Katsuyori Shibata is ready to make a commitment to AEW/ROH.
While attending the post-WrestleDream media scrum on Sunday night, Shibata addressed his contract status. Shibata was asked if he still has ties to NJPW or if he’s just signed to AEW/ROH now.
“If Tony wish, I am ready to make a commitment,” Shibata said through a translation app.
“I want you to stay forever. Never leave. Please, never leave.” Khan responded while laughing. “You’re my favorite. Shibata is ichiban.”
Shibata is the current ROH Pure Champion. He won the title from Wheeler Yuta this March.
At WrestleDream, Shibata faced Eddie Kingston in a match where Kingston’s ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship were both on the line. Kingston defeated Shibata to retain the titles. There was then a show of mutual respect between Shibata and Kingston following the match.
After suffering a life-threatening subdural hematoma in 2017, Shibata returned to the ring in 2021. He’s had 14 matches in 2023 so far.
Shibata recently retained his Pure Championship against Nick Wayne on ROH TV.
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
The next Pure title match will take place on next week’s ROH TV.
On Saturday’s AEW Collision, it was announced that Katsuyori Shibata will wrestle Nick Wayne on next week’s edition of ROH television. Shibata also announced that he would be wrestling at AEW WrestleDream on October 1. However, he didn’t announce who he would face.
Since winning the Pure Championship earlier this year, Shibata has been making regular title defenses. Some of his most recent championship matches have had him defeat the likes of Daniel Garcia, Josh Woods, Lee Moriarty, and Alex Coughlin. He also appeared at Forbidden Door earlier this summer, losing a four-way match for the AEW International title involving Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr., and then-champion Orange Cassidy, who emerged victorious.
Wayne made his debut for AEW back in July and has associated himself with Darby Allin. On this week’s Dynamite, they defeated Angelo Parker and Matt Menard. He also participated in the recent AEW World Title Eliminator Grand Slam Tournament, losing to Allin in the quarterfinals.
The AEW Tag Team title match for WrestleDream is now set.
FTR will defend the Tag Team titles against Aussie Open on October 1 in Seattle. On Saturday’s Collision, Aussie Open quickly defeated PB Smooth and Wes Barkley. They then issued a challenge to FTR, saying that they wanted a match against them at WrestleDream regardless if it was for the Tag Team titles or not. Kyle Fletcher noted that the match would take place exactly one year after their match at Royal Quest, where FTR defeated Aussie Open to retain the IWGP Tag Team titles.
Following their successful title match against The Young Bucks at All In last month, FTR have started an open challenge series on AEW Collision. On this week’s show, they defeated The Iron Savages. Next week’s show will see them defend the AEW Tag Team titles against The Workhorsemen.
Later on Collision, Katsuyori Shibata appeared and announced he would be defending the ROH Pure Championship at WrestleDream. It wasn’t announced who he would face.
Here is the updated card for AEW WrestleDream:
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland
AEW Tag Team titles: FTR defend against Aussie Open
Katsuyori Shibata to defend the ROH Pure Championship
Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub will feature one title defense and two Proving Ground matches.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look for the 14th defense of the title as she takes on Allysin Kay. This will be their fifth singles meeting and first since 2015.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will take on Lee Johnson in one Proving Group match while ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) vs. Griff Garrison, Metalik & Gravity.
After their disappointing loss at All Out, Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata will look to rebound as they face Gringo Loco & Blake Christian.
Willow Nightingale will once again team with Skye Blue as they face Charlette & Robyn Renegade.
Best Friends will team with Darius Martin & Action Andretti against The Outrunners & The WorkHorsemen.
Leyla Hirsch will go one-on-one with Lady Frost while both Willie Mack & The Infantry and Angelico & Serpentico will be in tag team action.
**********
The show started with a video from Sunday’s Zero Hour, where Athena yelled at Billie Starkz for not sticking to the plan during Athena’s trios match. Allysin Kay entered the scene, not liking how Athena was treating Starkz. After some cajoling, Athena accepted Kay’s challenge for the title.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call in action taped last Saturday from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena (c) (w/Billie Starkz) defeated Allysin Kay
Kay used her size advantage to put Athena on the back foot. Athena baited Kay to the outside, where she sent Kay into the barricade. Athena distracted the referee, but Starkz refused to physically intervene. Athena kept the advantage, clubbering on Kay and mocking her all the while.
Kay fired up with a lariat and a Sky High for a nearfall. Kay hit a spinout facebuster before locking on an ankle lock. After asking Starkz to push the rope closer to no avail, Athena forced her way up and dropped Kay with a forearm. Kay cut off an O-Face attempt, but Athena shoved Kay down and hit the O-Face to win and retain.
After the match, Athena wanted Starkz to throw Kay into the belt. Starkz refused, so Athena did it herself.
We got a recap of the confrontation from Dynamite with ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF and ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe.
Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling) defeated Silas Young
After Young interrupted Nese’s group training, Nese took the early advantage by sending him into the buckles. Young came back with chops before sending him off the apron with a step-up lariat. Nese sent Young into the post before sending his hammerlocked arm into the apron.
Sterling helped Nese with the attack on the arm before Nese hit a dropkick to the arm. After Nese tore at the arm, Young fired back with a lariat. Young necked Nese on the rope before hitting an over-the-top stomp and a senton for a nearfall. Young rolled Nese up, but Nese kicked out, sending Young into the ring post. Nese hit the running knees for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with a perturbed Dalton Castle. He entertainingly complained about his problems with Samoa Joe & Stokely Hathaway, chugging a bottle of water before leaving.
SAP took care of Priest, but Schaff was able to use his size to get control of Serpentico. Angelico tagged in and quickly took care of Schaff, tapping him out with a knee bar.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Kiera Hogan. She said that she thought she didn’t have any lingering issues with former partner Leila Grey, but she would give her the work anyway.
Blue & Nightingale had control early, but Robyn blind-tagged in and cut off Blue. Charlette hit a Fisherman’s Suplex on Blue for a nearfall. The Renegades clubbered on Blue until she was able to get a tag to Nightingale. Nightingale ran wild, hitting one Renegade with a Pounce before hitting a main event spinebuster on the other one for a nearfall.
The Renegades came back with dual rolling elbows for a nearfall, but Blue cut off the pin. Blue quickly tagged in and scored the win with Code Blue.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Proving Ground Match – The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Gravity, Griff Garrison & Metalik
The Embassy clubbered on Garrison to start, sending him down with a double flapjack. Garrison fought out for a tag to Gravity, who got a pair of roll-ups on Cage before getting shut down. Metalik tagged in, hitting a reverse Slingblade and a rope-walk dropkick on Cage. Metalik hit a rope-walk senton for a nearfall before the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl. The Embassy finished off Metalik with an elevated splash from Liona.
Kiera Hogan defeated Leila Grey
Hogan hit a step-up legdrop for a nearfall. Grey came back with a dropkick in the corner before choking Hogan on the ropes. Grey hit a back elbow and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Hogan came back with a shotgun dropkick and a hip attack before a basement dropkick scored her a nearfall.
Grey came back with a spear. The spear only got a nearfall, so Grey went to hit Hogan with her money fan. Hogan superkicked the fan out of Grey’s hand – and into the referee’s hands – before hitting her twisting neckbreaker for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Maria Kanellis-Bennett. She spoke of an opportunity for Griff Garrison before Cole Karter brought Garrison into the frame. Maria told Garrison that she saw potential in him and that he needed to surround himself with the right people to reach that potential.
The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) & Willie Mack (w/Trish Adora) defeated August Matthews, Davey Bang & Jah-C
This was a quick affair that saw Dean score the win after a boot into a Russian legsweep.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Lee Johnson, who has a Proving Ground match against Claudio Castagnoli tonight. Johnson said he was going to win because all he needed was one shot.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Lady Frost
Hirsch focused on Frost’s arm as Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Cole Karter watched from the stage. Hirsch hit a pendulum dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Frost made a comeback, hitting a handspring cannonball for a nearfall. Hirsch avoided (?) a hurricane kick before hitting a suplex into the corner. Hirsch locked on an armbar to win.
After the match, Maria offered Hirsch a handshake. Hirsch blew her off and left on her own.
Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Blake Christian & Gringo Loco
Kingston and Shibata hammered Christian before Christian hit an enzuigiri on Kingston. Loco tagged in and hit Kingston with chops and a moonsault before landing a senton for a nearfall. Loco hit a moonsault before Christian hit a springboard 450 for a nearfall. Christian went for a frog splash, but Kingston put his knees up.
Shibata tagged in and hit his hesitation dropkick on Christian before Loco sent him to the floor with a chop. Kingston dropped Loco with a backfist. Christian sent Kingston to the floor before hitting a Fosbury Flop. Shibata moved out of the way on a 450 before slapping on a choke. Shibata hit the Penalty Kick to score the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Josh Woods & Smart Mark Sterling. Sterling said that Woods should be getting a Pure Title match soon.
ROH World Title Proving Ground Match – Claudio Castagnoli (w/Wheeler Yuta) defeated Lee Johnson
Castagnoli forced Johnson into the corner before pummeling him with uppercuts. Johnson fought to his feet, but Castagnoli caught him on a moonsault attempt. Johnson spun him around into a satellite DDT for a nearfall. Johnson hit a superkick for a nearfall. Castagnoli dropped Johnson with an uppercut for a nearfall.
Castagnoli went for another uppercut, but Johnson turned it into a rollup for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit a big lariat for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit the hammer-and-anvil elbows, then stopped the referee from stopping the match. Castagnoli hit the Swiss Death uppercut for the win.
Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson) defeated Ren Jones & Caleb Konley
The Iron Savages quickly won this match with their elevator drop splash.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Athena & Billie Starkz. Athena wasn’t happy with Starkz, noting that she gave Starkz more grace than she gave her own mother. Athena decided that Starkz needed some training to get up to speed.
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta), Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) & The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
The Outrunners and the Workhorsemen kicked the match off with a jumpstart, quickly turning this match into a Pier Six brawl. They isolated Beretta, with Henry hitting a double stomp at the end of a flurry of offense for a nearfall. Beretta made the tag into Martin, who ran wild before getting cut off by Drake. The match broke down into a flurry that ended with a Strong Zero from Best Friends for the win.
Two titles will be on the line as part of tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub.
After accepting the challenge last week, ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will defend against former Pure Champion Josh Woods.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look to extend her hard-hitting run as she defends against Diamante who is looking for her first ROH title run of any kind.
The next ROH TV title eliminator tournament will kick off with four men vying for a title shot against current champion Samoa Joe. Gravity will take on Tony Nese while Shane Taylor will go one-on-one with Christopher Daniels.
After failing to wrest the ROH Tag Team titles from Aussie Open last night, El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander will take on The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake).
Other matches include Dalton Castle vs. Zack Clayton; the Gates of Agony vs. The Boys, and both Leyla Hirsch and Robyn Renegade in singles matches.
**********
Ian Ricabonni and Caprice Coleman welcome us to the show, running down the big card tonight featuring two title matches and the semifinals of the TV Title Eliminator tournament. One of those semifinals kicked off the show here.
ROH World Television Title Eliminator Tournament Semi-Final Match –Shane Taylor defeated Christopher Daniels
Daniels tried to bring down Taylor with wrestling moves, but Taylor used his size to block them before dropping Daniels with a left hand. Taylor dropped Daniels with a barge attack, then dropped Daniels with a lariat for a nearfall.
Taylor clubbered on Daniels before Daniels caught him with a neckbreaker. Daniels dodged a corner charge and hit a hurricanrana on Taylor, following up with a rabbit lariat for a nearfall. Taylor caught Daniels with a uranage, then followed it with a splash for a nearfall. Taylor went to the second rope and hit a crossbody, then hit the Marcus Garvey Driver for the win and the spot in the finals.
Earlier today, Lexy Nair was with the Iron Savages. They challenged Aussie Open for a title match, which they are getting right now.
ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson)
Aussie Open handed the title belts off to Stokely Hathaway and Tony Khan in the back before walking out. I appreciate the attention to detail, as this was taped before their title defense against Komander and El Hijo Del Vikingo on Dynamite last night.
Fletcher and Bronson started by trading elbows before Fletcher dropped Bronson with a bodyslam. Their partners tagged in, with Davis having trouble with the stronger Boulder. The Savages got the better of Aussie Open before Aussie Open sent them to the apron and dumped them to the floor. They picked up Bronson and tossed him into Boulder on the floor to take control.
Aussie Open clubbered on Bronson for a while before Bronson got the tag out to Boulder. Boulder ran wild, tossing both Davis and Fletcher around before hitting a tilt-a-whirl powerslam on Fletcher for a nearfall. Boulder went for a moonsault, but Fletcher moved out of the way and got the tag to Davis. Bronson entered the match and hit a Rikishi Driver on Fletcher on top of Davis. The Savages hit a double main event spinebuster for a nearfall.
The Savages went for their elevator slam, but Davis rolled into the Aussie Open corner, leading to Fletcher hitting a Doomsday Device on Bronson. Aussie Open hit the Dental Plan and Coreolis on Boulder to win the match and retain the titles.
Backstage, Aussie Open collected their titles from Tony Khan, bragging all the while.
Elsewhere backstage, Lexy Nair was with Stokely Hathaway. He thanked people for the praise for the TV Title #1 Contender Tournament before being interrupted by a miffed Dalton Castle. Castle blamed Hathaway for not winning the TV Title at Death Before Dishonor and being left out of the #1 Contender Tournament. They argue for a while until Samoa Joe entered the scene. Joe said that he would give Castle what he wanted. In two weeks, it will be…The Boys vs. Samoa Joe & Stokely Hathaway. Hathaway looked shocked, and Castle was still unhappy.
ROH Pure Title Match – Katsuyori Shibata (c) defeated Josh Woods (w/ Smart Mark Sterling)
The judges for this match were Jimmy Jacobs, Jerry Lynn, and former Pure Champion John Walters.
The men traded position before trading armbar and kneebar attempts. Both men were evenly matched on the mat, with Woods and his national championship pedigree matching Shibata’s New Japan dojo training and experience. They rolled to the floor in matching leg bars before Woods ducked a Penalty Kick on the floor. They locked horns with a collar and elbow tie-up on the floor to a 16-count before getting back into the ring and immediately re-engaging in the collar and elbow.
Woods blocked an O’Connor Roll attempt, with Sterling getting on the apron to argue that it shouldn’t count as a rope break. Woods used the distraction to gain control with a shoulder block and go to work on Shibata’s arm. Shibata sent Woods to the floor, but Woods baited Shibata into a chase and caught him with a short-arm scissors. Shibata rolled Woods up to escape, but Woods kicked out and hit an arm trap gutwrench suplex for a nearfall.
Woods hit a gutwrench powerbomb for a nearfall, then hit the Penalty Kick on Shibata. This woke Shibata up, who fired up with strikes. Shibata hit the hesitation dropkick and a suplex for a nearfall before drilling Woods with a mid-kick for another nearfall. Shibata locked on a sleeper hold, with Woods grabbing the ropes to escape. They traded suplexes before trading forearms, with Woods hitting forearms into the shoulder of Shibata. They hit matching pump kicks, with both men going down.
They traded more strikes before Woods booted Shibata’s arm. Woods went for a TKO, but Shibata landed on his feet and locked on the sleeper hold. Shibata hit the Penalty Kick to win and retain the title.
Dalton Castle defeated Zack Clayton
Clayton got a lot of offense to start, clubbering on Castle before sending him flying with an overhead suplex. Castle fought his way back, sending Clayton flying with suplexes of his own before hitting the Bangarang for the win.
Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Josh Woods, who had something to say. He ran down the opportunities he’s had so far in the new era of ROH, noting his losses in three title matches. He says that something has to change.
The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) defeated Jora Johl & Nick Comoroto
The Infantry controlled Johl to start the match until Comoroto got involved on the apron and tagged in. They beat up on Bravo until Johl accidentally superkicked Comoroto, allowing Dean to tag in. Dean took care of Johl and sent Comoroto to the floor. They dropped Johl with a boot into a side Russian Leg Sweep for the win.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Miranda Vionette
Vionette fought out of a Gator Roll to get a pair of flash pins, but Hirsch hit a dropkick to the knee to cut her off. Maria Kanellis-Bennett came out to watch. Hirsch clubbered on Vionette before hitting a boot to the face. Hirsch pulled Vionette into a side suplex. Vionette had a short flurry of offense before Hirsch caught her in a cross armbreaker for the win.
ROH World Television Title Eliminator Tournament Semi-Final Match – Gravity defeated Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling)
Nese did his usual leading group training before Gravity came out. Gravity came out with speed, sending Nese up and over with a lucha armdrag before gorilla pressing Nese. Sterling cut off a dive, allowing Nese to take control and send Gravity to the floor, where Sterling put the boots to him.
Gravity fought back with chops and sent Nese to the floor. Sterling went to cut him off again, but Gravity went to the corner and hit a double-jump dive to the floor. Gravity hung Nese in the ropes and hit a splash for a nearfall. Gravity elevated himself to the top rope, but Nese cut him off with a big uppercut. Nese hit the roll-through spin kick for a nearfall. Gravity hit a single-arm powerbomb out of a roll-up attempt, then followed it with a top-rope splash for the win. The tournament finals will be Gravity vs. Shane Taylor.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena (c) defeated Diamante
Athena kept countering Diamante’s offense, with the crowd chanting her name. Diamante hit a set of dropkicks that sent Athena to the apron, where Diamante dropkicked her to the floor. Diamante tried to follow with a crossbody, but Athena caught her and slammed her to the floor. Athena picked Diamante up and flung her into the barricade.
Athena clubbered on Diamante, focusing on her midsection and back. Athena brought Diamante to the apron, where Diamante tried to reverse her into a suplex. Instead, Athena ran Diamante into the turnbuckle before hitting a back suplex on the apron.
Back in the ring, Diamante ducked some big strikes before firing up. She hit a monkey flip and a sliding lariat for a nearfall. Athena countered an around-the-world DDT with a backbreaker. Athena went to the top rope for the O Face, but Diamante caught her and hit the Chaos Theory for a nearfall. Diamante went to the second rope, but Athena booted her down and locked on a crossface. Athena rolled Diamante to the middle of the ring, but Diamante rolled her into a pin for a nearfall. Athena hit a superkick and rolled Diamante up to win and retain the title.
Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated The Boys (Brandon & Brent)
Kaun started with Brent, sending him inside out with a lariat. The Gates clubbered on Brent, with Nana joining in while the referee was distracted. Brent evaded his way to the corner to make a tag out to Brandon, who ran wild until Liona wouldn’t budge on an Irish whip. Kaun pulled Brent to the floor, allowing Liona to send Brandon through the mat with a Samoan Drop. The Gates hit their tag team facebuster for the win.
Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Diamante. Lexy asked why Athena didn’t beat her up after the match. Athena entered the scene and told Diamante that she had talent but was missing something to reach the champ’s level. She told Diamante to stay away from her and figure it out.
Cole Karter defeated LSG
Karter got a jump start on LSG to start the match, ringing him up on the ropes and hitting a lariat. Karter controlled the match as Maria Kanellis-Bennett watched on the ramp. LSG slipped out of a powerbomb and fired up, but Karter cut him off on a springboard attempt with a jumping knee. Karter hit a DDT for the win.
In video from Death Before Dishonor, The Righteous began to speak before The Dark Order came in. Evil Uno shook hands with Stu Grayson, with Vincent only saying, “Finally.”
Robyn Renegade (w/ Charlette Renegade) defeated Christina Marie
Marie controlled the match early on, hitting bodyslams until Renegade rolled to the floor. Marie avoided an elbow drop back in the ring, but Charlette sent Marie into the post to get her sister in control. Renegade hit a shotgun dropkick and a low dropkick for a nearfall. Marie caught Renegade with a roll-up for a nearfall, but Renegade hit her with a lariat. Marie fired up with strikes, but Renegade locked on a seated Octopus Stretch for the win.
El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander defeated The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
Henry and Komander started off, with Komander sending Henry flying with an armdrag. Drake tagged in, but Komander dropped him with a dropkick. Vikingo tagged in, hitting dual dives with Komander to the WorkHorsemen on the floor. Vikingo hit a frog splash on Drake for a nearfall. Vikingo hit a tornado headscissors on Drake, but Henry cut him off with an STO on the apron.
The WorkHorsemen kept control of Vikingo with tandem offense. Drake hit a boot that sent Vikingo into a Henry side Russian leg sweep for a nearfall. Vikingo hit a hurricane kick to Henry, but Henry knocked Komander off the apron. Drake hit a shining wizard on Vikingo for a nearfall. Vikingo rolled through a powerbomb into a Code Red before making the tag out to Komander.
Komander ran wild, sending both WorkHorsemen to the floor. Vikingo tagged back in, but Henry cut off a dive attempt. The WorkHorsemen hit combo offense on Vikingo, but Komander broke up the pin. They sent the WorkHorsemen to the floor, then both hit ropewalk moonsaults to the floor. Vikingo and Komander then hit dual 450 splashes to Drake, with Vikingo getting the pin and the win.
Poll results from all the major shows plus Match of the week and Performer of the week
Looking back on a week with some of the best matches of the year, story behind the matches and complications involved
Week one G-1 Climax coverage, what stories have been told, where is business, what is and isn’t working and match-by-match coverage
Coverage of TripleMania, including what really happened with Don Callis, the story behind Vikingo vs. Omega, as well as looking at the 8/12 show in Mexico City
Tony Khan press conference coverage, update on All In with new ticket sales info and how close to records is the show, more PPVs question, longer Dynamite, Death Before Dishonor and more
Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show and what is next for the participants
Eric Young returns and Impact Slammiversary, as well as the return of Josh Alexander
How many homes are the networks that carry wrestling in
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling and MMA television shows, with a lot of shockers in the weekly and daily standings. Including what show placed No. 7 for the week in network television, where the wrestling and MMA shows finished on cable, segment-by-segment, competition and more
What promotion is killing it every week in ticket sales at the same arena
Major talent jump to join his brother
Documentary on the life of one of the biggest stars in history hits movie theaters internationally in the fall
Major TV documentary on the Ali vs. Inoki fight, what was revealed and some new news being reported
75th anniversary of the birth of the NWA and the real story of its birth and growth
How the public’s viewing has changed
The Rick Steiner situation and how it was handled
More on the Teddy Hart arrest and what he was in Florida for
Notes on upcoming Impact TV shows
Upcoming ticket sales for WWE & AEw shows
Lots of new major UFC fights
Iconic company set for a return in September
Updated Money in the Bank and Forbidden Door PPV numbers
WWE injury updates
Dwayne Johnson reportedly sets an all-time money record
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight for Wrestling Observer Radio covering all the news from the weekend. We also have our week in review show with Garrett up on the site right now. There was a lot of history on that show on the formation and growth of the NWA and the AWA and WWWF and the making of Harley Race as an international superstar with the anniversary of his title win over Jack Brisco.
WWE from Mexico City last night:
Rhea Ripley retained the world title in a three-way over Natalya and Becky Lynch by pinning Natalya with the Riptide
Cody Rhodes b Damian Priest with Cross Rhodes
Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde & Matt Riddle b Imperium
There was a Miz TV segment with Rousey. Both spoke in Spanish. Rousey used a USA gi to make her the heel.
Shayna Baszler b Ronda Rosuey via DQ when Rousey used a chair and they did a pull-apart brawl after the match. Rousey was a total heel in this match
Seth Rollins b Dominik Mysterio with the curb stomp even with Priest and Ripley interfering
Austin Theory b Santos Escboar to keep the U.S. title
Asuka won a three-way over Charlotte Flair and Shotzi to keep the WWE Womens’ title when Shotzi was pinned
Roman Reigns b Rey Mysterio. Dominik attacked Rey after the match and tried to do the three amigos when Rey escaped and hit Dom with the 619 to end the show. Paul Heyman was there with Reigns. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Regarding the 1.182,000 number for Friday’s Smackdown on FS 1 on the fast nationals, it should that fast nationals count Friday from 8-10 p.m. Pacific time on the West Coast and for sports that means in this case the fast national would have the replay number and not the live number. So that will affect the final number significantly.
They were teasing Katsuyori Shibata vs. Josh Woods at some point for the ROH Pure title at the ROH tapings before Collision. The show was five hours.
Kota Ibushi teased that he was originally booked on the AEW Wembley Stadium show saying he might have a match and he needs a quick recovery.
Saya Kamitani suffered a dislocated elbow doing a dive off the lighting tower like Will Ospreay did at WrestleKingdom a few years back. People are raving about the show although the Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano main event was cut short due to the injury. Kamitani is believed to be out for the rest of the tournament which completely changes so much of the plans for the tournament. The matches to go out of your way to see I was told were Mirai vs. Momo Watanabe, Suzu Suzki vs Syuri, Mayu Iwatani vs. Hazuki and Giulia vs. Saori Annou. There was also a big surprise as Megan Bayne showed up and she’s being brought in to be a star because she beat up Nakano and challenged her for a matc for the World of Stardom title. Utami Hayashishita also challenged Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP women’s title. These challenges took place after the Kamitani injury and Nakano and Hayashishita were both very upset doing the angle due to the legit injury of Kamitani. The storyline is that Hayashishita met Bayne in the U.S. and recruited her to come over. One person said this was the best tournament show since the 2020 G-1 tournament anywhere in the world. (thanks to Thomas Grimes, Tim Hunter, David Hayter and Ingo Ga)
The first night results saw: Maika b Hanan, Mariah May b AZM, Natsuko Tora b Ami Sohrei, Natsupoi b Starlight Kid, Utami Hayashishita b Mina Shirakawa, Momo Watanabe b Mirai, Syuri b Suzu Suzuki, Mayu Iwatani b Hazuki, Gioulia d Saori Anu 15:00, Tam Nakano b Saya Kamitani – injury stoppage
At the DDT Peter Pan show, Chris Brookes beat Yuji Hino to win the KO-D title, plus El Desperado baet Daisuke Sasaki, Konosuke Takeshita beat Yui Ueno and Matt Cardona won the Universal title over Tetsuya Endo. Cardona, Takeshita, and Taka Michinoku were the main outside stars.
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Monterrey, Mexico and the DDT Peter Pan show to [email protected]
We’re also doing a poll this weekend for the ROH Death Before Dishonor show, thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]
In the most searched list for Google this week, the only thing from wrestling, boxing or MMA to make the list was Tom Aspinall, who beat Marcin Tybura in the UFC main event at the O2 Arena in London.
The G-1 Climax tournament continues on Tuesday with three straight days in Tokyo, two at Korakuen Hall and Thursday at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo. Sanada vs. Kaito Kiyomiya and Kazuchika Okada vs. Yoshi-Hashi are the top matches Tuesday. Eddie Kingston vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Jeff Cobb vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Tama Tonga vs. David Finlay are the top bouts for Wednesday and Thursday may be the biggest match of the tournament with Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bronson Reed and a contract signing for Seth Rollins and Finn Balor have been added to Monday’s Raw in Tampa.
Other Notes
MCW Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup fro last night in Joppa, MD: Lio Rush b Myles Hawkins, Marcus Mathers b Techno, Kekoa won three-way over Alex Divine and Mike alkier, Mike Bailey b Jordan Oliver, Jack Cartwheel b Carlie Bravo, Gia Scott & Brittany Blake & Kaia McKenna b Tiffany Nieves & Haley J & Simone Valentina with Mickie James as referee, Tim Spriggs & Spencer Slade b Joe Keys & Dante Caballero Robert Locke b Ken Dixon, Mike Walker won over Mike Bailey, Flip Gordon, Jack Cartwheel, Marcus Maters and Kekoa to win the Shane Shamrock Cup. Lio Rush injured his shoulder and was taken to the hospital so he didn’t come back after his win. Rush has had a history of shoulder issues that have threatened his career so hopefully it isn’t bad.
Defy raised more than $18,000 last night for the Cataleya’s Crusade, helping someone battling Neurofibromatosis. Afternoon show in White Center, WA: Derrick Shaw won three-way over Luis Alexander and Ashton Sours, Jacky Lee & Shareeef Morrow b Coco Flash & Guerilla Suge, Sebastian Wolf b Casey Ferreria, Amira b Case Ferreira, Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson b Coco Flash & Guerilla Suge, Sebastian Wolfe b Brian Cook, Jacky Lee & Shareef Morrow & Amira b Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl & Ethan Carnica
Evening show in Eatonville, WA: Artemis Spencer b Miles Deville, Schaff b Evan Rivers, Rebel Kel won four-way over Taryn, Liiza Hall ad Bambi Hall, Sebastian Wolf won Battle royal, Nicole Matthews b Amira, Curry Man (Christopher Daniels) & Cocy Chhun won three-way over Judas Icarus & Travis Williams and Ricky Gibson & Eddie Pearl
WPW Super Clash V on 10/29 in Gloucester, UK at the Oxstalls Sports Park.
The post-Death Before Dishonor run begins for Ring of Honor has begun with the following spoilers, taped after AEW Collision in Newark, New Jersey Saturday.
In a pre-event dark match, Powerhouse Hobbs defeated former Impact Wrestling talent Fallah Bahh.
Here’s the spoilers for this Thursday’s show on HonorClub, courtesy of PWInsider:
Trish Adora defeated Vita VonStarr
Leyla Hirsch defeated B3CCA
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) defeated The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) & JT Davidson
The Renegade Twins (Charlette Renegade & Robyn Renegade) defeated JC Storm & Tiara James
Josh Woods defeated Eli Isom in a Pure rules match. Afterward, Mark Sterling challenged ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata to defend his title against Woods. Shibata accepted, but Sterling then said they don’t do anything without a contract. Shibata was one of the judges alongside Jerry Lynn and Jimmy Jacobs.
Zack Clayton defeated KM
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Christina Marie
The Kingdom defeated Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
Christopher Daniels defeated JD Drake
Big Bill & Lee Moriarty defeated Gabriel Hunter & Adrian Soriano
Tony Nese defeated Cheeseburger
Gravity defeated Anthony Henry
Shane Taylor defeated Serpentico
Dalton Castle & The Boys defeated The Trustbusters (Silm J, Sonny Kiss, and Ari Daivari)
After nearly coming to blows while on the same AEW Blood & Guts team, Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will defend the title against PAC at tonight’s ROH Death Before Dishonor in Trenton, New Jersey.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look to avenge her loss in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament semifinals when she defends against tournament winner Willow Nightingale.
ROH Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers will defend in a four-way against Aussie Open, The Kingdom and Best Friends.
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will defend the title against former champion Daniel Garcia while ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against former champion Dalton Castle.
The Mogul Embassy will defend the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & Leon Ruffin.
Dark Order faces The Righteous in a six-man Fight Without Honor while Komander takes on Gravity to round out the main card. Four matches are set for the Zero Hour pre-show.
**********
*****ZERO HOUR*****
Pure Rules Match – Josh Woods (w/ the Varsity Athletes) defeated Tracy Williams
The judges for this match were Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, & Jerry Lynn.
After an early exchange, Woods rolled Williams into a double wristlock to force Williams to use his first rope break. Williams accidentally grabbed the ropes while Woods had his arm, thus exhausting his second rope break. Woods hung Williams on the ropes and hit a gutwrench suplex off the ropes for a nearfall.
After catching Woods in a rollup, Williams hit a high-angle suplex. Williams fired up, hitting a half-hatch suplex into the turnbuckles for a nearfall. Woods won a forearm exchange, but Williams caught his wrist and hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Williams shrugged off a boot and hit a pump kick, following it with a piledriver. Woods used his first rope break to stop the pinfall.
Williams couldn’t hit a brainbuster due to the arm work Woods did earlier, allowing Woods to hit a gutwrench suplex and lock on the Gorilla Lock. Williams used his third rope break to escape, exhausting all of his rope breaks. They both ended up on the apron, where Woods hit a German suplex. Woods caught Williams in a guillotine submission in the ropes, forcing Williams to tap out with his foot.
Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
An awesome match for the free hour. Both of these teams have been highlights of the weekly show, and they took advantage of their time here and really impressed.
Henry and Drake got a jump start on Andretti and Martin, but Martin and Andretti quickly cleared the ring. After more back-and-forth, Henry caught Martin with a double stomp to cut him off, while Drake forearmed Andretti out of the sky. The Workhorsemen worked over Martin in the corner, pummeling him with double-team moves.
Martin fought to make the tag to Andretti, who ran wild on both Workhorsemen. He backflipped off of Drake’s back before hitting a double bulldog. Andretti hit a shooting star on both men for a nearfall. Andretti couldn’t finish Drake on his own, so he tagged in Martin to assist on a DDT for a nearfall that Henry broke up. Henry hit a diving stomp on Martin, with Drake following up with a moonsault. But Andretti dropped Henry with a DVD onto the pile to break up the cover. Andretti got Drake up onto his shoulders, allowing Martin to help hit an assisted neckbreaker for the win.
It was announced after the match that Andretti and Martin would take on Bullet Club Gold on Collision tomorrow night.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Trish Adora
Both women went after their opponent’s arm to start. Adora went for a submission, forcing Hirsch to bail out of the ring. Hirsch tried to rope-a-dope Adora in the ring, but it didn’t work, with both women ending in a standoff. Hirsch stood on Adora’s foot in the corner and took her knee out to get control. Hirsch went back to the arm, booting it before going for a cross-armbreaker. Adora powerbombed her way free.
Adora fired up, hitting a big boot and a crossbody for a nearfall. Adora hit a kneeling German suplex for a nearfall. Adora hit a pump kick, but Hirsch avoided a corner charge and hit a hesitation dropkick. Adora hit a backbreaker for a nearfall. Adora went for the Lariat Tubman, but Hirscch avoided it. After a scramble on the mat, Hirsch got the cross armbreaker in and got the quick tapout.
After the match, Hirsch feigned going for the Code of Honor before pulling Adora back into the armbreaker. Skye Blue ran her off, as it was announced that Blue would be wrestling Taya Valkyrie on Collision.
AR Fox defeated Shane Taylor
Another quality match on the Zero Hour. Taylor has earned a higher profile role in ROH with his performances lately, while Fox goes into his AEW International Title match on Dynamite with a great showing here.
Taylor dropped Fox early on with heavy strikes, but Fox used his agility to spread out his shots and sent Taylor to the floor. Fox followed him to the floor, first with a spaceman dive, then a no-touch senton. Taylor pulled Fox off the ropes, dropping him with an End of Days style move for a nearfall.
Taylor clubbered on Fox in the corner, hammering him with loud strikes before beeling him across the ring. Fox and Taylor ended up on the floor, with Fox getting on the apron and hitting an inside-out springboard senton. Back in the ring, Fox rocked Taylor with a stunner before hitting a kip-up enzuigiri. Taylor cut him off with a headbutt, followed by a uranage and a big splash for a nearfall.
Taylor sat Fox on the apron, but Fox avoided a legdrop. Fox hit a codebreaker and a DDT while Taylor was tied up in the ropes, but it only got a two-count. Fox hit a flurry of offense, but Taylor cut off a stunner and hit Welcome to the Land, but Fox got the ropes. This Is Awesome chants from the crowd as Taylor brought Fox to the top rope for a Marcus Garvey Driver. Fox fought out, walking Taylor to the middle of the ring to hit a Death Valley Driver. Fox followed with the 450 to score the win.
*****MAIN CARD*****
Gravity defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes)
This was a stellar opener to the card. Gravity impressed in the biggest spot of his career, and Komander continued to dazzle with his high-flying prowess. These two used to be a group in the Mexican independent scene alongside Bandido, and I would have no problem with AEW or ROH putting them back together.
Gravity is the younger brother of former ROH World Champion Bandido. The announcers noted that Komander looked up to Rey Fenix as a young wrestler, which is why Alex Abrahantes has joined him in recent weeks. Both men worked on the mat trying to score quick wins but ended in a stalemate. On commentary, Riccaboni let us know that these two used to be a regular team on the lucha scene, so they should know each other well.
Komander hit a dive to the floor, then followed it with a Shooting Star Press in the ring for a nearfall. Gravity sent Komander to the floor, then rolled to the top rope and hit a dive to the floor. Back in the ring, Gravity held onto an armdrag and rolled into a pin for a nearfall. Gravity ran right into a pair of boots from Komander, but Komander moonsaulted into a pair of boots himself. Gravity hit a powerbomb for a nearfall.
They traded strikes mid-ring before Gravity hit a one-armed powerbomb for a nearfall. Komander hit a misdirection kick to knock Gravity to the floor, then followed him with a multi-jump corkscrew dive to the floor. Gravity cut off another dive in the ring, hitting a falling wristlock takeover for a nearfall. Both men ended up on the apron, with Komander hanging Gravity over the turnbuckle and hitting a kick. Komander hit a rope walk moonsault for a nearfall, then followed it with a top rope rana. Gravity then caught Komander with a rollup to score the win.
After the match, it was announced that Gravity would wrestle PAC this Wednesday on Dynamite. If PAC wins tonight, it will be for the ROH World Title as well. Yes, Gravity will wrestle The Man That Gravity Forgot. I chuckled at that.
This was slow building, but the crowd got behind Castle late with his feats of strength. The finish has had some build to it, with Joe menacing Hathaway in backstage segments over the past few weeks. This pairing of Joe and Hathaway has some potential, and a rematch with Castle would be welcomed.
This is Samoa Joe’s 13th defense of the title.
ROH Board Member Stokely Hathaway joined the booth, sounding fearful of Joe. After some ringside shenanigans to start, Castle caught Joe with an elbow before hitting a pair of splashes to Joe’s back. Joe fought back with chops before hitting a big boot and a senton. Castle fought back, but Joe ran through him with a back elbow and resumed with the offense.
Joe sent Castle into the corner, hitting the back splash and the enzuigiri. Joe clubbered on Castle for a few minutes here, choking him on the ropes in front of the Boys. Joe sent Castle to the floor, but the Boys threw Castle back in the ring as Joe came to the floor. Castle got some shots in, but Joe shut him down again with a powerslam. Castle avoided a back splash, with Joe hooking Castle on the ropes. But the Boys pushed him back on the apron, allowing him to low bridge Joe to the floor.
The Boys caught Castle on a dive that Joe walked away from, allowing him to hit a rana to the floor. Castle hit another dive, after which the Boys helped bring Joe into the ring. Castle hit an overhead suplex to a big reaction. Castle fired up, hitting another German suplex to send Joe to the floor. Joe crawled to Hathaway on commentary, yelling at him to fix this. Hathaway forced the referee to eject the Boys from ringside. Joe hit a low blow while the referee was dealing with Hathaway. Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch to score the win. Joe shook hands with Hathaway and patted him on the head, which was very disrespectful.
This was fun chaos in the tag team division. The Lucha Brothers and Best Friends got more aggressive as the match went on, teasing a rekindling of their feud. Aussie Open getting a spotlight as ROH Tag Team Champions is a great call, winning the titles in their first tag match as contracted members of the company.
This is the Lucha Brothers’ 3rd defense of the titles.
The Kingdom held control of the Best Friends early on before Beretta tagged out to Fenix. Taven tagged in Fletcher, who engaged in a forearm battle with Fenix before hitting a massive bodyslam and tagging in Davis. Fenix avoided the squisher clotheslines, using Davis as a stool to hit a cutter on Fletcher. Penta tagged in, with both teams trading strikes until the Kingdom knocked the Lucha Brothers out of the ring. Bennett and Beretta tagged in, with the Best Friends running wild until Aussie Open sent them to the floor.
Aussie Open ran around the ring with the Best Friends, crashing them into each other. That started a dive train that ended with Beretta superplexing Bennett from the top rope to the pile on the floor. Taven hit a frog splash on Beretta, giving Bennett a nearfall. The Kingdom isolated Beretta while the other teams were down, scoring several nearfalls. Beretta hit a tornado DDT on Bennett, with no choice but to tag in Penta. The Lucha Bros ran wild on Taven, with Penta hitting Made In Japan on Taven for a nearfall.
Taven avoided the Package Piledriver but walked into a tag from Fletcher. Aussie Open ran wild, taking all the other teams out. They hit the Whirly Bird on Penta for a nearfall broken up by Taven. The Kingdom hit Rockstar Supernova on Fletcher for a nearfall broken up by Taylor. Taylor cut off a Taven dive, allowing Fletcher to tag out to Beretta. Best Friends hit an assisted superplex for a nearfall, then ran wild on Bennett.
We got a train of piledrivers that ended when the Lucha Brothers hit a double superkick on Davis and their double stomp package piledriver for a nearfall. The Kingdom hit a Hail Mary on Penta, but Penta kicked out at one. The Kingdom set up the Proton Pack, but Penta escaped. Beretta tagged in, and the Best Friends hit their double-team move. The Lucha Brothers pulled the referee out of the ring, and Penta hit Beretta with a chair. In the mayhem, Fletcher tagged in and helped Davis hit Coreolis on Beretta to score the win and the titles.
This was a fun six-man. The result was never in doubt, but the challengers worked well together, and it’s always nice to see the Forbidden Door opened.
This is the Mogul Embassy’s 5th defense of the titles.
Wato and Taguchi have held the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles in the past, with Wato going on to win this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament in New Japan. Taguchi and Cage started, with Wato coming in and hitting some double-team offense on the Embassy. Cage dodged everyone and hit a double German suplex on Wato and Taguchi. Ruffin evaded everyone but ran into a Liona pounce. Liona suplexed Ruffin into the Embassy corner, allowing Prince Nana to get some shots in. The Embassy clubbered on Ruffin as Big Bill watched backstage.
After hitting a DDT to Kaun, Ruffin tagged out to Wato. Watomania ran wild, as Wato took down all three members of the Embassy. Wato locked both Kaun and Cage in submissions, but Liona broke it up. Taguchi tagged in and hit hip attacks on all three opponents. Taguchi avoided a charge from all three, then caught Kaun in an ankle lock. Liona broke it up, leading to an offensive flurry that included 619’s from both Cage and Taguchi. Nana distracted the referee, allowing Kaun to hit a low blow. But Taguchi caught Kaun low on the way down, getting a rollup for a nearfall.
Ruffin tagged in, taking down Cage with a cutter. He tried to hit the same cutter on Liona, but Liona cut it off and turned it into a backbreaker. The Embassy then won by throwing Ruffin in the air, letting gravity do the damage. No, gravity the concept, not the wrestler from earlier.
This was stellar. Garcia told the story of defiantly being an entertainer in the eyes of THE Wrestler so well. Garcia is reaching the level of pro wrestling prodigy at age 25 which makes you excited to watch his future.
This is Shibata’s 4th defense of the title. The judges for this match were Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, & Jerry Lynn.
After a scramble for position, Shibata stopped Garcia from dancing and stomped on his hands. Shibata then locked on an inside Figure Four that forced Garcia to use his first rope break. Garcia went to the floor, baiting Shibata to the outside where he sent him into the barricade. Garcia mocked Shibata in the ring, sending Shibata after him. Shibata sent Garcia into the barricades repeatedly before booting him into the crowd.
Shibata went to bring Garcia over the barricade, but Garcia hooked Shibata’s arm over the barricade. Garcia sent Shibata into the post before slamming his arm into the apron. Garcia posed with the title before going to work on Shibata’s arm in the ring.
Shibata fired up, asking for more shots to the arm. Shibata rocked Garcia with a forearm, but Garcia sent Shibata into the mat shoulder-first. Garcia did his dance in Shibata’s face, but Shibata sat down. Garcia went to dance again, but Shibata slapped him and fired up. Shibata hit the shotgun dropkick and a suplex for a nearfall.
They traded submissions and suplexes before both falling down from exhaustion. They traded forearms and strikes until they collapsed again. Shibata booted Garcia, but Garcia caught a slap and locked on the Dragon Tamer. Garcia leaned too far back though, allowing Shibata to catch him in a choke. More slaps were traded before Shibata locked on a sleeper hold. Garcia defiantly danced until he faded out, with Shibata hitting the Penalty Kick to score the win.
– Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Aussie Open. They bragged about their victory and said that they would run the world.
Fight Without Honor – The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno & John Silver) defeated The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) & Stu Grayson
This exceeded my expectations, as these guys went all out here. This was vicious and violent, peaking with some wild high spots.
My feed froze during the Dark Order’s entrance. I came back in time to see Grayson spear Uno off the apron through a table. Dutch and Silver faced off with dueling 2×4’s, Dutch’s wrapped in barbed wire. Silver dropkicked the barbed wire board into Dutch’s face, lacerating him. After Vincent and Reynolds fought, Dutch dropped Reynolds face first into the 2×4. Vincent grinded the wire into Reynolds’ eyes.
Silver fought off Dutch and Vincent, introducing thumbtacks to proceedings. Grayson cut off Silver, walking him into a Bossman Slam from Dutch into the tacks. Uno laid into Grayson with a chair until Vincent shoved Grayson out of the way to take a shot. Uno set the chair up in the corner, but Vincent reversed Uno into the chair. Vincent tore Uno’s mask as Dutch and Grayson set up tables on the floor. Grayson punched a bloody Uno before Silver got involved. The Righteous set up Silver for a powerbomb through the tables, but Reynolds hit Dutch with a chair.
Reynolds and Silver hit their tag team combo on Dutch for a nearfall. Uno drilled Grayson and Dutch with the barbed wire board before dumping a bag of Legos into the ring. Dutch powerbombed Uno into the tacks and Lego, while Vincent and Grayson hit dives onto Silver that put him through a table. Dutch hit another powerbomb for a nearfall. Dutch and Grayson pulled out a table covered in barbed wire. Grayson got Reynolds on his shoulders, but Reynolds hit a DDT on the stage. Dutch came to help Grayson, but Reynolds sent Dutch through a table.
Silver came up with a tack-studded kickpad, landing Kawada kicks on Vincent who asked for more. Grayson took out Silver and laid Uno across the two tables. Grayson pulled out a massive ladder and set it up in the ring. Uno recovered, tipping the ladder and sending Grayson through the tables on the floor. The Dark Order isolated Grayson in the ring. They hit Grayson with the Ragnarok into the tacks to score the win.
This was a fantastic battle for the World Title. Both men being shades of grey muddied the waters as far as the babyface/heel divide went, but the work overcame that. This was hard-hitting and smartly worked, as you would expect from these two high-level wrestlers. Go out of your way to see this one.
This is Castagnoli’s 9th defense of the title.
Castagnoli charged PAC to start, hitting an uppercut and Swiss Death for a nearfall. PAC bailed out before a Neutralizer attempt. Castagnoli caught a PAC moonsault off the apron, dropping PAC into the barricade. PAC tried to bail out, but Castagnoli caught him on the stage and hit the Giant Swing. At the crowd’s request, Castagnoli hit another Giant Swing before attempting a Neutralizer on the ramp. PAC backdropped Castagnoli onto the stage, jamming Castagnoli’s knee. PAC then hit his apron moonsault to Castagnoli on the floor.
PAC set up a table on the floor, but Castagnoli uppercut PAC up and over the table before sending him into the barricade. Castagnoli charged PAC, but PAC moved, and Castagnoli jammed his knee again. PAC hit a shotgun dropkick for a nearfall. PAC brought Castagnoli to the top and brought him down with an avalanche brainbuster for a nearfall.
PAC taunted Castagnoli, but Castagnoli gorilla pressed PAC out of the ring through the table on the floor. Castagnoli went to the top rope and hit an elbow drop for a nearfall. Castagnoli dropped the hammer and anvil elbows before setting up the Neutralizer, but PAC hit an enzuigiri. PAC went for a springboard, but Castagnoli caught him and hit an Alley Oop before finally hitting the Neutralizer. It only scored a nearfall.
Castagnoli taunted PAC before drilling him with forearms. PAC came back and engaged in a strike exchange that Castagnoli got the better of with a lariat. Both men got to their feet, where PAC dropped Castagnoli with a pair of superkicks. PAC hit a stalling German suplex for a nearfall. PAC went to the top rope, but Castagnoli knocked him down with an uppercut. Castagnoli went for the outside-in deadlift superplex, but PAC cut him off and went for a super hurricanrana. Castagnoli stuffed it and went for the Ricola Bomb, but PAC ripped off the rana.
PAC went to the top rope but missed the Black Arrow. Castagnoli hit a lariat and went for the Ricola Bomb, but PAC locked on the Brutalizer. Castagnoli tried to slam his way out of it, but PAC clutched it back on. Castagnoli lifted PAC up again, this time onto the ropes, and hit an Air Raid Crash to escape the hold. After both men recovered, PAC went to take the turnbuckle pad off when Wheeler Yuta stopped him. Castagnoli then hit an uppercut before hitting the Ricola Bomb for the win.
After the match, the Lucha Brothers came out to help their Death Triangle partner. They beat down Castagnoli and Yuta until Best Friends made the save. Orange Cassidy came out to help the Best Friends. He went to hit an Orange Punch on Yuta, but Yuta ducked, and Castagnoli took the shot. The Best Friends stood tall to end the scene here.
– The announcers ran down the Collision card, noting that we will hear from FTR, Ricky Starks, and CM Punk. They ran down the Dynamite card, which will feature a three-way tag team match between Best Friends, the Lucha Brothers, and the BCC team of Castagnoli and Jon Moxley.
They billed the two World Title matches as a double main event. I went in believing this was just marketing, but this match lived up to the billing. These two put on one of the best World Title matches of the year, up there with Castagnoli and PAC, and rivaling Flair/Ripley from Wrestlemania as a Women’s Match of the Year. This was dramatic, had shoutouts to the women that built Women of Honor, and had the crowd rocking by the end. A fantastic main event to a show that out-delivered any reasonable expectations. I gave the ROH brass a lot of grief for their lack of build to this show. While I stand by my criticisms, I knew that the talent would still be put in positions to deliver. They delivered in spades, making this one of Ring of Honor’s best PPV events ever.
This is Athena’s 12th defense of the title.
Nightingale’s family is in the front row. Nightingale controlled early, hitting an enzuigiri. Athena went for quick pinfalls, but Nightingale kept kicking out. Both women ended up on the apron, with Athena dropping Nightingale on the apron with a back suplex. Athena clubbered on Nightingale in the corner and avoided a senton when Nightingale tried fighting back. Athena menaced the referee, which allowed Nightingale to surprise her with a Pounce.
Nightingale fired up, hitting a main event spinebuster – this time in the actual main event – for a nearfall. They traded strikes until Athena hit a strong forearm. Athena followed up with a side kick and her lungblower variant for a nearfall. Athena pulled Nightingale to the apron, but Nightingale elbowed her down. Nightingale hit a crossbody off the apron, then powerbombed her onto the apron. Athena fought off of Nightingale’s shoulders and dropkicked her.
Athena went for the double knees into the steps, but Nightingale moved. Nightingale then hit a cannonball into the stairs, getting Athena back into the ring for a nearfall. Athena hit a Shining Wizard and a standing moonsault, but Nightingale rolled up to her feet and hit Smash Mouth – ROH regular Sumie Sakai’s finisher – for a nearfall. Athena hit a rana, but Nightingale popped back up and hit the Royal Butterfly – Sara Del Ray’s old finisher – for a nearfall.
Nightingale went for the Babe With The Powerbomb, but Athena countered it with a Heart Punch and a Snapmare Driver – Daizee Haze’s old finisher – for a nearfall. Shoutouts to the women of ROH’s past in this first-time PPV main event. Nightingale hit a spinning DDT – Mickie James’ finisher she used in ROH – for a nearfall. Athena avoided a cannonball and hit an Obliterator – MsChif’s old finisher – and followed it up with a powerbomb for a nearfall.
Athena brought Nightingale to the top rope, but Nightingale hit a top rope DVD for a nearfall. My browser crashed for a moment but came back just in time to see Athena send Nightingale into the stairs. Athena hit the O-Face, but Nightingale kicked out to a massive reaction. Athena menaced the referee again, but that allowed Nightingale to roll Athena into the Babe With The Powerbomb. Athena kicked out at two. Nightingale brought Athena to the top rope, but Athena knocked her down and hit the O-Face again. Athena locked Nightingale in a crossface. Nightingale fought until she couldn’t fight anymore, passing out in the hold. Athena retained by referee stoppage.
Ring of Honor has officially announced the first match for Friday’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view.
In a bout first announced on social media early Sunday morning Eastern time, Katsuyori Shibata is set to defend the ROH Pure Championship against former title holder Daniel Garcia o the Friday, July 21 Death Before Dishonor PPV.
ROW owner and storyline chairman of the board of directors of ROH Tony Khan announced the match in a kayfabe press conference video in the social media announcement.
Garcia picked up a pinfall victory over Shibata in a tag team match on the June 21 episode of AEW Dynamite, and Garcia and Shibata have teased the match repeatedly on Ring of Honor TV over the past couple of months.
Also set for Death Before Dishonor but not yet officially announced, the winner of Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV title eliminator match between Dalton Castle & Shane Taylor will challenge Samoa Joe for the TV title at Death Before Dishonor. That match was taped at Saturday night’s AEW Collision taping.
Additionally, the ROH World Championship will presumably be on the line, with Claudio Castagnoli defending against an unnamed opponent. Khan promised to address the World title situation after Wednesday’s Blood & Guts match on Dynamite where Castagnoli will compete. Castagnoli had been set to defend against Mark Briscoe, but a knee injury forced Briscoe out of the match.
The lineup to this point:
ROH Death Before Dishonor, Friday, July 21, 8 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —
ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli defends against TBA
ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe defends against Dalton Castle or Shane Taylor
ROH Pure Championship: Katusyori Shibata defends against Daniel Garcia
Tonight’s special “Championship Friday” edition of AEW Rampage will feature four title matches from three different promotions — none of which are AEW.
AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo will look to extend his 500+ day reign as titleholder as he defends against Komander and Dralistico in a three-way. This will be Vikingo’s fifth match in AEW.
Fresh off another title defense on ROH TV, inaugural NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his gold against Action Andretti. Sabre Jr. bested Rocky Romero Thursday as his recent run in ROH continues.
Inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale will have her first title defense as she takes on Emi Sakura. Nightingale won the title by defeating Mercedes Mone last month in a tournament.
After his successful defense against Alex Coughlin on Thursday, ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will look to fend off the title challenge of Lee Moriarty and earn his third title defense.
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Taped in San Diego, California. Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Excalibur were on commentary for “Championship Friday!”
El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander defeated Dralistico (w/ Jose the Assistant) to retain the AAA Mega Championship (10:07).
Vikingo’s 500 days into his title reign, or halfway into a ridiculous celebration and his cousins turning on him. Dralistico got the first near fall of the match with a slingshot senton. The crowd was very into this match. Komander got hung up in the ropes, and Dralistico took him out with a double stomp. Vikingo then flew into the action with a moonsault to the floor, which popped the crowd. Vikingo hit an implosion hurricanrana, then followed up with a Phoenix Splash (started outside of the ring and facing the wrong way, no big deal). JR is so impressed with the action he will give the winner a barbeque sauce. He should throw in his seasoning, too. That stuff is great.
During the split-screen break, Jose helped Dralistico set up a table on the floor. Well, Jose is an assistant.
After the break, Dralistico and Komander worked in the ring while Vikingo hid on the floor, continuing the pattern of two guys working in the ring while the third hid. Komander tried a crazy springboard hurricanrana, but it didn’t really work. Dralistico took a bump to the floor anyway. Komander followed his opponents out ot the floor with a rope walk moonsault to the floor. Badk in the ring, Komander hit a rope walk 450 for a near fall. Vikingo took Komander down with an inverted hurricanrana, then put him through the table with a 630 springboard senton.
Back in the ring, Vikingo countered a powerbomb from Dralistico with a hurricanrana and a cradle and got the pinfall.
Spectacular insanity.
– Let’s go back to January when Aubrey Edwards made some fair calls that didn’t go Jeff Jarrett’s way. And then six months later, Karen Jarrett kept Aubrey Edwards from doing the same thing at Double or Nothing by thwacking her with a guitar. Backstage, Mark Briscoe and Aubrey Edwards attacked Jarrett and his crew in the middle of an interview with Lexi Nair.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Action Andretti to retain the NJPW Television Championship (10:15)
Crowd was behind Sabre. Andretti tried to hang with Sabre, but he was very clearly out of his depth on the mat. Sabre got a wristlock on Andretti, who tried four different escapes before one finally worked. Andretti hit a springboard tornio for a near fall, then sent Sabre to the floor with a springboard hurricanrana. Sabre tied up Andretti in the ropes with an armbar, then sent Andretti down to the mat by yanking down on his arm. Sabre continued to work over Andretti’s arm and leveled him with forearms in the corner. Sabre locked in a hammerlock and a body scissors, but Andretti was able to power Sable over with a suplex.
Andretti hit a springboard kick for a near fall. Sabre caught Andretti with a kick to the arm to regain the advantage. Andretti hit a jumping enziguri and an avalanche hurricanrana for a near fall. Andretti picked up Sabre in a torture rack, but Sabre countered by grabbing him in a choke. Andretti hit a superkick and a poisoned rana for a near fall. Andretti hit a shotgun dropkick and a spit-legged moonsault for a near fall. Andretti came off the ropes with a springboard, but Sabre yanked him out of the air with an armbar, then tied both of Andretti’s arms up with his legs and got the submission. Great match!
Willow Nightingale defeated Emi Sakura to retain the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship (8:00 aired)
JR wished Mercedes Mone a speedy recovery on commentary. Both women fought over a suplex on the ring apron, but Sakrua used an eye poke to get the advantage. She sent Nightingale to the floor with a crossbody, then threw her into the barricade as the show went to break.
After the break, Nightingale hit a shotgun dropkick off the middle rope for a near fall. Sakura hit a CrossRhodes variation for a near fall, then a twisting senton for a near fall. Nightingale hit a low crossbody for a near fall. Sakura tried for La Magistral’s cradle, but Nightingale powered out. Sakura hit a sitout Jay Driller, but Nightingale came back with a pounce and a cannonball. Nightingale finished off Sakura with a lariat and an awesome Doctor Bomb to get the pinfall. The crowd was very into this match as well.
– New for Dynamite Wednesday: MJF makes an appearance, and Jungle Boy & Hook take on Dralistico & Preston Vance in a Texas Tornado match.
– The next Ring of Honor pay-per-view, Death Before Dishonor, was announced for July 21st in Trenton, New Jersey.
Katsuyori Shibata defeated Lee Moriarty to retain the ROH Pure Championship (9:09).
The pure rules: a 20-count outside the ring, each competitor gets 3 rope breaks, and no closed fist strikes.
Periodically a timer is shown on the screen. It’s barely a minute into the match before Moriarty had to use his first rope break. Moriarty caught Shibata with a dropkick to the knee. Moriarty worked over Shibata’s knee during the split screen break.
After the break, Shibata had Moriarty locked in a figure-four, and Moriarty had to use his second rope break. Shibata hit a diving dropkick in the corner on Moriarty, then suplexed him out of the corner for a near fall. Moriarty used his third rope break (I don’t think he meant to), but then locked in the Border City Stretch. Shibata countered with a cradle, then ran into a forearm. Shibata locked Moriarty in a sleeper. Moriarty faded, and Shibata finished him off with a PK kick for the pinfall.
After the match, Daniel Garcia came to the ring and stood face-to-face with Shibata, who held his Pure Championship belt up for the crowd.
Final Thoughts:
This show was excellent in the ring and the crowd was into every match.
A “Championship Friday” edition of AEW Rampage will feature four title defenses — none of which will include actual AEW titles.
In the featured bout, AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo will put his title on the line against Dralistico and Komander in a three-way. Vikingo has held the gold for more than 540 days and this will be his fifth appearance on AEW TV.
NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will make his AEW Rampage debut when he defends against Action Andretti. Sabre Jr. will defend his title Thursday against Rocky Romero as part of ROH TV on HonorClub.
Ring of Honor Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will defend his title against Lee Moriarty. That is coming on the heels of a Shibata title defense against Alex Coughlin, also on ROH TV on HonorClub.
Inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale will have her first title defense as she takes on Emi Sakura.
Here’s the lineup being taped Wednesday in San Diego, California:
AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo defends against Dralistico and Komander in a three-way
ROH TV Champion Katsuyori Shibata defends against Lee Moriarty
NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale defends against Emi Sakura
NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Action Andretti
The lineup for this Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub TV show will feature three title matches.
NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will continue his recent ROH run as he defends against Rocky Romero. Sabre Jr. is 2-0 in TV titles defenses in the red and black promotion and is coming off a tag team win alongside ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe last week.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look to extend her long winning streak as she defends against Kiera Hogan. Athena is entering her sixth month as champion and hasn’t lost since last September’s AEW All Out — a stretch of over 40 matches.
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will attempt to earn his second title defense since winning the gold in March as he takes on Alex Coughlin in a teacher vs. student match.
In what should be an exciting trios encounter, AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo will team with Komander & Bandido against Jack Cartwheel, Angelico & Serpentico.
Here’s the full lineup:
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata defends against Alex Coughlin
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Kiera Hogan
NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Rocky Romero
The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
Kip Sabian and The Butcher & The Blade vs. Shogun, Bryce Saturn & Jakob Austin Young
El Hijo del Vikingo, Komander & Bandido vs. Jack Cartwheel, Angelico & Serpentico
Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack
Action Andretti & Darius Martin vs. The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, John Silver & Evil Uno) vs. The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) and Stu Grayson
Ring of Honor has revealed the date for Katsuyori Shibata’s next Pure Championship defense.
As announced during this week’s Ring of Honor TV, Shibata is set to defend the ROH Pure Championship against Alex Coughlin on the Thursday, June 1 episode of ROH TV.
ROH announcer Ian Riccaboni revealed that Shibata will take on Coughlin in Las Vegas, signaling that the match will be taped on Wednesday, May 24 at the Dynamite and Rampage taping.
Shibata was responsible for training Coughlin as part of the first class of this iteration of NJPW’s LA Dojo, setting the stage for the teacher vs. student title match.
After defeating Wheeler Yuta for the Pure title at Supercard of Honor on March 31, Shibata has since made one title defense, defeating Christopher Daniels on the April 6 edition of Ring of Honor TV. That bout was taped at the UBS Arena on Long Island in Elmont, New York on April 5.
Alex Coughlin wants to face Katsuyori Shibata for the ROH Pure Championship.
Coughlin issued a challenge to his former NJPW LA Dojo mentor on Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode, asking Shibata to put the title on the line.
The challenge came after Shibata and Coughlin teamed to defeat The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) in a tag team contest on Thursday’s episode.
Coughlin, 29, was part of the first class of this iteration of NJPW’s LA Dojo in 2018 alongside Karl Fredericks (now Eddy Thorpe in WWE NXT) and Clark Connors. Shibata serves as the LA Dojo’s head trainer, but also resumed his in-ring career in 2021.
