Ring of Honor live results: Samoa Joe, The Embassy title defenses
Two title defenses highlight this week’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub.
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe will defend against Matt Sydal after he called out the champion last week.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) will defend against AR Fox, Darius Martin & Action Andretti as their reign continues.
In a Proving Ground match, ROH Women’s Champion Athena will face Trish Adora. If Adora can win or go to a draw, she earns a future title shot.
Former ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia will look to continue his winning ways and get a rematch for the title as he takes on NJPW’s The DKC.
Fresh off her failure to defeat AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm Wednesday, Skye Blue will look to get back on the winning track against Viva Van.
Other matches include The Righteous & Stu Grayson vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys, Mark Briscoe vs. Anthony Henry, and more.
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– We have a cold open, as Dasha was backstage with Matt Sydal. He says that every break he’s gotten in wrestling is because he’s unafraid to grab the mic and make a challenge. He’s been on Samoa Joe’s heels, and tonight he will become TV Champion.
– We then cut to Dasha with Samoa Joe, who says that tonight, Sydal will find out what happens when ambition goes further than common sense.
We cut to Universal Studios Orlando, with Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, and Nigel McGuinness on the call.
ROH World Television Title Match: Samoa Joe defeated Matt Sydal to retain
This wasn’t what it would have been in 2005, but both guys worked smart and hard here to make this a solid opener.
Joe pulls Sydal into the corner and clubbers him with forearms. Sydal throws a series of kicks, then sends Joe out of the ring with a spin kick to the face. Sydal followed Joe to the floor with a Meteora. Back in the ring, Joe cut Sydal off with a back elbow. Joe sent Sydal up and over with a suplex for a nearfall.
Sydal fought out of a headlock but ran right into a snap powerslam for a nearfall. Joe did some more clubbering, talking trash to Sydal as he laid into him. Sydal fought back with chops, getting a nearfall on a roll-up. Sydal hit a jumping knee. Sydal went for a spin kick and just collided with Joe as both men went down. Sydal reversed a pop-up powerbomb with a hurricanrana. Sydal hit a high kick for a nearfall.
Sydal hit the Meteora in the ring, but unlike last week, it couldn’t score the win. Sydal hit a point-blank knee to Joe’s face, but Joe cut him off on his way to the top rope. Joe snatched Sydal into a Muscle Buster for the win. This was his 12th successful defense of the title.
Nick Comoroto defeated Deimos (w/Teal Piper)
After some shenanigans with Comoroto’s sucker, Deimos took the fight to Comoroto. Deimos hit a big bodyslam on Comoroto before sending him to the floor with a shoulder block. Comoroto cut Deimos off with a chop to the throat before sending him into the stairs. Comoroto hit a powerslam for a nearfall.
Comoroto hit a reverse Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Deimos fought out of another Fireman’s Carry and fired up with clotheslines. Deimos hit a big spinebuster and followed with a big boot for a nearfall. Comoroto rolled to the apron and snapped Deimos over the ropes. Comoroto hit the Alabama Slam and got the win – with his feet on the ropes.
– Dasha was backstage with the Varsity Athletes. Smart Mark Sterling says he secured time for Tony Nese to get something off of his chest in the ring. I mean, he had time here. Is Dasha not good enough to hear Tony Nese’s thoughts?
Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson) defeated Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams
Williams and Bronson start off with forearms before Bronson takes control. Boulder tags in, but Williams avoided a corner charge, catching Boulder with an uppercut and an armbar. Titus tagged in, but the Savages caught both men in Gorilla Press slams. Titus caught Boulder with a move and went for a pin, but Boulder repeatedly pressed him to kick out.
Williams got knocked off the apron before Titus went for a tag, so Titus hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Bronson for a nearfall. Boulder tagged in and hit both his opponents with big slams. Titus and Williams avoided the double chokeslam and hit a double slam of their own, but Bronson broke up the fall. Bronson fought off both men, but Titus and Williams hit a Hart Attack for a nearfall.
Titus drilled Bronson with a corner boot before an offensive combo. Boulder cut off a Williams piledriver, leading to Bronson hitting a Rikishi Driver to Titus on top of Williams. The Iron Savages hit their tag team senton for the win.
– Dasha is backstage with the Workhorsemen. They’re upset that FTR got involved in their business a few weeks back. FTR isn’t here, but their friend Mark Briscoe is, so Henry calls him out for a match tonight.
Diamante defeated Teal Piper (w/Deimos)
Diamante caught Piper in the ropes and hit a neckbreaker, then dropkicked Piper off the apron. Diamante hit a hesitation dropkick in the corner. Diamante hit a suplex for a nearfall.
Diamante hit crossface forearms to Piper as the crowd booed. Piper fought back, hitting a penalty kick and a snap sidewalk suplex. Diamante caught Piper and hit a Cross Rhodes before locking in straitjacket submission to score the win.
– The Varsity Athletes come out. As promised earlier, Nese takes the microphone and has something to say. He says that the Varsity Athletes have worked hard to earn the respect of the fans. Nese surmises that the fans don’t respect them because the fans can’t relate to them. The Varsity Athletes will never be fat pigs like the people in attendance, so they decide to lead some group exercises. After a few stretches, Serpentico makes his way out for their scheduled bout.
Tony Nese (w/Ari Daivari & Smart Mark Sterling) defeated Serpentico
After some Nese clubbering in the corner, Serpentico caught Nese with a hurricanrana. Nese fired up and hit a back elbow. Nese rolled out of a sunset flip and hit a spinning back kick for a nearfall. The crowd chanted We Eat Hot Dogs to get under the skin of Nese.
Nese pummeled on Serpentico as he held onto a body scissors. Nese snapped Serpentico neck-first over the ropes, but Serpentico avoided the triangle moonsault. Serpentico fired up, hitting a jumping facebuster and a gamengiri. Nese hooked Serpentico’s tights and hit a German suplex into the corner. Nese hit the Running Knees for the win.
– Earning her pay tonight, Dasha was set to interview Kiera Hogan. Instead, Athena came in and did a mocking interview with a blue wig on. The real Kiera Hogan came in and laid her out with a forearm. I’m seeing double here. Four Hogans!
Miranda Alize defeated Notorious Mimi
Alize cut Mimi off on an up-and-over, sending her into the corner and hitting a face wash boot. A hesitation dropkick and a butterfly suplex scored Alize a nearfall. Alize hit a basement hurricanrana for a nearfall. Mimi came back with a bicycle kick and a reverse TKO. Alize caught a Mimi forearm and hit a cutter. She followed it with the Drive-By knee for the win.
Stu Grayson & The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brandon & Brent)
Boy Brent started with Vincent, and Vincent quickly cut him off with a back elbow. Brent was able to outmaneuver Vincent and hit a dropkick, forcing a bemused Vincent to tag out to Grayson. Brandon tagged in and caught Grayson with a crossbody, but Grayson launched him with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. On the floor, Castle and Vincent got into it, allowing Grayson to send Castle into the ringpost. In the ring, Dutch dropped Brandon to give the Righteous control.
Grayson and Vincent hit an offensive flurry to Brandon for a nearfall. Brandon fought for a tag to Brent, but Grayson immediately cut him off with a lariat. After some clubbering on Brandon, Castle tagged in and ran wild on all three Righteous members, sending them flying with suplexes and clearing the ring. He tagged in Brandon, but Dutch took out Castle by throwing him into the stairs. The Righteous took Brandon out with a triple-team slam.
– Dasha was backstage with the Dark Order. They were tired of sitting down and letting people bail on them. They question the Righteous’ loyalty to Stu Grayson, wondering if they were willing to bleed for him. They say we’ll find out soon enough.
ROH Women’s World Title Proving Ground Match: Athena defeated Trish Adora
If Adora lasts 10 minutes or wins, she’ll earn a title match in the future. McGuinness says on commentary that with Athena’s recent work, Adora would be smart to run away for those 10 minutes. Adora controlled the pace early, wringing Athena’s arm into the turnbuckle and forcing her to the floor. Adora followed her, but Athena came back in the ring and hit a dragon screw to the leg. Athena followed Adora to the floor and dropkicked her into the stairs.
Back in the ring, Athena went to work on Adora’s knee, tying her up with submissions until Adora got to the ropes. Adora hit a German suplex from her knees before hitting a big boot to send Athena into the corner. Adora hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Athena locked Adora’s legs in the ropes and landed a kick to the knee. Athena hit a superkick before going to the top and hitting the O-Face for the win.
After the match, Athena feigned the Code of Honor before landing a forearm on Adora. Kiera Hogan made her way to the ring with a trash can lid before things could escalate with Adora. Hogan then escalated things herself by getting in a brawl with Athena. Athena fought off security before Hogan hit her with a trash can lid. Hogan grabbed a table and set it up, but Athena speared her through it.
Mark Briscoe defeated Anthony Henry (w/JD Drake)
This match quickly spilled to the floor where the two brawled around the ring. Back in the ring, Henry avoided the Froggy Bow and hit a single-leg dropkick for a nearfall. Henry hit a DDT on Briscoe on the apron before catching Briscoe in an armbar. Briscoe got the ropes, but Henry laid in some big strikes and got a nearfall out of them. The crowd fired up for Briscoe as Henry had a submission in, but Henry dropped Briscoe with a backstabber.
Briscoe caught Henry with a chop to the throat and a shotgun dropkick. Briscoe fired up with chops and a single-leg dropkick. Briscoe hit a fisherman buster for a nearfall. Briscoe called for the Jay Driller, but Henry transitioned it into a neck crank and a Dragon Sleeper. Briscoe reached the ropes and avoided an ensuing double stomp. A strike battle started, with Briscoe winning with a lariat. Briscoe hit the Jay Driller for the win.
– Backstage, Tony Khan noted that this match would be coming from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He re-introduces his Board of Directors members Stokely Hathaway and Jerry Lynn, noting that Lynn would be a judge for the upcoming Pure Rules match. He hyped the Pure Rules match between Daniel Garcia and The DKC, as well as noting that the Six Man Titles would be on the line tonight. The Embassy will defend against Action Andretti, AR Fox, and Darius Martin. Hathaway had the idea of booking Athena vs. Kiera Hogan in a Chicago Street Fight next week. Khan liked the idea and made the title match official.
Pure Rules Match: Daniel Garcia defeated The DKC
Excalibur and Garcia’s stablemate Matt Menard were on the call for this one. Jerry Lynn, Dean Malenko, and Christopher Daniels were the judges for this one. Garcia was rattled by the Colorado crowd chanting You’re A Wrestler at him, allowing DKC to hit some chops. DKC ran some offense before Garcia shoved DKC off the top rope to the floor.
Garcia rolled through a sunset flip attempt and caught DKC in an STF. DKC crawled to the ropes and used his first rope break. Garcia set up the Shibata-style hesitation dropkick but decided to hit his dance instead. DKC came back and cannonballed into a standing Garcia. DKC hit a side kick before trapping Garcia and hitting multiple chops for a nearfall. DKC locked on the Rings of Saturn, forcing Garcia to use a rope break.
Garcia hooked DKC’s hair and locked on the Walls of Jericho. DKC reversed it into a roll-up, but Garcia hit a lifting Codebreaker. Garcia picked the DKC up on the cover, opting to lock in the Dragon Tamer for the submission win. He sat in Shibata’s pose after the match.
– Dasha is backstage with the Mogul Embassy. They bragged about their dominance as champions, noting that the Mogul Embassy lives forever.
Skye Blue defeated Viva Van
We’re back in Universal Studios for this one, with our original announce team. Blue had control early on, but Van cut her off with a big running heel kick. Blue fought out of a surfboard stretch and hit a hurricanrana off the ropes.
Blue hit a rising knee and a single-leg dropkick for a nearfall. Van shrugged off the Code Blue and hit a bridging German suplex for a nearfall. Van hit a grounded Meteora for a nearfall. Van pulled Blue up in Electric Chair position, but Blue rolled through into a rana. Blue hit the Skyfall for the win.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Match: The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Action Andretti, AR Fox & Darius Martin to retain
This was The Embassy’s most competitive match on ROH to date, as the challengers got more out of them than anyone else.
Cage and AR Fox started, with Cage using his power advantage to his advantage. Fox hit a splash, but Cage held onto him and hit a big slam. Martin tagged in, hitting a rana and sending Cage into the corner for a tag to Kaun. Kaun blew through a shoulder block and dropped Martin with a running chop. Martin tagged in Andretti after fighting out of the corner, but Liona sent him off the top rope in their corner. Kaun drove Andretti into the apron before flinging him into the post.
Liona knocked Fox and Martin off the ropes before hitting a senton on Andretti for a nearfall. Cage tagged in and clubbered on Andretti, but Andretti came off the ropes and hit Cage with a Canadian Destroyer. AR Fox tagged in and ran wild, taking on all three Embassy members on his own. The challengers hit dives on everyone before Fox hit a senton on Cage for a nearfall. The challenger team isolated Cage and hit a flurry of offense, finishing with a triple-team cutter for a nearfall broken up by Liona. Liona sent Martin inside out with a shoulder block, then took the other two down with a crossbody.
Martin took down Liona with a facebuster, kicking off a finisher flurry that ended with two 450 Splashes from Fox and Andretti for a nearfall that Cage broke up. A Pier Six brawl broke out, ending with Andretti and Cage in the ring. Cage caught Andretti in powerbomb position before transitioning into Weapon X for the pin and the win. This was the Embassy’s 3rd successful defense of the titles.