ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher will wrestle London Lightning in a Proving Ground match as part of tonight’s ROH on HonorClub.
If Lightning can pick up the win or go to a draw, he will earn a future title bout.
Jimmy Jacobs will step into the ROH ring for the first time since last September when he battles Satnam Singh who is coming off a DQ loss to Bryan Danielson on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
ROH Tag Team Champion Mike Bennett will face Matt Menard in singles action as an anticipated future clash between their respective teams looms in the distance.
In an eight-man bout, Lee Johnson, Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) will battle Cole Karter, Griff Garrison & The Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari).
Other matches will see former AEW Women’s Champion Nyla Rose, Shane Taylor & Anthony Ogogo, and Serpentico & Angelico all in action.
Matches for this week’s episode were taped in three differetn cities: Edmonton, Alberta on May 8, Vancouver on May 11, and Portland on May 16.
**********
The lights were on, the crowd was hot and the card was ring down, to kick off ROH TV this week. The first match up was a Proving Ground match!
ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher defeated London Lightning in a Proving Ground Match
in this Proving Ground match, if Lightning could pick up the win or go to a 10-minute draw, he would earn a future title shot.
Lightning has been all over ROH in recent weeks and really earned the spot he’s in. Fletcher was looking to continue his dominance in the ROH TV Title scene and had Lightning on his heels off the top. Lightning fought back with a series of crossbodies and high knees off the ropes. Fletcher, looking a little tired from his heavy AEW schedule slipped to the outside. Lightning followed and Fletcher absolutely demolished him, dropping him on his head outside the ring. This led to a near-count-out for Lightning but he made it back into the ring in time.
The time was ticking away as Fletcher tried to put Lightning down, but Lighting fought back and was looking like he might eke out the victory. Nearing the 7-minute mark, Fletcher tried to put Lightning away, but he kicked out to everyone’s surprise! The crowd got behind Lightning at this point as the clock ticked down. Lightning locked in a scorpion death lock on Fletcher with about 90 seconds left. Fletcher managed to break the hold, and hit a Chris Adams superkick followed by a pile driver to get the win and dash Lightning’s hopes just before time expired.
The Workhorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry) defeated Spanish Announce Project (Angelico and Serpentico)
Serpentico and Angelico took a break this week from their feud with Garrison, Karter and Maria to have a good old fashioned fight against the Workhorsemen. The faster, high-flying SAP were an interesting match against the more brawler-styled Workhorsemen.
That said, Drake was able to keep up with Angelico easily enough off the top. Angelico seemed a bit confused as to how to deal with the big man, so he tagged in Serpentico. Drake tagged in Henry and the two locked up.
Serpentico and Henry were pretty even in terms of technical ability and the match jumped up a notch in terms of speed and crispness. The two teams had a lot of respect for each other, as both men in the ring started getting the crowd going. This let Henry get a big kick in on a distracted Serpentico.
Drake had about 100lbs on Serpentico and he used it to toss the smaller man around the ring. It didn’t keep him down though as the hit a second-rope DDT on Drake. A hot tag to Angelico and he cleared the ring of Workhorsemen.
Angelico planted Henry with a flatliner and Serpentico was about to land a move from the top rope with Garrison and Karter arrived at ringside to cause a distraction. This let Henry get a pin on Serpentico and the win for the Workhorsemen.
-After the match Garrision and Karter attacked Angelico and Serpentico. They tried to bring in a chair, but the SAP were able to fight them off though and stand tall in the ring as their music played.
Nyla Rose defeated Riea Von Slasher
Rose was looking for her 5th straight win in ROH and Slasher, a 20+ year veteran was one of the few women on the roster who matched up with Rose in terms of size and strength.
No matter the size though, when Rose kicks you in the head, you fall down. This was true of Slasher who Rose had complete control of throughout the match. Rose hit massive Beast Bomb for the win, and is now back in the title conversation in the ROH Women’s Division.
Satnam Singh defeated Jimmy Jacobs
Singh was coming off a DQ loss to Bryan Danielson on Wednesday’s Dynamite, and Jacobs hadn’t been seen in ROH in quite some time. His pyro announced his arrival to the world though as it was loud and plentiful. Singh was the larger of the two men, but as Bryan Danielson proved on Dynamite, size isn’t everything.
However, in this match, size was everything and Jacobs looked like a dwarf next to Singh. Jacobs threw everything he had at Singh, kicks, punches, leaps, but nothing seemed to move him. Singh hit a cross-body on Jacobs, flattening him like a pancake. He got the standing 3-count and won the match.
Shane Taylor and Anthony Ogogo defeated Jon Cruz and Artemis Spencer
Taylor has been stepping up as of late and no jaw was safe with Ogogo, who’s knockout punch is not one to be taken lightly.
Ogogo started off against Spencer and managed to interrupt or counter just about everything Spencer could throw at him. Cruz tagged in and called out Taylor who happily tagged in to beat up the smaller Cruz. Taylor hit a Marcus Garvey Driver and that was it. I don’t think Cruz or Spencer got an offensive move in before losing.
ROH Tag Team Champion Mike Bennett (w/ Matt Taven) defeated Matt Menard
-Earlier in the show, Menard cut a promo where he told us that he didn’t know where his partner was (in reality his partner, Cool Hand Ang, was off getting married to AEW’s Ruby Riot), but tonight “Daddy Magic” would be getting the win and a shot for his team against the tag team champions!
Menard had some taped up ribs as he enjoyed a big ovation from the Canadian crowd. Bennett for his part was cool and collected, even after finding himself thrown out of the ring by Menard. Menard had the size, but Bennett had the quickness and the two ran the ropes and ended up outside. Menard used several barricades as weapons as Taven caused a distraction, allowing Bennett to regain momentum, tossing Menard into the steel ring steps.
Back in the ring, Bennett slowed things down with a sleeper hold. The crowd rallied behind Menard though and he broke the hold in time to eat a dropkick. Bennett managed to get a kimura lock in on Menard, who managed to make it to the ropes and break the hold. Bennett tried five times to get Menard up for a piledriver, but Menard kept countering.
Bennett and Taven faked leaving to draw Menard out of the ring. Bennett tried the piledriver again, but Menard countered, slamming him on the ramp. Taven put Bennett back in the ring to try and beat the countout, but Menard made it back easily. Menard locked in a Boston Crab on Bennett inthe center of the ring, but Taven drew his attention, allowing Bennett to hit a Spiccoli Driver.
Taven entered the ring and tried to throw powder in Menard’s eyes. Unfortunately, he got his partner, Bennett instead, and that allowed Menard to get the pin and take the match. Afterwards, Bennett and Taven beat up Menard with the ROH Tag Championship belts.
-Backstage an emergency meeting of the minions was called by Lexi Nair, ROH Women’s TV Champion Billie Starkz and ROH Women’s Champion Athena. Athena was still hot over an attack by Queen Amniata and Red Velvet last week. She said they would never be able to call themselves champions and left in a huff, minions in tow.
Lee Johnson, Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) defeated Cole Karter, Griff Garrison & The Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari w/ Mark Sterling)
This massive main event featured some of the brightest in ROH. Diavari kicked things off with Darious of Top Flight and this match was great right away. The athleticism of each competitor was on display with all of the men involved being fast, high-fliers with a healthy dose of technicality to boot. It was like watching a vintage match in a modern setting.
It was a back-and-forth affair. Lots of hot tags between competitors, with neither team really carrying or losing control. Karter tagged in and isolated Andretti in the corner, but a stalling suplex gave Andretti a chance to tag in Johnson. Dropkicks rained down on the ring like glitching Young Bucks with feet meeting face again and again. The brawl moved outside the ring, but ref Aubrey Edwards was able to keep things in order and everyone returned to their corners.
Top Flight tried playing some mind games, stealing Karter’s “I Love Hot Moms” t-shirt to throw off his opponent. It didn’t work however, and Diavari made him pay for it with some hard stomps. Johnson tried to get a hot tag to his partners, but Nese tagged in and cut him off. Johnson reversed into a blue thunder bomb and got a big tag to Duante (now wearing the Hot Mom’s shirt). Duante used the shirt as a weapon, and sent Garrison to the outside.
The match devolved into a brawl in the ring, with bodies being tossed outside as fast as they could get back in. Who was legal was hard to tell, but it ended up being Darius and Garrison. Karter slid a chair to his partner while Sterling distracted the ref. Suddenly, Serpentico ran down and pulled the chair out of the ring, drawing Karter up the ramp. Darius then planted Garrison and got the win for his team.
Tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub will feature three Proving Ground matches featuring ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher, ROH Women’s Champion Athena, and ROH Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom in action.
Athena will take on Nicole Matthews, Fletcher will face Mentallo, and Mike Bennett & Matt Taven will take on Jason Geiger & London Lightning. If any of the challengers either draw or defeat their opponents, they earn a future title shot.
The seven-match card will also see Skye Blue take on Rachael Ellering, Anna Jay vs. an opponent to be named, Darius Martin & Action Andretti vs. Jon Cruz & Levi Night, and Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh against Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds.
This will be Blue’s first match since losing in a Manitoba Massacre match to TBS Champion Willow Nightingale.
The majority of the matches were taped earlier this month in Winnipeg with other bouts filed in both Edmonton and Vancouver.
**********
After a rundown of the card, the show kicked off with the first of three Proving Ground matches on the card.
ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher defeated Mentallo in a Proving Ground Match
Always nice to see the ROH TV Champion on ROH TV! Fletcher was up against Mentallo in a Proving Ground match, which means if Mentallo could last 10 minutes or pin Fletcher, then he’d get a shot at the title.
Mentallo (pronounced Menta-Lo) was an old foe of Kenny Omega and Fletcher did not give him a chance to show off his stuff. Fletcher had no interest in running out the clock and pounded Mentallo in the corner with some stiff strikes and a cocky attempt at a cover.
Fletcher’s showboating was all over the match including one-handed stalling suplexes, standing covers and more importantly, total control of the pace of the match. Mentallo managed get in a few flurries of offense here and there, including a nice moonsault onto the floor, but most of this match was mostly Fletcher doing his thing and doing it very well.
Fletcher chose his moment and hit a spinning kick followed by a dragon suplex. Mentallo actually kicked out of a drop brainbuster suplex, surprising Fetcher and the audience. Pushing the time limit, Fletcher put Mentallo away with a piledriver to dash his hopes of a title shot.
Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh defeated Dark Order (Evil Uno & John Silver)
Sanjay Dutt accompanied Lethal and Singh to the ring. Evening the odds was Dark Order member Alex Reynolds, backing up Uno and Silver. Uno has been getting huge ovations during these Canadian-taped matches and tonight was no exception. Even standing across from Lethal, Uno was who the crowd wanted to see.
Singh standing across from Silver for a code of honor was honestly staggering. Singh was literally almost double Silver’s size. Uno and Lethal kicked things off, but as soon as Silver was in the ring, he demanded that Lethal tag in Singh. Uno remarked “that’s so stupid” outside the ring to Reynolds as the two attempted to square up. Even Singh looked a little uncomfortable taking on the smaller Silver.
Silver’s speed however gave him and edge and he was able to get a few shots in on Singh’s knee. Unfortunately, that knee was attached to a really large foot and that knocked Silver into next week. Uno knocked Lethal off the side of the ring, and he and Silver tried to double team Singh. Singh responded by chokeslamming Uno while Silver jumped on his back to try and put on a sleeper.
Lethal broke up the chaos though and nailed Silver with a big boot to knock him 7 feet down to the ring and get a quick pin.
-Backstage, the Iron Savages joined us for a promo. They are three of the biggest, baddest athletes in ROH and they are done getting passed by! They are the most massive, with the highest T, and they are peak male performance. Nothing to joke about. They are going to start working for themselves, sippin’ sauce, living hoss, and taking everyone to Titty City!
Anna Jay defeated Tara Zep
Jay has been on a bit of an ROH streak, winning three in a row, but Zep made her name in Deathmatches, so this was an interesting matchup.
Jay held control early in the match, keeping things slow and methodical, focusing on Zep’s neck. She slapped Zep from pillar to post and after a Gory Bomb, got a two count. This was only because Jay pulled up Zep at the last minute to slap a sleeper on her and get her fourth win in a row.
Skye Blue defeated Rachael Ellering
This was Blue’s first match since losing in a Manitoba Massacre match to TBS Champion Willow Nightingale. Ellering was still stinging from Maria’s insults last week and looking to prove that she is a wrestler worth watching.
Blue had no interest in a code of honor and went right into it. Ellering saw it coming though and the two traded headlocks in the centre of the ring. Ellering had the strength advantage over Blue and was putting a little extra emphasis on each move to make sure she got her point across.
Blue for her part was able to tap into some deep resiliency, reversing and protecting against Ellering. The one thing she couldn’t defend against was getting dropped on her head and Ellering did it with a piledriver suplex.
The two flipped and rolled into a series of two counts, neither one gaining the upper hand. This match would come down to who made the first mistake. That turned out to be Ellering who left herself open for big kick and Code Blue from Blue to get the pin.
-Anjelico and Serpentico joined us by vignette. They are frustrated but Serpentico told Anjelico they need to keop the vibes chill. Anjelico calmed down and warned Maria and Garrison and Karter that this was only the beginning.
Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated Jon Cruz & Levi Knight
Andretti and Martin were a twosome this week, and amateur Ginger-Baker-impersonator Knight joined Cruz to take on Top Flight.
These four all ran a fast, high-action style, so it was a lot of fun to watch. Cruz played the comedy card off the top, but managed to stay on top against Andretti. Knight held his own against Martin as well, getting about 6 inches in height on the Top Flight member.
Knight and Cruz isolated Martin in their corner and traded tags and double teams to work him down. Knight did a lot of dancing, but also had a real aggressive streak, which he was able to turn on and off at a moments notice, keeping Martin on his toes.
Andretti got a hot tag and took Knight to the woodshed. Cruz tagged in and fared no better. Andretti and Martin double teamed Knight with a series of high kicks and managed to get the pin and pick up a well-earned win.
ROH World Tag Team Champions Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated London Lighting & Jason Geiger in a Proving Ground Match
The second Proving Ground match of the night gave Lightning and Geiger a chance to win an ROH Tag Team Championship match. All they had to do was last 10 minutes, or eke out a win against the Undisputed Kingdom.
Geiger and Bennett started things off. Geiger has a ton of MMA and amateur wresting accolades, but they don’t mean much when you’re in the ring with Bennett. Geiger managed to ground and pound Bennett, keeping him off his feet. Lightning tagged in and managed to fight off both Bennett and Taven, surprising the champions.
It was mentioned that The Undisputed Kingdom are not undefeated in Proving Ground matches, and Lightning managed to score a near fall on Taven. Settling down, Taven and Bennett regained control though, isolating Lightning in the corner and unleashing a flurry of “your mom” comments for some reason.
Even though he was smaller than Taven and Bennett, Geiger was able to take both on and regain control of the ring. A shot from behind by Taven though put him on the mat and a Rockstar Supernova got the champs the pin.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena vs. Nicole Matthews in a Proving Ground Match
Athena has been reveling in her 500+ days as champion, but Matthews wasn’t a slouch. If she could last 10 minutes, or pin the champ, Matthews would get a title shot at a later date. Athena and Matthews have a long history, dating back to their days in SHIMMER, where Matthews holds a 2-0 record against Athena.
Matthews was not intimidated by Athena and worked the crowd off the top. Athena was quite annoyed by this and the two locked up. Matthews slowed the match to a snail’s pace, keeping Athena off her feet and unable to reverse the holds. Athena managed to wriggle free and exit the ring to regain her composure.
Athena nailed Matthews with a big forearm to switch the momentum, and hung her up on the ropes to deliver some big back blows. Athena locked Matthews in an abdominal stretch, but the crafty veteran was able to roll through and almost pick up a pin.
Matthews got another near fall with a northern lights suplex. It was looking like Matthews would be able to put away the champ but a double knee reversal gave control firmly back to Athena. A high-flying move off the top rope sealed the deal for Athena and gave her the win. That made the champ 51-0 since winning the title.
To add insult to injury, Athena put Matthews in a crossface after the bell until Queen Aminata ran down to make the save! Aminata sent Athena to the outside and stood tall over the literally Fallen Goddess as the show came to a close.
Ring of Honor presents its weekly show on HonorClub tonight.
Matches scheduled for the show include Billie Starkz vs. Dream Girl Ellie in a Proving Ground match. If Ellie can go to a time-limit draw or defeat Starkz, she’ll earn a shot at Starkz’s ROH Women’s TV title.
Kiera Hogan vs. Ashley D’Amboise and Zicky Dice vs. Anthony Ogogo are also scheduled to air on the show. A trios match pits Taya Valkyrie, Diamante, and Mercedes Martinez against Leyla Hirsch, Lady Frost, and Abadon as well.
Matches for this week’s show were taped at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida on April 27. Spoilers from the show are available here.
**********
The show kicked off with a cold-open promo from ROH Tag Team Champions, The Undisputed Kingdom. Bennet and Taven ran down Cool Hand Ang, saying he should have retired instead of trying to be a father and presumably, a wrestler.
The show then started properly with a six-woman tag match.
This was an exciting match, but the real square-off that everyone (namely me) wanted to see was Valkyrie vs Abadon. Hopefully that comes in the future, but for now all six women in this match had axes to grind, and they ground them out, hard.
Valkyrie and Frost started off the match with some quick tumbling and gymnastics moves. Abandon quickly tagged in and sentoned Valkyrie. Hirsch then tagged herself in, much to the displeasure of her teammates. Martinez pulled Hirsch to her team’s corner, isolating her from Abadon and Frost. Diamante tagged in and she and Hirsch battled in the center of the ring.
There was a great mix of styles in this match, with high-flying mixing with technical mixing with brawling and some good ol’ fashioned trickery from Valkyrie. Frost was the standout in the match, taking Valkyrie to the limit not once but twice. Diamante managed to get Frost up on the top rope and deliver a flipping powerbomb from the top to get the one-two-three for her team.
-Later in the show, Hirsch’s friend Rachel Ellering had an interview interrupted by Maria in the back. Maria declared that women’s wrestling doesn’t sell tickets, and Ellering couldn’t sell anything. Ellering left, upset, and Maria twirled Serpentico’s mask as she laughed.
Anthony Ogogo (w/ Shane Taylor) defeated Zicky Dice
This singles match was the ROH debut of Ogogo and Dice had about 30lbs in size on him. This match had an interesting vibe, as the announce team mentioned, it felt like a trained boxer taking on a barroom hero.
Ogogo was all over Dice from the bell, using his speed and powerful kicks to knock him around. Dice did not get in any offense, and Ogogo hit Dice square in the face, knocking him cold.
-After the match, Ogogo grabbed a mic and demanded the ring be cleared and made sure the crowd knew he was a 10-time British Boxing Champion, Olympic Champion, London Champion, and so on. He can box, and he’s the newest member of the Shane Taylor Promotions squad.
Kiera Hogan defeated Ashley D’Amboise
This was a quick match to remind everyone that Hogan is very good at professional wrestling.
Hogan had control from the start, using every bit of her speed and strikes to keep D’Amboise on her heels the whole time. There was a bright spot in the form of a scoop slam into a pin for D’Amboise, but Hogan kicked out, dashing her hopes.
Hogan found herself caught off guard by the speed of D’Amboise but was able to power back to keep herself out of any real danger. D’Amboise made a mistake trying to overpower Hogan and Hogan exploited it with a big boot and a shotgun dropkick. Hogan dropped several corner attacks to wear down D’Amboise, and got the pin with a drop suplex.
-In the back, Nick Comoroto had an interview. He was wearing a shirt from the Rock 2023 collection, and let everyone know he’s joined up with Jacoby Watts to bring light to the world and forge a path to greatness! Watts joined in and invited all the ROH fans to join with them.
Lance Archer & The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) defeated an unannounced trio of local talent
During this match, I came to the conclusion that Vincent is one of my favorite performers in ROH. He’s got a style and ability to move that’s truly unlike anyone else. Hopefully, these three will find themselves in the conversation for Trios Gold in the future. Tonight though, it was a down and out slobber knocker squasherino of a match.
Dutch, Vincent and Archer jumped their opponents before they could even have their names announced. They beat all three from pillar to post and Archer hit a blackout using one of his opponents as a weapon. Vincent pinned (read; sat on) the third man and the match was won.
ROH Women’s TV Champion Billie Starkz (w/ Athena) defeated Dream Girl Ellie in a Proving Ground match
Taking the prize for “Most ‘L’s’ In The Competitor’s Names,” This proving ground match was the closest match to a title defense that Starkz has had since winning the Women’s TV Title in controversial fashion. If Ellie could last 10 minutes or pin the Champion in this Proving Ground match, she’d become the first to get such a shot. But Athena lurking at ringside put that outcome into question right away.
Ellie was trained by Afa and Matt Bourne, so she was a great mix of street fighter and high flyer. Starkz was going to have to dig deep inter her bag of tricks to get by her, even though she had about 6 more inches in height on Ellie.
Elli dropkicked Starkz out of the ring, where Athena was waiting to rile her back up in support. Starkz took the hint and began stomping Ellie in the middle of the ring. Starkz then hung her in a tree of woe, kicking her in face while the ref was distracted. Starkz is a great heel because she loves to cheat and take shortcuts when she absolutely doesn’t have to.
In this case though, it was a simple neckbreaker that put Ellie down, ending the Proving Ground match around the 5 minute mark.
-The Premium Athletes had a promo in the back and called out every tag team in ROH that they could remember. Diavari and Nese declared that they deserve the ROH Tag Titles and are coming for The Undisputed Kingdom. Woods reminded everyone that he is one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, and he’s not stopping until he’s World Champion.
Now this was a grudge match if I ever saw one. Months ago, Maria and Co stole Serpentico’s green mask. Since then, he’s been trying to get it back (but honestly, not that hard). Garrison and Karter have been all over ROH, but the elusive mask was still in the possession of Maria.
Angelico and Serpentico jumped Karter and Garrison before they had even made it down the ramp, using barricades and stairs on Maria’s Boys before the bell even rang.
Serpentico in a very shiny new mask took Garrison to the mat after the match officially started. Angelico jumped in for a double team and the two isolated Garrison in their corner. This kind of aggression from Angelico and Serpentico was very unlike them, but after weeks of Maria’s taunting, it made sense that they were ready to do what had to be done to win.
Karter managed to trip Serpentico on the ring apron (the hardest part of the ring) and threw him back into the ring for Garrison to try and put him away. Maria circled the ring, amping up the mind games. Though, it was a little odd that she was taunting Serpentico with his green mask, while he was wearing a much nicer mask.
Masks aside though, Karter and Garrison were able to control the pace of the match until Serpentico was able to get a hot tag to Angelico. He cleaned house, taking out both Karter and Garrison. Karter was the legal man though, and Angelico was making no mistakes, getting a 2.5 count before Garrison broke up the pin. Angelico was able to wrap up Karter in a pinning cradle though, and got the win for his team, much to Maria’s chagrin.
Maria was so frustrated, she threw Serpentico’s green mask into the ring. He grabbed it and celebrated, but it was a ruse! Karter and Garrison attacked from behind. They set up a chair in the corner and threw Serpentico into it face-first, knocking him out. Maria retrieved the mask and the trio celebrated as the show ended.
ROH presents its weekly show on Honorclub tonight.
The Undisputed Kingdom vs. The Qrown in a Proving Ground match is scheduled for the show. Other matches set to air include Queen Aminata vs. Robyn Renegade and Aaron Solo vs. Jon Cruz. Other wrestlers booked for the show include Nyla Rose, Toa Liona, and The Dark Order.
This week’s episode was filmed on April 24 at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Spoilers from the taping are available here.
Ring of Honor on Honorclub lineup for Thursday, May 2, 2024 —
The Dark Order’s Evil Uno, John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Adam Priest, Zicky Dice & Sean Maluta
ROH World Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Qrown (Leonis & Maximus)
The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum) vs. The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
Aaron Solo vs. Jon Cruz
Robyn Renegade vs. Queen Aminata
Nyla Rose vs. Cameron Brenae
Toa Liona vs. Jimmy Wild
This week, ROH TV kicked off with a tag team grudge match, taped outside no less! Wrestling under the sun is always a great time.
The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo w/Trish Adora) defeated The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum w/Laser Lynn)
The Infantry last week pointed out that the Outrunners’ finishing move was a lot like their own Boot Camp finisher. That led to the signing of this match.
Before the bell even rang, Adora and Lynn tangled up and the two teams brawled in the ring. The ref got control though, and the match officially began with Floyd and Bravo. The Infantry has a lot of old-school moves in their repertoire, which makes them a great foe for The Outrunners.
The Infantry got the upper hand when Bravo pulled Dean out of the ring, and Floyd managed to accidentally nail Magnum right in the neon. The Infantry had a solid amount of control after that, with quick tags and some high impact double teams.
The Outrunners fought back though, dishing out their own classic double teams and flexes. Oh, the flexes. They got a little cocky though, slowing the match to their desired pace. The infantry is an explosive team and when The Outrunners tried to double team Bravo, he dodged it and got a hot tag to Dean. The Outrunners tried to hit a Boot Camp on Dean, but they missed and Bravo hopped in and the Infantry delivered a Boot Camp of their own to win the match.
Nyla Rose defeated Cameron Brenae
Rose entered to a huge ovation (as she should). Rose has been on a tear lately, and Brenae tried to get to her early. However, Rose is very, very tough and Brenae essentially bounced off of her.
Rose played to the crowd and they ate up every second of it. Brenae got a sucker punch in and Rose rolled out. Brenae followed, and Rose hit her with a lariat that sent her back to Kansas.
Rose had played around enough and with a massive Beast Bomb, Rose got the 1-2-3.
ROH World Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated The Qrown (Leonis & Maximus) in a Proving Ground match
-Prior to the match, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang showed up and cut a promo. It made very little sense. I think they challenged the Undisputed Kingdom to a match, but I honestly could not confirm that.
Bennett started off with Leonis and quickly had him isolated in the Kingdom’s corner. Taven tagged in and the beating continued. Lots of mugging for the crowd from Taven and even more kicks to the stomach for Leonis.
Leonis finally found an opening and tagged in Maximus. Maximus took the Kingdom to the mat with a series of lariats and it started to look like The Qrown might last the ten minutes needed to win the Proving Ground match.
However, a high-flying double team from Bennett and Taven put that thought to rest, and they walked away with the win for the second week in a row.
-JD Drake appeared to cut a promo. He expressed his frustrations with his recent matches. He then told a very long and winding story that ended up with him holding a 2-Dollar bill. He said that it’s time for the ‘Blue Collar Badass’ to punch in and go to work alone, as a Workhorse MAN.
Toa Liona defeated Jimmy Wild
Liona is an absolute animal and the mich smaller and thinner Wild was very timid off the top. Liona took advantage of that and chopped Wild into next week. Liona not only possesses the strength and size to be a winner, but the speed as well.
To call this a squash match would imply that it was a match at all. Liona took Wild from pillar to post, senton bombing him on the ring apron (the hardest part of the ring). Liona was simply playing with Wild until he got bored and put him down for good.
The Dark Order’s Evil Uno, John Silver & Alex Reynolds defeated Adam Priest, Zicky Dice & Sean Maluta
Silver and Maluta kicked things off with a lock up. Dice and Priest jumped in to try and help their partner, but Silver mean-mugged them and they stepped back out. Uno tagged in and Maluta actually got some offense in.
Priest, Maluta and Dice operated in a really slick fashion, appearing to work together really well even though they haven’t teamed much. The Dark Order was a little surprised by this and it took a few minutes for them to get themselves together.
Uno delivered a cutter to Dice, and a hot tag to Reynolds followed. Reynolds hit a double underhook butterfly powerbomb and the Dark Order took complete control of the match. Dark Order triple teamed Priest and Reynolds held him down for the pin.
-The Iron Savages and Jack Jameson joined us for a promo. The Savages are tired of being a circus act. They are done being goofy and silly Savages, it’s just not bringing them success. They are sippin’ sauce, livin’ hoss, and everyone’s going to rhymes-with-Kitty City!
Aaron Solo defeated Jon Cruz
Cruz and Solo are a great pair of wrestlers with similar styles and moves. This promised to be a fun match!
It wasn’t though, as it was painfully short. Solo jumped Cruz off the bell and stomped a mudhole in the corner. Cruz and Solo ran the ropes at high speed, which produced a high-speed collision. Cruz walked away in control and jumped to the top rope for a splash. Solo moved though and capitalized by pinning the dazed Cruz.
Queen Aminata defeated Robyn Renegade
The sun set as the main event kicked off. Aminata last week formed an alliance with Red Velvet and Renegade was also on the show..
Aminata was still a little salty about losing the ROH Women’s TV Title to Billie Starkz via trickery. She took that out on Renegade who fought back and drove Aminata to the outside. After rolling her back in the ring, the momentum switched away from Renegade and Aminata laid her out with some stiff forearms.
Aminata hit an absolutely brutal kick to the face through the ropes on Renegade, the same move that set Starkz’ deception in motion at Supercard. Athena and Starks appeared inset, and watched the match, scouting Aminata.
Renegade hit a flapjack on Aminata to try and get some control. There was a near fall, but Aminata wasn’t done yet. She no-sold some hard chops from Renegade and launched her across the ring with a german suplex. Animata charged her in the corner twice, glaring into the camera (presumably at Athena and Starkz). The glare held as the got the pin on Renegade, 1-2-3.
Starkz and Athena were shown leaving as the show came to and end.
Next Week: The Undisputed Kingdom vs Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang… we think!
Ring of Honor presents its weekly show on HonorClub tonight as ROH Tag Team Champions Mike Bennett & Matt Taven will be in action against “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and Fred Rosser in a Proving Ground match.
If Lawlor and Rosser can either win or draw the champions, they earn a future title shot.
This week’s episode was taped at the Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, Louisiana, on Saturday.
**********
The show opened in the bathroom where Dalton Castle threatened to throw trash at Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie unless his mysterious friend got a match against them. Jerry Lynn then made a match between the two for next week.
Angelico & Serpentico defeated Da Russell Twins (Allen & Kameron Russell)
Serpentico was wearing a new all-black mask after having had his other one stolen by Griff Garrison, Cole Karter and Maria Kanellis recently.
Angelico started things off with one of the Russell twins, catching him in a quick wrist lock. Serpentico tagged in and tried a quick cover, followed by the other Russell tagging in. The twins began working Serpentico in the corner and a hard hip toss by Russell #1 led to a quick nearfall.
The Russells get some offense in while Angelico anxiously waited on the outside. Serpentico hit a big elbow and Angelico got a hot tag. Angelico applied a leglock submission and Russell 1 quickly gave up.
After the match, Carter, Garrison and Kanellis came to the ramp to taunt Serpentico with the mask they stole.
Nyla Rose defeated Emmy Camacho
Camacho was dwarfed by Rose as the match started. Rose ragdolled her around the ring. Camacho did not get much offense in, and Nyla won in a quick squash.
Later in the show, Rose rolled up on Lexi Nair backstage looking for ROH Women’s Champion Athena. Rose trashed Athena’s school, friends and skills before reassuring us that she is, in fact, the chaos.
The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) and Jacked Jameson defeated KM, Jon Cruz & Brandon Hunter
The Savages arrived and ensured us all a trip to an interesting-sounding city. Hunter kicked things off with Jameson and nailed a pump handle slam. Bronson tagged in and military pressed Hunter who made a quick tag to KM after being dropped. Hunter tagged back in and got a clothesline from Boulder for his trouble. Cruz then tagged in and Boulder crushed him in the corner. The Iron Savages made a bunch of quick tags in order to confuse the ref and pull off a triple team. The Sauce Toss connected and the Savages took the win.
– Ethan Page gave an interview where he reiterated his promise to win the ROH TV title for his daughter, who also inspired his outfit. These promises matter to Page and he’s going to wear his current gear until he wins that title
Dalton Castle defeated Aaron Solo
Castle was brought to the ring on a catering cart, looking like he just woke up. His chest was also suspiciously unshaven. Solo started off well against the sluggish Castle, driving his head into the post as the two brawled outside. Castle reversed a whip and drove Solo into the ring. The two climbed back into the ring where Castle drove Solo into the turnbuckle. A series of spinning kicks from Solo dropped Castle who answered with a big clothesline. Momentum shifted into a Bangarang and the pin for Castle. The crowd clapped along to his theme song like they always do.
Backstage later on, Lexi Nair found Castle riding a janitor’s bucket. Castle babbled while she tried to get him to reveal who his “friend” is that will face Johnny TV next week. Castle didn’t give many clues, but did mention that his friend “doesn’t even go to this school” and is “new to wrestling.” Then he fell into a laundry cart and declared “I’m done.”
ROH Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) defeated Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor in a Proving Ground match
Some pushing and shoving off the top between Rosser and Bennett started things off. Rosser threw Bennett in the corner and delivered some hard chops. Bennett battled back and threw his own shots on Rosser in the corner before Rosser tagged in Lawlor. Lawlor delivered a hard slam that led to a near fall. Taven tagged in and hit an Aurora Borealis, but it only led to a two count before he tagged Bennett back in.
Bennett and Lawlor traded shots into a German suplex from Bennett. There were hot tags all around as Rosser entered the fray and almost ate a double team from the champions. Rosser went for a quick pin on Taven that was broken up. Rosser and Lawlor hit double gutbusters, but could only get a near fall. Time ticked away as Lawlor and Rosser had a miscommunication and ended up hitting each other in the center of the ring.
Rosser tried to lock in a chicken wing, but caught a Boston Bayonet for his trouble. Bennett and Taven gained momentum back and hit their finisher on Rosser to get the win and dash the chances of Lawlor and Rosser getting a title shot.
Ethan Page defeated Slim J
Page entered the arena, but wasn’t happy with the reception he got so he entered again and was eventually satisfied. A hard shot from Page had J complaining to the ref, but there was no foul. A shoulder block from Page knocked J across the ring. He grabbed J in a stalling vertical suplex and slammed him to the ground. However, he bounced back and got some offense in, including some hard punches in the corner.
J hit an inverted Bulldog for a quick two count. J applied a sleeper, but Page fought back and backed him into the corner. After getting flipped by Page, J hit an enzuigiri and went to the top rope, but missed Page with a twisting dive. Page threw J high into the air and delivered a big boot, spinning J completely around.
Page’s power slam garnered a near fall, but not enough to end it. Back and forth, J managed to hit a flatliner, but only got a two count. Page fought back and nailed J with his Ego’s Edge for the win. putting him closer to that TV Title shot against Kyle Fletcher.
Billie Starkz defeated Killa Kate
Starkz looked serious early on as she refused to let the pace of the match dwindle. A quick sunset flip got her a two count. Back elbows from Kate dazed Starkz who quickly recovered and sent Kate to the corner. Kate reversed things and the two battled on the middle turnbuckle. Starkz eventually got Kate on her shoulders and delivered a modified Electric Chair for the win.
– Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering cut a promo ensuring us that they are ready to go in the upcoming Women’s TV Title Tournament.
The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) defeated The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
Dutch started by throwing his weight around with Bravo. A quick tag to Vincent led to a one count for Bravo. Dean took over and the fast-moving match continued with multiple two counts before Bravo was tagged back in. Dutch grabbed a blind tag and tripped Bravo from the outside. Bravo peppered Dutch with jabs and Dutch threw him to the corner where Vincent slammed him into the turnbuckle. He hit a side effect on Bravo for a two count before bringing Dutch back in.
Bravo was isolated as The Righteous beat him senseless before Dutch got a near fall broken up by Dean. Bravo battled back from a neck vice by Dutch and was rewarded with a bear hug. Dutch tried to drop the leg from the second turnbuckle, but missed Bravo. Dean got the hot tag and Vincent re-entered the match. A fast DDT from Dean led to a two count. The Infantry tried for a Boot Camp, but Vincent was able to duck it. Vincent hit an Orange Sunshine on Bravo that got The Righteous the win.
Queen Aminata defeated Reiza Clarke
Aminata hit a very hard elbow off the ropes early on. Both women exchanged moves in the corners, ending in a running knee from Aminata. Both women exchanged chops and were somewhat impressed by the other’s strength. Eventually, Aminata came through with a headbutt and quick kick to gain the momentum. A hard shot from Clarke put Aminata in the corner, but Clarke got caught in a drop toehold into the bottom turnbuckle which left her vulnerable to an Aminata double stomp from the top rope that got the Queen the win.
She takes on Willow Nightingale on Friday’s AEW Rampage in search of her first AEW win.
Bad Dude Tito defeated Gringo Loco
These two beefy dudes locked up and were pretty evenly matched in the opening minutes as they exchanged Lucha-style moves off the ropes. Eventually, Tito caught Loco in the corner and threw some hard chops. A t-bone suplex from Tito followed and he controlled much of the pace.
Tito challenged Loco to give him some hard chops and no-sold his efforts. A quick STF was locked in by Tito, but Loco was able to make it to the ropes to break the hold. Loco got Tito up on his shoulders and delivered an electric chair bomb. Loco climbed to the top rope and hit a moonsault onto Tito on the outside. Tito got back to his feet and dove through the ropes onto Loco.
The two rolled back into the ring and Tito climbed to the second rope. Loco joined him and the men exchanged blows. Loco hit a crazy top rope Spanish Fly, but it only resulted in a two-count. Tito responded with a blue thunder bomb and a two count of his own. Tito caught Loco on a jump from the second rope and hit his finisher for his first-ever ROH win.
Red Velvet defeated Kiera Hogan, Diamante and Trish Adora in a four-way
Earlier, Velvet said she’s feeling great and predicted that all eyes will be on her in the Women’s TV Title Tournament. The chef is always cooking.
Adora started off with a double clothesline to Hogan and Velvet as Diamante looked on. Diamante bounced back and forth between Hogan and Adora in opposite corners. Velvet went for a cover, but it was broken up by Adora. Adora hit a German suplex on Velvet, but only got a two count. Hogan then had her pin on Adora broken up by Velvet. A Russian leg sweep by Diamante on Adora led to another two count.
Hogan gained control and rained strikes on the other women. A dive through the ropes to the outside by Hogan took out Diamante. Adora caught Hogan off the top rope into a running power slam. A huge lariat from Adora took out Diamante, opening things up for Hogan to hit Adora with a knee. Velvet then tossed Hogan out of the ring and pinned Adora for the win.
This was the fastest paced match of the night and the crowd loved it.
Lee Johnson defeated Blake Christian, Alex Zayne and Jack Cartwheel in a Four Corner Survival match
Cartwheel started the match with, well, a cartwheel. The crowd and his opponents demanded another and Christian nailed him in the middle of it. Each man grabbed some offense until Johnson hit a neckbreaker on Cartwheel. Christian used Johnson as a weapon and knocked Zayne into the corner. Zayne hit a ripcord hurricanrana into a german suplex on Zayne and Cartwheel.
Johnson reversed Cartwheel into a thunder bomb and Zayne grabbed Johnson into a sidewalk slam. Christian then tied Zayne up in a Texas Cloverleaf in the turnbuckles, following that up with a splash onto Johnson for a two-count. Cartwheel grabbed Christian and found himself the victim of a cazadora frog splash. Christian tossed Johnson to the outside and dove onto him through the ropes. Cartwheel climbed to the top rope, but Zayne intercepted and Christian grabbed him for a C4 off the apron.
Cartwheel springboard flipped over the top rope onto Zayne and Johnson. Off the top rope, Cartwheel missed a move on Johnson who grabbed Cartwheel into a pinning predicatment for the win.
Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom will take on Gringo Loco & Gravity in a Proving Ground match on tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub.
With a win or draw over Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, the two luchadores will earn a future title shot.
Ethan Page will continue his quest toward a shot at Continental Crown champion Eddie Kingston as he will be in action while Nyla Rose, also in search of an ROH Women’s title shot, will compete.
Willie Mack & Blake Christian face The Outrunners while Angelico & Serpentico battle Cole Karter & Griff Garrison.
In a pair of trios matches, The Iron Savages & Jacked Jameson take on The Infantry & Lee Johnson while Taya Valkyrie, Leila Grey & Diamante face Lady Frost, Kiera Hogan & Trish Adora.
The extended card will also feature a four-way Survival of the Fittest bout between Slim J, JD Drake, Josh Woods, and Rocky Romero.
**********
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated Anaya & Camaro Jackson
Dutch started with a running crossbody to Jackson. Vincent tagged in and clubbered on Jackson until Jackson hit a deadlift vertical suplex for a nearfall. Vincent came back with a back elbow to take control. The Righteous clubbered on Jackson until he got the knees up on a Vincent elbow. Anaya tagged in and shortly ran wild before Vincent sent Anaya into Jackson in the corner. The Righteous then hit Autumn Sunshine to score the win.
Nyla Rose defeated Laynie Luck
Rose got the quick win with the Beast Bomb. Rose talked trash to Athena to the camera as she was leaving.
Zak Knight defeated Aaron Solo
Solo got a jump start on this match, jumping Knight at the bell. Solo hit a dropkick that sent Knight to the apron, but Knight rebounded in and hit Solo with a lariat. Knight hit a stalling vertical suplex before hyping up the crowd. Knight went for a springboard before Solo knocked him down and laid in some strikes.
Solo clubbered on Knight, hitting a dropkick to cut off a potential comeback. Knight cut off Solo on the top rope and hit a stalling superplex. Knight won a forearm battle before hitting a falcon arrow for a nearfall. Solo moved out of the way of a swanton bomb and hit a hurricane kick. Solo hit a Lightning Spiral and a double stomp for a nearfall.
Solo slapped Knight around, firing Knight up. Knight hit a springboard Superman Punch and a Razor’s Edge into the corner before hitting the running forearm for the win.
We got a recap of the issues between Spanish Announce Project and Cole Karter & Griff Garrison.
Garrison and Angelico started, with Angelico handling Garrison on the mat. Karter pulled Garrison out of the ring and allowed him to reset and take Angelico down with a hip toss. Karter tagged in and clubbered on Angelico, but Angelico held onto the ropes on Karter’s dropkick attempt.
Serpentico tagged in and ran wild, sending Karter and Garrison to the floor before hitting a dive. Maria ran distraction, allowing Garrison to send Serpentico into the stairs. Karter and Garrison held the advantage on Serpentico until Serpentico got to his corner and tagged in Angelico.
Angelico ran wild on both men, hitting a misdirection head kick on Garrison for a nearfall. Angelico locked on a leg lock on Garrison, but Garrison kicked him off into a cheap shot from Karter. We got a move train that ended with all four men down. Serpentico tagged in, and as Karter sent Angelico into the barricade, Serpentico hit a cutter on Garrison for a nearfall.
Maria tried to run distraction, but Serpentico avoided a charge from Garrison to score a nearfall. Maria distracted Serpentico again, allowing Garrison to take Serpentico down. Maria wanted them to hurt Serpentico more, but a miscommunication allowed Serpentico to score a roll-up for a nearfall. Eventually, Karter snatched the mask off of Serpentico, allowing Garrison to hit a discus elbow for the win. They stomped on both Serpentico and Angelico before leaving and celebrating.
Blake Christian & Willie Mack defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
The Outrunners shook each other’s hands instead of Christian and Mack’s. Christian outpaced Floyd to start before mocking the Outrunners pose. Christian took Floyd to the floor before hitting a Fosbury Flop. Magnum ran interference, allowing Floyd to hit a baseball slide to take him down.
Christian fought his way out of the corner and tagged in Mack. Mack hit a double-noggin knocker before hitting a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Christian cleared the ring, allowing Mack to hit a frog splash to score the win.
Hogan started with Valkyrie, hitting a hip attack against the ropes. Hogan hit a step-up legdrop on Valkyrie for a nearfall, but Valkyrie eventually got a tag out to Grey. Adora locked Grey in an arm wringer until Frost came in with a lariat. Diamante tagged in and caught Frost with a forearm and a neckbreaker in the ropes for a nearfall.
Grey tagged in and hit a Slingblade before Valkyrie tagged in and hit a low dropkick. Adora and Grey tagged in, with Adora running wild. Adora hit a big boot and a senton for a nearfall that Diamante broke up. Diamante dragged Grey over to the corner and tagged herself in, landing kicks until Adora hit a kneeling German suplex for a nearfall. Valkyrie and Hogan went after each other, ending with Hogan hitting a dive to Valkyrie on the floor.
Diamante hit an Asai DDT on Adora for a nearfall as Frost knocked Grey to the floor. Frost hit a moonsault to Valkyrie and Johnny TV on the floor. Diamante reversed a powerslam into a Cross Rhodes on Adora to score the win.
Leyla Hirsch & Rachel Ellering were backstage with Lexy Nair. They put over how well they’ve gotten along, and believed the other would do well in the ROH Women’s TV Title tournament.
Lee Johnson & The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) defeated Iron Savages (Boulder, Bronson & Jacked Jameson)
Bronson took down Johnson early, but Jameson took a dropkick when he tagged in. The Infantry made quick tags working on Jameson. Boulder tagged in and took out both of the Infantry before they sent Dean to the inappropriately named city for a nearfall. The Savages isolated Dean, but Dean eventually fought his way to the corner and got the tag out to Bravo.
Bravo ran wild on the Savages, hitting the Carlie Cutter on Bronson for a nearfall. Johnson and Jameson tagged in, with Johnson hitting a lifting reverse DDT for the win.
Red Velvet defeated Heather Reckless
Velvet got the quick win with a hurricane kick.
Nyla Rose was in the locker room throwing away Athena’s gear when Lexy Nair stopped her. Rose put over her accomplishments and the fact that she took out Athena a few weeks ago. Rose asserted herself as the new Minion Overlord and told both Nair and Billie Starkz to follow her lead. She told Nair to grab the camera while telling the cameraman to take her phone. She baited the cameraman onto a table before putting him through another table, then told Starkz to fall in line.
Billie Starkz defeated Tootie Lynn
Lynn got some chants from her hometown crowd. Starkz got the quick win with a Swanton Bomb.
Ethan Page defeated Kody Lane
Page sent Lane high into the sky with a back body drop, then caught Lane with a forearm. Lane caught Page with a dropkick, but Page caught a senton over the ropes with knees to the back. Page hit a big shoulder block, but Lane fought out of the Ego’s Edge to hit a dropkick. Page moved out of the way of a Lionsault, then hit the Ego’s Edge for the win.
ROH Board of Directors member Jerry Lynn was with Lexy Nair. Dalton Castle came in, banging on Johnny TV’s locker room door. Lynn held Castle back as Johnny TV came out of his locker room. He did a split, then got pulled out of the frame by Taya Valkyrie. We know this because Valkyrie poked her head out and called Castle a loser. This was all quite wacky.
Abadon defeated Robyn Renegade
Renegade talked trash to start, allowing Abadon to headbutt her. Abadon hit a kneeling Codebreaker for a nearfall. Renegade got to the apron and hit a boot to take Abadon down for a nearfall. Renegade avoided a corner charge and hit a facebuster into the turnbuckles for a nearfall. Abadon came back with a bite before firing up on Renegade.
Abadon hit a cutter for a nearfall. Renegade came back with Darkness Falls for a nearfall. Abadon rolled out of a chokeslam before hitting Black Dahlia for the win in their ROH debut.
Jack Cartwheel defeated Jon Cruz
Cartwheel did several cartwheels, leading to a cartwheel kick that sent Cruz from the apron to the floor. Cartwheel did a Space Flying Tiger Drop to the floor, but Cruz avoided a tumbleweed from the top rope and laid Cartwheel out with a lariat. Cruz proclaimed that there would be no more cartwheels, but Cartwheel took him down with a flagpole kick and a stalling elbow drop.
Cartwheel hit a Death Valley Driver and a corkscrew splash for a nearfall. Cruz ripped Cartwheel off the top rope and did a cartwheel of his own. Unfortunately, I missed the move that won the match due to the feed buffering, but Cartwheel won with some type of top rope splash.
Action Andretti defeated Anthony Henry
I don’t know who told Andretti about that water bottle spot, but they aren’t doing him favors. I sound like a broken record when it comes to both Workhorsemen, but Henry looked great here.
Henry took down Andretti with a boot, but Andretti came back with a headscissors. Andretti sent Henry to the floor, but Henry avoided a moonsault and hit an armbreaker off of the stairs. Henry worked on the arm and shoulder, benefiting as Andretti couldn’t complete an Irish Whip. Andretti hit a handspring that sent Henry to the floor before following him with a dive.
Andretti did his silly water bottle spot before firing up. Henry tried to lock on a sleeper, but Andretti fought out of it. Andretti went for a handspring elbow, but Henry caught him with a cross arm breaker. Henry hit a knee and an X-Plex for a nearfall. Andretti avoided a double stomp and hit a Spanish Fly for a nearfall.
Andretti went for a springboard, but Henry cut him off with a forearm. Henry locked on a shoulder-and-arm submission, but Andretti got to the ropes to break it. Andretti and Henry traded forearms and boots before Andretti hit a shotgun dropkick and a split-legged moonsault for the win.
Four Corner Survival Match – Rocky Romero defeated Slim J, Josh Woods (w/Mark Sterling), JD Drake
The big men Woods and Drake cleared the ring before trading forearms. They traded suplexes before they fought to the floor. Slim J and Romero hit dives to both men before trading chops of their own. Romero baited Slim J to the floor before going for a dive, where Woods caught Romero and hit an overhead throw onto the floor.
Slim J and Woods worked on Romero in the ring before Romero sent Woods into Slim J and got a rollup for a nearfall. Romero fought back on both men before Drake came in and hammered Woods and Slim J as well. Drake and Romero were left in the ring, where Romero hit a headscissors that sent Drake to the floor. Romero hit a dive to all three men to the floor.
Woods cut off Romero, hitting the GYT on him. Drake hit a cannonball to Woods and actually hit a moonsault for once, but Slim J cut him off with a splash. Slim J hit a step-up hurricane kick on Drake, but Romero caught Slim J with a Shiranui for the win.
ROH World Tag Team Title Proving Ground Match – The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated Gravity & Gringo Loco
Taven started with Loco, as Ian Riccaboni talked about Taven’s history with CMLL. Loco hit a standing moonsault on Taven before tagging in Gravity, who took Taven down with a handspring armdrag. The challengers sent both Taven and Bennett to the floor before both men hit dives to the champions.
Bennett came back, hitting Loco with a Death Valley Driver on the ramp. Taven followed with Just The Tip before rolling him into the ring. Taven tried to pin him with his feet on the ropes, but referee Aubrey Edwards didn’t even count due to how blatant it was. Taven hit a rolling neckbreaker before Bennett clubbered on Loco. Taven went for a Lionsault, but Loco got his knees up and got a tag out to Gravity.
Gravity ran wild, taking both men down with armdrags and powerslams. Gravity hit a powerbomb out of a rollup on Bennett before Loco hit a step-up moonsault for a nearfall. Taven sent Gravity to the floor as Bennett caught Loco with a superkick. The Kingdom hit the Hail Mary for the win.
Ring of Honor presents its weekly show on HonorClub tonight.
Ross and Marshall Von Erich will be back in action on the show. They’ll team with Bryan Keith against The Iron Savages and Jacked Jameson.
Other matches advertised for the show include Johnny TV vs. Ethan Page, and Billie Starkz vs. Vertvixen.
Saraya’s brother Zak Knight will also be featured this week. His match against Peter Avalon from the December 20 taping in Oklahoma is scheduled to air.
Most of this week’s other matches took place on December 23 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Arena. Spoilers from the show are available here.
ROH on HonorClub December 28 advertised lineup:
The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall Von Erich) & Bryan Keith vs. The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) & Jacked Jameson
Zak Knight vs. Peter Avalon
Johnny TV vs. Ethan Page
Billie Starkz vs. Vertvixen
Tony Nese w/Mark Sterling vs. TBA
Taya Valkyrie & The Renegades (Charlette & Robyn Renegade) vs. Lady Frost, Trish Adora, & Kiera Hogan
Nyla Rose vs. TBA
**********
ROH began this week with a recap of last night’s Dynamite. Two unknown masked men are the new ROH World Tag Team Champions after beating MJF, and ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston advanced to the finals of the Continental Classic. The masked men with the tag team titles were added to the show introduction.
Nyla Rose defeated Alejandra Lion
This was a showcase win for Rose, who ran through her big offense before landing the Beast Bomb for the win.
Zak Knight defeated Peter Avalon
Knight looked impressive here, making the most of this opportunity on the big stage.
Knight is the brother of former AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya. Knight came out of the gates hot, hitting a spear before clubbering Avalon with strikes on the mat. After a timeout on the apron, Knight shrugged off Avalon’s chops before pummeling him more in the corner. Knight did the British wrestler misdirection before landing a lariat for a nearfall.
Avalon hung Knight on the ropes before landing a springboard crossbody. Avalon got caught on a plancha on the floor but sent Knight into the ring post. Avalon sent Knight back into the ring and hit a top rope splash for a nearfall. Knight caught Avalon off the ropes before hitting a vertical suplex. Knight hit a Razor’s Edge into the turnbuckles before landing a running forearm to score the win.
We got words from Leyla Hirsch, Kiera Hogan, Lady Frost, Rachel Ellering, and Billie Starkz, with all of them staking their claims for the new ROH Women’s TV Title.
Athena & Billie Starkz were backstage with Lexy Nair. Athena was excited for Starkz to go after the TV Title and gave Starkz center stage to speak on it. Starkz said that she would win the title, with Athena and Nair hyping her up.
Bryan Keith & The Von Erichs (Marshall & Ross) defeated Iron Savages (Boulder, Bronson, & Jacked Jameson)
Quick tags from both teams early on saw the Von Erichs take control of Jameson. Jameson snuck away from a claw attempt and tagged in Boulder, who took down both Von Erichs with a crossbody. The Savages isolated Ross until Ross moved out of the way of a Boulder moonsault. Boulder never hits that moonsault, he may want to rethink that strategy.
Ross tagged Marshall, who ran wild on the Savages. Marshall hit the big Hogan slam on Boulder for a nearfall. Boulder fought off the claw but got booted by Keith into the corner where Bronson tagged in. After a miscommunication between Bronson and Jameson, the von Erichs locked in dual Iron Claws to score the win.
Griff Garrison & Cole Karter were backstage with Lexy Nair. Maria wasn’t here this week, spending the holidays with her actual children. Angelico & Serpentico entered the frame, blaming them for their eight-man tag loss last week. Garrison challenged Serpentico to a match next week.
Taya Valkyrie & The Renegades (Charlette & Robyn) defeated Kiera Hogan, Lady Frost & Trish Adora
Charlette tried to turn the Code of Honor into a hold, but Adora fought her off. Hogan and Valkyrie tagged in, with Hogan scoring a nearfall off of a step-up leg drop. Robyn tagged in and got control after Charlette took Hogan down by the hair. Hogan was your redhead-in-peril, eventually fighting her way to a tag to Frost.
Frost ran wild on Valkyrie, hitting a spinning splash on Valkyrie in the corner. Valkyrie came back with a strike combo, forcing Frost into her corner for a tag to Adora. The match broke down into a strike train, ending with Valkyrie and Adora in the ring. Valkyrie hit the Butterfly Drop and the Curb Stomp for the win.
Leyla Hirsch & Rachel Ellering were backstage with Lexy Nair. Hirsch had no interest in focusing on Maria, instead focusing on the new Television Title. Mercedes Martinez & Diamante came in, challenging them to a tag team match in the future.
Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling) defeated Joey Hyder
Sterling said that there would be no more helping people get in shape, as this would be the rebirth of Tony Nese. This was a showcase match for Nese, as he won quickly with a Pumphandle Powerslam.
Billie Starkz defeated Vertvixen
After an opening scramble, Starkz took Vertvixen down with a German suplex. The referee pulled Starkz off of Vertvixen after stomping her, making Starkz menace the referee. Vertvixen hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall, but Starkz came back with a spinning heel kick. Vertvixen caught Starkz with a kick on the top rope, but Starkz took her down with a DDT on the top rope. Starkz hit a Swanton to get the win.
After the match, Starkz shook Vertvixen’s hand before booting her, in the same vein as Athena.
ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that he was the fastest-rising star in wrestling and would become the best Television Champion of all time. He issued an open challenge for the title next week, with Willie Mack quickly accepting the challenge.
Ethan Page defeated Johnny TV
Johnny and Page traded offense early on, with Page hitting a big shoulder tackle to send Johnny to the floor. Johnny caught Page with a kick on the apron before landing a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Johnny rolled over Page to lock on a half Muta Lock, but Page turned it around into a suplex. The two men traded strikes before Page landed a running kick and a powerslam for a nearfall.
Johnny sent Page into the buckles before hitting the Springboard Kick for a nearfall. Page hit a head kick and went for the Ego’s Edge, but Johnny sent Page into the referee. Johnny hit a low blow and went for the Starship Pain, but a still-disheveled Dalton Castle made his entrance to distract Johnny. Page rolled out of the way of Starship Pain, then hit the Headshot to score the win in this main event.
Athena vs. Billie Starkz for the Women’s World Championship headlines tonight’s ROH Final Battle 2023.
Athena has held the title for over 365 days after defeating Mercedes Martinez to kick off her reign at last year’s Final Battle, while this is by far the highest-profile outing to date for Starkz in a pay-per-view main event.
Four more titles will also be on the line tonight.
Wheeler Yuta defends the Pure title against “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, a Survival of the Fittest match will crown a new World Television Champion, the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles will be on the line, plus El Hijo del Vikingo defends the AAA Mega Championship against Black Taurus.
Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, & Claudio Castagnoli will face FTR’s Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler & Mark Briscoe.
Keith Lee will take on Shane Taylor in a grudge match, while Ethan Page faces Tony Nese in an I Quit match. The Von Erichs will also be in action against The Outrunners.
**********
ZERO HOUR
We got a video package hyping up the Women’s Title match main event between Athena & Billie Starkz. Athena said in this video that if she lost tonight, she would leave Ring of Honor forever.
Taya Valkyrie (w/ Johnny TV) defeated Jazmin Allure
Valkyrie booted Allure in the face after the Code of Honor. Allure fought out of an Irish Whip and threw strikes, but Valkyrie caught Allure in the ropes and hit a sliding German suplex. Valkyrie hit double knees in the corner for a nearfall. Allure fired up with strikes, but Valkyrie cut her off on the top rope and hit a superplex. Valkyrie hit a Butterfly Drop before hitting a Curb Stomp for the win.
Marshall & Ross Von Erich defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
The Von Erichs came out to Stranglehold by Ted Nugent, the song their father Kevin came out to during his career. Ross started with Magnum, keeping him off of his feet with dropkicks and a headscissors. Marshall tagged in and got a dropkick on Magnum that forced him to the floor. Floyd tagged in but ended up getting sent to the floor in the same way, forcing the Outrunners to regroup on the outside.
Floyd baited Ross to a chase on the floor, leading to Ross getting sent into the apron. Ross evaded multiple attacks from the Outrunners, getting the tag to Marshall. Marshall ran wild, landing a cannonball on Floyd. The Von Erichs ran wild on both Outrunners before locking on dual Von Erich claws to score the win. Kevin Von Erich made his way to the ring to celebrate with his sons.
Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match – Bryan Keith defeated Jack Cartwheel
This is the kind of match I want to see more in Ring of Honor, with top-of-the-line freelancers and independent stars having showcase matches. This had a ton of energy and got the crowd fired up for the show.
Keith came out to Still Tippin’ by Mike Jones, his walkout music on the independent scene. Cartwheel cartwheeled out of a few holds from Keith to start, then cartwheeled out of the way of Keith to land a pair of kicks and a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Cartwheel evaded Keith, but Keith stuffed a headscissors and landed a dropkick to the stomach to cut him off.
Cartwheel landed an enzuigiri, but Keith dropped him with a boot. Cartwheel cut off Keith with a cartwheeling Dragon Screw. Cartwheel hit a backflipping neckbreaker. Cartwheel got sent to the apron, but flagpoled on the apron to sweep Keith’s feet out from under him. Cartwheel hit a twisting elbow drop for a nearfall, then hit a cartwheeling powerslam for another nearfall.
Cartwheel went to the top rope, cartwheeling out of the way when Keith went to cut him off. Cartwheel hit a Death Valley Driver, then followed Keith to the floor with a Sasuke Special. Keith moved out of the way of a Shooting Star Press, with the men trading enzuigiris. Keith landed a knee strike on a single-leg attempt, then hit the Tiger Driver for the win and the final spot in Survival of the Fittest.
Tony Khan came to the stage. He talked about how last year’s Final Battle marked Jay Briscoe’s last match in ROH, as well as how he and Bryan Danielson had their only singles match against each other on Final Battle in 2003. He hyped up the show before announcing another match for the Zero Hour.
Daniel Garcia defeated Blake Christian
This match was odd, as it looked like they were a half-step off from each other at points. Garcia scoring a win here was nice.
Garcia won the early exchange, hitting a double underhook suplex for a nearfall. Garcia laid in stomps to Christian, but Christian caught the boot and swung Garcia down. Christian picked up the pace, misdirecting Garcia before landing a double stomp to the back of the head for a nearfall.
Christian clubbered on Garcia in the corner, landing a knee to the face. Garcia was on spaghetti legs as Christian pelted him with running forearms. Garcia fired up with punches and stomps in the corner. Garcia hit a butterfly suplex into the corner for a nearfall. Garcia tied Christian up in the Tree of Woe before hitting a hesitation dropkick for a nearfall.
Christian caught Garcia with an enzuigiri and a uranage before hitting an inverted senton. Christian hit a bottom rope 619 before landing a springboard forearm for a nearfall. They traded strikes, ending with Christian hitting a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Christian landed on Garcia on a springboard dive, but Garcia locked on an ankle lock. Christian sent Garcia to the floor before landing a Fosbury Flop into a reverse DDT.
Christian hit a springboard 450 for a nearfall. Christian mocked Garcia’s dance, but Garcia reversed Christian’s curb stomp into the Dragon Tamer submission for the win.
Tony Khan was backstage, quickly being interrupted by ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston. He wanted a match tonight, even with being in a Continental Classic match tomorrow night. Anthony Henry of the Workhorsemen entered the frame, saying that he wanted to capitalize on the Workhorsemen’s recent momentum. Khan made a Proving Ground match official for the PPV.
**********
MAIN CARD
AAA Mega Title Match – El Hijo del Vikingo (c) defeated Black Taurus to retain
Allow me to catch my breath. This was absolutely spectacular, with Vikingo not only doing his spectacular flying but also letting Taurus batter him. You could tell Vikingo was fighting through some pain here, but he was able to pull it together to finish the match and score the win.
Taurus refused the Code of Honor, driving Vikingo into the corner before slapping him in the face. Taurus stuffed a headscissor attempt, sending Vikingo flying to the mat with a powerbomb. Vikingo attempted a double-jump shoulder block, but Taurus stuck him with a shoulder block. Vikingo avoided a corner charge, sending Taurus to the floor before following him with a dive. Unfortunately, Taurus caught the dive and powerbombed Vikingo on the floor.
Taurus gorilla pressed Vikingo back into the ring before clubbering on him in the corner. Taurus ripped Vikingo out of the corner into a powerslam for a nearfall. Taurus choked Vikingo before throwing him over the top rope to the floor. Taurus followed Vikingo to the floor with a corkscrew dive. Back in the ring, Taurus hit a flurry of offense on Vikingo, landing a crucifix bomb and a pop-up Samoan Drop for a nearfall.
Taurus went to the top rope, but Vikingo avoided a twisting senton. Vikingo fired up with kicks, driving Taurus into the corner. Vikingo hit an imploding headscissors before taking Taurus down with a pair of spectacular headscissors. Vikingo went for a double jump moonsault to the floor, but his knees kept bothering him, so he went for a single stride moonsault instead. Vikingo hit a missile dropkick back in the ring, but Taurus roared back with a Pounce that sent Vikingo into the corner.
Taurus pulled Vikingo to the top rope, but Vikingo ripped off an avalanche Frankensteiner that sent Taurus to the apron. Taurus pulled Vikingo onto the apron, but Vikingo hit an up-and-over powerbomb onto the apron to This Is Awesome chants. Vikingo sent Taurus back into the ring before hitting an inverted Phoenix Splash for a nearfall.
Vikingo balanced himself on the ringpost before hitting a double-jump missile dropkick. Vikingo set up the double knees in the corner, but Taurus got up and launched Vikingo into the corner. Taurus pulled Vikingo to the top rope and hit a Gorilla Press Slam to the mat for a nearfall. The two men traded strikes, ending with Taurus spearing Vikingo before both men needed time to recover.
Taurus caught Vikingo’s punches and landed a headbutt, but Vikingo sent Taurus to the floor. Vikingo followed Taurus to the floor with a ropewalk 630 splash. Vikingo brought Taurus into the ring, but Taurus cut him off on the top rope. Taurus hit a pair of backbreakers before landing a lariat for a nearfall. Vikingo reversed a backbreaker into a crucifix bomb before landing the double knees in the corner. Vikingo hit the 630 splash to score the win and retain the Mega Title.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Match – Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, Toa Liona) (w/ Prince Nana) (c) defeated TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste) to retain
This was fun stuff here. Bad Dude Tito shined in particular.
We got video of how TMDK earned this title shot, with the TMDK team Haste and Mikey Nicholls beating Kaun and Liona in New Japan’s World Tag League tournament. Kaun started with Fujita, dropping him with a back elbow as Fujita charged in off the ropes. The Embassy clubbered on Fujita until Tito got a tag in. He and Kaun traded chops until Tito hit an exploder suplex for a nearfall.
TMDK isolated Kaun until Kaun dropped Fujita with a lariat. Cage tagged in to big cheers as he dropped Fujita with a Gorilla Press Powerslam for a nearfall. Cage drilled Fujita in the corner with strikes before suplexing him for a nearfall. The crowd counted along with Cage’s lifts of Fujita before hitting a fallaway slam. Fujita hit a German suplex on Cage before tagging out to Tito.
Tito ran wild on the Embassy, taking out all three men before taking Liona down with a tornado DDT for a nearfall. TMDK ran wild on Liona, with Haste hitting a cannonball and a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. Liona fired up and caught Haste with a uranage. Kaun and Liona dropped Haste with a spear for a nearfall that Fujita broke up. A move train ensued, ending with Fujita hitting a springboard dropkick on Kaun for a nearfall.
Fujita and Kaun traded strikes before Kaun scored with a John Woo dropkick. Cage hit the outside-in superplex for a nearfall broken up by Tito. Another move train ensued, with Kaun and Liona hitting Open The Gates on Haste. Fujita was surrounded three-on-one and tried to fight out of it, but Liona drilled him with a headbutt. The Embassy hit the Pendulum Powerbomb on Fujita for the win.
I Quit Match – Ethan Page defeated Tony Nese (w/Smart Mark Sterling)
This was a great end to what’s been a solid midcard feud over the past few months on ROH. The crowd was on the ride with these guys, peaking at the finish with Page finally getting the win over Nese. Page is made to the ROH crowd, and a tag team run with Scorpio Sky can be good for both men.
Sterling was reluctant to get handcuffed to the post per the stipulations for the match, so Texas’ own Mark Henry made his way to the ring to persuade Sterling. Sterling agreed, but it allowed Nese to jump Page from behind. Page got in control quickly and went outside to menace Sterling, but Nese caught Page with a plancha.
They fought on the floor before Nese got control in the ring by ringing up Page on the top rope. Sterling and Nese went to powder Page’s nose with the protein powder, but Page ducked. Nese rolled to the outside with powder in his eyes. Page went after Sterling again, but Nese caught him again and sent him into Sterling’s handcuff chain.
Nese grabbed the mic and told a now-bloody Page to quit. Page refused, so Nese kneed him into the stairs. Page once again refused to quit. Nese went for the key to Sterling’s handcuffs, allowing Page to catch up to him with punches. They brawled around ringside before Page sent Nese over the barricade with an Irish Whip. Nese rang up Page on the barricade before hitting a flying chop off of the barricade.
Nese pulled out a weight plate from under the ring, which the commentary justified by saying it was used to keep the ring from shifting around. Page avoided a shot with the weight, but Nese kept control by whipping him with a jump rope. Page fired up and hit Nese with the rope repeatedly, forcing Nese to grab the mic. He feigned quitting before hitting Page in the neck with the mic.
Nese hit a Fosbury Flop before skipping rope on the floor. Sterling got a shot in while Page was close enough to him. Nese set up two tables on the floor before Page recovered and laid Nese onto the tables. Page went to the top rope, but Nese met him up top. Page dropped Nese down and hit the Headshot over the ropes. Page then hit the Headshot through the tables on the floor.
Nese refused to quit, so Page pulled out a pair of chairs. Page set Nese on the top rope and set the chairs up under him. Page then pulled Nese up for a powerslam, but Nese hit a hurricanrana that sent Page just over the chairs. Nese threatened the ring announcer for the keys, then shoved the referee down to unlock Sterling from the handcuffs. They laid the boots to Page before threatening to handcuff Page and hit him with the plate.
Scorpio Sky made his way to the ring to make the save for his old tag team partner Page, taking out Sterling on the floor. Page fired up, hitting Nese and Sterling with the weight before hitting Sterling with the Ego’s Edge. Sky dragged Sterling away, but Nese fought out of the Ego’s Edge and dropped Page.
Nese handcuffed Page and threatened to hit him over the head, but Page cursed at Nese. Page avoided the chairshot and made a comeback with no hands, hitting boots and shoulder blocks. The referee unlocked the cuffs, allowing Page to drill Nese with a chair. Page choked out Nese with the handcuffs, forcing Nese to quit. Scorpio Sky came back out to celebrate with Page.
Nyla Rose defeated VertVixen
Rose overpowered VertVixen to start, quickly going for the Beast Bomb. VertVixen fought out of it, but Rose chopped her in the throat. VertVixen swept Rose’s legs out from under her and hit a double stomp to the back. Rose caught VertVixen with a chokeslam off of a springboard but pulled her up on the pin. Rose landed the springboard knee to VertVixen’s back before hitting the Beast Bomb for the win.
Survival Of The Fittest 2023 Finals for the ROH World Television Title – Kyle Fletcher defeated Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys), Lee Moriarty, Komander, Lee Johnson, Bryan Keith
What an awesome match this was. Never a dull moment, these guys structured this match very well. The final stretch with Komander and Fletcher was a phenomenal breakout moment for both guys and Fletcher scoring the win will give him a great spotlight as a singles wrestler while his partner recovers from injury.
This is an elimination match.
Fletcher stole a tag from Castle and forced him out of the ring to wrestle Moriarty. Johnson snuck a tag in on Fletcher after Castle got sent to the floor again. Johnson sent Moriarty to the floor with a dropkick, then flung Castle to the floor again. Komander tagged in, with the announcers noting that it is his birthday today. Komander sent Johnson to the floor with a headscissors, then sent Castle to the floor.
Keith caught Komander with a forearm, leading to a strike exchange between the two. Keith caught Komander with a boot before sending Castle to the floor again. Fletcher dropped Keith with a big bodyslam. Keith came back with chops that forced Fletcher into the corner, but Fletcher cut him off with a back elbow. Castle finally got one up on someone, sending Fletcher to the floor before Moriarty sent him to the floor with a boot.
Moriarty kicked off a dive train, with Johnson following with a Fosbury Flop. Komander did his ropewalk dive past Fletcher who had set up a moonsault. Komander took Fletcher down with an avalanche hurricanrana. Everyone got their shots in before Moriarty snapped Johnson’s fingers. Moriarty locked Johnson in the Border City Stretch, scoring the submission and the first elimination.
Castle and Moriarty went after it, with Castle sending Moriarty and everyone else flying with suplexes. Castle caught Moriarty with another suplex before Johnny TV attacked the Boys on the floor. Johnny sent a Boy rolling in the ring, distracting Castle and allowing Moriarty to pin him with the pop-up flatliner.
Moriarty and Keith got into it, trading strikes until Fletcher and Komander got in and started throwing shots in. Komander dropped Keith with a tornado DDT, but Fletcher sent Komander off of the apron. Keith hit a rising headbutt to Fletcher, leading to a Tower of Doom that left everyone down. Moriarty sent Komander rolling away with a low dropkick. Keith and Moriarty got into it, with Keith scoring a nearfall with an Ushigoroshi.
Moriarty fired up, but Keith drilled him with a knee strike. Keith hit the Tiger Driver to eliminate Moriarty, but Fletcher almost eliminated Keith with a crucifix flash pin. Keith kicked out and avoided the Yakuza Kick. Keith hit a big running knee, but Fletcher reversed the Tiger Driver into the Hammerlock Tombstone to eliminate him.
The final two were Kyle Fletcher and Komander. Fletcher shrugged off Komander’s strikes until he landed a superkick. They traded running forearms until Fletcher went for the Hammerlock Tombstone again. Komander fought out and hit a springboard poisonrana to send Fletcher to the floor. Komander went for a hurricanrana on the floor, but Fletcher caught him. Komander fought out, but Fletcher caught him with an enzuigiri. Fletcher hit a tombstone on Komander on the apron as both men spilled to the floor.
A countout began, as Fletcher got to the ring. Komander fought up, making his way back into the ring at the 18-count. Fletcher hit the Yakuza Kick and the brainbuster for a nearfall, as somewhere El Generico gets a smile on his face. Fletcher set up Komander on the top rope, but Komander fought out and hit a springboard Destroyer for a nearfall.
The crowd chanted This Is Awesome as Komander hit a slingshot into the bottom rope, then hit a double stomp to Fletcher’s chest. Komander hit an unbelievable ropewalk 450 splash to Fletcher on the apron, then hit a 450 splash in the ring, but only got a nearfall. Komander went to the top rope again, but Fletcher kicked Komander’s legs out from under him. Fletcher hit a Brainbuster on the top rope, but Komander kicked out. Fletcher hit a running kick before landing the Hammerlock Tombstone for the win and the title.
ROH Pure Title Match – Wheeler Yuta (c) defeated “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
Another solid match. The crowd was into Lawlor toward the end, and Yuta slipping away with the belt works for him and his sneering coward character.
The judges for this match are Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, and Jerry Lynn.
After early grappling, Lawlor caught Yuta with a cross-arm breaker that forced Yuta to use his first rope break. Yuta caught Lawlor on a corner charge with a knee to the waist, then hit a senton for a nearfall. Yuta tossed his elbow pad to distract the referee, then punched Lawlor in the face. Lawlor punched Yuta back, but that forced an official warning from the referee.
Yuta caught Lawlor with a chop block, then put Lawlor in a deathlock. Yuta moved towards the ropes and transitioned to a single-leg crab, forcing Lawlor to use his first rope break. The two men traded strikes in the ring before Lawlor cut Yuta down with a spear. Lawlor caught Yuta with a knee before spearing him in the corner. Lawlor hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall.
Lawlor went for a Kamigoye, but Yuta caught Lawlor with a Dragon Screw. Yuta locked on an Octopus Stretch before dropping down for a pin for a nearfall. Yuta went for the Right Angle Slam, but Lawlor caught Yuta with a waistlock slam for a nearfall. Yuta caught Lawlor in another single leg crab, but Lawlor monkey flipped out of it.
Lawlor went after Yuta’s arm, hitting a hammerlock Tombstone of his own before locking on an Anaconda Vice. Yuta had to use his second rope break to escape, then punched Lawlor in the face to get his warning. The two men jockeyed for position on the top rope, where Lawlor hit a hammerlock superplex before locking on a double wristlock on the mat. Yuta slid to the ropes, burning his final rope break.
Lawlor wrenched back on the arm, but Yuta transitioned into an Ankle Lock. Yuta hit a German suplex, but Lawlor caught the arm again. Yuta fought his way out and got the Seatbelt pin to win the match and retain the title.
After the match, Yuta shook Lawlor’s hand for the Code of Honor before kicking him low. Yuta went to DDT Lawlor on the title belt when Hook made his way to the ring to ward Yuta off. Yuta pretended to leave before catching Hook with a low blow. Yuta left Hook lying with a DDT.
Keith Lee defeated Shane Taylor
This match was a lot slower than the other matches on the card, which made sense with both men’s sizes. But it never really picked up until the final minute or so. Lee’s gas tank looks a little emptier than it used to be, which could just be father time catching up to him.
No Code of Honor was offered here. On commentary, Caprice Coleman talked about his experience with a tag team partner – Cedric Alexander – who had singles opportunities offered to him, noting that it was simply a difference of mindset being where they were in their careers. The two men fought to a stalemate early on until Lee sent Taylor flying with a shoulder block. Lee got sent to the apron, but he came back with a slingshot crossbody for a nearfall. Yes, a slingshot crossbody.
Lee went for another one, but Taylor caught him with a Tower of London for a one count. Taylor quickly followed with a splash for a nearfall. Taylor splayed Lee on the apron before landing a leg drop. Taylor laid on Lee in a chinlock. Lee fired up after a lariat from Taylor, but Taylor landed a strike combination to drop Lee again.
Lee got to his feet and landed a forearm that sent Taylor into the corner. Taylor came back with a headbutt, then followed with a second rope splash for a nearfall. Taylor set up the Marcus Garvey Driver, but Lee fought out and hit a strike combination and a lifting spinebuster for a nearfall. Lee chopped Taylor in the corner then teased a moonsault before Lee Moriarty got himself involved on behalf of Taylor.
Lee dropped Moriarty with a Spirit Bomb, but Taylor hit Lee with a knee to the back of the head for a nearfall. Taylor went to the top rope, but Lee cut him off with a headbutt. Taylor fought Lee off and hit the biggest Canadian Destroyer you’ll ever see for a nearfall. Taylor hit the knockout punch for a nearfall. Lee caught Taylor with the Big Bang Catastrophe to score the win.
After the match, both men shook hands to consider the score settled.
Bryan Keith was backstage with Tony Schiavone, who was making his ROH debut. Keith said that he was there to collect gold. Orange Cassidy entered the frame, telling Keith to collect his International Championship. The match was made official for Collision tomorrow night, which I will also be reviewing for this site.
Jay Briscoe Tribute Match – Mark Briscoe & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defeated Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley)
What a spectacle, and what a tribute to Jay Briscoe. This was bloody, emotional, and fantastic. The BCC team didn’t treat this like any kind of off night or extra work, they brought the fight here and made this a special match. This match by itself is worth the price of admission.
Harwood started with Moxley, who was making his televised ROH debut. Moxley left himself open for a chop, and Harwood obliged. After another chop, Castagnoli tagged in and drilled Harwood with an uppercut. He and Harwood traded strikes until Castagnoli caught Harwood with an elbow drop. Danielson tagged in to a big pop before Harwood chopped him to his corner to get Wheeler in the match.
Wheeler and Danielson traded chops and shoulder blocks until Danielson cut Wheeler off with a low dropkick. The BCC kept Wheeler in their corner until Wheeler countered a Giant Swing attempt with a rollup for a nearfall. Briscoe made his way into the ring and caught Castagnoli with some shots as the crowd chanted Dem Boys. Harwood tagged in, but Castagnoli avoided a corner charge and sent Harwood into the post.
Moxley tagged in and sent Harwood into the barricade. The BCC isolated Harwood and targeted the left arm of Harwood. Harwood tried to fire up with chops, but Castagnoli snatched him up into a Giant Swing to cut him off. Harwood ducked a corner charge from Moxley, but Castagnoli tagged in to cut him off. Harwood fought out of the BCC corner with chops and lariats before hitting Castagnoli with a German Suplex.
Danielson tagged in to stop Harwood, but Harwood got the tag out to Briscoe. Briscoe ran wild, laying in shots on everyone in the ring before landing an overhead suplex on Danielson. Briscoe and Wheeler hit Redneck Boogie on Danielson for a nearfall. Danielson fought out of a Shatter Machine attempt and laid everyone out with kicks, getting a nearfall off of a head kick to Harwood.
Danielson went to the top rope, but Harwood cut him off. FTR hit a Powerplex on Danielson, with an added Froggy Bow from Briscoe, for a nearfall. Harwood was bleeding near his eye as Briscoe called for the Doomsday Device. Danielson fought out of it, with Briscoe jumping into an uppercut from Castagnoli. That kicked off a move train that ended with Danielson and Briscoe colliding on dual crossbody attempts.
Moxley was bleeding from the head as everyone recovered. All six men fought to their feet and kicked off a Pier Six brawl. A Shatter Machine on Moxley was cut off with a Busaiku Knee and a Paradigm Shift. Briscoe fought Danielson and Moxley, but both men lifted him into a Swiss Death uppercut from Castagnoli. Castagnoli hit a Neutralizer for a nearfall.
Briscoe fought out of another Neutralizer and sent Moxley and Danielson out of the ring. Castagnoli came back and drilled Briscoe with repeated uppercuts and short-arm lariats. Castagnoli turned his back and ran into a three-man Shatter Machine for a nearfall. Briscoe called for the Jay Driller, but Moxley cut him off. The BCC ganged up on Briscoe before FTR came back in to save him.
The six men brawled around ringside until the bell rang for a countout. Briscoe grabbed a microphone, suggesting that the referee bumped his head one too many times. He said this was a match to honor his brother, so they were gonna finish this match, anything goes. The bell rang to restart the match, and Briscoe dived off of the stage onto the pile of wrestlers and security at stage side.
They brawled back to the ring, where Briscoe fired up and hit a chair-assisted dive to Castagnoli on the floor. Harwood pulled out a table, which Briscoe covered with tacks and barbed wire. Briscoe found a barbed wire-covered ladder, while Moxley went after Harwood’s eye with a fork. Briscoe set up Castagnoli on the barbed wire ladder, but Moxley hit him with a chair and sent him into the ladder. Moxley drilled Harwood with a chair before digging at Wheeler’s face with another fork.
The BCC drilled both Harwood and Wheeler with chairs as Moxley wrapped barbed wire across the eyes of Wheeler. Danielson locked on the LeBell Lock as Moxley held the wire on Wheeler’s face. Moxley went to lock Briscoe in a rear naked choke as the other two BCC members held FTR off. Harwood drove Danielson into Moxley and Briscoe to cut off the choke.
The BCC got chairs and tables strewn around the ring. Wheeler speared Castagnoli into the table on the floor while Harwood piledrove Moxley off the apron through the tack-covered table. Danielson laid in the middle kicks to Briscoe while shouting that it wasn’t his night. Danielson set up the Busaiku Knee, but Briscoe sidestepped it and hit the Jay Driller for the pin and the win.
ROH World Title Proving Ground Match – Eddie Kingston defeated Anthony Henry
This was a fine buffer match. Henry looked good here as the Workhorsemen usually do, but the crowd never really believed that the upset could happen here.
If Henry wins or lasts the time limit here, he will get the first shot against the Continental Classic winner for the Triple Crown Title. The two men swung at each other, with Kingston scoring with a body shot. Henry sent Kingston to the floor and booted him off of the apron. Henry raced across ringside to score with a single-leg lariat. Henry hit a double stomp off of the top rope for a nearfall, then hit a running forearm for another nearfall.
Henry repeatedly cranked Kingston’s neck and kicked at him until Kingston came back with chops. They traded kicks and chops until Kingston drove Henry into the corner. Kingston hit the machine gun chops, but Henry ducked the backfist and hit a bridging German suplex for a nearfall. Henry laid in Kawada kicks, but Kingston came back with palm strikes. Henry laid in more strikes and a piledriver for a nearfall.
Henry went for a double stomp, but Kingston moved and hit a backfist. Kingston followed with the half-and-half suplex before locking on the Stretch Plum to score the submission win. After the match, Daniel Garcia came out to confront his opponent tomorrow night on Collision, but Kingston blew him off.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena (c) defeated Billie Starkz to retain
Athena once again rises to the occasion for a big title defense, staking her claim as one of the best big-match wrestlers in a promotion full of big-match wrestlers. Starkz lived up to her end of the bargain here, doing a great job of fighting from underneath and giving Athena every bit of fight she had. The post-match was odd, with Starkz simply agreeing to go back under Athena’s wing. But the match itself was a worthy PPV main event. Final Battle was an excellent show and is more than worth the $10 Honor Club subscription.
Lexy Nair was the special guest ring announcer for this match, as she’s been a third in this story with Athena and Starkz. Athena came out with a special protective face mask, as she had her nose broken by Starkz on ROH television.
No Code of Honor. Starkz hit Athena with a big forearm before dropkicking her into the corner. Starkz pulled Athena up and over with a sunset flip for a nearfall. Starkz went for a dive, but Athena caught her and sent her into the barricades around ringside. Athena threw Starkz into the barricade face-first multiple times before hitting running knees to Starkz as she was lying on the barricade.
Athena sent Starkz into the ring post, and Starkz came up bleeding from the head. Athena threw Starkz into the stairs before clubbering on her in the ring. Athena sent Starkz into the corner before blasting her with a forearm. Athena dug at Starkz’ face before Starkz rolled her up for a nearfall. Athena beat Starkz more, dropkicking her when she rolled to the apron.
Starkz started throwing forearms on the apron before Athena caught her with a uranage on the apron for a nearfall. Starkz rolled down from the Tree of Woe and suplexed Athena into the corner. The two evaded each other’s strikes before Starkz hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall. Starkz pulled Athena up, but Athena headbutted Starkz to put her down at her own expense.
Starkz hit a rebound kick to Athena in the corner, then vaulted over the corner into a spear. Starkz ripped the mask off of Athena before throwing forearms at Athena’s face. Starkz fired up, hitting a spinning heel kick before hitting a Swanton for a nearfall. Starkz sent Athena to the floor and hit a dive that drove Athena into the barricade. Starkz threw Athena into the barricade, but Athena moved out of the way of the double knees. Athena drove Starkz into the barricade with a shotgun dropkick of her own.
Athena set Starkz up on the announce table, but Starkz took Athena down with a superplex off of the table. Starkz suplexed Athena onto the plywood table cover before throwing Athena in the ring for a nearfall. Athena rolled to the floor and tried to lift Starkz up, but Starkz yanked Athena down by her hair. Athena rolled away again, but Starkz sent Athena over the barricade into the crowd. Athena drove Starkz head-first into the barricade, then brought her off the barricade face-first with a Slingblade Bulldog.
Athena brought Starkz up in Electric Chair position, then went to the top rope. She brought Starkz down with a German suplex for a nearfall. Athena and Starkz ran into the referee, giving Athena no count on her knockout forearm. Athena shouted at Lexy Nair to bring the title belt into the ring. Lexy hesitated, allowing Starkz to dropkick Athena, who went head-first into the title. Starkz hit Star-Ten for a nearfall.
Athena dragged Starkz to the apron and ran her into the turnbuckles to get out of a waistlock. Athena went to the second rope, but Starkz cut Athena off and hit an Electric Chair Driver on the apron. Starkz dragged Athena into the ring, but Athena rolled out of the way on a Swanton attempt and hit a knockout forearm. After recovering, both women traded strikes until Athena hit the Despicable Knee. Starkz kicked out at one.
Athena laid in kicks to Starkz before going up for the O-Face. Starkz caught Athena and rolled into a cover for a nearfall. They traded position before Starkz caught Athena in a cover for a nearfall. Athena rolled Starkz into a Ground Cobra submission. With nowhere to go, Starkz submitted, giving Athena the win.
Starkz blew Athena off after the match, but Athena dragged her back to the center of the ring. Athena showed Starkz respect, shaking and raising Starkz’ hand before embracing both her and Lexy Nair in the ring.
Ring of Honor presents its weekly show on HonorClub tonight.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena and her minion Billie Starkz will continue their rivalry with Mercedes Martinez & Diamante on Thursday’s episode. After Starkz defeated Diamante in singles action last week, a tag match between the two teams has been scheduled for this week’s show.
Dalton Castle will also be back on ROH TV for the first time in a month tonight. He’ll wrestle Anthony Henry of the Workhorsemen in singles action.
Other matches scheduled to air include Rachael Ellering vs. Robyn Renegade, The Infantry vs. The Hughes Brothers, Metalik vs. Angelico, and Lee Moriarty vs. Darius Martin. A triple-threat tag match featuring The Gates of Agony, Iron Savages, and Griff Garrison & Cole Karter is also advertised for the show.
Ring of Honor TV this week was taped on Saturday at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. Spoilers from the show are available here.
**********
The show opened with a promo from Angelico. Angelico said that Eddie Kingston took advantage of Serpentico after the bell in their match, and as a friend, he had to make sure Kingston knew that he was wrong. Angelico said that he was ready for his World Title match against Kingston soon.
Angelico (w/Serpentico) defeated Metalik
Metalik opened strong, scoring with a headscissors. Metalik hit a rope-walk crossbody before Angelico cut off a springboard elbow with a dropkick. Angelico tied Metalik up with a double-leg submission before Metalik got to the ropes. Metalik came back with a Slingblade Bulldog and a rope-walk dropkick before hitting a step-up senton to Angelico on the outside.
Metalik hit a springboard splash in the ring for a nearfall. They traded clotheslines in the corner before Angelico hit a capoeira kick. Angelico locked on a reverse Figure Four for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Kyle Fletcher. Fletcher was disappointed by his recent losses, but he took pride in taking former world champions to their limit at age 24. He said the next time he was in the ring with men of that caliber, it would be a different story.
The Hughes Brothers got a jump-start on this match, double-teaming Bravo early on. Bravo hit the Carlie Crossover to get out of their corner and get the tag to Dean, who quickly got control of the situation. The Infantry then hit Boot Camp for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Maria Kanellis-Bennett. She said that her men Cole Karter & Griff Garrison have come together out of a common goal of being tag team champions. Leyla Hirsch walked in and said that after her title loss against Athena, she’d consider taking Kanellis’ guidance. Kanellis said that if Hirsch wanted her help, she would have to earn it.
Dalton Castle defeated Anthony Henry
Henry refused the Code of Honor, causing the match to start with shoving. Henry forced Castle out of the ring with an elbow, but Castle fired himself and the crowd up before getting back in the ring. Henry hit another elbow, but Castle dropped him in return with a waistlock slam. Henry escaped to the floor after a second waistlock slam, but Castle sent Henry into the ring steps before hitting a DDT on the floor.
Castle went to the top rope, but Henry rolled away. Henry baited Castle before sending him back first into the apron. Henry ran around the ring and hit a running leg lariat that sent Castle over the barricade. Henry kept control of Castle, responding to every comeback attempt Castle had. Castle picked Henry’s ankle, then caught him with a back elbow.
Castle strung some offense together, hitting a Slingblade Bulldog. Henry got caught in position for the Bangarang but countered it with a piledriver for a nearfall. Castle got out of the way of a double stomp before flinging Henry around with German suplexes. Castle hit the Bangarang to score the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Mark Sterling, Tony Nese, & Josh Woods. Sterling blew off Nese’s loss to Samoa Joe on Battle of the Belts before bragging about his charges and their recent success. Ethan Page entered stage left, wondering why Sterling hadn’t returned any of his calls. Page asked Nese if he was proud of how he cheated to win before Woods got in his face. Sterling set up Woods vs. Page in the hopes of getting Page out of their business.
Tornado Tag Team Match – Diamante & Mercedes Martinez defeated Athena & Billie Starkz
The match quickly broke down into a Pier Six brawl, with Athena and Starkz sending Diamante and Martinez into the timekeeper’s area. Martinez took down Starkz on the outside, allowing her and Diamante to double-team Athena in the ring. Martinez hit the Anarchist Suplex on Athena for a nearfall. Starkz took down both Martinez and Diamante with a crossbody, but Martinez sent her down with a big boot.
Athena came back, taking down Martinez with a facebuster. Diamante hit a Cross Rhodes on Athena, but Starkz broke up the pin with a German suplex. Martinez took out Starkz before she and Diamante hit a double-team move on Athena for a nearfall. Athena and Starkz teamed up to hit a rolling spear on Martinez. Athena hit a German on Diamante before teaming up with Starkz to hit a double suplex.
Athena held Martinez in position for a Starkz spin kick, which landed. Starkz hit a DDT on Diamante before Athena pulled her up into a facebuster for a nearfall. Athena and Starkz teamed up again, with Athena hitting a Rocket Launcher with Starkz for a nearfall. Starkz and Athena set up a double superplex, but Martinez powerbombed Athena out of the corner. Martinez and Diamante then hit the Street Sweeper on Starkz to score the win.
After the match, Martinez posed with the ROH Women’s Title belt while Diamante taunted Athena. Athena drilled Diamante with a forearm before getting in Martinez’s face.
Kyle Fletcher defeated Willie Mack
Fletcher and Mack traded offense to start, with Mack scoring a pair of armdrags. Mack caught Fletcher with a headscissors and a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. Fletcher came back with a running kick that sent Mack to the floor. Mack fired back up with a heavy shoulder block and a slam, before hitting a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
Mack went for the Stunner, but Fletcher got out. Fletcher hit his half of the Aussie Arrow for a nearfall. Fletcher hit another leg lariat to the back of Mack’s head before hitting the Tombstone for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Billie Starkz. They were soon joined by an irate Athena, who went off on Starkz for causing her to lose her first match on ROH TV. She blamed Starkz for the fact that Martinez earned a title shot and harshly told her to get her act together.
Four Corner Survival Match – Gravity defeated Slim J, Gringo Loco, Blake Christian
Slim J took Gravity to the floor as Christian and Loco traded flash pins in the ring. Slim J dragged Loco to the floor and sent him into the post before Christian hit a dive onto Slim J. Gravity hit a handspring headscissors off of the apron to Christian. In the ring, Gravity sent Loco down with a double rotation headscissors. Loco hit a pop-up flapjack for a nearfall that Slim J broke up.
Christian hit Slim J with an inverted senton before hitting a top rope double stomp for a nearfall. Gravity hit a dive onto Slim J before Loco hit a moonsault onto both of them on the floor. Christian hit a springboard 630 to all three men on the floor. Slim J avoided a springboard 450 before hitting a Skywalker kick to Christian.
Loco hit an avalanche spinning powerbomb on Slim J. Christian hit a springboard 450 onto the pile, but Gravity broke up Christian’s pin with a top rope splash to score the win.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Nyxx
Hirsch used the Code of Honor to pull Nyxx in for a Saito suplex. Hirsch clubbered on Nyxx, hitting a German suplex and a running clothesline. Hirsch locked on the cross armbreaker to score the quick submission win.
Lee Moriarty (w/Shane Taylor) defeated Darius Martin
Martin sent Moriarty to the floor after catching him with a Manhattan Drop. Martin hit a plancha to the floor, but Moriarty was able to get in control after a slight distraction from Taylor. Martin escaped a submission, hitting the bulldog into the ropes and Rolling The Dice for a nearfall. Moriarty came back with a stomp to the foot and a low dropkick.
Moriarty and Martin locked up in the ropes. Moriarty swung through the referee to hit Martin, forcing the referee out of the way. Moriarty sent Martin into the ropes, where Taylor hit the knockout punch. Moriarty locked on the Border City Stretch for the win.
Moriarty held onto the Stretch after the bell as Taylor taunted Martin. Action Andretti came to the ring with a chair to run them off.
Ellering scored with a senton that sent Renegade to the apron. Ellering followed her to the apron, where Renegade threw her down face-first for a nearfall in the ring. Ellering caught Renegade with a flash pin as Renegade taunted the crowd, but only scored a nearfall. Ellering fired up, hitting a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Renegade hit a snapmare driver but missed a moonsault. Ellering hit a rolling elbow before landing the Bosswoman Slam for the win.
Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Cole Karter & Griff Garrison (w/Maria Kanellis) & Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson)
Karter and Garrison jumped Bronson at the bell, with Garrison sending him into Karter’s dropkick. They hit an offensive combo on Bronson for a nearfall. Boulder and Kaun tagged in, with Boulder overpowering Kaun. Boulder took down both Garrison and Karter with a double flapjack before dropping Kaun with a World’s Strongest Slam.
The Savages went for their Transformer Slam, but Kaun moved out of the way. Liona took Boulder to the floor as Karter and Garrison hit a double-team on Kaun for a nearfall. Liona pounced Garrison out of the ring before helping Kaun hit a double main event spinebuster on Karter for the win.
Lenny Leonard made a surprise return to the broadcasting crew, while Angelina Love and Mazzerati had a fun match and another Ticket to Gold was given out.
**********
Quinn — No! Lenny Leonard welcomed us to the show. A nice surprise. Leonard introduced the two competitors for tonight’s match: Angelina Love and Mazzerati. Love needs little to no introduction, but Mazzerati has a long list of accomplishments. She’s the current Women’s Champion for the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion in Las Vegas. She’s a former OVW Women’s Champion as well. Mazzerati has worked for ROH before, as well as Impact Wrestling.
**********
Angelina Love (w/ Mandy Leon) defeated Mazzerati (11:18)
Love applied a front facelock, but Mazzerati was able to escape quickly. Love took her to the mat, but Mazzerati was able to turn it into a pinning attempt for a two count. After being given a dropkick, Love rolled out of the ring to regain her composure for a second and to talk with Leon. Mazzerati went for a kick, but Love caught it and sent her face-first into the apron. When Love got back into the ring, Leon threw Mazzerati into the barricade while the referee wasn’t looking.
Love was back in control until Mazzerati was able to hit a big pump kick that caught Love off guard. Love snatched back her momentum by hitting a great neckbreaker. Love positioned Mazzerati on the second turnbuckle and hit a great diving cutter. Love went for a pin after this, but Mazzerati kicked out just in time.
Love began to let her frustrations get the best of her, opening another door for Mazzerati. She used her opening to nail Love with a kick to the skull, which was followed up by lifting Love in a fireman’s carry position. Love was able to break free and hit a flatliner, then turned it into a Koji Clutch.
Mazzerati was able to get her feet on the ropes to break the hold. She wasted no time following up her escape with an Eat Defeat, which got her a very close two count. Love was able to duck another pump kick after the pin and hit her own Botox Injection pump kick for the win.
**********
Ticket to Gold: Mazzerati
Maria Kanellis-Bennett returned to offer another Ticket to Gold. Bennett said she was impressed with Mazzerati and offered her a Ticket to Gold, to which she accepted. Rok-C, Love, Miranda Alize, Trish Adora, Allysin Kay, and Mazzerati are the first six entrants confirmed for this summer’s ROH Women’s World Championship tournament.
Mazzerati said she’s thankful for the opportunity because ROH always has the best locker room environment, with people willing to help all the time. Mazzerati noted that The Hardy Boyz and the Attitude Era are what helped her get into pro wrestling.
**********
Final Thoughts —
Love and Mazzerati’s match started off kind of slow, but it picked up in a big way in the final half of the match. Love plays her heel role very well, but I genuinely couldn’t think of a worse outcome than her winning the tournament/championship. It’s not the right precedent to set when restarting an entire division. I also thought Love got maybe too much action in this match, i wanted to see more from Mazzerati
Nonetheless, Mazzerati impressed in this match and deserved a Ticket to Gold. I’m excited to see what she can do.
Quinn McKay opened the show, running down the card for us tonight.
Jay Briscoe cut a promo on EC3. Briscoe said that he had been derailed from his purpose of winning the tag team titles, and had to take on EC3. EC3 said he was looking to find out if honour is real, and he wanted to see if Briscoe would live up to the ROH name and if he had what it took to show him if honour is real.
EC3 defeated Jay Briscoe via DQ
EC3 kept offering to shake hands with Briscoe, but he wouldn’t meet Briscoe’s eyes. After a brief exchange, EC3 connected with an elbow and offered to shake the hand again, as the announcers speculated that EC3 has lost his mind, as he refused to look directly at Briscoe. Jay refused the handshake and attacked. Briscoe choked EC3 in the corner and didn’t stop at the 5 count, so the referee disqualified him.
Briscoe continued to attack and claw at EC3 as EC3 begged Briscoe to hit him, yelling “Control your narrative!”. He offered himself for a Jay Driller, but security broke it up.
**********
Quinn McKay asked why Jay Briscoe, of all people, wouldn’t uphold the Code of Honor when against EC3. Briscoe said “Because f*** him.” A simple enough reason, I suppose.
**********
A video aired for LSG telling us how he became a fan of ROH, and how seeing Jay Lethal live is why he became a wrestler. He said after years of work, and a bad 2019 with his tag team Coast 2 Coast he’s now in the position Lethal was years ago – no longer a young boy. He’s ready to step it up.
LSG said he was training harder than ever during the break from the pandemic, and that this match with Lethal meant everything to him because he wanted to prove he could hang with Lethal, saying “The boy who wanted to be you is now going to beat you!”
Jay Lethal cut a promo about how the Pure title tournament didn’t quite go as he planned, losing to Tracy Williams. He had no problem that Williams was the better man that night, and that his goal is rebuilding ROH and bringing structure to it. He wanted to have this match with LSG because LSG was in the same position he was with Samoa Joe years ago.
These video packages were phenomenal. I understood the motivation and character of both right away, with Lethal being the experienced veteran and LSG looking to Lethal as a mentor that he needed to overcome.
**********
Jay Lethal defeated LSG in a Pure Rules Match via split decision
This was contested under Pure Match rules, meaning it went for 15 minutes and each wrestler would get 3 rope breaks the entire match. LSG watched Lethal for years, so he was able to counter a lot of Lethal’s offence staying with him throughout the match. Lethal went for a figure four, but LSG used his first rope break. LSG stayed with Lethal as the match went on, with Lethal being one step ahead for most of the match.
Lethal went to the top rope, but LSG read him and knocked Lethal to the floor before hitting a dropkick to the floorl. LSG targeted the neck from that point forward. Lethal finally hit his cartwheel dropkick and dropkicked LSG to the floor before hitting a suicide dive. Lethal went for a Lethal Injection, but LSG caught him and hit the Rock-a-By-Baby Suplex and locked in the Muta Lock, pulling Lethal’s arm across his face.
Lethal managed to reach the ropes just as the time limit expired. It went to the judges decision, where they awarded Lethal the victory via split decision. They shook hands after the match, with LSG making it clear that he thought he could have beaten Lethal with more time. Lethal smiled and looked like he was embracing the challenge.
**********
Matt Taven defeated Bateman
This match marked Taven’s official return to the ring after his injury that left him out for almost a year. In storyline, Bateman and Vincent took out Taven, and he wants revenge en route to Final Battle, when he faces Vincent.
Taven took it to Bateman quite aggressively in this match. Taven hit a suplex early, so he went for one again later, but Bateman countered into a Twist and Shout. Taven countered an Irish whip with a complete shot then locked on the Trend Setter, but Bateman made the ropes.
Taven hit a dive over the top rope and nailed Bateman, but immediately began selling his knee. Taven then missed a frog splash, but succeeded in rolling Bateman up for a pinfall. Bateman attacked Taven after the match and hit a tombstone in Vincent’s direction.
Vincent cut a promo about how Taven was embarrassing and that there wasn’t a single soul in the arena, yet he was still desperate for attention. Vincent said that he would never get the approval he was looking for, and his legacy is that of a failure.
Vincent went to throw a dart at Taven’s chest, but the lights went out and it ended up being none other than Mike Bennett. Bennett ran Bateman and Vincent off and hugged Taven as the show went off the air. The Kingdom is back.
– As announcers Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman began to introduce tonight’s show, NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis stormed out to interrupt. He was with Kamille and Thomas Latimer and cut a great promo basically explaining that since Marty Scurll showed up at the NWA Into the Fire pay-per-view last month, he was here tonight to pay Scurll back.
Brody King and Flip Gordon came out and got into it with the NWA crew. It was a quick and fiery way to kick off the show and build this revamped cross-promotional angle.
Rey Horus defeated Andrew Everett
Very impressive match. There was a sparse crowd in Concord, which was apparent as soon as the camera cut to the ring for this one. It took a few minutes for them to heat up, but after a few minutes in, these two started cooking.
Everett hit a wild Asai moonsault from the top rope to the floor, and later Horus flew over the corner to the floor, taking Everett out with a tope con giro. They traded chops on the floor, and at one point they did a spot where they both missed their chops and hit the ring post.
Everett landed two quebradas in a row inside the ring for two. It’s crazy how smooth he is and how agile he is considering his size. He landed the “touch-toe” moonsault, the inverted gainer-type moonsault he used last night against Dragon Lee, for two, but a few minutes later Horus pinned Everett with a twisting body scissors driver from the top for the win.
This was very good. Everett looked great this weekend, and Horus will have no problem getting over if he sticks with ROH as a regular.
Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry defeated The Briscoes and Brian Johnson & PJ Black in a three-way tag match
Brian Zane of Wrestling With Wregret joined Riccaboni and Coleman on commentary for the next match and did a great job. He was a natural fit with this team.
The Briscoes were very over with this crowd and got a big reaction during their entrance. Tons of “Man up!” chants throughout this.
Before things got started, Johnson came out and yelled at everyone in the ring. He said that while The Briscoes and Castle were former champions, they still needed to get out of his way. The same went for Hendry, according to Johnson, claiming that Hendry sucks and that he didn’t deserve the spot that he has.
Black walked out and tried to settle Johnson down, explaining that this wasn’t the way to get where he wanted. Castle got on the mic and called Johnson a silly goose, which led to a “silly goose” chant from the crowd. Jay Briscoe then challenged Johnson to step into the ring and join the fight, so the match was changed to a three-way tag team match.
Johnson shouted at Castle at the start, and Castle flipped him off. Jay Briscoe tagged Castle in as Johnson argued with his partner, Black, on the apron. Jay took Johnson out with a big yakuza kick before laying in some fists.
Mark Briscoe came in and dished out some abuse for a couple moments until Castle tagged himself back in. Johnson couldn’t handle getting beat up, so he tried leaving the match and yelled “screw you” to both teams. Black went to talk him out of ditching the match but was taken out by The Briscoes, and from here this turned into a scramble-brawl around ringside
Black took them out with a tope suicida and later used a diving double stomp to take out a standing Jay Briscoe. When Black and Johnson finally had the match in their control, Johnson stalled to taunt and brag in Black’s direction, who’d been knocked to the floor. Johnson ate a codebreaker from Hendry, then a reverse slingblade from Castle for the win.
This was good — lots of action where everyone looked good, especially The Briscoes. Johnson looks like he’ll be a more regular player in ROH this year.
Sumie Sakai defeated Nicole Savoy
Sakai turned on Savoy on Saturday night after they lost their tag match to The Allure. Savoy accidentally kicked Sakai and cost them the match, so Sakai took her out with Smash Mouth. Tonight Sakai came out with different gear, darker colors with black boots and kneepads.
Savoy charged the ring and they went at it from the bell, but Sakai mostly punished Savoy with submissions and later a missile dropkick off the ropes. Savoy responded with a butterfly superplex off the ropes and a dragon suplex, dumping Sakai onto her neck.
These two worked super hard here, despite the relatively dead crowd. They livened up when referee Todd Sinclair had his legs between the ropes and Sakai kicked it, taking him out for a moment. She got a lot of heat for that.
Savoy used a dragon suplex with a bridging pin next, but Sinclair was still selling the rope shot, so there was no one to make the count. Sakai slipped out of the ring, grabbed a chain, and smashed Savoy with a few shots, including a double axe-handle, then landed Smash Mouth to win the match (Sinclair was back up by now).
This didn’t get the best reaction, but it was a good match. Sakai works well as a heel.
Dak Draper defeated Danhausen
This was mostly comedy. The crowd caught on and backed Danhausen early on. There was a bit too much leg-slapping for me in this. 2019 Top Prospect winner Dak Draper used some nice power moves on the smaller Danhausen, who claims to weigh 326 lbs, according to the ROH Tale of the Tape stats.
Danhausen showed off some interesting offense — lots of flying, swinging moves, running knee strikes, etc. He poured a jar of teeth into Draper’s mouth and kneed him in the face, sending the “teeth” flying. Draper ultimately won with the Magnum KO slam.
Alex Zayne defeated Bandido
This was Zayne’s first match in ROH. He blew up last summer after GCW’s Backyard Wrestling pay-per-view and has been floating around NJPW in the States and OWE for Cima overseas.
Zayne went for an insane twisting dive midway through the match but got caught up on the ropes and couldn’t stick the landing. Bandido sort of saved it, and the announcers smoothed things out on commentary. He recovered with the crowd by landing a tope con giro to the floor
Zayne was impressive and extremely creative, but it was obvious he’s still green. The smoothness between the two wasn’t there, but even still, this was entertaining. Zayne tried a number of innovative offensive moves, including what I guess we’d call a tilt-a-whirl flapjack.
Bandido used one of the crazier moves I’ve seen recently, a flipping hangman’s neckbreaker bomb from the top rope. At this point in the match, Zayne and Bandido were trading huge moves, ones that don’t have names yet. The crowd started doing “this is awesome” chants.
Zayne used a shooting star knee drop from the top, then, in a shocker, he put Bandido away clean with a straight jacket pumphandle driver for the win.
By the end of this the crowd was in love with Zayne, and they already sounded to love Bandido. The two shook hands afterwards, with most everyone in attendance on their feet. Zayne looked like he had some diehard fans in the front row, and before going to the back he autographed one of their signs. Very interesting, entertaining match.
– Out next was Shane Taylor with the Sons of Savagery. Taylor called out ROH CEO Joe Koff to follow up on the ultimatum Taylor gave Koff last night. He also mentioned that on January 31 he’d be wrestling Nick Gage for VIP Wrestling, which was intriguing. Looks as though ROH is keeping the door cracked open for cross-promotional projects in 2020.
LifeBlood (Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams) defeated Vincent & Bateman (w/ Vita Von Star and Chuckles) by DQ
Vincent and Bateman came out with Vita Von Star and Chuckles, a clown. They’re doing the Hot Topic horror gimmick that so many wrestlers are into lately.
When LifeBlood came to the ring they got into it immediately with Bateman and Vincent. LifeBlood showcased some nice double-team offense. Chuckles dragged Vincent out of the ring early in the match and it got zero reaction from the audience. The crowd sounded checked out for the most part here.
Chuckles tried going after Williams on the floor until Vincent took Williams out with a cutter onto the floor mats.
Haskins really stood out in this and worked very hard. He was maybe three times as fast as everyone in the ring. After he and Williams used a piledriver/kick bomb on Vincent, Haskins locked him in a sharpshooter and seemed like they were about to pick up the win when Chuckles interfered, hitting Haskins over the head with a block of wood. That was absolutely not what this match needed.
Williams chased the spooky heels out with a chair. Pretty weak overall, unfortunately.
Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb & Dan Maff defeated Silas Young, Josh Woods, Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas
Gresham and Lethal stalled before the match. They took their entrance gear off slowly, stretched, and Lethal talked some trash. A few wrestlers shook hands before the match. Gresham and Lethal took so long that The Bouncers went down to the front row and sipped a few fans’ beers.
When the match finally got underway, Gresham and Young had two nice exchanges early on, with Young actually getting the better of both. Gresham acted very frustrated with it and threw a tantrum on the floor after Woods tagged in and yolked him up a bit.
Woods took on Lethal and it had me interested in a singles bout between those two. Woods excels when he’s with other wrestlers who are great with mat work, like Lethal and Gresham.
Beer City Bruiser came in next and roughed Lethal up with a couple jabs. Cobb entered next and took Bruiser out with a high dropkick. Maff and Milonas traded hard chops, and Maff later took Milonas out with a Pounce, believe it or not.
Lethal and Gresham dragged Woods out of the ring and beat on him behind the referee’s back. Neither Lethal nor Gresham would tag Cobb or Maff into the match. In a gravelly voice, Maff screamed at Lethal to “tag his ass in,” to which Lethal denied.
Woods made a comeback late in this and took out Gresham with a gamengiri knee off the top rope, just like he did last night in Atlanta. Young did the Plunge but missed most of Gresham. Maff did a big tope suicida to the floor, then took Young out with a spear. At this point, the crowd was livelier than ever.
Cobb and Lethal brawled on the floor. Cobb was later able to pick up the win by slamming Beer City Bruiser with his Tour of the Islands finish.
Gresham and Lethal held their Tag Team titles up and taunted Young and Woods from the ring afterwards. Maff and Cobb then got into it with Lethal and Gresham, with Maff attempting to steal Lethal’s title belt before referee Todd Sinclair ordered him to give it back. Maff threw it into the ring back at Lethal, who kept yelling for his music to play before they cut to the next segment.
– They aired a quick vignette of Rhett Titus from after his match at Final Battle in Baltimore last month, where he lost to Kenny King in front of his wife and baby. He apologized backstage to his wife and told King via the camera that their feud wasn’t over yet.
– Bully Ray came out next. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise threw the mic at Ray when he called to him for it. Ray wanted to apologize to Cruise in the ring in front of everyone tonight and shake his hand to atone for attacking him last night.
Cruise got into the ring and Ray started putting him over before he face-palmed Cruise, knocking him to the mat like he did at the last show. Ray started riffing and laid into a couple down in the front row. He started talking about how he put Maria Manic through a table last night and sent her to the hospital so she wouldn’t be at the venue tonight.
Guess what? She was in the building. Manic speared Bully Ray twice before The Allure came out and distracted Manic long enough for Ray to take her out with a chair. Ray went to powerbomb Manic through a table in the corner of the ring, but Manic broke out of the hold with a low blow. “You’re not a bully, you’re a bitch,” she said.
Manic then threw Ray through the table. She got a good reaction, but I think Bobby Cruise got an even louder reaction when he got on the mic and yelled “You suck!” at a dazed Bully Ray.
Flip Gordon defeated Flamita
Short but good aerial match, as one would expect from these two flyers. It was mostly back and forth, with Flamita pulling off some impressively smooth spots. Gordon looked great as well and won this via submission with an STF.
Gordon ripped Flamita’s mask off before he left the ring.
La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee & Kenny King w/ Amy Rose) defeated Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King)
Rhett Titus was on commentary with Coleman and Riccaboni for this. Scurll, the latest addition to the ROH booking team, kicked the match off with Dragon Lee.
The unrelated Brody King and Kenny King were in next, but only for a few moments. PCO and Rush were next up, expanding on their recent program that started at Final Battle. Midway through, Kenny King and Lee suplexed Scurll on the floor while Rush whipped PCO hard into the barricade. Lee choked Scurll with a cable.
It went from a match to a bar fight outside the ring and then back to all action from that point to the finish. PCO did a couple huge somersault dives to the floor and onto the apron. La Faccion took Scurll out at the end with a double assisted-diving double stomp, with Rush and Kenny King holding Scurll up in a back suplex position while Lee spiked Scurll with aforementioned stomp.
La Faccion did one-armed push-ups together in the ring as the show faded to black.
Final thoughts —
It was another pretty good show from ROH tonight. Again, it felt like a slog at times, which was a problem with the night before as well.
Alex Zayne vs. Bandido stood out the most, but the whole show featured matches that had positive points about them, either in the ring or with new angles. Aside from Aldis and his crew’s appearance at the beginning of the show, they didn’t appear for the rest of the night.
ROH’s next event on HonorClub will be on February 9 at Free Enterprise in Baltimore, which will be free of charge to all who attend.
With matchups and stipulations decided by fan voting, ROH’s The Experience took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
– The lights were out when the show started. When they went back on, Maria Manic was in the ring. She destroyed two officials and an interviewer, then got on the microphone and declared that she’s with ROH and this is her house now.
Dragon Lee defeated Jeff Cobb
This was part of the Experience thing they had going on tonight. Cobb was chosen as Lee’s opponent, getting 41 percent of the vote and beating out PJ Black, Kenny King, and Eli Isom. Black, King, and Isom will be in a four-way match with Ultimo Guerrero later.
The crowd was small but really enthusiastic. This was the first match and was really good. Cobb didn’t bust out many of his power moves early on and kept the pace with Lee for much of the match, which I think is one of Cobb’s strong suits that isn’t highlighted enough, that he can keep up with top-tier junior heavyweights at his size and believably.
The match really heated up towards the end, and Lee scored the upset win after reversing Cobb’s Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam. They put over on commentary that no one had ever done that before. They shook hands and hugged afterwards. Good stuff.
ROH Tag Team title match: The Briscoes defeated Master & Machine to retain
ROH claimed that Master & Machine received 57 percent of the fan vote. Caprice Coleman said that people could vote as many times as they wanted.
Master & Machine (Marcus Kross & Griff Garrison) are these young dudes from Georgia who have been on ROH television in the past. Kross had a big Bart Simpson hair-do. If Master & Machine legitimately got 57 percent of the vote, no one in this building knew who they were or cheered for them, but the crowd went pretty nuts for the entire match in favor of The Briscoes.
Garrison was impressive. He’s a smaller Matt Riddle-esque guy, a little smaller but wildly athletic. Ian Riccaboni mentioned he was a college football quarterback and he had that vibe to him. This surprised me, I hadn’t seen M&M before and they did well here. Briscoes were great as always.
PJ Black defeated Eli Isom, Kenny King (w/ Amy Rose), and Ultimo Guerrero in a four-way match
They structured the match so that only two guys were in the ring at a time. It wasn’t a car crash. Each looked good here, especially Guerrero in the ring — it doesn’t even look like he’s thinking while he’s in there. But the star of the match with this crowd was actually King. At one point in this, King did a running dive from the stage onto everyone on the floor.
Isom deserves a special mention because he looked excellent in this. He’s ready to break out, so hopefully 2020 is when he can catch a break. Black pinned him to get the win after landing a crazy looking moonsault double stomp that looked more like a low-angle dropkick.
ROH World Champion Rush & ROH TV Champion Shane Taylor defeated Matt Taven & Dalton Castle
Fans voted for this as the match over Rush & Castle vs. Taven & Taylor.
Taven and Castle argued a lot before Rush dropkicked Castle out of the ring. The match quickly turned into a messy fight around ringside until Taylor threw Taven back into the ring. Later, Taven and Castle dropkicked Rush out of the ring and he crashed into the cameraman, then rained down on Taylor and Rush with a few dives.
The rest of this was all action. I kept forgetting that it was a tag team match and not a four-way. Taylor pinned Castle after hitting Greetings from 216.
Two-out-of-three falls match: Jonathan Gresham defeated Mark Haskins
Riccaboni announced that 44 percent of fans voted for this match to be two-out-of-three falls. Haskins spoke to Gresham in the ring — Gresham’s a heel now, by the way — and insisted with a fiery attitude that they put on a great match tonight before the two shook hands.
Good modern mat wrestling during the first few minutes of this — lots of wrist work. Gresham popped Haskins in the face but claimed it was on accident and offered his hand again. You could tell early that they were going long. The crowd was quiet, but it was appropriate to the feel of the match, and the scant crowd hung around for all of this.
The story was that Gresham was getting frustrated that Haskins was out-wrestling him, so he’d roll to the floor to collect himself. At one point when Gresham came back into the ring, he locked a claw onto Haskins’ erogenous zone but did it discretely so that the referee couldn’t see. Haskins paid him back later with a low blow of his own, again behind the ref’s back.
The first fall was a double pin, so it was actually two falls at once. The crowd booed this.
The last fall came when Gresham locked in a figure four leg lock and rolled both himself and Haskins to the floor. Gresham had been working over Haskins’ leg all match, so Haskins sold the leg hard. Gresham left Haskins outside the ring for a countout win.
The booking here was so flat that it ruined the match. Haskins sold his leg and hopped his way to the back. Everything up to the first fall was excellent.
Last man standing match: Flip Gordon defeated Tracy Williams
Another 44 percent of fans voted for a last man standing match between these two. Gordon tried attacking Williams before the bell with a flying dropkick to the floor, but Williams moved out of the way and they started brawling around the ring.
Williams did a flying knee to Gordon onto empty folding chairs in the second row. He later used a Northern Lights suplex onto an unfolded steel chair, which looked brutal. The spot mangled the chair.
When the cameras went into the crowd, you could see how empty the venue was tonight. The first row was mostly full, but the back rows on most sides were empty.
Gordon used a wheelbarrow hold to slam Williams head-first into the barricade, then threw him over his head with a German onto the mats on the floor. They didn’t tell much story in the match — it was just a lot of cool looking spots that sometimes looked more painful than they probably had to be. This got over, but so did The Briscoes in their regular tag team match.
Williams found the random kendo stick that was hiding under the ring, which must have been left over from this year’s Pittsburgh Kendo Spectacular.
New signee Tyler Bateman appeared later in the match and helped powerbomb Williams from the top through a table. Williams stayed down for the 10 count, so Gordon was the winner. Gordon spit at Williams and left the ring, and Bateman stared at Williams for a while before heading to the back. The announcers played it like they didn’t understand why Bateman was there.
– Riccaboni and Coleman alerted us that something was going on in the back, and we were shown that The Kingdom’s Vinny Marseglia and TK O’Ryan had been attacked. Matt Taven asked officials what happened and told them to get help.
Taven then came out to the ring. He said this ends right now and said that whoever attacked Marseglia and O’Ryan has his attention. The lights went out and a spotlight went on — revealing that Marseglia was standing behind Taven. Marseglia attacked his Kingdom stablemate and bloodied him with an axe.
Marseglia’s balloons flew in the air and music played. He licked Taven’s blood, then wrote a V on his own forehead with more blood. Taven tried to get up, but Marseglia hit him with the axe again.
After an advertisement played, ROH staff was helping Taven up in the ring. He wiped blood off of his head and went to the back.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team title match: Marty Scurll, PCO & Dan Maff defeated Colt Cabana, Cheeseburger & Jeff Cobb to retain
Maff was the surprise partner for the injured Brody King. Maff hasn’t wrestled for ROH in 14 years. He came out in a giant leather jacket and his gas mask and looked huge. Maff and PCO will have a singles match tomorrow at ROH Unauthorized.
Fans voted for Cabana, Cheeseburger & Cobb as the challengers, while it was said that the “ROH board of directors” chose Maff to replace King for this match.
Cabana and Scurll started and got even more heat than the last man standing match at the top, just without the tables.
PCO and Cheeseburger had a good and kind of funny exchange. The visual was surreal: PCO looking more like Quasimodo than ever, and Cheeseburger in his custom Liger tribute outfit (which was awesome) and his new mustache that Coleman compared to Eddie Murphy in“Boomerang,” which is so accurate.
Next in were Maff and Cobb. The crowd started chanting “holy sh*t” before they even started wrestling.
Maff was the highlight in this. He felt fresh like a much-needed new face. He was more intense than anyone in the match, and just seeing him and PCO together on screen makes their match tomorrow a pretty easy sell — a monster battle.
PCO later did a flip dive onto everyone with some help from Scurll. He does a crazy dive on every single show he’s on, it’s amazing. Maff did his own tope suicida to the floor. He got over like gangbusters with this crowd. When Cobb superplexed him into the ring, the audience was louder than they’d been all night.
PCO did his flip off the top rope onto the apron and almost fell before flipping over. He then went for the pin, but Maff yelled that he was the legal man. “Tag me, stupid,” was what he said before folding Cheeseburger with a Burning Hammer for the finish. This was really good and everyone in the match was super over with the crowd.
Final thoughts —
This wasn’t bad, but with everything else going on in the world of pro wrestling these days, I can’t say this was a must-watch show. Maff fit right into the mix. Maybe its the recency bias, but he looked like a big deal in the six-man match. He and PCO will have a crazy match tomorrow based on what they previewed tonight.
It was somewhat of a slog at times, especially towards the end. Haskins vs. Gresham had potential to be one of the better North American matches of the week, but, as per usual, the booking killed any momentum it had, and it did nothing for either’s long-term story. Oh, and finally, props to Jeff Cobb for wrestling in both the opener and the main event tonight.
We’ll be back tomorrow with coverage of ROH’s Unauthorized in Columbus, Ohio.
ROH was at the Nashville Fairgrounds Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday for their Honor for All event that streamed live on HonorClub. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were the announce team for the night.
The Bouncers (Brawler Milonas & Beer City Bruiser) defeated Felino & Okumura and Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Shaheem Ali) in a three-way tag team match
Okumura and Felino were fun to watch in this, especially Felino when he’d work with The Bouncers. On commentary, Riccaboni mentioned how he thought he’d seen one of Dalton Castle’s ex-Boys watching this match in the wings. Riccaboni did an excellent job introducing the television crowd to both Felino and Okumura when they were in the ring.
For some reason, the crowd was absolutely dead at points in this. They’d come alive for big spots and some comedy spots. The Bouncers hit Closing Time (Smoking Gunns’ Sidewinder) on Ali for the win, then The Bouncers and the CMLL team shared beers afterwards.
– ROH announced that the ROH Six-Man Tag Team title match between Villain Enterprises and LifeBlood was off due to PCO’s injury from the night before. PCO smashed his face on the floor when he “malfunctioned” and did a tope to the wrong side of the ring.
PCO then came to the ring and the crowd erupted. It was like a completely different crowd in the building — they sure liked PCO. He started throwing chairs into the ring and shoved people around the ringside area.
PCO grabbed the mic. ROH security came to the ring, so PCO took everyone out by himself. After all of that, he put the last crew member through a table with a cannonball senton from the top rope to the floor.
Flip Gordon came out and PCO pushed him until Gordon could remind him who he was, that he was part of Villain Enterprises. He showed PCO his T-shirt and then PCO “snapped out of it,” but PCO kept selling his head like he was a confused, brainwashed monster. With the giant gash over his eye and forehead, PCO really does look like Frankenstein.
Joe Hendry & Dalton Castle defeated Cheeseburger & Eli Isom
Castle grabbed the microphone before the match and said that he usually sleeps 16 hours a night, but last night he could only sleep eight hours because he kept thinking about what happened between him and the most recent addition to ROH’s roster, Joe Hendry.
Like we mentioned at Saturday Night at Center Stage, Hendry sings his new ROH theme song and even made a music video to go along with it, which has lyrics that go “I believe in Joe Hendry” and cues in the video to the audience to sway back and forth like you’d see at an Amy Grant concert in 1994.
It’s hard to get Hendry’s theme song out of my head. The two went back and forth while Isom stood in the corner. They argued about Saturday night, with Castle explaining that Hendry probably didn’t really understand what Castle is capable of, so he invited him to take a seat in the front row and watch him kick the crap out of Isom.
Hendry explained that he understood just fine and that he is more entertaining than Castle. His new catchphrase is actually more of a melody, where he screams his name and then sings “So prestigious.” The crowd didn’t sing along tonight and Castle called him on it later, explaining that he was the “cumin in this curry” and that without Castle, “this place would taste disgusting.”
Hendry offered to wrestle Isom instead of Castle and told him to sit and watch as he showed the crowd how good he was. Isom finally pushed both apart and grabbed the mic and pretty much told them to stop bickering and grow up. He then challenged both Castle and Hendry to a tag team match against him and his trainer, Cheeseburger.
Hendry tried really hard to get the crowd to do the “So prestigious“ thing. Riccaboni put both Castle and Hendry over for their amateur wrestling backgrounds.
Castle and Eli Isom were good together when they were in the ring. Hendry did a delayed vertical suplex to Cheeseburger and did the arm-swaying gesture with one arm. He and Castle argued for a while so Cheeseburger could crawl away and tag out to Isom, who tore through both guys for a minute until the match fell to the floor.
Castle and Hendry inadvertently saved each other from Isom and Cheeseburger outside the ring, then argued some more until Isom landed a moonsault from the corner to the outside. Momentum shifted quickly, though. When Castle went for the Bang-a-Rang on Isom, Hendry pulled Isom off and hit a Codebreaker on him to win the match. Castle complained that he could have done it as Hendry smirked his way to the back.
This angle is interesting, but it’s ironic that of all promotions, Ring of Honor is the one with a new program centered on who’s more entertaining than who, making it feel like a polished WWE or TNA segment. It’s too soon to tell whether it’ll pan out, but for tonight I think it was fine. And Hendry’s theme is still stuck in my head, unfortunately.
Angelina Love defeated Jenny Rose, Sumie Sakai, and Damaris Dawkins in a four-way match
Kelly Klein joined Riccaboni and Coleman on commentary for this next match. This was Dawkins’ ROH debut. Riccaboni mentioned that a few members of her family were professional boxers from the Philadelphia area and that she’s been mentored by Sumie Sakai and Cheeseburger at the Worldwide Dojo in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
Love cut a promo in the ring saying that she didn’t feel like she needed to be in the match because she’d pinned Klein at Best in the World and already beat Sakai the night before in Atlanta. When The Allure tried heading to the back, Dawkins and Rose chased after them and threw them back in the ring and the match was on.
Dawkins was okay but green. When she was in with Sakai she looked better. They did a four-way headscissors submission spot. Love tried sneaking a chair in the ring, and while the ref was distracted, Mandy Leon sprayed Sakai in the face with perfume and neutralized her out of the match. Love then hit the Botox Injection running kick on Dawkins to win.
The lights went out and then Maria Manic was standing in the ring. The Allure ran to the back while Manic did a double-handed chokeslam to Dawkins and then took out Rose after she’d laid in a few elbows.
Klein left the broadcast area and confronted Manic in the ring. When Klein tossed her Women of Honor title belt to the canvas, Love snuck into the ring, grabbed the belt, and knocked Klein out from behind with it. Manic then chased The Allure to the back while Klein sold the belt shot in the ring.
PJ Black defeated Silas Young (w/ Josh Woods)
Woods is acting as Silas Young’s assistant since Saturday night. Young yelled at Woods for not being in the right spots he needed to be in when Young wanted to cheat. Woods said his shoes were untied. “Safety first,” Woods said.
This is the third singles match I’ve seen between these two in the past month or two. The only real differences were that Black finally got a win and the Woods angle. Woods kept teasing like he’d go after Black but was conflicted. Riccaboni put him over as a nice guy. Moments later, Black won out of nowhere with a cradle.
Young berated Woods after the match and told him to “be a heel.”
– The Bouncers joined the broadcast team and brought beers for Coleman and Riccaboni. Both ROH announcers declined the offer but all four toasted. The Bouncers grabbed the two extra beers for themselves.
Rush defeated Vinny Marseglia
This wasn’t bad. Rush was great and this was one of the best matches I’ve seen from Marseglia.
Rush kicked up the tempo of this early on. He tried hard to get the crowd into it, but this place sounded empty. Marseglia landed a cutter on the floor and started beating on him. He whipped Rush into the barricade. Back in the ring, he choked Rush with his handkerchief.
Rush fired back up and swore at Marseglia in Spanish. Aside from Riccaboni, the commentary was really bad during this. Marseglia was bleeding from the nose or lip towards the end of the match and he started licking his blood before Rush hit the Bull’s Horns dropkick to win.
Rush stepped on Marseglia’s face and posed before he left.
ROH TV Champion Shane Taylor defeated Chase Owens to retain his title
This was good. Owens won a qualifying match in Atlanta over PJ Black and LSG for the title shot here. He’s a really smooth wrestler, it’s a shame we don’t see him in more singles matches.
Taylor is another one who’s been underrated this year, especially when it comes to being able to trash talk and sound intimidating on the fly, it feels organic. Taylor got the win with Greetings from 216.
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) defeated The Rock ’n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) to retain their titles
This had no business being as good as it was. It was short but had so much energy you’d think you just got out of a time machine. I can’t believe even for one millisecond I was duped into thinking The Rock ’n’ Roll Express would actually win. Impressed.
The crowd woke up for The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express before the match got started. There were lots of “Rock ’n’ Roll” chants but also a good number of “Man up” chants in support of The Briscoes.
Morton and Jay Briscoe were in together. Morton was great, really. Not exaggerating. I mean he’s not Will Ospreay or something, but considering all the variables, he was great. Morton didn’t have to do all that much because The Briscoes are so good. The crowd sounded completely different here than from the other matches.
The teams started brawling on the floor and eventually Mark Briscoe went to do a Froggy Bow to Morton through a table, but Gibson pushed him off and Mark flipped through the table. When The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express hit the double dropkick on Jay, both Coleman and Riccaboni authentically sounded like they’d lost it. Coleman was shrieking.
Things settled for a second after Jay kicked out and then Mark eventually landed a Froggy Bow on Morton to win. They all shook hands after the match.
Villain Enterprises (Brody King & Marty Scurll) defeated LifeBlood (Bandido & Mark Haskins)
Scurll played the relentless heel role. Him and Haskins have very good chemistry. Haskins used a Boston crab on Scurll, who was lying on top of King. Scurll later got the whole crowd going wild before he was about to do the chicken wing spot, but Haskins blocked the attempt with a leg lariat.
When Bandido went to catch King off the ropes, he dropped him. The whole spot fell apart. They recovered quickly when Haskins and Bandido forced the double tope suicida to the floor. The Villain Enterprises team used some really cool double-team moves, innovative kind of things.
The last half of this match saw everyone exchange huge moves for about five minutes until Bandido hit the 21-Plex and Haskins followed up with his modified Sharpshooter to tap Scurll. LifeBlood will get a shot at The Briscoes’ ROH Tag Team titles.
Jeff Cobb defeated ROH World Champion Matt Taven, Kenny King (w/ Amy Rose), and Jay Lethal in a Defy or Deny match
The stipulation for Defy or Deny matches is that — if the champion doesn’t win — the winner will get a future shot at their title. If the champion wins, whoever is eliminated last can’t challenge for their title as long as they’re champion.
This started off really similar to the Defy or Deny match in Portland back in June with Taven talking trash at his three opponents and then getting beat up. Him and King were in first. Lethal and Cobb were good together and Cobb even attempted a cartwheel into a standing moonsault. Later he ragdolled Taven across the ring.
Taven and King formed a brief truce until King schoolboyed Taven. They started arguing and then Lethal decked King. Cobb later caught King off the ropes in a vertical suplex hold. King countered with an inside cradle.
Taven hit Cobb with the ROH World title and got disqualified. King then hit Lethal with the belt and used the Royal Flush to eliminate Lethal. After another few minutes, Cobb destroyed King with a snap German suplex and then planted him into the mat with Tour of the Islands to win the match. Cobb is now in line for a shot at the ROH World Championship.
Final thoughts —
The in-ring work was decent from beginning to end. The show was definitely stronger in the last 90 minutes or so, and while the crowd was enthusiastic in general, the low draw was audibly noticeable and made for an awkward presentation at times.
I don’t believe I’m saying this, but The Rock ’n’ Roll Express had the most exciting match of the show with their bout with The Briscoes. Cobb winning tonight’s main event means we’ll see another shot at Taven for him coming soon. The next ROH shows will be their joint events with CMLL, the Global Wars Espectacular tour that begins on September 6 in Dearborn, Michigan.
ROH was at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday for their Saturday Night at Center Stage tapings, with most of the matches streaming live on HonorClub. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were the announce team for the night. “The Genius” Lanny Poffo joined them for the main event.
Williams came to the ring in a lucha mask. Haskins has a new look and wore long tights here. Early on, PCO “malfunctioned” and did a tope to the wrong side of the ring — opposite where Lifeblood was — and smashed head-first into the floor. Hardway blood but he no-sold it.
This was so hard-hitting at times. No hesitation from anyone during the match. All the guys were pumped throughout, which you could see in there faces. PCO did lots of dives into and out of the ring. Brody King murdered Haskins with a Liger Bomb at one point. Williams was real fired up in this. By the end you could see PCO’s blood stained all over the ring.
The finish saw Flip Gordon run out and crack Williams in the back with a cane as he hit the ropes, which allowed King to spike Williams with a Gonzo Bomb for the win. Awesome match, though I sometimes worry about PCO. He looked like a mess after this.
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express came out and cut a promo pretty much saying thanks to the fans and that they’d become ROH World Tag Team Champions on Sunday in Nashville against The Briscoe Brothers.
They had a great short promo and pull apart together where The Briscoes asked if the Express hadn’t already had enough from their last match at the NWA-ROH Crockett Cup earlier this year.
Ricky Morton said there’s nothing that a good night’s sleep and a hot cup of soup couldn’t cure, and then they were all just riffing on soup until security came out and pulled the four apart.
Angelina Love (w/ Mandy Leon) defeated Sumie Sakai
Kelly Klein came out to do commentary for this match. Love ambushed Sakai before the bell. Leon interfered a bit behind the ref’s back in this. Sakai worked hard. Leon sprayed perfume in Sakai’s face while the ref wasn’t looking and then Love hit an ugly Botox Injection kick for the win.
Love and Klein exchanged words after the match.
Okumura, Felino & Silas Young defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Ryan Nova)
This was good. Josh Woods was out with Young as his new assistant. Felino was great at times in this. Isom even more so towards the end.
They all did a big Tower of Doom spot. They showed Woods drawing stick figures in a notebook in the corner near the post ringside. Nova was impressive in this. When he went for a top rope frankensteiner, Felino countered with a super powerbomb to win the match.
Young got on the mic and called Woods a pain in the ass but said he had potential, then Woods took both the CMLL guys out. He hit a cool T-Bone suplex on Felino, with a mini-deadlift before the overhead toss.
Chase Owens defeated LSG and PJ Black in a triple threat match (winner gets a TV title shot at Honor for All on Sunday)
Lots of fast action in this. Things slowed for a second when Owens put Black in a Sharpshooter. In general, Owens really deserves more credit than he gets.
Black did a quebrada into the ring onto both guys after he’d stacked them. Black put LSG in a Japanese Swing while Owens chopped Black. Later, LSG used a 450 on Owens for two. They did a Tower of Doom spot, not even 20 minutes apart from the six-man just before.
Owens hit the package piledriver on LSG to win the match and a shot at Shane Taylor’s TV title on Sunday in Nashville.
– Dalton Castle came out wearing a wild, shiny, really colorful suit with glittery loafers. He felt ignored in ROH, like a “kiosk at a dying mall,” assuredly a mark of his real-life time spent living in upstate New York. He got a lot of chants for his shoes.
Castle said he is the most entertaining person in ROH and that he’d win the World title soon. Joe Hendry then came out — his debut in ROH. They showed a music video of him fake-playing guitar in the Highlands of Scotland as he sang a scarily catchy but awful version of his own theme song. The lyrics went something like “I believe in Joe Hendry.”
As soon as Hendry started cutting a promo, his microphone cut out. Seriously? The crowd chanted for Castle. They bantered after that and it was good.
These two could complement each other I think. Hendry in his video was waving his arms back and forth and then some of the crowd started doing it too. Hendry then said he’d be the next World Champion and threw Riccaboni a T-shirt that said “World Champ – Joe Hendry.”
Marty Scurll defeated Bandido
I was at night one of the NJPW Super J-Cup in Tacoma this past Thursday and thought this was just as good as any of those matches. At the start of this there were a ton of chants in Spanish at Marty Scurll, expletives in English.
The two had a posedown in the ring early on and the crowd was into it. Once they really started wrestling the crowd was even more into it. Scurll went into the crowd and took one of the fan’s replica belts and held it in the air, implying he wants to be the next ROH World Champion.
Bandido did a springboard tornillo and then a Fosbury Flop to the floor, which Riccaboni topped off with one of my favorite calls of the year: “The Fosburys taste like Fosburys!” — for all the Willy Wonka fans out there.
Later, Bandido did his top rope moonsault powerslam to Scurll and it looked awesome — the crowd chanted “holy sh*t.” It was over after Scurll hit a modified cradle piledriver and the Black Plague on Bandido. Scurll won. Really good match.
– Lanny Poffo came out to do commentary and threw Frisbees into the crowd before he joined Riccaboni. He said the performers of this generation were much better than the ones from his generation. Poffo was critically slammed for his short time on the NJPW English announce team last year.
ROH All-Stars (Rush, Jeff Cobb, Jay Lethal & Kenny King) defeated ROH Champions (The Briscoes, Matt Taven & Shane Taylor) in an elimination match
King and Lethal got into it before the match started. They brawled on the floor until they were split up and settled down. Rush was the most popular guy in this match according to the crowd. There were tons of “Toro Blanco” chants at the beginning of this.
Taylor and Cobb are awesome together. Cobb at one point lifted Taven up in a one-armed suplex for about 30 seconds and then chucked him to the mat. The All-Stars spent a few minutes chopping the hell out of Taven in the corner. The Briscoes were in and out for a while and slowed things down and beat on Lethal for a bit.
I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I seem to enjoy Mr. Poffo on commentary with Riccaboni and Coleman. The stakes didn’t feel so high tonight and the way they started to gel was something I enjoyed. It’s sometimes silly but I connect with their sensibilities and it made the match fun to listen to. I’d understand how some fans may want or prefer a slightly more serious, more sportsman-like presentation.
Jay Briscoe spat at Rush and hell broke loose. Most of the wrestlers hit the floor to brawl around the ring. Jay Briscoe was rolled up by King after Jay had turned his attention to Amy Rose at ringside. Taylor later eliminated King by hitting Greetings from 216 (Bam Bam Bigelow’s old Greetings from Asbury Park).
Mark Briscoe was eliminated after being hit with the Lethal Injection, Taylor eliminated Lethal with Greetings from 216, and Taven got eliminated via DQ when he hit Rush with a chair.
My stream of the broadcast had trouble here, but Rush and Cobb were the survivors of the match after Rush hit his Bull’s Horn dropkick and pinned Taylor. ROH continued to tease Rush challenging for Taven’s World title and that Rush had just pinned the TV Champion.
Cobb offered Rush a handshake, but Rush kicked it away and bumped into Cobb as he walked out of the ring.
Final thoughts —
This was a solid show overall — nothing blow-away but impressive nonetheless. It was a much easier watch than their previous cards, and the Center Stage venue looks good on television. The smaller but more enthusiastic crowd helped a lot, too. And the best match was Scurll vs. Bandido, without a doubt.
