Welcome to another edition of The ROHbot Report – the only article you need for all the Ring of Honor news you have to know. One of ROH’s original big events returns after two years of dormancy due to the pandemic. Returning to the site of their most recent nights of memorable action, ROH brings faces new & old back for bouts that will shape the rest of 2021 in the honorable realm.
Before getting started, it must be stated that thoughts, prayers & condolences are being sent out to the family of Shannon Spruill – known the world over as “Daffney” during her time in WCW and TNA. The former soccer player turned grappler spent nearly twenty years entertaining crowds both large and small including during the early days of ROH when she was a part of the Second City Saints. Then known as “Lucy”, Spruill was a part of one of the biggest storylines during the summer of 2003 where she was attacked by an unknown assailant; setting off a series of events that culminated in a feud between the Saints and Christopher Daniels’ Prophecy faction.
Shannon would periodically appear at prominent independent wrestling events including working for SHIMMER as “Shark Girl” (the female ally of Shark Boy) and impersonator a certain political figure during the mid-2000s. Daffney’s final ROH appearance occurred during “Supercard of Honor” three years ago where she presented Sumie Sakai with the first Women of Honor Championship belt after her long-time friend won the tournament to crown the inaugural WOH champion. “The Scream Queen” was truly one-of-a-kind and will never be forgotten by so many people who loved her from near & far.
“Death Before Dishonor XVIII” Preview; September 12th, 2021; Philadelphia, PA
ROH World Championship (Four Corner Survival): Bandido defends against EC3 vs. Demonic Flamita vs. Brody King
Ring of Honor’s return to Baltimore on July 11th wasn’t just monumental for the fact it was the first ROH event in seventeen months to be attended by fans, it also marked the night Bandido became the best in the world. Against all odds, Bandido capitalized on both his Survival of the Fittest tournament victory to earn the title shot as well as the hateful nature of then-champion RUSH when the latter attempted to unmask his challenger; leaving RUSH open for a roll up that resulted in “The Most Wanted” becoming the second man in ROH history to pin “El Toro Blanco”. Though Bandido’s title celebration was cut short, the reality remained he was now the ROH World champion.
While Bandido capitalized on his ROH World title opportunity, Brody King was unable to do the same at “Final Battle” last year. King’s talents weren’t lacking that night he fought RUSH during ROH’s biggest event of the year, but had the numbers against him as La Faccion Ingobernable interfered in the bout and cost Brody his glorious moment. Realizing that he couldn’t fight against LFI alone, King enlisted three like-minded men ready to bring violence back to ROH: former ROH World champion Homicide, “The Dirty Daddy” Chris Dickinson, and future ROH World Television titleholder Tony Deppen. Since then, the King dubbed “VLNCE UNLTD” have taken LFI to war; actually finding great success in the process.
Before Bandido won ROH singles gold, he found a bond with fellow luchadores Rey Horus and Flamita; becoming “MexiSquad” – a championship-level trio. Though their reign lasted long due to ROH’s hiatus during the pandemic, the unity between all three MexiSquad members faded as Flamita became more insistent on blaming his allies for their shortcomings as a unit. Eventually Flamita attacked both of his former friends and set a path to embrace his darkside. This change in Flamita’s attitude has also brought forth victories over both Horus and Bandido before the latter won the World title.
Following his second stay in WWE, EC3 found a fire within himself unlike anything he imagined; wanting to dictate the narrative of his career going forward instead of simply being a cog in the machine. Entering the realm of Honor allowed for EC3 to question everything about the company Brian Johnson has called home for several years. EC3 would only find honor through fights with Jay Briscoe, even offering to follow the Code of Honor after being spit on by Flip Gordon after their “Best in the World” ’21 clash. The only interaction EC3 has had with Bandido is during the year’s “Champions versus All-Stars” match where the “Essential Character” was on the winning All-Stars side.
This will be one of the most interesting bouts of the evening not simply because there’s a three-in-four chance of Bandido losing his title, but also due to how wild ROH’s Four Corner Survival bouts usually are. FCS matches can start off pretty calm before escalating into series of big moves where one person has to be at the right place at the right time to gain the pin fall or submission. In truth these type of matches are less about talent and more about luck with a bout like this really being anyone’s to win at any time; something that should benefit someone like Bandido whose finisher is perfect for catching someone off guard or landing a roll up out of nowhere like he did when facing RUSH two months ago.
ROH Pure Championship: Jonathan Gresham defends against Josh Woods
With the announcement that ROH’s eighteenth “Death Before Dishonor” is now coming to Philadelphia after being moved from Lakeland, Florida due to the rising “Delta” variant Covid-19 cases comes the inevitable match for Josh Woods: a crack at the ROH Pure Championship. Woods really made a name for himself last year during the Pure Championship tournament where he fought to the semi-finals after defeating Kenny King and PJ Black. In his semi-final bout, Woods faced eventual winner Jonathan Gresham in a match that almost ended in “The Technical Beast’s” favor.
Woods didn’t let the loss stop his progress, overcoming Jay Lethal, Dalton Castle, and Silas Young in Pure Rules matches between 2020 and 2021. It was during his match with Young that Woods’ abilities hit a new level as he dropped his old, somewhat goofy persona to embrace the dangerous submission specialist he truly is; winning a Last Man Standing match against “The Last Real Man” at “Best in the World” ’21. Woods’ date with destiny will see him standing across the ring from the man who dashed his original hope of becoming the Pure champion over a year ago.
Since that night last summer when “The Octopus” became the first Pure titleholder in fifteen years, Gresham’s successfully defended the title seven times while going 12-0 in Pure Rules matches. Gresham has been utterly unstoppable in his element as seen most recently at “Glory By Honor” where he stopped would-be champion and fellow Foundation member Rhett Titus. Though the champ has been nothing short of a dominant in the division he helped restart by campaigning for the restoration of ROH’s Pure Championship for over a year, Woods will be the man who most likely becomes the new ROH Pure titleholder when “Death Before Dishonor” concludes.
ROH World Women’s Championship Tournament Final: Miranda Alize vs. Rok-C
ROH and women’s wrestling hadn’t been very consistent or groundbreaking from the company’s inception until 2015. In those thirteen years, ROH hosted women’s matches with a variety of competitors or working alongside companies like SHIMMER. When ROH finally took its best foot forward in having its own women’s division it suffered several growing pains greatly associated with ROH in general including the loss of talent due to signings elsewhere and trying to indirectly compete against other promotions who were able to sign & groom said talents to be some of the best wrestlers the world has to offer. A combination of internal issues between talent & ROH management, the Covid-19 pandemic, and Maria Kanellis-Bennett’s return came the end of “Women of Honor” and the birth of ROH’s new Women’s Division.
To crown the first ROH World Women’s champion, fifteen competitors fought in a single-elimination tournament including former two-time Women of Honor champion Angelina Love, the first WOH titleholder Sumie Sakai, and several world-class competitors including the longest-reigning SHIMMER champion to date Nicole Savoy, and former NWA World’s Women’s champion Allysin Kay. The tournament also featured fresh faces in ROH – women who found some success in their home promotions and internationally – looking to make their mark on a larger stage. One of those women was none other than Miranda Alize.
“The Lucha Baddie” entered the tournament with the experience of someone ready to win it all thanks to her time in Mexico, SHIMMER and even participating in the second Mae Young Classic, but was still seen as a person who could get bumped by the second round. A true dark horse, Alize overcame fellow Texan Alex Gracia in the opening round, following up by stunning the world when she overcame the highly-favored former SHIMMER champion Nicole Savoy; both matches ending thanks to her “Drive By” shining wizard. Alize’s semifinal bout was arguably her toughest in the tournament thus far as she had to overcome the same fiery opposition she presented her own opponents when she tapped out Trish Adora via the “Miranda Rights” crossface.
Unlike Alize, Rok-C hadn’t gained the opportunity to travel across the globe and wrestle for multiple heralded promotions due to the simple fact she’s only been wrestling for three years. Though dubbed “The Prodigy” by fans & Booker T. alike, Rok still seemed like an underdog in pretty much every bout she’s competed in thus far including the tournament bouts. Rok’s first opponent was none other than the inaugural Women of Honor champion Sumie Sakai. Rok showcased a knowledge for counter-grappling well beyond her years, catching Sakai with a victory roll. Similarly, Quinn McKay fell to Rok when the prior got caught with a pinning combination – the Code Red/Rok in this instance – to surprise another favorite to make it to the finale. Unlike her first tournament matches was Rok taking advantage of an injured Angelina Love by submitting her via the Fujiwara arm bar. Rok proved herself dangerous all regards of victory just like her opponent.
This battle of the Texans is an interesting one beyond them both being from the same state. First there’s the simple fact they have shared the ring in tag team competition in ROH. Surprisingly enough it was the first-time teaming of Alize and Rok that saw them find success during ROH’s “Glory By Honor” weekend last month. In terms of singles competition, these two have only wrestled against each other once in Booker T.’s Reality of Wrestling promotion where Alize defeated her future ROH opponent only less than six months into Rok’s career. Once again, Rok comes into a bout as the overachieving underdog against someone who too can finish a match out of nowhere. Though Alize may be the favorite to win statistically, there’s a good chance Rok will do the seemingly impossible yet again in a match that officially ushers in ROH’s latest Women’s division in fantastic fashion.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Kaun & Moses) defend against La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee, Bestia del Ring & Kenny King)
Shane Taylor is determined to be a man who dictates his worth in wrestling. By creating “Shane Taylor Promotions”, Taylor has slowly gained clients, allies and, most importantly, respect from those who always looked at him as the lesser part of the Pretty Boy Killers alongside Keith Lee. By Taylor’s side are two men who too are looking to prove themselves as men who can call their own shots in wrestling: Kaun & Moses, The Soldiers of Savagery. It was on the February 3rd episode of ROH TV that Shane Taylor Promotions put everything together and did what they claimed they could do for months: become champions if given the same opportunities as other ROH competitors when they defeated MexiSquad to become the new ROH World Six-Man Tag Team champions.
Since then, STP has branched out and proven that they are more than just a moniker or a pipe dream; they are changing the wrestling landscape and everyone is gunning for what they have including La Faccion Ingobernable. Before the end of 2020, LFI was the most dominant faction in ROH with RUSH holding the ROH World title, Dragon Lee being the ROH Television champion, and Kenny King & Lee on the verge of becoming the new ROH World Tag Team champions.
By “Glory By Honor”, STP had enough of waiting for ROH and its competitors to truly recognize what they are doing by attacking LFI and laying waste to RUSH’s crew. Not shockingly taking exception to STP’s actions, LFI immediately accepted the unspoken challenger for Taylor’s group; leading to a match on ROH TV where King used a low blow to pin Taylor. The disrespectful act unceremoniously set the stage for this big title bout. But the original match looked a little differently as RUSH was the third man a part of team LFI.
During the night two of “Glory By Honor”, RUSH suffered an apparent knee injury that has put him out of action for an indefinite amount of time. With that being stated, RUSH & Lee’s father, Bestia del Ring, is just as dangerous as his offspring. One thing LFI loves is turning every match into a crazy brawl. But unlike a team such as The Foundation, STP will gladly join the likes of LFI in going around the arena; fighting tooth & nail until a victor is declared or the referee just throws the match out. Though LFI won’t be in full force thanks to RUSH’s inability to be in this match, don’t count them out as being the first trio to halt STP’s momentum; though that probably won’t be the case in Philadelphia.
VLNCE UNLTD (Chris Dickinson, Homicide & Tony Deppen) vs. John Walters, Lee Moriarty & LSG
“Honor Through Violence” has become the mantra of VLNCE UNLTD. Formed at ROH’s “19th Anniversary” pay-per-view, Brody King, Tony Deppen, Chris Dickinson, and ROH legend Homicide quickly made a name for themselves by attacking La Faccion Ingobernable and The Foundation. VU’s involvement in the issues between LFI and The Foundation has created a faction warfare scenario that’s seen people bloodied, Jonathan Gresham’s face cracked, and titles changing hands including Homicide winning the ROH World Tag Team title for the first time alongside Dickinson by overcoming The Foundation’s Rhett Titus & Gresham. After failing to defeat The Foundation in an eight-man tag bout at “Glory By Honor: Night 2” last month and giving their rivals a post-match beating, “The Dirty Daddy” Dickinson grabbed the microphone to challenge any “pure” wrestler from any era to step up and prove that violence doesn’t have its hand in creating honor.
Stepping up are none other than John Walters, Lee Moriarty & LSG. Long-time ROH fans will be very familiar with Walters – a former ROH Pure champion who won the title from Doug Williams in 2004. Walters, who was the original “Crown Jewel” of Prince Nana’s Embassy faction, left ROH to actually showcase a level of charisma he didn’t display during his entire time in ROH by embracing the rising xenophobia in American society after the turn of the 21st century. When Walters reentered the honorable realm last year, he embraced what originally made him successful in ROH by wrestling a Pure Rules match against Tracy Williams. Though Walters came up short in that singles match, his subsequent “Wildcard” ten-man tag was a successful one. That was the last time Walters has been in a ROH ring, but the fact he won a tag match alongside random partners proves he can work well with anyone.
LSG has been pushing himself like never before as of late. “The Human Rocket” almost overcame Jay Lethal soon after the Pure division restarted and recently defeated World Famous CB in a Pure Rules match at “Glory By Honor: Night 2”. Similar to the current Pure champion Jonathan Gresham, LSG has a variety of ways of ending a match quickly while maintaining a level of honor even men like CB can’t in victory or defeat.
And then there’s Lee Moriarty. Making his ROH debut, Moriarty has become one of the most popular and in-demand wrestlers on the indie scene. Known in many circles as “The Apex of Combat”, Lee has established himself as versatile a grappler there is by being able to brawl, fly, and, most importantly in regards to pure wrestling, go hold for hold with anyone in his way. Moriarty’s skills haven’t just garnered him praise, many are calling him the future Bryan Danielson of independent wrestling – making him the perfect competitor to step in the honorable ring that Danielson helped popularize over fifteen years ago. Though Lee is a huge prospect who recently signed with AEW, don’t expect his first night in ROH to be an easy or victorious one with VU proving their dominance over what the epitome of pure wrestling is through sheer violence.
The Briscoe vs. The OGK
The last year has been pretty rough for all of these men. For The Briscoes, their inability to regain the ROH World Tag Team Championship and Jay Briscoe’s feud with EC3 caused dissension between the brothers that resulted in them recently fighting in two wild matches including a “Fight on the Farm” in front of their father. After brutalizing each other on the same land they grew up on, The Briscoes have found themselves in good standing with each other and began their hopeful journey back to the top of ROH’s Tag Team division. The OGK of Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, also former ROH World Tag Team titleholders, were a little too busy over the past year dealing with The Righteous. With The Righteous actually overcoming Taven in a Steel Cage bout at “Glory By Honor” last month, The OGK attempt to refocus on more professional matters against a tandem they know incredibly well.
When Jay Briscoe was forced to relinquish his first of two ROH World Championships in 2013, it was Adam Cole that won the vacant title and attacked Briscoe when Jay attempted to do the honorable thing. Cole’s one act of dishonor started a domino effect that turned the Jay-Cole feud into a stable war as Cole formed The Kingdom alongside Taven & Bennett. The Briscoes and Bennett & Taven fought numerous times during 2014 including mixed tag action where ODB joined Dem Boys to take on The Kingdom & Maria Kanellis. But their final war was the most important as Jay & Mark fell to Taven & Bennett in an Armageddon Two Out of Three Falls match where each fall featured a different stipulation.
The Briscoes never got a rematch from their now-six-year-old loss to The OGK – that changes here. Unlike their previous outing, this bout will be rooted in two teams simply looking to prove they’re the best ROH has to offer that aren’t already the ROH World Tag Team champions. Their chemistry has produced fantastic encounters, and this bout should be no different with The Briscoes most likely walking away with another victory on their road back to the top of ROH’s Tag Team division.
Dalton Castle vs. Eli Isom
The former ROH World champion Dalton Castle has been very busy as of late. Beyond his in-ring activities, Castle has recently showcased his game show talents on “Celebrity Family Feud”. But his antics alongside former WCW World Heavyweight champion David Arquette didn’t reduce how wacky Castle has been in ROH over the past few months. That wackiness came at the expense of a match between Eli Isom and Dak Draper on ROH TV that resulted in both men getting kicked in the groin by Castle after the former World champion talked about being so impressed by them. Their rematch also saw Castle appear. This time, however, Dalton left during the match’s final minutes and distracted Draper in the process; giving Isom the chance to win with finisher, “The Promise”. After failing to unite Isom & Draper for a Six-Man Tag Team Championship match alongside Castle, Dalton helped Dak pin Eli in a Triple Threat encounter that also included “The Peacock”. As if that wasn’t enough, Isom-Draper III ended due to Dalton attacking Eli and getting Dak disqualified. There are very few people as unpredictable as Castle at this point in his career.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is his opponent. Since ROH’s return during the pandemic, Isom has stepped up and become a force to be reckoned with. With impressive performances against a variety of opponents has allowed Isom to reach a level of prominence unexpected of him when he was simply one-third of Shinobi Shadow Squad. While Isom hasn’t reached the same level Castle attained as ROH World champion several years ago, this fact looks to change in the very near future if Isom’s matches with the likes of Dragon Lee for the TV title is anything to judge by. Though Castle should be the favorite to win this, expect Isom to garner one of his biggest wins to date while getting closer to reaching his potential of becoming a face of Honor.
Jake Atlas vs. Taylor Rust
WWE releasing so many talents over the past year has allowed for other promotions to benefit from these spoils. Interestingly enough these two former NXT stars actually made waves on the indies before not only signing with WWE, but also debuting in ROH. Jake Atlas made a single ROH appearance during “Death Before Dishonor’s” TV tapings in 2019. There, Atlas had a surprisingly long bout against a fellow debuting grappler, Bateman. Their back & forth encounter resulted in Atlas falling to Bateman’s This is a Kill tombstone piledriver. Atlas never got a chance to avenge the loss or even pick up a ROH win as he was signed by WWE not long after the match aired on ROH TV.
Interestingly enough, Taylor Rust had a similar ROH experience as his opponent. Rust, who had been wrestling for almost two decades, arrived in ROH last year with the intent of becoming the first Pure champion since 2006. Rust showcased his incredible grappling talents against eventual tournament finalist Tracy Williams. And just like Atlas, Rust found himself employed by WWE not long after his first and up to that point last ROH match aired on TV. Their ROH returns will be a clash of styles for sure. Though Atlas can go hold for hold with almost anyone, his skill set is rooted in high-flying & counter attacks – one of the major reasons Bateman had issues taking out Jake. If Rust can ground Jake there’s a good chance he will win, but doing so may even leave Taylor open for a shocking pinning combination. No matter the winner, expect a grand showcase for two talents who have the potential of becoming fantastic additions to the ROH roster if they choose to stick around.
Honor Rumble: Beer City Bruiser vs. PJ Blac vs. Dak Draper vs. Rey Horus vs. Brian Johnson vs. Joe Keys vs. Brian Milonas vs. Sledge vs. Silas Young vs. five unannounced participants
While the Honor Rumble (ROH’s twenty-man version of the Royal Rumble match) isn’t a well-remembered concept in Ring of Honor history it has provided some highly entertaining unexpected title encounters usually in the beginning of the ROH World champion’s reign or a time when the titleholder is between major defenses. The first Honor Rumble featured Ruckus of Vulture Squad fame earning a shot at Nigel McGuinness for the next event – becoming not only the first winner of the match, but also the most shocking victor to come out of the concept. Mark Briscoe followed Ruckus’ lead in 2013, falling short of golden glory while becoming the first of several successful title defenses during Adam Cole’s reign. Mark’s brother Jay Briscoe had to battle the 2014 winner in former ROH World Tag Team champion Michael Bennett for the world to see on ROH TV.
2016’s was, arguably, the best one yet featuring impressive performances by the final two competitors – eventual winner Silas Young and runner-up Jay Lethal – who just so happened to start the battle. Kenny King outsmarted everyone to earn his title opportunity in a star-studded version at “G1 Supercard” in 2019, while Flip Gordon did the same less than a year later. With ten of the fifteen competitors announced thus far, there’s a chance one of the mystery entries may win it all; though the names already listed look to be locks for winning including previous Honor Rumble victor Young, former ROH World Six-Man champion Rey Horus, hometown boy Brian Johnson, or one of the bigger competitors like Draper, one of The Bouncers, or Sledge.
Like most battle royals, fans shouldn’t come in thinking it’s going to be a classic without a bunch of branching stories to keep it together. Instead, this should be a fine match that establishes the World champion’s upcoming challenger; potentially setting the stage for something like Bandido versus Horus for the gold.
And there you have it. Show that love, or like, for The ROHbot Report on its Facebook page. Here’s to a great week for you and yours; and as always, thanks for reading.
