The following are spoilers from Friday’s pre-AEW Rampage Ring of Honor TV taping in Kingston, Rhode Island — assumed to be for this Thursday’s HonorClub show.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, ROH Women’s Champion Athena and ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata were all in action as was Alex Coughlin who appeared in the company for the first time since 2019’s War of the Worlds series.
Skye Blue defeated Kelly Madan
Mark Briscoe defeated Ari Daivari. The Varsity Athletes attacked afterward and FTR made the save
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defeated Metalik to retain the title
Robyn Renegade defeated Madison Rayne. Rayne appeared to injure her ankle and they went right to the finish.
Wheeler Yuta defeated Tracy Williams
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata & Alex Coughlin defeated The WorkHorsemen
Darius Martin defeated Mike Bennett by DQ when Matt Taven ran in. Action Andretti made the save.
Willow Nightingale defeated LMK
Stu Grayson defeated Tony Nese. After the match, The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) came out and stared down Evil Uno and Grayson.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena pinned Ashley D’Amboise in a Proving Ground match
They also taped an AEW dark match afterward.
Best Friends, Isiah Kassidy & Matt Hardy defeated The Butcher and the Blade, Kip Sabian & Zack Clayton
In a new interview, former ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham opened up about the end of his time with the Tony Khan regime, including their infamous meeting which Gresham said got away from him.
Speaking to Nick Hausman, Gresham, currently under contract with Impact Wrestling, detailed the events that led up to his meeting with Khan and title defense against Claudio Castagnoli at last July’s Death Before Dishonor and what happened afterward.
“I shouldn’t have yelled or cursed in a professional environment and I deeply regret my behavior. Since then, I’ve gained some introspection through therapy…and self-reflection and I just want to set the record straight,” he said.
Feeling blown off
Gresham said he had been trying to meet with Khan and felt that leading up to the meeting, he was being “blown off in different ways.” He admitted he maybe shouldn’t have expected the same relationship with Khan as he did with previous ROH ownership where communication came more rapidly.
He said he was flown into a show, but never got a time to meet after waiting for essentially three days (fly-in, event day, departure day). The two eventually exchanged messages and Khan suggested meeting another time.
He said he was flown in again for a different show and the same thing happened before he had to hunt Khan down to talk.
“When I finally get a chance to have a face-to-face with him, he introduces me to someone he is close with and as I go to shake her hand, I turn around and TK, from the way it looked to me, was walking away from me.
“So, at this point, I am thinking to myself, ‘This guy must not respect me at all.’ I just started having things roll around in my mind and I think, at the time, I was my own worst enemy with this. There was a lot of stuff going on personally with me. Nobody but the Progress guys know that my mom had a really bad incident. She was in the hospital for like a week and it was the first time I had ever seen my mom so vulnerable with tubes going through her face and stuff. A lot of this was just me under a lot of stress, I believe. But, I really felt I was disrespected.”
Through therapy and self-reflection, Gresham said he realized he was acting unprofessionally in trying to convey his message, but he felt like there wasn’t an interest in him being heard.
“After weeks of feeling like I wasn’t being heard or blown off, I was frustrated, to be honest. All I wanted was to be heard and for the communication to be had. If they had agreed and liked my ideas and what I wanted to say, great, if not, I would have appreciated the time and just accepted the outcome.”
The infamous meeting
Gresham eventually met with Khan prior to Death Before Dishonor which was a surprise because it was unscheduled.
Before the conversation, Gresham said “had already checked out” and knew he was going to ask for his release. Despite what people think, he said he didn’t leave the company because he lost the ROH title to Castagnoli as “that’s just part of business and life in general. You can’t be the champion forever, so, that’s not what it was.”
He wanted to publicly apologize to Castagnoli as it was a difficult day for everyone involved. He said after the one-minute match, he wanted to just get out of there, but talked to Castagnoli, William Regal and eventually Khan himself before he did.
“But, before I did get out of there completely, my wife had my bags and stuff, and TK, he didn’t have to, but he came over to me and said some really nice things. He told me that no bridges were burned, he shook my hand and he said he knows that I am not a bad person.
“I can only imagine him dealing with athletes for so long. He kinda understands how things are, how people are. He deals with people from all different backgrounds. I’m pretty sure he probably saw where I was coming from and he just granted me my release. That was it.”
Outside a few texts with QT Marshall, he hasn’t had contact with anyone from AEW or ROH since.
Ring of Honor returns to pay-per-view on a busy Friday night in pro wrestling with Supercard of Honor.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will defend the title against past friend and rival Eddie Kingston. The two have had a history dating back to 2004 and will meet in singles action for the first time since 2011.
After their recent star-making performances on AEW Dynamite, AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo will defend against Komander while NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi will answer the challenge of Daniel Garcia.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Yuka Sakazaki, ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta will defend against NJPW star Katsuyori Shibata, ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Mark Briscoe, and ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy defend against AR Fox, Blake Christian & Metalik.
The ROH Tag Team titles will find a new home as The Kingdom, Lucha Brothers, Top Flight, Aussie Open and Rush & Dralistico will battle in a ladder match for the vacant titles.
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**Zero Hour**
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman welcomed us to the Galen Center on the campus of USC for the Zero Hour pre-show before throwing to our first match of the night.
Jeff Cobb defeated Tracy Williams
Both men had on black armbands with Jay Briscoe’s name printed. After starting with some grappling, Cobb stuffed a headlock takeover attempt and sent Williams flying with a Spin Cycle side suplex. Cobb won a strike battle with a palm thrust to the neck before hitting a stalling suplex for a nearfall. Williams avoided a standing moonsault and went for a facelock, but Cobb powered up to his feet. Williams took Cobb down with a side suplex. Cobb went after Williams in the corner, but Williams caught Cobb with a DDT for a nearfall.
Cobb lifted Williams up, but Williams got a small package for another nearfall. Cobb ducked a set of lariats before hitting a German suplex. Williams went for a set of strikes before Cobb suddenly finished proceedings with a Tour of the Islands.
– Riccaboni and Coleman announce that this show will be done in honor of the late Jay Briscoe before throwing to a hype video for the Shibata/Yuta Pure Title match.
– Bobby Cruise welcomed the third commentator for the night, former ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Willie Mack
Mack and Takeshita hammered each other with shoulder blocks, with Mack winning the exchange with a punch. Takeshita gained a head of steam before laying out Mack with a flying clothesline. Takeshita looked to follow up with a dive to the floor, but Mack evaded it and laid out Takeshita with a lariat. Back in the ring, the men traded headscissors, with Takeshita sending Mack to the floor. Takeshita hit a senton to the floor and sent Mack into the ring, where Mack answered with a senton to the floor of his own.
Back in the ring, Takeshita fought up from a chinlock but got taken down by a Mack lariat. Mack hit a jumping Shining Wizard and followed with a Samoan Drop. Mack nipped up and hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Takeshita fired up with elbows, but Mack dropped him with a dropkick. Mack went to follow up, but Takeshita dropped him with a lariat for a two count.
Takeshita set up for the Blue Thunder Bomb, but Mack fought out and went for a Stunner. Takeshita fought out, but Mack hit two Stunners. Takeshita answered with a jumping knee and a Stunner of his own, but Mack got the last word in the exchange with a Shining Wizard.
The crowd chanted This Is Awesome as both men got up. Mack hit an exploder suplex into the corner before smashing Takeshita with a cannonball. Mack went to the top for a frog splash, but Takeshita moved out of the way. Takeshita hit the Blue Thunder Bomb before scoring the win with the running knee strike.
– In the middle of that match, it was announced that Komander vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo would be the opener.
– We got a hype video for the Women’s World Title match between Athena and Yuka Sakazaki.
Willow Nightingale defeated Miranda Alize
Alize smacked away Nightingale’s hand for the Code of Honor, which Nightingale responded to by tossing Alize around with suplexes. Alize bailed out of the ring, forcing Nightingale to chase her before catching her with a spike rana. Nightingale fought back with chops before Alize clawed at her eyes to get away. Alize hit a face wash boot and a shotgun dropkick before scoring a nearfall with a butterfly suplex.
Nightingale cartwheeled out of the way of an Alize attack and went on offense, hitting a spinebuster for a nearfall. Alize hit a ripcord knee and a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Alize hit a low dropkick and a DDT for another nearfall, which she quickly followed with an armbar. Nightingale rolled her up to get out of the hold before hitting a Spicolli Driver for a two count.
Alize ducked a cannonball and spun Nightingale around into a cutter. Alize set up for the Drive By knee, but Willow ducked it and hit a pounce. Nightingale dropped the straps and hit the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
– We got a hype video for the Reach For The Sky ladder match, the Mark Briscoe/Samoa Joe Television Title match, and the Eddie Kingston/Claudio Castagnoli World Title match.
Stu Grayson (w/Evil Uno) defeated Slim J (w/Ari Daivari & Smart Mark Sterling)
It’s not a new-era ROH show until the Trustbusters show up. That’s not a good thing. Slim J is good though, and this was a fine showcase for the returning Grayson.
Grayson overpowered Slim J to start, sending him flying with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. After convening with his team on the outside, Slim J hit a pair of headscissors, but Grayson hit one of his own. Grayson hit an inside-out senton to Slim J on the apron. Sterling and Daivari ran distraction, allowing Slim J to hit a hurricane kick off the top rope before ripping off his pricey t-shirt.
Slim J hit a springboard reverse DDT for a two count. Slim J laid in strikes that only fired up Grayson, leading to a Grayson offensive flurry. Grayson hit a springboard twisting senton for a two count. Slim J caught Grayson in a sleeper hold, but Grayson hit a pop-up powerslam for a nearfall. Slim J fought out of a backbreaker and hit a standing Sliced Bread for a nearfall.
Slim J went to the top rope and missed a high-arcing moonsault. Sterling got involved again, leading to Evil Uno taking him and Daivari out. Grayson got his hands on Slim J and finally hit the Nightfall to score the win.
– After the match, former ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Vincent and Dutch of the Righteous made their way to the stage and menaced the Dark Order team.
**Main Card**
– Riccaboni, Coleman, & McGuinness welcomed us to the main card before introducing our first match.
AAA Mega Title Match: El Hijo del Vikingo defeated Komander to retain
An absolutely dazzling affair. The raw athleticism on display was unreal. You would think these two came from a different planet with the moves they pulled off. I cannot recommend this match enough, as this was a fantastic way to kick off Supercard of Honor.
We got a pop at the bell as the crowd was red hot for this match. Komander caught Vikingo by the legs and went for a trap pinfall that only got a two count. Vikingo responded by trapping Komander in a surfboard stretch that Komander got out of. They got their legs tied up, eventually ending up in a headstand. They slapped each other out of it before Vikingo sent Komander to the floor. Vikingo hit a Fosbury Flop and landed with Komander in a reverse DDT position, but Komander reversed position. They do-si-do’ed position before Vikingo sent Komander in the ring.
Komander sent Vikingo to the floor and hit a top rope dive. He hit a senton to the floor before pulling out a table. Komander hit a 450 splash to Vikingo on the floor. Back in the ring, Vikingo got back in control, hitting an imploding hurricanrana and a hurricane kick. Vikingo hit a meteora that sent Komander to the floor. Komander got his knees up on a Shooting Star Press from the apron. Komander went for a rope-walk shooting star, but Vikingo got his feet up.
Vikingo hit a snap Frankensteiner for a nearfall before following up with a spinning uranage. Vikingo went for a double jump springboard hurricanrana, but Komander caught him with a powerbomb for a nearfall. Komander went to the top, but Vikingo shoved him down to the floor. Vikingo stood on the top of the ringpost, then hit a springboard imploding 450 to Komander on the floor. This is madness!
Vikingo sent Komander in the ring and hit a outside-in Phoenix Splash for a nearfall. They rolled to the apron, where they engaged in a strike battle. Komander rolled up onto Vikingo’s shoulder before hitting a Destroyer on the apron. Komander went to the turnbuckle on the far-side of the ring and hit his rope-walk soaring dive to a massive pop. Back in the ring, Komander hit the rope-walk Shooting Star Press successfully, but only got a nearfall.
Komander went back to the well, but Vikingo knocked him down onto the ropes. Vikingo went to the top, but Komander walked the ropes to him. Vikingo then caught Komander off the top rope with a Canadian Destroyer that sent Komander to the table on the floor. Vikingo hit a step-up 630 to Komander on the table that didn’t break the table, but was no less spectacular.
Vikingo went to the top rope and missed the 630 Splash into the ring. Komander went to the top rope and hit a twisting Phoenix Splash, but Vikingo grabbed the rope on the cover. Komander took Vikingo to the top rope, but Vikingo slammed him down with the twisting uranage off the top. Vikingo hit a Meteora in the corner before crushing Komander with a 630 to win this incredible match.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Match: The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Kaun) (w/Prince Nana) defeated AR Fox, Blake Christian & Metalik to retain
This match had a solid story, with the challengers trying to blitz the champions before they got their feet under them. Eventually, the Embassy were able to keep one guy isolated long enough to win. There was no way they could match the spectacle that the opener was, but this was a solid trios match nonetheless.
The challengers brought the fight to the champions, sending them to the floor before hitting a triple dive to the floor. Metalik tried to follow with a crossbody onto Liona, but Liona caught him and sent him down with a twisting senton. The champions isolated Metalik, who hit a back elbow to tag out to Fox. Fox hit a set of cutters on Cage, before taking out Kaun with a cutter. Liona tried to cut him off, but Fox ducked his charge and hit dives onto Kaun and Cage. Fox hit a top rope senton onto Cage for a nearfall.
Cage caught Fox on a dive and hit an F-5 before tagging out to Liona. Fox got the tag out to Christian, who took out Kaun on the apron before hitting a Fosbury Flop to Liona on the floor. Metalik hit a splash, but Liona kicked out before the ref started counting. The Embassy isolated Christian, hitting a top rope backbreaker and an apron splash on him. Fox cut off Cage and hit a powerbomb, leading to a flurry of offense on Cage. This broke down into a pier 6 brawl, ending with Metalik hitting a DDT on Liona.
Cage lined up a powerbomb, but Christian walked on Kaun’s back to hit a Destroyer on Cage. Kaun and Liona took out Christian with a facebuster. Metalik and Cage were left alone in the ring, with Cage hitting the Drillclaw to win the match and retain the titles.
ROH Women’s World Title Match: Athena defeated Yuka Sakazaki to retain
This wasn’t as good as Athena’s title defenses on Ring of Honor television as it lacked the hyper-intensity that those matches had, but this was still a quality title match. Athena has become one of the most compelling women’s wrestlers in America just from the viciousness of her offense.
Athena charged Sakazaki to start, but the opening challenge ended in a stalemate. Sakazaki picked up steam, hitting a headscissors that sent Athena to the floor before following it with a step-up cannonball to the floor. Athena tried bailing through the crowd, but Sakazaki caught up with her and sent her back in the ring. Athena sidestepped a missile dropkick and brought Sakazaki down with a Black Hole Slam.
Athena caught Sakazaki’s leg on a corner charge and drove her down to the mat by the neck. Sakazaki hit a jawbreaker and followed with a sliding lariat for a nearfall. Sakazaki hit an up kick in the corner before Athena caught her on a headscissors attempt. Athena hit a trio of powerbombs for a nearfall. Athena hit the double-knee facebuster for a nearfall as the crowd chanted for Sakazaki. Sakazaki rolled to the apron where Athena dropkicked her to the floor.
Athena hit a wheelbarrow suplex to Sakazaki on the floor. She tried to follow with a dropkick into the barricade, but Sakazaki moved. Sakazaki hit a big slam on the floor before sending Athena into the ring steps. Sakazaki got on the stage and took a long run before hitting Athena with a running Thesz Press. Back in the ring, Sakazaki hit a splash from the top rope for a nearfall.
Sakazaki hit a quintet of forearms before setting up her finish, but Athena drilled her with a forearm of her own. Sakazaki grabbed the ropes to break the pin. Athena went to the top for the O-Face, but Sakazaki met her on the top and hit a superplex. Sakazaki hit her spinning facebuster finish – think Dalton Castle’s Bang-a-rang but inverted – but Athena kicked out. Sakazaki went for a top-rope splash again, but Athena sent the referee into the ropes and took Sakazaki down with an elevated O-Face for the win.
ROH World Television Title Match: Samoa Joe defeated Mark Briscoe to retain
A stunning result here to a really good, hard-hitting match.
Joe bailed out of the ring to start, letting the emotion of the moment simmer down before locking up with Briscoe. Briscoe peppered Joe with Redneck Kung Fu strikes before engaging in a chop battle that Briscoe won with a chop to the neck. Briscoe hit the Spicolli Driver and went for the Froggy Bow, but Joe rolled out of the ring. Briscoe charged Joe on the floor, but Joe took Briscoe down with a suplex to the floor.
Back in the ring, Joe hammered Briscoe with strikes and dropped him with a back elbow. Joe kept control with heavy strikes, but Briscoe fired up after Joe started laying in the punches. Joe ducked a corner charge and hit the body block/enzuigiri combination to send Briscoe to the floor. Briscoe came back in the ring only for Joe to send him back to the floor and hit the Elbow Suicida.
Joe grabbed a chair, but Briscoe cut him off with a baseball slide. Briscoe used the chair to hit a step-up dive over the top before pulling a table out from under the ring. Hopefully it wasn’t the same table that Vikingo used. Briscoe hit a running blockbuster off the apron through the table. Back in the ring, Briscoe laid in the chops on Joe, but Joe responded with elbows and a headbutt. Briscoe took Joe down with a forearm off the ropes.
As both men recovered, Ian Riccaboni announced that Supercard of Honor broke the all-time ROH gate record in Southern California. I don’t think there’s much competition there, but a record is a record. Briscoe crawled to the corner for a tag, but instead fired himself up and hit a uranage for a nearfall. Joe fought out of a Jay Driller attempt and hit the snap powerslam for a nearfall. Joe hit a powerbomb, and when Briscoe kicked out, transitioned into the ST-Joe. When Briscoe started crawling to the ropes, Joe transitioned to a crossface, but Briscoe got to the ropes regardless.
Briscoe fired up, fighting through a high-angle back suplex, but Joe landed a big lariat for a nearfall. Joe’s nose was busted as he set up the Muscle Buster, but Briscoe fought off and hit a boot that sent Joe to the mat. Briscoe went to the top and hit the Froggy Bow, but only got a close nearfall. Briscoe called for the Jay Driller, but Joe powered out again. Joe countered the Cut-Throat Driver and locked in the Coquina Clutch. He sent Briscoe up and over with a sleeper suplex before locking in the Clutch again, forcing Briscoe to pass out.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Daniel Garcia
This was a good match. I realize saying that about a Tanahashi singles match is like saying the grass is green, but good is about all this match was. The work was smart, but the crowd still felt down from the Briscoe loss. They did get up for Tanahashi’s signature offense.
Garcia is entering this match without any Jericho Appreciation Society backup. Tanahashi is entering this one without his front teeth, as his veneers broke while eating an apple yesterday. Garcia grabbed a hold of Tanahashi’s hair and laid in shots to Tanahashi’s back. Tanahashi came back with a back elbow and a crossbody off the second rope. Tanahashi beat Garcia around the ring, but Garcia took control after a drop toe hold onto the stairs.
Garcia worked over Tanahashi’s knee before playing his own air guitar to boos. Garcia does more work on Tanahashi’s leg before getting distracted by the crowds chant of You’re A Wrestler. Garcia channels Shinsuke Nakamura by hitting Tanahashi with the good vibrations boot in the corner. He hit the Nakamura pose on the ropes to massive heat as Ian Riccaboni promoted a very special announcement from Tony Khan this Wednesday on Dynamite. Hmm.
Tanahashi fought back and hit the second-rope senton for a nearfall. Garcia cut off Tanahashi and hit a scissors kick for a nearfall. Tanahashi and Garcia engaged in a strike battle that became a boot-to-the-knee battle that Garcia won. Garcia went for a Sharpshooter, but Tanahashi rolled him up for a nearfall. Tanahashi caught Garcia’s boot and hit a Dragon Screw before locking on the Texas Cloverleaf.
Garcia reached the ropes and dropped Tanahashi with a kneebreaker and a German suplex. Garcia hit the Bryan Danielson running knee for a nearfall. Garcia went for a piledriver, but Tanahashi maneuvered into the Twist and Shout before landing the Slingblade for a nearfall. Tanahashi went to the top rope and hit the High Fly Flow for the win. Garcia denied Tanahashi a handshake after the match.
Reach For The Sky Ladder Match for ROH World Tag Team Titles: The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) defeated Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin), The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett), Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis), & La Faccion Ingobernable (Dralistico & Rush) to win the titles
Absolute mayhem from start to finish.
You will have to forgive me if I don’t catch every spot in this one folks. LFI and the Kingdom stay in the ring, clearing out the rest of the teams before the Kingdom dropped LFI and sent them to the floor. Top Flight avoided a ladder attack and dropkicked the ladder into both members of the Kingdom. LFI tied up Top Flight in the corner, allowing Rush to crush them with a ladder-assisted Bull’s Horns. Aussie Open caught Dralistico with the Dental Plan before dropping Rush with the tandem cutter.
The Lucha Brothers come in and take out Aussie Open with a wheelbarrow splash on top of those two and a ladder. We got a run of dives, peaking with the Kingdom taking out Darius Martin with an inside-out Doomsday Device. LFI isolated Penta and sent him into the post as the Kingdom set up a massive pile of tables on the floor. Aussie Open laid out the Kingdom with dual piledrivers. They sandwiched a Martin brother with two ladders on the floor.
Aussie Open set up the ladder, but the Lucha Brothers cut them off. The Kingdom was busted open on the stage. LFI took out the Lucha Brothers, but the Kingdom fought back in. Bennett and Rush climbed the ladder, but climbed down and moved the ladder to fight to a big pop from the crowd. Rush wiped Bennett’s blood on his chest before engaging in a chop battle. Rush won it but got met with a King of the King from Taven. Dralistico sent Taven into a ladder in the corner with a suplex.
Darius Martin cut off Dralistico before catapulting Dante Martin to the top. They took out Rush with a dropkick to a chair, but Aussie Open took out Top Flight by sending them into a ladder. Aussie Open send both Lucha Brothers into ladders with a beel throw. Dante Martin dropkicked Fletcher in the ankles to knock him off the ladder. Darius Martin hit a Spanish Fly off a ladder bridge to Matt Taven. Dante Martin took out Bennett with a sunset flip powerbomb, but got dropped by Aussie Open with the Coriolis. Aussie Open took out Darius Martin with a tandem spinebuster onto a ladder bridge on the floor.
Dralistico sent Fletcher off the apron into the announce table with a rana. The Kingdom double-teamed Dralistico, with Taven sending Dralistico through a ladder with a splash. Rush sent Davis into a ladder with a German suplex off the apron. Jose The Assistant and Alex Abrahantes got into fisticuffs. Dante Martin tried fighting off both Lucha Brothers, but Penta sent Dante off of a ladder bridge through four tables with a Canadian Destroyer. The Kingdom tried fighting off Fenix, but Fenix fought them off and grabbed the titles to win.
After the match, Mark Briscoe and FTR raised the arms of the Lucha Brothers.
ROH Pure Title Match: Katsuyori Shibata defeated Wheeler Yuta (w/ Jon Moxley) to win the title
Yuta got himself in way over his head. On ROH TV, he had been toying around with his opponents, showing his proficiency in the Pure style. He got a big head and made a challenge to man much better than him and found out he made a massive mistake. This was a great culmination of Yuta’s work over the past month of work in Ring of Honor. Seeing Shibata in the ring, holding a Ring of Honor Championship is surreal.
Pat Buck, Madison Rayne, and Christopher Daniels were the judges.
Seeing Shibata in the ring is still surreal after all of these years. Moxley made his way to the back during the opening exchanges. Shibata won the early exchanges, almost scoring with the Penalty Kick before Yuta moved. Shibata was in firm control early on, tying Yuta up in a figure four leglock. Yuta tried hard to escape the hold, but was forced to use his first rope break. Yuta rarely used his rope breaks in his television defenses of the title, so this is signaling a big step up in competition for the champion.
Shibata got Yuta in position and laid in the hammer-and-anvil elbows. McGuinness reminisced about the time “Clam Digger Danielson” beat him for the Pure Title with those strikes. Yuta escaped a figure four head lock by forcing Shibata on his shoulders for a pin cover. Yuta took hold of Shibata’s arm and began working on it, but Shibata worked his way to his feet and stomped Yuta in the chest. Yuta laid in the chops to Shibata, who didn’t sell it and hit a palm strike that sent Yuta to the corner.
Yuta trapped the referee and hit a low blow behind the referee’s back. The referee did see Yuta hit Shibata with a closed fist, which earned a warning. Yuta worked over Shibata and taunted him with boots. Yuta tried chopping Shibata again, but Shibata walked into them and drilled Yuta with an elbow. Shibata hit the face wash before landing the picture-perfect basement dropkick. A suplex landed for a nearfall.
Yuta used his second rope break as Shibata pulled him off the ropes. Shibata booted Yuta in the chest repeatedly, with Yuta spitting in his face. Yuta hit a set of strikes and went for the Seatbelt pin cover, but Shibata cut it off. Yuta went for the rebound suplex, but Shibata slapped him in the face and locked him in the sleeper choke. Yuta went down, leading to Shibata hitting the Penalty Kick to win the match and the Pure Title. After the match, Yuta blew off the Code of Honor and left to boos.
– The announcers ran down the card for Dynamite this week, including the additions of Sammy Guevara vs. Komander and Hook vs. Ethan Page for the FTW Title. They also announced that Athena would defend the ROH Women’s World Title against Miyu Yamashita on ROH TV this Thursday.
ROH World Title Match: Claudio Castagnoli defeated Eddie Kingston to retain
A match with intensity and fire that built up to an excellent crescendo. Kingston once again came up short against Castagnoli, but he proved that the talent gap between the two wasn’t as steep as Castagnoli believed. With the next set of Ring of Honor tapings coming in New York, I wouldn’t be surprised if a rematch came about, replaying the decade-old Chikara story that is so foundational to this feud. An excellent, emotionally charged main event to this show.
Kingston tackled Castagnoli to start, laying in the strikes to start. Castagnoli sent Kingston out of the ring with a set of uppercuts. Kingston grabbed a chair, but let the referee take it out of the ring. Castagnoli hit a side suplex, but Kingston came back with chops and a headlock. Kingston went after Castagnoli’s knee, sending him into a split. Castagnoli bailed to the floor to stop the attack. Kingston went for a dive, but Castagnoli cut him off with an uppercut in the ropes.
Kingston and Castagnoli brawled in the ropes, with Castagnoli tying Kingston up and hitting open hand slaps to Kingston. He dragged Kingston over the second rope to the floor with a suplex. Castagnoli hit a double stomp to Kingston before following it with a diving headbutt for a nearfall. Kingston and Castagnoli exchanged palm strikes, with Castagnoli cutting it off to spin Kingston with the Giant Swing. He only got three rotations, as Kingston’s work on the knee forced Castagnoli to stop.
Castagnoli hit a running uppercut in the corner and sent Kingston to the top rope. Kingston threw more palm strikes, with Castagnoli answering with a dropkick to Kingston seated on the top rope. Castagnoli went to the top and brought Kingston with him before bringing him down with a Superplex that scored a nearfall. Castagnoli laid in the boots before double stomping Kingston in the face, but Kingston cut off a cover attempt by clawing Castagnoli in the face.
Kingston hit an enzuigiri that sent Castagnoli to the floor, and quickly followed with a dive. Kingston hit an exploder suplex on the floor and rolled back in the ring. Castagnoli followed and was met with a bulldog off the second rope for a nearfall. Kingston tried for a side suplex, but Castagnoli didn’t go and clubbed at him with strikes. Castagnoli went for a big uppercut, but Kingston hooked him in the Stretch Plum.
Castagnoli got to the ropes, so Kingston hit the Backdrop Driver for a nearfall. Castagnoli blasted Kingston with elbows and hit a German suplex. We had a forearm battle. Kingston had a backfist blocked, and Castagnoli hit a heavy lariat for a nearfall. Castagnoli laid in the knees to Kingston’s midsection, setting up the Ricola Bomb. But Kingston slipped out and hit the Backfist for a tight nearfall.
Castagnoli rolled to the apron, where Kingston tried to hit an Exploder off the apron. But Castagnoli got Kingston in a gutwrench and suplexed him off of the apron to the floor. Castagnoli grabbed the barricade and threw it into Kingston’s back multiple times. Castagnoli dumped Kingston’s limp body into the ring and called for the running uppercut. He hit it clean, but Kingston kicked out at two. Castagnoli talked trash and slapped Kingston, but Kingston answered back with two Backfists.
Castagnoli hit the Neutralizer, but Kingston kicked out at one. Castagnoli rebounded with a massive uppercut, but Kingston kicked out again. Castagnoli laid in heavy uppercuts and went for the Ricola Bomb, but Kingston rolled through into a pin. Castagnoli rolled into a pin of his own to steal the win and retain the title.
After the match, Wheeler Yuta came to the ring to help Castagnoli up. They cornered Kingston before Katsuyori Shibata made his way to the ring to even the odds. They had a tense staredown before Castagnoli and Yuta left the ring. Kingston grabbed the mic and swore a lot before closing the show by saying that he wasn’t going anywhere, and that he would still be coming for Castagnoli and the title.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston for the ROH World Championship is official for Supercard of Honor.
On Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode, Castagnoli accepted the previously-issued challenge from Kingston, adding that Kingston is “the biggest waste of potential he’s ever seen.”
Kingston “quit” AEW in an angle shot for social media channels on March 1, then appeared on the first Ring of Honor TV episode the next day to issue a challenge to Castagnoli.
In addition to the World title bout being made official, the lineup for the Reach for the Sky ladder match for the vacant ROH World Tag Team titles was also finalized during Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV show.
The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix), The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett), Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis), Top Flight (Darius Martin & Dante Martin), and Rush & Dralistico will be the five teams squaring off the the vacant Tag titles on next Friday’s PPV.
Two additional title matches are expected to be announced for the PPV — Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki for the ROH Women’s World title, plus Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the ROH Pure title — but are not official as of yet.
The updated lineup for the show:
ROH Supercard of Honor, Friday, March 31, 7 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —
ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli defends against Eddie Kingston
AAA Mega Championship: El Hijo del Vikingo defends against Komander
Reach for the Sky ladder match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship: Lucha Bros vs. Top Flight vs. The Kingdom vs. Aussie Open vs. Rush & Dralistico
ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe defends against Mark Briscoe
Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and ROH Women’s Champion Athena will each be in Proving Ground matches on Thursday’s ROH on HonorClub.
Castagnoli will face Willie Mack while Athena takes on Hyan. If either challenger beats the champion or goes to the time limit, they earn a future title shot.
ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta will defend his title against NJPW standout Clark Connors while ROH Six-Man Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage & Gates of Agony) defend against former champions Dalton Castle & The Boys.
Eddie Kingston will continue his pursuit of both Castagnoli and a title shot as he takes on Jeeves Kay of the Trustbusters. Kay’s teammates Ari Daivari & Slim J will battle the newly-formed team of Blake Christian & Gran Metalik.
Some of the other action will include Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal, Rush & Dralistico, Trish Adora, Dante Martin, Silas Young and more.
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Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are on the call as I pull myself away from March Madness coverage to give you your Ring of Honor coverage!
Proving Ground Match: ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. Willie Mack
A solid showing from Mack against the World Champion. Mack is always a crowd favorite, and he had the crowd behind him here.
This match has a 10-minute time limit. If Mack lasts the time limit or beats Castagnoli within the 10 minutes, he will get a title shot in the future.
After an early feeling-out process, Mack sent Castagnoli to the floor with an armdrag. Back in the ring, Mack hit a headscissors for a nearfall. Mack loaded up Castagnoli for a suplex, but Castagnoli powered him up for a suplex of his own. Castagnoli sent Mack off the ropes, but Mack came back with a running kick for a 2 count.
Castagnoli cut off a uranage attempt, sending Mack into the corner and drilling him with forearms. A lariat gave Castagnoli a nearfall, and a butterfly suplex scored another nearfall on Mack. Mack caught Castagnoli with a pop-up samoan drop. After a double down that almost resulted in a double knockout, Mack nipped up and hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
A forearm exchange ended in a spinebuster from Mack for a nearfall. Mack went to the top for a frog splash, but Castagnoli moved and knocked Mack out with a running uppercut to score the win.
Dante Martin (w/ Darius Martin) defeated Mike Bennett (w/ The Kingdom)
This was a quite good singles match from these tag team specialists. Bennett has consistently improved since his WWE run, becoming a sneaky highlight on most shows he’s on. Him and Dante Martin worked well together here heating up this tag team feud.
Bennett refused the Code of Honor to start. I believe he’s the first person to do that since the reboot, so put that on your Trivial Pursuit cards.
These two quickly got into a chop exchange that Martin won before drilling Bennett with a dropkick and a plancha to the floor. Maria got in Martin’s way, which allowed Bennett to hit a rebound forearm. Bennett dropped Martin with a piledriver on the ramp before booking it to the ring for the countout. Martin made it back in at 17, with Bennett going for a quick cover that only got a one count.
Bennett dropped Martin with a hammerlock DDT. After jawing at Darius Martin on the floor, Dante did his evasion springboard before hitting a big enzuigiri. Martin got Bennett into package piledriver position before pulling him up into a powerbomb for a nearfall. The men traded strikes before Bennett cut Martin in half with a spear. Martin kicked out of the cover, but Bennett immediately transitioned into the London Dungeon submission.
Martin got to the ropes to break the hold. Bennett went to the top rope, but Martin cut him off with punches and a gamengiri. Martin went to follow him, but Bennett got him on his shoulders. Martin got up just enough to hit a hurricanrana before hitting a frog splash for a nearfall. Bennett tried to catch Martin with a kimura, but Martin turned it into a pinning predicament that forced Bennett to kick out. Martin hit a full-nelson slam to score the win.
After the match, Matt Taven attacked Martin, but Darius Martin cut him off quickly and sent them packing.
Metalik & Blake Christian defeated Ari Daivari & Slim J (w/ Smart Mark Sterling)
Riccaboni informed us that Slim J wears and tears $350 designer t-shirts to the ring. Wear it if you got it, I suppose. Metalik got the first advantage with a backbreaker and a Slingblade-style bulldog. Metalik hit the ropewalk dropkick for a nearfall. Daivari got the advantage with a back elbow after Metalik involved himself with Slim J. The crowd greeted Slim J with Slim J Sucks chants. A double suplex on Metalik got a nearfall for the Trustbusters.
Metalik escaped a back suplex to get a tag out to Christian. Christian ran wild on both men before Slim J cut him off and hit a bodyslam on the floor. Back in the ring, Slim J hit a springboard reverse DDT for a nearfall on Christian.
Christian hit a handspring kick to Daivari before getting the hot tag into Metalik. Slim J cut Metalik off with a rana and a big move in the corner for a nearfall. Slim J missed a moonsault, allowing Metalik to hit a moonsault of his own. As Christian took out Daivari on the floor with a Fosbury Flop, Metalik hit the Metalik Driver for the win.
– We got a video package hyping up Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe for the ROH World TV Title, a match made official for Supercard of Honor. Ian Riccaboni stated that Samoa Joe has never lost to Mark Briscoe.
– Mark Briscoe challenged Tony Nese for next week to clear up his issues with Smart Mark Sterling and his Varsity Athletes before Supercard of Honor.
– We get a recap of Mark Briscoe’s appearance on Rampage announcing the Reach For The Sky Ladder Match for the ROH World Tag Team Titles at Supercard of Honor.
Eddie Kingston defeated Jeeves Kay
Claudio Castagnoli took a seat in the crowd early into this match. Kingston quickly took the match to the outside in Castagnoli’s direction, throwing Kay into the barricade in front of Castagnoli. Castagnoli stood up with coffee all over his shirt, clearly upset before leaving ringside.
Kay hit a suicide dive on Kingston while he was distracted. Kay followed it up with a frog splash for a nearfall. Kingston took control right back, ending things in short order with the Stretch Plum.
– Lexy Nair interviewed the Trustbusters. Smart Mark Sterling tried to talk away the losses, but Daivari angrily challenged Metalik and Blake Christian to a trios match if they could find a partner.
Proving Ground Match: ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defeated Hyan
Proving Ground rules – If the challenger lasts 10 minutes or wins, they get a future title match.
Athena drilled Hyan with a forearm to start before clubbering on her in the corner. Hyan went for a set of flash pins before landing kicks that only scored a one count. Athena caught Hyan off the ropes with a spinning chokeslam before menacing the referee.
Hyan fired up, landing a front slam and a legdrop on Athena that scored another one count. Athena cut Hyan off the top rope with a forearm. Athena dropped Hyan off the apron with a powerbomb to the floor. She sent Hyan into the stairs before throwing her into the ring for a nearfall. Athena immediately locked on a crossface for the quick tap out. After the match, Athena threw Hyan face-first into the Women’s Title before celebrating with the belt.
– Lexy Nair was backstage with Metalik and Blake Christian. Christian introduced their partner for next week – AR Fox –before letting everyone know that they would keep an eye on the ROH Six-Man Title match tonight.
Silas Young defeated Marcus Kross
Kross countered a Young suplex with an inside cradle for a nearfall. That led to a pinning predicament, which ended with Young taking Kross down with a lariat. Young dropped Kross with a heavy Irish Whip into the corner. Kross countered another whip before hitting a springboard crossbody. Young cut off Kross and hit the Pee Gee Waja Plunge for the win.
– After the match, Young took the mic and hyped himself up. After calling himself the best ROH TV Champion in history, Shane Taylor stepped up. He took issue with Young’s claim and made a challenge for next week.
– Lexy Nair interviewed Athena. Athena took the mic and asked Lexy the whereabouts of Yuka Sakazaki. Athena said that since Sakazaki was wrestling in Japan despite being injured at Athena’s hands, that meant that Sakazaki was afraid of her. Athena challenged Sakazaki to a title match at Supercard of Honor.
ROH World Six-Man Championship: The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona, & Kaun) (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brent & Brandon)
Castle started with Kaun, quickly catching him with a suplex. The Boys tagged in to hit trios offense, but Kaun quickly took control of Boy Brent. Liona tagged in and mauled Brent before Brandon got a quick tag in. All three men worked on Liona, with their work only scoring a one-count. Castle got caught in the wrong corner, but evaded to make a tag to Boy Brandon.
Cage tagged in and caught Brandon on a springboard with a slam as Liona sent Castle into the ring steps. The Embassy isolated Brandon, with Kaun dropping him with a backdrop on the top rope. Liona crushed Brandon with a senton on the apron before Cage took him up and over with a superplex. After hitting a trios pose, Liona dumped Brandon with a spinebuster for a nearfall.
Brandon avoided a Liona charge to get a tag out to Castle, who sent Cage and Kaun flying with suplexes. Castle got Kaun in position for Bangarang, but Prince Nana cut it off. Cage took out Castle with an F-5 before the Boys hit tandem offense to take Cage out. Liona and Kaun double-teamed the Boys before slamming Brandon onto Brent to score the win.
After the match, the Embassy put the boots to Castle and the Boys before AR Fox, Metalik, and Blake Christian made the save. Good thing they were keeping a close eye on this one.
Trish Adora defeated Madison Rayne
Adora took Rayne over with a Northern Lights Suplex out of an arm lock for a nearfall. Rayne tried a Crucifix Bomb, but Adora held her up and rolled through into a pinfall for a two count. Rayne got a boot in for a nearfall, but Adora caught Rayne off the ropes with a back elbow. Adora hit another Northern Lights with control of the arm for a nearfall.
Rayne countered the Lariat Tubman with a DDT for a nearfall. Rayne eventually hit a Cloud Cutter for a nearfall, before hitting the Crucifix Bomb for another nearfall. Somewhere in here, the ref told Rayne the time. Adora worked her way out of the Cross Rayne by yanking on the bad arm before hitting the Lariat Tubman for the win.
– Lexy Nair was backstage with Top Flight. Darius Martin let Matt Taven know ahead of their singles match next week that this Kingdom was theirs for the taking.
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
A great use of two talented veterans, re-uniting their team steeped in ROH history.
The Outrunners double-team Daniels to start. Daniels worked his way to the corner to get the tag to Sydal, who quickly took Floyd down with a cross-legged slam. Daniels and Sydal took them both out before Sydal finished off Floyd with the Lightning Spiral.
– After the match, Aussie Open made their way to the stage. Kyle Fletcher stated their desire to be World Tag Team Champions before making the challenge for a future tag team match. After they left, Daniels made sure to accept.
– We got a video hyping the main event.
ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta defeated Clark Connors to retain
Another great title defense from Yuta. His heel edge stands out within the rules of Pure Title matches, and it has gotten this crowd to turn on him quickly. The match of the night. The challenge made in the post-match is incredibly exciting, making for a huge possible title defense for Supercard of Honor.
The judges for this match were Dean Malenko, BJ Whitmer, and Colt Cabana. As always, both men get three rope breaks before any holds in the ropes are legal. A closed fist punch gets a warning, a second gets a disqualification.
Connors overpowered Yuta, laying him out with shoulder blocks. Yuta baited Connors into throwing a shot before tying him up with a submission, forcing Connors to use his first rope break. Connors caught Yuta with a vertical suplex for a nearfall. Connors went for the Trophy Kill, but Yuta kicked Connors and caught him with a Cobra Twist. Connors walked to the ropes and used his second rope break.
Yuta threw his wrist tape to the side, distracting the referee so he could land an illegal closed fist punch on Connors. Yuta worked on Connors’ arm and shoulder, sending him into the turnbuckle in a hammerlock for a nearfall. Yuta tried his rebound into the ring, but Connors cut him off with the Jeep Flip. Connors ran wild, but the Trophy Kill got countered again, with Yuta hitting a drop toe hold into the corner.
Yuta hit a forearm off the top rope before following it up with a German suplex. Connors came out of the corner with the Trophy Kill, but couldn’t make a cover because he hit it with the bad shoulder. Both men rose to their knees before engaging in a strike exchange, but Yuta cut off Connors with a dropkick. Yuta locked Connors’ legs under him and taunted him, leading Connors to hit a closed fist punch to escape. Yuta followed it with a blatant closed fist punch – his second of the match, but the first seen by the referee.
Connors countered the hammer and anvil elbows with a roll-up that he turned into the ankle lock. Yuta used his first rope break, but Connors followed quickly with a set of suplexes. Connors lost him on a third suplex with the bad arm, and Yuta transitioned it into a crossface with the arm. Connors went to use his third rope break, but Yuta caught his arm and transitioned into the Seatbelt pin to score the win.
– After the match, Yuta restated his claim that the Blackpool Combat Club was the best training academy in wrestling. After beating a New Japan Dojo student, he now wants to graduate to the teacher. Yuta made the challenge official – he wants Katsuyori Shibata. Claudio Castagnoli comes out to celebrate as the show ends.
Two Proving Ground matches were announced for Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV as part of the full 11-match lineup.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will face Willie Mack while ROH Women’s Champion Athena takes on Hyan in non-title Proving Ground action. If either Mack or Hyan beats the champion or goes to a time limit draw, they earn a future title shot.
In continued pursuit of Castagnoli and a title shot, Eddie Kingston will battle Jeeves Kay in singles action.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage & Gates of Agony) will defend the gold against former champions Dalton Castle & The Boys. It will be the second title match on the show, joining the previously-announced Wheeler Yuta vs. Clark Connors Pure title match.
As the Top Flight vs. The Kingdom feud continues, Dante Martin will take on Mike Bennett.
Former ROH Women’s title challenger Trish Adora looks for her second straight win as she faces Madison Rayne.
Here’s the full lineup for Thursday’s show on HonorClub:
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. Willie Mack in a Proving Ground match
ROH Women’s Champion Athena vs. Hyan in a Proving Ground match
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy defend against Dalton Castle & The Boys
ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta defends against Clark Connors
Eddie Kingston vs. Jeeves Kay
Blake Christian & Gran Metalik vs. Ari Daivari & Slim J
Madison Rayne vs. Trish Adora
Silas Young vs. Marcus Kross
Matt Sydal & Christopher Daniels vs. The Outrunners
AEW has made its first match announcement for this weekend’s House Rules live event in Troy, Ohio.
Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli will be teaming up at the house show, taking on Big Bill & Lee Moriarty of The Firm. The show is being held at Hobart Arena this Saturday (March 18).
This will be the first event on AEW’s House Rules tour. It’s the second-ever AEW house show. The first, named The House Always Wins, took place in April 2021.
Moxley was originally supposed to wrestle at OTT ScrapperMania 7 in Dublin, Ireland this Saturday, but he was pulled from the booking after AEW announced the House Rules event. Ohio is Moxley’s home state.
AEW is sending Eddie Kingston and PAC to ScrapperMania as Moxley’s replacements.
Moxley & Castagnoli defeated Alex Reynolds & John Silver on Dynamite last week. On this Wednesday’s episode of the show, Moxley, Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta will face Hangman Page, Evil Uno & Stu Grayson in a six-man tag match.
Eddie Kingston has issued a challenge to Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli.
Appearing on this week’s ROH TV episode, Kingston issued the challenge to Castagnoli following Claudio’s main event World title defense against AR Fox. Kingston stated that he had promised Jon Moxley that he would not fight Castagnoli in AEW, but that this was not AEW.
Castagnoli ignored the challenge from Kingston, but Castagnoli vs. Kingston at Supercard of Honor on March 31 appears to be the direction for the World title program.
Kingston’s challenge aired one day after an angle on AEW’s Twitter account where Kingston “quit” AEW. Kingston wrestled on both days of ROH’s television tapings last weekend in Orlando.
Kingston’s most recent match on AEW television aired on the January 13 edition of Rampage, where he teamed with Ortiz against Malakai Black and Brody King. Prior to that contest, Kingston’s last televised singles match was on the Full Gear Zero Hour pre-show on November 19, 2022. His last singles match on Dynamite aired on November 9, 2022, where he dropped an AEW World title eliminator tournament bout to Ethan Page.
A full report from the debut edition of ROH TV on Honor Club can be found here.
The first main event for the return of ROH television has been set.
Tony Khan on Twitter confirmed that Claudio Castagnoli will defend the ROH World Championship against AR Fox on the first episode of ROH television that will air next Thursday, March 2, on ROH’s Honor Club streaming service.
“The New Era of Honor will begin this Thursday with ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defending the title vs. a man who cost him $100,000 at Christmas, AR Fox,” Khan wrote.
The match Khan is referring to is the Three Kings Christmas Casino Trios Battle Royal that took place on the December 21 edition of AEW Rampage. Dante Martin last eliminated Castagnoli to win the match for himself, Darius Martin, and Fox, with all three receiving $100,000 in storyline.
ROH is taping television for the first time in over a year Saturday in Orlando, Florida. The promotion’s next pay-per-view will be Supercard of Honor, which takes place on March 31 in Los Angeles during WrestleMania 39 weekend.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will defend his title against Blake Christian on the show.
This will be the 100th episode of Dark: Elevation to air. It first debuted on March 15, 2021.
Other notable matches scheduled for the show include Red Velvet vs. Billie Starkz, Rush vs. Brian Pillman Jr, and Top Flight vs. Ari Daivari & Tony Nese.
The Kings of the Black Throne, Dark Order, Athena, and the Workhorsemen will all be in action as well.
This week’s episode was filmed on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
AEW Dark: Elevations airs at 7 p.m. Eastern time on YouTube. The announced lineup for the show is as follows:
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. Blake Christian
Kings of the Black Throne (Malakai Black & Brody King) w/ Julia Hart vs. Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum
Red Velvet vs. Billie Starkz
Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds & John Silver vs. The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
Rush w/ Jose the Assisstant vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena & Diamante vs. Skye Blue & Yuka Sakazaki
Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) vs. Ari Daivari & Tony Neese w/ Mark Sterling
Claudio Castagnoli capped off an eventful ROH Final Battle by defeating Chris Jericho to regain the ROH World title in Saturday’s main event.
The end came in a unique fashion with Jericho submitting during Castagnoli’s giant swing, finally giving up in the midst of a 27th consecutive swing. The win ensures that “The Swiss Superman” doesn’t have to join the Jericho Appreciation Society as was the stipulation of the match.
That followed Matt Menard and Angelo Parker interfering on Jericho’s behalf, slipping the now-former champion a bat that he used to unsuccessfully get the victory. Menard and Parker were eventually tossed from ringside.
After the win, Castagnoli celebrated with new ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta and Jerry Lynn in the ring to close the show. Lynn had been taken out by Jericho during his run as champion.
It’s the second ROH World title reign for Castagnoli. He held the championship for 60 days from July through September of this year starting with his win over Jonathan Gresham at July’s Death Before Dishonor and ending with his loss to Jericho at September’s Dynamite Grand Slam.
Chris Jericho will defend the ROH World Championship against Claudio Castagnoli at Final Battle, which will take place on December 10.
The match was set up on Friday’s Rampage, where Castagnoli asked Jericho to give him another championship match. Jericho initially rejected Castagnoli’s offer. However, Matt Menard suggested to Jericho that since Castagnoli was once a sports entertainer, he could join the group if he were to lose to Jericho. Jericho agreed to the stipulation, setting the stage for Final Battle.
Castagnoli, who won the title earlier this year for the first time, lost the championship to Jericho back at Dynamite Grand Slam in September. Since then, Jericho has become a dominant champion, defeating former ROH champions such as Bandido, Bryan Danielson, and Colt Cabana.
At Full Gear, Castagnoli was unsuccessful in regaining the championship, losing a four-way match that involved Jericho, Danielson, and Sammy Guevara.
A four-way for the ROH World Championship has been made for Full Gear later this month.
On Friday’s Rampage, Chris Jericho set up a four-way between himself, Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, and Sammy Guevara.
After Danielson indicated he wanted another match against Jericho to take back the ROH World title on Dynamite, Jericho said he would face both Danielson and Castagnoli, who he defeated back in September to win the championship. He then said he would add Guevara to the match for good measure, and if it came down to himself and Guevara, Guevara would know what to do. Guevara seemed surprised by Jericho’s comments.
Later, Tony Schiavone tried to get a word with Guevara about Jericho’s comments. However, Guevara instead challenged Danielson to a 2 out of 3 falls match for Wednesday’s Dynamite.
AEW Full Gear, Saturday, November 19 on pay-per-view —
AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. MJF
ROH World Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Interim AEW Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Jamie Hayter
AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) (c) vs. Swerve In Our Glory (Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee)
Chris Jericho is the Ring of Honor World Champion.
Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli to win the championship for the first time Wednesday night at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam. The finish had Jericho low blowing Castagnoli while the referee was distracted, allowing Jericho to connect with the Judas Effect to score the win. This ends Castagnoli’s reign with the title after 60 days, originally defeating Jonathan Gresham at Death Before Dishonor on July 23.
On last Friday’s Rampage, Castangoli came out and said that there would soon be two world champions in the Blackpool Combat Club, mentioning himself and the winner of Wednesday’s AEW World title match between Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley. Jericho, who was on commentary, called out Castagnoli, saying he wanted to get his “ocho”, or his eighth world title reign. Castagnoli accepted the challenge for next week.
Chris Jericho’s other world title runs include two WCW World title reigns, three reigns as World Heavyweight Champion, one reign as the WWE Undisputed Champion, and one reign as AEW World Champion.
