Three ROH champions will be in action on HonorClub this week.
Thursday’s episode will be the go-home show before Friday’s Final Battle pay-per-view in Garland, Texas.
Eddie Kingston vs. Evil Uno in a Proving Ground match is scheduled to air. The match took place in front of Uno’s hometown Montreal fans.
ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta will also be in a Proving Ground match on Thursday. He faces Jason Geiger, who has now wrestled ROH matches in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, and Montreal this year.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena will be on the show as well, although her opponent’s name has not been advertised. She suffered a broken nose at the tapings but still plans on working Friday’s PPV.
Matches for this week’s episode were taped on December 5 at the Bell Centre. Spoilers from the taping are available here.
ROH on HonorClub December 14 lineup:
ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston vs. Evil Uno in a Proving Ground match
ROH Pure Rules Champion Wheeler Yuta vs. Jason Geiger in a Proving Ground match
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena vs. TBA
Leyla Hirsch w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Rachael Ellering vs. TBA
The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) & Jacked Jameson vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brandon & Brent Tate)
ROH Final Battle 2023 December 15 lineup:
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. TBD
Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor
I Quit match: Ethan Page vs. Tony Nese
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Bryan Danielson vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) & Mark Briscoe
The main phrase for AEW & Ring of Honor head Tony Khan during Tuesday’s media call to hype this Friday’s ROH Final Battle streaming special was “something to consider.”
Khan used the phrase three times, once when asked about making a change with the ROH Tag Team titles considering both MJF and Adam Cole are injured, another when asked about the decision to have Samoa Joe vacate the ROH TV title instead of lose it in the ring, and again when discussing having MJF actually appear on ROH’s TV product on HonorClub.
In a largely non-newsworthy call, Khan did confirm that he met with officials from The CW in 2022 in Los Angeles about bringing ROH to their network. He felt that the time wasn’t right and hasn’t had a lot of detailed conversations about ROH’s TV future, saying he is excited for both AEW and ROH to hit the TV rights market in 2024.
Khan said the relationship between himself and WBD is strong, but that ROH is still a third party in the relationship. He said there is strong interest out there for both properties.
The match Khan talked about the most for Friday is ROH Women’s Champion Athena defending against Billie Starkz which will main event the show. It’s an angle he has been personally involved with on a week-to-week basis. When asked why Athena hasn’t defended her title on AEW TV, Khan simply said he would be open to it.
On the aforementioned Joe question, Khan said he wanted Joe to be a focus of AEW and that it would have been a challenge to have him defend the TV title while doing that.
Khan didn’t give any indication that the Tag Team titles would be stripped from MJF & Cole after they won it at August’s All In. Cole is out of action indefinitely with a broken ankle/foot while MJF is nursing several injuries before defending the AEW World title against Joe at this month’s Worlds End.
For Friday’s show, he said there might be more of a lucha presence to be announced and to stay tuned for the final entrant into the Survival of the Fittest TV title match.
Asked about an updated subscriber count for HonorClub, Khan talked around the question and said having Friday’s show on streaming vs. pay-per-view has helped subscriptions without any numerical indication as to how.
She was bloodied up during the ROH tapings held in Montreal on December 5. After winning a squash match against a local wrestler, Athena was attacked by Billie Starkz, and her nose was busted open in the process.
Athena later posted to social media that X-rays revealed her nose is broken but she still plans on wrestling at ROH Final Battle on December 15. Her post has since been deleted.
“Athena pinned Roxanne (Quebec wrestler Rose) with a hard forearm It was a quick squash. Billie Starkz attacked Athena after the match and Athena ended up with her nose busted and she was heavily bleeding,” our own Dave Meltzer wrote in today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.PWInsider is reporting the injury is legitimate.
Starkz vs. Athena is scheduled to headline ROH Final Battle. The announced lineup is below.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. TBD
Athena vs. Billie Starkz for the Women’s World Championship will be in the main event spot of ROH Final Battle.
As announced during Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode, the Women’s World title bout will headline the Friday, December 15 show in Garland, Texas.
After a months-long storyline with Starkz serving as Athena’s “Minion in Training,” Starkz snapped on the November 30 edition of the show after being snubbed as the valedictorian of Athena’s MIT graduating class and the title match was made official for Final Battle.
A Survival of the Fittest six-way to crown a new ROH World Television Champion is also set for Final Battle, with five of the six spots in that bout now filled after this week’s Ring of Honor TV show.
Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor, plus Ethan Page vs. Tony Nese in an I Quit match are also official for next Friday’s event.
Bryan Danielson also issued a challenge for FTR & Mark Briscoe to face Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, and another member of the Blackpool Combat Club in a trios match at the show in a tribute match to the late Jay Briscoe, although that match has yet to be made official.
Here is the current official lineup for the Friday, December 15 Final Battle show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern time on the Honor Club streaming service:
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. TBD
The Women’s World Championship will be defended at ROH Final Battle.
As revealed during Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode, Athena is set to defend her title against her “minion” Billie Starkz at the show set for Friday, December 15.
Starkz defeated Marina Shafir in a bout on Thursday’s episode, then was embarrassed by Athena when the Women’s World Champion named Lexy Nair the valedictorian of the Minion In Training Class of 2023.
After being snubbed, Starkz attacked Athena and stood over the champion with her title belt. The match was then officially announced for Final Battle.
Two participants also qualified for the Survival of the Fittest six-way to crown a new ROH TV Champion at Final Battle on Thursday’s episode, with Dalton Castle & Komander becoming the first two official qualifiers for that bout.
Our report from Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV is here.
This is the current Final Battle card:
ROH Final Battle, Friday, December 15, 7 p.m. Eastern time on Honor Club —
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
Former WWE Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey made her surprise Ring of Honor debut Friday in Los Angeles.
Rousey was the mystery partner for Marina Shafir against ROH Women’s Champion Athena & Billie Starkz in a match that is assumed is be airing on ROH TV this Thursday, coming out to Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” as she had in WWE.
The match took place after Friday’s live AEW Collision & Rampage shows at The Forum.
The two teams went to a no contest on Thursday’s Wrestling Revolver event in Rousey’s first match since an October indie bout with Shafir against Brian Kendrick & Taya Valkyrie.
Rousey wrapped up a run with WWE at August’s SummerSlam where she lost to Shayna Baszler in an MMA rules match.
AEW & ROH head Tony Khan tweeted about the match without saying it was Rousey:
Rousey, the past UFC bantamweight superstar, made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 in 2018 which kicked off a run that saw her win the Raw Women’s title, the SmackDown Women’s title twice, and the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with Baszler.
Ring of Honor presents its weekly show on HonorClub tonight.
Athena will defend her ROH World Women’s title on the show against the wrestler she defeated for the belt at Final Battle 2022, Mercedes Martinez.
A four-corner tag team survival match featuring The Gates of Agony vs. The Wingmen vs. The Infantry vs. The Iron Savages is also advertised for the show. There will also be a four-way match pitting Angelico vs. Slim J vs. Gringo Loco vs. Metalik.
Other matches scheduled to air on HonorClub include Darius Martin vs. Lee Moriarty, Josh Woods vs. Ethan Page, Leyla Hirsch vs. Robyn Renegade, Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. The Righteous, Kiera Hogan vs. Charlette Renegade, and Rachael Ellering vs. LMK. Nick Comoroto, Action Andretti, and Lee Johnson are also advertised for a triple-threat match.
Ring of Honor TV this week was taped at The Mohegan Sun Theater in Uncasville, Connecticut on Saturday. Spoilers from the show are available here.
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This week’s episode began with Stokely Hathaway announcing that ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston had been temporarily suspended for putting his hands on Hathaway. He said that if Kingston touched him again, Kingston would be on the unemployment line.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal
Dutch used his size advantage to take control of Daniels to start the match. Daniels dumped Dutch into the ropes with a drop-toe hold to get a tag out to Sydal. Sydal hammered both Dutch and Vincent with kicks. Sydal and Daniels double-teamed Vincent, with Sydal hitting a slingshot meteora for a nearfall. Ian Riccaboni announced here that the Final Battle show would be available live on Honor Club, at no extra charge for subscribers.
Dutch cut Sydal off from the apron, allowing The Righteous to isolate Sydal in their corner. Vincent hit Death From Above on Sydal, with Daniels needing to make the save. Sydal hit a spin kick before getting the tag to Daniels. Daniels ran wild, dropping both men with STOs before hitting a Death Valley Driver on Vincent for a nearfall. Dutch came in and dropped Sydal with a Black Hole Slam, leaving Daniels on his own. Vincent hit Autumn Sunshine on Daniels to score the win.
Ethan Page was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that the old Ethan Page would have reacted very differently to the actions of Tony Nese, but instead, he will go through Josh Woods tonight to get back at Nese.
Hirsch took down a trash-talking Renegade to start the match. Hirsch got distracted by Charlette at ringside, allowing Robyn to get a quick advantage. Hirsch came back with a Chaos Theory before scoring the submission win with an armbar.
Charlette jumped Hirsch after the match, but Rachel Ellering ran them off. Hirsch blew Ellering off, shoving her aside before leaving.
Darius Martin defeated Lee Moriarty
This is the type of match we need more of on ROH and AEW television. Two young, fresh talents having a clean showcase here on television.
This is a rematch from last week, where Shane Taylor interfered to help Moriarty win. The two men used their technical skills early on, catching each other in crucifix pins after scrambling on the mat to no avail. Moriarty hooked Martin in the ropes, before kicking Martin’s arm out from under him to develop his target. Moriarty countered a single-leg takedown into an abdominal stretch before using his leg to crank on Martin’s arm some more.
Martin picked up the pace, hitting a rope-assisted Pele kick for a nearfall. After a back-and-forth, Moriarty caught Martin with a hammerlock neckbreaker for a nearfall. Moriarty locked on the Border City Stretch, but Martin countered it into a pair of crucifix pins for nearfalls. Martin hammered Moriarty with a Penalty Kick, but Moriarty caught Martin with a pop-up flatliner for a nearfall. Moriarty and Martin traded strikes before Martin countered a running uppercut with a German suplex. Martin followed with a suplex before hitting a frog splash for the win.
We got a commercial for Final Battle, where it was reiterated that the show would be exclusively on Honor Club.
Josh Woods (w/ Mark Sterling) defeated Ethan Page
A nice story here, with Page being outnumbered and losing to the Varsity Athletes again.
Page had the early advantage, but Woods clipped Page’s arm on an up-and-over in the corner. Woods went to work on Page’s arm, hitting a hammerlock bodyslam for a nearfall. Woods kept tearing at Page’s arm, but Page fired out of the corner with a shoulder block to take Woods down. Tony Nese made his way to the stage to watch this match.
Woods ducked another shoulder block, but Page hit him with a big boot on the rebound. Page fired out of the corner with a clothesline, but Woods held onto Page’s arm when Page tried to send him out of the ring. Page countered the Anarchist Suplex with a running powerslam for a nearfall. Sterling took the referee’s attention as Page hit a head kick on Woods. Page caught Woods in a small package, but Nese came in the ring to flip Woods on top of the pin to score Woods the win.
We got a recap of the Mogul Embassy winning the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Titles from Hangman Page & The Young Bucks on Dynamite.
Angelico defeated Slim J, Metalik, Gringo Loco
A fun, Lucha-influenced four-way match here, as Angelico scores another win on the way to his future ROH Title match against Eddie Kingston.
Slim J used a handshake from Angelico to vault into a headscissors on Metalik, kicking off the fast-paced action in this match. Loco hit a dive onto Slim J and Angelico before Metalik followed with a springboard moonsault. Angelico isolated Slim J, locking him up with submission holds until Metalik broke it up. Metalik hit Angelico with a Slingblade bulldog and a rope-walk dropkick for a nearfall. Metalik hit a rope-walk rana on Loco for a nearfall.
Metalik kicked out of an Angelico sunset flip before getting caught by a Loco step-up cutter. Slim J hit a splash onto Angelico for a nearfall. We got a series of flash pin attempts before Angelico and Slim J sent Metalik and Loco to the floor respectively. Angelico caught Slim J in a Mouse Trap-style pin for the win.
Sonjay Dutt spoke on his history with Jay Lethal before trashing Eddie Kingston. Stokely Hathaway came in to congratulate Dutt on the work he and his crew did on Kingston on Collision. Dutt asked Hathaway when Jay Lethal was going to receive his title match, but Hathaway gave him the runaround before leaving him hanging.
Rachel Ellering defeated LMK
LMK stands for Little Mean Kathleen, but she was called LMK throughout the match. Ellering scored a quick win with the Bosswoman Slam.
Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) defeated Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson), The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean), The Wingmen (Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth)
The Savages worked on Avalon to start. Avalon hit a splash on Boulder, but Boulder repeatedly bench-pressed Avalon out of pinning position. Dean and Kaun tagged in, with the Gates isolating Dean. The Wingmen got involved, with Nemeth hitting a pendulum DDT for a nearfall. Dean fought his way out of their corner and tagged Bravo.
Bravo ran wild, taking out Avalon with a swinging DDT. The Gates of Agony came in and laid out Bravo, but the Wingmen sent them out of the ring. Dean hit a butterfly backbreaker on Nemeth before hitting Boot Camp on Avalon. Boulder blind-tagged his way in and took out the Infantry with a double flapjack. Kaun got a blind tag before Liona pounced both Savages. The Gates hit a double spinebuster on Avalon to score the win.
We got a recap of Mark Briscoe’s return on last week’s Rampage, taking out Kip Sabian.
Action Andretti defeated Nick Comoroto & Lee Johnson
Comoroto looked good here with his impressive power spots.
Comoroto trucked over both his opponents with a double clothesline, but Johnson and Andretti low-bridged him out of the ring. Johnson and Andretti got caught in a pinning predicament before Comoroto came back in and dropped them both. Comoroto picked up Johnson with a one-handed gorilla press while simultaneously hitting Andretti with a DDT. Shane Taylor watched from backstage, having offered Johnson a spot in Shane Taylor Promotions.
Johnson and Andretti tried to team up on Comoroto, but Comoroto continued to hammer them both. Comoroto hit them both with a running crossbody. Comoroto went for a powerslam on Johnson, but Andretti caught Comoroto with a springboard dropkick. Andretti rolled up Comoroto to get the win.
Kiera Hogan defeated Charlette Renegade
Hogan got a quick win with Face The Music.
Leyla Hirsch was backstage with Lexy Nair. Rachel Ellering came up, but Hirsch didn’t want any help from her. Ellering noted that the one person Hirsch wanted help from – that being Maria Kanellis – wasn’t around. Hirsch said that Maria would be around next time, and shunned Ellering.
Dalton Castle, Gravity, & The Boys (Brandon & Brent) defeated Cole Karter, Griff Garrison & The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
Gravity had peacock gear on to match his squad. Karter and Garrison isolated Brent in their corner, allowing the Workhorsemen to clubber on him. The Boys teamed up to get a tag to Gravity, who ran wild on Garrison until Henry laid in a kick from the outside. Garrison hit a powerslam on Gravity for a nearfall.
Gravity fought off the Workhorsemen before getting the tag to Castle, who ran wild on all four of his opponents. Castle flung Boys at his opponents until Drake shut it down. The Boys hit dual enzuigiris on Drake to stop him. Castle catapulted Gravity into a dive to the floor before hitting Drake with the Bangarang for the win.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena defeated Mercedes Martinez (w/ Diamante) to retain
Another standout title defense for Athena, as these two beat seven shades out of each other and took the crowd on a ride. Athena’s partnership with Billie Starkz solidified here, as Starkz did what she needed to do to keep Athena happy.
Athena jumped Martinez at the bell with a forearm before clubbering her in the corner. Athena sent Martinez to the floor, where Martinez sent Athena into the barricade. Athena fought back and sent Martinez into the ring, where she ran into a main event spinebuster from Martinez. Huh, a main event spinebuster that’s actually in the main event. You don’t get those too often.
Athena flipped out of a spider suplex attempt, booting Martinez to the floor before landing a suicide dive. Diamante caught Athena’s attention, allowing Martinez to clobber Athena with a forearm. Martinez sent Athena into the timekeeper’s area before laying her on a chair. Martinez stood over Athena, but Athena fought her way up and superplexed Martinez off of the barricade.
Both women beat the 20-count before getting into a strike exchange in the ring. They traded big strikes before Athena hit a big forearm to reset. Athena went to the top rope, but Diamante got on the apron to cut her off. Martinez hit the OG Drop for a close nearfall. Martinez went for the Brass City Sleeper, but Athena bit her way out of it. Martinez turned a crossface attempt into a crucifix pin for a nearfall.
Athena dropped Martinez with a forearm before hitting the O-Face, but Diamante took the referee’s attention. Athena dropped Diamante with a forearm before hitting the Wig Splitter on her. Athena pulled the turnbuckle pad off, but Martinez booted her into the exposed turnbuckle in a call back to the Final Battle match between these two. Martinez hit a Perfect Plex for a nearfall. Martinez went for an O’Connor Roll, but Athena kicked her into the ropes where a hooded individual hit Martinez with the title belt. Athena hit the Wig Splitter on Martinez to win and retain the title.
The hooded person revealed themselves as Billie Starkz, who presented Athena with the title. After berating Starkz last week, Athena seemed pleased with Starkz this week as we went off the air.
Athena will defend her ROH Women’s World Championship on Thursday’s episode of ROH on HonorClub.
Last week, Athena and Billie Starkz were defeated by Mercedes Martinez & Diamante in tag team action. As a result, it will be a rematch from Final Battle 2022 on this week’s show when Athena defends against Martinez in singles competition.
🚨 EMERGENCY M.E.M 🚨#ROH Women's World Champion @AthenaPalmer_FG doesn't sugarcoat anything while speaking to "Minion In Training" @BillieStarkz.
Other matches set for ROH TV this week include Darius Martin vs. Lee Moriarty, Josh Woods vs. Ethan Page, and a four-corner survival tag team match.
Thursday’s edition of ROH TV was taped on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at The Mohegan Sun Theater in Uncasville, Connecticut. Spoilers from the show are available here.
Ring of Honor on HonorClub November 2 lineup:
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Mercedes Martinez
Darius Martin vs. Lee Moriarty
Josh Woods w/Mark Sterling vs. Ethan Page
Leyla Hirsch vs. Robyn Renegade
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch)
The Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) vs. The Wingmen (Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth) vs. The Iron Savages (Bronson & Boulder) vs. The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo in a Four-Corner Survival Match
Kiera Hogan vs. Charlette Renegade
Nick Comoroto vs. Action Andretti vs. Lee Johnson
Gravity, Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. Cole Karter, Griff Garrison, The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) w/Maria Kanellis
The ROH Women’s World Championship will be defended on Saturday.
Ring of Honor announced on Friday that Athena will defend her title against Mercedes Martinez on tomorrow’s taping in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Athena and her minion Billie Starkz have been involved in a rivalry with Martinez and Diamante of late on ROH TV. On last night’s show, Martinez and Diamante beat Athena and Starks in a tornado tag bout and Martinez posed with the ROH Women’s title after the match.
Athena defeated Martinez to win the title at Final Battle 2022. It was the fifth singles match they’ve had, with three taking place in Shimmer, one in NXT, and one in ROH. One match ended in a double DQ and Athena won the other four.
AEW Presents Collision Sat • Oct 28 • 7:30 PM Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
Available Tickets => 1,175 Current Setup => 3,997 Tickets Distributed => 2,822
2 new sections added. +346 since the Kenny Omega v. MJF announcement.
WrestleTix reported that 2,822 tickets have been distributed for Saturday’s show as of yesterday. AEW announced on Wednesday that Kenny Omega will challenge MJF for the World Championship on that night’s Collision.
The lineup for the Saturday, October 28 Collision:
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Kenny Omega
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida defends against the winner of Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Anna Jay vs. Abadon on Rampage
The ROH Women’s World title will be defended on tonight’s episode of ROH TV on HonorClub.
Athena will put her title on the line against Leyla Hirsch on the show. She will be going for her 16th successful title defense since winning the belt at Final Battle on December 10, 2022. Hirsch has picked up wins over Laynie Luck, Lady Frost, Leila Grey, and Rachael Ellering in recent weeks on ROH TV.
Fred Rosser will also make his ROH debut tonight. He’s scheduled to wrestle Scorpio Sky, who defeated Tony Nese on last week’s show.
Other matches scheduled for this week’s show include Tony Nese vs. Satoshi Kojima, Rocky Romero vs. Christopher Daniels, and Billie Starkz vs. Trish Adora. Ethan Page and Josh Woods are also both advertised to be “in action.”
This week’s show was filmed on Saturday from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle following AEW Collision. Spoilers for the show are available here.
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The show started with ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston talking about his title defense at WrestleDream against Katsuyori Shibata. He praised Shibata before talking about the issues that have come up with Jay Lethal and ROH Board of Directors member Stokely Hathaway.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena (w/Billie Starkz) (c) defeated Leyla Hirsch
Athena’s best title defense since Death Before Dishonor and the best Hirsch match I’ve ever seen. This is a match worth checking out.
Hirsch caught Athena with a dropkick before hitting a pendulum dropkick in the corner. Hirsch hit a dive to Athena on the floor. Athena avoided a throw into the ring steps, then dropkicked Hirsch near the steps. Hirsch threw Athena into the stairs, but Athena stuffed a suplex off of the stairs and dumped Hirsch to the floor with a gourdbuster.
Athena clubbered on Hirsch until Hirsch reversed an Irish Whip into the corner. Hirsch vaulted over Athena and caught her in a sleeper hold until Athena threw her down to the mat. Hirsch caught Athena with a roll-up, but Athena kicked out and floored Hirsch with a forearm. Athena clubbered on Hirsch some more until Hirsch fought back, hitting a German suplex for a nearfall.
Athena kipped up into a headscissors that sent Hirsch into the turnbuckles. Athena bounced Hirsch off of the ropes into position for a rolling senton. Athena went up for the O-Face, but Hirsch brought her down and locked her in an armbar. Hirsch transitioned into a triangle choke, but Athena hit a one-armed powerbomb for a nearfall.
They traded forearms until Athena hit a strike combination, then countered a forearm by locking Hirsch in a crossface. Hirsch got out of it and got an armbar in, but Athena stomped and forearmed her way out. Hirsch went to the top rope, but Athena hit a jumping kick and met her on the top rope. Hirsch brought Athena down with a cartwheel German suplex. Hirsch went for a moonsault, but Athena superkicked her down. Athena hit the move now called Despicable Knee for the win.
Athena superkicked Hirsch after the match. She went to throw Hirsch into the belt, but Starkz was able to talk her down. Maria Kanellis-Bennett walked to the stage, looking disapprovingly at Hirsch.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Christopher Daniels and his opponent tonight, Rocky Romero. They gave each other respect and said the better man would win.
Josh Woods (w/Mark Sterling) defeated Tyler Payne
Payne eluded Woods for a minute before Woods caught up to him and hammered him with strikes. Woods hit the Tilt-A-Woods for the quick win.
Rocky Romero defeated Christopher Daniels
The crowd chanted Defy, as both men wrestle in the local independent promotion in Seattle.Romero won the early exchange, sending Daniels to the floor and following him with a dive. Romero hit a knee off the apron, but Daniels avoided the Forever clotheslines and hit a T-Bone suplex.
Daniels held serve until Romero rolled out of a back suplex and hit a tornado DDT. Romero hit the Forever Clotheslines before tying Daniels into the ropes and hitting a springboard dropkick for a nearfall. Daniels cut Romero off on the top rope and hit a top rope hurricanrana for a nearfall. Romero backdropped out of the Angel’s Wings, hitting a rewind kick and the running Sliced Bread for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Dalton Castle. Castle felt a lot of pressure to come through for the fans and needed to find a way to give the people what they wanted and what they deserved.
Scorpio Sky defeated Fred Rosser
I wouldn’t mind Fred Rosser being a regular in ROH, as he’s a great talent. His work on the NJPW STRONG brand would fit right in here in the AEW universe.
No entrance for Rosser, the former NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion. Sky caught Rosser on a dropdown before driving Rosser into the corner with forearms. Sky went to the middle rope, but Rosser pulled him down to the mat. Rosser hit chop/lariat combinations before hitting Sky with driving hip attacks.
Rosser held Sky down with headlocks before Sky dropped Rosser with a lariat. Rosser walked into a Sky High from Sky for a nearfall. Rosser rocked Sky with a rolling forearm, then dropped Sky on the apron with a side suplex. Sky countered a suplex with a cradle for a nearfall, then ducked a rolling forearm to hit a TKO for the win.
Kiera Hogan, Skye Blue & Willow Nightingale defeated Lady Frost, Charlette Renegade & Robyn Renegade
Frost and Nightingale started with forearms, with Nightingale dropping Frost with a bodyslam and a low crossbody. Blue and Hogan hit dual superkicks for a nearfall. The Renegades pulled Nightingale and Hogan out of the corner as Frost dropped Blue by the hair.
The Renegades and Frost clubbered on Blue in the corner. Blue flipped out of a double suplex to make the tag to Hogan, who ran wild on the Renegades with hip attacks. Hogan hit a sliding kick on a Renegade for a nearfall. The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl before the Renegades went for a double team on Hogan. Hogan avoided it and got a tag to Nightingale, who hit Charlette with the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with The Infantry. Bravo and Dean talked up their match against TMDK and Adora’s match against Billie Starkz later tonight. This was a nice establishing promo for this group.
Ethan Page defeated Invictus Khash
Khash used the Code of Honor to trap Page’s arm, but Page quickly got out of the hold with a bodyslam. Page hit a twisting suplex. Khash countered a corner charge with punches, but Page hit a high kick. Khash escaped the Ego’s Edge and hit a rolling elbow, but Page low-bridged him to the floor. Page hit a running shoulder block to the floor, before rolling Khash into the ring and hitting the Headshot for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Tony Nese & Smart Mark Sterling. They said that carbs were the enemy, and waged war against anyone who liked bread. Nese faces Satoshi Kojima later tonight.
Bravo started with Haste, getting the advantage on him before the Infantry got a double-team combination for a nearfall. Nicholls cut Dean off from the floor, allowing TMDK to take control. TMDK hit a senton/fist drop combination for a nearfall.
TMDK held serve on Dean until he fought through them to get the tag to Bravo. Bravo ran wild, hitting Haste with a Deadfall for a nearfall. TMDK took Bravo down off the top rope with an assisted superplex for a nearfall. The match broke down to a Pier Four brawl, ending with Nicholls hitting a spinebuster on Bravo. TMDK hit the Tankbuster for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Ethan Page. Nair noted that Eddie Kingston was watching Page. Page responded that his ego was rebuilding and that he would soon be ready for Kingston and anyone else in Ring of Honor.
Satoshi Kojima defeated Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling)
Nese dumped on bread before Kojima made his entrance. Kojima told Nese that he liked bread before Nese stomped on the loaf of bread he came out with. Kojima had control early on until Sterling hooked his boot from the floor. Sterling got a boot in on Kojima on the floor.
Nese held control of Kojima as the crowd chanted their approval of bread. Nese hit Kojima with a dropkick before locking on a bodyscissors. Kojima caught Nese in the corner and fired up with the machine gun chops. Kojima hit a diving elbow for a nearfall. Kojima hit a DDT and went for the Koji Cutter, but Nese chopped Kojima in the throat. Nese hung Kojima on the ropes before hitting a triangle moonsault for a nearfall.
The two men traded strikes before Nese went for a pumphandle slam. Kojima escaped and hit the Koji Cutter. Kojima loaded up for the Western Lariat, but Sterling got on the apron to distract him. Nese hit a spinning back kick to Kojima, but ran right into a Western Lariat from Kojima, scoring Kojima the win. After the match, Kojima stuffed bread down Nese’s throat and celebrated.
We got more Minion Training with Athena, Billie Starkz, and Lexy Nair. Nair passed, but Starkz failed again.
Billie Starkz (w/Athena) defeated Trish Adora
Adora took Starkz’ arm to start, forcing Athena to give Starkz a pep talk on the outside. Starkz came back with fire, but Adora dropped her with a bridging German suplex for a nearfall. Adora drilled Starkz with forearms before following up with hip attacks in the corner. Starkz came back with a pull-up forearm before going to the top rope for a swanton, but Adora got the knees up. Starkz hit the Star-Ten and locked on a crossface for the win.
Darius Martin defeated Lee Johnson
An opening exchange saw a stalemate, but Johnson caught Martin with a low dropkick. Martin came back with a big dropkick of his own. Johnson sent Martin into the turnbuckle before hitting a back suplex for a nearfall. Johnson held serve on Martin as Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty watched from backstage.
Martin blocked an ankle trap and brought Johnson down with a back suplex. Martin fired up, hitting a combination that ended with an outside-in flatliner for a nearfall. Johnson ducked a forearm and hit a snap German suplex before hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Martin ducked a corner charge, but Johnson caught him with a superkick on another flatliner. Martin came back with a superkick and a frog splash to score the win.
Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty & Shane Taylor) defeated Cole Karter & Griff Garrison (w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett), The Work Horsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake), & Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson)
Karter kept tagging in and getting beat up by the others, so he tagged Garrison in to get pinballed by the Work Horsemen. Karter dragged Garrison out, allowing Moriarty to dropkick Drake in the ring. Henry and Taylor traded shots, with Taylor scoring with a headbutt and a uranage. Taylor hit a splash for a nearfall.
Henry got clubbered on by the other teams, with Karter hitting a dropkick for a nearfall. Garrison hit a big boot for a nearfall before Henry fought to his corner to get a tag to Drake. Taylor and Drake inadvertently worked together to hammer on Karter before the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl. The Savages got involved, leading to Bronson hitting a dive to the floor onto the pile. Boulder went to take down Karter, but Maria threatened the Savage Sauce. Taylor tagged in and laid out Karter with a knockout punch for the win.
Metalik and Loco started, with Metalik hitting a ropewalk headscissors off the bat. We got a pair of lucha armdrags before Angelico and Komander tagged in respectively. Komander ran wild, hitting a strike combination on Angelico before assisting Gravity in a splash for a nearfall. Serpentico tagged in, getting a headscissors in on Gravity. Gravity hit a deadweight splash for a nearfall.
They traded strikes before the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl. Loco and the SAP hit a triple dropkick on Gravity for a nearfall. Gravity caught Loco on a corner charge, sitting him on the top rope. Angelico and Serpentico threw Gravity up into a Loco diving powerbomb for a nearfall. Komander tagged in and blocked three corner charges before hopping onto Loco’s shoulders to hit a rana on Angelico.
Metalik tagged in and hit a pop-up rana on Loco. Angelico took a rana as well before Metalik and Gravity hit dives to the floor. Komander went for his rope walk dive, but Gringo Loco met him on the top and hit a Spanish Fly. Loco hit a dive to the floor but missed Komander on a moonsault in the ring. Komander hit a step-up Canadian Destroyer before hitting the rope walk Shooting Star Press for the win.
A Women’s World Championship match is set to take place on the Thursday, October 5 edition on Ring of Honor TV.
It was revealed on this week’s ROH TV on Honor Club episode that Athena will defend her Women’s World title against “Legit” Leyla Hirsch on next week’s show.
Hirsch has been built up as a Championship contender with 10 consecutive singles victories on ROH programming since returning from a knee injury in June of this year.
Athena has held the ROH Women’s title for nearly 300 days since capturing the Championship from Mercedes Martinez at last December’s Final Battle pay-per-view, with her most recent defense coming against Angelina Love on the September 21 edition of ROH TV. In all, Athena has made 15 successful defenses of her title.
Video of the match announcement can be viewed below in a clip from this week’s ROH TV episode:
"Legit" Leyla Hirsch gets an opportunity at ROH gold as she takes on the champion @AthenaPalmer_FG for the #ROH Women's World Title next week on ROH TV!
Three championship matches are scheduled as part of tonight’s ROH TV on HonorClub.
Athena will put her ROH Women’s World Championship on the line against Angelina Love on the show. She will be seeking her 14th successful title defense. This will be Love’s first match in ROH since Tony Khan purchased the company. She is a former Women of Honor Champion, having held the title briefly in 2019.
Katsuyori Shibata will also put the ROH Pure Championship on the line tonight. He defends the title against Nick Wayne, who will be making his ROH debut.
ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions The Mogul Embassy will defend their titles on Thursday’s show as well when they face Willie Mack and The Infantry. Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony’s title defense against The Hung Bucks will air on Friday’s episode of Rampage.
Other matches scheduled for tonight’s show include Leyla Hirsch and The Renegades taking on Willow Nightingale, Skye Blue, and Kiera Hogan, Lee Johnson vs. Lee Moriarty, Ethan Page vs. VSK, and more.
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The show started with a promo from the new Ring of Honor World Champion Eddie Kingston, who talked about not liking Claudio Castagnoli, but respecting his talents. He dedicated the title win to former ROH World Champion Xavier, who passed away in 2020.
ROH Pure Title Match – Katsuyori Shibata (c) defeated Nick Wayne
This was Shibata’s sixth title defense. The judges for this title match were Dalton Castle, Jerry Lynn, and Jimmy Jacobs.
The two jockeyed for position early on, with Shibata almost scoring with a Penalty Kick. Shibata snatched on an ankle lock soon after, with Wayne having to use his first rope break at 2:30. Wayne feigned injury to bait Shibata to the floor, but Shibata sent Wayne into the barricades anyway. Shibata held serve on Wayne until Wayne knocked Shibata down with a running forearm.
Wayne knocked Shibata into the corner before hitting Shibata’s signature shotgun dropkick on Shibata himself. Shibata woke up and drilled Wayne with a forearm before following with the shotgun dropkick on Wayne. Shibata locked on the Cobra Twist, forcing Wayne to use his second rope break at 8:00. Wayne immediately used his third rope break to escape a hold before dropping Shibata with a neckbreaker for a nearfall.
Wayne hit a pair of high kicks and went for Wayne’s World, but Shibata caught him in a sleeper hold. Shibata sat Wayne down and hit the Penalty Kick to win and retain the title.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Lee Johnson, who was quickly interrupted by Lee Moriarty & Shane Taylor. Moriarty mockingly offered a handshake before Taylor got in Johnson’s face. They broke away before things got physical.
Diamante defeated Catie Brite
This was a quick showcase for Diamante, who won with Rolling The Dice.
Lexy Nair was backstage with The Infantry & Willie Mack. Carlie Bravo said that they have become one of the hottest teams in ROH, and alongside Willie Mack, they would win the titles.
Lee Moriarty (w/Shane Taylor) defeated Lee Johnson
It’s a Lee Derby here in State College, PA. After jockeying for position, Johnson picked up the pace and sent Moriarty to the floor with a dropkick. Johnson met Moriarty on the floor and peppered him with chops. Back in the ring, Moriarty cut off Johnson with a kitchen sink knee. Moriarty hit a bridging suplex for a nearfall.
Johnson fought out of a Ground Cobra and avoided another kitchen sink knee before taking Moriarty down with a lariat. Johnson fired up, hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Moriarty yanked Johnson into the turnbuckle, but Johnson drilled Moriarty with a superkick. Johnson hit a frog splash, but Moriarty got his foot on the ropes to break the pin. Moriarty dropped Johnson on the ropes neck first before hitting a leg lariat to score the clean win.
In a pre-tape, Athena held Minion Training with Billie Starkz & Lexy Nair. Their tasks included rigorous exercise, booing Willow Nightingale, and attempting to scare the Renegade Twins. According to Athena, Lexy passed her training, but Starkz did not. This was very silly.
After the opening salvo, Adora had Martinez in a fireman’s carry before Diamante distracted her. Martinez laid Adora out with a main event spinebuster. Diamante got some shots in on Adora while the referee was distracted by Martinez. Martinez hit the Anarchist Suplex for a nearfall.
Adora caught Martinez with a bridging German suplex from her knees before following with a senton for a nearfall. Martinez hit a half-and-half suplex before hitting a running forearm. Martinez followed with a rabbit forearm before locking on the Brass City Sleeper to score the submission win.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena (w/Billie Starkz) (c) defeated Angelina Love
This was Athena’s fifteenth defense of the title.
Athena is wrestling in street clothes. The two traded kip-ups before Athena dropped Love with a back heel kick and a meteora for a nearfall. Love rolled to the floor and apprehended Starkz, then sent Starkz into Athena to gain control. Back in the ring, Love hit a sidewalk slam for a nearfall.
Athena bit her way out of a chinlock before firing up with a combo that ended with a low enzuigiri. Athena hit a handspring forearm before going to the top rope, but Love cut her off. Love ducked a corner charge before hitting the Botox Injection for a nearfall. Athena came back with her double knee facebuster to win and retain.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Maria Kanellis-Bennett, Cole Karter, & Griff Garrison. Garrison said that he felt he’s lost a step since returning from injury and that teaming with Karter seemed like a relatively good idea.
Hogan quickly got the upper hand on Robyn Renegade, hitting a hip attack and a low dropkick for a nearfall. Blue tagged in and hit a rising knee before landing a superkick for a nearfall. Charlette and Hirsch yanked Blue’s partners off the ropes before the Renegades hit a double suplex on Blue for a nearfall.
Maria Kanellis-Bennett made her way to the stage to watch.The Renegades double-teamed Blue before Hirsch tagged in. Hirsch rag-dolled Blue around with suplexes before snatching Blue’s arm in a cross armbreaker. Blue rolled her up to escape before tagging in Nightingale, who ran wild on all three opponents.
Nightingale hit a double suplex on both Renegades for a nearfall. The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl before Nightingale hit a Pounce on Hirsch. Nightingale hit a DVD on Charlette before Blue hit a Code Blue to score the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Mark Sterling, Tony Nese, & Spanish Announce Project. Nese was very condescending to his partners tonight.
Ethan Page defeated VSK
Page hit a powerslam and set up for Ego’s Edge, but VSK escaped and fought back. Page hit a cradle slam, similar to Rhea Ripley’s Riptide, before hitting the outside-in cutter to score the quick win.
El Hijo del Vikingo, Gravity & Metalik (w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. Spanish Announce Project (Angelico & Serpentico) & Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling)
Metalik started off with Serpentico, quickly taking him down with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Gravity & Angelico tagged in, with Gravity sending Angelico to the floor with a lucha armdrag. Vikingo & Nese came in, with Vikingo hammering Nese with kicks before sending him to the floor with a dropkick. Vikingo hit a step-up twisting tornillo to the floor before his partners followed with dives of their own.
Metalik came in, but Sterling cut him off in the ropes and allowed Nese to take control. Angelico tagged in and tied Metalik in knots before he reached the ropes, all the while arguing with Nese. Angelico brought Metalik to the top rope, but Metalik brought him down with a sunset flip powerbomb. Gravity tagged in and ran wild, hitting a powerslam and a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
The match broke down into a Pier Five brawl – Vikingo hasn’t been around since the dive – before Nese tried to unmask Gravity. Serpentico took offense to that, leading to both SAP members bailing on the match. Metalik tagged in and hit a rope walk senton for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Ethan Page. He hasn’t felt this good in a while, not since he challenged MJF for the AEW World Title in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. He wanted to get back to that feeling, so he’s here in ROH to keep competing.
Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated Cole Karter & Griff Garrison (w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett)
Karter was outpaced by Martin, so he quickly tagged out to Garrison. Andretti & Martin outsmarted Garrison, fooling him with a blind tag to score with a double team. After Karter and Maria tripped up Martin, Garrison dropped him with a big boot. Karter kept control of Martin, with Maria helping on the outside to Garrison’s dismay.
Martin fought off a double team to make the tag to Andretti, who ran wild on both men. After a scramble, Karter tried getting a roll-up with his feet on the ropes. Garrison knocked his feet off the ropes, not wanting to cheat to win. Martin and Andretti took advantage, isolating Karter before Andretti hit a springboard 450 to score the win.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Match – The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) (c) defeated The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) & Willie Mack (w/Trish Adora)
This was the Mogul Embassy’s tenth title defense.
Bravo & Dean isolated Kaun with a wishbone before Liona tagged in. Liona dropped Bravo with a lariat before Kaun came in with a senton. Cage tagged in to continue the offensive on Bravo. Bravo fought his way to the tag to Mack, who took Cage down multiple times.
Mack fought off all three of the Embassy before hitting a yakuza kick on Cage for a nearfall. Cage cut Mack off and hit his outside-in superplex. Bravo tagged in and dropped both Cage and Kaun before avoiding Liona’s charge. The Infantry isolated Liona, drilling him with kicks before Mack hit a Stunner. The Infantry hit a double suplex on Liona before tagging Mack. Mack hit a frog splash on Cage for a nearfall.
The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl, with the Embassy isolating Mack. Liona and Kaun hit Open The Gates on Mack to score the win and retain the titles.
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.
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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.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena & Billie Starkz have challenged The Renegade Twins for next week’s Ring of Honor TV.
Athena & Starkz formed an unlikely alliance on this week’s Ring of Honor TV episode, each saving the other from a Renegade Twins attack after matches.
Athena defeated Brittany J on Thursday’s show in a Proving Ground match, and The Renegade Twins ran in to attack the Women’s World Champion after the match. Starkz then made a run-in for the save.
Later in the show, Starkz wrestled Charlette Renegade and picked up the victory. Robyn Renegade ran in and joined Charlette in an attack on Starkz after the match, and Athena reciprocated Starkz’s save from earlier in the show.
Athena then attempted to enlist Starkz as one of her “minions,” and the duo issued a challenge to The Renegades in a backstage promo segment with Lexy Nair later in the program.
Starkz defeated Robyn Renegade on last week’s Ring of Honor TV, and now holds victories over both twins in singles competition.
Athena last defended her Women’s World title against Diamante on the August 3 Ring of Honor TV, and has won Proving Ground matches on consecutive episodes since, so an eventual Athena vs. Starkz program for the Women’s World title looks to be the future direction for the Champion.
