ROH crowns new tag team champions on AEW programming

As a seasoned gamer of professional wrestling, with decades spent navigating the complex tapestry of storylines and rosters, I find myself scratching my head at the recent title change in AEW’s ROH division. While I applaud the creative team for taking risks and giving new talent a chance, the decision to hand the tag titles to Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara feels like a misstep, not a masterstroke.

On August 17, 2024, during AEW’s Collision episode, The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) defended their ROH tag titles against a freshly formed duo, Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. This team had only been partnered for approximately two weeks.

In fact, Rhodes had never even appeared on ROH programming until this year’s Death Before Dishonor. He did wrestle Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title in 2022 on Rampage. Guevara never appeared on ROH programming until Episode 76. He competed in a four way for the ROH World Title at Full Gear 2022.

It’s an interesting query! They earned a title shot because there was an ongoing narrative involving Rhodes, The Von Erichs, and The Undisputed Kingdom. In a recent event called Battle of the Belts IX, they defeated the latter to claim the vacant ROH Trios Championship. Then, at Death Before Dishonor, they defeated Dark Order to secure a shot at the titles the following night.

The upcoming week on Honor Club, Dark Order ambushed Rhodes following the departure of the Von Erichs from the premises. In a comeback (he had been suspended earlier this year due to breaking Jeff Hardy’s nose and sustaining a concussion in his final AEW match), Guevara intervened to protect his fellow Houstonian. There was some mischief during episode 77 that eventually set the stage for the championship bout.

For 234 days, The Kingdom had been champions, but recently, a fresh tag team took their titles away during an AEW broadcast. Here’s an interesting tidbit: no titles have switched hands on the weekly Honor Club programming under Tony Khan; instead, they’ve happened either on ROH or AEW pay-per-views or AEW shows. It was a rather anticlimactic manner to lose the titles they had held for so long.

The biggest head scratcher is why the titles were put on a brand new team. The Infantry was right there. They are one of the most over teams in ROH and one of the most consistent teams. There’s The Righteous, Top Flight, Spanish Announce Project, Gates of Agony, any two members of Premiere Athletes…you get the point. It’s frustrating that teams that have consistently been Honor Club and built the division over the last two years were completely overlooked. And for what? 

If a new team was to be given titles over one that has been in ROH for a long time, it would have been more fitting to bestow them on MxM Collection instead. They are highly popular, performing exceptionally well on the independent circuit, and they divide their time between ROH and AEW already.

Speaking as a fan of both Dustin Rhodes and Guevara, I must admit that I found this move questionable. Rhodes doesn’t necessarily need to hold two titles simultaneously. He’s only been Trios Champion for a short while. It leaves me wondering about their strategy. If Rhodes becomes a double champion heading into Final Battle, how would he manage defending both sets of titles in one show? Given his age, 55, is it wise to ask him to compete in two title matches on the same day? Although he’s still capable, it seems rather challenging to expect such a performance from an older athlete.

As a long-time wrestling enthusiast and insider who’s followed Ring of Honor (ROH) for years, I have my own thoughts about why Warner Brothers Discovery decided to give ROH titles to Adam “Hangman” Page and Rey Fenix (The Lucha Brothers). In my opinion, the company is banking on their popularity with fans as both men are well-known in the wrestling world. However, I believe that keeping the titles on The Kingdom or giving them to an up-and-coming team would have been a better move.

After their shocking victory, Rhodes expressed their intention to claim championships and raise the bar within the division. It’s disheartening that tag team wrestling is struggling across major promotions due to poor bookings. AEW was once home to a rich division but now seems fixated on just three teams. ROH appears to be following suit. However, The Kingdom has been consistent in defending their titles or engaging in Proving Ground matches. Maybe when ROH starts airing on television, they’ll focus on revitalizing the division. It might even be possible that Khan will give more power in bookings to someone passionate about tag team wrestling.

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2024-08-23 16:15