6 Ups & 2 Downs From ROH Supercard Of Honor 2024

Ups...

6. The Infantry Continue The Slow Burn

In a strong effort, the Kingdom narrowly defeated the Infantry after Wardlow interfered.

Tony Khan does this a lot. He'll take a young, raw or simply unfancied act and take a long time building towards their big moment. The Infantry are on this trajectory currently, and the match was measured really rather well. The idea was as simple as it gets - to inch the babyfaces close to victory before the injustice of the finish - but the response was enthusiastic. Basically: there was enough show, don't tell here on the part of the Infantry to justify the slow-burn push. This sort of thing never works without a true crowd connection.

The Infantry impressed with some creative escapes from double-team predicaments throughout a match that began with an inspired story beat. The Kingdom immediately battered Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo.

This spot was clever on two levels: it signalled to the audience that the Kingdom feared the threat of their in-form rivals, and didn't allow a crowd that had just watched two action-packed rippers a moment to drift off. This wasn't a great match, necessarily, but it was effective. The crowd really did think Dean had Mike Bennett pinned with the Salute Splash. That it followed a spot in which Bravo blasted Matt Taven through a table was also inspired.

Anyone who uses a table is automatically worshipped as a hero. Sometimes wrestling is that easy.

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!