ROH has announced three championship matches will air on HonorClub this week.
Athena will defend her ROH Women’s World Championship against Angelina Love on the show.
It will be the first time Love has appeared in Ring of Honor since Tony Khan purchased the company in March 2022. She briefly held the Women of Honor World Championship in 2019 after defeating Kelly Klein for it at Bound for Glory that year. She would drop it back to Klein the following month at Glory By Honor.
Athena’s title reign sits at 284 days and 13 successful defenses. She’s currently in a storyline involving Billie Starkz as her minion.
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will put his title on the line against Nick Wayne on Thursday as well. It’s Wayne’s first time wrestling in Ring of Honor. Shibata’s title reign currently sits at 173 days and five defenses.
The Mogul Embassy will put the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championships on the line on Thursday’s show. They will defend the belts against Willie Mack and The Infantry. Brian Cage and the Gates of Agony have held the belts for 284 days and eight defenses.
Matches for this week’s show were filmed on Saturday, September 16 from the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania before and after AEW Collision.
ROH on HonorClub September 21, 2023 lineup:
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Angelina Love
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata defends against Nick Wayne
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Champions The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona, & Bishop Kaun) defend against Willie Mack & The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo) w/Trish Adora
Leyla Hirsch & The Renegades (Charlette & Robyn Renegade) vs. Willow Nightingale, Skye Blue, & Kiera Hogan
Cole Karter & Griff Garrison w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett vs. Darius Martin & Action Andretti
Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub will feature one title defense and two Proving Ground matches.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look for the 14th defense of the title as she takes on Allysin Kay. This will be their fifth singles meeting and first since 2015.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will take on Lee Johnson in one Proving Group match while ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) vs. Griff Garrison, Metalik & Gravity.
After their disappointing loss at All Out, Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata will look to rebound as they face Gringo Loco & Blake Christian.
Willow Nightingale will once again team with Skye Blue as they face Charlette & Robyn Renegade.
Best Friends will team with Darius Martin & Action Andretti against The Outrunners & The WorkHorsemen.
Leyla Hirsch will go one-on-one with Lady Frost while both Willie Mack & The Infantry and Angelico & Serpentico will be in tag team action.
**********
The show started with a video from Sunday’s Zero Hour, where Athena yelled at Billie Starkz for not sticking to the plan during Athena’s trios match. Allysin Kay entered the scene, not liking how Athena was treating Starkz. After some cajoling, Athena accepted Kay’s challenge for the title.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call in action taped last Saturday from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena (c) (w/Billie Starkz) defeated Allysin Kay
Kay used her size advantage to put Athena on the back foot. Athena baited Kay to the outside, where she sent Kay into the barricade. Athena distracted the referee, but Starkz refused to physically intervene. Athena kept the advantage, clubbering on Kay and mocking her all the while.
Kay fired up with a lariat and a Sky High for a nearfall. Kay hit a spinout facebuster before locking on an ankle lock. After asking Starkz to push the rope closer to no avail, Athena forced her way up and dropped Kay with a forearm. Kay cut off an O-Face attempt, but Athena shoved Kay down and hit the O-Face to win and retain.
After the match, Athena wanted Starkz to throw Kay into the belt. Starkz refused, so Athena did it herself.
We got a recap of the confrontation from Dynamite with ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF and ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe.
Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling) defeated Silas Young
After Young interrupted Nese’s group training, Nese took the early advantage by sending him into the buckles. Young came back with chops before sending him off the apron with a step-up lariat. Nese sent Young into the post before sending his hammerlocked arm into the apron.
Sterling helped Nese with the attack on the arm before Nese hit a dropkick to the arm. After Nese tore at the arm, Young fired back with a lariat. Young necked Nese on the rope before hitting an over-the-top stomp and a senton for a nearfall. Young rolled Nese up, but Nese kicked out, sending Young into the ring post. Nese hit the running knees for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with a perturbed Dalton Castle. He entertainingly complained about his problems with Samoa Joe & Stokely Hathaway, chugging a bottle of water before leaving.
SAP took care of Priest, but Schaff was able to use his size to get control of Serpentico. Angelico tagged in and quickly took care of Schaff, tapping him out with a knee bar.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Kiera Hogan. She said that she thought she didn’t have any lingering issues with former partner Leila Grey, but she would give her the work anyway.
Blue & Nightingale had control early, but Robyn blind-tagged in and cut off Blue. Charlette hit a Fisherman’s Suplex on Blue for a nearfall. The Renegades clubbered on Blue until she was able to get a tag to Nightingale. Nightingale ran wild, hitting one Renegade with a Pounce before hitting a main event spinebuster on the other one for a nearfall.
The Renegades came back with dual rolling elbows for a nearfall, but Blue cut off the pin. Blue quickly tagged in and scored the win with Code Blue.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Proving Ground Match – The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Gravity, Griff Garrison & Metalik
The Embassy clubbered on Garrison to start, sending him down with a double flapjack. Garrison fought out for a tag to Gravity, who got a pair of roll-ups on Cage before getting shut down. Metalik tagged in, hitting a reverse Slingblade and a rope-walk dropkick on Cage. Metalik hit a rope-walk senton for a nearfall before the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl. The Embassy finished off Metalik with an elevated splash from Liona.
Kiera Hogan defeated Leila Grey
Hogan hit a step-up legdrop for a nearfall. Grey came back with a dropkick in the corner before choking Hogan on the ropes. Grey hit a back elbow and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Hogan came back with a shotgun dropkick and a hip attack before a basement dropkick scored her a nearfall.
Grey came back with a spear. The spear only got a nearfall, so Grey went to hit Hogan with her money fan. Hogan superkicked the fan out of Grey’s hand – and into the referee’s hands – before hitting her twisting neckbreaker for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Maria Kanellis-Bennett. She spoke of an opportunity for Griff Garrison before Cole Karter brought Garrison into the frame. Maria told Garrison that she saw potential in him and that he needed to surround himself with the right people to reach that potential.
The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) & Willie Mack (w/Trish Adora) defeated August Matthews, Davey Bang & Jah-C
This was a quick affair that saw Dean score the win after a boot into a Russian legsweep.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Lee Johnson, who has a Proving Ground match against Claudio Castagnoli tonight. Johnson said he was going to win because all he needed was one shot.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Lady Frost
Hirsch focused on Frost’s arm as Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Cole Karter watched from the stage. Hirsch hit a pendulum dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Frost made a comeback, hitting a handspring cannonball for a nearfall. Hirsch avoided (?) a hurricane kick before hitting a suplex into the corner. Hirsch locked on an armbar to win.
After the match, Maria offered Hirsch a handshake. Hirsch blew her off and left on her own.
Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Blake Christian & Gringo Loco
Kingston and Shibata hammered Christian before Christian hit an enzuigiri on Kingston. Loco tagged in and hit Kingston with chops and a moonsault before landing a senton for a nearfall. Loco hit a moonsault before Christian hit a springboard 450 for a nearfall. Christian went for a frog splash, but Kingston put his knees up.
Shibata tagged in and hit his hesitation dropkick on Christian before Loco sent him to the floor with a chop. Kingston dropped Loco with a backfist. Christian sent Kingston to the floor before hitting a Fosbury Flop. Shibata moved out of the way on a 450 before slapping on a choke. Shibata hit the Penalty Kick to score the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Josh Woods & Smart Mark Sterling. Sterling said that Woods should be getting a Pure Title match soon.
ROH World Title Proving Ground Match – Claudio Castagnoli (w/Wheeler Yuta) defeated Lee Johnson
Castagnoli forced Johnson into the corner before pummeling him with uppercuts. Johnson fought to his feet, but Castagnoli caught him on a moonsault attempt. Johnson spun him around into a satellite DDT for a nearfall. Johnson hit a superkick for a nearfall. Castagnoli dropped Johnson with an uppercut for a nearfall.
Castagnoli went for another uppercut, but Johnson turned it into a rollup for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit a big lariat for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit the hammer-and-anvil elbows, then stopped the referee from stopping the match. Castagnoli hit the Swiss Death uppercut for the win.
Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson) defeated Ren Jones & Caleb Konley
The Iron Savages quickly won this match with their elevator drop splash.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Athena & Billie Starkz. Athena wasn’t happy with Starkz, noting that she gave Starkz more grace than she gave her own mother. Athena decided that Starkz needed some training to get up to speed.
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta), Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) & The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
The Outrunners and the Workhorsemen kicked the match off with a jumpstart, quickly turning this match into a Pier Six brawl. They isolated Beretta, with Henry hitting a double stomp at the end of a flurry of offense for a nearfall. Beretta made the tag into Martin, who ran wild before getting cut off by Drake. The match broke down into a flurry that ended with a Strong Zero from Best Friends for the win.
By now, you probably know that Allysin Kay and Marti Belle are the duo known as The Hex.
While both women have had their own singles careers, they came together as a tag team during the pandemic era. They teamed up in Shimmer in October 2020 and in the following two years, they would wrestle in promotions like Shine, Ring of Honor, Women’s Wrestling Army, RevPro and the NWA where they held the revitalized NWA Women’s Tag Team titles for a total of 287 days.
By 2022, the Hex landed the ninth spot in the 2022 PWI Top 100 Tag Teams list.
Fast forward to February 2023, The Hex (now going by just Hex) appeared in Impact Wrestling, aligning themselves with Father James Mitchell and attacking Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Death Dollz who they will challenge for the belts at Friday’s No Surrender.
Both women had previously worked in the past as singles competitors for Impact, but this is their first action there as a team. Kay even held the Knockouts title, going by Sienna.
Prior to their tag team bout at No Surrender, we talked about a variety of topics.
The Hex name
“While James Mitchell may be using us to put a hex on the Death Dollz, we do like to clarify we’re not witches. There’s a lot of witches in wrestling right now and we’re not trying to be witches. We’re called The Hex because we will ruin your whole life,” Kay said.
Becoming a team
While Kay and Belle had been friends for over a decade, it wasn’t until 2020 that they started to team up. While the world was quarantining due to the pandemic, Belle said they took the opportunity to figure out what they would do differently once the world reopened again.
“We were working together in NWA, and we were working together in so many places. People think that we’ve been tagging for years and we’ve only been tagging for a little over two years,” Belle said.
She said they used social media to get their names out as a duo as they wanted to see how people would react to them and to get bigger opportunities.
Kay shared that all their first few matches were for titles and they even won some gold themselves, going on to do a tour of Europe and noting that they had become very “sucHEXfull” in a play on their team name and the word successful.
Highs and lows
Kay said that you can’t expect anything in wrestling because it owes you nothing but that they did have confidence in their abilities. However, she elaborated that doesn’t always equal success or that you get everything you want.
“It absolutely has to do with being in the right place at the right time and that’s a very frustrating thing that you have accept in wrestling,” she said.
In 2020, Kay felt they were at a very low point in their lives as many were.
“We were having so much success in NWA in our own individual singles careers and then everything came crashing down and suddenly you have nothing. We felt like we were going up the hill and then all of a sudden, everything came crashing down and that’s really where the brainstorming part started coming into play. When wrestling started to pick up a little more toward the end of 2020, we were going, ‘Okay, what do we now?'”
Both women explained that they both had been wrestling since 2008 and realized that it was time to evolve.
“You have to evolve in wrestling and you have to change. Not necessarily change who you are or your integrity or everything about you, but you have to evolve little by little and this is the next evolution of our careers,” said Kay.
The PWI rankings
Belle shared that the craziest thing about landing the number nine spot on the 2022 PWI Top 100 Tag Teams list is that they did everything on their own terms and without being signed to a major promotion.
“It’s crazy because we did it all on our own. I think that to us is the biggest ‘holy s*it.’ We did that on our own. We did this without a contract in any company,” said Belle.
Kay will be in action on Thursday’s Impact as she takes on Taya Valkyrie as a preview of Friday’s title match.
The NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championships will be on the line at NWA 74.
Allysin Kay appeared on Wednesday’s edition of Busted Open Radio and confirmed that she and Marti Belle (The Hex) will challenge Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy & Kenzie Paige) for the belts. The match will be contested under Kingshighway Street Fight rules.
“Pretty Empowered, they cheated to win these championships, they cheated to win our championships, they cheated to retain the championships. We have the replay,” Kay said on the show.
“I went to Billy [Corgan] and he has granted that at NWA 74 night two, Marti and I are getting our rematch, and not only are we getting our rematch for the NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championships but it’s going to be a street fight.”
This will be the fourth time the two teams have met with the titles on the line. The Hex successfully defended the belts against Pretty Empowered at the Crockett Cup in March. Paige and Envy would later win the titles from Kay & Belle at Alwayz Ready in June and then defended the titles against them on the July 2 edition of NWA USA.
Samantha Starr was also recently announced for The Burke Invitational on night one of the two-night event.
NWA 74 is scheduled for Saturday, August 27 & Sunday, August 28 from the Chase Ballroom in St. Louis. The announced lineup is as follows.
Saturday, August 27:
NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille defends against Taya Valkyrie
10-team battle royale for the vacant NWA United States Tag Team titles
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Homicide defends against Kerry Morton
Bully Ray vs. Mike Knox in a tables match
Burke Invitational for an NWA Women’s title shot. Participants announced: Samantha Starr w/ Baby Doll.
Sunday, August 28:
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Trevor Murdoch defends against Tyrus
NWA Women’s World Champion Kamille or Taya Valkyrie vs. Burke Invitational winner
NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy & Kenzie Paige) defend against The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle)
The NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championships will be defended at Alwayz Ready.
The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) will defend their titles against Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy and Kenzie Paige) on the pay-per-view. The event takes place Saturday, June 11 from the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. It will stream live on FITE TV.
This will be the second time The Hex has defended their belts against Pretty Empowered. They also defeated them to retain the titles at the Crockett Cup on March 20.
Kay and Belle won the championships at NWA Empowerrr on August 28, 2021. They defeated KiLynn King & Red Velvet in the finals of a tournament to crown the first new champions since 1984. They have successfully defended the belts nine times since then.
The announced lineup for NWA Alwayz Ready thus far is as follows:
NWA National Champion Jax Dane defends against Chris Adonis
NWA TV Champion Tyrus defends against Mims
NWA Tag Team Champions La Rebelion defend against The Commonwealth Connection
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) defend against Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy and Kenzie Paige)
The NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions are stepping through the “forbidden door” for a title defense in ROH.
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) will defend their titles against ROH’s The Allure (Angelina Love & Mandy Leon) on next week’s episode of ROH Women’s Division Wednesday. The show premieres on ROH’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesdays.
Kay & Belle cut a promo calling The Allure bullies and announcing that ROH’s Maria Kanellis-Bennett and the NWA’s Mickie James had agreed to a title match between the two teams.
Kanellis-Bennett tweeted about the match: “Mickie James and I had a very nice chat about this match after The Allure tried to interfere in Chelsea Green’s match against Ashley Vox 2 weeks ago. When I said at the PPV there is no door, I meant it!! The NWA Tag Titles will be on the line next week!! @nwa @MickieJames”
James wrote: “Haha!!! Yas Baebee!!! #HEXmarksthespot I know my girls @Sienna & @MartiBelle are gonna do us so proud! @nwa After all…. that’s what the #NWAWomensTagChamps do!”
Kay & Belle won the newly reintroduced NWA Women’s Tag Team titles at this August’s Empower pay-per-view, defeating Red Velvet & KiLynn King in the finals of a one-night tournament.
Kay and Belle were both entrants in ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament this year. Kay made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Trish Adora, while Belle lost to Adora in the first round. The tournament was won by Rok-C.
Ian Riccaboni welcomed us to the ROH studio and immediately gave a shout out to Quinn McKay and her dedication to the Women’s Championship tournament. Although McKay has been officially eliminated, Riccaboni gave her a warm message about this just being the beginning.
Riccaboni also ran down the card for tonight’s episode. Dragon Lee will defend his ROH World Television Championship against Eli Isom, while two more quarterfinal matchups will take place in the Women’s Championship tournament.
Angelina Love defeated Max The Impaler (with Amy Rose) via disqualification (5:53)
Love tried to punch Max in the back, but it had no effect on them. Love had a terrified look on her face and slid out of the ring, where she started talking trash to Amy Rose outside of the ring.
Max followed Love to the outside and began beating her down. Max was toying with Love at this point with a slow, methodical pace before she rolled her back in the ring.
Love tried to escape out of Max’s grasp to the apron, but Max caught her in a chokehold on the ropes and wouldn’t let go. Max repeatedly was warned by referee Joe Mandak to let go of the hold, but they refused. As a result, Mandak disqualified Max.
**************************
Trish Adora defeated Allysin Kay (13:50)
Kay applied a standing headlock to Adora and eventually took it down to the mat, which resulted in Adora reversing it into a head scissor lock.
Both women hit a stalemate eventually and rose to their feet. Kay focused on Adora’s arm to try and prevent a lariat and had her reeling heading into a commercial break.
Kay was in full control when the match returned. Kay nailed Adora with constant kicks to the chest and was taunting her afterwards. At this point in the match, Kay would start talking trash and shoving Adora’s face into the mat.
Adora eventually developed a second gear and began unloading a number of strikes onto Kay. Kay would try to lock in an octopus stretch, to which Adora rolled out of, bounced off the ropes and hit a Lariat Tubman for the win.
***************************
Dragon Lee defeated Eli Isom to retain his ROH Television Championship (12:25)
Dalton Castle joined commentary for this bout.
Lee offered Isom a handshake, to which Isom accepted but also gave Lee a kick to the gut. Lee immediately made Isom pay for it by dumping him to the outside and diving onto him on the floor.
Lee stuck his foot on Isom’s skull and applied a single leg crab whenever he got back in the ring. Isom was only motivated more by this, and got up in a fury of rage.
Isom and Lee traded strikes before trading back-to-back-to-back german suplexes. Lee followed it up by spiking Isom with a poison rana, but Isom popped right up and hit a lariat which resulted in a very good near fall.
The final minutes of this match were insane, with both guys just trading move after move. Lee nailed Isom with multiple knee strikes to where he was practically knocked out, to which Lee followed up with a falcon’s arrow for a great near fall. Lee would eventually put away Isom with his signature incinerator knee strike, allowing him to score the pinfall victory.
*****************************
Final Thoughts: This edition of ROH TV started off with what I think was one of the most questionable booking choices that the company has made since their return from their pandemic hiatus. Max The Imapler was made to look really dumb with that finish and for what we’ve seen from them so far, they obviously aren’t dumb and they know how to win matches and get the job done. Max was undefeated in the company up to this point and I think this was a terrible way to beat her.
Besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed both Adora/Kay and Lee/Isom.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of TV is worth your while. The scale is as followed:
Must Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommend Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Go Out Of Your Way
Women’s World Championship tournament action came to Women’s Division Wednesday as Allysin Kay defeated Willow in a fantastic first-round bout.
**********
The show opened with a message from former Impact Wrestling president Dixie Carter. Carter said one of the greatest things about her time in pro wrestling was the time she spent with the women who wrestled for Impact. Carter said nothing made her prouder than seeing women shine in the main event, carry their own pay-per-view, and be the highest rated segment on television.
Carter said women’s wrestling has never been better or stronger. She congratulated the women in the ROH Women’s World Championship tournament and wished them luck.
**********
A couple of interviews hosted by Alyssa Marino and LuFisto also aired before the scheduled match between Allysin Kay and Willow. Maria Kanellis-Bennett joined them for the interviews.
Chelsea Green was up first. Green expressed great appreciation for the love that the Ring of Honor locker room has shown her. Green also talked about how she’s able to express herself again and become the “10/10” Chelsea that she knew she could be.
Alex Gracia joined the call shortly after. Gracia spent a few minutes reflecting on her recent loss to Miranda Alize.
Nicole Savoy was the final woman to join the interview. Savoy told a story about her first time in ROH and wrestling LuFisto. Savoy was asked about her upcoming opponent in the tournament Miranda Alize, to which she revealed the two were roommates in Japan.
**********
ROH Women’s World Championship tournament first-round match: Allysin Kay defeated Willow (11:30)
Chelsea Green joined the commentary team for this match.
Kay started off the bout by showing some great feats of mat wrestling, but Willow countered with some great feats of strength and agility. Willow hit a few big moves, including a phenomenal pump kick. But Kay took back the advantage when Willow couldn’t capitalize on her moves.
Kay got more maniacal and vicious as the match went on, working at a very slow pace. After Kay had full control for a few minutes, she began taunting Willow, which didn’t work out for Kay. Willow eventually heard enough of Kay’s trash talk and registered a forearm to Kay’s neck area. Willow had a good run of offense before it turned into a brutal striking exchange between the two women.
Willow has some really good strikes in her back pocket, as does Kay. Willow capitalized on the split second of time she had by hitting a top rope dropkick on Kay for a close two count.
Willow let her confidence get to her head when she attempted a moonsault, which resulted in Kay rolling out of harm’s way at the last second. Kay followed it up with her signature discus lariat, but Willow rolled out of the ring before Kay could pin her. Back in the ring, Kay countered Willow and locked in a Kimura/Koji Clutch combination. It made Willow tap out instantly.
A former Impact Wrestling and NWA Women’s Champion is the latest addition to Ring of Honor’s Women’s World Championship tournament.
This week’s ROH Women’s Division Wednesday episode ended with the announcement that Allysin Kay will be taking part in this summer’s ROH Women’s World Championship tournament. She’s the fifth entrant confirmed for the tournament, joining Angelina Love, Rok-C, Miranda Alize, and Trish Adora.
Kay was presented with a “Ticket to Gold” by Maria Kanellis-Bennett, granting her entry into the tournament. Kanellis-Bennett said Kay didn’t need to have a tryout match because her work speaks for itself.
Kay, who is a free agent, said she’s excited to sink her teeth into ROH after previously only making one-off appearances for the promotion.
In Impact Wrestling, Kay was formerly known as Sienna. She held the Impact Knockouts Championship twice during her time with the company.
Kay held the NWA Women’s World Championship from April 2019 to January 2020. Kay announced last November that she had departed the NWA.
Kay wrestled for AEW on the pre-show for last November’s Full Gear pay-per-view. She unsuccessfully challenged Serena Deeb for the NWA Women’s World Championship.
Kay also took part in WWE’s Mae Young Classic in 2018, losing to Mia Yim in the first round.
As a stipulation of Angelina Love defeating Quinn McKay on ROH TV earlier this month, Love is getting a first-round bye in the Women’s World Championship tournament.
The ROH Women’s World Championship is a new title that’s replacing the former Women of Honor World Championship.
The NWA Women’s Championship will be on the line on the pre-show for this Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
AEW’s Tony Khan announced tonight that NWA Women’s Champion Serena Deeb will defend her title against Allysin Kay on The Buy In for Full Gear this Saturday: “Before tonight’s huge Live #AEWDynamite on TNT, I’ve just secured a big new match for Saturday at The Buy-In available to all! After her NWA World Women’s Title win last week + 1st defense on Dynamite. @SerenaDeeb will defend her title against former champion @Sienna Allysin Kay!”
Deeb won the NWA Women’s Championship from Thunder Rosa on last week’s edition of UWN Primetime Live. In her first title defense, Deeb retained against Leyla Hirsch on Dynamite last Wednesday.
Kay formerly held the NWA Women’s Championship from April 2019 to January 2020. She announced earlier this week that she’s now a free agent: “As of today, I am officially a free agent. Thank you to the NWA for the opportunities, which included one of my favorite matches of my career. I am open for indy bookings & appearances. Let’s get weird. AK”
Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver was originally set for The Buy In, but Khan revealed earlier today that it’s being moved to the Full Gear main card.
Here’s the updated lineup for Full Gear:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against Eddie Kingston in an I Quit match
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR defend against The Young Bucks (if The Young Bucks lose, they won’t challenge for the AEW Tag Team titles again)
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Nyla Rose
TNT Champion Cody defends against Darby Allin
World title eliminator tournament finals: Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page
Chris Jericho vs. MJF (if MJF wins, he joins the Inner Circle)
Elite Deletion match: Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara
Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver
NWA Women’s Champion Serena Deeb defends against Allysin Kay (pre-show)
“As of today, I am officially a free agent,” Kay wrote. “Thank you to the NWA for the opportunities, which included one of my favorite matches of my career. I am open for indy bookings & appearances. Let’s get weird. AK”
Kay became NWA Women’s Champion by defeating Santana Garrett for the then-vacant title at the Crockett Cup in April 2019. Kay lost the title to Thunder Rosa at the NWA’s Hard Times pay-per-view this January. Serena Deeb is currently the NWA Women’s Champion after winning the title from Thunder Rosa on last Tuesday’s edition of UWN Primetime Live.
Kay was formerly known as Sienna in Impact Wrestling and held Impact’s Knockouts Championship twice. She also participated in WWE’s Mae Young Classic in 2018, losing to Mia Yim in a first round match.
A one-night women’s tournament will be part of the lineup for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 2020.
It was announced on Monday that Lindsay Snow, Leyla Hirsch, Killer Kelly, and Allysin Kay will take part in the four-wrestler tournament. Snow vs. Hirsch and Kelly vs. Kay will be the first round matches. The winners will advance to face each other later in the night.
Hirsch is replacing Deonna Purrazzo on the Bloodsport card. Purrazzo, who is Impact Wrestling’s Knockouts Champion, announced last week that she’s cancelling her bookings at Bloodsport and the rest of Game Changer Wrestling’s The Collective as a precaution to make sure she’s able to wrestle at Impact’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view. Purrazzo wrote that she made the decision so that she’ll have adequate time to self-isolate before the PPV if need be.
Jon Moxley vs. Chris Dickinson, Homicide vs. Tom Lawlor, Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Josh Alexander, Calvin Tankman vs. Alexander James, Erik Hammer vs. Kal Jak, and Simon Grimm vs. Matt Makowski have also been announced for Bloodsport. Matches can only be won via knockout or submission.
Bloodsport is taking place at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana on Sunday, October 11. The show will be available to watch live via Fite TV.
NWA Power opened with a brand new theme, though I don’t think it is nearly as good as the old one. This episode featured a rematch between Thunder Rosa and Allysin Kay.
Before we got back into the action, Tim Storm came out. A person in the crowd came out and yelled “I love you Tim!” and he responded with “I love you too!” and he called all the fans his family. Absolutely fantastic. Storm asked the NWA management to be involved in the Heavyweight title picture, and he wanted to prove himself against the best, which meant that he was going to get a match with Thom Latimer to try and move up the card.
Joe Galli asked Storm if he was considering retirement, and asked Storm to set the record straight. Tim Storm told Galli to forget about the rumours, and that he values every single minute he gets to be in front of the fans, and in the ring, and that he isn’t retiring. He needs to get by Thom Latimer to move onto the rest of Strictly Business.
Latimer came out and said that Storm already lost, and he wouldn’t be getting a shot at the title soon. As they were talking, Galli said he was hearing from the back that Momma Storm was there. A man came out dressed as an old woman, and mocked Storm, calling him old and saying that she wanted her son to take a nap. “Momma Storm” said that Tim should go back to teaching so he could learn how to win a match. Storm left in disgust.
Great segment from everyone involved here. Tim Storm remains a very compelling babyface.
*********
Matt Cross defeated Caleb Konley
Cross and Konley started fast, with Cross hitting a forearm in the corner and a snapmare for a two count. Cross swept the legs and hit an elbow drop for a two count. Konley turned it around when he pulled Cross from the middle rope, sending him crashing back first into the top turnbuckle.
Konley swept the legs and hit a senton for two count. Cross hit a handspring elbow for a two count. Konely dodged a corner charge and hit a superkick and a tornado DDT for a two count. Cross hit elbows to counter a suplex, but Konley rolled through and hit a forearm and sent Cross to the opposite ropes. Cross used the ropes to slingshot him backwards into a cutter and then hit a shooting star press for the victory!
Excellent match from Cross and Konley here, setting up Cross a challenger to Starks, and further establishing Konley as someone to watch as well. Both men shook hands after the match, to the delight of the crowd, indicating that they want to do this again down the road.
*********
A video aired with Nick Aldis and he mentioned how it has been over 400 days since he recaptured the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. Aldis said that wasn’t the number he was concerned about though, because he hadn’t heard from Marty Scurll in 7 days.
He wondered openly if Marty was rethinking the challenge, or if he was concerned about the treacherous territory he was entering. Aldis said that Marty could turn it down, but that he expected an answer by this Sunday at ROH Free Enterprise. He said that Marty better be coming up with a big counter offer if he doesn’t accept because they’re both businessmen, and Aldis’ patience was running out.
Another excellent promo from Aldis here, making me want to see ROH Free Enterprise just for Marty’s response to Aldis.
*********
The Pope was with Dave Marquez and the Dawsons, and he said he didn’t owe them a particular explanation, as they simply saw an opportunity with Pope to up their standing in the NWA. Pope said that Kingston and Homicide failed to take advantage of the chance Pope got him for the tag team titles.
He said that Kingston & Homicide losing didn’t hurt his reputation, but it revealed that Homicide didn’t have star power. Kingston came out and had his hands behind his back, saying he was going to be good. The NWA management saw him getting a screwdriver and wrench from under the ring.
Kingston said he should rip out Pope’s tongue. Kingston put over how great Homicide is, and how many people he trained. He then talked about how Homicide saved his life, and how he is family. However, he was going to be a good boy, and had someone else ready to help him fight Pope’s group – The Bouncers, Brian Milonas & the Beer City Bruiser! Mr. Beer has made his debut in the NWA!
May Valentine had a vlog where she talked about Royce Isaacs’ match last week where he finally got a win, but also in how he got very jealous of her making a new friend in Sal Rinaruo.
*********
NWA (3rd Degree) National Title Match: Aron Stevens w/ Question Mark drew Trevor Murdoch in a time limit draw
Stevens tried to out wrestle Murdoch, but the veteran was ahead of him at every point with sharp punches and headlock takeovers. Murdoch slammed Stevens twice to a pop from the crowd, and got a big pop for doing so.
As Murdoch made his way around the ring, Question Mark cut him off. The referee sent Question Mark out of the ringside area, but Stevens used this as a chance to hit a baseball slide. Stevens pulled the ropes down and sent Murdoch to the floor, asking for the time. Stevens hit several punches on the mat and choked him with his knee.
Stevens choked Murdoch on the middle rope and hit a knee to the back. Murdoch rolled up Stevens, but Stevens kicked out and hit a lariat for a two count. Stevens threw Murdoch to the floor and asked for the time yet again. The referee counted, but Murdoch got back into the ring and blocked a turnbuckle smash, hitting Stevens with one of his own.
Stevens hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Stevens got the heat for a bit, hitting an eye poke, and then dumping Murdoch back to the floor. Stevens was waiting for him to get back in, and continued to stomp on Murdoch again before hitting a Russian leg sweep. Murdoch kicked out. The announcer said that there were two minutes left in the match.
Stevens threw Murdoch to the floor again, but Murdoch hit a clothesline from the apron, came back in, and hit another. Murdoch hit the 10 corner punches and then hit a full Nelson slam, but Stevens kicked out with just one minute left. Murdoch locked on a sleeper with 30 seconds left, but Stevens hit a jawbreaker, and the time limit expired. Murdoch hit a bulldog off the top rope after the bell, and gained a visual pinfall over Stevens.
*********
Sean Mooney gave his two minute update on the happenings in the NWA. This was very old school, and a smart way to tell and promote stories. He reminded us of the Lucky 7 rule, where if he gets 7 wins in a row, or at least a time limit draw, he would get a title shot at the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. I really enjoyed this.
*********
James Storm & Eli Drake defeated Jocephus & Mims
Storm and Drake showed some good tag team offence early on, cornering Jocephus. Jocephus threw a strike that looked strangely familiar to someone rather Questionable. Storms and Drake hit a back elbow on Mims, and continued their dominance in this match. Storm hit a chop to the back and a senton for a two count.
Drake hit a powerslam on Mims and hit a running elbow drop on Mims before tagging out. Drake picked up Mims into a fireman’s carry and sent him flying into a back cracker by Storm for the pinfall victory.
*********
NWA World Women’s Championship: Thunder Rosa defeated Allysin Kay
Kay and Rosa exchanged grappling attempts until Rosa was able to move into a cross face. Kay countered with a roll up, but only got a two count. Thunder Rosa hit a snapmare and then a kick to the back of Kay, and Kay responded with one of her own. Rosa went for a PK, but Kay laid down to duck it and rolled Rosa up for a two count.
Rosa was able to get back into it attacking the arm of Kay. She kept this up for several minutes. Rosa continued with a brutal submission on Allysin Kay, but she managed to make it to the ropes. Rosa slapped the crap out of her, which led to Kay hitting several strikes to the stomach and then both women exchanged running forearms.
Both women hit double boots and were down. Rosa hit a flying clothesline into the corner and then followed up with double knees to the chest. As Rosa was going for another attack, Marti Belle came out and distracted Rosa and Kay both. They told her to leave, and as they did this, Ashley Vox & Tasha Steelz came out to keep her away.
Rosa rolled up Kay, but Kay kicked out and hit a neckbreaker, a clothesline, and then a big boot before hitting a Jackhammer on Rosa for a two count. Rosa countered a wheelbarrow with a stunner for a two count, and then hit a German suplex for another two count. Thunder Rosa hit a Death Valley Driver, but Kay still managed to kick out.
Rosa hit a flapjack into the top rope and then rolled Kay up and managed to get the pinfall!
Very solid episode of NWA Power this week that build to their next PPV and ROH’s next show too.
Three new NWA champions were crowned tonight at the Crockett Cup tournament in Concord, North Carolina.
The ROH team of Brody King and PCO defeated Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer (formerly Bram from Impact) to win not only the Crockett Cup tournament, but the NWA Tag Team titles, which have been vacant since 2017. Isaacs and Latimer won the wildcard battle royal and earned a spot in the tournament in the first match of the show, but lost in the finals after PCO hit a moonsault on Latimer following a fireman’s carry Michinoku driver from King.
Earlier in the card, Allysin Kay defeated Santana Garrett to win the vacant NWA Women’s championship. Garrett went to the top rope for a shining star press, but Kay moved out of the way and pinned Garrett with a spear to win the championship for the first time. The match originally was supposed to be Jazz defending the title against Kay, but on 4/22 it was announced that she would be vacating the title after 948 days due to personal and medical reasons.
Colt Cabana later defeated Willie Mack to win the NWA National title after scoring the win with the Superman pin, ending Mack’s 184 day run as champion. James Storm made an appearance after the match, challenging Cabana to a future title match.
It will be Allysin Kay vs. Santana Garrett to decide the new NWA Women’s Champion. Kay, who was formerly known as Sienna in Impact Wrestling, was originally supposed to challenge Jazz for the title at the Crockett Cup.
A women’s legend will present the title to the winner. The NWA will announce who the legend is tomorrow.
The Crockett Cup is taking place at Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina this Saturday (April 27) and will air live on HonorClub, pay-per-view, and Fite TV.
Jazz posted a statement yesterday about why she had to vacate the title: “Due to medical and personal issues in my life at this time. I’m having to turn the belt over without defending it. I will post again soon… Thanks for your support. S/O to @nwa for giving me the opportunity of being the best Women’s Champion. One helluva run. Got to work some of the best talent in the game today.. hopefully this will not be the end. Until. #Andstill.”
The winners of the Crockett Cup will be crowned in a one-night tag team tournament at Saturday’s show. Marty Scurll challenging for Nick Aldis’ NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is also set, and Willie Mack will defend the NWA National Championship against Colt Cabana.
Here’s the bracket for the Crockett Cup:
Block A —
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark) vs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)
Villain Enterprises (PCO & Brody King) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata
Block B —
Flip Gordon & Bandido vs. Stuka Jr. & Guerrero Maya Jr.
Crimson & Jax Dane vs. the winners of a wild card battle royal (which will take place that night)
