ROH on HonorClub Episode 1
Orlando, Florida
March 2, 2023
Mark Briscoe vs. Slim J w/ The Trustbusters
Code of Honor followed, though Slim J didn’t necessarily care for the act. After a quick huddle with his TrustBusters crew, Slim J formulated a plan that saw him maneuver the referee during their tie-up to execute a low blow that went unseen. Mark recovered during an Irish whip into the corner, showing off some of that Redneck Kung Fu that put Slim on the floor in position for that Spicy Dropkick. Wild, Mark was happy to toss a chair into the ring to set up another dive. Ari Daivari saved Slim with Mark stopping himself from crashing & burning. Slim reentered, confronting a willing Briscoe ready to throw hands. Startled by chops, Slim was put in prime position for the Iconoclasm. Sterling Mark jumped onto the apron, distracting Mark long enough for Slim to recover and connect with a spinning heel kick off the top.
Mark had a cut on the top of his head after that kick, taking a springboard reverse DDT almost immediately after getting up. Pitching Mark to the floor, Slim distracted the referee so Daivari could put the boots to the downed Briscoe. Mark broke free of a rear chin lock, coming off the ropes with a big dropkick on the seated Slim. Time Bomb Neck Breaker a la Jay Briscoe only gave Mark a two count; as did Mark’s huge power bomb. Using that rolling Death Valley driver, Mark had the Froggy Bow in mind. Slim avoided the Froggy, only for Mark to land on his feet & roll through the miss. Slim turned around, taking a big clothesline that set up the Jay Driller. The pin fall was elementary in favor of Mark Briscoe.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Match Review: Very good opening contest with the fans, not surprisingly, hot for Mark. The interference was a little too much for the first match of an ROH show, but it didn’t take away from it being a good example of the fun Mark Briscoe brings to any match and Slim J being more than just an old Special K novelty act.
Lexy Nair was with former ROH World Television champion Tony Deppen. Pulling out a hand-written promo, Deppen explained how he would tap out Samoa Joe to not only win the ROH World TV title, but also become “The Czar” of ROH.
The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Charlie Bravo)
It was Mike Bennett and Charlie Bravo starting this one off for their respective teams. Bravo found himself distracted early by Maria, taking a big boot from Bennett. Matt Taven tagged in, only to get knocked down. Bennett followed his partner’s lead, taking a double team wishbone. Bravo exploded off the ropes, taking a big dropkick from Taven. Double team forearm smash from Bennett into Taven’s Purple Thunder Bomb didn’t end this one on Bravo. It was all The Kingdom as they isolated Bravo in their part of town. Blocking a DDT, Bravo pulled off a big neck breaker on Taven before tagging out to “Captain” Shawn Dean.
Float-over on Bennett and kicking Taven, Dean used a pair of DDTs on The Kingdom. Putting Bennett in The Infantry’s corner, they had Bennett prone for a double team super kick when Taven pulled Dean out of the ring. Bravo tagged in between the double team, only to get caught with the Proton Pack. Bennett covered Bravo, gaining a pin.
Winners: The Kingdom
Match Review: Another solid bout that finally gives The Kingdom a victory in this new era of honor. The Kingdom seemingly have chemistry with every team they face and The Infantry really looked like a team that could thrive in this new ROH.
In pre-taped promo, “All Heart” Blake Christian promised to make the moment of a lifetime by ending the TV title reign of Zack Sabre Jr.
In an opposing promo, ZSJ told the “cretins” to rejoice that the champ was back in America to defend his title. The champ emphasized that TV title matches have a fifteen minute time limit and he’ll make all of those seconds count.
NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Blake Christian
The challenger surprised Zack Sabre Jr. in the early seconds before attempting to pull Blake Christian’s shoulders out of their sockets. ZSJ had the arm & finger manipulation in mind, actually using Blake’s own hand & arm to punch himself. Blake realized he had to pick up the pace and start hitting hard in hopes of catching him as he did by turning a failed dropkick into the victory roll. ZSJ kicked out, only to be dropkicked to the floor. Sasuke Special failed for Blake as he flew into a cravat. Reminding Bryan Danielson that he’s the best technical wrestler in the world while mockingly kicking Christian in the face.
With five minutes gone, ZSJ had the match in complete control. Using a short head scissors to counter a submission, Blake pulled off the 619 to set up the springboard cross body block. Slingshot by Blake allowed him to follow up with an enzuguri. Suplexes and clubbing blows aimed at ZSJ’s neck didn’t hinder the champ from planning his neck attack by sweeping his incoming opponent. Using some quick maneuvering, Blake sent the champ to the floor for the big dive after a spear on the apron. Springboard flying knee laid out Zack, but Christian wanted to use something bigger before going for the pin. Sadly, Christian found himself getting drilled via his arm. The champ ran into a standing Spanish Fly … for a near fall!
Using the kimura to stop Blake from lifting him didn’t stop ZSJ from getting driven against the mat with a Death Valley driver. Blake’s subsequent brain buster didn’t put the champ away, nor did a handspring kick. With three minutes left in the time limit, Christian had the 450 splash in mind. The champ caught Blake coming down with his legs; turning the corner into a figure four headlock to submit the feisty challenger.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr.
Match Review: Nothing like anything else on the show seen thus far and impressive for all the right reasons. An enjoyable clash of styles with Zack showcasing how great of a villain he is trying to debilitate an opponent – an opponent being perfect for his opposing style in Christian. Hopefully Blake is around ROH going forward while ZSJ shows up whenever he feels like.
Sterling Mark was in the interview zone to mock Josh Woods’ opponent for tonight, Konosuke Takeshita. Mark wanted to cancel the match and split the winnings. Instead, Konosuke tore up the intended deal.
Christopher Daniels in a pre-taped promo reminded everyone that he was there when the era of honor. Now, over twenty years later, the former grand slam champion is still in the thick of things with the promise he’ll make himself a face of ROH just like he did all those years ago.
Christopher Daniels vs. Rohit Raju
Former X-Division champions clashing with “The General” actually following the Code of Honor. Rohit Raju got the jump on Daniels, but Christopher Daniels recovered quickly. It wasn’t until Raju’s second tripped and pulled Daniels out of the ring as Raju distracted the referee. With Daniels being put back in the ring, Raju pulled off a leg sweep into the double stomp to almost end “The Fallen Angel’s” night. Raju was becoming obsessed with the side headlock that allowed Daniels to pull off a belly to back suplex.
Uranage connected for Daniels, but Raju stopped the former World champion from climbing the ropes. Raju had another double stomp in mind when he jumped into the uranage yet again. Daniels immediately followed up with the Best Moonsault Ever to pin the ROH newcomer.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Match Review: Another solid, though relatively short encounter that gave Daniels a nice win while Raju seemed to fit well in his new environment.
Lexy had The Foundation of Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams in the interview area so they can explain that they are back in ROH to continue down the path that led to them become champions and that’s something they want to do again. Suddenly, Aussie Open arrived to challenge The Foundation to a match next week. The Foundation were happy to accept.
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Josh Woods
Huge ovation for Konosuke Takeshita before the Code of Honor and the collar & elbow tie up that resulted in Woods being pushed against the turnbuckles for a clean break. The former ROH Pure champion was having a good time when they locked up again by rolling his opposition around the mat while in a waist lock. Konosuke was able to get to his feet and initiated a shoulder block exchange that he won to a boisterous positive response from the crowd. Woods caught Konosuke attempting to leap over him, dropping his opposition across the top rope to set up a gut-wrench suplex.
Woods was focused on abusing Takeshita’s abdomen with strikes. Getting that space needed to pick up some speed, Takeshita propelled off the ropes to should tackle Woods in position for the helluva kick. Konosuke took too much time trying to follow up, getting slammed across the top rope again. They ended up on the apron with Konosuke pulling Woods down with the DDT on the apron. Blue thunder bomb connected for Takeshita, but no three count followed. Avoiding a running Konosuke, Woods pulled off the Beautiful Disaster kick to set up his doctor bomb … to gain a near fall!
Uncharacteristically, Woods climbed the ropes for a dive when Takeshita met him on the ropes. Blocking a superplex, Woods pulled off a modified super gourd buster that only gave Woods a two count. Both men got up throwing suplexes and rolling forearms until they collapsed from the impact of forearm to chin. Woods was able to rise first, but Konosuke turned the Chaos Theory attempt into a failed pinning combo. Woods tried to do the same thing when Konosuke went for his own Chaos Theory when Takeshita turned the maneuver into a wheelbarrow German suplex. Woods couldn’t stop the three count after the impressive show of strength.
Winner: Konosuke Takeshita
Match Review: Unexpectedly fantastic match. Both men came across a stars by the end of this one and, thus far, is the Match of the Night.
Born for situations like this one tonight, ROH World champion Claudio Castagnoli looked at this match as the opportunity to prove why he is the diamond of ROH.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) vs. LSG, Joe Keys, & Rex Lawless
Pulling Rex Lawless out of the ring, Kaun disposed of Rex. Toa Liona did the same to Joe Keys in the aisle. LSG tried to show how he’s a human rocket when Brian Cage caught him flying and slammed him against the turnbuckles to set up some shoulder rams. Body slam against the turnbuckles by Cage to LSG after Giovanni pulled off a pair of successful dropkicks. Kaun followed up by using a sidewalk slam across the top turnbuckle on LSG. Liona’s senton splash to LSG on the apron prepared LSG for Cage’s dead-lift superplex. With no one there to help him, LSG couldn’t stop the triple team swing-set power bomb that allowed Cage to pin LSG after driving him against the canvas.
Winners: The Embassy
Match Review: Complete and utter domination by The Embassy as it should’ve been.
A video package hyping Metalik’s return to ROH after some impressive wins during his appearances in AEW “Dark”.
Metalik vs. Ari Daivari w/ The TrustBusters
No entrance for Metalik. Very lucha-infused opening moments with impressive rolling counters to prevent being caught in a submission. Showing why he’s the “King of Ropes”, Metalik was bouncing off the ropes to execute arm drags and a nice dropkick. Metalik found himself trying to dive on Ari after Daivari fell out of the ring. Instead, Metalik was distracted by Slim J. Ari grabbed the masked man, sending Metalik face first against the steel ring post. Daivari kept it simple by driving the knee against Metalik’s face and landing a big clothesline to stop the luchador from fighting. Using the ropes to stop a superplex, Metalik started landing big dives and splashes in and out of the ring.
Just when it seemed Metalik had everything going his way, he sprung off the ropes with his back to his opponent when he felt a super kick between his shoulder blades. Ari unwisely didn’t go for the pin, allowing Metalik to recover and super kick him. Sterling Mark jumped onto the apron to distract the ref so Slim J could grab Metalik from behind. Of course there was a miscommunication, but Sterling’s continued distraction prevented Metalik from gaining the pin. Metalik went for a follow up attack when he ran into In Trust We Bust/Pepsi Twist that put Metalik’s shoulders to the mat for the three count.
Winner: Ari Daivari
Match Review: Fine match, but mostly unremarkable in terms of what it means to the grand scheme of things. Also, this was the fourth bout with some type of interference – too much.
AR Fox was in the interview area to audibly remember about trying out for ROH ten years. After not getting a call back, Fox is determined to make that decade of hard work pay off by becoming the new ROH World champion.
The Renegades (Charlette Renegade & Robyn Renegade) vs. Skye Blue & Madison Rayne
Skye Blue and Robyn Renegade locked up at the sound of the bell with the latter pie-facing Blue in the corner. Skye didn’t take kindly to it, using some arm drags to send Robyn into the corner. Deep cradle by Skye after avoiding a retaliatory effort. Madison Rayne tagged in, landing that sliding clothesline. Charlette was able to tag in, helping her sister double kick Rayne. The veteran held her own, tagging out so Blue could keep the momentum. Robyn ended that advantage by illegally kicking Blue in the face after getting behind Charlette. Nice dropkick from Robyn after tagging in, only for Blue to flip out of a double team suplex. Robyn did everything in her power to stop a tag until Blue landed a Pele kick.
Becoming the legal competitor again, Rayne was a house of fire until Robyn used an inverted side effect to set up the Michinoku driver. Blue broke up a sure pin that started off a series of big moves resulting into Blue tagging herself in as Rayne speared Robyn out of the ring. Charlette was left to feel the Skye Claw and the subsequent three count.
Winners: Madison Rayne & Skye Blue
Match Review: Another solid bout, but doesn’t seem to mean much in the grand scheme of things as the company doesn’t have a women’s tag division as of now. Still a solid showing for all for wrestlers.
Dalton Castle & The Boys will be in action next week.
Ian Riccabonni was in the ring to introduce the ROH Pure champion Wheeler Yuta. After correcting Ian about being the “Junior member” of the Blackpool Combat Club, the champ reminded everyone what he’s done to ensure he can be the best: by surrounding himself with and fighting the best. So Yuta had an open challenge for anyone to face him next week for the Pure Championship. Timothy Thatcher’s music hit to bring out the grizzled, young vet. Thatcher accepted the challenge for next week.
A highlight package featuring the multiple eras of Samoa Joe aired in preparation for his ROH World TV title defense next week.
Willow Nightingale vs. Lady Frost
“The Babe With the Power” had the fans in her corner as she muscled the sculpted Lady Frost around the ring. Willow wanted to dance, but Frost was ready to fight and ended up shoulder blocking her opponent. Low cross body block from Willow almost ended Frost’s night. Frost jumped over an incoming Willow to back kick Nightingale into flipping neck breaker. Both women got up thinking roundhouse kicks after Lady’s head scissors sent Willow rolling across the ring. Willow recovered first, landing a hip attack in the corner before executing a thunderous spine buster. Frost stopped another running attack, kicking Willow in position for a beautiful moonsault … that gave Frost a near fall!
Shoulder ramming a rising Willow in the corner, When Frost went for a second shoulder ram, Willow caught
Winner: Willow Nightingale
Match Review: A little rushed, but effective considering what it was meant to do was establishing Willow as a future title contender. Lady Frost looked good and, like a few other new faces in ROH as of late, hopefully she sticks around.
Ian Riccabonni entered the ring to interview the winner. After calming down, Willow reminded everyone she’s 3-0 in her last three ROH appearances. So Willow thought it was time to challenge Athena for the ROH Women’s World title. Of course this brought out champ. Being a generous champion, Athena accepted the “mediocre” challenge with the intent shutting her up for good.
ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. AR Fox
Like several matches seen tonight, the initial collar & elbow tie-up resulted in a clean break when they ended up in the ropes. The crowd was very much pro-Claudio as AR Fox showed great aptitude when caught in several submission maneuvers meant to slow down the high flier. Fox got his legs underneath him; causing the pace to quicken and Claudio to get caught in pinning combinations. When Castagnoli was able to get upright, he exploded with the European uppercut topped by a leg drop that only earned him a two count.
Fox countered whatever Claudio had in mind when he got him near the ropes, springing off to bulldog the champ. As the fans chanted in the challenger’s favor, Fox climbed the ropes for something big. Instead, Fox got dropkicked. Claudio had a press slam off the top in mind when Fox countered with the head scissors. Fox’s follow up springboard attack resulted in Claudio tripping him off the top rope and sending him careening to the mat. AR’s left leg seemed to be hindering him greatly after the fall with the champ mixing leg-based submissions with suplexes.
Saving himself from a submission loss didn’t save Fox from feeling some sickening punishment including a big double stomp while AR laid across the apron. Trying to knock and squeeze the air out of Fox, Castagnoli made a crucial mistake as Fox was able to not only get underneath him to put him over the top, but also execute a DDT with Claudio stuck in the ropes as he tried to reenter the ring. Fox got up swinging for the fences until he executed a stunner for a two count. With Claudio cornered, Fox executed a flying clothesline-slingshot dropkick combo that sent Castagnoli to the floor for safety. Fox came sailing over the top to wipe out Claudio before shoving the champ into the ring for a somersault senton from the top … that gave AR a near fall!
Fox’s failed Irish whip out of the corner resulted in him taking a discus big boot. The fans were split down the middle as Claudio went for a kip up into something. Castagnoli caught the legs, pulling off the Big Swing. Fox fell to the floor after refusing to submit like Chris Jericho at “Final Battle”. The champ refused to be denied, cinching in the sharpshooter. Claudio turned the sharpshooter into a crossface. With Fox rolling to freedom, Claudio gave up on the submission and just landed a huge clothesline. AR found himself on the top rope, only to slip underneath the champ to pull off a rolling DVD. Fox quickly climbed the ropes to hit the 450 splash … for a near fall!
Claudio got up with the European uppercut in mind when Fox countered with the backslide. Claudio kicked out, catching a flying Fox with the pop-up European uppercut for the pin fall and successful title defense.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Match Review: Fantastic main event with a David vs. Goliath feel where Goliath won. AR Fox, as expected, showed out and hopefully this isn’t his final appearance in a ROH main event.
Eddie Kingston hit the ring with microphone in hand. Informing Claudio that he’s an independent contractor, he can come to another promotion and do what he wants and what Eddie wants is the ROH World title. When he went to hand the microphone off to the champ to accept the challenge, Claudio refused the microphone and left.
Overall Review: Surprising ending to the show with Eddie’s appearance to cap off a mostly fantastic first outing with this new era of honor. A couple of matches could’ve been cut to make the show a little tighter (Ari-Metalik, the women’s tag), but they didn’t take away from the overall flow. Kudos to the Takeshita-Woods and main event matches that really left a great lasting impression.
The opening and the ZSJ-Christian matches also produced high points when it comes to this episode. It also must be noted how much appreciation must be given to the production crew and planning with the interview segments and vignettes to explain why matches are happening now and next week, who some of these wrestlers are, and what other wrestlers intend to do. A strong start to this latest version of ROH television that, hopefully, proves a learning experience to improve on making a tighter episode while delivering the same match & story quality.
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