Hall’s ROH TV Review 11.28.24

Ring Of Honor
Date: November 28, 2024
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s Thanksgiving night and that means we are less than a month away from Final Battle. As usual at this point, we don’t have anything set for the show but we might get some of those set up this week. That should make for an interesting night, assuming that is the direction it actually takes. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Chris Jericho retaining the ROH World Title over Tomohiro Ishii last night on Dynamite.

Jericho promises to defend his title at Final Battle. And he sings.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

LeeJ vs. Anthony Gangone/Kubes

That would be Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka. Johnson and Gangone start things off with Gangone taking him down but getting punched out of the corner. Nduka comes in and sends Kubes to the floor, setting up a spinebuster/neckbreaker combination to finish Gangone at 1:44. Total squash, but LeeJ is an awful name.

Queen Aminata vs. Christina Marie

Aminata wastes no time in snapping off a suplex but Marie dropkicks her into the corner. A bulldog is shoved off though and Aminata hits a running boot in the corner. With Marie down, Aminata ties up the legs and cranks on the arm (almost an Octopus) for the tap at 1:50.

Iron Savages vs. MxM Collection

Mansoor and Bronson start things off with Mansoor’s headlock not getting him anywhere. A dropkick staggers Bronson so Boulder comes in, threatening to bite the tip off. Mason’s flying shoulder sends Boulder out to the floor and the Collection gets to pose. A hip attack drops Bronson but Mansoor gets taken into the wrong corner.

Bronson runs him over with a shoulder and a powerslam cuts off the tag attempt. The middle rope moonsault misses though and it’s Mason coming in to clean house. The Savage’s hairy chest deal goes badly and Mason grabs a chokeslam. That’s enough to set up the Centerfold to finish Boulder at 6:33.

Rating: C. You know what you’re going to get from these guys and that wasn’t a surprise. The Collection had the fans behind them and the Savages are doing the same things that they do every time they’re out there. It wasn’t a bad match, but I couldn’t get interested in the Savages no matter what they do.

Matt Taven vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules match and Mark Sterling (with Ariya Daivari) do their usual before the match. They go to the mat to start with Woods’ armbar sending Taven over to the ropes. Back up and a dropkick puts Woods down, with Taven reminding us that he does in fact know his name. Woods sends the arm into the ropes to take over and an armbar stays on said arm. Taven elbows his way to freedom and gets two off a DDT. A doctor bomb and knee to the face give Woods two but Taven knocks him back down. Taven’s Lionsault hits knees but Woods’ suplex is reversed into a cradle for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C. This match was a good example of what is wrong with the Pure Rules division: the rules don’t change a thing about the match. This was a run of the mill match with a single rope break, which would have been the case in any match. I’m sure this will put Taven in line for a Pure Rules Title match because that’s how the title works, which shows you how unnecessary that title happens to be.

A bunch of women argue over who will be representing Ring Of Honor at Wrestle Dynasty.

Athena promises to win the four way at Wrestle Dynasty, though she’s not sure why she has to qualify.

Righteous vs. Beef/JD Drake

The Righteous jump them before the bell but Beef and Drake fight back. Dutch takes over on Beef for the bell and Vincent takes off his belt, allowing Dutch to choke with the bull rope. Dutch’s Flip Flop and Fly has Beef in more trouble but he gets over to Drake to come in and clean house. Orange Sunshine takes Drake down though and the Bionic Elbow finishes for Dutch at 4:15.

Rating: C. Does it feel like the Righteous are feuding with Dustin Rhodes and a warm body? This whole feud has been about Dutch and that bull rope/cowbell vs. Dustin, with Sammy Guevara just kind of being there. It’s almost like Dustin and Sammy are lame champions who shouldn’t have held the titles this long in the first place.

Post match Dustin Rhodes charges out but Sammy Guevara cuts him off. Dustin wants to fight and grabs a chair but the Righteous runs off.

AR Fox vs. John Silver

The rest of the Dark Order is here with Silver. A running shoulder puts Fox down to start but he’s right back up with a neckbreaker to send Silver outside. The big no hands dive wipes Silver out but he grabs a heck of a German suplex back inside. Fox isn’t having that and hits a legdrop into a big dive on the floor, followed by a Swanton for two. Silver’s brainbuster gets two more but Fox is back with an Iconoclasm. The 450 finishes Silver at 4:58.

Rating: C+. Fox was a ball of energy here and it made for a good, fast paced match. It helps that Silver has his usual batch of charisma and they kept things moving in the limited time that they had. Fox isn’t likely going to do anything significant, but the fans like him and that’s enough around here.

Red Velvet will defend the Women’s TV Title against Leyla Hirsch at Final Battle.

From Final Battle 2009.

Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero

Fight Without Honor so it’s a brawl on the floor to start. Hero kicks him in the face and grabs a chain for some whipping. A whip into the barricade has Kingston in more trouble and they head inside so Hero can stomp away. Some shots to the face with the chain have Kingston busted open and a Wasteland onto the chain makes it worse. Kingston headscissors his way out of a Liger Bomb and a release Rock Bottom onto the chain has Hero in trouble for a change.

A northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but Hero knocks him down again. The shirts come off and they strike it out with Kingston looking a bit out of it. Hero brings in a piece of barricade before snapping off a belly to back suplex. The barricade is laid over the middle rope and a superbomb (almost a piledriver) drops Kingston onto the steel…for two.

Somehow Kingston is back with a German suplex and a clothesline with the chain gets two more. Hero’s lackey Shane Hagadorn offers a distraction so Kingston has to take out Sara Del Ray. A suplex drops Hero but he’s back with a low blow. The rolling elbow gives Hero two so Kingston spinning backfists him for two. Kingston steals the golden (loaded) elbow pad and hits a rolling elbow of his own for the win at 15:14.

Rating: B. As usual, something tells me this would be better with some knowledge of the backstory. Since this is just a random wild brawl added to the show, there is only so much that can be covered. Kingston was his usual fighting self and Hero could work with anyone. It was a good brawl, but the backstory would have helped a lot.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Pat Buck vs. Conglomeration

O’Reilly and Gibson trade takedowns to start until Drake goes to the eyes to take O’Reilly into the corner. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Briscoe to take over. Romero comes in but gets kicked from the apron to slow him down. Buck comes in for a dropkick but Romero suplexes Gibson down. The Veterans take turns hammering on Romero until a quick knockdown lets Briscoe come in. A fisherman’s buster gets two on Drake and Briscoe gets in a double noggin knocker. O’Reilly cross armbreakers Buck for the win at 6:39.

Rating: C. What the heck happened to the Veterans? I get that they’re not great but they’re good enough to be more than cannon fodder for the Conglomeration. I forget that they’re around most of the time because they came in, did a quick thing with the Young Bucks and then got dropped. They’re better than this, but that doesn’t seem to matter at the moment.

 

Results
LeeJ b. Anthony Gangone/Kubes – Spinebuster/neckbreaker combination to Gangone
Queen Aminata b. Christina Marie – Four limb stretch
MxM Collection b. Iron Savages – Centerfold to Boulder
Matt Taven b. Josh Woods – Cradle
Righteous b. JD Drake/Beef – Bionic Elbow to Drake
AR Fox b. John Silver – 450
Conglomeration b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Pat Buck – Cross armbreaker to Buck

 

 

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6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

So that’s the Thanksgiving show. A bunch of run of the mill matches, a random title match being added to Final Battle, and a classic match which was only so good in the first place and has no real reason to be here. Other than commentary talking about it, you would have no idea that the show was taking place on a holiday, making this just a dull, lifeless show. In other words, typical Ring Of Honor.