Last Week: Athena successfully defended the Women’s World Championship against Allysin Kay before The Mogul Embassy and Claudio Castagnoli won Proving Ground matches to prevent future would-be challengers.
ROH on HonorClub Episode 29
Cleveland, OH
September 14, 2023
ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. Rocky Romero
Code of Honor followed before the fellow former ROH World Tag Team champions locked up with the challenger getting pushed against the ropes almost immediately. Muscling Rocky Romero around the ring, the champ also used his grappling acumen to control his opponent’s arm. Claudio Castagnoli became a little too predictable in his offense; letting Romero get to his feet and head scissor him out of the ring for a pair of topes. On the third tope attempt, Rocky flew into a European uppercut. Claudio went straight Undertaker by using snake eyes to set up the running big boot.
Chopping his way out of a submission hold only got Rocky swept into the Big Swing. A dozen rotations aggravated Claudio’s left knee; showing a potential injury. This weakness caused Claudio to lose his grip doing a delayed vertical suplex. Romero’s subsequent hurricarana sent Claudio flying out of the ring for another tope that sent Castagnoli over the commentators’ table where there were no commentators. In the ring, Romero got a head of steam for that never-ending series of clotheslines. Romero only hit two clotheslines before Castagnoli exploded out of the corner. The challenger ducked Claudio’s clothesline to spike him with a tornado DDT topped by the 619-Sliced Bread combo … to earn a near fall!
Claudio stopped Rocky’s climbing the ropes with another Europena uppercut. They were duking it out on the ropes with Romero knocking the champ down. Jumping, Rocky flew into a back breaker that gave Claudio a two count. Running European uppercut connected for Claudio, setting off a series of uppercuts that left Romero staggered for a lariat … that provided the champ a near fall!
Mounting Romero, Claudio used those MMA elbows to set up the Ricola Bomb. Rocky countered by executing a hurricarana he wanted to use for another tornado DDT. Claudio caught Romero in midair, hitting another European uppercut. As if that wasn’t enough, Castagnoli finished Romero off with the running European Uppercut.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Match Review: A really good opener thanks to two veterans doing their best at showing a clash of styles even if it didn’t make any sense why Romero got a title shot.
Willie Mack & The Infantry vs. The Outrunners & Kevin Ku
Willie Mack found himself trying to outmaneuver Kevin Ku in the early going, taking a chop after showing off his uncanny agility. Mack made Ku pay by landing a running enzuguri before tagging in Shawn Dean to help him double team flapjack Ku. Turbo Floyd became the legal man, taking a double team hip toss by The Infantry. Showing off their posing abilities, The Infantry had this going their way; sending both Outrunners to the floor for a Dean somersault plancha.
Begging for the pain to stop, Turbo distracted Dean for some interference from his frequent tag partner, Magnum and Ku were doing a great job keeping Dean on the wrong part of town while assaulting him. Lots of posing from The Outrunners between attacks. Flying knee drop from Ku while Turbo held Dean across the top rope. Dean suddenly had a break as The Outrunners were trying to help Ku pose with them.
Carlie Bravo tagged in, doing a quick pose down before lighting up his opponents with those patented right hands. The Infantry had everything going their way as they double teamed Magnum. Turbo saved his partner from a sure loss, only for Mack to tag in as Ku became the legal man. Mack went forearm for forearm with Ku until he hit the Stunner. Stunned, Ku couldn’t avoid The Infantry or Bootcamp. Mack made the cover, picking up the pin fall for his team on Ku.
Winners: The Infantry & Willie Mack
Match Review: A lot longer bout than expected with the rather odd trio doing well against a group looking to earn a future title shot. The closing minutes were hot as fire and, hopefully, this is a glimpse of the future when the victors get a Six-Man title shot.
– Ethan Page was in the interview zone with Lexy Nair; getting a welcome back to ROH. According to Page, ROH is the perfect place for him right now. Page wanted to get back to the grittiness of being a competitor again.
Mercedes Martinez vs. Zoey Lynn
The former Women’s World champion didn’t take Zoey Lynn seriously, getting hammerlocked. Freeing herself from the hold, Mercedes Martinez avoided an arm drag to knee the startled opposition in her face. Three Amigos from Martinez ended with a delayed vertical suplex. Insulting pin attempt by using one foot for the “lateral press”.
When Lynn kicked out, Martinez started chopping the life out of her. Zoey had the will to fight, but got smacked down almost immediately. Using an attempted Oklahoma Stampede, Lynn tripped Martinez in position for something out the corner. Coming off the ropes, Lynn ran into a spine buster …. for a two count thanks to Martinez opting not to end the match!
Instead, Mercedes used the bayonet to set up the Brass City Sleeper for the submission victory.
Winner: Mercedes Martinez
Match Review: Complete domination by the former champion. Will it lead to Mercedes finally getting her title rematch against Athena. Hopefully so before the one-year anniversary of their match at “Final Battle” 2022.
The Gates of Agony vs. Matt Brannigan & Cole Radrick
Poor Matt couldn’t get out of the gate after the bell as he was caught by a Bishop Kaun flying knee. Kaun left the ring, cornering Cole so Toa Liona could almost drive him through the nearby guardrail. Toa tagged himself in when he partner got close enough during a chop exchange, Samoan dropping Matt before the champs double clotheslined him from the back & front. Cole ran in, trying to fight off both men. Instead, Cole felt the Gates being opened as he got double team slammed on top of his partner. The pin fall was elementary.
Winners: The Gates of Agony
Match Review: Another slaughtering by The GoA. Didn’t do much to add to the reality that is they are a dominant duo who can overcome local talent.
– Billie Starkz, in hopes of making up for being a terrible Minion, had a list of things she had to do to within two weeks to make up for not following orders proper. Lexy Nair feared if Billie didn’t finish the list or wear a homemade “MIT” – “Minion in Training” shirt.
Christopher Daniels vs. Darius Martin w/ Action Andretti
Big shoulder block coming off the ropes by Christopher Daniels gave Darius Martin the momentum needed to start his explosive kicks & intended high-flying offense. Missing a running attack in the corner, Martin got caught by a reverse DDT that resulted in him rolling out of the ring. Blocking a suplex back into the ring, Martin wasn’t able to avoid getting dropped across the top rope stomach-first and drilled to the mat by a flying knee. Daniels’ neck work had Martin fighting for his life to avoid being submitted. Big clothesline from Daniels turned Martin inside-out. Calling for the end, Daniels telegraphed what he had in mind and got tossed across the ring instead of dropping his opponent.
Martin used the ropes for a springboard maneuver, accidentally slinging himself into the Koji Clutch. Countering the submission into a cradle, Martin had Daniels trying his best to stop a three count, but couldn’t.
Leaning into the camera, Daniels wondered if he’s now the past.
Winner: Darius Martin
Match Review: A solid encounter where the potential story of Daniels being past his prime could result in either him walking away from ROH or finally getting his confidence back alongside some wins.
Shane Taylor vs. Lee Johnson
After shoving Lee Johnson down off the collar & elbow tie-up, the hometown boy found himself getting popped with right hands. Sunset flip failed for Johnson, getting jabbed in the face. Taylor just punched the life out of the Lee in the corner to the point the referee threatened to end this one. Running clothesline in the corner topped by a huge hip toss. Lee refused to give up, trying to punch his way to an advantage. A big leg drop across Lee as he dangled across the ring’s edge didn’t end Johnson’s night. Chop after chop from Lee put him in position for a clothesline that left him prone to having his neck cranked.
The crowd actually rallied behind Lee to fight through the pain; and he did just that with right hands that actually rocked Taylor enough for a desperation head-butt. Spine buster into the running big splash from Taylor ended in him getting a two count. Taylor was ready to end this one when Lee avoided an earthquake splash. Right hands & clotheslines from Johnson was meant to drop Taylor, but it wasn’t until he countered another spine buster into the DDT did Shane fall. Johnson had the momentum in his favor when he climbed to the top rope. Lee Moriarty arrived, distracting Lee to allow Taylor to yank him into the Marcus Garvey Driver.
Lee joined Taylor upon leaving the ring, shaking hands. Do we have a new Shane Taylor Promotions.
Winner: Shane Taylor
Match Review: Very punch-oriented affair, but it felt like a true dog fight from beginning to end. Taylor really got a chance to showoff in his hometown while a very game Lee refused to go down easy.
Willow Nightingale vs. Lady Frost
The cold one wasn’t waiting around, jumping Willow Nightingale at the sound of the bell. Unfortunately for her, Willow recovered quickly, knocked her down with a shoulder block, and posed much to the enjoyment of the crowd. Slam into the senton splash by Willow gave her an early two count. Lady Frost took two hip attacks in the corner, ducking an enzuguri to dropkick her opposition when Willow used the cartwheel to counter an Irish whip reversal. Using the ropes to run up, Lady landed a big kick before mocking the fans for wanting more aggressive offense. Frost’s kicks were rocking Willow, but got the fans behind Nightingale. Stopping a rear chin lock, Willow found herself stuck in the corner again. When Frost went for a running attack, Willow exploded out of the corner with the pounce … period!
Willow was on fire, landing hip attacks, clotheslines and an enzuguri. Frost was seemingly bleeding from her mouth as Willow went to slam her again. Frost countered the slam, executing a corkscrew roundhouse kick. Coming off the top with the moonsault, Frost only got a two count due to her legs being the only thing that hit Nightingale. Lady hit the ropes for something, but ran into the spine buster instead. Willow immediately pulled off her Babe With the Power Bomb to pin another competitor.
Winner: Willow Nightingale
Match Review: Though the result wasn’t unexpected, it was a pretty competitive outing with Lady Frost getting a pretty strong near fall off the moonsault that seemed to end the bout. Willow is, seemingly, back on track for a future title shot while Frost’s momentum from just a month ago has halted completely thanks to multiple losses after single win over Trish Adora.
– Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty stood with Lexy Nair in the interview zone to answer why Lee arrived during Taylor’s match. With clips of his past ROH successes playing over his words, Taylor proclaimed his tiredness of being overlooked after carrying ROH for three years. Taylor formally introduced Lee as the newest member of Shane Taylor Promotions. Now lets bring Moses & O’Shea Edwards back and get this thing back in order with Kaun.
Josh Woods w/ Mark Sterling vs. Dominic Garrini
The former Pure champion found himself getting taken down with ease by the waist lock. Showing incredible grappling acumen, the newcomer in Dominic Garrini did a masterful job countering Josh Woods’ arm bar attempts before locking in a cross arm breaker of his own that forced “The Technical Beast” to find the ropes to stop the submission. Just as impressive with his strength was Garrini countering the gut-wrench slams and suplexes until they were trading wrist locks. Woods suddenly chopped his opponent, sending him across the ring with a German suplex. Stunned, Garrini was getting his head rocked with forearms before feeling the Anarchist Suplex/“Tilt-A-Woods” against the turnbuckles for the pin.
Winner: Josh Woods
Match Review: As expected, Woods wins another match that was a lot more competitive than what he’s be involved in as of late during his quest to get another Pure Championship shot. But the question remains: If Woods wants to dominant the Pure Division, why aren’t his matches Pure Rules?
Ethan Page vs. Griff Garrison
The fans gave “All Ego” a nice reception with the wrestler stating, “Starting from scratch.” As expected, Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Cole Karter watched from the entrance ramp as Griff Garrison used his power to run through his opponent. Unfortunately for Griff, his focus on his potential admirers allowed Ethan Page to not only recover, but also perform a delayed vertical suplex. Ducking a clothesline to big boot Page, Griff landed a knee drop as a way to set up the rear chin lock. Elbowing his way out of the hold, Page pulled Griff into the running power slam for a two count. Calling for the Ego’s Edge, Page took a discus forearm for his trouble … that gave Griff a near fall!
Garrison seemed confident he could end this one in some type of fashion with a shoulder-based maneuver when Page slid off his shoulders. Slipping through the ropes, Page exploded with the ace crusher to pin Griff much to the interest of Maria.
Winner: Ethan Page
Match Review: Solid encounter with Griff looking game, if not rather generic. Page has all the tools to be someone they can build ROH around. Hopefully they actually have him on ROH programming consistently from hereon. It also must be noted Page’s match graphic card pose is hilarious.
The Boys vs. The WorkHorsemen
Forearming The Boys at the sound of the bell, The WorkHorsemen refused to be outmaneuvered early; only for both to take an enzuguri from The Boys. Tripping Anthony Henry into Brandon’s ace crusher, Brent eventually got tripped himself by Henry after JD Drake got a blind tag. Brandon followed Henry to of the ring, running into a pop-up forearm at ringside by Drake. Jumping Vader Bomb by Drake in the ring gave him a two count thanks to an intervening Brent.
Brandon was getting isolated on the wrong part of town as Drake stomped him to set up an abdominal stretch where Henry got some assistance from his partner on the outside. The referee saw Drake holding onto his partner’s arm for extra leverage, kicking the clutched hands to set up a Brandon small package. Sadly for Brandon, the referee was held by Drake. Kicking out Henry called for a double team that ended with Brandon flipping out of their suplex attempt to tag out to a fired-up Brent.
After using his agility to down both opponents, Brent helped his brother double team Henry. The Boys turned around, getting double clotheslined by Drake. Disposing of Brandon, Drake set up a double team where JD used the slingshot to put Brent in position for Henry’s double stomp off the top so Brent’s back bent around Drake’s knees. Henry made the cover, pinning the Boy.
Winners: The WorkHorsemen
Match Review: The Boys fall to a duo that was once losing all the time and has, apparently, finally found the right tools to finish the job in victory. Will we see The WorkHorsemen versus Better Than You Bay-Bay? Would be fun, for sure.
– Maria Kanellis-Bennett arrived to interrupt Griff Garrison’s interview with Lexy Nair. Stating what’s been her belief for a while by saying she is the ticket to Griff’s success. Of course Cole Karter was here to compliment everything about Maria before being assigned to discover the meaning behind a pearl necklace.
Tony Nese vs. AR Fox
As per the norm, Tony Nese was looking to have some group training with the people of Cleveland until his plans were interrupted by AR Fox’s entrance music.
A quick exchange after the initial bell saw Tony Nese almost pin his opposition and perform some jumping jacks afterward. Showing off his kicking ability, Fox lured Nese into a neck breaker that frustrated “The Premier Athlete”. So Mark Sterling decided to get involved by tripping Fox. The distraction failed with Nese still getting knocked in position for a pendulum dropkick in the corner. What did help Nese turn the tides was a simple eye rake into the Macho Man-style hotshot. Tony pitching Fox to the floor allowed his manager to put the boots to the fallen AR.
Pushing Fox back in, Nese had a superplex in mind. AR blocked the maneuver, shoving Tony to the canvas. Nese rolled to this feet, landing a European uppercut. Fox countered whatever Nese hand in mind by going for a sunset flip. Nese rolled through the pinning combination, hitting a shining wizard. Nese’s figure four body lock had Fox fighting with everything he had. When Fox got free, he avoided a running attack to tie Nese in the ropes for a slingshot DDT.
Dey was clubberin’ in Cleveland, Tony! Running into a forearm, Fox countered the suplex to set up a stunner. Rolling through, Fox pulled off an ace crusher for a two count. Elbowing an incoming Fox, Nese climbed the ropes. Fox jumped up, yanking Nese off his perch to Spanish Fly “The Premier Athlete”. Making the cover, Fox got the pin fall.
Winner: AR Fox
Match Review: Somewhat shocking ending with Fox – who is back to being an honorable individual after getting kicked out of The Mogul Embassy – actually winning against someone with some wins building up. This would’ve been great for an opening as it felt like an odd choice for a main event when the World title match existed.
Overall Review: Though somewhat bloated with eleven matches, the show mostly flowed well even if the crowd started dying out by the midway point with only Ethan Page’s appearance (seriously, here’s a guy ROH can be built around in the coming months) and the main event’s closing moments being the only thing to get the fans from sitting on their hands following Willow’s win.
Once again, though, this episode featured an odd choice for the main event when a more important match happened earlier in the show – in this week’s case being Fox and Nese headlining an episode that also featured a rare ROH World title match on ROH programming. Since this show is taped, they could’ve easily edited the order and flipped the matches to prevent the visual effect of crowd disinterest plaguing each episode’s last third or so.
With that being stated, several matches got more time than expected and delivered nicely including Taylor-Lee that seemed like a squash waiting to happen giving way to the potential rebirth of Shane Taylor Promotions on ROH programming, Martin-Daniels in a further example that the former ROH World champion may be beyond his scope in this new era of Honor, The Infantry & Willie Mack’s victorious showing, and, of course, the opening and closing matches.
Sadly, there were some things lacking about this episode including promos like Rocky Romero (or the ROH Board of Directors – remember them?) explaining why he got a title shot after not being around, let alone winning in ROH for a while, and the sheer redundancy of certain presentations including The Gates of Agony squashing another team for no other reason than to get them on the show and Josh Woods’ quest to be the best pure wrestler in the world having his match not held under Pure Rules.
The episode’s biggest problem was nothing being set for the near future or even the next episode. For two weeks in a row, not a single thing that happened during this show visibly informed the viewer, “Tune in next week for (this big match or the next moment in an on-going story). This may not be the ROH of old, but it’s still a weekly program that is supposed to hook the viewer to convince them to watch next time because if they don’t they’ll miss out on something important and/or fun.
Though a solid episode from an action perspective, beyond a couple of minor moments such as STP reforming in the promotion and getting a ROH World title match on the episode, there were few things noteworthy about the show that would make it must-see.
