Last Week: Lee Johnson, Lee Moriarty, and Kyle Fletcher earned their spots in the Survival of the Fittest finale to crown the next ROH World Television champion at “Final Battle”.
ROH on HonorClub Episode 42
Montreal, Quebec
December 14, 2023
Proving Ground Match: ROH World champion Eddie Kingston vs. Evil Uno w/ Alex Reynolds & Jon Silver
No championship belts with Eddie Kingston. Code of Honor followed before the bell; leading to a stern collar & elbow tie-up and the fans chanting for the would-be title challenger (hometown boy). The irresistible force met the immovable object as the pair traded shoulder blocks until Evil Uno pulled off a hurricarana. The champ rolled to the floor, avoiding a knife-edge chop so Uno hit the steel ring post right hand-first. When the action returned inside, Kingston focused on cranking the right hand & arm of his masked opposition as the fans rallied behind The Dark Order member.
Using the referee’s nearness, Uno swung Eddie into the ref’s clutches for a neck breaker. Instead of staying on top of the stunned Kingston, Uno initiated a knife-edge chop exchange topped by Uno doing some hip swivels. The crowd was not taking kindly to Uno getting chopped and responding positively to Uno executing a brain buster. A pair of big boots from Uno rocked Eddie and put “The Mad King” in position for a piledriver. Kicking out of Uno’s subsequent pin attempt, Eddie found himself near the corner. Kingston got his knees up to stop the Swanton, landing the Back Fist to the Future two times for the pin fall.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Match Review: With the crowd being pro-Uno, it definitely added to the emotion and gave the bout a better entertainment value than most ROH matches as of late; even if the result was out of the question. Eddie coming out with not title belts was definitely a way to go. A good way? That’s up for debate.
Leyla Hirsch w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Rachael Ellering vs. Katrina Creed
Single-leg pick by Leyla Hirsch at the sound of the bell resulted in her quickly barring the newcomer’s arms. Using the momentum of her opponent against her, Katrina Creed almost pinned and arm dragged Hirsch before being slung across the ring. With Maria laying in the bad mouth to Creed, Hirsch continued the onslaught with some ground & pound. Big clothesline by Hirsch after getting swept into a small package. Landing a dropkick allowed Creed to think she had some momentum. Instead, Creed ran into a spear that ended in a three count in Leyla’s favor.
Winner: Leyla Hirsch
Match Review: A typical Leyla squash that she should be past now with the story of Maria obviously setting up tomato cans for her to defeat for inconsequential wins is not the most enthralling story at this point.
– The Outrunners were with Lexy Nair in the interview zone with The Outrunners putting over their muscles & youth as their tools for victory tonight and beyond.
Proving Ground Match: Pure champion Wheeler Yuta vs. Jason Geiger
The judges for this one if it went the time limit were former ROH World champion Jerry Lynn, multi-time ROH World Tag Team titleholder Jimmy Jacobs, and former Knockouts champ Madison Rayne.
Not surprising, the champion had his opponent for the evening in knots almost immediately. Whipping him into the ropes by the front face lock, Wheeler Yuta forced the rope break. Surprised and upset, Jason Geiger picked up the pace and started slamming Yuta around until the champ landed a dropkick. Yuta wisely slammed Geiger near the ropes, pushing the leg into the ropes to make the referee believe Jason used a rope break to stop the pin. Using the Indian deathlock to maneuver Jason near the ropes again, Geiger sacrificed his final rope break to save the match for himself.
But Jason refused to be denied as he countered a suplex to clothesline, German suplex, and force a rope break when going for a submission. Sending Geiger through the ropes, Yuta locked a guillotine choke for the submission victory.
Winner: Wheeler Yuta
Match Review: Like almost every Proving Ground Match during this era, the lack of believability of someone other than the champion winning is absurd. Yuta is great at these matches, but the interest is nonexistent because he’s just going against random people who have no reason to be in title contention.
Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. The Iron Savages & Jacked Jameson
Dalton Castle squared up with Bronson, actually muscled the big man around to set up a triple team elbow-flying forearm combination. Powering The Boys off of him during a double pin, Bronson slung The Boys into one another so Boulder could come in to double suplex both Boys at the same time. Pulling down the straps, Boulder tagged out to Jacked Jameson for a quick wrist lock so his teammates could sip the Savage Sauce. One-arm gorilla press slam by Boulder on Boy Brandon set up some Titty City action. Dalton snuck up behind Bronson, stealing the Savage Sauce!
Castle downed the Savage Sauce, going full Cornhorlio! Castle tagged in, clotheslining Boulder, Jameson, and German suplexing the biggest man in the ring in Boulder. Bronson & Jameson also felt the suplex prowess of Dalton. Boulder found himself stuck alone, actually catching a flying Boy and the other Boy. Castle attempted to help his Boys, but got tossed alongside them by Boulder. Jameson returned to the apron, tagging in for a flying clothesline attempt.
Instead, Jacked got elbowed by Dalton before Castle pitched The Boys over the top atop his The Iron Savages at ringside. Jacked rolled up Castle for a failed pin attempt, getting hoisted into the Bang-A-Rang. Castle made the cover, pinning Jameson. Johnny TV arrived at the entrance to seemingly confront “The Peacock”. Instead, TV opted to leave with a smile on his face.
Winners: Dalton Castle & The Boys
Match Review: An enjoyable encounter mostly thanks to the personalities involved. The stakes for this one in regards to the winners was nonexistent, but at least they entertained the crowd.
– The Butcher and The Blade promised to kick everyone’s booty in tonight’s Four Corner Survival match.
Taya Valkyrie w/ Johnny TV vs. Rachael Ellering w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Leyla Hirsch
The early going saw them trying to control the action with wrist locks and headlocks. When Taya Valkyrie attempted to leave and reenter the ring, Rachael Ellering caught her with the pump kick. Sliding dropkick into the senton splash by Ellering had Taya exiting the ring for support. Johnny TV got in front of Taya, only to get slung to the side. When Rachael turned around, Taya shoved her into the steel ring post.
After a kiss from her man, Taya showed off her bilingual nature while trying to kick Ellering’s spine out of her spine. Taya was having a good time until she felt a big back elbow. Almost slamming Taya through the canvas, Rachael failed to pin her opponent. Valkyrie tripped her incoming opponent into the corner for Meteora that ended in a two count for Taya. Taya’s spear also didn’t stop Rachael, but did give Valkyrie the chance to curb stomp Ellering. Taya made the cover, picking up her first ROH win.
Winner: Taya Valkyrie
Match Review: A solid bout with Rachael not getting the same level of competition as her fellow Maria-managed counterpart in Leyla. Weird that after last week’s interaction between Kiera Hogan and Taya, it was Rachael that ended up being Taya’s opponent for this week.
– Last week after “Collision”, Ethan Page was confronted by an interviewer to get “All Ego’s” thoughts on failing to win a title for his daughter. Page seemed discouraged about the outcome of him losing to Kenny Omega. But now Page has to focus on “Final Battle” and his I Quit match with Tony Nese. Page noted that he won’t have to worry about three seconds being the difference between winning or losing at “Final Battle”, but saying, “I quit!” Tony Nese barged into the locker room, demanding that Page quit right now. A slew of referees held the two apart.
Griff Garrison & Cole Karter w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett vs. Bobby Sharp & Shawn Moore
Pulling Bobby Sharp into an Irish whip off Code of Honor didn’t pan out well for Griff Garrison as he got dropkicked. Retaliation in the form of a lariat allowed Griff to turn the tables almost immediately. What came next was a double team where Cole Karter almost ran through Sharp with the back elbow. Breaking free of Karter’s grip, Shawn Moore tagged in for a fired-up sequence that ended with a blind tag from Garrison and Griff landing the roaring elbow. Garrison made the cover, pinning Moore.
Winners: Griff Garrison & Cole Karter
Match Review: A good win to showcase how Griff & Cole are getting along now, but the lack of believable opponents and general redundancy with this formula isn’t doing the winners or the viewers any favors.
– The WorkHorsemen were in the interview zone to talk about their recent successes and how that’s continue tonight in Four Corner Survival.
Shane Taylor w/ Lee Moriarty vs. Channing Decker
While the smoke from Shane Taylor’s entrance covered the building, the former ROH World Television champion found himself being outmaneuvered until he executed a spine buster. Channing Decker got up unsuccessfully swinging for the fences. Stopping a running attack in the corner, Decker ran out of the corner before connecting with the capo kick a la Jushin Liger. But Decker’s subsequent cross body block attempt ended with him taking a head-butt into the uranage. Big right hand from Taylor stopped Decker from fighting back, as did the package piledriver/Marcus Garvey Driver that resulted in a three count against Decker.
Winner: Shane Taylor
Match Review: Taylor gets a win heading into “Final Battle” against “no name” competition. Would’ve been nice to have something like a Keith Lee promo or even a video package to get people invested in Lee-Taylor for “Final Battle”.
– An actual recap of what has led to the crowning of a new Television champion via the Survival of the Fittest tournament was shown including the five finalists of six cutting short promos putting themselves over as the next TV champion (better late than never for something like this). No explanation regarding the sixth wrestler, though.
The Righteous vs. Australian Take Over
Kaz Jordan and Julian Ward got attacked at the bell with Vincent feeling a backbreaker on the counter by Ward. Slipping behind Jordan after taking a double team leg drop, Vincent hit the modified Side Effect before tagging out to the big man in Dutch. Just chucking Jordan against the turnbuckles, Dutch shoved his opponent under the ropes so Vincent could grind Jordan’s face against the ring post. ATO were falling apart even when Jordan made it to his corner as Vincent grabbed Ward off the apron to set up Dutch’s cross body block. Jordan was alone and prone to Autumn Sunshine by Vincent for the pin fall.
Winners: The Righteous
Match Review: A little more of a back & forth opening session before The Righteous dominated the competition. Once again, this would mean a lot more if, say, the ROH World Tag team Championship was around to be defended.
– The Infantry were in the interview zone with Lexy Nair to talk about their growth through war and how it will help them win this week’s Four Corner Survival bout. On their way out, The Infantry congratulated Lexy on her Minion graduation.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team champion Brian Cage w/ Prince Nana vs. Gravity
The pace was incredibly quick at the start with Gravity feeling a slam off the failed head scissors; having to dropkick Brian Cage out of the ring. Sadly for Gravity, the masked man ran into a forearm instead of diving through the ropes. Cage kept it simple, slamming his opponent across the ring. Gorilla press slam for Cage didn’t stop Gravity from running once he got on his feet to pull off a head scissor against the champ that put him out of the ring for a moonsault that didn’t hit all of his target. Gravity was full of adrenaline as he rolled Cage back in for a pinning combination. Countering the second pinning combo, Cage almost slammed Gravity through the mat as some fans in the audience started doing the Prince Nana dance.
Blocking the dead-lift superplex, Gravity pulled off the crucifix driver to earn a two count. Showing great strength, Gravity pulled off a Samoan drop meant to set up the torpedo splash. Cage barely stopped the three count off the splash, countering the subsequent hurricarana into a power bomb. Standing Texas cloverleaf made Gravity submit.
Winner: Brian Cage
Match Review: Another solid Cage versus luchador/ high flier match that’s been seen numerous times since ROH on HonorClub began. Just like Cage’s last appearance on ROH programming two episodes ago, this match did nothing to establish a trio who could challenge for the Six-Man Tag Team title at “Final Battle”.
– Leyla Hirsch pulled a sulking Rachael Ellering off the floor with Maria Kanellis-Bennett arriving on the scene to congratulate Hirsch on her win while Maria condemned Rachael for losing against a “local” talent. Maria informed Leyla it was time to go with Hirsch asking Rachael to stay focused on her next bout.
The WorkHorsemen vs. The Infantry vs. The Outrunners vs. The Butcher & The Blade
The Outrunners’ early advantage was stopped by The Infantry, as was Anthony Henry’s intent of intervening and failed attack. Leaving the ring, Henry caused Carlie Bravo to give chase that resulted in him taking a neck breaker from JD Drake. The Butcher tagged himself in so he could slap meat with JD. Instead, The Butcher slipped behind Drake to slam him down. Double team leg lariat-sidewalk slam by The Butcher and The Blade after the latter tagged in saw The Outrunners take advantage that Drake was out of the fight and they could enter at the same time to attack The Blade from behind. Anthony Henry joined The Outrunners in isolating The Blade. Countering a suplex on Turbo Floyd of The Outrunners with a DDT, The Blade tagged out to his partner.
The Butcher used the half-nelson backbreaker on Turbo before The Infantry took the fight to Turbo. The WorkHorsemen started a sequence where everyone were trading big double team maneuvers until The Outrunners failed to double team The Blade and The Butcher power bombed Turbo off The Blade’s release suplex. The Butcher pinned Turbo for his team and the overall win.
Winners: The Butcher & The Blade
Match Review: Similar to the previous FCS tag matches seen on recent ROH episode, it was exciting from bell to bell while, surprisingly, not being overwhelming with so many bodies doing a lot in a rather short period of time. The Butcher & The Blade have a winning streak that should establish them as title contenders for a championship that isn’t seen on ROH programming.
Proving Ground Match: ROH Women’s World champion Athena vs. Roxanne
No Code of Honor from the rather confused-looking newcomer. The confusion was amplified by a rolling elbow to the jaw for the three count in Athena’s favor.
Billie Starkz hit the ring to attack Athena from behind and the fans were booing. Starkz stomped a mudhole into Athena, taking her to the floor and breaking the champ’s nose by slinging her into the steel ring post. Athena’s face was covered in blood as Starkz stood with the Women’s World title belt. The reaction definitely wasn’t glowing with Billie standing tall.
Winner: Athena
Match Review: This wasn’t a match, but an instant knockout to simply set the stage for what happened afterward between the “Final Battle” main event participants. Billie getting booed and Athena breaking her nose were two unexpected negatives to one of the few things on this episode actually connected to ROH’s upcoming biggest event of the year.
Overall Review: And the road to “Final Battle” ends not with a bang, but something of a whimper even with the hottest story in the company capping off the episode’s closing moments. From a match quality perspective, there wasn’t a single must-see encounter with a few solid bouts sprinkled in between the litany of squashes including Kingston-Uno, Cage-Gravity, Taya-Ellering, the six-man and Four Corner Survival tags. Yet, very little of this episode had any bearings on “Final Battle” – which is the exact opposite a PPV go-home show should accomplish.
The episode ended with Billie Starkz getting booed (bizarro Canada?) and Athena suffering a broken nose. Potentially an omen for the main event or just a freak accident (or both). After weeks of Survival of the Fittest qualifying matches, they couldn’t be bothered to have the final participant earn their spot during this episode. How fair is it that a person randomly gets a spot in the finale while everyone else had to qualify? And if the finale qualifier happens during, say, “Zero Hour”, why does the sixth person have to wrestle twice in one night while his opponents come in fresh? At least the confirmed TV title match participants for “Final Battle” got a snippet of promo time this week.
Ethan Page’s impassioned promo and eventual heated confrontation with Tony Nese tried to stoke the heat for their I Quit match, but that was it for “Final Battle” build. No information about the ROH World, Pure, Tag Team, or Six-Man title bouts for the PPV were provided in this episode. No promos from the likes of Keith Lee, Blackpool Combat Club, FTR or Mark Briscoe to hype what could be fantastic matches featuring them at “Final Battle”. Not even a ‘History of ‘Final Battle’” video package to pad time while informing the viewers why this is such an important show in ROH’s history. For people thinking they’ll get some much-needed hype for “Final Battle” by watching this episode will be sorely disappointed.
In all honesty, this may be my final review of ROH on HonorClub for the time being. The passion and energy (let alone time) needed to watch these shows and present these reviews has waned considerably since the summer. Hopefully “Final Battle” can change that feeling; but if this episode was any indication of what’s to come and encouragement to keep going, there’s little chance I’ll be watching this version of ROH when 2024 starts.
