Last Week: The final show before “Supercard of Honor” title challengers and champions alike pick up some big wins including Eddie Kingston overcoming Christopher Daniels and Wheeler Yuta obliterating Leon Ruff.
ROH on HonorClub Episode 6
Long Island, NY
April 6, 2023
– Earlier in the day, Christopher Daniels put out the challenge for a match with the new ROH Pure champion Katsuyori Shibata. Though they’ve fought before and “The Fallen Angel” was successful, tonight is different if the champ accepts the challenge of the former ROH World champion.
ROH World Tag Team champions The Lucha Brothers & Mark Briscoe vs. Shane Taylor & The WorkHorsemen
It was Shane Taylor confronting his old rival in Mark Briscoe. Major disrespect from Taylor early as he pie-faced Mark. Briscoe responded by chopping and punching Shane until he ran into a shoulder block. Jumping back with the Pele kick, Mark knocked Shane into a tag to Anthony Henry. Blind tag from Rey Fenix as Mark came off the ropes allowed him to catch Henry off guard. Slamming Henry, Fenix held his opponent in position for a missile dropkick from Penta aimed at his backside. Triple team super kick downed Taylor after JD Drake felt that double team inverted Code Red from the Lucha Bros. Penta had the Package Piledriver in mind as Nigel McGuinness demanded the referee gain some order. Taylor blocked the Piledriver, splashing Penta in Shane’s corner after clocking the masked man with a right hand to his jaw.
Penta was on the wrong part of town, getting worked over with quick tags and even quicker double teams before Henry grounded Penta with the rear chin lock. Breaking free of the hold, Penta used the Slingblade to down Henry and tag out to Mark who had some Redneck Kung Fu ready for anyone coming his way. Powerhouse Hobbs & QT Marshall was at ringside as they’ll fight for the ROH World Tag Team title at “Battle of the Belts 7”.
Mark’s blockbuster to JD on the floor didn’t help him keep the momentum thanks to Henry bowling through Briscoe. Everyone started throwing some bombs until Taylor drilled Mark with the Marcus Garvey Driver. The only thing saving Mark from a sure pin was his partners. Using Henry’s back as a springboard after landing an enzuguri on Shane, Penta executed a Canadian destroyer on JD. Henry was alone and prone to the Jay Driller courtesy of Mark; resulting in the three count in Briscoe’s favor.
Winner: The Lucha Brothers & Mark Briscoe
Match Review: Very fun opener and a potential glimpse into the future not only when it comes to the ROH Tag title scene with Hobbs & QT watching, but also the Six-Man division as Briscoe has found himself fitting well alongside Penta & Fenix. The match’s only issue has to be the rather random pairing of Taylor & The WorkHorsemen. Why are they teaming; who presented this trio? Why isn’t Shane trying to restart Shane Taylor Promotions especially with Kaun on the roster?
ROH Pure Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Christopher Daniels
Jerry Lynn, Dean Malenko & BJ Whitmer were the judges if this match went to a time limit draw. As expected, the early minutes were about using grappling to assert dominance and maybe force a rope break. Snatching Daniels and pulling him into a figure four leg. The challenger held on as long as he could before sacrificing a rope break to free himself.
Quickly getting behind the champ, Daniels aimed for the neck of his opponent. Five minutes had elapsed when Daniels used the Downward Spiral to sweep Shibata into the Koji Clutch. The champ was able to roll his way to freedom. Getting Daniels against the turnbuckles, Shibata failed with the Irish whip; but not the forearm that drilled “The Fallen Angel”. Cinching in the sleeper hold, Shibata wanted to get the submission right now. Holding on again, Daniels made it to the ropes to stop this match from ending in his defeat.
STO from the champ, allowing him to pull Daniels into the sleeper again after several forearms. With Daniels seated and prone, the champ unleashed the PK to knock his first challenger out for the pin fall.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata
Match Review: Very mat-based example of what the Pure Rules matches can present with both using submissions and sat on those holds for significant periods instead of just going from move to move. Shibata as the Pure champion already is a completely different beast than Yuta as he cares about winning rather than showcasing his ability to manipulate the rules in his favor. Considering the ending of “Supercard of Honor” where Shibata & Kingston had a face-off with BCC’s Claudio & Yuta, it would’ve been nice to see some type of follow-up here.
– Dasha stood with ROH World champion Claudio Castagnoli who questioned what kind of man is Eddie Kingston to think he is still championship material after being thrashed by the champ at “Supercard of Honor” and then going on a verbal tirade that can’t be repeated. Ready to defend his title against anyone but Eddie, Claudio wants to show what it really means to be a champion.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team champion Brian Cage w/ Prince Nana vs. Ortiz
Ortiz attempted to hit & move, only to take a big right forearm after sweeping “The Machine” into a failed pinning combination. Reversing the Irish whip to pull off a head scissors, Ortiz sent Cage to the floor where Ortiz used a cannonball off the apron and a dropkick at ringside. Cage was reeling in the corner when Ortiz came after him. Cage dumped Ortiz over the top, bringing him back in with that outside-to-inside superplex from the apron. Punching his way off the mat, Ortiz ran into that pump-up fall away slam.
Spending too much time celebrating his dominance, Cage left himself open for a small package that proved useless other than gaining some distance between the two when Cage kicked out. Jaw breaking his way out of Cage’s clutches, Ortiz used the Death Valley driver to get a two count. When Ortiz grabbed Cage, “The Machine” countered whatever he had in mind with the GMSI … to earn a near fall!
Cage found himself frustrated and ended up getting cornered and power bombed when going for that superplex again. Just when it seemed Ortiz was about finish this one, Cage hoisted him up and executed the Drill Claw. Cage made the cover to pin Ortiz.
Winners: Brian Cage
Match Review: A nice little back & forth fight. Ortiz getting a potential new lease on life in ROH would be really ice. Also wouldn’t mind him finding some partners to add to the Six-Man division. Cage is Cage – a ridiculous beast of a man who, at times, gives a little too much to his opponent considering how he looks and his unique style.
Jay Lethal w/ Sonjay Dutt & Satnam Singh vs. Darius Martin
The Kingdom arrived and joined the commentators to make fun of Darius Martin throughout the match. After taking an insulting slap, Darius Martin responded with a dropkick that put Jay Lethal at ringside for a tope. Rushing Jay in the corner, Martin got propelled and dropped groin first across the top rope. Showing his top skills, Darius got wiped out. Lethal wanted the figure four leg lock, but Darius was fighting it through & through until landing an enzuguri.
With Lethal falling to ringside, Darius found himself confronted by Jay’s seconds until he rolled Lethal onto the apron. They started throwing hands before Martin switched it up and landed a roundhouse kick. Slingshot downward spiral for Darius couldn’t put Lethal away. Luring Martin into a fistfight, Jay had the Lethal Injection in mind when he knocked Martin backwards. Darius was ready, using a standing Spanish fly after feeling a super kick when he went for the springboard downward spiral.
As Matt Taven left the commentators’ table, Darius accidentally kicked Singh at ringside. The referee had to order Singh to get off the apron. Taven used the distraction as a way to super kick Martin into Jay’s Lethal Injection. Lethal made the cover, pinning Martin.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Match Review: Another fun momentum-shifting type of bout with Darius doing very well by himself before the numbers both expected & unexpected causing him to fail. It’ll also be interesting to see if Darius can find someone to help him contend with The Kingdom now that his brother is hurt.
La Faccion Ingobernable (RUSH & Dralistico) vs. The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
It was Dralistico and Shawn Dean doing their best in trying to land a significant attack while pulling off some lucha-infused maneuvers resulting in a stalemate. The masked man decided he wanted to follow the Code of Honor with “The Captain” unwisely shaking his hand and getting kicked for his trouble. Carlie Bravo tagged himself in, confronting Dralistico and hitting him with a rolling elbow. Hitting the ropes for some momentum cost Bravo as he got hit with an illegal kick from RUSH before the former ROH World champ tagged in to stomp the life out of Carlie. LFI were in complete control, beating Bravo down in the corner after knocking Dean to the floor. LFI prevented Dean from helping his partner as RUSH knocked “The Captain into a springboard Codebreaker from Dralistico. Hoisting Bravo onto his shoulder from a double underhook grip, Dralistico threw Carlie into a knee strike for a modified GTS to pin Bravo.
Winners: La Faccion Ingobernable
Match Review: Though The Infantry had some good fire, this was essentially a squash for LFI with RUSH getting very little ring time as Dralistico did most of the heavy lifting (maybe RUSH wasn’t in the best of shape following the “Reach For the Sky” Ladder match).
Daniel Garcia vs. Tracy Williams
Kicking Tracy Williams’ hand away, the former Pure champion found himself being muscled around and somewhat embarrassed especially after being taken down with the side Russian leg sweep “Hot Sauce” used to convert into a seated octopus stretch. Rolling his way to freedom, Daniel Garcia started lighting him up with chops. Williams fired back with chops of his own, setting up the DDT on the top turnbuckle. Garcia broke free of Tracy’s headlock, shoving Williams off the top rope, to the floor. The referee had to get between the rope-stuck Williams and an aggressive Garcia.
The fans wanted tables and Garcia gave them a double middle finger for their wants. What Williams wanted and got was the ability to knock the wind out of Garcia in preparation for the backdrop driver. Missing a flying back elbow, Williams found himself stuck in the corner. Garcia placed his opponent on the top rope, only for “Hot Sauce” to counter his superplex with the top turnbuckle DDT. Locking in the crossface when the pin failed, Williams was too close to the ropes as Garcia got his foot on the bottom rope. Williams grabbed Daniel for something when Garcia swept “Hot Sauce” into the Code Breaker that allowed Garcia to get the pin fall.
Winner: Daniel Garcia
Match Review: A nice, intense outing that, given a few more minutes, could’ve stolen the show. Tracy is becoming one of the best utility players in ROH right now that, if given a strong story, could rise up the card and be accepted by the fans on a different level. It’s interesting that Garcia would even want to involve himself in ROH right now considering his “sports entertainer” gimmick and constant losses in the honorable ring until this episode.
Willow Nightingale vs. Notorious Mimi
After doing a little dancing with her opponent, Willow Nightingale slammed, senton splashed, hip attacked and posed. Catching an incoming kick, Notorious Mimi slapped Willow before yanking her into a roll up. Willow kicked out, running into a back elbow-cross body combo. Coming off the ropes, Mimi felt the pounce … period! Mimi couldn’t stop the Babe Bomb or the subsequent three count.
Winner: Willow Nightingale
Match Review: An entertaining squash for the hometown girl. Willow is, hopefully, on the road back to another title shot. Mimi, who has a little bit more of a name thanks to her time in NXT and on the Monster Factory-focused Apple-Plus TV series, looked good even in defeat and her being in ROH would be a nice addition to the roster.
The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch) vs. Even Stevens (Steve Somerset & Steven Azul)
After disposing of Steve Somerset, The Righteous were obliterating poor Steven Azul with Dutch doing most of the damage before utilizing the Boss Man Slam. Vincent came off the top with the Red Rum/swanton bomb. As if that wasn’t enough, Vincent used his version of sliced bread in the form of “Autumn Sunshine” to pin Azul.
Winners: The Righteous
Match Review: Another squash with The Righteous looking like a force right off the bat in ROH. It would’ve been nice to see some visual proof of The Righteous’ history in ROH, but commentator Ian Riccaboni did his best to explain what The Righteous was all about in ROH before the ownership change.
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tony Nese w/ Mark Sterling, Josh Woods & Ari Daivari
Code of Honor followed before the feeling out process allowed Tony Nese to showcase his grappling abilities while focusing on the left arm of his opposition. Konosuke Takeshita found himself coming off the ropes after being kick, leg swept, and muscled around, propelling off with a flying shoulder tackle. A frustrated Nese grabbed his opponent, sending him over the top rope. Takeshita attempted to skin the cat back in when Josh Woods grabbed his legs and swung him back down as Nese came running with a dropkick that dropped Takeshita at ringside.
The focus was Takeshita’s midsection and back; waist locking and grounding Konosuke until Takeshita freed himself and almost pinned his opposition. Nese rolled to his feet after falling to an unsuccessful sunset flip, using a spinning back kick to Konosuke’s face. Takeshita was seemingly out of it in the corner when he exploded and dropkicked a running Tony. Senton splash from the middle rope connected for Konosuke after he kicked Nese down, but Tony wouldn’t stay down for that or the spinning blue thunder bomb.
Pulling Nese to the floor to save him from a pump knee strike, Sterling’s crew got wiped out courtesy of a somersaulting Konosuke. Takeshita shoved and slammed Nese’s backup at ringside before refocusing on Nese again. Unfortunately for Konosuke, Nese tripped him in the ropes for that springboard moonsault that gave Tony a two count. Nese had that pumphandle driver in mind when Konosuke started swinging with forearms. Nese responded with forearms of his own, slipping between Takeshita’s leg for the pumphandle. Takeshita slipped free, executing a reverse Dude Buster … to gain a near fall!
Sterling grabbed Konosuke’s boot for a distraction, but Takeshita was prepared as he avoided the incoming Nese. But Ari Daivari jumped onto the apron to save Nese from being rolled up. Instead, Nese switched things up and hit that pumphandle driver … to earn a near fall!
Nese couldn’t believe it, but refused to let Takeshita get up without being hit again. Sadly for Nese, his plan failed as he missed his running knees in the corner, falling to the Chaos Theory. Konosuke held the bridge to keep Nese down for those precious three seconds.
Winner: Konosuke Takeshita
Match Review: On a show of solid matches thus far, here are two fantastic wrestlers given time to really craft an expected banger considering the talent. While the interference got a little out of hand, it didn’t take away from the work everyone put in to make this one fun. Konosuke challenging someone like Claudio for the World title would be a nice story going forward for the short time if Castagnoli-Kingston II isn’t in the books anytime soon.
ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. Miyu Yamashita
Code of Honor was adhered to before the stern collar & elbow tie up saw the champion actually show a quick bit of grappling superiority. When Athena turned around after taking in her own adulation, Miyu Yamashita threw a roundhouse kick that would’ve been a match-ender. Athena left the ring, trying to regroup. Didn’t work well for “The Fallen Goddess” as Miyu came off the middle rope with a modified version of the Disaster Kick. Cornered and being kicked, Athena was desperate in hopes of getting some distance between herself and her imposing challenger including using the ring’s apron to help prevent Miyu from dragging her to the ring’s middle. Making a big mistake by reaching over the ropes to grab the champ, Miyu got dropped throat-first across the middle rope.
The champ immediately went after the legs of her challenger while screaming, “You wanna kick?” Slinging a visibly aching Miyu back in, Athena used a modified version of the Indian deathlock in hopes of getting the submission. Miyu survived the hold, going to the floor. Athena was on top of her, actually using a fireman’s carry to sling Yamashita against the steel ring post. Miyu got slung from pillar to post until she was in position for a senton splash on the floor. Avoiding the maneuver, Miyu was able to catch a stunned Athena with the running knee. Miyu wanted to follow up with something big in the ring when Athena yanked her down before climbing the ropes herself. Miyu met Athena on the top, pulling her off with a super jackhammer. Instead of going for the pin, Miyu unleashed that buzzsaw kick that was meant to be followed up with a running knee on the seated champion.
Athena countered the running knee with the single-leg Boston crab. “The Fallen Goddess” was too high and Miyu rolled out of the submission. The Skull Kick was primed when both competitors got up, only for Athena to duck and leave the ring. Yamashita followed, leading to a strike exchange at the top of the entrance. Miyu pulled off an Attitude Adjustment on the stage!
Dragging Athena back to the ring, Miyu lost her grip and allowed the champ to shove her off the ramp. Athena bellowed as she ran off the ramp to somersault atop her challenger on the floor! This time it was Athena doing the dragging as she trash talked Miyu the entire way to the ring. Rolling Miyu into the ring cost Athena as she got caught coming in with with a trip into a flying spine kick. Miyu failed to pin the champ, setting up for the Skull Kick. “The Fallen Goddess” ducked at the last second, pulling a spinning Miyu into the crossface. Yamashita was clawing at the mat, Athena’s hands and even herself until she passed out. The referee had no choice but to stop the match in the champ’s favor.
Winner: Athena
Match Review: It’s easy to expect certain things from an Athena title defense including hard-hitting exchanges, insults aplenty, and Athena going that extra mile in hopes of retaining – exactly what we got during this one. Things, understandably considering the big bumps experienced, got a little rough during the closing minutes; but it didn’t hinder the overall quality of another great main event from the champ and her latest challenger.
Overall Review: The effectiveness of this episode definitely depends on what someone wanted from the episode following “Supercard of Honor” If someone wanted some significant fallout from “SCOH” with promos, highlights, and even some new stories starting, they’ll be disappointed. It would’ve been great to see the emotional promo Mark cut after his TV title loss considering his title shot was a big storyline heading into the PPV.
It would’ve been nice to have something between Shibata and Yuta, if not to remind everyone of the post-main event confrontation between the BCC and Kingston & Shibata. Thankfully there was a Claudio interview to put over how he’s done (but not really) with Kingston. There is still some lacking story elements and character explanations in this new era of ROH where Tony Kahn and crew could take tips from ROH programming during the pandemic to give the show a unique feel compared to AEW’s Youtube shows.
Now, if someone only cared about watching so great wrestling, this episode provided some high quality bouts especially in regards to the final two matches. It must be stated again: ROH champ Athena has been nothing short of a highlight and she is doing some of her best work in years. Konosuke Takeshita has that special intangible that allows him to pull anyone into his match (and Tony Nese is one of the most underrated in-ring talents in AEW/ROH). The Pure title match was unlike any other match on the show and was great for it. All the squashes were fine, though the LFI-Infantry match could’ve been saved for a later date to give these two teams more time to work. Solid episode from an in-ring perspective with the last two matches deserving to be seen; not so much in regards to storytelling & character work following “SCOH”.
