By Sam Robinson, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@altaine)
Ring of Honor on HonorClub (Episode 46)
Taped January 6, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina at Bojangles Arena
Streamed January 11, 2024 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 the announcers at ringside and they ran through the card…
1. Jon Cruz vs. Zak Knight. Cruz kicked away the code of honor handshake and ate a dropkick for his troubles. Knight worked over Cruz in the corner with chops and then Biel tossed Cruz across the ring. Knight hit a scoop slam and a knee drop. Knight hit a stalling suplex and the crowd called for one more. Cruz slipped out of the second attempt and begged off in the corner. Cruz pie faced Knight and tried for a head scissors but Knight just caught him in the air. Knight copped Cruz down. Knight hit a head scissors of his own. Cruz slipped out of the razor’s edge attempt and was able to hit a drop toe hold and a hip attack in the corner.
Cruz worked over Knight with punches in the corner. Cruz stood on Knight and posed in the corner and then hit a running elbow drop for two. Cruz locked in a chin lock but Knight fired up and powered out. Knight hit a springboard punch, called Fire Fist. Knight hit some punches and sat down on a sunset flip attempt. Knight hit a springboard moonsault from the corner for a two count. Knight hit some punches and the ref had to pull him off. Cruz made a comeback with some big boots and a hotshot. Cruz hit a senton dive from the top rope for a two count. Cruz went to the top again, but Knight caught him on a crossbody attempt and suplexed him. Knight hit his buckle razor’s edge and a running forearm for the pinfall.
Zak Knight defeated Jon Cruz by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: That one went longer than I feel it had a right to, Cruz just screamed jobber to me, and there was never any question in who was going to win.
We got a video package about All In.
2. Tony Nese vs. Marcus Kross. Nese did his heel mic work running down the hometown on the way to the ring. No entrance for Kross. Nese worked over Kross in the corner with punches and kicks to start things off. Kross fired back with punches and kicks of his own. Nese hit a drop down trip and pulled Kross out of the ring. Back in the ring Nese hit a throat punch and then his Savage hot shot. Nese locked in a body lock which Kross fought out of with elbows. Nese tried to throw Kross out, but Kross held on and tried a sunset flip, but Nese kicked him in the face. Kross rolled out of the way of a Nese springboard moonsault and took over with some punches. Kross hit some kicks and a springboard back elbow for a two count. Nese held onto the ropes to block and then hit a pumphandle driver for the pinfall.
Tony Nese defeated Marcus Kross by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: No Mark Sterling tonight, and an aggressive Nese. Both of those things were nice to see. I think Nese might actually be finding his stride as a big fish in the small pond of ROH.
3. Kyle Fletcher vs. Angelico in an ROH TV Championship match. Fletcher kicked away the code of honor. Fletcher started with an arm lock that Angelico reversed and Fletcher ran to the ropes quickly. Fletcher tried the arm work again, but Angelico tried a backslide and a drop down pin and got a zero count on both. Fletcher hit a scoop slam and mocked Angelico’s dance. Fletcher laid in a ton of forearms in the corner until the ref pulled him off. Angelico hit a enzuigiri for a double down. Both men traded strikes in the middle of the ring until Angelico was able to put a few strikes together and hit a rewind kick and small package for a two count. Angelico tried a sunset flip but Fletcher cut him off with an enzuigiri.
Fletcher tried to dive on Angelico but missed, and then lunged at him and hit the ring apron and came up holding his knee. Angelico hit his sunset flip this time and got a two count. Fletcher hit a superkick and then a cutter from the middle rope for a two count. Fletcher hit a big running kick in the corner and then put Angelico on the top turnbuckle. Angelico slid out of a superplex attempt, hit a back suplex and then snagged a cradle for a two count. Angelico locked in his deathlock ankle lock combo but Fletcher got the ropes to break it. Fletcher fought off an arm lock and hit a half nelson suplex and a running heel kick to the back of the head. Fletcher hit a kneeling piledriver for the pinfall.
Kyle Fletcher defeated Angelico by pinfall to retain his ROH TV Championship.
Robinson’s Ruminations: This one wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t up to my expectations for these two.
Backstage Lexi was down in the basement looking for Dalton Castle. Some moaning led Lexi to find Castle in a production crate looking disheveled in his ring gear. He had a cheese slice on him and pulled another one out of his jumpsuit and ate it as he complained that Johnny TV wouldn’t agree to a match with him. Castle begged Lexi to ask TV about the match. Lexi reluctantly agreed and Castle handed her some cheese as a thank you. She said the cheese was warm…
Robinson’s Ruminations: I am well over sad sack Castle now. This needs to end.
4. “The Righteous” Vincent and Dutch vs. Dave Dawson and Zane Dawson. The Dawsons used the code of honor to get an advantage on The Righteous. Dave got a quick one count on Vincent. Dawsons hit a double suplex on Vincent who was just smiling about it all. Vincent hit a headbutt but then ate a bunch of big boots. Dutch came in and tackled Dave and crossbodied Zane. Dutch threw them both in the corner on top of each other. Dutch hit a black hole slam on Dave for the three count.
The Righteous defeated The Dawsons by pinfall.
After the match The Righteous tried to do something awful with the 4×4 piece of wood they brought with them, but the ref pulled Vincent off.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Another squash match for The Righteous, but there was a lot of talk about The Undisputed Kingdom.
Backstage, Lexi asked Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarity about their two out of three falls match. Moriarty said it was great because they were going to get paid three times. Taylor said a general leads his soldiers into battle and he’s the general and he’s going to show The Infantry exactly what that means.
5. “The Boys” (Brandon and Brent Tate) vs. “The Iron Savages” Bronson and Boulder (w/Jacked Jameson). Jameson annoyed the announcers on commentary as The Boys got on each other’s shoulders just to lock up with Boulder. The Boys hit a dosi-do dropkick, a double dropkick and soul food. Then Boulder hit a double flapjack on both of them. Bronson sent one of The Boys to “Titty City” and then hit a huge clothesline on him. Bronson hit a short arm clothesline for a two count. Brent flipped out of a back suplex attempt and tagged in Brandon who hit a middle rope crossbody and a step up enzuigiri. Brandon hit a standing sliced bread for a two count. The crowd chanted for “Savage Sauce” as Boulder got tagged in and fought off a monkey flip attempt and caught a cross body attempt at the same time and slammed them both. Savages hit their transformer splash for the pinfall.
Iron Savages defeated The Boys by pinfall.
Jameson gave a kid in the crowd a protein bar as the match ended…
Robinson’s Ruminations: Gods no, the Savages are starting to get over. Fine match, with another outcome that was never in question.
7. Serpentico vs. Cole Karter. Karter kicked Serpentico in the gut before the code of honor. Serpentico came back with a dropkick and a dive to Karter on the outside. Serpentico tried to go up top, but Karter dumped him to the floor. Back in the ring, Karter laid in some mounted punches and then a standing drop kick. Karter tried another standing dropkick but Serpentico shooed it away and hit a flatline for a two count. Serpentico called for a piledriver but Karter stood up, but Serpentico got a roll up for a two count. Kater hit a ripcord jumping knee and a spinebuster for a two cout. Serpentico rolled through and hit a jumping cutter for a two count. Serpentico went to the top but Garrison and Maria came down to ringside. Serpentico leaped off the top and Karter pulled the ref’s attention. Garrison grabbed a leg and Karter rolled up Serpentico and held the tights for a three count.
Cole Karter defeated Serpentico by pinfall.
After the match Garrison tried to start the beatdown, but Angelico came down to the ring with a chair, so the heels fled…
Robinson’s Ruminations: Not a bad little match and it set up a future tag match.
Backstage, Lexi interviewed Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie and Lexi asked TV about the match with Castle. TV said no and he and Valkyrie made TV sitcom puns and then realized that the new Women’s TV championship has the same initials as Taya and they ran off…
8. Lady Frost vs. Trish Adora vs. Queen Aminata vs. Diamante. Frost and Diamated used the code of honor to hit forearms, Adora and Aminata threw them both to ringside and shook hands before they locked up. The women played around with a backslide lock for a bit but Diamante came in and kicked out their legs and rolled them both up, still locked up. Lady Frost broke up that nearfall and then hit neckbreakers and German suplexes on the women. Frost hit a flipping kick in the corner and got a two count on Adora. Aminata broke that up but ate a rolling face drop from Diamante. Adora hit a big backbreaker on Diamante and then got thrown out of the ring by Frost. Aminata and Adora hit a powerbomb with Frost onto Diamante. Aminata hit a double stomp from the top on Frost and got the three count.
Queen Aminata won a four corners survival match.
Robinson’s Ruminations: That one flew by and ended kind of abruptly. Nothing terrible about it, but certainly nothing to write home about.
The announcers hyped more matches, including that Josh Woods was up next…
9. Josh Woods vs. LaBron Kozone. No entrance for Kozone. Woods used the code of honor to kick Kozone in the gut. Kozone came back with a few strikes but missed an enzuigiri. Woods hit a German suplex and then GYT (Grit Your Teeth), a F5 knee strike.
Josh Woods defeated LaBron Kozone by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Squash match.
Backstage Lexi told The Infantry what Shane Taylor said earlier and they didn’t like it. Bravo said they were going to take STP to Boot Camp. Dean said it was 2024 and that STP needed to live in fear…
10. Robyn Renegade vs. Taya Valkyrie (w/Jonny TV). Valkyrie hit a clothesline but then walked into a shotgun dropkick. Renegade tried to go up top, Valkyrie pulled her down and hit meteora knees in the corner for a two count. Renegade teed off with some forearms and hit a jumping knee strike. Valkyrie fired back with a back falcon arrow and then hit the Shaina Pain (her curb stomp) for the pinfall.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Robyn Renegade by pinfall.
After the match, Valkyrie and TV made out for a bit…
Robinson’s Ruminations: Squash match.
Backstage Billie Starkz told Lexi that Athena was off this week. Lexi had all kinds of ideas for fun things they could do. Billie said they had something important to do first and cut a promo about winning the Women’s TV championship. Lexi and Billie walked off to go play mini golf…
11. Leyla Hirsch and Rachel Ellering vs. Brittany Jade and Emily Hale. No entrance for Jade and Hale. Hale waved off the code of honor and pushed Ellering who shoulder blocked her for it. Hirsch came in and hit a big forearm and a step up dropkick. Hale slid away from a big knee attempt and tagged Jade. Jade hit a few forearms but got tripped and Ellering came in and hit a senton for a two count. Ellering hit a few chops on Jade. Jade rolled up Ellering for a one count. Ellering hit a gut wrench slam, Hirsch hit a running knee and then Ellering hit the Bosswoman slam for the three count.
Rachel Ellering and Leyla Hirsch defeated Brittany Jade and Emily Hale by pinfall.
After the match, Abadon came out on the stage and made their presence known as the announcers talked about the Women’s TV Championship some more…
Robinson’s Ruminations: Another squash!
12. Jack Cartwheel vs. Slim J vs. Blake Christain vs. Gravity in a four corners survival match. Christian and Gravity got thrown to ringside at the very top. Cartwheel used his gymnastics to hit reversals and then hit his flagpole trip and pommel horse elbow drop. Gravity came in and he and Cartwheel traded chops and then Gravity hit a lucha wrist lock take over and then another wristlock takeover. Gravity locked in a submission off a Russian leg sweep attempt. Christian came in and used Gravity to knock down Slim J and then hit a German suplex on Gravity. Christian threw every one out, and then hit a Fosbury Flop into a reverse DDT on the outside on Cartwheel. Slim J hit a catapult into the ring post on Christian and then hit a crazy sliced bread variant on Christian in the ring.
Slim J hit a flipping heel kick off the top and got a two count on Christian. Christian came back with some chops and a handspring punch. Christian hit an atomic drop and a dropkick to the knees. Christian hit a 619 style kick to the legs of J. Cartwheel came in and hit some cartwheel screw leg whips and then some cannonballs in the corners. Gravity came in and hit a springboard crossbody on Cartwheel that Christian broke up. Gravity hit a powerbomb on Christian that Cartwheel broke up. Slim J hit another sliced bread cutter for a two count on Cartwheel. Gravity hit a powerslam on Slim J. Gravity hit a headstand splash on Slim J for a broken up two count. Christian hit an STO Spinebuster on Gravity. Cartwheel hit a DVD on Christian and hit a handspring flip dive onto the outside. Slim J hit a nasty looking springboard back elbow on Cartwheel to leave him lying on the outside. Slim J missed a crossbody in the ring and ate a dropkick from Christian. Christian locked in a clover leaf and got the submission.
Blake Christian beat Jack Cartwheel, Slim J, and Gravity in a four corners survival match.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Crazy lucha match gonna do crazy lucha things. It was a good one for its style.
Athena delivered a promo from her training facility where she ran down her injuries. Nyla Rose snuck up on her and laid her and all her trainees out. Rose hit a powerbomb on Athena and then scared off a bunch of trainees. Rose chokeslammed Athena through a door set up on the ring apron…
Robinson’s Ruminations: Athena taking a few weeks off isn’t the worst thing in the world, especially if she’s as banged up as she was saying she is. Her next opponent being Rose isn’t bad either. This definitely made Rose look like a monster.
12. Christopher Daniels vs. Lee Johnson. Johnson hit a shoulder tackle and then they traded arm drags and then both went for one at the same time. Johnson tried his dropkick but Daniels held onto the ropes. Johnson hit a back body drop and then another one. Johnson went to the top and missed a cross body block as Daniels fell out of the way. Daniels worked over Johnson’s midsection with shoulders in the corner and a hard throw into the turnbuckle. Daniels hit a gutbuster for a two count. Daniels hit a shoulder block to the gut. Daniels hit an elbow drop from the middle and got a two count.
Daniels locked in a reverse bearhug on the mat and Johnson stood up and fought out with back elbows. Johnson hit his dropkick for a double down. Johnson came back with some clotheslines and a neckbreaker. Johnson hit a blue thunder bomb for a two count. Daniels went back to the midsection with shoulders in the corner. Daniels hit a DVD and a front suplex for a two count. Daneils went for Angel’s Wings but Johnson hit a back body drop. The men traded punches in the middle of the ring until Daniels hit a flapjack. Daniels tried a uranage but Johnson threw him off. Daniels rolled through a roll up attempt and hit Angel’s Wings for the three count.
Christopher Daniels defeated Lee Johnson by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Slow plodding match, but that’s about the only speed Daniels has left. It was nice to see someone work the gut, I haven’t seen that in forever.
13. “The Infantry” Sean Dean and Carlie Bravo vs. Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty in a best of three falls match. No Code of Honor handshake from either team. Infantry dropkicked STP to the floor and then dove on to them. Infantry ran Taylor into the barricade. Back in the ring Bravo hit a rolling flatliner on Moriarty. Infantry hit a dropdown trip and dropkick combo on Moriarty. Bravo hit a double ax handle on the arm of Moriarty. Dean came in with another ax handle to the arm. Infantry hit a decapitation elbow from the middle. Bravo saw Taylor come back to the apron and kicked him off. Infantry went for Boot Camp but Taylor tripped Bravo and threw him into the barricade. Moriarty hit a flapjack on Dean. Taylor hit a knockout punch on Bravo for the first pinfall.
Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty won the first fall by pinfall.
Taylor worked over Bravo in the corner with punches as Moriarty threw Dean into the barricade on the outside. Bravo tried some jabs, but Taylor cut him off with a huge lariat for a two count. Taylor hit a headbutt and tried his finisher. Moriarty and Dean came in, and Dean hit a bunch of clotheslines and a satellite DDT on Moriarty. Dean hit a jumping back elbow in the corner. Infantry hit a DVD, rotating frog splash and a normal splash on Moriarty for the second pinfall.
The Infantry won the second fall by pinfall.
Bravo hit his big punch on Moriarty but ate a uranage from Taylor. Dean German suplexed Taylor! Moriarty hit a pair of big boots on Dean. Dean blocked a bulldog and hit a backbreaker on Moriarty. Bravo and Taylor traded forearms until Taylor hit a headbutt, but Bravo staggered and hit his crossover punch for a two count. Infantry hit Bootcamp on Taylor but Moriarty broke up the cover. Bravo and Moriarty got dumped to ringside. Dean tried a big splash in the corner but ate a uranage from Taylor. Moriarty hit a big boot in the corner and hit flatliner finisher for the pinfall.
Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty defeated The Infantry in a two out of three falls match by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: I’m not sure that the feud here called for a two out of three falls match, but it wasn’t a bad one. I’m sad to see Infantry lose, as I’m enjoy their work. Furthermore, there are plenty of heel teams on the upswing at the moment, and we currently have heel champions.
Overall, the show was largely forgettable already as it was a lot of squash matches. The main event was good, but not enough to save the show from being skippable. My weekly audio review of ROH on HonorClub are available for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
I asked this last week but you may not have seen it since I read the report late. Why do you ALWAYS skip the number 6? Is there a reason for it? Thanks for the ROH reviews