Philadelphia, PA – 8.21.2026

Commentary is provided by Ian Riccaboni & Caprice Coleman.

Zero Hour

Mina Shirakawa & Queen Aminata vs. Vertvixen & Viva Van

Shirakawa and Aminata teamed for the first time at the Supercard of Honor Zero Hour and since then have won their three other tag matches. Aminata overall has been undefeated since then. Van and Vertvixen teamed up on a Collision where they lost to the Brawling Birds earlier in the month. The teamwork built by Aminata and Shirakawa secured their success, not with tandem offense, but with being there when the other needed them to be. Van thought she had done the same for Vertvixen when she knocked Aminata to the floor as Vertvixen was setting up Shirakawa on the top turnbuckle. However, Aminata turned the tables, sending Van into the barricades, and rescued Shirakawa. A ripcord headbutt from Aminata put her in place for a diving tornado DDT from Shirakawa to secure the victory at 10:06. I like Shirakawa and Aminata as a team and think they work together well, but right now, being a women’s tag team in ROH provides no real purpose. There aren’t women’s tag titles, and ROH can be lazy about setting up rivalries, so I hope they don’t find themselves lost in the shuffle. Double V were also quite strong for only having teamed in the TK ecosystem once before. Overall, this was fine. **½

Adam Brooks vs. El Phantasmo

Adam Brooks has a very interesting story. He signed with Ring of Honor at the end of 2019 and was all set to debut during the 18th Anniversary show in March 2020. Then the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, and Brooks debut was delayed, and he never debuted with ROH under the Sinclair banner. He finally appeared for ROH for the first time since August 2018 in a successful singles match against Nathan Cruz on the July 23rd HonorClub episode. New Japan’s ELP officially debuted for Ring of Honor in May as part of a YouTube special, and lost to Adam priest on another YouTube special earlier this week. This was a match where both wrestlers were looking to make a statement – ELP with flash, Brooks with power. It looked as if Brooks had ELP put away with a running Liger Bomb, but ELP rolled over just in time to stop the three count. Brooks had a sly smile when ELP kicked out of that, but was flabbergasted when ELP kicked out of a flying Code Breaker. He immediately pounced with a Swanton Bomb, which ELP countered into a crucifix pin, and then delivered a cutthroat neckbreaker when Brooks kicked out of that. ThunderKiss ‘86 from the top turnbuckle would secure the pin for ELP at 8:48. This was exactly the kind of match I like seeing on a Zero Hour – a showcase for two wrestlers, theoretically, looking to climb the ranks, putting their best foot forward. I definitely hope to see ELP in ROH whenever he’s between New Japan tours and hope Brooks sticks around as well. ***¼

AR Fox vs. Komander vs. Soleil

If you’re unaware, Soleil is a new masked character for Reginald/SCRYPTS/Sidney Akeem. While this took the “two in, one out” approach many three way matches have, it was able to maintain an air of all three of them looking to one-up each other in the high flying department. With all the cool stuff they did, Soleil broke out a rolling crossbody from a standing position, which I do not recall seeing before. He also did two backflips before taking down Fox with an Ace Crusher. Upon hitting the Cutter however, he found himself in place for El Cielito from Komander, which gave Komander the pin at 6:33. That ending was a bit unbelievable for what was otherwise a super fun match. Soleil hit an offensive move, then rolled himself into place for another offensive move. Stupid! If the goal was simply to get the fans fired up with six and a half minutes of action, then mission accomplished. ***

Bustah And The Brain (Alec Price & Jordan Oliver) vs. The Don Callis Family (Brian Cage & Hechicero

Fellow Don Callis Family members RPG VICE of Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero join commentary. This is Cage’s first ROH match since Final Battle 2024 and Hechicero’s first since December. Bustah And The Brain’s advantage, gained through their speed, was shut down when Hechicero caught Oliver by his foot in mid air, resulting in him crashing and burning to the mat. Oliver was able to escape their grasp when Cage slammed him too close to his corner, and Oliver kicked Cage away for long enough to tag in Price. Price ran around and took out both DCF members on his own, scoring a nearfall on Hechicero with a flying Blockbuster, who then took out Price with an inside out lariat. Cage fought out of their double Styles Clash attempt, back body dropping both competitors and F5ing Price for two. Cage powerbombed Price and press slammed him onto Oliver on the floor. A superplex from Cage and a headscissors Destroyer from Hechicero pinned Price at 7:41. I am very annoyed that an ROH tag team on the rise was put down by two AEW pin eaters, one of which (Cage) has not been on ROH in literal years. RPG VICE couldn’t have interfered instead, building that feud on the weekly ROH show? This was a great showing from Bustah And The Brain erased with perplexing booking. ***

A totally fine Zero Hour. Nothing that I think made anybody think they had to see the PPV, but some fun wrestling and matches in theory that should bolster some people up ROH’s ranks that won’t. More on that later.

Main Show

ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship
Dalton Castle & The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) vs. The Lethal Twist (Blake Christian, Jay Lethal & Lee Johnson)

Dalton Castle & The Outrunners have been champions since 5.15.2026 and this is their second defense. Johnson saved Lethal from the Outrunners’ Predator double elbow, and then cracked Magnum with a yakuza kick before Christian wiped him out with a springboard clothesline. Christian mocked the Outrunners’ pose before he and his partners beat him down in their corner. Magnum was close to tagging out when he dodged offense from all three Lethal Twist members, but because he mi paso’d Johnson to the outside, Johnson was able to pull Floyd off of the apron and allow for his partners to continue their beat down. Twice their arrogance got the better of them, but they also made sure to knock Castle and Floyd off of the apron before he could tag out. Finally, Magnum kicked Lethal to the corner to block a figure four leg lock, and he tagged in Castle, who threw around all of the Lethal Twist with suplexes. He blocked the Lethal Injection with a German suplex for a nearfall. When the Outrunners were about to land the Predator double elbow, with Castle’s falling double axe handle, Christian pulled the title off of Floyd’s waist, a title he has worn in every match since winning the titles. The distraction allowed for them to take out Castle and Magnum and overwhelm Floyd with offense. Castle saved him from being pinned. With everyone else out of the ring, Castle went for the Bang-A-Rang on Lethal, which Lethal escaped and countered into the Lethal Injection. Magnum broke up the pin and O’Connor Rolled Christian. Christian, however, reversed the roll, and Johnson held onto his arm so that Magnum could not reverse or kick out, giving the Lethal Twist the win at 14:05. With this win, Jay Lethal has become the first person to win all five men’s titles in ROH. Unfortunately, I think this match will mostly be remembered for Christian’s botched splash, as otherwise it was a garden variety trios match. The Lethal Twist have really become a well oiled machine, and are certainly the best trio in ROH today. I just really wish they didn’t have to lose an AEW Trios Title match six days before this match. Why would you do that? ***

Lexy Nair is with two of the tag teams in tonight’s title match. The Kingdom have requested the chance to talk to La Facción Ingobernable. The Kingdom’s AI agent Sparta has told them that they have a better chance of winning if they work together tonight, also if Sammy changes his name to Samuel and if Mortos changed his name as well. Sammy says they have a deal. To work together at least, not so sure on the name change. Also, Mortos apparently speaks “Roaranese.”

ROH Women’s World Pure Championship
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Steph De Lander

Deonna Purrazzo has been champion since 12.5.2025 and this is her seventh defense. The Pure Rules can be found here. Chris Hero, Jerry Lynn, and Madison Rayne are the off-screen judges for this bout. De Lander has been the one to abuse or manipulate the rules, but Purrazzo decides to be the first one to circumvent the rules by blowing off the Code of Honor handshake. De Lander used her first rope break to escape a Fujiwara armbar takedown after Purrazzo had stomped on her elbow. Angry, De Lander looked to introduce a chair into the match, but Purrazzo kicked it right back at her. This did allow for De Lander to maneuver Purrazzo into an electric chair slam face first onto the ring frame and take control. As Purrazzo is being beaten down in the ring, she looks for a side Russian leg sweep. De Lander instinctively grabs the ropes, using her second rope break to escape. When Purrazzo lands a pump kick, De Lander cracks her with a closed fist, and referee Mike Posey issues a warning. Another Fujiwara armbar attempt by Purrazzo results in De Lander using her third and final rope break. De Lander perches Purrazzo on the middle rope and delivers two running boots before bringing her down into a cradle suplex for two. When Purrazzo almost mows down referee Mike Posey and he ducks, De Lander uses an illegal closed fist. She then drops Purrazzo with a TKO, and Purrazzo uses her first rope break to stop the pin attempt. De Lander tries using a chair and it backfires, as it bounces off the ropes into her face. While Posey is getting of the chair, Purrazzo uses a closed fist strike and powerbombs De Lander. When De Lander kicks out, Purrazzo puts her in a Fujiwara armbar. She converts into the Venus De Milo to get the verbal submission at 9:07. This story would have had a lot more juice if De Lander had more than one Pure Match where she abused the rules under her belt, accumulated wins, and was a viable threat. As it was, she just seemed out of her element and desperate in a not-so-good way. It was more clumsy and awkward than any of Deonna’s other defenses. This was rough. **¼

ROH Women’s World Television Championship
Red Velvet vs. Mina Shafir vs. Skye Blue vs. Zayda Steel

Red Velvet has been champion since 12.5.2025 and this is her eighth defense. Christopher Daniels is in Steel’s corner. Jon Moxley accompanies Shafir to the ring and joins commentary for the bout. Since these four were in pairs earlier this week, it looked as if this would turn into an unofficial tag team match. What we saw though was the teams (Zayda and Velet, Blue and Shafir) look to take the other two out so that they could go one-on-one with their teammate. Each team member was fine with wrestling one another, but also prioritized taking out the others first. They did a good job making sure everybody got their moment in the sun. In particular, Steel really got a chance to shine with multiple offensive showcases, with Shafir’s displays of powers augmented by Moxley’s enthusiastic commentary. It was probably the best Blue has looked since Blood and Guts. When it appeared Steel had Velvet submitted to a half crab, Blue clobbered Steel with the TV title belt. She also used it on Shafir, who had pulled Blue into a rear-naked choke. Shafir however countered a Code Blue into an ankle hold. As she had Blue in the hold, Velvet came off the top with a frog splash on Shafir, pinning her at 10:55. That was a good pay off to Velvet showing awareness of where her opponents were during the match, like trying to use a recovering Blue as a springboard to get to Shafir on the top turnbuckle earlier in the bout. While this foursome seems a bit odd on paper, it’s a match I feel like everyone came out better than when they went in. ***¼

ROH Pure Championship
Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Moriarty has been champion since 7.26.2024 and this is his nineteenth defense. Shibata earned this title defense by defeating Yuta the night before in a Pure Rules match, as an injury to Nigel McGuinness resulted in a new challenger needing to be determined for this event. The Pure Rules can be found here. With reluctance, Moriarty is the first one to use a rope break, doing so to escape Shibata’s grapevine hold. Shibata confidently holds up one finger after the fact. Moriarty mocks Shibata’s cross-armed pose after delivering a suplex, and Shibata makes him pay with repeated snapmares into the ropes. Moriarty uses his second rope to escape another leg lock, which Shibata emphasises by holding up two fingers. Moriarty finally gains some ground with a corner clothesline and headlock bulldog, leading to the Border City Stretch. Shibata rolls Moriarty onto his shoulders to escape, and then boots Moriarty to the apron for a suplex to the floor! Back in the ring, Shibata forces Moriarty to use his third and final rope break with a figure four ankle lock. During an exchange, Shibata boots Moriarty to the ropes, and Moriarty surprises him with a Jawbreaker Lariat. Shibata counters the subsequent Border City Stretch attempt into a sleeper hold. Moriarty grabs the middle rope and uses his hips to maneuver Shibata to the floor, where he quickly takes him out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Shibata O’Connor rolls Moriarty, which Moriarty counters into a sleeper hold. Shibata escapes and locks on his own sleeper. Moriarty rolls back and puts Shibata in a European Clutch for the pin at 13:15. Well that ripped. Usually it’s Moriarty in the driver’s seat for his title matches, but Shibata was firmly in control for almost the entirety of the bout. Moriarty escaped by the skin of his teeth, once again showing adaptability and ring awareness when his initial plan (the Border City Stretch) didn’t go as planned. It’s a kind of match only these two can have given their history with the pure championship and its ruleset. I really dug this. ***¾

On a recent episode of ROH on HonorClub, Jacked Jameson and Griff Garrison kicked Preston Vance out of The Frat House. Evil Uno and Alex Reynolds saved Vance, and welcomed him back into The Dark Order. Jon Silver was not happy about this, and stated that he does not forgive Vance for what he has done. Lexy Nair is with Uno, Reynolds, and Silver, who are arguing over whether or not Vance is in the Dark Order. Vance comes into frame, admitting to Jon he messed up, and asking him to remember all the things they went through. Jon tells Vance that he does not like him, and that he will never trust him. Reynolds goes off to talk to Jon as Uno tells Vance that Silver will come around. I think they need to remind us exactly what happened with Vance and the Dark Order. It was multiple years ago when he left, and even I do not remember the exact details behind his exit. I think he turned on them to join LFI at the time, but I can’t be sure. Again, a reminder of something that happened multiple years ago would be nice.

ROH World Tag Team Championship
El Sky Team (Místico & Máscara Dorada) vs. La Facción Ingobernable (Sammy Guevara & The Beast Mortos) vs. The Kingdom (Matthew Taven & Michael Bennett) vs. Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin)

El Sky Team have been champions since 6.26.2026 and this is their second defense. CMLL spent three of their Friday night Arena Mexico main events on the ROH tag titles, and ROH repays them with a half-assed thrown together four way bout. Christopher Daniels is in Top Flight’s corner. The Kingdom’s new gimmick is they’re embracing an AI Agent known as Sparta to tell them what to do. I get it, people don’t like AI, it’s a way to get heat. Why would a team that has won the ROH Tag Titles three times without AI need to do that? I appreciate Ian Riccaboni sharing my same sentiment on commentary, but addressing the lack of logic does not make it make sense. It was the only tangible aspect of this match, as otherwise it was just moves. Well executed, cool moves, but no connective tissue to those moves. That would be OK if this match was half of its length, but it just went on and on. It even took ages for them to pay off the promo we saw earlier in the night with the Kingdom and LFI working together and that partnership falling apart. The match finally ended at 19:15 when Místico pinned Darius Martin with a one-man Spanish Fly. Not the most optimal first defense in ROH proper for El Sky Team. **¾

The Don Callis Family of Rocky Romero, Hechicero, and Brian Cage attack El Sky Team and Top Flight after the match, with LFI and The Kingdom joining in. They’re chased off by Ortiz, Mance Warner, Scorpio Sky, Komander, The Outrunners, Bustah And The Brain and AR Fox. All the good guys stand tall as Místico’s theme song plays.

AEW Continental Challenge Cup Play-In Match
Adam Priest vs. Daniel Garcia

Eddie Kingston suffered an injury, taking him out of the AEW Continental Challenge tournament, so a play-in match is being held to determine Claudio Castagnoli’s opponent. Why is this happening on a ROH PPV? Why is it happening on an ROH show at all? Kingston vs. Claudio was supposed to happen on Collision the next night. Why not have the Play-In match open Collision? Will even 1% of the people who watch Collision have seen this Play-In match? If the situation was reversed, and ROH needed to replace somebody on a show the day after an AEW event, would AEW give up TV or PPV time to set up a match for ROH? Absolutely not. Worse, it was both obvious who was going to win (Garcia) and that he was not going to make it past Claudio (he didn’t.). To summarize my points, this match was a waste of time, which is the worst thing a match can be. The little brothering of ROH by AEW is infuriating as someone who watches ROH regularly and cares very little for AEW on a week-to-week basis. See the Lethal Twist match above as another example – the future ROH Trios champs lost to the AEW Trios champs six days earlier. Message received: it doesn’t matter if you’re successful in ROH, everyone in AEW is better than you. In a vacuum, it was a very good match, and at least had two people who appear somewhat regularly inn ROH. Garcia submitted Priest to a sharpshooter at 16:55. ***¼

All of Shane Taylor Promotions are together outside of the arena celebrating Lee Moriarty’s title retention. Moriarty remains quiet and contemplative as Shane Taylor says they’re unstoppable with the Hurt Syndicate now in their corner, and the Infantry give him props.

ROH World Television Championship – Fight Without Honor
Lio Rush vs. Action Andretti

Lio Rush has been champion since 6.18.2026 and this is his fifth defense. Rush is dressed in Sabu homage attire and brings a cart of weapons with him to the ring. I understand it’s a tribute to a fallen wrestler in the ECW Arena, but how does doing something like that fit his current character at all? The audience clearly didn’t know anything about this rivalry. They were mostly chanting about “Mary Poppins” when Rush used an umbrella as a weapon, and chanting for what weapon they wanted to see next, such as “use the shovel.” It was Rush who introduced most of the weapons into the bout, sometimes successful (a spear through a table into the barricades), sometimes not (Andretti using a set up chair to tackle Rush out of mid-air and then deliver a backbreaker onto that same chair.) The match took a turn when Rush sliced Andretti open with broken glass. Don’t worry, Rush cleaned up the bits of glass after. Rush had Andretti positioned for a legdrop through a table ringside, with a barbed wire covered chair on top of Andretti, but Andretti threw the chair at Rush when Rush was perched on the top turnbuckle to stop him. When Rush got Andretti locked in “The Deep Cut”, his cravate submission, the lights in the Arena went out. When they came back on, Hook was looking at Rush. It was intended to mirror Taz vs. Sabu, but Hook is also a member of the Opps, who Andretti has recently been teaming alongside. Rush mi paso’d Hook through a red door after blocking Redrum, and got a two count on Andretti with Black Thunder. Another Opps member Anthony Bowens interjected to prevent Rush from opening a box he brought into the ring, and Hook locked Rush in the Kata ha jime. Bowens and Hook placed Rush on the table set up ringside, with bits of glass underneath him, and Andretti landed a springboard 450 splash through it. The crowd goes crazy when Andretti gets back in the ring and Rush kicks out of Andretti’s pin at one. Hook and Bowens set up the barbed wire chair in the corner, which Andretti sends Rush face first into before pinning him Lights, Camera, Action (a backbreaker into a neckbreaker) for the pin and the title at 23:55. This started off in a lull, where it was just an exchange of weapons spots. Then those spots became a bit more creative and well placed, and as much as people may not like the interference, the Opps interjecting definitely elevated the energy of the bout. I was hoping for something more special from these two. Had they trimmed the fat and had a crowd who was into this for the story more than the stipulation, it could have been much better. ***½

Rush opens the box he had tried to open earlier and pulls out a black heart, which he drinks from. The black ooze pours out of his smiling, wide eyed face before he heads backstage. OK.

ROH World Championship
Bandido vs. Nick Wayne

Bandido has been champion since 4.6.2025 and this is his sixteenth defense. Wayne would find control outside of the ring, but could not keep the momentum inside of it. In the early stage of the match, he sent Bandido shoulder first into the guardrails, which bore fruit for Wayne for a little while. It was not until he cut off Bandido on the ring apron with a somersault senton that he kept control of the match again. That senton, however, also resulted in Wayne hurting his lower back. Chekov’s ring steps would see Wayne fail to wrestle control away from Bandido. The two of them moved to the apron during a strike exchange. Wayne knocked Bandido off of the apron with an enzuigiri, but when he went for a PK, Bandido caught his foot, and swung Wayne forward so that Wayne would land head first on the steps. Despite now being busted open, Wayne managed to get his knees up to block Bandido’s shooting star press back in the ring. He also bit Bandido to turn his powerbomb into a Yoshi Tonic for two. Wayne also impressively countered the 21 Plex into a spike reverse Frankensteiner. Wayne immediately followed with a cradle piledriver. Bandido kicked out of that one, so Wayne followed up with the Prodigy Plex for two. Bandido caught his Wayne’s World attempt and delivered the X-knee, leading into the 21 Plex. Wayne amazingly kicks out of that, and also blocks an X-knee. He low blows Bandido after putting referee Stephon Smith in a position to not see it. Wayne’s World and the Prodigy Plex follow, but Wayne’s nonchalant pin costs him. As Wayne lay on Bandido, Bandido counters at the count of two into a crucifix, pinning Wayne at 22:40. This reminded me of Bryan Keith’s title opportunity against Bandido. Like Keith, Wayne was willing to be dishonorable to become World Champion, and Bandido escaped Wayne’s onslaught by the skin of his teeth. It was wrestled very differently, but that core was very similar. This could be a breakout match for Wayne if they choose for it to be. Their first back and forth of head drops was borderline ridiculous, but the ending stretch of nearfalls and big moves resulted in an explosion from the crowd and Wayne looking very capable of becoming the next World Champion. I would support a rematch at Final Battle, if they did some proper follow up on the weekly show. ****

Jon Moxley is standing by with Daniel Garcia and Marina Shafir. Moxley basically says he’s willing to face a fellow Death Rider if they win the Continental Cup, and demands that they give 100%. Garcia goes on and on about the love of the game and how he will win the Cup. More ROH PPV time dedicated to AEW stories, I hate it.

ROH Women’s World Championship
Athena vs. Hazuki

Athena has been the champion since 12.10.2022 and this is her thirty-eighth defense. Athena’s minions, Billie Starkz and Diamante, came out to distract Hazuki when the match was in her favor. The distraction did help Athena, though when Athena put her on her shoulders, Hazuki pummeled Athena out and to the floor where she smashed Athena’s face into a steel chair. An apron powerslam put the match back under Athena’s control. Hazuki however countered a super electric chair into a super crucifix driver for two. While Athena was able to catch a lungblower from Hazuki, Hazuki pivoted into a Frankensteiner effortlessly. After a DDT on the ring apron, Hazuki nailed the champion with a super shotgun dropkick, and pulled off the lungblower she went for earlier. She also caught Athena in the corner and brought her off of the middle rope with another lungblower. Athena managed to run under a dive from Hazuki and swing the challenger into a pendulum facebuster, locking in a Koji Clutch as soon as Hazuki kicked out of the subsequent pin attempt. Hazuki escaped and pump kicked Athena back to the floor. Athena kicked Hazuki to stop a dive attempt and throw her spine first into the barricades before bringing her up the ramp. Hazuki ultimately fought out of Athena’s powerbomb attempt and instead suplexed Athena on the ramp, hurting her own back in the process. Athena kicks out of a super senton back in the ring, and when Hazuki had Athena up in a brainbuster position, Diamante distracted the referee while Starkz shoved Hazuki into referee Stephon Smith. Then while Stephon was out, Starkz and Diamante put the boots to Hazuki until she wiped them out with a double Code Breaker and suicide dive. This distraction did enough though to give Athena time to recover. Hazuki kicked out of a double stomp and a tombstone piledriver, so Athena tossed her to the announcer’s table. Hazuki was able to take down Athena with a DDT and land a frog splash on, but not through, the table, before bringing her back in the ring and pulling off the brainbuster she attempted before the minions interference. Athena managed to kick out, and also give Hazuki a cutter on the top rope to send her to the floor. Athena pulled off a diving O-Face to the floor, and then hit the genuine article back in the ring to score the pin at 30:20. This is a match that was paced very well and did not feel like thirty minutes, but the reality is that after the previous match, the crowd was not as into this as you would have hoped. Being a cold match did not help either. That is not to diminish how fantastic Hazuki was as a challenger. Both her and Athena brought the goods and through sheer willpower milked as much energy as they could from the crowd. They made Hazuki look very believable as a challenger throughout the contest, as shown by Athena needing two people to help her wrest away Hazuki’s control of the match, and requiring two O-Face finishers to put her down. I do not mean to diminish this match by saying it’s “yet another good Athena title defense”, but it does like more of the same we’ve been seeing for years now and I am simply ready for something new. ****

Quality wise, this show was somewhere in between Final Battle 2025 and Supercard of Honor 2026. The double main event and Men’s Pure Title matches were very good, while everything else met or fell below expectations.

I said in my Final Battle 2025 review that ROH has been in a holding pattern since Tony bought it, and that the only time any changes had been made were when they seemed poised to get on television. We may be entering that period again. In the post-show scrum, Tony Khan mentioned he is still hopeful ROH can be on television. While this may sound like a good thing for ROH on HonorClub in the interim, in that they may be motivated to freshen things up, I worry that the opposite may come true.

They have kept titles on Athena, Moriarty, and Bandido for such a long time now (to varying degrees), and have not done a suitable job building up challengers. Why take the titles off of them now? All three of them are on AEW Television, regularly (Bandido) and semi-regularly (Athena and Moriarty), and all do a solid job in the roles. Unfortunately, their roles are also at different levels of staleness. My Supercard of Honor review concluded with me asking when they were going to pull the trigger on these people they’ve been quietly building for years now, and I have that same question after this show too. All signs point to the answer as “not any time soon.”

I concluded my Final Battle 2025 review by asking what ROH’s identity is. On September 2nd, Lucha Blog discussed how on a podcast, Andrade mentioned how WWE told him how they’d love for him to be in WWE, and Andrade responding that he signed with WWE to wrestle with WWE, not AAA. Lucha Blog then noted:

“I think that’s the general sentiment among WWE wrestlers assigned to work WWE. Not all of them, but I assume most are there to do the best job they can do and hope that gets them up the ladder as soon as possible. And I’m just as sure there are many – not everyone, but many – who work are signed directly to AAA and are just as eager to find a way off of AAA and move up the ladder in the same way. It’s the price of being treated as the minor league.”

Reading this made me realize that this statement also explains ROH’s identity and purpose. The talent in ROH work very hard. There is not one person on the roster I would accuse of phoning in their performance or dogging it because they are in the “lesser” TK owned promotion. I do believe, though, that everybody on that roster is there because they want to wrestle for AEW. They wrestle for ROH because they have been told to do so. Some are happier than others about it, but nobody would turn down the opportunity to be on AEW television because they would prefer to continue in ROH. Why would they? Far more people watch and care about AEW. That is its purpose – it is a place for AEW talent to busy themselves until an opening does or doesn’t appear on AEW television.

This is why ROH is in a holding pattern – the higher ups are just waiting for it to get a TV deal, and the talent are working hard in the hopes of doing something elsewhere. Everyone is thinking about the future rather than the present.