Tag: death before dishonor 2021

Ring of Honor returns to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to present their third pay-per-view of the year: Death Before Dishonor. The nine-match card will feature four championship matches.

The main event is a four-way World title match pitting current champion Bandido against Demonic Flamita, Brody King and EC3. This will be Bandido’s second defense of the title after he captured it from Rush at Best In The World.

Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham will defend against Josh Woods in a Pure rules match; Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor, Moses and Kaun) defend against La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee, Kenny King and Bestia Del Ring); and finals of the Women’s Championship tournament will take place pitting block A winner Rok-C against block B winner Miranda Alize. 

Death Before Dishonor will also feature Dalton Castle vs. Eli Isom; The Briscoes vs. The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett); VLNCE UNLTD (Tony Deppen, Chris Dickinson and Homicide) vs. LSG, John Walters and Lee Moriarty; and Tyler Rust vs. Jake Atlas. 

Hour one will air for free on ROH’s social platforms and will feature a 15-man Honor Rumble with the winner earning a World title shot. Participants announced include Danhausen, Rey Horus, Silas Young, Dak Draper and Brian Johnson.

Our live coverage kicks off at 7 PM Eastern.

**********

The show started off with wrestlers and staff crowded around the ring to do a ten bell salute to the late Daffney Unger.

Alex Zayne wins the 16 Man Honor Rumble: 

Brian Johnson was the first entrant in the Honor Rumble. He cut a promo hyping himself up and his hometown of Philadelphia. He compared himself to Allen Iverson before being interrupted by the second entrant, Brian Milonas. 

Entrant number three was the Beer City Bruiser. Bruiser worked on Johnson in the corner before Danhausen made his entrance as entrant four.

Danhausen got double chokeslammed by the Bouncers before entrant five came out. Entrant five turned out to be commentaries own, Caprice Coleman.

Coleman hit a Coleman Cutter on Danhausen and exchanged slugs with the Beer City Bruiser. Coleman eliminated Milonas, but shortly after he was eliminated by Brian Johnson. Sledge was entrant six. 

Sledge and Danhausen cleared the ring (although not eliminating Johnson) and were left standing with entrant seven looming. PCO came out as entrant seven and the three men took turns beating up Brian Johnson. 

Sledge and PCO tried to go to blows, but Danhausen tried to get both guys to stop fighting. PCO pushed Danhausen out of the way as entrant eight, PJ Black, made his way to the ring. 

Dak Draper was entrant nine.

Silas Young was entrant ten. He came in and clotheslined Danhausen and almost eliminated him, but he was able to hold on from the will of the crowd. Draper eliminated Sledge by ducking a kick on the apron, but he was replaced in the match immediately by entrant eleven – Rey Horus. 

Horus came in and traded a few shots with multiple people. Entrant twelve was Dante Cabenaro, who immediately targeted Danhausen. Johnson eliminated Danhausen shortly after. 

PCO eliminated himself after malfunctioning. Entrant thirteen was Flip Gordon, who came out to his old music and old attire. 

Entrant fourteen was Joe Keys. Cabenaro tried to eliminate him immediately, which led to the two friends going against each other. Flip Gordon tried to two sweet them, but he was double superkicked by the Dojo team. 

Entrant fifteen was the World Famous CB. 

Entrant sixteen was Alex Zayne. Zayne eliminated Draper after reversing his Mile High Muffler submission.

The final four were Gordon, Zayne, PJ Black and Johnson. Zayne was perched on the top when Gordon met him up there, but Zayne shoved him to the floor to eliminate him. Black and Zayne slugged it out for a few minutes before Black attempted a crossbody, to which Zayne ducked and sent Black over the top rope. 

Dalton Castle defeated Eli Isom

Dak Draper joined commentary. 

Castle and Isom traded chops immediately, which sent Castle rolling to the outside. Isom took advantage and dove onto an unexpecting Castle at ringside to a massive reaction. 

After recovering, Castle began beating down Isom at ringside. The match would make its way back in the ring slowly, but Castle was still in firm control. Isom willed his way back into the match and delivered a running forearm in the corner to Castle, followed by a sidewinder for a near fall. 

The crowd was split in their support between Isom and Castle. Isom began hitting big move after big move, which prompted Dak Draper to run in from commentary and help Castle. Dak got in the ring and tried to clothesline Isom, but Isom would duck and kick Draper in the groin. 

Castle used Isom’s distraction to hit a bang-a-rang for the win. 

Taylor Rust defeated Jake Atlas

Atlas and Rust started off at a very fast pace, exchanging a ton of holds and moves. The first retreat to the outside came when Rust locked in an ankle lock on Atlas, causing Atlas to retreat to the outside. 

Rust began targeting the arm of Atlas as he took over the match. The longer Rust targeted the arm, the harder Atlas began to try and strike back. Atlas had virtually no chance though as Rust eventually locked in a double arm submission, to which Atlas gave up immediately. 

Something was off for this match. It seemed as if the match’s time was cut due to a Atlas injury.

VLNCE UNLTD (Tony Deppen, Homicide and Chris Dickinson) defeated LSG, John Walters and Lee Moriarty

Homicide and Walters started off the match. Walters applied a headlock and took Homicide to the mat for a good amount of time. Homicide would eventually tag out to Dickinson while Walters would tag out to LSG. Dickinson targeted the leg of LSG before tagging out to Deppen, while LSG would tag out to Moriarty. 

Moriarty had a fun, pin based exchange with Deppen that sent him reeling to the corner where Homicide tagged himself in. Homicide was met with a fresh John Walters, who applied a chin lock to Homicide. Homicide would tag out to Dickinson after escaping the hold, while LSG would get a hot tag from Walters. 

LSG hit a stunner on Dickinson before the match broke down all together. Moriarty had a great exchange with both Dickinson and Deppen, while Walters applied a double muta lock to Homicide and Dickinson. Deppen came off the top rope to stomp on Walters, breaking the hold. 

Chaos continued to ensue, with nobody knowing who the legal men were. Dickinson would eventually hit a McCully driver on Moriarty with a Deppen assist to win the match. 

Jay Lethal, Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus came out after the match and showed respect to Walters, Moriarty and LSG. Lethal cut a passionate promo about wrestling and the Pure division.

The OGK (Mike Bennett and Matt Taven) defeated The Briscoes

The Briscoes tried to jump both members of the OGK before the bell, but it didn’t yield the results the Briscoes were looking for. 

Taven and Jay exchanged a few fast paced holds and strikes, causing Taven to tag out to Bennett. Bennett would be isolated quickly by the Briscoes as they cut the ring in half, preventing Taven from getting back in the match. 

Mark had a few close calls where he was almost disqualified for not obeying the referee’s orders, including a spot where he drove his elbow into the throat of Bennett, who was trapped in the ropes. 

Taven eventually was able to will Bennett into making a tag, but he was immediately taken to the mat by Jay’s hard hitting offense. Mark and Jay used the same strategy that they did for Bennett, isolating Taven while Bennett was recovering at ringside. 

Mark got an opportunity to tangle with Taven, which saw him immediately send Taven to the outside and hit a running blockbuster neck breaker from the apron. Jay tossed Taven back in the ring while Mark went to the top rope and hit a froggy bow elbow drop for a near fall. 

Mark introduced a chair to the match and set it up in the middle of the ring. Mark set up for a redneck boogie, but Bennett saved Taven. Jay would attempt a Jay-Driller, but Taven would turn it into an inside cradle pin for the win. 

Josh Woods defeated Jonathan Gresham to win the ROH Pure Championship

Woods and Gresham immediately went to a collar and elbow tie up, but it was broken up immediately as well. Woods outpowered Gresham’s attempt at a knuckle lock, so much so that he turned it into a military press pinning attempt. 

Gresham would pop back up with little effort and go right back at Woods. They wrestled into the ropes but the referee thought it was too close to cost either man one of their rope breaks. Both guys continued to wrestle into the ropes despite the referee’s warnings, which ended up costing both of them a rope break. 

Gresham would apply a head scissors and keep Woods down for a good two minutes or so, but Woods eventually found his way out of the hold. Both Gresham and Woods made it back to a standing base, but would yet again wrestle into the ropes, prompting another stern warning from the referee. 

Following a small striking exchange, they wrestled into the ropes again. This time, referee Joe Mandak would take both guys’ second rope break away. 

Gresham and Woods exchanged inside cradles, but it resulted in a double pin. Referee Joe Mandak tried to call the match a draw, but Gresham refused and the match restarted. 

Gresham applied a leg lock on the ground near the ropes, which resulted in, you guessed it, both guys rolling into the ropes. When the hold wasn’t broken, the referee called to take away both guys’  third and final rope break. 

Woods slapped Gresham and applied a sleeper hold that almost saw “The Octopus” pass out. Gresham would find a second gear after this, and began the attack on Woods’ ankle. Woods would retaliate with an attack on Gresham’s ankle as well, but would quickly shift his attention when he hit a Chaos Theory for a very close near fall. 

Woods and Gresham had a slug fest at about the nineteen minute mark. Gresham would attempt to use multiple of his previous match-winning maneuvers, but Woods caught him in a piledriver position. Woods would launch Gresham over his head in a rotating German suplex, allowing him to pin Gresham for the win. 

Shane Taylor Promotions (O’Shay Edwards, Moses and Kaun) defeated La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee, Kenny King and Bestia Del Ring) to retain the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships

Kenny King blasted Shane Taylor with a chair multiple times before the match. Taylor was helped to the back while O’Shay Edwards took his place. 

Kaun and Lee started the match. Lee and Kaun exchanged stiff strikes but Lee’s speed was the story of their encounter, allowing Lee to get the best of him. 

Bestia and Moses went at it for a second, before King and Edwards mixed it up. Edwards nailed King with a great spinebuster and a close near fall. 

Due to the match being contested under “Lucha Rules”, Lee came in and was met with a powerbomb from Moses. Edwards tried to fend off a three-on-one attack from LFI, but subcame to the numbers game. 

Kaun was the next focus, but only King was in the ring to target him. Moses would rescue Kaun and send King packing to the outside, where he would deliver a running cannonball off the apron onto LFI. 

King and Moses still ended up being the two guys in the ring after the smoke cleared. Taylor returned to the ring and delivered a chair shot straight to the skull of King while the referee was taken out at ringside, allowing Moses to pin him and retain the titles. 

Rok-C defeated Miranda Alize to become the first ROH Women’s World Champion

Alize refused a handshake from her opponent as the bell rang. Alize oozed confidence after she hit the first strike, but Rok-C wasn’t phased. 

Both women went to the mat and exchanged submissions before Alize decided to be more aggressive and start delivering strikes. Alize gained full control of the match after hitting a running knee on Rok-C in the corner. 

Alize trapped Rok-C in the ropes and held her down with a knee as the crowd tried to will her back into the match. Alize attempted a few pins and began getting frustrated with the referee’s counting speed. 

Rok-C was able to snatch control from Alize after delivering a pair of knees in the corner, but it only resulted in a two count. Alize continued to taunt Rok-C after the near fall, which would see Rok-C shift gears and develop a new attitude. 

Rok-C was met with a Miranda Rights attempt quickly though, and although she almost tapped, she was able to break the hold with a rope break and slide to the outside. Alize followed her to the outside, but Rok-C immediately threw her into the barricade. Rok-C followed it up with a lopè dive that would take both women out for a nineteen count. 

After both women rolled back in the ring, they started a stiff strike exchange. Alize would hit a cutter, but Rok-C responded with a knee strike. Alize applied a Miranda Rights crossface, but Rok-C reversed it into her own crossface within seconds. 

Rok-C would strike Alize with a kick, followed by a Code Red for the win. 

Bandido defeated EC3, Demonic Flamita, and Brody King to retain the ROH World Championship

EC3 and King went after each other quickly and had a great hoss exchange, but it resulted in nothing after both men tumbled with one another over the top rope. 

Bandido and Flamita had a stare off before Bandido tried to hurricanrana Flamita, who hit a handspring backwards and nailed Bandido with a kick. EC3 got in the ring and tried to work down Bandido’s neck with a few chin locks, followed by a few suplex attempts here and there as well. 

EC3 perched Bandido on the top turnbuckle and as he began to climb, King broke up the maneuver and looked to capitalize off Bandido’s position. EC3 would powerbomb King shortly after, following by tossing Bandido off the top rope onto King. 

While the referee was distracted, Flamita smacked EC3 with a chair. When EC3 went to retaliate with the chair, the referee noticed, which led to EC3 being disqualified and eliminated. 

Bandido and Flamita began to work together to wear down King, hitting many of their former Mexisquad tag team moves. This wouldn’t work, as King would eliminate Flamita with a piledriver type maneuver shortly after. 

Bandido and King were the final two men in the match. King would immediately drill Bandido with a piledriver for a near fall. Bandido would climb his way to the top rope for a snap-rana for a near fall, followed by a snap crucifix for another near fall. Bandido climbed to the top rope and hit a shooting star press, but King kicked out at one in a display of strength. 

Bandido would roll around and attempt multiple pinning combinations, but King found a way out of all of them. Bandido would lock a crucifix pin in, which would warrant the three count he was looking for. 

***************

Final Thoughts: Ring Of Honor’s third pay-per-view of the year was a enjoyable watch all the way around. Despite a few miscues with refereeing and a few questionable finishes here and there, the show was well-rounded and fun.

Rok-C vs. Miranda Alize was easily my match of the night. I’m really glad they gave the women the time to construct a great match, driven by a story of Alize being overconfident. The match had very vocal fan support and it feels like they’re going in a great direction with the women’s division.

There wasn’t a bad match per say, but the Honor Rumble lacked any real structure or purpose and was clearly used just to bring back Alex Zayne. I’ll give the extremely short Rust/Atlas match the benefit of the doubt because it seemed like Atlas was injured.

Woods/Gresham was a close second for my favorite match, but the weird false finish really threw me out of the match. Although I would have been fine with Gresham continuing his reign, Woods was the right man to take it off of him.

The main event world title match felt underwhelming and short. There was a few highlights here and there, but nothing of substance really ever came about. 

OGK vs. Briscoes was a fun tag, with OGK scoring an unexpected victory. The six man tag between VLNCE UNLTD and Walters/LSG/Moriarty was good and I enjoyed Moriarty getting a spotlight. 

The story of STP vs. LFI ended up coming to a great conclusion with Taylor getting revenge on King. STP should hold the belts for a very long time.

I’ve introduced a pay-per-view scale in order to let you know if the show is worth your time or not. The scale is as followed:

Buy The PPV (twice)

Buy The PPV (only once)

Watch It On HonorClub

Watch YouTube Clips

Avoid At All Costs

ROH Death Before Dishonor 2021 gets a: Buy The PPV (only once)