It has been a busy week in the “Tony Khanverse.” It began with PRODUCE Volume 3: Azúcar in Brooklyn, NY, where Tiger Mask IV wrestled his final match, again, teaming with Tommy Billington, defeating Black Tiger & Black Tiger IV. On Tuesday, in Arena Mexico, The Swirl faced Calavera Jr. I & II in a losing effort. It was fun. Now let’s see the rematch, but this time make it 2 out of 3 falls, like nature intended. Then Bandido took on Bárbaro Cavernario, also in a losing effort. Serenity Now! At least Cavernario cheated to beat the ROH World Champion. Common sense would dictate that a rematch for the ROH title is now on the horizon, and that does sound great. Wednesday, it was time for Grand Slam Mexico, also in Arena Mexico, where Bandido teamed with Brody King & “Hangman” Adam Page to win the AEW World Trios Championships, defeating The Demand! Then it was up to Jacksonville, FL, for some ROH.
Ring of Honor
ROH on HonorClub #178
August 6, 2026
WJCT Studios
Jacksonville, Florida
Watch: Watch ROH
The show opened with the “longest reigning champion of the modern era,” Athena, being interviewed backstage alongside Billie Starkz. Athena was frustrated that she wasn’t receiving her proper flowers so she would be blowing off steam in a proving ground match tonight against Janai Kai. Next month will be the 3-year anniversary of Billie Starkz becoming a “Minion in Training.” They did not mention that in this interview; I am just deranged enough to know it.
Ian Riccaboni & Caprice Coleman were on commentary.
ROH Women’s World Title Proving Ground Match
Athena (c) def. Janai Kai
Athena’s focus in this match was on “The Kick Demon’s” leg, which was a good strategy. Though she still needed assistance from Billie Starkz to get the job done, getting the pin after Starkz hit Kai with the belt behind the officials back. Athena then finished Kai with an “O-Face” from the second turnbuckle. Kai has never won a match in ROH, though I do believe she is a good fit and knowing the booking patterns of Tony Khan, It wouldn’t surprise me if she started winning some matches in the near future. Not Bad
After the match, Athena instructed Starkz to deliver another blow to the fallen Kai, which she did.
Queen Aminata def. Rachel Ley
The very flexible Rachel Ley, who was making her ROH debut here, got in a lot more offense than I would have thought but was put away after a “Queen size boot to the face” by Aminata once the Queen stopped underestimating her opponent. Okay Debut
BEEF (w/ “Smart” Mark Sterling) def. Matt Menard (not w/ Jacques Rougeau, unfortunately)
I once said that I thought BEEF would be a better fit for WWE. And even though I do believe he would succeed there, I am glad he has stuck around as I have enjoyed his character progression. This wasn’t the smoothest professional wrestling match I have seen today but it didn’t need to be. The Premier Athletes attacked Menard on the outside without the referee or BEEF seeing, then BEEF got the win after a splash from the top rope. Story Driven
After the match, BEEF reluctantly joined in on a continued post-match mugging of Menard by the Athletes.
Backstage, Janai Kai challenged Billie Starkz to a match. See, I knew there was something brewing with “The Kick Demon.”
Eddie Kingston & Ortiz def. RPG VICE (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta)
A nice tag match with four pros in there that was clearly on a higher level than the matches preceding it. Eddie got the win over Romero with a rolling cradle as Kingston prepares for the first round of the Continental Cup and Rocky prepares for a match against the Villanos in Arena Mexico, again tagging with Black Tiger, which I’m looking forward to. Pretty Good
After the match, RPG VICE attacked Eddie & Ortiz. The difference between this post-match beatdown and the two from earlier is that they used a chair this time, and Doc Sampson had to check on Eddie. If this happened in 1988, I would still remember it. But since something like this seems to happen after every match, I have already forgotten it.
It was then time for the Kingdom to “Chop it Up” with Caprice Coleman. Apparently, Matt & Mike would like to be known as Matthew & Michael going forward. Why? Because they asked AI what they needed to do to advance their careers and this was the answer they received. I believe we are getting a homage to WCW’s York Foundation but this time with artificial intelligence.
Tehuti Miles def. Dante Casanova
Casanova is a former NWA Midwest Champion who was trained by Shawn Spears, Tyler Breeze & EC3, and in my opinion, got in way too much offense in this match. Some of these matches really need to be straight-up squash if ROH wants to get people over, not to mention the excessive length of every show that Tony Khan produces these days. Miles got the win after an inside crescent kick. Skippable
After the match, there was no post-match beatdown, but instead Shane Taylor with STP announced that Miles was the newest member of Shane Taylor Promotions.
Action Andretti def. LJ Cleary
Now this was a match that should go a bit back and forth and it did. I mean Cleary was a member of the Good Looking Guys after all. Ian referenced Cleary’s run in NOAH and the GLG, which was great to hear. Andretti got the submission win after a “Cuts Like the Rain.” There was a bit of a botch before the finish, but the match was fast paced, and I like both of these guys so better luck next time and I hope to see more of Cleary because he deserves a spot on a big-league roster. Okay
Backstage, Mance Warner, Ortiz & Kingston cut a nice promo challenging RPG Vice to find a partner. It seems like this feud is going to escalate to some form of Lights Out, Street Fight, No QQ, Texas Death, No Hold Barred, Extreme Rules, Hardcore, Anything Goes, or Unsanctioned Death Match.
Serpentico & The Colons (Eddie Colon & Orlando Colon) def. Brandon Cutler, Jay Lucas & Terry Yaki
Wow, I bet the line for the bathroom was at its peak during this absolute random mishmash. Eddie got the win after a “Back Stabber” to Terry Yaki in a match with a lot going on for no discernible reason, 90 minutes into a 140-minute show. Skippable
Backstage, Mark Sterling unveiled his new action figure. He was quickly interrupted by Dalton Castle & The Outrunners in a segment that would have fit perfectly on a Colosseum Home Video hosted by Lord Alfred Hayes.
MxM (Mansoor & Mason Madden) def. Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto
Speaking of Colosseum Home Video, it’s my man, the “Freak Beast” Nick Comoroto. As far as the match goes, it was all a bit of good fun if you are into that kind of thing. MxM got the win after a “Centerfold” to Solo. Silly
After the match, Ian interviewed MxM, who seem to have their sights set on the ROH World Tag Team Titles.
Action Andretti was then shown backstage, cutting a promo on Lio Rush when the lights started to flicker, then went out, then a Lio Rush cackle was heard. Spooky.
ROH Women’s World Television Title Match
Red Velvet (c) def. Isla Dawn
I was recently in my Momma’s kitchen, and unfortunately Red Velvet was nowhere to be found, but she was here in Jacksonville defending her title in an enjoyable match against Isla Dawn. Dawn showed some nice fire & intensity, and Velvet also had her game face on. They went back and forth with Dawn able to show off her power against the smaller opponent, even getting the first and only “This Is Awesome” chant of the evening. Velvet reversed a “Dragon Sleeper” attempt into a pin to get the 1-2-3. With the stakes of a title match and the intensity of both wrestlers, I have to give this match the edge as my favorite match on the show. Match of the Night
Adam Priest, Dalton Castle & The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) def. Griff Garrison (w/ Jacked Jameson & Preston Vance) & The Lethal Twist (Blake Christian, Jay Lethal & Lee Johnson)
This match was off to the races as both teams began to brawl before the opening bell, which was followed by action throughout this fun main event. The closing stretch saw Preston Vance trying to clothesline Priest but ending up hitting his Frat House stablemate, Garrison, instead. Priest took advantage of the situation and rolled up Griff for the pin. Fun
After the match, Garrison attacked Vance. Jameson then made his way into the ring, took off his Frat House shirt, and told Vance that he was “sick of losing, sick of boozing, and sick of him,” then he joined in on the attack. Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds soon ran down to save their old Dark Order partner. All three hugged and gave the Dark Order hand gesture, signaling Vance’s return to the faction.
It looks like 10 has returned home!
Final Thoughts
The obvious criticism of this particular show was its length. 2 hours, 20 minutes, and 16 seconds is a bit much. This could have easily been broken up into 2 shows. I understand sometimes with ROH, there has to be some catching up, but you could air one half on Thursday and the other on Friday, couldn’t you? But putting that aside, things happened in this episode of ROH on HonorClub, and the last two matches and closing angle especially saved this show for me. Am I super pumped about the Dark Order in 2026, no, but I am a self-admitted 10 “mark” so LFG!
