLIE BRAVO) (W/ TRISH ADORA & ANTHONY OGOGO) [C] DEF. THE KINGDOM (MIKE BENNETT & MATT TAVEN) & AR FOX
There are too many titles in ROH/AEW. I don’t think that’s a “hot take.” I think it would be great if the AEW Trios & ROH 6 Man Titles were unified. I also think it would be beneficial to have those titles defended on ROH and PPV pre shows exclusively to give Ring of Honor another thing to make it feel different. STP getting a win over the Opps would also really raise their stock. This match was fun but short. I don’t mind shorter matches on ROH but I would like to see these main event title matches get some more time. STP retains as AR Fox takes another fall to end the show.
By the way, I have decided to drive up to Huntington, WV, for the ROH/Collision tapings on 9/27. I try to avoid spoilers here but if there is anything interesting of note I will be posting on the VOW Discord Ring of Honor channel and @jayzero2025 on X.
Before I go I would like to say something from atop my soapbox and talk about September 20. I really think this could be a big day in wrestling history. It is a day where a lot of fans will ask themselves “should I just stop watching WWE?” First off, they are now charging $30 (and that’s just the introductory price) to watch a show that isn’t enjoyable to watch anymore, at least in my opinion. Second, well I won’t get into all the other reasons why someone would ask themselves that question because If you are reading this, I’m sure you know and have heard it ad nauseum recently. But it’s not just WWE. It’s AAA, TNA & NOAH too. I tried to watch the new AAA but to me it’s even worse than before. Any charm or soul that remained in AAA before the purchase is gone. And as far as TNA goes, I can’t remember the last time I even bothered watching. If I had to guess I would say right about the time they started working with NXT. Then there is NOAH. I really was excited about NOAH and ready for some changes after the New Years show. Then Omos, with the GHC Tag Team Title, leaves to go back to the WWE (for some reason I still haven’t learned), making NOAH look ridiculous, and is a ghost for 6 months and unused by WWE. How can I take a promotion seriously that doesn’t take itself seriously? Never mind all the terrible booking over the years. I watch AEW, ROH, CMLL, NJPW, Stardom, RevPro, MLW, and the occasional indie that looks interesting (like this weekend’s JCW show The Knockout). That should be enough, really. If only there was a name for this conglomeration of wrestling promotions because I can’t call it the “Tony Khanverse.” I doubt he likes that name either. I’m done with the WWE, and this time I mean it. I just can’t justify it taking up any of my time or headspace anymore. I just hope Paul sends Dragon Lee & Ben Carter back in one piece and preferably before Revolution 2027.
On the Honor System #5 I will be going over some things from the upcoming huge weekend including Brodido defending their AEW World Tag Team Titles in a 4 Way Ladder match at All Out plus notes from CMLL’s 92nd Anniversario & JCW’s The Knockout and of course ROH on HonorClub #134.
Highlights of the Week:
- Bandido promo from the parking lot of the 2300 Arena [9.4.2025]
- Hologram & Tomohiro Ishii def. Aariya Daivari & Tony Nese [9.4.2025]
- Aariya Daivari & Tony Nese def. Angelico & Serpentico (The Debut of Stori Denalli) [9.5.2025]
- Mark Sterling introduces Stori Denali as an official member of the Premier Athletes with Lexi Nair in the parking lot [9.5.2025]
- Recap video of Athena’s 1000 days as ROH Women’s World Champion [9.5.2025]
- Bandido & Mistico def. Hechicero & Angel de Oro from Arena Mexico [9.5.2025]
- Vignette of The Outrunners & Dalton Castle seemingly joining forces on Collision [9.6.2025]
- Maestros Contra Maestros Trios Match featuring Blue Panter, Xelhua & Hechicero [9.11.2025]
- Katsuyori Shibata def. Matt Mako in a Pure Rules Match [9.18.2025]
