SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ROH HONOR CLUB REPORT “Boxing Day Brawl” (Ep. 96)
DECEMBER 26, 2024
AIRED ON ROH HONOR CLUB STREAMING SERVICE
REPORT BY JOHN CLINTSMAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
(1) BLAKE CHRISTIAN vs. A.R. FOX
Christian came to the ring with a much more confident attitude (since finishing in the final 2 of the ROH Final Battle survival of the fittest match) and carried that through much of the match. Christian kept this a slow paced methodical pace, while keeping Fox grounded most of the match, until Christian went for a chair on the outside of the ring and was distracted by the referee. Fox executed a suicide dive over the top to the outside crashing into Christian. As the referee was removing the chair from the ring, Christian hit Fox with a low blow and hit his finisher to pin Fox.
WINNER: Blake Christian at 12 minutes
(2) Serpentico vs Lee Johnson w/EJ Nduka
Lee Johnson showed more aggression than normal after last week’s ROH Final battle, where he and EJ Nduka turned heel. This was a back and forth match with both men getting in his share of offence until EJ choke slammed Serpentico while the referee was distracted, Lee Johnson pins Serpentico following his finisher.
WINNER: Lee Johnson at 8 minutes
(3) TOMMY BILLINGTON & KATSIYORI SHIBATA vs. PEMIERE ATHLETES
Match starts with Shibata in the ring. He is in control the entire time in the ring but once he is out the Premier Athletes take over. Bilington takes a beating from every member of Premiere Athletes inside and outside of the ring. Billington and Shibata take back over once Shibata gets back into the ring and control the rest of the way. Shibata gets the pin for the team.
WINNER: Billington & Shibata in 8:00.
Check out the latest episode of “Wrestling Coast to Coast” with Chris Maitland and Justin McClelland, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(4) TONI STORM vs. REBECCA SCOTT
Toni Storm was portrayed as making her ROH debut. Toni was trying to “prove herself as an up and coming star.” Toni looked good in this match, controlling much of the match against Scott. Toni won the match with a piledriver.
WINNER: Toni Storm in 4:00.
(5) AARON SOLO & Q.T. MARSHALL vs. ROCKY ROMERO & HOMICIDE
Marshall and Homicide started off in the ring with Marshall taking control early. Early on the match remained pretty even with Solo and Marshall taking every opportunity to get cheap shots in. Even without the referee distracted, Solo and Marshall got several two-on-one opportunities. Homicide hits solo with a cutter for the win.
WINNERS: Romero & Homicide in 8:00.
(6) MxM COLLECTION vs. DUSTIN WALLER & KYLON KING
I needed to step away at the beginning of this one for a restroom break, so I asked my wife to fill me in on anything I missed. Her synopsis was “some bitch slapping and posing.” This one was exactly what you might expect and definitely not worth anyone’s time. King and Waller got a little offense in, but MxM dominated much of the match.
WINNERS: MxM Collection in 5:00.
-Minion Expulsion Segment: Billie Starkz called to the ring fist by Lexi Nair, followed by Athena. Athena took the mic from Lexi and started by cutting a promo on Billie. Athena told Billie how much she sucks, and how there was no help for her. The crowd in Hammerstein was 100 percent behind Billie.
Athena expelled Lexi from MIT permanently, Lexi left the ringside area extremely sad even shed some tears. Billie seemed extremely confused as Athena pulled her in for a hug.
(7) KOMMANDER vs. JOHNNY TV (w/MxM Collection) – ROH TV Championship match
After playing to the crowd, both men started with some good wrestling moves and countermoves. Johnny TV was able to show his strength early by holding and slamming Komander several times. Johnny attempted a Dragon sleeper early in the match without success. Kommander pulled off a Mexican destroyer, but he still couldn’t keep Johnny TV down, as Johnny kicked out at two-and-three-quarters. MxM attempted to pull Johnny TV out of the ring but Komander dove onto them on the outside of the ring. Kommander hits Johnny with a move off the top rope for the win.
WINNER: Komander in 10:00.
ROH Throwback: August 20. 2005, Colt Cabana vs. Nigel Mcguinness.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was, overall, a good show coming off of Final Battle. It seemed like a few story lines are continuing or developing.
Toni Storm coming back to ROH to make her storyline debut is intriguing even if it’s a bit silly. If ROH/AEW can continue the story and not give up on it, it could be a lot of fun. I do have my doubts but I will sit back and see what happens.
One of the things I complain the most about with ROH is the terrible officiating and again tonight the referee was distracted in three of the first three matches, resulting in some antics.
I really like the team of Billington & Shabata, I believe if they stick with them as a team we could see some great things. I look forward to seeing Billngton in the ring more.
The best and longest story ROH has is the Athena and Billie Starkz story, as this one took another twist I continue to be invested in this one.
Contact John Clintsman at johnclintsman@gmail.com and on Bluesky @johnclintsman.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.