Mark Briscoe is set to face Samoa Joe for the ROH World Television Championship.
On this week’s Ring of Honor TV, Briscoe issued a future title challenge to ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe, which Joe accepted.
Following a successful defense against Tony Deppen on this week’s show, Joe took the mic and declared an open challenge for his Championship, noting that he runs Ring of Honor. Briscoe then answered the challenge by issuing his own challenge to Joe, which Joe accepted.
No date was announced for the future title match, but the Supercard of Honor pay-per-view on March 31 appears to be a likely destination.
In addition to Joe defeating Deppen, two other title matches took place on this week’s ROH TV.
Wheeler Yuta successfully defended the ROH Pure Championship, defeating Timothy Thatcher. Yuta is also set to defend the Pure title on next week’s episode, taking on Clark Connors.
In Thursday’s main event, Athena retained the ROH Women’s World title, defeating Willow Nightingale in the main event.
Wheeler Yuta is set to defend the ROH Pure Championship on next week’s Ring of Honor TV episode.
In a match announced during Thursday’s ROH TV show, Yuta will defend the Pure title against NJPW’s Clark Connors.
After defeating Timothy Thatcher in a Pure title defense on this week’s show, Yuta cut a promo calling out members of NJPW’s LA Dojo. Connors answered and invoked the name of head LA Dojo trainer Katsuyori Shibata in challenging Yuta, teasing a potential future showdown between Yuta and Shibata.
Yuta teased not accepting the challenge from Connors, but relented, and the match will air on next week’s episode.
A pair of tag team bouts will also take place next week.
Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal will team up against unnamed opponents. Daniels declared his intention to capture the ROH Tag Team titles on this week’s show, but noted that he had to honor the 2020 stipulation of never teaming with Frankie Kazarian of SCU again. He then mentioned his past pairing with Sydal, and the two were announced as being in action next week.
Rush and Dralistico of La Faccion Ingobernable will also be in tag team action next week.
Three title matches headline Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV show.
In a match that has been building for the last month on AEW programming, ROH Women’s Champion Athena will defend against Willow Nightingale.
ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta will defend against Timothy Thatcher who made his AEW debut recently against Bryan Danielson.
After losing his TNT title on Sunday, ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe returns to defend against former TV Champion Tony Deppen.
In his pursuit of ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Eddie Kingston will face Ben Dejo while former Women’s title challenger Trish Adora faces the debuting Billie Starkz.
Aussie Open will make their ROH debut as they take on Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus as Rush & Dralistico face Angelico & Serpentico of the Spanish Announce Team.
Former ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Dalton Castle & The Boys will wrestle C4 & Marcus Kross while Ari Daivari & Slim J take on Jake Crist & Man Scout.
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Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are on the call as we open with our first of three title matches.
ROH World TV Title: Samoa Joe defeated Tony Deppen to retain
A fine opener. Deppen didn’t get much offense in, but he hung with Joe well enough.
Joe took control early on, peppering Deppen with heavy strikes that sent him to the mat. Deppen came back with chops of his own before getting flattened by a Joe back elbow for a nearfall. Joe clubbered on Deppen in the corner before Deppen fought his way out with more strikes. Joe sent Deppen into the corner and dropped him with a body block and enzuigiri.
Joe brought Deppen to the top rope, but Deppen fought him off and hit a missile dropkick. Deppen came over the ropes and hit a stunner for a nearfall. There was a mix-up in the corner that ended with a Deppen nearfall for two. Joe hit the uranage out of the corner, but Deppen reversed the rear naked choke with a roll-up for two. Joe sent Deppen into the corner and took him down with the Muscle Buster for the pin and the win.
– After the match, Samoa Joe took the mic and said no matter the era, he runs ROH. He made a challenge for anyone to step up and make a challenge for the TV Title. Mark Briscoe made his way to the stage. He said that the TV Title was his destiny and made the challenge, which Joe quickly accepted.
– Backstage, Dalton Castle lamented the loss of the ROH Six-Man Titles to The Embassy and “that pennyfart” Prince Nana. He says that after moving dense furniture all weekend, him and The Boys are ready to take the titles back.
Dalton Castle & The Boys defeated Marcus Kross, Cody Chhun, & Guillermo Rosas
The women in the crowd shrieked in excitement when Castle’s music hit. I can’t say I blame them. Castle told Kross to fire up before immediately catching him in position for the Bangarang, but Kross hooked the ropes and sent Castle to the floor. After getting the Boys to limber him up, Castle got back in the ring and took Kross down. After a tag to Rosas, The Boys got in and hit stereo offense for a nearfall as Castle worked the crowd into a fever pitch on the floor.
Rosas tagged out to Chhun, and they isolated Boy Brandon. After avoiding a double stomp from Kross, Boy Brandon tagged out to Castle, who flung all three of his opponents around with aplomb. After sending the Boys flying to the outside onto their opponents, Castle dropped Rosas with the Bangarang for the win.
– Maria Kanellis-Bennett introduced Mike Bennett and Matt Taven for a promo. The Kingdom talked themselves up as being champions wherever they’ve gone, with Bennett calling out Top Flight for ruining their ROH return.
La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush & Dralistico) defeated Spanish Announce Project (Angelico & Serpentico) (w/ Dr. Luther)
Angelico, Serpentico, Dralistico. This is gonna be a challenge. Rush and Angelico started off, with Rush hammering Angelico with a chop. Angelico tagged in Serpentico, who tried hitting Rush with chops before getting drilled by a chop of his own. Dralistico came in with a springboard crossbody and a flurry of kicks.
Rush tagged back in, with him and Dralistico sending both of their opponents to the floor with strike combinations. Dralistico hit a dive onto SAP, with Rush following up with a feigned dive before hitting his pose. Rush and Dralistico beat them down on the floor, with Rush hitting Angelico with his trademark cable. Back in the ring, Dralistico hit an assisted springboard legdrop for a nearfall. Serpentico tried firing up, but LFI had none of it and put the boots to him.
Some wires got crossed up before Dralistico got on the apron and hooked Serpentico in the ropes. Serpentico ducked a Rush strike that hit Dralistico. Serpentico dived onto Dralistico on the floor before taking a headbutt from Rush. Angelico cut off the Bull’s Horns, but got taken down with a Meteora from Dralistico. Dralistico hit a destroyer on Serpentico for the win. After the match, they ripped Serpentico’s mask off his head and tore it in half.
Trish Adora defeated Billie Starkz
Adora worked on the arm of Starkz to start. Starkz sent Adora to the floor and tried a dive, but Adora caught her with a forearm in the ropes. Adora dropped Starkz with a bodyslam on the apron before getting a nearfall in the ring. Adora hit a very delayed German Suplex for another nearfall before locking on the Cattle Mutilation, sending Starkz to the ropes to break.
Starkz booted Adora in the corner, but Adora responded with a boot of her own for a nearfall. They traded forearms, with Starkz hitting a spin kick out of it. But Adora immediately followed with the Lariat Tubman for the win.
– Lexy Nair interviewed Christopher Daniels. Daniels talked up wanting the ROH World Tag Team Titles. He wanted to team with Frankie Kazarian again, but he honored his word as SCU lost the right to team up back in 2020. But he’s had several partners in his career, one of them being Matt Sydal. Sydal accepted the offer, and Daniels told the other teams in ROH to say their prayers.
Ari Daivari & Slim J (w/ Smart Mark Sterling) defeated Jake Crist & Jake Manning
I’m going to get very tired of hearing the Trustbusters music on this show.
Slim J gave Daivari a matching t-shirt as they made their way to the ring. We have a lot of bits going on, as Manscout Manning was reading a scout’s guide as the bell rang. Daivari threw the book away and got started with the match. Crist quickly tagged in and ran wild on Daivari before missing a crossbody. Manning tagged in, taking a lariat from Daivari after a knee to the back from Slim J. Slim J tagged in and dropped Manning with a springboard reverse DDT. Slim J locked on an STF on Manning and scored the win.
After the match, Daivari talked trash about Metalik, which brought the luchador out to the ring. The Trustbusters stomped on him before Blake Christian ran them off with a chair.
ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta defeated Timothy Thatcher to retain
While I’m not usually a fan of Thatcher’s work, this was a quality Pure Title match. The Blackpool Combat Club’s new heel-leaning tendencies were reflected here, with Yuta using an edge and cheating outright at the end of this match.
The judges for this match were BJ Whitmer, Colt Cabana, and Christopher Daniels.
Thatcher immediately locked on a Fujiwara armbar, sending Yuta to the ropes to use his first rope break. Thatcher controlled Yuta’s arms, denying Yuta’s attempts to escape. Thatcher jammed Yuta’s arm into the mat before hitting a body slam and an elbow drop for a one count. He did it again, but Yuta fought out of a third attempt and turned it into an Octopus Hold. Thatcher used his first rope break to get out of it.
Thatcher avoided a bicep stomp and took Yuta down with a single-leg, but Yuta went right back to the arm. Thatcher sat Yuta on the top rope, but Yuta brought Thatcher down by the shoulder. Thatcher started throwing European uppercuts to try and escape, but Yuta kept on the left arm. Thatcher fired up and hit a big belly-to-belly suplex but couldn’t follow up with a cover. Yuta stuffed a double underhook suplex attempt and used a hammerlock variant to force Thatcher to use his second armbar.
They traded uppercuts before Yuta sent Thatcher back to the mat with the same hammerlock variant. Thatcher fought back up and drove Yuta into the corner with uppercuts with the good arm. Yuta fought out of the corner with a closed fist, which earned a warning from the referee. Yuta hit the Right Angle Slam for a nearfall, which used Thatcher’s final rope break.
Thatcher sent Yuta into the ropes, but Yuta rebounded through the ropes and caught Thatcher with a German suplex. Thatcher kicked out and locked on an armbar to force Yuta’s second rope break. Thatcher strung offense together, scoring nearfalls with a back suplex and a butterfly suplex. Thatcher drove his knees into Yuta, who had to slide to the ropes and use his final rope break.
Thatcher dropped Yuta with another uppercut, sending Yuta to the floor. Thatcher shoved the referee out of the way, allowing Yuta to hit an illegal closed fist to Thatcher in the ropes. Yuta tied Thatcher in the ropes with a Cobra Twist to score the tap out.
– After the match, Yuta called out the tracksuit wearing LA Dojo boys for thinking that they’ve accomplished something. Clark Connors made his way to the ring to respond. He says that all three of Yuta’s BCC teammates wish that they trained under Katsuyori Shibata before making a challenge for the Pure Title next week. Yuta blew him off and left, but turned around on the ramp and told him that the match was on.
Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) defeated Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams
A great introduction for Aussie Open on ROH television. They showed off their impressive offense here and got a great response from the crowd by the end of the match.
After an opening exchange with all four men, Aussie Open took control with a flurry of offense on Titus. Fletcher started a delayed vertical suplex before tagging Davis in so he could take hold and complete it. Titus fought out of the corner and tagged in Williams, who ran wild on Fletcher with a high-angle suplex and a DDT off of the second rope for a nearfall.
Fletcher fought off a piledriver attempt, sending Williams to the apron. Williams sent Fletcher to the floor, but missed a running knee. Davis and Fletcher picked up Titus and Williams and ran them into each other. Back in the ring, Aussie Open hit the Dental Plan and the assisted cutter on Williams for a nearfall. Aussie Open hit dual forearms, but Williams fought off the Dental Plan and hit La Mistica on Davis before locking on an armbar. Titus caught Fletcher in a submission as well, but both men caught the ropes.
Titus and Williams ran wild on Fletcher, scoring a nearfall with a flurry of offense. They isolated Fletcher, hitting a diving knee and top rope splash back-to-back for a nearfall. Fletcher caught Williams with a spinning tombstone before Davis took out Titus with a pull-up piledriver. A pair of lariats set Aussie Open up to hit Coreolis for the win.
Eddie Kingston defeated Ben Dejo
Kingston hit the machine gun chops, a Saito suplex, and a backfist to win in under a minute. He made sure to adhere to the Code of Honor, shaking Dejo’s limp hand after the match.
– Kingston took the mic after the match and called out ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli. Kingston told Castagnoli to give him his shot, but Castagnoli said that a man without honor would never hold the ROH World Title and left. Kingston followed him to the back, but still got no answer.
– We got promos from champion and challenger for the ROH Women’s Title match main event.
ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena defeated Willow Nightingale to retain
A fantastic main event. Athena has earned a spot as one of the best women’s wrestlers in America today with the level of intensity and viciousness she brings to her big matches. Nightingale had this crowd behind her from the jump and hung with Athena every step of the way. This was the best match of ROH’s Honor Club run to date.
Nightingale scored the first pin attempt after a running crossbody, before following it up with suplexes for a nearfall. Nightingale hit a big chop to Athena in the corner, but Athena yanked Nightingale’s arm over the rope to take control. Athena clubbered on Nightingale in the corner before mockingly cheering herself on to boos. Nightingale kicked Athena’s knee out, but Athena kept control with a top wristlock.
Athena missed a senton, allowing Nightingale to attempt several flash pins. Nightingale went for an O’Connor Roll, but Athena ducked and sent Nightingale throat-first into the ropes. Athena sent Nightingale onto the apron, where she hit a big kick and a baseball slide to send Nightingale to the floor. Athena trapped Nightingale’s arm in the stairs, and after ramming her other shoulder into the post, Athena dropkicked the stairs into Nightingale’s trapped arm.
Athena baseball slid into Nightingale as she tried to get into the ring, but Nightingale caught her on a kick and powerbombed Athena into the apron. Nightingale followed with a Spicolli Driver on the floor that left both women laid out. Both women got back in the ring at the count of 19, where Nightingale ran wild with offense. Nightingale hit a main event spinebuster – in the actual main event – before attempting the Babe With The Powerbomb. But Nightingale’s arm couldn’t hold, allowing Athena to catch her in a crossface. Nightingale got to the ropes, but Athena followed with running knees into the corner.
Athena hit a big facebuster, but Nightingale kicked out, earning This Is Awesome chants from the crowd. Athena went to the top rope, but Nightingale caught her with a Pounce to score a nearfall. Athena went for a springboard, but Nightingale caught her in the gutwrench and hit the Babe With The Powerbomb for another nearfall. Athena took a powder, but Nightingale followed her onto the stage. Athena clawed at Nightingale’s eyes and dropped her on the ramp with a forward slam. After running Nightingale into the stairs, Athena rolled her into the ring and hit the O-Face for the win.
– After the match, Athena menaced the referee before hitting Nightingale with the title belt on the outside. Athena hit the running knees to Nightingale into the stairs to boos as the show faded out.
Several new matches have been announced for this Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV.
Eddie Kingston will make his return to ROH proper as he faces the debuting Ben Dejo (aka Serepentico/Jon Cruz). Last week, Kingston challenged Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World title.
Kingston was part of ROH from 2006 through 2014 and also wrestled a match for the Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life earlier this year.
Past ROH Women’s title challenger Trish Adora will take on the debuting Billie Starkz.
Rush & Dralistico take on Angelico & Serpentico while The Trustbusters’ Ari Daivari & Slim J will be in action against Jake Crist & Man Scout.
The new additions join a lineup that will see three titles defended.
ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta defends against Timothy Thatcher
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Willow Nightingale
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Tony Deppen
Eddie Kingston has issued a challenge to Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli.
Appearing on this week’s ROH TV episode, Kingston issued the challenge to Castagnoli following Claudio’s main event World title defense against AR Fox. Kingston stated that he had promised Jon Moxley that he would not fight Castagnoli in AEW, but that this was not AEW.
Castagnoli ignored the challenge from Kingston, but Castagnoli vs. Kingston at Supercard of Honor on March 31 appears to be the direction for the World title program.
Kingston’s challenge aired one day after an angle on AEW’s Twitter account where Kingston “quit” AEW. Kingston wrestled on both days of ROH’s television tapings last weekend in Orlando.
Kingston’s most recent match on AEW television aired on the January 13 edition of Rampage, where he teamed with Ortiz against Malakai Black and Brody King. Prior to that contest, Kingston’s last televised singles match was on the Full Gear Zero Hour pre-show on November 19, 2022. His last singles match on Dynamite aired on November 9, 2022, where he dropped an AEW World title eliminator tournament bout to Ethan Page.
A full report from the debut edition of ROH TV on Honor Club can be found here.
Three Championships will be on the line on the March 9 episode of ROH TV.
Timothy Thatcher answered an open challenge from ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta on this week’s ROH TV, with the match made official for next week’s episode.
The ROH Women’s World Championship will also be up for grabs on next week’s show, as Athena defends her title against Willow Nightingale. Willow issued a challenge to Athena on this week’s episode. After initially turning Willow down, Athena then accepted the challenge.
The ROH World Television Championship will also be defended next week. Samoa Joe will defend the title against Tony Deppen, a former ROH TV Champion himself.
Dalton Castle versus an unnamed opponent was also announced for next week’s show, as was a tag team match pitting Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis against “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus.
The announced lineup for next week’s ROH TV:
ROH TV, Thursday, March 9, 7 p.m. Eastern time on Honor Club —
ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Timothy Thatcher
ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. Willow Nightingale
ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Tony Deppen
The Ring of Honor World title will be on the line on the first weekly ROH TV show and the first under the Tony Khan regime.
Claudio Castagnoli will be looking for the fourth defense of his second reign as he defends against AR Fox.
NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will compete in his first ROH match since 2018 as he defends against Blake Christian while ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy will be in non-title action against Joe Keys, Rex Lawless & LSG.
Mark Briscoe, one half of the ROH Tag Team Champions, takes on Slim J while former Impact wrestler Lady Frost will make her promotional debut against Willow Nightingale.
The rest of the card will see Konosuke Takeshita vs. Josh Woods; former ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels against Rohit Raju; The Renegades vs. Madison Rayne & Skye Blue; Metalik vs. Ari Daivari; and The Kingdom vs. The Infantry.
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This show took place from the new Ring of Honor set in Universal Orlando Studios. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call.
Mark Briscoe defeated Slim J (w/ Smart Mark Sterling & Ari Daivari)
Both men adhered to the Code of Honor, with Slim J quickly kicking Briscoe’s arm away after the handshake. Briscoe quickly chopped Slim J out of the ring in response. After a lockup, Smart Mark Sterling distracted the referee, allowing Slim J to low blow Briscoe to take control. Briscoe quickly regained control with a boot in the corner and a basement dropkick. Briscoe went for a chair-assisted dive to the floor, but Ari Daivari pulled Slim J out of the way.
Back in the ring, Briscoe chopped Slim J into the corner. Sterling cut off an Iconoclasm attempt, allowing Slim J to hit a hurricane kick out of the corner for a nearfall. A split-open Briscoe tried fighting back, but Slim J hit a springboard reverse DDT for another nearfall. Slim J took the referee’s attention, allowing Daivari to lay the boots to Briscoe on the floor.
Briscoe fought out of a Slim J side headlock with some redneck kung fu, and caught Slim J with a dropkick. Briscoe hit his brother’s signature neckbreaker for a nearfall. A pair of running forearms led to the Redneck Boogie for another nearfall. Briscoe hit the Spicolli Driver before a Froggy Bow attempt was avoided. Briscoe hit a big boot and scored the win with the Jay Driller.
– Backstage, Lexy Nair interviewed former ROH TV Champion Tony Deppen, who has a TV Title match next week against Samoa Joe. Deppen read a pre-written statement, noting that he will beat Joe for the title with one of his two submission holds, either the STF or the Classic Chickenwing.
The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) (w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett) defeated The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
Bennett started the match with Bravo. After some quick tags, Taven took control of Bravo with a big dropkick. The Kingdom took control of Bravo with a tag team combination that ended in a Purple Thunder Bomb from Taven for a nearfall. Another tag team combination ended in a Taven elbow for a nearfall.
The Infantry came back after a tag to Dean, laying into Bennett with 2-on-1 offense. They went for tandem superkicks, but Taven yanked Dean out of the ring. Taven crotched Bravo on the top rope, leading to the Proton Pack for the win.
– A video aired with words from both Blake Christian and Zack Sabre Jr., hyping the NJPWWorld TV Title match coming up next.
NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Blake Christian to retain
This was a quality title match on this debut episode of ROH. Christian looked as good as I’ve ever seen him, and Sabre played off of the crowd so well in this smaller room environment.
This was Sabre’s third defense of the title. This match had a 15-minute time limit, as is the custom with the NJPW World TV Title.
Early on, Christian worked his way out of Sabre’s submission holds, scoring a nearfall with a crucifix. Sabre took Christian up-and-over by the arm before ripping at Christian’s arm and wrist. Christian fought out with a lucha armdrag, and scored another nearfall with an inside cradle. Christian sent Sabre to the floor and went for a Fosbury Flop, but Sabre caught Christian in a cravate before torquing his neck on the apron. Sabre made sure to note that he was the best technical wrestler in the world, calling out our own Bryan Alvarez. Or maybe he was calling out Bryan Danielson. You know what, it was probably Danielson.
Christian landed on his feet out of a snapmare and sent Sabre into the ropes, hitting a bottom rope 619 and a springboard crossbody. Sabre caught a kick, but Christian hit a shotgun dropkick that sent Sabre into the corner. Christian had an offensive flurry that ended with a back suplex for another nearfall. Sabre caught Christian in a facelock and took Christian over with a suplex.
Sabre took some time to gloat with Christian in control, but Christian got on the offensive with a spear on the apron and a successful Fosbury Flop. Christian hit a springboard knee, but Sabre countered the follow-up with a Cobra Twist. Sabre turned it into a Dragon Sleeper-style hold, but Christian got to the ropes to break the hold.
Sabre piefaced Christian as the 10-minute call was made, but Christian came back with chops to the chest. Christian caught Sabre with a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Sabre hooked Christian’s arm in a fireman’s carry, but Christian landed a Death Valley Driver and a brainbuster for a nearfall. Sabre ducked a springboard, but Christian effortlessly moved into a handspring high kick. Christian went for a springboard 450, but Sabre caught him by the neck and transitioned into a reverse Triangle choke for the submission win.
– Lexy Nair was backstage with Smart Mark Sterling, Ari Daivari, and Konosuke Takeshita. Sterling tried to talk Takeshita out of a match with his charge Josh Woods, but Takeshita turned down the offer.
– Christopher Daniels cut a promo, stating that despite being a Ring of Honor original, he had a lot more to do in ROH.
Christopher Daniels defeated Rohit Raju (w/ Jora Johl)
The announcers hyped up Raju’s accomplishments in Impact Wrestling as a former X Division Champion. Raju took control early, getting a cover with a running elbow drop. Daniels countered a hip toss and laid out Raju with a leg lariat. A vertical suplex from Daniels scored a nearfall. Johl, looking like Andrew Tate on day release, cut Daniels off in the ring and laid him out with a clothesline on the floor as Raju took the referee.
Raju swept the leg of Daniels before scoring a nearfall with a standing double stomp. Raju hit a pair of shoulder blocks, but Daniels caught him on the third one and turned it into a Saito suplex. Daniels hit an overhead throw before Raju cut off an Angel’s Wings attempt with a jumping knee. Raju missed a top rope double stomp, and Daniels laid him out with a uranage. The Best Moonsault Ever followed for the win.
– Lexy Nair was backstage with former ROH Tag Team Champions Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams. They hyped up their accomplishments and went to leave before being called back into frame by Aussie Open. Kyle Fletcher made the challenge for a tag team match next week, which was quickly accepted.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Josh Woods
A standout match here. Woods was a pushed act in the Sinclair era of ROH, and they gave him a lot against Takeshita here. Don’t skip this one.
After an early exchange of holds, the men traded unsuccessful shoulder blocks. Takeshita eventually won the exchange before hitting the 10 punches in the corner. Woods shoved Takeshita onto the ropes before hitting a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall. Woods worked on Takeshita’s midsection, wrapping him in the ropes and stretching him against the ropes with a fisherman’s hold.
Takeshita reversed a kitchen sink knee with a roll up for a nearfall before following up with the jumping clothesline. Takeshita dropped Woods with the Helluva Kick, but Woods shoved him down off of the top rope before he could follow up. Takeshita took control back with a DDT on the apron. A springboard manuever from Takeshita missed, but a Blue Thunder Bomb didn’t, scoring a nearfall. Woods ducked another Helluva Kick, kneeing Takeshita in the face. Woods landed a Doctor Bomb and another heavy knee for two.
Woods went to the top rope, but Takeshita caught him with a boot. Woods went back to the midsection with strikes before taking Takeshita down with a corkscrew suplex for a nearfall. The men traded suplexes before taking each other down with elbows. The crowd chanted This Is Awesome as both men recovered. Woods went for the Chaos Theory, but Takeshita cut it off with a rollup. Takeshita went for the Chaos Theory, with Woods doing the same counter, but Takeshita held onto the waist and hit a big Wheelbarrow Suplex for the win.
– Lexy Nair interviewed ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli before his title defense against AR Fox. Castagnoli says that Fox may have cost him some money at Christmas time, but no one would spoil his defense or his mood on this debut episode of ROH television.
The Embassy defeated Joe Keys, Rex Lawless, & LSG
An excellent squash for the Embassy, with Lawless and Keys never even tagging in.
Kaun and Moses took out Lawless and Keys on the floor before the bell rang. Cage caught LSG on a springboard dive and drove him into the corner. Cage gorilla press slammed LSG into the corner. The Embassy destroyed LSG with offense, eventually putting him out of his misery with an assisted powerbomb for the win.
Ari Daivari (w/ Slim J & Smart Mark Sterling) defeated Metalik
Despite a video package hyping him up, Metalik didn’t get an entrance here. The announcers said that Daivari paid off the production team to not air Metalik’s entrance.
Metalik quickened the pace early, hitting lucha armdrags before hitting his rope walk dropkick. Slim J took Metalik’s attention when Daivari ducked a basement dropkick, allowing Daivari to send Metalik into the post. Daivari grinded down Metalik with short range knees for a nearfall. Daivari quickly cut off a Metalik comeback with a back elbow for another nearfall.
Daivari took Metalik to the top rope, but Metalik knocked him down before hitting a ropewalk crossbody. Metalik ran wild, sending Daivari to the floor with a handspring elbow. Metalik followed Daivari to the outside, hitting a step-up senton. A springboard splash from Metalik got a nearfall. Metalik went for another springboard, but Daivari cut him off with a superkick to the back of the head. Daivari went for a splash of his own, but Metalik moved and scored a nearfall with a rollup.
Sterling took the referee, which allowed Slim J to interfere. Slim J held up Metalik for a lariat, but Metalik ducked. Metalik went for a roll-up, but Sterling still had the ref. Daivari caught Metalik with a short-arm clothesline, called In Trust We Bust, for the win.
– Lexy Nair, earning her paycheck, interviewed AR Fox. He talked about trying out for ROH a decade ago and not getting a callback. Ten years later, he’s gonna try to win the ROH World Title on the debut episode of ROH on Honor Club.
Skye Blue & Madison Rayne defeated Charlette & Robyn Renegade
The announcers mentioned the Renegades recent NWA Women’s Tag Team Title win as they made their entrance.
Blue and Robyn Renegade started, with Blue outworking Robyn to start. After a tag to Rayne, Robyn pulled Rayne to her corner to make a tag out to Charlette. Rayne and Blue worked over Charlette before Blue hit a running kick for a nearfall. Charlette hooked Blue into the ropes, allowing Robyn to hit a boot to take control. A double suplex attempt got turned into Blue rolling up both women for a nearfall.
Blue fought to make a tag to Rayne, who ran wild on both Renegades, hitting a cutter on Robyn for a nearfall. Robyn fought out of a Cross Rayne attempt, tagging out to Charlette who hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. All four women hit big strikes to lay each other out. Rayne tagged out to Blue, who hit a top rope crossbody for a nearfall. Rayne hit a spear to Robyn to send her to the floor. Blue hit Skyfall on Charlette for the win. William Patrick Corgan should take note, we may have a future title match here.
– Ian Riccaboni welcomed ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta to the ring. Yuta took offense to Riccaboni calling him the junior member of the Blackpool Combat Club, stating that he worked hard to get where he’s gotten to in Ring of Honor. He made a challenge to anyone who wanted a Pure Title match, a challenge which was answered by Timothy Thatcher. The match is set for next week.
Willow Nightingale defeated Lady Frost
After some early frivolity, Nightingale dropped Frost with a set of shoulder blocks. A low crossbody from Nightingale scored a nearfall. Nightingale hit a pair of lariats and a bodyslam, before Frost came back with a neckbreaker. Frost used her agility to land a headscissors and a crucifix pin for two. The women hit dual high kicks to take each other down.
Nightingale charged Frost in the corner before laying her out with a big boot. A main event spinebuster scored a nearfall for Nightingale, but Frost took her down with a kick in the corner. Frost went to the top and hit a high-arching moonsault for a nearfall. Frost went for a tackle in the corner, but Nightingale caught her in a gutwrench and hit the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
– Ian Riccaboni interviewed Nightingale post-match. She noted that she’s won on the last two pay-per-views, and with this win tonight, she feels that she’s earned an ROH Women’s Title match. Athena joined proceedings to accept the challenge for next week.
ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli defeated AR Fox to retain
This was a fun main event for tonight’s show. The crowd was into both guys, and Fox acquitted himself well in the position. The post-match challenge, presumably for Supercard of Honor, will get a lot of buzz going.
This was Castagnoli’s fourth defense of his second reign.
The men traded holds as the crowd did dueling chants for both men. After early exchanges, Castagnoli dropped Fox with an uppercut and a big leg drop for only a one count. Fox fought out of a powerbomb attempt, hitting a wheelbarrow bulldog. Fox went to the top rope, but Castagnoli hit a base jump dropkick. Castagnoli went to toss Fox off the top rope, but Fox caught him in a headscissors. Castagnoli was successful in cutting off a springboard attempt.
A gutwrench suplex scored a nearfall, leading to Castagnoli putting on a hold to Fox’s bad knee that Fox quickly used the ropes to break. Castagnoli tossed Fox with another gutwrench suplex and a vertical suplex before putting a single leg crab on in the middle of the ring. Fox reached the ropes, so Claudio dragged him over the apron and double stomped him in the back.
Castagnoli laid in shots to Fox’s lower back. Fox sent Castagnoli to the apron and hit a DDT to cut him off. Fox fired up with shots, landing a cutter out of the corner for a nearfall. Fox hit a running clothesline into the corner, before following up with a superman dive to Castagnoli on the floor. Fox hit a top rope senton for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit a big boot out of the corner for a nearfall.
Castagnoli faked a strike that Fox fell for. Fox went for the kip up counter, but Castagnoli caught Fox in the giant swing that sent Fox to the floor. Castagnoli hit a Gran Naniwa-style ropewalk elbow for a nearfall. Castagnoli locked on a Sharpshooter, and transitioned into a Crossface. Fox rolled him up for a nearfall, leading to a Castagnoli lariat for another nearfall.
ROH chants rang out from the crowd as Castagnoli took Fox to the top rope. Fox snuck out and landed two big kicks to Castagnoli on the top before landing a running DVD. Fox hit the 450 splash for a close nearfall that got the crowd to their feet. The men traded elbows, before Fox caught an uppercut into a backslide for a nearfall. Fox went for a springboard, but Castagnoli cut him off in mid-air with an uppercut for the win.
– After the Code of Honor was adhered to, Eddie Kingston made his way to the ring. Kingston said he promised Jon Moxley that he wouldn’t fight Castagnoli in AEW, but this isn’t AEW. Kingston made a challenge for the ROH World Title, but Castagnoli blew him off to boos from the crowd.
It was later revealed that NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his title against Blake Christian on the show. This will be ZSJ’s third defense of the title since defeating Ren Narita to become the inaugural champion at Wrestle Kingdom 17.
The show airs on HonorClub starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
The day before the ROH TV episode airs, Takeshita will be part of the Face of the Revolution ladder match on AEW Dynamite. Ortiz, Komander, Action Andretti, Sammy Guevara, Powerhouse Hobbs, Eddie Kingston, and AR Fox will be the other ladder match participants.
Woods has been part of the ROH roster since before the promotion was purchased by Tony Khan. Woods is a former ROH Pure Champion.
The first ROH TV tapings of the Khan era were held at Universal Studios in Orlando on Saturday and Sunday.
Here’s what’s been announced for the return episode:
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defends against AR Fox
NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Blake Christian
Ring of Honor held their second set of tapings for their relaunched TV product on Sunday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Several of the matches were follow-ups from things set up during Saturday’s TV taping which saw the debut of Zack Sabre Jr. and some title matches.
Even though they held a AEW Dark taping earlier in the day, they did hold one additional Dark match prior to the ROH portion:
AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy & Danhausen defeated The WorkHorsemen
Sunday’s show featured the return of Proving Ground matches which were a staple of the promotion for years. They are essentially title eliminators where the challenger earns a title shot within 60 days if they pick up the win or go to a draw.
Former WWE ring announcer Tony Chimel was also in the house and even got on the mic at one point before the show.
ROH:
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Willie Mack
Dante Martin (w/Darius Martin) defeated Mike Bennett (w/Maria Kanellis & Matt Taven). Post-match, Taven attacked Darius.
Gran Metalik & Blake Christian defeated Ari Daivari & Slim J (w/Mark Sterling)
Eddie Kingston defeated JVS-K. During the match, Claudio was seated at ringside and Eddie knocked a drink on to Claudio’s white shirt.
Athena defeated Hyan
Silas Young defeated Marcus Kross. Post-match promo by Silas who was interrupted by Shane Taylor. The two will have a match later on.
The Embassy defeated Dalton Castle & The Boys to retain the ROH six man titles. Post-match, AR Fox, Gran Metalik, and Blake Christian ran the Embassy off from continuing the beat down.
Skye Blue defeated Lady Frost
Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal defeated The Outrunners. Post-match, Aussie Open issued a challenge for a future match against Daniels and Sydal.
Wheeler Yuta defeated Clark Connors to retain the ROH Pure title. Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer, and Dean Malenko were the judges. Post-match, Wheeler Yuta said he’s no longer a student and wants to face the LA Dojo teacher and defeat Katsuyori Shibata in a Pure title match. Claudio joined Yuta in the ring to raise their titles.
Mark Briscoe defeated Tony Nese (w/Josh Woods & Mark Sterling)
AR Fox, Blake Christian & Gran Metalik defeated Ari Daivari, Slim J & JVS-K (w/Mark Sterling). Post-match attack by The Embassy.
Trish Adora defeated Madison Rayne
Rush & Dralistico (w/Jose) defeated Rhett Titus a& Hot Sauce Tracy Williams
Matt Taven (w/Mike Bennett & Maria Kanellis) defeated Darius Martin
Brian Cage (w/The Gates of Agony & Prince Nana) defeated Tony Deppen. Post-match, AR Fox, Blake Christian, and Metalik ran off The Embassy with weapons.
Shane Taylor (w/JD Griffey) defeated Silas Young
Billie Starkz defeated Miranda Alize
Aussie Open defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal
Samoa Joe defeated Cheeseburger. Post-match, Mark Briscoe ran Joe off and said he would be the next ROH Television champion to send the crowd home happy.
Nearly a year after Tony Khan announced he was buying Ring of Honor, the company held their first set of tapings Saturday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, as the relaunched TV show finally arrives on HonorClub this Thursday.
As expected, the taping featured several surprises and debuts including NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr., former Impact wrestler Lady Frost, and a few callouts for current champions.
Here’s the spoilers which will be followed by a second taping on Sunday evening.
Mark Briscoe defeated Slim J
The Kingdom defeated The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Blake Christian
Christopher Daniels defeated Rohit Raju
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Josh Woods
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun & Toa Liona) defeated LSG, Joe Keys & Rex Lawless
Ari Daivari defeated Gran Metalik (announced as such and not Mascara Dorada)
Madison Rayne & Skye Blue defeated The Renegades
During a Wheeler Yuta in-ring promo with Ian Riccaboni, Timothy Thatcher challenged Yuta for the Pure title.
Willow Nightingale defeated Lady Frost. In a post-match interview, Nightingale challenged ROH Women’s Champion Athena which the champion initially refused.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defeated AR Fox to retain the title. Afterward, Eddie Kingston came out and said he had promised Jon Moxley that he wouldn’t beat Castagnoli’s ass in AEW but this wasn’t AEW. The champion left the ring without saying a word.
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defeated Tony Deppen. Afterward, Joe asked for new challengers which led to Mark Briscoe coming out and accepting, saying the title was his destiny.
Dalton Castle & The Boys defeated Cody Chhun, Guillermo Rosas & Marcus Kross
Rush & Dralistico defeated Angelico & Serpentico
Trish Adora defeated Billie Starkz
Ari Daivari & Slim J defeated Jake Crist & “Manscout” Jake Manning. Post-match, Gran Metalik ran down to fight the Trustbusters but was overmatched until Blake Christian made the save.
ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta defeated Timothy Thatcher to retain the title. Christopher Daniels, BJ Whitmer, and Colt Cabana were judges. Post-match, Yuta calls out that he’s getting a mixed reaction and that he’s in the ’96 Bulls with Jordan and Pippen while these “track suit dojo boys” think they’re so great because they train with Shibata. Clark Connors made his way to the ring and challenged Wheeler to a match.
Aussie Open defeated Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
Eddie Kingston defeated Ben Dejo (aka Jon Cruz/Serpentico). Post-match, he called out Castagnoli and demanded a shot at the title. Castagnoli came out and said that “a man without honor will never be ROH Champion” and left.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Willow Nightingale to retain the title
The first main event for the return of ROH television has been set.
Tony Khan on Twitter confirmed that Claudio Castagnoli will defend the ROH World Championship against AR Fox on the first episode of ROH television that will air next Thursday, March 2, on ROH’s Honor Club streaming service.
“The New Era of Honor will begin this Thursday with ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defending the title vs. a man who cost him $100,000 at Christmas, AR Fox,” Khan wrote.
The match Khan is referring to is the Three Kings Christmas Casino Trios Battle Royal that took place on the December 21 edition of AEW Rampage. Dante Martin last eliminated Castagnoli to win the match for himself, Darius Martin, and Fox, with all three receiving $100,000 in storyline.
ROH is taping television for the first time in over a year Saturday in Orlando, Florida. The promotion’s next pay-per-view will be Supercard of Honor, which takes place on March 31 in Los Angeles during WrestleMania 39 weekend.
After a month in the hospital, Jay Briscoe’s daughter Gracie is now recovering at home.
Twelve-year-old Gracie Pugh was released from the hospital late last week. Ashley Pugh, the wife of the late Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh), posted a photo on Saturday with all of her children: “Got all my babies back together.”
In an update from family friends on Facebook, it was said that Gracie will be going to outpatient rehab five days a week now that she’s out of the hospital.
The family friends said Gracie has “normal” feeling in both of her legs and is now able to do some assisted walking. They’re continuing to pray for her to fully regain movement below the knee.
“Her muscles in her legs are really starting to fire up, so they want to keep it a very intense therapy,” the update said.
“This girl has went from nothing to doing some assisted walking. We’re still going to pray hard for movement below the knee, because it’s not where it needs to be. The doctors can feel her trying to move her ankles and toes and stuff, but we’re just not getting that movement yet. But things are progressing I would say ahead of schedule.”
Gracie and her nine-year-old sister Jayleigh were both injured in the car accident that claimed the life of their father on January 17. The driver of the vehicle that hit them was killed in the accident as well.
Jayleigh, who was released from the hospital earlier this month, no longer has to wear a neck brace. She’ll need to wear a back brace and an external fixator for four more weeks.
Ring of Honor’s new weekly television series has a premiere date.
In an interview with SI.com released Wednesday, ROH owner Tony Khan revealed the show will debut Thursday, March 2, 2023, on HonorClub. The first episode will air exactly one year from the date that Khan announced he purchased the promotion.
Khan also confirmed that the first set of tapings will take place Saturday, February 25, and Sunday, February 26, 2023, from Universal Studios in Orlando.
Khan said:
Ring of Honor TV is coming Thursday, March 2 on HonorClub.
We’ll have our first tapings on Feb. 25 and 26 at Universal Studios in Orlando, and we’re going to put tickets on sale for the inaugural taping on Thursday. Those will be the first-ever tapings of the new Ring of Honor.
He would continue to promote Ring of Honor’s streaming service, HonorClub, which was relaunched in December.
We also have the library on the HonorClub with 20 years of matches. All the Briscoes-FTR matches are available, including Final Battle from December, and those matches are going to stand the test of time in wrestling. Ring of Honor has a tremendous history. We have been able to introduce it with a further reach across the world this past year, and I’m excited to finally introduce weekly Ring of Honor shows.
HonorClub is available through the ROH app on IOS, Android, Amazon FireTV, and Roku as well as through WatchROH.com. A subscription to the streaming service costs $9.99 USD per month.
Ticket information for the first set of ROH tapings will be announced tonight on AEW Dynamite during the Mark Briscoe vs. Josh Woods match.
The first set of Ring of Honor TV tapings under the Tony Khan regime are now official.
During his Wednesday appearance on Busted Open Radio, the AEW & ROH head confirmed that they will tape on Saturday, February 25th and Sunday, February 26th at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Saturday’s ROH taping will run from 6-9 PM Eastern while Sunday will feature a three-hour AEW Dark taping from 1-4 PM Eastern followed by a three-hour ROH taping from 7-10 PM Eastern.
Tickets for all three shows go on-sale Thursday.
This follows the recent news that Wheeler Yuta, Tracy Williams, and Trish Adora were pulled from a Beyond Wrestling event on that Sunday. That matched up with a previous report from both Voices of Wrestling and Fightful that ROH was planning on taping that weekend.
After last December’s Final Battle, Khan said that a weekly TV show was coming at some point and would be made available on their HonorClub streaming service.
The tapings come nearly a year after Khan first announced he was buying ROH. Since then, he has held three pay-per-views that he claimed were extremely successful financially and alluded to the revenue from those events covering what he paid for the company — estimated to be less than $4 million based on Khan’s comments.
The company’s next PPV is Supercard of Honor, set for Friday, March 31st in Los Angeles during WrestleMania weekend.
After initially stating that Willow Nightingale would no longer be appearing, Beyond Wrestling has announced that Nightingale will still be in action at Perfection or Vanity.
CORRECTION: Willow Nightingale will still be competing at #PerfectionOrVanity on Sunday, 2/26 at White Eagle in Worcester streaming LIVE on @indiewrestling at 7pm ET!
Due to an apparent conflict with ROH television tapings, three wrestlers have been pulled from an upcoming Beyond Wrestling event.
Beyond Wrestling announced today that Wheeler Yuta, Tracy Williams, and Trish Adora will no longer be appearing at their Perfection or Vanity show in Worcester, Massachusetts on Sunday, February 26. Voices of Wrestling and Fightful have reported that ROH is scheduled to hold TV tapings that weekend.
“Wheeler YUTA, Tracy Williams, and Trish Adora will no longer be appearing or competing at ‘Perfection Or Vanity’ on Sunday, 2/26 at White Eagle in Worcester,” Beyond Wrestling tweeted. “Email [email protected] if you’d like a refund.”
Yuta is signed to AEW and is part of the Blackpool Combat Club with Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and Claudio Castagnoli. Williams and Adora, who were both part of the ROH roster prior to the promotion being purchased by Tony Khan, have made appearances for AEW as well.
Adora was also in action at ROH Final Battle this past December, losing to Nightingale on the pre-show.
Yuta currently holds the ROH Pure Championship. He regained the title by defeating Daniel Garcia at Final Battle.
It was announced in December that a weekly ROH TV series would be coming to HonorClub, though no start date was given. These tapings at the end of February would be the first for the weekly series.
ROH’s next pay-per-view is Supercard of Honor 2023, which is taking place in Los Angeles on Friday, March 31.
