By Sam Robinson, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@altaine)
Ring of Honor on HonorClub (Episode 22)
Taped in July 22, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey at Prudential Center
Streamed July 27, 2023 on HonorClub
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on commentary, and Bobby Cruise was the ring announcer…
*Unless otherwise noted, all matches started and ended with the Code of Honor handshake.
The show opened with a recap of every Death Before Dishonor match narrated by Ian Riccaboni, who plugged that you can still catch a replay on demand now. Very nice touch, this was awesome…
1. Eli Isom vs. Josh Woods (w/Mark Sterling) in a Pure Rules match. Jerry Lynn and Jimmy Jacobs were announced as judges for this match, and then Shibata was announced as the third judge. Ari Daivari and Tony Nese came out to the stage with Woods and Sterling, but went to the back.
Early on, Woods pushed Isom around into the ropes until the ref called for a rope break to be taken from Isom. The men did some chain wrestling before they traded arm drags and Isom got the advantage with an arm bar. Woods got the advantage by kicking out Isom’s arm on a tip up attempt and he started working it over. Isom blocked an Irish Whip attempt and used his second rope break.
Woods continued to work on the shoulder but Isom fought back with forearms showing some good fighting spirit. Isom hit a blue thunder bomb and got a one count. Woods tried for a roll through german, but instead he rolled into a cross arm breaker that forced Isom to use his last rope break. Woods locked in a sleeper from the apron and pulled Isom back into the ring. Then he sat Isom down, hit a PK while staring down Shibata and then he locked in his gorilla lock finisher.
Josh Woods defeated Eli Isom by submission in 9:00 in a Pure Rules match.
Sterling grabbed the mic and said that Woods should be the face of the Pure division and touted his amateur record. Sterling made the challenge for the Woods vs. Shibata match for next week. Shibata rolled into the ring and held his title up while face to face with Woods. Sterling pulled Woods away because they don’t do anything without contracts…
Robinson’s Ruminations: A fine match that set up a match for next week probably.
Backstage Lexi interviewed Trish Adora and asked what’s next after her loss at the PPV. She said that before a loss like that would crush her, but now that she’s got partners in The Infantry she’s ready to get back to winning.
2. Trish Adora vs. Vita VonStarr. No televised entrance for VonStarr. VonStarr pie faced Adora instead of doing the Code of Honor handshake. Adora got off to a strong start with a scoop slam and some arm ringers. Adora locked in her modified stretch muffler but VonStarr slithered out and took over. VonStarr hit a bridging vertical suplex for a two count. VonStarr locked in an octopus stretch but Adora spun it around into a backbreaker. Adora hit a crossbody and a pump kick for a two count. VonStarr came back with a Michinoku driver for a two count. Adora immediately came back and hit Lariat Tubman for the win.
Trish Adora defeated Vita VonStarr by pinfall in 4:20.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Nice bounce back win for Adora. She’s coming along very nicely. Only good things are in her future.
3. Jacked Jameson” and Iron Savages” Bronson and Boulder vs. “The Embassy” Brian Cage, Toa Liona, and Bishop Kaun (w/Prince Nana) for the ROH Six-Man Championship. No matter how hard Jameson tried on their entrance they couldn’t get over their “Who are we?” line with the crowd. Cage got isolated very early in the match by the Savages, and Jameson got a two count on Cage. Cage cut Jameson off and The Embassy worked him over in their corner. Eventually, Bronson got a tag and he cut off all The Embassy members even hitting a suicide dice on Cage on the outside.
Unfortunately, Bronson took a nasty power bomb to the outside by Gates. Bronson got rolled in the ring and he gave up a two count. The Embassy cleared the other Savages from ringside and all hit corner splashes on him. Kaun put Bronson on the top turnbuckle and hit a side slam on the turnbuckle and Toa hit a senton on the apron. Cage hit his outside in suplex and got his cover broken up. Bronson sit down on a sunset flip attempt by Cage and got the hot tag to Boulder who hit shoulder blocks on everyone and hit a double flapjack on Cage and Kaun.
Nana distracted the ref for no reason while Toa and Boulder traded shots in the middle of the ring. Boulder got the best of it with a big shoulder block. Boulder hit a powerslam on Kaun for a two count. Boulder setup Kaun to try for a moonsault but no one home. Everything started breaking down with everyone hitting big moves on each other. Boulder tried for a crossbody but Toa cut it off with a knee lift. Kaun hit a pedigree looking move on Jameson for the pinfall.
“The Embassy” Brian Cage, Toa Liona, and Bishop Kaun beat Iron Savages and Jacked Jameson by pinfall in 10:20 to retain the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles.
Robinson’s Ruminations: This one was kind of ugly in places, as the Savages team looked a little green and out of place a number of times. Also they were throwing The Embassy with ugly looking throws at times too.
4. Leyla Hirsch vs. B3cca. No televised entrance for B3cca. Hirsch kicked away the code of honor handshake. B3cca was really popular with the crowd as she’s a local, but Hirsch took her apart with some nice looking shoulder blocks and clotheslines. Hirsch hit a vertical suplex and looked into the camera and said “too easy”. B3cca made a comeback with a drop kick that got the crowd going crazy. B3cca hit a big kick and then went for a middle rope drop kick, Hirsch “noped” it. Hirsch hit a big knee to the face and got the pinfall.
Leyla Hirsch defeated B3cca by pinfall in 2:00.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Just a showcase win for Hirsch, but she got some good heat because of B3cca’s hometown reaction.
Lexi in the back interviewed Athena. Athena kept asking for the locker room to step up. She told Lexi to find her better talent or it’s going to be her.
5. Charlette Renegade and Robyn Renegade vs. Tiara James and JC. No entrance for James and JC. JC got a quick two count on a Renegade with a vertical suplex. Robyn on the outside tripped JC and tagged in and cut off JC. The Renegades hit a stalling vertical suplex and got a two count. They both hit Shh chops that got the crowd to “OOO”. They tried another stalling vertical and JC fought out and tagged James. James went house of fire on The Renegades hitting a bulldog and tried for another big move and got cut off. The Renegades hit a Hart Attack slingblade move for the pinfall.
The Renegades defeated Tiara James and JC by pinfall in 4:00 .
Robinson’s Ruminations: Showcase win for The Renegades, but I don’t see what’s to showcase. These girls are still a little slow and awkward in the ring.
6. ROH Women’s Champion Athena vs. Christina Marie in a Proving Ground match. Christina took the fight to Athena right away and hit a rolling neck snap for a one count. Athena came right back with a big forearm that rocked Marie. Athena hit some dropkicks that knocked Marie out of the ring. The announcers talked up Athena maybe breaking Samoa Joe’s World Title reign of 600+ days. Athena worked Marie over with some big strikes and finished it up with a huge forearm for the pinfall.
Athena defeated Christina Marie by 3:30.
After the match Athena threw Marie into the barricades at ringside.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Another win for Athena. No new developments here.
7. Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus vs. “The Kingdom” Mike Bennett and Matt Taven (w/Maria). Williams stood tall against some Bennett strikes, so Bennett tagged in Taven. They hit some double team offense and got a quick two count after a middle rope drop kick. Titus tagged in and took Taven on an airplane ride and back suplex for a two count. The Kingdom used dirty tactics to cut Titus off and they hit some more double team offense for a two count on Titus. Bennett hit a spinebuster and Taven went for a springboard moonsault but Titus got the knees up and tagged in Williams who chopped the crap out of The Kingdom.
Williams hit his corner DDT and locked in a clover leaf, but Bennett broke it up. Titus took Bennett out with his belly to belly, and they hit some tandem offense on Taven. They got a two count for it as Bennett broke it up. Bennett and Williams traded chops and they both locked in submissions on their other opponents and then went back to trading strikes.
Williams and Bennett hit piledrivers on their opponents and went back to trading strikes. Williams eventually hit a bit clothesline and got a two count because of a weak cover. Taven and Titus tagged in and Titus nailed him with a huge dropkick. Bennett tagged in and hit a DVD and then they hit the Proton Pack for the pinfall.
“The Kingdom” Matt Taven and Mike Bennett defeated Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus by pinfall in 9:00.
Robinson’s Ruminations: That was a super fun match, and I really enjoyed the strike fest between Williams and Bennett down the stretch.
Lexi interviewed Stokely Hathaway and Samoa Joe backstage. Stokely announced another tournament to crown a number one contender for the TV title. Lexi questioned if there was some favoritism, but Joe bullied Stokely into telling off Lexi…
8. JD Drake vs. Christopher Daniels in a ROH TV Title eliminator Tournament match. Riccaboni told us that this tournament is an 8-man tournament while Drake made his entrance, but no hint as to who else is in let alone a bracket. Daniels hit an early single leg dropkick to take control. Drake came right back with a running avalanche. During the match we got told the rest of the first round matches of the tournament and it sounded like we’d get them all tonight. Drake hit a bossman slam for a two count.
Drake hit two senton splashes and the crowd chanted “one more time” and Drake didn’t oblige to boos. The men traded chops but Daniels hit a flatliner. Daniels chopped Drake down with some strikes. Daniels hit a middle rope swinging slam for a two count. Drake came back with a dropkick and a cannonball for a two count. Drake went to the top and tried for a moonsault but no one home. Daniels put Drake down and hit BME for the pinfall.
Christopher Daniels defeated JD Drake by pinfall in 6:15 to advance in the tournament.
Daniels gave Drake some love after the match.
Robinson’s Ruminations: A fine television match between these two. Nothing wrong with it at all, but Daniels is a step slow these days, so it’s not really worth going out of your way to see.
9. Lee Moriarty and Big Bill vs. Gabriel Hodder and Adrien Soriano. Moriarty immediately locked in a crossface variant that made Soriano scramble for the ropes. Hodder got tagged in and he ate a big dropkick from Moriarty. Hodder hit a clothesline and tagged in Soriano and they worked over Moriarty and posed. Big Bill got tagged in and hit a double clothesline on them. Bill hit a bossman slam and hit a stalling chokeslam for the pinfall.
Lee Moriarty and Big Bill defeated Gabriel Hodder and Adrien Soriano by 3:00.
Robinson’s Ruminations: A squash win for Moriarty and Bill.
10. Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling, Ari Daivari) vs. Cheeseburger in an ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament match. Nese cut a promo on his way to the ring about how he intends to win the tournament and that cheeseburgers are fattening foods. Then he did his personal trainer bit. Cheeseburger’s entrance cut him off pretty quickly. Cheeseburger worked some British chain wrestling and lucha submissions. Nese cut off Cheeseburger when he went up top and hit a gourdbuster for a two count. Nese hung Burger in the tree of woe and did some crunch kicks on him.
The crowd was firmly behind Cheeseburger as he fought out of a vertical suplex attempt. Cheeseburger came back with a vertical suplex of his own. Cheeseburger hit a running palm strike that the announcers had been talking up as a knockout shot, but Nese kicked out at two. The men traded waistlocks until Burger got in front of Nese and nailed a DDT. Sterling distracted Burger and then Nese hit a pump-handle Michinoku Driver for the pinfall.
Tony Nese defeated Cheeseburger by pinfall in 6:50 to advance in the tournament.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Fun match. Cheeseburger is a fun act but I didn’t expect him to win here in a tournament.
11. Anthony Henry vs. Gravity in a ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament match. Henry kicked away the code of honor handshake. Gravity hit an early arm drag and then did a bunch of kip ups to try and escape an arm lock but Henry just dropped him. They traded arm bar attempts and flip outs. Henry got dumped to ringside and Gravity dove out after him but barely cleared the top rope. Gravity did a headstand on the apron and ate a superkick for it. Henry got a two count of a death valley driver. Henry hit a PK to the back and then stomped on Gravity’s hands. Gravity came back with a lucha flipping armdrag and then a backspring back elbow.
Gravity hit a press slam dropkick for a two count. Gravity went to the top but Henry pulled him down. Gravity rolled through and locked in a submission. Henry turned it around into a stretch muffler, but Gravity pulled up and rolled up Henry for two. Henry hit a Falcon arrow for a two count. Henry hit a jackknife DDT for a two count. Gravity fought through some strikes and hit a rolling slam and then hit a spaceman splash off the top for the three count.
Gravity defeated Anthony Henry in 6:00.
Robinson’s Ruminations: A win for Gravity but another instance of the opponent really doing a lot of work to make him look good. I’m not a fan of this kid, he still needs some seasoning.
12. Serpentico vs. Shane Taylor in an ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament match. Serpentico got a good start with some speed and a head scissors that only put Taylor in the corner, but Taylor cut him off quickly with a big forearm shot. Taylor threw Serpentico around the ring with some beal tosses telling him “lets get some miles”. Taylor hit a big lariat for a two count that shocked the announcers as they thought it was three. Taylor hit a slam for another two count. Serpentico flipped Taylor off and made a comeback with some kicks. Serpentico tried a crossbody off the top but was caught. Taylor hit a headbutt and a big splash for the three count.
Shane Taylor defeated Serpentico by pinfall in 4:20 to advance in the tournament.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Nice showcase win for Taylor. Hopefully this is Taylor’s tournament to win.
13. “The Trustbusters” Jeeves Kay, Sonny Kiss and Slim J) vs. Dalton Castle and “The Boys” Brandon Tate and Brent Tate. Castle said he’s frustrated and angry and whoever’s in his way is going to pay on the way to the ring. As the match got underway Riccaboni told us that Shibata vs. Woods for the Pure title is on for next week.
Castle and Kiss traded missed forearm shots in the corner for a while but Castle hit her with a dumping suplex. Kiss hit a rolling forearm on Brent and a splitting leg drop for a two count. Kay hit a scoop slam on Brent for a two count. Brent fought his way out and made the tag to Castle. Castle took out all the trustbusters with suplexes. After he cleared house he asked “Who’s legal?” to the Trustbusters who were outside, then he threw The Boys out on them. Kay got an advantage with an eye rake and he got a roll up two count. Kay tried for a jumping move and got caught in the Bangarang which got the pinfall.
Dalton Castle and The Boys defeated the Trustbusters in about 5:00.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Fine bounce back win for Castle and The Boys, though nothing special as The Trustbusters feel like jobbers. The overall show was a bit longer than it needed to be with quite a few squash matches to just reestablish some acts that didn’t really need more squashes. I will have more to say in my weekly audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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