ROH TV (Episode 127) Review – 07.31.25

Welcome back to Ring of Honor TV, exclusively on Honor Club at WatchROH.com. Last week on Episode 126, the Outrunners defeated the Workhorsemen, The Beast Mortos demolished Serpentico, Blake Christian and Big Shotty squashed a couple of geeks, Trish Adora made easy work of Aleah James, and in the MAIN EVENT, Nick Wayne defeated Gringo Logo in a Proving Ground Match. I honestly don’t know how they can top a lineup like that!

Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are calling the action, unless otherwise noted.

Hologram & Tomohiro Ishii vs. MxM Collection (Johnny TV):
When we last saw Hologram on ROH programming, he was coming to the aid of the Spanish Announce Project on Episode 125. MxM Collection’s latest routine is advertising a fragrance known as “Seed”, complete with Vince Russo level of humor and innuendo. Mansoor and Madden are showing off their Ribera Steakhouse jackets again. Ishii’s ROH record is 6-0, and I’m sure that is flipped for his AEW appearances.

Mansoor starts with Ishii, and no code of honor, unfortunately. Mansoor hits the ropes for a shoulder block and Ishii is the immovable object. Mansoor wants to trade forearms and gets dropped like he’s Glass Joe. Hologram and Ishii with tandem offense on Mansoor, then a little humiliation for Madden as he attempts to help his buddy. Mansoor blocks a suplex and drives Ishii into friendly territory. Ishii throws strikes at both members of MxM Collection, but Hologram gets yanked off the apron by Johnny TV, preventing a tag. Now it’s MxM Collection running a train on Ishii, with a photo-op finish for the sequence. Whip to the ropes, double elbow, and double elbow-drop for a two-count. Mansoor cranks a chinlock, screaming “HE’S GOT NO NECK!” Ishii avoids an elbow from Madden and tags in Hologram. He runs wild on Mansoor, sweeping the leg and hitting a basement flatliner, followed by a DDT. Madden gets sent to the ropes with a spinning head-scissors and Hologram springs off the ropes with a body press. Johnny TV gets in on the fun, taking a head-scissors on the floor. Hologram with a tope suicida to Mansoor and shotgun missile dropkick to Madden. Madden cuts Hologram off with a sidewalk slam, but now Ishii is alive, throwing forearms until he gets rocked with a headbutt. Hologram saves Ishii from the Centerfold and assists Ishii on hitting Madden with a brain buster. Mansoor misses a flying nothing and Hologram finishes him with a rope-walk 450 splash at 7:11. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. MxM really stand out with their gimmick and blending it into their bell-to-bell work.

Recap of the Athena and Toni Storm saga that is playing out across AEW programming.

Jon Cruz vs. Gringo Loco:
OPENING MATCH IN ANY ARMORY IN THE MIDWEST! Jon Cruz is, of course, the unmasked identity of Mr. Serpentico. Nice to see people double-dipping in 2025 with a masked gimmick as the money maker and the unmasked version being the side job. Gringo Loco is a local boy, so the crowd is not into Cruz. He slaps the hand a little hard when the referee asks for a handshake. We get the old schtick of the heel and face taking turns posing for their desired reactions. “Do we have a time limit on this one?” Ian Riccaboni is a national treasure. Cruz charges in and gets swept off his feet. Loco tells Cruz to put on the brakes and shows off his hip gyrations. Cruz with a head-scissors and his own hip taunt, but Loco isn’t impressed and drops him face first from a gorilla press for a two-count. Loco takes too long climbing the ropes and gets trapped in the tree of woe. Cruz charges across the ring, burying a shoulder into the midsection for two. Double reversal into the ropes and Loco with a springboard elbow. Cruz seems thrown off his game by the “Gringo Loco” chants. Cruz creates separation out of the corner, but a spinning head-scissors is an epic fail. OK, this match doesn’t need the “BOO/YAY” strike exchange spot, but at least they’re doing it for the hometown guy. Cruz ducks under a clothesline and catches Loco by surprise with a cutter for a near-fall. Cruz misses a flying nothing. Loco with a butterfly suplex and finishes Cruz with a split-leg moonsault at 7:19. I’m not much of a fan of Loco, but they had a fine match, and Cruz using some classic heel schtick was nice to see.

Blake Christian (w/ Lee Johnson) vs. Jimmy Jacobs:
Jimmy Jacobs is still working in the ring? I guess I don’t pay enough attention these days. Blake Christian, on the other hand, is working all the time, with matches every other week, and appearances in between the weeks along with Big Shotty. Jimmy Jacobs is a former 5-time ROH Tag Team Champion, while Vanilla Baby is 9-0 in 2025 on Honor Club. SOMETHING’S GONNA GIVE.

To the surprise of NOBODY, the code of honor is not adhered to. Christian with a shove and taunts him like he’s licking an ice cream cone, so Jacobs responds by removing his glove and slapping him. They run the ropes and Christian stops to taunt and give Jacobs a little paint brushing. Jacobs doesn’t appreciate the disrespect and lays in a series of strikes before taking Christian down with an airplane head-scissors. They take the action to the floor, with Jacobs hitting another head-scissors, followed by a tope suicida. Johnson with a distraction, allowing Christian to hit Jacobs with a spear on the apron. It’s Christian’s turn to fly, twisting through the ropes with his own version of a tope suicida. Back inside, Christian with a springboard clothesline. “WELCOME BACK, JIMBO!” Jacobs teases a comeback, but Vanilla Baby cuts him off, hitting a combo back breaker and enzuigiri for a two-count. Jacobs fires himself up again, landing a punt to the chest, followed by a neck breaker. Jacobs spins out of the corner with a suplex for two. Christian stuns Jacobs with a Super-Kick, but misses a dive into the corner. Jacobs tries something similar but gets caught with a Spicolli Driver. Jumping boot to the back of the head, suplex, and Vanilla Choke Zero finishes Jacobs at 6:25. Wow, ANOTHER match I enjoyed! I need more Vanilly Baby! As I type that, Blake Christian name drops Bandido, so I guess he’s calling his shot now.

We see clips courtesy of No-Contest Wrestling Podcast where Paul Walter Hauser has words for Q.T. Marshall. I guess they had an incident in March that we’re NOW paying off?!

Pure Rules Match: Virus vs. Xelhua:
Speaking of Pure Rules, whatever happened to that Women’s Pure Rules Title Tournament? Also, where are the women, PERIOD? Both men are making their ROH debuts, so of course, we’re going to handcuff them with PURE RULES. Zelhua is only a 2-year pro, while Virus has been around the block. Code of Honor adhered to! Lockup and Zelhua tries going for the arm, but Virus sweeps him off his feet and they take turns working the other’s leg. Xelhua switches to a cross arm-breaker but can’t get the hold applied for its fullest level of punishment. He traps Virus in a double chicken wing and rolls over with a bridge for a near-fall. Back to a neutral stance, Virus picks the ankle and grapevines the leg. Xelhua with another counter, trapping the arms while hooking the leg. They’re going back-and-forth, but Xelhua has maintained control more frequently throughout. We get our traditional leg-sweep into a cover sequence. Virus fights out of a straight-jacket and cradles Xelhua for a two-count. Virus traps the leg and works the ankle, sending Xelhua to the ropes for his first break. Xelhua with a Cloverleaf torture rack, forcing Virus to use a rope break. La magistral from Xelhua for a two-count. Virus busts out a Vertebreaker, but Xelhua gets his foot on the ropes. Xelhua with a pair of dropkicks and a Northern Lights. He gives up the cover and traps Virus in a modified stretch muffler, forcing Virtus to submit at 7:24. Post-match, Xelhua shows Virus respect. The crowd wasn’t responding well, but they were putting the work in.

Recap of Dustin Rhodes defending the TNT Championship against Lee Moriarty on ROH Collision. Dustin defends the title against Kyle Fletcher on this week’s Collision in a Chicago Street Fight.

ROH World Championship Match:
Bandido (c) vs. Adam Priest:
Wow, Adam Priest pinning Aaron Solo earned him a legitimate shot at the title, and not just a token Proving Ground Match? They’ve put some effort on AEW TV lately to push Hechicero as the next challenger for Bandido’s title, so at least there’s a little bit of storyline direction to talk about. Something about Priest’s body reminds me of Dynamite Kid. He comes out with Anthony Henry and JD Drake of the Workhorsemen, and sure, those are bums you want to be associated with.

Code of Honor adhered to, BUT WAIT, Priest won’t let go of the grip and blasts Bandido with a forearm. They run the ropes and Bandido forces Priest to put on the brakes so he can hit the taunt button and spring off the ropes with an elbow. Bandido drives a series of shoulders into the midsection and takes Priest over with a delayed vertical suplex (holding Priest up with one arm and counting with the other). Priest counters another springboard with a dropkick to the back and snaps Bandido over with a suplex for two. Bandido powders, with Priest in hot pursuit to continue punishing the back. Back inside, Priest traps Bandido in the center of the ring with a Camel Clutch. Bandido fights to his feet, daring Priest to lay that ish in. Priest obliges and Bandido throws forearms of his own until Priest blocks and drives a forearm into the lower-back. Bandido rolls under a forearm and catches Priest off the ropes with a press slam. Running pump kick in the corner, followed by a snap powerslam for two. Priest rolls away from the Frog Splash and connects with a back-breaker for two. Priest stops to taunt the crowd, which isn’t sound strategy for a lower-tier guy when fighting a Champion. He busts out Three Amigos for some heat, with Bandido blocking the third suplex and hitting Priest with his own. Bandido with the X-Knee, but the 21 Plex is countered and Priest hooks the Cross-Crab. Bandido fights to the ropes, forcing the hold broken. Priest misses a flying nothing and gets hit with a pop-up cutter. Bandido with the shining wizard and Frog Splash to retain at 9:55. Post-match, CODE OF HONOR ADHERED TO. Much more competitive than I expected, and other than a moment of spotty selling, I liked the work of Priest targeting the back. ***

Final Thoughts: I went into this episode with very little motivation and zero expectations, and was surprised that I ended up enjoying every match this week. While I wouldn’t call anything a hidden gem (because it’s behind a paywall), I liked the roster showcased this week, as MxM Collection, Hologram, and Blake Christian have all grown on me, and the Main Event was some solid pro rasslin’. The less I see of the 2020 AEW Dark crew, the better. Now put more women out there, and do something about that pesky tournament you mentioned THREE MONTHS AGO.