By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 521)
Taped in Baltimore, Maryland at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
Aired September 11, 2021 in syndication and on SBG regional sports networks, available Mondays on FITE.TV
Quinn McKay checked in from the studio following the opening video. She hyped the Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view and then touted the matches that would air during the television show…
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman checked in on commentary from the venue where no fans were present. Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe made their entrance. A brief pre-taped promo aired regarding their match. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise handled the introductions for the opening tag match. Bandido and Rey Horus delivered a backstage promo. Bandido said the Briscoes are the baddest, then spoke about real lucha libre…
1. Bandido and Rey Horus vs. Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe. Bandido performed a handspring into the ropes and went back and forth with Jay. Both men threw simultaneous dropkicks heading into a commercial break. [C]
Horus was isolated by the Briscoes coming out of the break. All four men ended up at ringside. Mark ran Horus into the barricade and then tossed him back inside the ring. The Briscoes shot Horus into the ropes and Bandido was able to tag in and perform a springboard dive onto his opponents. Horus kicked Kay and then Bandido performed a standing shooting star press that resulted in a two count.
Jay came back and hooked one of the eye holes of Bandido’s mask. Mark tagged in and worked over Bandido, who eventually fell back into his corner, allowing Horus to tag in. Bandido and Horus performed some double team moves on Mark. Horus covered Mark, but Jay broke up the pin.
All four men fought inside the ring and were down briefly. Mark and Horus got up and traded blows. Mark caught Horus on the ropes and hit him with cataclysm and got a two count. Bandido tagged in. Horus tripped Mark into a turnbuckle. Bandido dove onto him and performed a popup up cutter. Jay ran in, but Bandido cleared him from the ring with a dropkick.
Horus tagged in and then Bandido performed a dive onto Jay at ringside. Horus performed a move from the ropes on Mark that led to a two count. Bandido went up top, but Jay knocked him to ringside. Jay caught Horus on his shoulders and then Mark hit the Doomsday Device and pinned him. The teams shook hands afterward…
The Briscoes defeated Bandido and Rey Horus in 12:10.
A graphic listed the Pure Rules match as coming up next… [C]
Powell’s POV: A good match, but I can’t help but feel like Bandido is coming off like a guy who happens to hold the ROH World Championship rather than being the top guy in ROH. I don’t know if they are approaching this as him being an underdog champion, but I wish they would get behind him and push him as the face of the company. Perhaps that will start with the elimination match tonight at Death Before Dishonor. Speaking of which, this match did nothing to make me excited about the pay-per-view main event.
Will Ferrara made his entrance for the Pure Rules match. A pre-taped promo aired with Ferrara saying he’s been in ROH for a long time. He praised Jonathan Gresham for showing him at the ROH Dojo that his best days are yet to come. He said he wanted to make Gresham and the dojo proud and he also wants to make Josh Woods tap.
Josh Woods made his entrance and then his promo aired. Woods said Ferrara is a great fighter and he respects the hell out of him, but he would lose to the Technical Beast…
2. Josh Woods vs. Will Ferrara (w/Eric Martin) in a Pure Rules match. Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham sat in on commentary. The wrestlers adhered to the Code of Honor. Woods took offensive control and went for a gut wrench suplex, but Ferrara grabbed the ropes to stop him and used his first of three rope breaks. Woods followed up a short time later with a Gorilla Lock that caused Ferrara to use his second rope break. [C]
Woods continued to dominate with additional suplexes and looked at Gresham while performing a gut wrench version. Ferrara came back with a short-arm scissors. Woods rolled Ferrara into a pin for a two count, but Ferrara rolled him back over while maintaining the hold. Woods eventually powered up Ferrrara with one arm and slammed him to the mat to break the hold.
Woods grabbed Ferrara from behind. Ferrara grabbed the ropes to use his final rope break and ended up pulling Woods in so that his head hit the top turnbuckle pad. Ferrara got in some brief offense, but drilled him with a forearm to the chin and then performed a rolling German suplex into a bridge and scored the pin.
Josh Woods defeated Will Ferrara in 6:18 in a Pure Rules match.
The broadcast team spoke with Gresham about defending the title against Woods at the pay-per-view. Meanwhile, Woods and Ferrara shook hands. Woods left the ring and glared at Gresham while heading to the back. Gresham left the broadcast team’s perch and went around the barricade. Gresham shook the hand of Woods and then blew him a kiss while Woods smiled…
A graphic listed the main event… Highlights aired of last week’s ROH Women’s Championship tournament matches that set up the finals of Miranda Alize vs. Rok-C at the Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view…
Powell’s POV: There was no mystery regarding the outcome with Woods challenging for the Pure Championship at Death Before Dishonor. And that’s fine because this was a well worked match and a nice showcase for Woods heading into the pay-per-view. I really liked the simple post match angle with Gresham continuing to be the ultra confident champion.
Dragon Lee and Kenny King made their entrance for the main event. A pre-taped promo aired with Lee asking King if he remembered the movie “Return of the Dragon.” He said the Dragon has returned. King noted that he and Lee never lost the tag titles and said LFI runs this place…
ROH Tag Team Champions Chris Dickinson and Homicide made their entrance. A pre-taped promo aired with Homicide speaking first and then Dickinson talking about what a pain in the ass LFI have been…
3. Chris Dickinson and Homicide vs. Dragon Lee and Kenny King for the ROH Tag Titles. Shane Taylor sat in on commentary. Riccaboni labeled his a bonus match for Death Before Dishonor weekend. King shook the referee’s hand, but he declined to adhere to the Code of Honor with Homicide before they started the match. They cut to a break early in the match. [C]
Homicide was isolated by the challengers. Homicide came back and went for a top rope splash, but King rolled out of the way. King slammed Homicide and then went for a springboard leg drop that Homicide avoided. [C]
Dickinson took a hot tag coming out of the commercial break and ended up working over Lee. Dickinson suplexed Lee and covered him for a one count, then countered into a cross arm breaker that resulted in a two count before Lee rolled him into a pin of his own to break the hold. Dickinson performed a Death Valley Driver for a near fall.
Homicide and King tagged in. Homicide hit King with a cutter and had him pinned, but Lee drove Dickinson onto the pile to break up the pin. Homicide cussed and was censored. King performed a snap dragon suplex and followed up with a Tiger Driver on Homicide for a near fall.
Lee caught Homicide in a tree of woe and double stomped him from the top rope. Lee performed a suicide dive onto Dickinson and then rolled him back inside the ring where King performed the Royal Flush. Lee covered Dickinson for a near fall. King dove onto Homicide at ringside.
Dickinson and Lee traded forearm shots. Lee hit a leaping knee strike. Dickinson caught Lee going for another and gave him a dragon screw leg whip. Dickinson ran the ropes and ate another knee strike that resulted in a near fall. Lee hit Dickinson with his Incineration kick finisher and scored the pin…
Dragon Lee and Kenny King beat Chris Dickinson and Homicide in 14:08 to win the ROH Tag Titles.
Riccaboni noted that Lee is a double champion and has a chance to become a triple champion at Death Before Dishonor. Lee and King knelt in the corner and talked smack into the camera… The ROH Death Before Dishonor lineup was spotlighted with match graphics to close the show. They once again failed to list the four-way main event as an elimination match…
Powell’s POV: A good main event with a surprising title change. I guess ROH was really committed to Lee given that they had him regain the championships he’d lost while he was injured by defeating the wrestlers who won the titles in his absence.
Overall, this was a good hour of television and yet it was also another underwhelming go-home show from ROH. They just haven’t found their groove when it comes to delivering strong angles or promos on the pay-per-view weekend shows. They list the matches and the broadcast team plugs the pay-per-view, but they just don’t do anything that really creates final buzz going into their pay-per-view events. I guess the tag title change counts for something, but I’m not sure that it really sells viewers on ordering the pay-per-view. My weekly ROH Wrestling audio reviews are available exclusively for Dot Net Members.
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