First, a few notes from a very busy weekend in wrestling. I will try and keep it short because a lot of this is not exactly ROH related. I watched the DEFY Aeon show from Washington Hall in Seattle where the recently departed ROH tag team of the Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) arrived in DEFY going after Midnight Heat (Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl). Similar to Man Like DeReiss, I thought the Righteous were WWE bound. If not, It would be nice if they would return to ROH someday as I think there was a missed opportunity with them. Also on the show, Bryan Keith defeated Clark Connors to become the new DEFY World Champion. This is the Bryan Keith AEW needs. Character work is very important, and I’m sure he learned a thing or two from Chris Jericho, but a more serious Bounty Hunter is the way to go in my opinion.
Then of course we had Mistico vs MJF from the CMLL 92 Aniversario in Arena Mexico. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I loved this match! It is proof that the old formula works, and it always will. I had to wake up and watch it again the next morning and it was even better the second time. There is great stuff written about this match and the event as a whole here at Voices of Wrestling and Rich Kraetsch wrote a wonderful piece on the Flagship Wrestling Podcast (Patreon) that I highly recommend.
The next day there was the Tailgate Brawl & AEW All Out 2025 where the Frat House took an L to the Conglomeration of Kyle O’Rielly, Roderick Strong & Hologram. I guess The Frat House were too busy bonging beers and playing on their slip & slide to prepare for this one. During the PPV proper, Jerry Lynn informed Anthony Bowens & Max Caster that they would be teaming up next week to take on ROH’s own the Swirl. It looks like it will be taking place on Collision in Huntington, WV, and I will be there, and yes, I will be rooting on the Swirl. Later in the night Brodido successfully defended their AEW World Tag Team Titles against The Young Bucks, Josh Alexander & Hechicero and Jet Speed in a Four Way Ladder Match. I spent most of the match hoping that Bandido didn’t get injured and somehow, he managed to walk out of this one unscathed. By the way, The ROH World Champion was ranked #16 on this year’s PWI 500.
Then on Sunday I checked out Jersey Championship Wrestling’s The Knockout. I think this show suffered from taking place at the tail end of a very busy weekend. My favorite match of the evening was Matt Mako vs “Tombstone” Thomas Shire. Shire, who was trained by Dory Funk Jr. & Sho Funaki, is a great throwback. I would love to see him join Mako in making ROH appearances someday soon. As far as the rest of the show goes, it was filled with a lot of stuff that is really starting to wear thin in pro wrestling for me, 4 Ways, Scrambles & Street Fights. I love wrestling and I’m clearly going to watch it regardless of the never-ending tropes that refuse to dissipate but I am ready for promotions to try something different.
I ended the weekend with CMLL’s Domingo Familiar to check out Blue Panther vs Ultimo Guerrero for the MLW Openweight Title. Blue Panther gets the win to become the new MLW Openweight Champion in a really fun match that ended with a “feel good” moment. Blue Panther is just one of those wrestlers who I will never grow tired of watching. He just has an energy and a connection with the crowd that is hard to duplicate. I always root for Blue Panther and I’m rooting for him to return to ROH again soon.
Then the night before ROH, there was AEW Dynamite and it was loaded with ROH Champions. The show kicked off with Brodido defending their AEW World Tag Team Titles against The Gates of Agony. Brodido were successful again in defending the gold here as the crowds really seem to be getting behind Bandido. And yes, he again did the Macarena during a title defense. Later in the show the ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty answered the open challenge of AEW Men’s World Champion Adam Page in Moriarty’s hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Lee did not leave the Steel City a double champion, but it was a good showing for Taiga Style. And in the Dynamite Main Event, Interim ROH Women’s World TV Champion Mina Shirakawa unsuccessfully challenged new AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander for her title.
Ring of Honor
ROH on HonorClub #134
September 25, 2025
Philadelphia, PA
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PROVING GROUND MATCH
BANDIDO [C] DEF. DRALISTICO (W/ RUSH)
Before the match Brodido cut a promo where Bandido was curious when Brody King was going to start dancing with him out there. Please don’t.
Dralistico came into this match 10-0 in singles competition on HonorClub. After 6 years I am used to Tony Khan’s booking patterns, so it really doesn’t bother me anymore, but it’s still a little odd that Dralistico is 10-0 and doesn’t just get a title shot when so many people are awarded title shots for much less. Anywho, Rush was sent to the back by referee Brandon Martinez for trying to assist his younger brother Dralistico. Very shortly after Bandido got the 1-2-3 after the X-Knee. After the match a masked man hopped the barricade and attacked Bandido. That masked man turned out to be Blake Christian who was soon seconded by his Swirl teammate Lee Johnson. Not sure where Brody King was during this beatdown but luckily for Bandido, Hologram & the returning Komander made the save. The Swirl & Clon vs Bandido, Hologram & Komander is a match I would like to see down the line. By the way isn’t Jake “The Snake” Roberts the manager of LFI or did I dream that?
Next up they showed a recap of all the happenings recently involving the Premier Athletes.
MIXED 6 PERSON TAG TEAM MATCH
THE PREMIER ATHLETES (ARIYA DAIVARI, STORI DENALI & TONY NESE) DEF. JD INK, EL MAGNIFICO & REBECCA SCOTT
JD Ink is a Nightmare Factory graduate & apparent tattoo enthusiast. El Magnifico is a WrestlePro regular, and Rebecca Scott is the current Dreamwave Uprising Alternative Champion. According to Tony Nese, “Smart” Mark Sterling is currently in the hospital getting surgery. The Athletes didn’t need their managers’ services in this one and made quick work of these three with Denali scoring the pin after a chokeslam on Scott. I like what I saw from Denali here as she played her role well and is developing a nice swagger about her.
Then we got another Frat House vignette, this time The Blue Meanie joined the party. Was this so bad it was good? I just don’t know anymore. And don’t think I didn’t notice the painted 10 in tally marks drawn on Cole Karter’s chest. My next dorky confession is that after the age of 40 I actually bought a Dark Order Ten T-shirt. I mean it, If Ten returns I will “Pop.”
Next there was a recap of Olympia vs Viva Van from last week and we also got a look at the Women’s Pure Title Tournament bracket. I have a feeling this tournament is not going to end until Final Battle in December.
PURE RULES MATCH
DEONNA PURRAZZO DEF. VIVA VAN
Deoona got the win after a Snap Piledriver. Purrazzo is sure to be a cornerstone of the Women’s Pure Division and will face Trish Adora in the quarter finals of the tournament.
A recap was then shown of Mina Shirikawa winning the Interim Women’s World TV Title at Supercard of Honor.
INTERIM ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
MINA SHIRIKAWA [C] DEF. LACEY LANE
The former Kayden Carter in NXT, Lacey Lane is back to using her old name here in her ROH debut. I cannot help but notice that as AEW/ROH ages, former WWE “superstars” seem more and more out of place when they arrive. That’s not to say that they do not deserve a chance, they absolutely do. It’s just a different style and it will take time for them to adapt. Shirikawa got the submission victory with a Figure Four Leg Lock in her first defense of the Interim Women’s TV Title.
A vignette was next up recapping Sammy Guevara turning on the Von Erichs, joining LFI and winning the ROH World Tag Team Titles with Rush.
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
LA FACCION INGOBERNABLE (RUSH & SAMMY GUEVARA) [C] (W/ DRALISTICO) DEF. THE VON ERICHS (ROSS & MARSHALL)
The “Cowboy” Von Erichs being the babyfaces in Philadelphia has been a bit of a reach since the residency at the 2300 Arena, but they almost got there in this one. I would really like to see the Von Erichs get out there and get more reps. Maybe, like their father Kevin, they should try some singles work too. I do not believe that wrestling two or three times a month is going to be enough to get them where they need to be, but again I do like having them here in ROH. Dralistico got involved and helped LFI retain their tag straps in their first defense of the ROH World Tag Team Titles.
Backstage we got a promo from Deonna Purrazzo who is embarrassed by the antics of other women in wrestling recently “shaking their asses, etc.” & she was quickly interrupted by STP and then struck by Trish Adora. Deonna bringing “purity” back to the women’s division could work for her as it is welcomed by me and believable.
ROH WOMEN’S PURE TITLE TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL MATCH
BILLIE STARKZ DEF. OLYMPIA
I was surprised with two title matches on the show that this was the main event but after the show ended this was my favorite match of the night. Starkz got the win by reversing a Swing Out Slam into a crucifix pin. Billie goes on to the semifinals to face the winner of Serena Deeb vs Yuka Sakazaki.
Other notes:
Diamante has been announced by CMLL as a member of the Women’s Grand Prix International Team alongside ROH Interim Women’s TV Champion, Mina Shirakawa & the Triangle of Madness. The full teams are as follows…
Team Mexico
- La Catalina
- Zeuxis
- Persephone
- Olympia
- Skadi
- Reyna Isis
- India Sioux
- Lluvia
- Jarochita
Team International
- Kanji
- Shoko Nakajima
- Diamanté
- Hazuki
- Koguma
- Mina Shirakawa
- Thekla
- Skye Blue
- Julia Hart
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]
- Billie Starkz def. Olympia in Women’s Pure Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match [9.25.2025]
