Last Week: Claudio Castagnoli successfully defended the Ring of Honor World Championship against AR Fox before Eddie Kingston arrived to challenge him to a future title match.
ROH on HonorClub Episode 2
Orlando, Florida
March 9, 2023
ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Tony Deppen
After showcasing his grappling acumen, the challenger made a big mistake of trying to fight fire with fire by throwing some punches & chops. Instead, Tony Deppen felt the power of the TV champ’s right jabs, stomps, and his blistering kicks. Deppen fought his way out of the corner after being beaten backwards. Unfortunately for Deppen, Joe reversed an Irish whip across the ring before taking that back elbow-enzuguri combo in the corner. Using the set up for the Muscle Buster against Joe, Deppen knocked the champ back for a missile dropkick topped by a slingshot ace crusher. In a shocking counter, Deppen turned STJoe into a knee strike. Missing a Warrior’s Way double stomp off the top, Deppen felt both STJoe and a sick lariat. Deppen was prone and couldn’t stop the Muscle Buster or the subsequent three count.
Samoa Joe grabbed the microphone to welcome everyone to the new Ring of Honor. Though this was a new era for Honor, Joe reminded everyone that he still run things in ROH. Demanding a new challenger, Joe awaited for someone to answer the call. “Reach for the sky, boy!” Mark Briscoe stepped onto the stage as the crowd erupted. Long-time challenger and old rival of Joe when he held ROH gold almost two decades ago, Mark declared that the TV title is his destiny. Joe was happy to get in another fight with a Briscoe.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Match Review: Just a definitive showcase for Joe like the days of old in TNA more than in ROH. Though it would’ve been nice to see these two really cook, a Joe squash is always entertaining and, hopefully, we’ll get a longer rematch in the future. It’s great that Mark answered the challenge because it not only tied into his long-running goal of becoming the TV champ, but the history between Joe and Briscoe will make this a treat for ROH fans both new & old.
– Dalton Castle and The Boys were in the promo area to state they were overwhelmed by The Embassy even though they believed they were ready to defend the ROH World Six-Man Tag title. But moving some heavy furniture and sharpening their teeth, Castle & his Boys are ready to get those title belts back.
Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brandon Tate & Brent Tate) vs. Marcus Kross & C4 (Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas)
Code of Honor followed before Dalton Castle started this one off against Marcus Kross. Castle wanted fire and got more than expected as Cross almost jumped into the Bang-A-Rang. Kross freed himself and dumped Dalton out of the ring where The Boys not only fanned Castle, but also fired him up by punching him in the abdomen. Castle showed the strategy worked as he waist-locked and slammed both Kross and the eventually legal Rosas. The Boys jumped in after the tag, double team hip tossing Rosas in position for a double team forearm tackle. Rosas back elbowed Boy Brent into the awaiting arms of Cody Chhun. After slamming Brent, Chhun used a dropkick to help Rosas suplex Brent. Avoiding a flying Kross, Brent was able to tag out to Castle.
Dalton was on fire, using his patented t-bone suplexes on everyone on the opposing side. Calling for The Boys, Dalton pitched his partners atop their opponents after they exited the ring following the suplexes. Rolling Rosas back in, Castle pulled off the Bang-A-Rang to get the pin for his team.
Winner: Dalton Castle & The Boys
Match Review: A funny little showcase of how Dalton & The Boys work for those who haven’t watched ROH or AEW “Dark”. Their road back to the title begins now and the fans are definitely behind them.
– Maria Kanellis was in the promo area to introduce The OGK/The Kingdom. Matt Taven reminded everyone that when it comes to himself and Bennett, gold always comes their way. But Bennett was still upset that Top Flight ruined their return at “Final Battle”. Though no formal challenge, it seemed The Kingdom was ready to get gold again while getting revenge on Top Flight.
La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush & Dralistico) w/ Jose vs. The SAP (Angelico & Serpentico) w/ Luther
It was Angelico facing off with the former two-time ROH World champion RUSH – the latter having the fans in his corner. A very lucha-infused opening moment saw RUSH frustrated over the fact Angelico went move for move with him. Big knife-edge chop from RUSH dropped Angelico in one blow; forcing him to tag out. Serpentico seemed a little apprehensive about facing off with RUSH, manning up and chopping to no success. Dralistico became the legal man, kneeing and kicking his fellow masked competitor down. LFI cornered Serpentico, rolling him out for a double team dropkick. Angelico felt the same type of pain from a pair of dropkicks when he tried to avenge his partner. Big dive from Dralistico wiped out The SAP. RUSH, however, just posed after feigning a dive.
LFI was running wild on the floor by abusing their opponents including whipping Angelico with an extension cord. Hanging Serpentico across the top rope, RUSH held his masked opponent for a springboard leg drop by Dralistico. Surprisingly, the failed pin against him actually fired up Serpentico until LFI stomped him out together. Serpentico was stumbling around the ring as LFI prepared to whip him across the ring. A miscommunication caused RUSH to forearm his brother when Serpentico moved. Sadly, Serpentico’s momentum was cut short by RUSH as he knocked him out of midair. Before RUSH could unleash the Bull’s Horns, Angelico stopped him to start a series of big maneuvers resulting in Dralistico spiking Serpentico with a springboard Mexican Destroyer. The pin fall was elementary for Dralistico on his fellow luchador.
As if that wasn’t enough, LFI unmasked and tore apart Serpentico’s mask.
Winner: La Faccion Ingobernable
Match Review: Similar to the six-man before it, this was a fine showcase of what LFI could do while giving a little more to their opponents (specifically Serpentico) in terms of evenness. It must be noted that the tag division is getting stacked with RUSH and Dralistico being a welcomed addition that provides something different than almost any other team on the roster right now.
Billie Starkz vs. Trish Adora
Collar & elbow tie up resulted in Trish Adora getting a hold of her opponent’s wrist early; with Billie Starkz opting to use the ropes to free herself instead of overworking herself too early. An arm drag allowed Billie to put Adora out of the ring for a dive attempt that Trish stopped by forearming her on the head when she came through the ropes. Adora picked up the stunned Starkz to slam her across the ring’s edge! Beautiful German suplex by Adora almost ended this one as did a modified version of Cattle Mutilation. Billie refused to give up, finding the ropes with her feet.
Starkz started fighting her way out of the nearby corner, only to run into a pump kick that had the fans split as Adora prepared for something big. Billie avoided Lariat Tubman, initiating a forearm exchange. Starkz won the battle by using a slew of forearms to set up a roundhouse kick. Adora spun into the kick, unleashing Lariat Tubman for the pin fall.
Winner: Trish Adora
Match Review: A solid sprint with Adora getting a much-needed win. Starkz looked good especially during her comeback and the forearm exchange, but the right person won as Trish definitely has something special about her that, hopefully, gets a chance to flourish in this version of ROH as the shut down halted that almost two years ago.
– Christopher Daniels was being interviewed by Lexy Nair to explain his plan going forward in ROH. While he wanted to reunite SCU, circumstances have made that impossible. But Daniels had success in ROH with another person looking for an opportunity: Matt Sydal. Reborn and ready, Sydal & Daniels are looking to become two-time ROH World Tag Team champions.
The Trustbusters (Ari Daivari & Slim J) w/ Mark Sterling vs. Jake Crist & “Man Scout” Jake Manning
Ari Daivari took the “Man Scout’s” survival book and pitched into the crowd as a way to immediately stun his opposition. Showing just how dirty he can get, Slim J used Manning’s mustache as a way to pull him down. Avoiding a splash in the corner by Ari, Jake tagged out to his fellow Jake so Crist could be a house of fire until he missed a cross body aimed at Daivari. Manning reentered as the legal man, only to get kicked in the back by an illegal Slim. After tagging in and coming off the top with a flying reverse DDT, J locked in the STF on Manning to submit the “Man Scout”.
Sterling grabbed the microphone to allow Ari to remind everyone how he beat Metalik last week, “…all by myself.” These claims brought out Metalik, who unceremoniously got trounced by The Trustbusters. Thankfully for Metalik, Blake Christian was here to clear the ring with a chair and save Metalik from further destruction.
Winner: The Trustbusters
Match Review: Another week and another solidification of Trustbusters getting positioned as a solid undercard duo with, thankfully, a feud brewing with two high-fliers who, hopefully, complement each team. One of the best things about AEW is certain feuds being isolated to TV – this seems like one of those feuds.
ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Timothy Thatcher
(Judges: Christopher Daniels, Colt Cabana, and BJ Whitmer)
Unfortunately no time clock or rope break graphics like in previous Pure Title matches. When they locked up and the challenger pulled his opponent to the mat, Wheeler Yuta immediately went to the bottom rope to save himself while sacrificing his first of only three rope breaks.
Working over the champ’s back allowed Timothy Thatcher to use a simple body slam-elbow drop combo to ground the Blackpool Combat Club member. Letting Wheeler get off the mat cost the challenger as Yuta grabbed him in an octopus stretch that forced Thatcher to grab the top rope for a rope break.
Yuta wanted to debilitate Thatcher’s left arm. Fighting his way off the mat, Thatcher rushed Yuta backward into the ropes for a belly-to-belly suplex that gave him a two count. With his arms weakened, Thatcher couldn’t follow up with another suplex and was yanked into a seated hammerlock that Timothy could only find safety from in the ropes.
With Yuta getting a little too cocky for his own good by doing his best Muhammad Ali footwork, Thatcher recovered and took a forearm shot to retaliate in kind until the champ was seated in the corner. Using a closed fist to stop the assault, Yuta earned himself a warning all the while pulling Timothy to the mat for another arm submission. The challenger had no choice but to use his last rope break.
Yuta thought he had everything going his way as he sprung off the ropes, only to be swept into a kimura. Yuta had no choice but to free himself via a rope break.
Thatcher locked his hands on Yuta, slamming him in position for knee strikes aimed at the champ’s lower back while pushing Yuta toward the ropes. Wheeler instinctively grabbed the bottom rope, sacrificing his final rope break.
Realizing what just happened, Yuta got up swinging for the fences until Timothy knocked him out of the ring. As Yuta got up, Thatcher pushed the referee away. Wheeler jumped up to punch Thatcher with an illegal right hand. Thatcher was out of it, prone to an octopus stretch while stuck in the ropes. The challenger had no choice but to tap out as he had no rope breaks left.
Wheeler noted how the fans were mixed in their response for his actions. But Wheeler is here to prove why the BCC is a group of sharks ready to tear anyone apart. For Yuta, proving that he’s no young boy or young lion is necessary during his title reign. Former New Japan Young Lion Clark Connors hit the ring, taking the microphone to remind everyone who he is. Stating his training under Shibata has made him ready to be a Pure champion. Yuta left the ring before stating, “You’re on!” This match will happen next week.
Winner: Wheeler Yuta
Match Review: Lack of graphics grievances aside, this was a very entertaining Pure title match as expected considering the talent involved. One thing I wondered about was how Yuta would act here in this pre-taped match considering the BCC’s actions on AEW “Dynamite” the night before live. It was here that Yuta showed he can be more Nigel McGuinness as a Pure champion than, say, Doug Williams or Jonathan Gresham in fine fashion. Hopefully we get more non-title Pure Rules matches in the future so Thatcher can be showcased against fellow pure-minded wrestlers not named “Wheeler Yuta”. And, hopefully, we get those match graphics back.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. The Foundation (“Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus)
Rhett Titus squared off with Kyle Fletcher, showcasing that power and grappling prowess early. Handing off the momentum to Tracy Williams, Titus inadvertently allowed Kyle to tag out. Mark Davis, unfortunately for Aussie Open, didn’t do much better than his partner when it came to grappling. So Davis just kicked Titus in the face when he got some space to set up some double team action by AO. Davis enjoyed knife-edge chopping Titus around the ring. AO passed Titus around while holding him up for a successful delayed vertical suplex. The fans were pro-Aussie as Titus fought his way out of the wrong part of town.
Rolling over a running Fletcher allowed Titus to tag out so Tracy could execute that DDT off the middle rope. Back dropping Williams over the top rope, Fletcher found himself being propelled to the floor. The Foundation’s plans to dive on AO failed as they were caught and slammed into each other. Williams was alone in the ring to feel the Dental Plan double team … that gave AO a near fall!
“Hot Sauce” was trying to fight off both opponents when AO went to finish him off. Instead, Williams used a dragon screw leg whip on Kyle to set up Titus’ single-leg Boston crab while cinching in the crossface on Davis. Both members of AO made it to the ropes, only for Titus to unleash a series of attacks on Fletcher alongside his partner including Hydraulic Dropkick into Williams’ lariat. Tracy’s frog splash didn’t put Kyle away, so he went for the piledriver. Kyle reversed the piledriver, executing That’s Incredible. Titus got yanked into a piledriver by Davis. Williams stumbled to his feet, feeling a double team clothesline topped by their tandem finisher Coriolis. Williams couldn’t stop the three count that followed.
Winner: Aussie Open
Match Review: Honestly, the written recap can’t do justice to not only the action, but also the crowd that was hot for AO. While it’s easy to sing the praises of AO (who definitely deserve it), The Foundation were just as good as they are still a well-oiled machine who, hopefully, get more TV time in the future because every promotion needs a workhorse team that will get over with the crowd who may not have watched ROH in 2020-21 to know just how good they are. Match of the night so far.
Eddie Kingston vs. Ben Dejo
The fans were very much pro-Eddie Kingston as the Code of Honor was followed. Dejo made a big mistake not breaking clean when they fell into the ropes. Kobashi-like chops topped by the overhead t-bone suplex. Dejo stumbled to his feet, walking into the Spinning Backfist to the Future for the three count in Kingston’s favor.
Eddie grabbed the microphone, calling out ROH World champion Claudio Castagnoli. Demanding his shot at the title. Castagnoli declared that a man with no honor will never be a Ring of Honor World champion before leaving.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Match Review: Squash in the best way possible. Eddie looked like a beast more than he has in AEW in quite a while. I love this version of Kingston and the fans do, too.
– Lexy Nair attempted to get some answers from Claudio as he moved past the interview area, but once he heard Eddie’s voice the champ exited the scene. An infuriated Kingston wanted to know why Nair let Castagnoli leave before going on his own search for the champ.
– In pre-taped promo, Willow Nightingale explained how she was once sick with fear over the idea of not being good enough to be a World champion; but that ends tonight. The champ herself, in a dueling promo, stated her newest challenger has lost her marbles if Willow thinks she’ll become the new Women’s World champion.
ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. Willow Nightingale
The fans were pro-challenger, though the champion was in control early on. Willow showed not only her size & strength advantage when Athena insulted her, but also her agility by rolling through counters and landing big sequences including a pair of suplexes topped by the fisherman’s suplex with a bridge. Athena kicked out, catching the left arm of her opponent in the corner to snap it across the top rope.
The champ had Willow reeling, stomping, forearming and simply choking the challenger. Senton splash missed for Athena, allowing Willow to go for pinning combinations that failed. On the third attempt at a roll up, Willow found herself getting caught in the ropes and hit with the Bayonet elbow. Willow found herself on the apron, prone to a dropkick that sent her flying the floor. “The Fallen Goddess” wanted to use the steel ring steps as way to capture the challenger’s left arm. Dropkicking the stairs, Athena crushed Willow’s arm between the steps and the steel ring post.
The fans booed as Athena smiled in glee and Willow struggled to reenter. The champ was having a great time until she went for the hurricarana on the floor. Nightingale stopped the hurricarana, power bombing Athena across the ring’s edge before executing a Death Valley driver on the floor!
Making it back in, both competitors got up looking to knock the other out. Crushing Athena in the corner, Willow caught the champ reeling with the spine buster that didn’t end this one in the challenger’s favor. With her arm too injured, Willow couldn’t get Athena up for the Babe Bomb. “The Fallen Goddess” swept a stunned Willow into the crossface. Holding on, the challenger freed herself by rolling Athena into a pinning combination. Athena kicked out, catching Willow before she could get up with the double knees in the corner. Hoisting Willow off the mat, Athena pulled off Project Angel … to gain a near fall!
Pounce off the avoidance of the O-Face … only gave Willow a near fall!
Pulling Athena off the ropes, Willow executed the Babe Bomb after a big struggle to get the champ up with practically one arm … for another near fall!
The fans were in shock, as was the challenger. Athena left the ring during this stunning moment with Willow in hot pursuit. When Willow grabbed the champ, Athena eye gouged her enemy. Getting underneath Willow, Athena used the Wasteland on the steel entrance ramp! Athena chased behind a rolling Willow, slamming her face first against the steel ring steps. Willow was completely out of it after getting pushed into the ring. Stumbling to her feet, Nightingale couldn’t avoid the O-Face or the subsequent successful pin fall.
As if that wasn’t enough, Athena clobbered an exiting Willow with the title belt. The would-be champion collapsed beside the ring steps, prone to a running knee that bounced the back of her head off the steel as the show came to a close.
Winner: Athena
Match Review: Now that was a main event! The fans, as expected, wanted a new champion and Athena reveled in mocking her challenger between Willow’s shining moments. The arm work actually mattered as the challenger’s Babe Bomb wasn’t as effective as it normally would be and the villain did something dastardly to win. The post-match stuff definitely leaves the door open for a rematch and maybe a new champ. But for now, stellar title encounter and a perfect way to cap off the episode.
Overall Review: With two less matches compared to last week and stories starting to either come together or getting some emphasis, episode two proved a lot stronger than the first. Similar to last week, this episode provided a few must-see encounters including the final two title matches and AO-Titus & Williams. There was some character progression from the BCC, Daniels & Sydal have the sights’ set on the ROH Tag title, and The Trustbusters actually have a rivalry brewing with Metalik & Christian. Claudio, Joe, and Yuta have title challengers while Dalton & The Boys are on the road to hopefully regaining the Six-Man title. A very good nearly two hours of pro wrestling made for pro wrestling fans wanting characters rooted in what happens in the ring or what championships are being addressed.
