Thursday's ten-match Ring of Honor on HonorClub will hopefully begin the road to a card for this month's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view.
In the show's featured match, former ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia will take on former ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels. Garcia has been in search of a match with current Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata.
The Kingdom's Maria Kanellis-Bennett will return to in-ring action for the first time since her WWE days as she teams with Mike Bennett & Matt Taven against The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo) and Trish Adora.
In a Proving Ground match, ROH Women's Champion Athena will face Seleziya Sparx.
The show will feature a six-way "mayhem" match featuring Shane Taylor vs. Josh Woods vs. Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack vs. Dalton Castle vs. Trent Seven, who is making his ROH debut.
After unsuccessfully defeating ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli last Friday on AEW Rampage, Komander will look to rally against Gringo Loco.
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We’re in the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario for this week’s edition of Ring of Honor TV. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call.
Komander (w/Alex Abrahantes) defeated Gringo Loco
This started off a bit clunky but rounded off into a fun lucha-style opener.
Komander took control with an acrobatic armdrag, but Loco handsprung out of a second one. Loco evaded a Komander corner charge and hit an alley-oop into the corner. Komander used the ropes to hit another armdrag to take Loco down, but Loco caught him with a torture rack slam for a nearfall. After some jockeying for position, Komander took Loco down with a headscissors.
Loco sent Komander to the apron, but Komander caught him with a boot before vaulting off of Loco’s shoulders. Komander sent Loco to the floor with a wheelbarrow armdrag before hitting a tornillo to the floor. Komander sent Loco into the ring and went to the top, but Loco cut him off. They fought for position before Loco hit the one-man Spanish Fly. Loco sent Komander into the ropes and popped him up, but Komander caught him with a cutter on the way down.
Loco caught Komander in an electric chair on the floor, then powerbombed him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Loco hit a double jump cutter for a nearfall. Loco brought Komander up in an electric chair on the top rope, but Komander fought his way free. With Loco caught on the ropes, Komander hit a step-up rana. Komander followed Loco to the floor with a double-jump splash. Komander then hit a springboard Phoenix Splash for the win.
– Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Lee Moriarty & Big Bill. Big Bill said that they were going to squash their opponents tonight – The Boys – like bugs, then win some gold around here.
Daniel Garcia defeated Christopher Daniels
Commentary noted that Daniels’ eye had finally healed after having a bruise in the white of his eyes for months. Garcia hit his dance, leading to Daniels breaking out the Curry Man dance. What ever happened to that guy? Anyway, after Daniels sent Garcia into the turnbuckles a few times, Garcia vaulted Daniels to the floor to cut him off.
Garcia cut off a Daniels comeback, dropping down and catching Daniels in an STF. Daniels got the ropes, but Garcia stomped on Daniels’ knee when breaking the hold. Daniels caught Garcia with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Daniels fired up, dropping Garcia with a big back body drop. Daniels took Garcia to the top rope, then brought him down with an Iconoclasm for a nearfall.
Garcia and Daniels traded forearms before Daniels caught him with an STO. Daniels went for the Angel’s Wings, but Garcia fought out of that and a uranage. Daniels hit the Angel’s Wings, but Garcia rolled to the floor. Daniels went and got him, but Garcia kicked the ropes into Daniels’ face. Garcia hit a gutbuster to score the win.
– Backstage, Lexy Nair interviewed Willie Mack, who will be in a Six Man Scramble match for $25,000. Mack talked about all the things he wanted to do with the money.
Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Action Andretti & Darius Martin
Kaun overpowered Andretti to start, but Andretti used his speed to take Kaun down with a dropkick. Andretti hit a corkscrew splash for a nearfall before tagging in Martin. Liona tagged in, but Andretti and Martin used double dropkicks to send both Liona and Kaun out of the ring. Prince Nana took Martin out of the ring. Andretti went for a dive onto Liona, but Liona caught him and sent him into the barricade.
The Embassy clubbered on Andretti in the corner. Andretti hit a back elbow on Kaun and made the tag out to Martin. Martin fired up on Liona, but Liona hit a pop-up Samoan Drop. Kaun and Liona hit a tag team combo in the corner, but Andretti broke up the pin. Andretti got caught by Liona, but Martin dove into both to send Liona down. Kaun got the knees up on a springboard 450 splash for a nearfall.
Andretti hit a Spanish Fly, but Nana got on the apron to distract the referee. Andretti tried fighting off both Liona and Kaun, but they caught him with their tandem slam to score the win.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) & Stu Grayson defeated Macrae Martin, Rip Impact & Zak Patterson
The Righteous team got a jump start from the Code of Honor. Grayson hit a spinning uranage to Impact before they hit a triple-team slam for the quick win. Vincent and Dutch never removed their entrance gear.
Big Bill & Lee Moriarty defeated The Boys (Brandon & Brent)
Big Bill looked fantastic here, throwing the Boys around like ragdolls.
Moriarty started with Brent, using his technical skills to control the match. A misdirection with a tag allowed the Boys to double-team Moriarty for a nearfall. Moriarty got a tag out to Big Bill, who neither Boy wanted to fight. Brent got on Brandon’s shoulders, only leading to Big Bill booting them down. Bill sent Brandon flying on a tornado DDT attempt, squashing him with a splash before booting Brent down.
Bill tagged Moriarty in, but Brent tagged in and ran wild. Both Boys hit dives on Moriarty, but Bill caught Brandon and chokeslammed him on the apron. Moriarty hit a leg lariat on Brent to score the win.
ROH Women's World Title Proving Ground Match: Athena defeated Seleziya Sparx
Sparx got a little bit of offense here and looked good.
Seleziya Sparx is a former member of the House of Truth, returning after nine years away. Athena dropkicked Sparx on the Code of Honor. Sparx caught Athena on a crossbody and hit a body slam. Sparx ran wild, hitting a lariat for a one-count. Athena caught Sparx with an exploder suplex. Athena drilled Sparx in the corner with a forearm before hitting a knockout elbow to score the win.
After the match, Athena jumped Sparx and sent her face-first into the belt.
Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling) vs. JD Drake
On his way to the ring, Nese took to the mic to insult Drake’s weight. Nese offered a group workout, but Drake took the mic to say that he wouldn’t eat any of Canada’s food anyway. Mark Briscoe came to the ring with a mic in his hand. He said that after talking with Tony Khan, Briscoe has been added to the match, making this a three-way dance. Riccaboni jumped the gun on commentary, saying that Briscoe was the third man in the match before Briscoe added himself to the match.
Mark Briscoe defeated Tony Nese (w/ Mark Sterling) & JD Drake
Briscoe ran wild on both of his opponents before hitting a chair-assisted dive to the floor. Nese moved out of the way of a Froggy Bow, with Drake dropping Briscoe with a lariat. Nese and Drake teamed up on Briscoe, even while disagreeing on how to do it. Briscoe fired up but walked into a Bossman Slam from Drake. Nese broke up the pin, starting an argument between the two. But Briscoe fired up on both of them, hitting a uranage on Drake.
Nese cut Briscoe off on the top rope, but Drake sent Nese to the mat. Briscoe cut Drake off, leading to Nese hitting a sunset flip powerbomb. Briscoe hit the Froggy Bow, but Nese tried to steal the pin. Briscoe cut him off and hit the Jay Driller on Nese to win.
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– We got a video package recapping Eddie Kingston and his NJPW Strong title victory on July 5th. Kingston says that due to his entry in this year’s G1 Climax, he won’t be able to be at Death Before Dishonor. He says that Claudio Castagnoli isn’t off the hook. Kingston challenges Mark Briscoe to go for the World Title at Death Before Dishonor and win it.
– We cut to Renee Paquette backstage with Mark Briscoe. Renee said that Tony Khan would give Briscoe the title shot if he wanted it. Briscoe accepted the title shot, saying that he wanted to follow in his brother Jay’s footsteps. Claudio Castagnoli entered the frame and told Briscoe not to listen to Eddie Kingston. He said that he had to show Eddie Kingston his limits and that he will show Briscoe his limits as well. Castagnoli offered a handshake, which Briscoe accepted, and told him not to get his hopes up.
– The match is official for Death Before Dishonor for July 21st. Claudio Castagnoli will defend the ROH World Championship against Mark Briscoe. A fine piece of business here.
Diamante defeated Vanessa Kraven
Diamante cut down Kraven at the knee, but Kraven hit a barge attack. Kraven sent Diamante out of the ring with a fallaway slam. Kraven followed Diamante to the floor and hit chops but chopped the post. Back in the ring, Diamante hit a drop-toe hold into the turnbuckle before hitting the hesitation dropkick for a nearfall. Diamante hit a wheelbarrow stunner and a Code Red for the win.
Six Man Mayhem Match: Brian Cage defeated Shane Taylor, Willie Mack, Dalton Castle, Trent Seven, Josh Woods
This was a good bit of fun. A nice, turn-your-brain-off scramble.
We got a Pier Six brawl to start. In the ring, Woods and Seven traded chops before Seven dropped him with a DDT. Mack took Seven down with a running kick. Mack hit a standing moonsault before Taylor dropped him with a headbutt. Cage caught Taylor with a superkick and a tornado DDT. Meanwhile, Castle kept getting fired out of the ring. Woods hit a suplex on Cage before Castle finally sent someone else to the floor.
We got a big strike flurry from everyone before Taylor dropped Castle with a rope-hung stunner. Seven hit the Seven Star Lariat on Taylor, but Woods caught Seven with a Doctor Bomb. There were moves aplenty as everyone hopped in the pool and hit their moves. Cage grabbed Seven and hit an inside-out superplex to everyone on the floor, but Mack caught Cage with a dive of his own. Mack hit a frog splash on Cage, but Nana grabbed Cage’s boot and put it on the ropes.
Seven hit a Sidewinder Slam on Mack for a nearfall. Mack recovered and hit Stunners on everyone in sight, but Cage caught him with a tights-assisted roll-up for the win and the $25,000.
Maria Kanellis-Bennett & The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) & Trish Adora
On the ramp, Maria noted that unfortunately, she was not cleared to compete. She introduced her replacement, Leyla Hirsch.
The Kingdom & Leyla Hirsch defeated The Infantry & Trish Adora
Bennett and Dean traded chops to start. Dean took control with armdrags and chops before tagging in Bravo. Taven tagged in but got caught with a double team from the Infantry. Taven tagged Hirsch in, forcing Adora to come in. Adora used her technical skill to handle Hirsch, but Hirsch used a German suplex to take control. Hirsch avoided the Lariat Tubman, but Adora caught her with a short-range lariat.
Bravo tagged in and ran wild on the opposing men. He hit a misdirection neckbreaker on Bennett for a nearfall. Dean tagged in and hit a tag team uranage for a nearfall that got broken up by Taven. Bennett tagged out to Hirsch, but Adora beat her to the punch and sent Bennett to the floor. Dean hit a huge dive to Bennett on the floor, but Taven cut off Bravo and hit a dive onto all three men on the floor. Maria and Mike Bennett ran interference, allowing Hirsch to catch Adora in an armbar to score the win.
After the match, Lexy Nair met up with Hirsch in the back. Hirsch said the Kingdom needed someone legit, and that she was here to stay in ROH.
