By Sam Robinson, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@altaine)
Ring of Honor on HonorClub (Episode 59)
Taped April 10, 2024 in Charleston, West Virginia at Charleston Coliseum
Streamed April 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…
We started the show with a recap video from Supercard of Honor last Friday with actual clips. Then we got a backstage promo from Briscoe and Kingston after their match at Supercard drinking beers and talking smack to House of Black.
1. Isiah Kassidy (w/Marq Quen) vs. Action Andretti. Kassidy used the code of honor to take an early advantage with a kick to the gut and a few punches. Andretti came right back with a flying head scissors and a dropkick. Andretti hit a springboard tornado splash for a two count. Andretti lit Kassidy up in the corner with a chop to a squeal from Kassidy. Kassidy hung Andretti up on the top rope and pushed him to the floor. Kassidy followed him out and slammed Andretti into the barricades.
Kassidy told the camera to take pictures while he punched Andretti in the face on the floor. Back in the ring Kassidy hit a shoulder dive onto Andretti from the apron. Kassidy posed to the crowd and locked in a chinlock. Andretti powered up, but Kassidy hit a Side Effect and got a two count. Kassidy choked Andretti and argued with Rick Knox about it and then hit a running back elbow on Andretti. Andretti grabbed the ropes on an Irish Whip and fired up with some back elbows and then a backbreaker into a neckbreaker combo.
Kassidy took a powder on the outside and Andretti followed him out with a suicide dive. Andretti went to the top and hit a flying elbow to a standing Kassidy and got a two count. Kassidy got his foot caught but hit a rewind kick and then a springboard cutter onto Andretti who was on the apron. Kassidy hit an Asai moonsault on Andretti on the outside and tossed him in the ring and hit an ugly swan dive off the top for a two count on Andretti. Kassidy tried for Twist of Fate but Andretti eventually hit a poison-rana and a disaster kick for a two count.
Andretti took a second to kick at Quen on the outside and then springboard jumped right into a cutter which got Kassidy a two count. Kassidy went to the top and Andretti followed him up, Kassidy tried a side effect from the top but Andretti flipped out and hit a split leg moonsault for the pinfall.
Action Andretti defeated Isiah Kassidy by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: A pretty good TV match, but Kassidy’s heel offense in the middle was pretty slow and boring.
A parking lot promo from Undisputed Kingdom after Supercard aired. Bennett and Taven said they were banged up and Wardlow said he felt fine. Taven said that with Wardlow behind them, they’ll never lose…
The Infantry spoke after Supercard. Carlie Bravo was upset, and Shawn Dean pumped him back up and said they will never stop coming. Bravo said The Infantry is here to stay…
Robinson’s Ruminations: I’m really digging the after match promos from the PPV competitors. They were pretty basic, but it’s just nice to hear from these guys after the matches.
2. Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty vs. “Australian Takeover” Julian Ward and Kaz Jordan. No televised entrance for Australian Takeover. Ward lit up Moriarty with some chops, and slid out of an abdominal stretch attempt. Moriarty got a dropkick to the face and both men tagged out. Jordan tried to chop Taylor but got tossed into the corner and ate a huge chop of his own. “One more time” from the crowd who didn’t give it to them and Beil tossed Jordan across the ring. Jordan ran right into a chokeslam and Moriarty tagged in and locked in a headlock. When Jordan started to fight back, Taylor made a blind tag and nearly took off Jordan’s head with a big boot. Moriarty cleared Ward from the apron and sat on their corner. Taylor hit his headbutt and big right hand and then the Marcus Garvey Driver for the pinfall.
Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty defeated Australian Takeover by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: A squash match win for STP.
A recap aired of the Women’s TV Tournament finals between Queen Aminata and Billie Starkz and the announcers decried the antics of Starkz…
Pose Supercard footage showed Billie going up to her mother saying, “I did it.” Her mom said that she was raised better than that. Her mom said her heel tactics weren’t funny and Athena is a bad influence. The crowd panned and Athena was standing waiting for a hug. Billie and Athena celebrated and Athena said she’s “your new mom” as they walked off cheering.
3. Nyla Rose vs. Kat Von Heez. No televised entrance for Von Heez. Rose hit a standing cross body block and lit up Von Heez in the corner with shoulder blocks. Rose hit a running snapmare and pulled Von Heez up on the cover. Rose hit an avalanche in the corner and more shoulder blocks, and then argued with the ref. Von Heez got her chance with a few strikes but then wound up for something and Rose made her comeback with a superkick, neckbreaker, senton splash and then went to the top. Rose hit a splash from the top for the pinfall.
Nyla Rose defeated Kat Von Heez by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Squash match against a competitor her own size, so we didn’t see a ton of power moves, but Rose still looked good here.
We got a recap video from the ROH TV Title match between Kyle Fletcher and Lee Johnson from Supercard…
Backstage after Supercard, Lexi asked Johnson about his emotions after his “star making performance”. Johnson said he’s been waiting for a moment like that, and that he didn’t lose because he held his own…
Backstage, Fletcher said maybe Johnson is on his level. Fletcher said he couldn’t defend his title because of visa issues, not because he didn’t want to come to work. Fletcher said that match proves his dedication and passion…
4. Cole Karter vs. Christopher Daniels. Karter hit his dropkick early and Daniels offered another handshake. Karter hit a shoulder block but Daniels hit a hip toss, arm drag and scoop slam. Karter teased another handshake but slapped Daniels in the face. Daniels fired up and put Karter in the corner, but Karter fought out and hit a clothesline for a two count. Karter hit a standing dropkick and got a two count. Karter locked in a chinlock and Daniels fought to his feet but Karter hit yet another dropkick and posed on the ropes.
Karter hit some knees to the spine and locked in another chinlock. Daniels fought to his feet again, but Karter cut him off with a knee to the gut. Karter tried fro his dropkick again but Daniels grabbed the ropes and then hit a uranage for a double own. Daniels hit some clotheslines and hit STO. Daniels hit a DVD and got a two count. Daniels called for Angel’s Wings but Karter fought out and hit a ripcord high knee for a two count. Karter went to the top rope but took his time. Karter tried a diving cannonball but Daniels had rolled out of the way and Daniels hit Angel’s Wings for the pinfall.
Christopher Daniels defeated Cole Karter by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: A fine television match that showed Karter still has a few tricks to learn.
A recap video aired of the Fight Without Honor between Dalton Castle and Johnny TV at Supercard…
A backstage promo aired from after Supercard with Lexi asked Castle what he’s thinking. Castle said he can’t think, that he hurts. Castle said he rose from the ashes and surrounds himself with some of the best TV people and threw to Howzer. Howzer said he’s got Castle’s back and then made a pedo joke about “Boys”. Castle said this is all the TV ROH needs and then they teased making a tag team. As Castle and the Boys walked off, Howzer asked Lexi if they were all orphans.
5. “The Righteous” Vincent and Dutch vs. Bryce Donovan and Chicho Adams. No entrance for the jobbers. Vincent teased the code of honor only for Dutch to hit a double clothesline on the jobbers. Adams hit a shoulder block only to eat a running back elbow. Vincent hit a slam and Dutch hit a leg drop on Adams. Dutch hit a chop that echoed through the arena and then hit a gut-wrench powerbomb and Vincent hit Death From Above but Donovan broke up the cover. Adams got an inside cradle and a two count. Donovan got tagged in and hit a boot on Dutch and a big elbow on Vincent. Donvan ran right into a bossman slam from Dutch and then Righteous hit Orange Sunshine for the pinfall.
“The Righteous” Vincent and Dutch defeated Bryce Donovan and Chicho Adams by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Another squash match. Donovan had a good hot tag.
A recap aired of the ROH Women’s Title match between Athena and Hikaru Shida…
6. Anna Jay vs. “LMK” Little Mean Kathleen. No televised entrance for LMK. LMK grabbed a headlock out of the code of honor but Jay rolled right through. LMK choked Jay in the corner and Jay fought out and hit a running forearm. Jay hit a snap suplex and chopped LMK in the corner. LMK got a school girl rollup for a one count. Jay hit a running elbow in the corner and then a spin kick in the opposite corner. Jay hit a middle rope blockbuster and then a Gory Bomb for the pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: Yet another squash match. I don’t think that these are bad things this week, more on that at the bottom.
Backstage after Supercard, Mariah May was excited about her ROH debut and sad about her loss to Thunder Rosa. Mina Shirakawa came in and kissed May and then poured them each a glass of champagne…
A video package aired on Josh Woods that was narrated by “Smart” Mark Sterling, who detailed the accomplishments of Woods. It was capped by the new Premier Athletes logo…
7. Zak Knight vs. Alvin Alvarez. No entrance for Alvarez. Knight hit a huge running shoulder to the gut to start. Knight lit up Alvarez in the corner with strikes and even hit the ten punches. Alvarez hit an avalanche to cut off the momentum but took too long to set up the suplex and Knight hit one of his own. Knight hit a springboard punch. Knight hit a Michinoku driver for a two count. “Alvin” chanted the crowd. Alvarez hit a headbutt, but Knight came back with a crossover clothesline for the pinfall.
Zak Knight defeated Alvin Alvarez by pinfall.
Robinson’s Ruminations: They’re trying to get Knight to be a heel, but his offense is just too flashy and powerful to be heelish. He’s going to need to change his cadence and pace of offense to be a good heel.
A video recapped the ROH Title match between Eddie Kingston and Mark Briscoe from Supercard.
8. ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher vs. Rhett Titus in a Proving Ground match. No televised entrance for Titus. Fletcher kicked away the code of honor. Fletcher hit a high waist lock slam and Titus looked annoyed. Fletcher hit a shoulder block and posed. Titus hit an outside-in shoulder block but Fletcher came right back with a scoop slam off of a run.
Fletcher lit Titus up in the corner with a chop and then put him down with an arm wringer and got a one count for it. Titus hit an arm drag and a slingshot falcon arrow. Titus did his kidney punch routine and then hit a backbreaker. Titus hit a pair of running boots, but Fletcher returned fire with one. Titus got a roll up for a two count. Titus hit his belly to belly and got a two count and went right into a half crab. Fletcher rolled around and kicked his way out. Fletcher hit a snap half dragon suplex. Fletcher hit a half and half suplex. Fletcher hit a running boot to the face and then his piledriver for the pinfall.
ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher defeated Rhett Titus by pinfall in a Proving Ground match.
Robinson’s Ruminations: A showcase match for Fletcher. Titus got a little bit of offense but he got zero reaction from a crowd that was cheering for jobbers just a little bit ago. I guess that’s why Titus isn’t under contract. It’s odd though, because Titus seemingly has everything you’d need to be a good wrestler, but he just doesn’t seem to connect with the crowds any time I’ve seen him.
The overall show was just a pile of squash matches and recaps of Supercard, but I think that’s all it really needs to be the week after a PPV. Show off some folks that don’t get a lot of TV time, see if they can get over, or let them work on something new; and in between fill the space with your champions and PPV competitors talking about their victories or defeats. My weekly ROH audio reviews are available for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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