Ok, first off, I am determined to be a little more positive this week, and it should be easy because there was some good stuff to watch. We begin with CMLL’s Viernes Espectacular from October 3 where Bandido successfully defended his ROH World Title against Hechicero in Arena Mexico. I loved this, and it is an obvious highlight of the week for me. I’m glad they went in a different direction here than they did at Death Before Dishonor. This was a “body part” match as Hechicero was all over Bandido’s shoulder. At one point, Bandido sold a shoulder dislocation, and a doctor came to check on him, pausing the action. The match ended up continuing and Bandido got the win to retain his ROH World Title. The very next day, Tony Khan announced that Bandido’s match at the upcoming Title Tuesday episode of Dynamite was still on. If I was a betting man, I would say that this was all a work, but it was very well done so who really knows for sure. As far as Bandido’s reception from those in attendance, sometimes it is a little difficult for me to get a really good read on the Arena Mexico crowds. The way the audience is miked makes it a little difficult, but Bandido was getting a lot of boos here against Hechicero. I don’t know if that was an anti-Bandido thing or more of a pro-Hechicero thing?
AEW Collision took place the following night, and the first match was Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Daniel Garcia beating Jay Lethal, Adam Priest & Tommy Billington in a 6 Man Tag Team Match. During the match, cameras showed The Swirl watching backstage on a monitor. Billington really seems to be getting better & better every time I see him, which is fantastic. Later, on Collision, Renee got a medical update on ROH World TV Champion Nick Wayne, and it looks like it will be another 6-8 weeks before he returns to the ring. I find it odd that we aren’t getting an interim World TV Champion, but we have an Interim Women’s World TV Champion. And wait a second, what do we have here? We have a ROH hype video! It was promoting Sareee vs Alex Windsor coming up this Thursday on Honor Club. Immediately following that, the ROH World Tag Team Champs Rush & Sammy Guevara made quick work of Cha Cha Charlie & Shayne Stetson, then Eddie Kingston defeated Dralistico. Also on the show, ROH roster members MxM TV were beaten by Josh Alexander, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher. This was the 1st ever MxM TV “Casting Call.’ It is pretty much just an open challenge match, and the Don Callis Family accepted the challenge. I was glad to see MxM in this spot and not The Swirl. We got another ROH video package, and It looks like Skyflight is next in line to challenge STP for ROH World 6-Man Tag Titles. I hope that ROH hype videos become a regular thing, especially on Collision where so many ROH wrestlers compete on a weekly basis.
There was one more stop before ROH this week as Brodido took on Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada in an AEW World Tag Team Title/AEW Unified Title Double Jeopardy Eliminator Match on the special Title Tuesday edition of AEW Dynamite from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL. Boy, that sure was a mouthful. Anyway, the Don Callis Family got the win here, meaning they will be getting an AEW World Tag Team Title shot against Brodido at Wrestle Dream.
Not sure I’m super happy to see the ROH World Champion being pinned but he does have an “injured” shoulder, so I won’t harp on it. I do have to say that I absolutely love it when there is fluidity between these promotions. Something happens on Friday that affects another promotion on Tuesday and on it goes. It would be nice if AEW, CMLL, NJPW, ROH, Stardom, MLW, & RevPro could do this on a weekly basis. I am sure that would be a very difficult task, but a man can dream.
RING OF HONOR
ROH ON HONORCLUB #136
OCTOBER 9, 2025
LAKELAND, FL
The show opens with a replay of the Sareee vs Alex Windsor hype package that was played on Collision.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH
BANDIDO [C] DEF. HECHICERO
No need to recap this match again but I think it’s a wonderful idea to replay matches like this on Honor Club. Honor Club is much cheaper than the $35 a month it costs for the CMLL YouTube Channel, and getting more eyeballs on CMLL is good for everyone. Also, it is great to get English commentary on CMLL matches from the best in the game! I really wish CMLL would get Ian & Caprice to do this over all their Fridays shows. A man can dream.
After the opener, we got a video package hyping STP vs SkyFlight for the ROH World 6-Man Tag Titles, which should be happening sometime soon.
SHANE TAYLOR (W/ CARLIE BRAVO, SHAWN DEAN & TRISH ADORA) DEF. BEEF
A nice little “Hoss Fight” here as Shane Taylor gets the win after a “Big Right Hand.” The rest of STP got involved after the match but were stopped by BEEF’s cousin Anthony Henry and his partner JD Drake. Then LFI ran down and attacked The WorkHorsemen & BEEF. Ok, I’m going to say something, and it’s not meant as an insult. I’m still trying to be positive this week, but BEEF would be much better suited in WWE/NXT or TNA, in my opinion. I like BEEF, and AEW/ROH needs entertaining people, but he is going to get lost in the shuffle in ROH. This is a system that focuses on in ring work and it’s not that he is terrible or anything, but something tells me he has watched a lot more Booker T matches than Jumbo Tsuruta ones. Again, that’s not an insult, the world needs a little BEEF. And that’s coming from a pescatarian.
We then received a recap of Olympia vs. Billie Starkz from September 25.
BILLIE STARKZ DEF. VIVA VAN
I was surprised that this match wasn’t held under Pure Rules as Billie is still part of the Women’s Pure Title Tournament. Starkz gets the win with a “Swan Dive” from the top rope. I’m really trying here but this wasn’t very good. Billie Starkz is very hit or miss but she is also only 20 years old! I clearly can’t put this all on her, but she is going to be a “thing” in Pro Wrestling in the future, so I’m focusing on her performance. She is clearly a very motivated and hard-working person, so I really am rooting for her. I don’t know where Viva Van will be in 5 years, but Billie will be somewhere prominent, I’m sure of it. Full disclosure, I was a Marine when I was 20 years old, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. That’s why I was in the Marine Corps in the first place. If I was a few inches taller I may have tried the path Billie has taken as a Pro Wrestler, but I am positive I would not have been as accomplished as her by the age of 20, so here’s to a great future.
QTV was back this week, and It looks like QT is going to be teaming up with Big Boom AJ against Rocky Romero & Trent at Full Gear in November.
Next up, we got a recap of Sareee’s ROH debut last week teaming with Alex Windsor.
SPANISH ANNOUNCE PROJECT (ANGELICO & SERPENTICO) DEF. LOGAN CRUZ & TYSHAUN PEREZ
Cruz & Perez have made AEW appearances before while AEW was in Florida, taking losses to the likes of The Outrunners & The Trustbusters but are making their ROH debut here. This may sound weird but the more I see Serpentico the more he reminds me of Abraham Lincoln. The Spanish Announce Project gets the submission win and there isn’t much else to say about this one.
Next up, The Frat House were tailgating at the Jacksonville Jaguars game. This made perfect sense in an imperfect world. As Ian put it, The Frat House better sober up because next week, they take on The Von Erichs. Also, next week, Blake Christian takes on Shannon Moore (Yes, that Shannon Moore).
A Blake Christian promo was next up as he calls Shannon Moore a “never was.” Ian said, and I double checked, that this was going to be Shannon Moore’s ROH debut. I don’t know why, but that is very surprising to me. So, If it hasn’t been obvious in previous Honor Systems, I like Blake Christian and Lee Johnson. They aren’t guaranteed success stories, but I think they are both super talented and if it all clicks, they are going to be very good.
IWGP WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH
SAREEE [C] DEF. ALEX WINDSOR
This is what we need on a weekly basis, a very good main event! ROH needs matches with stakes. They have a lot of titles and have access to even more, like the IWGP Women’s Title. Alex Windsor really is a great “get” by Tony Khan. She looks like a Pro Wrestler, and I see big things in her future. This is what ROH should be. It should be the one promotion left on the planet that is focused on Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Championships. I’m ok with a little bit of “Sports Entertainment,” but I am willing to bet my non-existent farm that more people tuned into Honor Club this week to see this match and the Hechicero vs Bandido match than tuned in to see The Frat House & QTV. Saree got the win after a “Uranage Suplex,” in another highlight of the week for me.
So, this is what I will be checking out for next week’s Honor System #8:
- Spoilers Alert! All four members of La Faccion Ingobernable will be competing on the 10/11 Collision
- Willie Mack enters GCW’s Art of War Games match at GCW’s Fight Club 2025 on 10/11
- Lee Moriarty & Alan Angels are both competing at West Coast Pro’s “Put That on Somethin’” on 10/12
- Matt Mako takes part in Beyond’s “Bound for the Floor Tournament” on 10/12
- And of course, AEW Collision, Dynamite & ROH on HonorClub
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]
- Saree makes her ROH debut teaming with Alex Windsor defeating Diamante & Billie Starkz [10.2.2025]
- Bandido def. Hechicero to retain the ROH World Title from Arena Mexico [10.3.2025]
- Sareee retained her IWGP Women’s Title against Alex Windsor [10.9.2025]
