It’s been a busy week of wrestling as all three promotions covered in Wrestling with the Rest did something out of the ordinary. Ring of Honor had two episodes this week, the first of which airing for free on YouTube. TNA had two huge blow-off matches, with one being a world title match and the other taking place at the Hardy Compound. Finally, MLW brought in a bunch of stars who had previously been mostly absent from the program in the past month, plus easily the best MLW match I’ve ever seen.
There’s an extra hour of wrestling to cover this week, so let’s move past the preamble and talk about ROH TV, TNA IMPACT, and MLW Fusion for the week of July 19–25, 2026!
ROH on Honor Club (and YouTube), July 21 and 23, 2026 – The Beantown Beatdown
Every once in a while, ROH will do an extra taping of matches before and after an AEW show and put those matches together on YouTube. This week, after the previous week’s Collision in Boston, ROH put out the “Beantown Beatdown special,” which aired on YouTube and featured a few irregular stars as well as an AEW title match.
While I would say that Thursday night’s Honor Club episode was slightly better — I mean, where else are you going to see Satnam Singh not just hit a cutter, but straight up an RKO out of nowhere — the YouTube special was still a great time and lets you see some of the more exciting ROH wrestlers without having to spend a dime. The most bang for your buck will also be the big 8-man tag match with Bustah and the Brain and the Outrunners taking on the Premier Athletes and The Swirl. Each side has two great young wrestlers and two great comedy guys, and unlike on AEW TV where all four teams are most likely going to be used as hard-fighting losers, you get to see them all be credible threats here.
Match of the Week: Adam Brooks vs Nathan Cruz
As I’ve said previously, I think giving a random match some level of build makes all the difference in the world. Adam Brooks’s story of being signed to ROH in 2020 but never getting to make an impact because of the pandemic made him very empathetic, and Nathan Cruz’s retort that he’s worked for even longer to get here and has no pity was the perfect response.
Once the bell rang, both men wrestled with clear experience. The way they chain-wrestled and fought for something as simple as a headlock made the match feel like a struggle. Between moves, both men were antagonistic in their own ways, with “The Professional” Cruz acting snobbish and above the match while the “Loose Ledge” Brooks was cocky and in Cruz’s face. While Cruz had the advantage, he was kneeing Brooks in the back of the head and clawing his face while using a headlock. Brooks, on the other hand was flashier, with a mix of big kicks, dives, and even some power moves. It’s a fun match between two men with similar backgrounds and similar moods but two very different methods expressing themselves.
Wrestler of the Week: Komander
When Komander wrestled Kyle Fletcher on AEW Dynamite a few weeks ago, I remember saying in the AIPT Discord server that I needed to stop overlooking Komander as a must-watch lucha guy. This week, he made sure he was even harder to underrate by having two stand-out performances on ROH TV. Between his indie-rific match against Alan Angels on Tuesday and his explosive match with Dynamite Kid on Thursday, Komander was on fire this week.
I feel like, when he debuted in AEW, Komander was relegated to just being “the dude who does that rope-walk and salute dive,” but in the past few weeks, I’ve noticed how much more dynamic Komander is with his rope-walking skill. Of course his finishing move is that beautiful rope-walk into a shooting star press, but this week, he also used a rope-walk into a 450 splash which made my jaw drop (and which, honestly, should’ve ended that match). He’s also sick with his headscissors moves, and in general, I think Komander is one to watch. At time of writing, Komander has yet to wrestle in the ladder match at AEW Redemption, but I’m looking forward to seeing Komander put out his third amazing performance in 6 days.
Results and Recap, July 21, 2026:
- Matt Sydal opens the show talking about his invitation to join Sky Flight. Shane Taylor interrupts and takes shots at Sydal and Scorpio Sky, then says it’s time Top Flight finally live up to the potential he’s heard about for years and join Shane Taylor Promotions. Top Flight say no, and Shane says they’ll pay for that.
- Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta def. Alex Reynolds & Evil Uno
- Komander def. Alan Angels
- Zachary Wentz def. Nick Comoroto w/Aaron Solo
- Bustah and The Brain & The Outrunners def. Premier Athletes & The Swirl w/Mark Sterling. Then, The Swirl and Jay Lethal attack the winning team, taking out the Outrunners with one of their own 6-Man title belts. A barefoot Dalton Castle and the Boys save Truth Magnum from a second belt shot, and Castle hits a Bang-a-rang on Lethal.
- Maya World def. Tiara James
- The Kingdom say they’ve been undefeated since returning to ROH and that, while Bustah and the Brain claim intelligence, the Kingdom’s dealing with intelligence on a god level, “with artificial intelligence.” (Immediate heel heat.) Bennett adds that they’ve done everything everywhere over the past 12 years but were missing that spark, and AI is that spark. “I’m learning how to diet better, how to look better, how to wrestle better; hell, I might even shave my beard if AI tells me it’ll get me out of headlocks better.” Bennett says that AI has told them to focus on the ROH tag titles, and Taven adds that this is a new era as they have become Michael and Matthew of a computerized Kingdom.
- The Opps def. LSG, GKM, and Max St. Giovanni
- AEW National Championship: Mark Davis [c] def. Dezmond Xavier
Results and Recap, July 23, 2026:
- ROH Television Championship: Lio Rush [c] def. “Main Man” Oro. After the match, Action Andretti attacked Lio, slammed his head into “Shadow” (the all-black TV title), then choked Lio out with Lio’s own new finisher.
- Bryan Keith def. Alan Angels
- Billie Starkz def. B3CCA
- Backstage, Adam Brooks reminds fans that he was signed to ROH in 2020, but the pandemic took his dream from him. After his match with Will Ospreay on the previous AEW Collision, Brooks says he now gets another chance in ROH and he intends to stay.
- The Premier Athletes w/Smart Mark Sterling def. Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds after interference from Beef
- Before their match, Rocky Romero admits that RPG Vice have not been as successful as the rest of the Don Callis Family as of late, but Don gave them an open contract for their match tonight. Trent Beretta says he’s ready to get an easy win against some faceless Ring of Honor guys, so he tells the production team to hit the generic music.
- RPG Vice def. Alex Zayne & Mance Warner (though it was not an easy win). After the match, they try to continue attacking their opponents, but Eddie Kingston and Ortiz come out for the save.
- Backstage, Nathan Cruz says he’s been working 20 years to just now get a shot in Ring of Honor, so he has no pity for Adam Brooks and doesn’t expect Brooks to have any sort of career like Will Ospreay. Cruz hopes to welcome Brooks back to ROH with a loss.
- Satnam Singh def. Jacked Jameson
- This week, Caprice Coleman Chops It Up with ROH Women’s Pure Champion Deonna Purrazzo. Purrazzo talks about the differences between being the 2nd ever ROH Women’s Champion and the current Pure Champion; asking Jay Lethal for advice with pure rules; fulfillment in life outside of wrestling and what wrestling fans think; and getting the world to see that women’s technical wrestling could main event any ROH or AEW show.
- Hyan w/Maya World def. Lacey Lane
- Adam Brooks def. Nathan Cruz
- Backstage, RPG Vice complain that they didn’t get no-name opponents and instead had a competitive match against guys they knew about. Trent says this is why they had to beat them up after the bell and why Eddie Kingston and Ortiz were out of line to interfere. Rocky challenges the boys to a tag match and says the word “Man” five times.
- A video package hypes up Lee Moriarty as an artist of wrestling but notes that his historic reign almost ended in one defense against Angelico. Next Friday, Moriarty defends his Pure Championship against Angelico again.
- Komander def. “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington
- Sky Flight (Scorpio Sky, Matt Sydal, Darius & Dante Martin) w/Christopher Daniels def. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Anthony Ogogo, Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) w/Christyan XO
TNA IMPACT, July 23, 2026 – The Righteous Deletion
It’s been 10 years since the Final Deletion, and after hopping to two different promotions in the meantime, the Hardys are back in TNA trying to recreate that 2016 magic. The Hardys have been married to the Righteous in-ring pretty much since Vincent and Dutch made their debuts last December, and after multiple gimmick matches and poisoning attempts, the Hardys finally invited the Righteous to meet them at the Hardy Compound and battle it out with fireworks, dilapidated boats, and a whole gaggle of Hardy children.
Where the original Final Deletion was mostly a backyard wrestling match with bells and whistles and inside jokes, this Righteous Deletion continues the trend of the Deletion matches getting more and more supernatural as they go. The Righteous can both control the time of day and teleport using a finger snap. In the middle of the match, it cuts to an in-universe “podcast” type of segment where the Hardys and Righteous hang out around a bonfire and talk about their feud. From there, Dutch is pulled into a funeral, where Vincent is in a casket, but then Vincent wakes up and poisons his own partner. Jeff Hardy transforms into both Willow and his 2010 heel form which he calls “Antichrist.” A construction truck is used as a high place for Jeff to jump off of.
As you can see, a lot goes on in these 20 minutes, and some of those parts which sound like non-sequiturs were actually back-to-back moments in the match — it’s just that kind of video. If you’re a fan of whacky cinematic matches, you might like this one.
Match of the Week: TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth [c] vs KC Navarro
Of the two big matches this week, I was way more into the normal main event match. Though I wasn’t around for the part of the storyline where Navarro was actively Nemeth’s protégé, I was around to see the betrayal and the weeks of follow-up, so I was swayed by this match’s simple set up: Nemeth is a jerk of a champion who’s lost his way, and Navarro wants to bring him back down to earth, going so far as to enter wearing a classic pink Dolph Ziggler shirt.
The part about this match that I really liked was that, even though I went in giving no thought to Navarro actually beating Nemeth, as the match went on, some of the nearfalls made me catch my breath. As for the wrestling itself, Nemeth can go as well as he ever could, and though Navarro spent most of the first half of the match getting beat down, he started to impress me towards the end as he hit his version of a 619, a gnarly powerbomb, and a weird but cool Famouser. This isn’t one of those “set the world on fire” matches, but it was a fitting end to this rivalry.
Wrestler of the Week: Jason Hotch
I had no idea where Mustafa Ali’s voting storyline was going to go, but I was pleasantly surprised with the revelation that not only did the locker room vote for a member of Order 4, but they did so out of a genuine appreciation for Jason Hotch and not just as a chance to drive a wedge between him and Ali. Though he didn’t wrestle this week, Hotch did have some cool in-ring moments in the first two episodes of IMPACT after Slammiversary, so I’m not worried about him being able to go once the match takes place.
What’s most exciting to me is the way that Hotch acted while defying Ali. Ali told Hotch to get the match called off, but Hotch was talked out of it not just by Leon Slater, but by Mrs. Hotch over the phone. When Hotch told Ali that he needed to take this opportunity because he wanted to do right by his wife and daughter. When Hotch told Ali that he was accepting the match, he led with, “With all due respect,” and he ended with, “sir.” Hotch is not just a Great Hand but also a good soldier, and it’s clear that, if there’s any lingering resentment after next week’s match, it’s going to be over Ali’s reaction, not any malintent from Hotch. I like this twist in a classic “underling goes up against his evil boss” storyline.
Results and Recap:
- Frankie Kazarian & A.J. Francis w/Expressions Oozing def. Elijah & Moose. After the match, Moose stops Expressions from attacking Elijah.
- Mustafa Ali explains the voting process for his next International Championship match, specifying that anyone on the active roster can vote one time and cannot vote for themselves.
- TNA Knockouts TV Championship Tournament, Round 1: Elayna Black and Wendy Choo wrestle to a 10-minute draw. Then, Knockouts World Champion Xia Brookside attacks both Black and (after attempting to save her opponent) Choo.
- Rosemary, Allie, Rich Swann, Ryan Nemeth, and Cedric Alexander cast their votes for Mustafa Ali’s title defense. John Skyler tries to check and see how the votes are going, and Ali berates him, but after Ali leaves to yet a coffee, new Order 4 advisor Mila Moore tells John that she thinks he’s doing great.
- The System come out for a town hall. Alisha Edwards says that the so-called “future of the business” gets labeled as such until reality hits. Bear Bronson says he didn’t just beat Ricky Sosa last week but decimated him because he’s nothing more than a catchy song and meme while Bronson is a killer. Brian Myers says on the TNA roster people come and go but one thing that will never change is the dominance of The System. Cedric Alexander says the list of survivors of The System is small, and between guys like Leon Slater and Fabian Aichner, the champ is still Alexander. Eddie Edwards says The System are TNA’s quality control and they decide who’s ready, including later when Alisha Edwards beats and embarrasses Jada Stone like Ricky Sosa. Sosa comes out and says he won’t stay down and the only reason he lost to Bronson was because he had Myers at ringside, but Edwards says that Sosa turning down The System meant turning down protection. Leon Slater comes out and says he has Sosa’s back. He also says that some of the System guys are wearing wrestling attire, as are Slater and Sosa. Eddie asks if they want a tag match, then says they’ll ask Daria to make it for next week.
- Daria Rae counts up the votes and finds that the winner was Jason Hotch of Order 4. Hotch, Skyler, and Steelz celebrate, but Ali glares at them. Then, Ali laughs and says it must be a rib on Hotch since no one really thinks Hotch deserves this match. Ali sends Hotch to track down Daria and get a recount going.
- TNA+/AMC+ Exclusive Match: Mr. Elegance w/M, Heather, and the Personal Concierge def. BDE w/Rich Swann
- The TNA injury report shows that Elayna Black is under evaluation after Xia’s earlier attack, Nic Nemeth is in incredible condition ahead of the main event, Moose is in evaluation, and Nic Nemeth (again) is in perfect condition for hip swivels.
- The Righteous Deletion: The Hardys def. The Righteous
- Leon Slater catches Jason Hotch before he goes to Daria Rae’s office and tells him that everyone sees how Mustafa Ali treats him and that people like Slater voted for him to get a title match because they believe in him. After Slater leaves, Hotch still considers knocking on Daria’s door, but someone calls him. Hotch answers the phone, says, “Thank God you called,” then leaves before addressing Ali’s concerns with management.
- TNA Knockouts TV Championship Tournament, Round 1: Jada Stone def. Alisha Edwards w/Eddie Edwards. After the match, Alisha attacks Jada, but Jada fights back until Eddie can help Alisha escape.
- Mustafa Ali asks Jason Hotch if he did what he was told to do, and Hotch says not exactly. Ali asks for a moment with Mr. Hotch, then asks again if Hotch listened to him. Hotch starts to say that Leon Slater reassured him, and when Ali says that he doesn’t care what Slater thinks, Hotch says his wife called him, too. Mrs. Hotch says that, after everything Jason has been through, he deserves an opportunity like this. Hotch says he’s doing this for his wife, daughter, and family and that Ali can relate to this. “We’ve been at the bottom together and, respectfully, I can’t wait to bring them to the top with me.” Hotch tells Ali, with all due respect, that he will see him next week.
- TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth [c] def. KC Navarro
MLW Fusion, July 25, 2026 – The Champions are Back
Outside of a minute-long backstage segment last week and a video about his time on the red carpet a few weeks earlier, this is the first time MLW World Champion Killer Kross has been seen in MLW since the start of Wrestling with the Rest, accompanied by the similarly absent Matt Riddle. During Kross’s show-opening contract signing for a title match with Satoshi Kojima, we also got the return of MLW National Openweight Champion Austin Aries, who made it clear that he is not looking for a rematch with Diego Hill but instead jonesing for a world title match with the winner of Kross versus Kojima.
This was a weirdly short episode, mostly bridging the gap as we head towards Kross and Kojima’s title match at MLW Blood and Thunder in two weeks, but despite this episode being on the lighter side in terms of time and big moments, we did still have an insane match.
Match of the Week: Andrew Everett vs Labron Kozone
Listen, man, Everett hit a springboard Spiral Tap in this match. I don’t know what to tell you.
Funnily enough, I was bummed for a moment when Everett’s entrance finished and I saw that his opponent was Kozone because I know that they’re pushing Kozone pretty hard right now (as he’s the only man to have wrestled on all three prior episodes of Fusion and he was 3-0 since debuting). However, not only did commentary assuage my fears by explaining that both men had valid reasons for being next in line for Trevor Lee’s Southern Crown Championship, but this match also lasted through a commercial break, making this easily Labron’s toughest match to date and, again, the best one I’ve seen in MLW. Lariats were thrown, springboards were sprung, and a 7’4” giant got chokeslammed from the top rope (though he at least got to hit the Everett special first). Plus, commentary did a great job going along with Everett’s “stature,” not just repeating the claim incredulously but building onto it by talking about how Everett must’ve shrunk, as he was clearly 7’8” or so before. I’ve said it before, but I love a lot of MLW’s roster because of their time in DPW, and this match showed me that, if they’re given some time, the boys can cook in their home promotion, too.
Wrestler of the Week: Priscilla Kelly
The former Gigi Dolin came out to address her previous loss to the undefeated ZAMAYA and was promptly throttle again by the same woman. On paper, it’s not a great week for Kelly, but I’ll be real, I enjoyed her short little promo and think she was the more interesting wrestler once the bell rung (even though ZAMAYA does look pretty dope).
The match saw Kelly hit a couple dozen moves on ZAMAYA before losing to a Death Valley Driver, but those moves Kelly hit were dope. I liked her follow-through while dropkicking ZAMAYA through the ropes, her roundhouse kick, the double stomp to the spine, and a running knee to the head. Priscilla was cooking, and I definitely want to see her wrestle again against someone who’s not currently getting a Goldberg push. Also, even though it was both short and immediately proven wrong, Kelly’s pre-match statement of, “I don’t stay down, I don’t get figured out, and Hell’s Favorite Harlot sure as hell ain’t going to be someone’s accomplishment,” got me rooting for her not just for this match, but going forward.
Results and Recap:
- Rich Bocchini hosts a contract signing between Killer Kross (with Matt Riddle) and Satoshi Kojima. The three Skyscrapers come out, and Dijak says they’re taking Kross’s title. Austin Aries comes out next, saying being the National Openweight Champion means he should be next in line. Kojima tells Aries he talks too much, and Aries shoots back with a similar response. Riddle says this is ridiculous, and Josh Bishop says that not only is Riddle ridiculous, but he also is surprised Riddle passed a drug test to be here. Riddle challenges Bishop to a match tonight, and the boys shove each other until Bocchini shouts for Kross and Kojima to sign their contracts. Before he leaves, Aries makes it known again that he wants next. Kross ends by apologizing to Kojima, and both men say, “See you soon.”
- Labron Kozone def. Andrew Everett
- Rich Bocchini interviews GBOT on the stage. A clean-shaven Joe Coffey restates that they’re not just here for tag gold but singles gold as well. After talking about winning titles worldwide, Joe ends by calling out Southern Crown Champion Trevor Lee in particular.
- MLW and Stardom officially announce a new relationship, bringing in a new era for women’s wrestling.
- Priscilla Kelly comes out and calls out the undefeated Zamaya, who recently beat Kelly. Kelly says she doesn’t get held down and doesn’t get figured out, but before she can finish her thought, ZAMAYA comes out.
- ZAMAYA def. Priscilla Kelly
- With both a nickname and a theme song saying “Big 400,” an animated video says a wrestler named “Jumbo” will be crushing fools soon.
- The Contra Mercs are backstage doing research on Contra Unit’s newest member, Big Damo (but mostly just playing arcade games). Karl Anderson asks if Damo knows what he’s gotten himself involved with. Krule yells at the camera while the others hype him up, and Doc Gallows asks if Damo sees what he’s doing in making a monster mad. Anderson also says they have to deal with the Skyscrapers, who they won’t be done with until they take home the tag titles.
- Krule vs Big Damo is announced for the next episode of Fusion, as is a trios match with Mistico, Diego Hill, and El Desperado taking on Austin Aries, Ultimo Guerrero, and Douki. Kojima vs Kross for the MLW Title is also announced for two weeks from now.
- The camera cuts to Rich Bocchini, Labron Kozone, and security staff checking on Teddy Long, who has been attacked in his locker room and cannot make whatever announcement he’d been hyping up for the night.
- Matt Riddle def. Josh Bishop, with Austin Aries on commentary. During the match, the other Skyscrapers did come out, but Gallows & Anderson came out and fought them off.
- The show ends with Contra Unit hacking the feed again, this time focusing on Big Damo as he tells Krule that he is the beginning of Krule’s end.
Depending on how much you enjoy cinematic matches, this week’s best show is a toss-up between TNA IMPACT or ROH on Honor Club, but once again, I had a lot of fun with that Kozone/Everett match from Fusion.
There won’t be a new edition of Wrestling with the Rest next week since I’ll be out of town during all three shows, but check back in two weeks from now to see the reviews of MLW Blood and Thunder while ROH and TNA continue their roads to Death Before Dishonor and Lockdown, respectively!
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