Ring of Honor TV live results: NJPW Strong Women’s title match

By Suit Williams
Published: 8 Jun 2023, 15:30

Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub will feature an NJPW Strong Women’s title defense.

Willow Nightingale will defends against the returning Rachael Ellering, making her first ROH appearance since October 2016.

Griff Garrison takes on Lee Moriarty in his first match since last October due to an injury that required surgery.

Ahead of her opportunity at an AEW Women’s title shot on Friday, Mercedes Martinez will take on VertVixen.

In a Proving Ground match, ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) face Marcus Kross, Eli Isom & Cheeseburger.

Two trios matches will be featured as Dark Order’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver face The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) and Shane Taylor while Darius Martin, Action Andretti & AR Fox battle Sonny Kiss, Jeeves Kay & Slim J.

The rest of the card features Rey Fenix, Matt Sydal, Kiera Hogan and more.

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Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGinness and Caprice Coleman were on commentary from Orlando, Florida.

Kyle Fletcher defeated Christopher Daniels

Good back-and-forth action. Daniels took Fletcher down with a modified flat liner off the middle ropes and locked in a Koji Clutch, but Fletcher made it to the ropes to force a break. Daniels and Fletcher took turns dropping each other on their heads with suplexes. Fletcher countered an STO and went for a spinning piledriver, but Daniels countered with a cradle. Fletcher escaped an Angel’s Wings attempt and caught Daniels with a spinning tombstone to get the pinfall. Solid match. This is Fletcher’s 3rd win in a row, which is the old ROH days used to get you in the conversation for a title shot. The code of honor was adhered to after the match.

Matt Sydal defeated Zack Clayton (w/ Cole Karter) (3:04)

Karter distracted Sydal as he came off the top with a crossbody and Clayton caught him with a spinning powerslam for a near fall. Sydal countered a slam with a DDT and came off the top with a meteora to get the pinfall. After the match, Sydal called out ROH Television Champion Samoa Joe. Samoa Joe v. Matt Sydal for the TV title was made later in the show.

Dralistico (w/ Jose the Assistant) defeated Willie Mack (7:40)

Mack offered Dralistico a handshake to start, but Dralistico only offered one finger in response. Dralistico hit a tope con hilo out of the ring and a senton in the ring for a near fall. Mack came back with a running shining wizard and hit a tope con hilo on Dralistico and Jose on the floor. Jose grabbed Mack’s foot to keep him from getting back in the ring, and Dralistico tied up Mack in the ropes and came off the top with a kick for a near fall.

Mack and Dralistico exchanged strikes and kicks in the center of the ring, with Mack finally getting the edge with a spinning leg lariat. Mack caught Dralistico with a pop-up fall away slam, and Mack popped up with a standing moonsault for a near fall. Mack came off the top with a splash, but Dralistico got his knees up at the last minute. Mack caught Dralistico with a pop-up uppercut. Jose got on the apron to distract Mack and the referee, allowing Dralistico to hit a low blow and then the Incinerator Knee to get the pinfall. Good match but a bad finish.

Tony Khan has a huge announcement

Khan came out to announce Matt Sydal vs. Samoa Joe for the ROH Television Title. He then brought out the new ROH Board of Directions to help him do some of the backstage work in ROH: Stokely Hathaway (who looks like he’s doing a disingenuous babyface gimmick) and Jerry Lynn. Khan sure loves his announcements.

NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale defeated Rachel Ellering to retain (6:49)

Caprice Coleman sang his own made-up lyrics for Nightingale’s music, and I hope he’s paying Taz some residuals for stealing his gimmick. Nightingale got a fisherwoman’s suplex for a near fall. Ellering hit an STO and a spinning legdrop off the ropes for a near fall. Nightingale and Ellering exchanged chops in the corner. Nightingale came off the middle ropes with a dropkick to get a near fall. Ellering caught Nightingale with a black hole slam for a near fall. Nightingale came back with the pounce and a cannonball in the corner. Nightingale caught Ellering with a spinebuster, then locked in a Camel Clutch to force a tap out.

ROH Six-Man Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage & The Gates of Agony) defeated Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Marcus Cross in a Proving Ground match(4:57)

In a Proving Ground match, if the challengers get a time limit (10 minutes) draw or win the match, they will earn a title shot. Isom put up a fight for about a minute before Page caught him with a superkick. Isom came back with a jawbreaker on Loa and made the tag to Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger tried but the Gates of Agony ate him up and gave nothing. Khan missed a splash in the corner and Cheeseburger got the tag, but the match fell apart and the Embassy just destroyed all three of their opponents. Cage and Tanga Loa tossed Isom into a power bomb from Bishop Khan and got the pinfall. This was a glorified squash.

Mercedes Martinez defeated VertVixen (4:23)

VertVixen got a dropkick early, but Martinez kipped up and floored her with a clothesline.VertVixen had the offense for a while, but Martinez came in the corner with a charging forearm and hit an anarchist’s suplex for a near fall. Martinez hit VertVixen with a forearm to the back of the head, then locked in an inverted surfboard to get the submission.

Lee Moriarty defeated Griff Garrison

Garrison is back after an injury, trying his hand at singles. Moriarty dominated the match early by working over Garrison’s shoulder. Garrison came back and caught Moriarty with a spinning powerslam, then hit a twisting forearm for a near fall. Garrison tried to pick Moriarty up for an Angle Slam, but Moriarty raked Garrison’s eyes and rolled him up for a pinfall.

Kiera Hogan defeated Robyn Renegade (4:32)

Hogan hit a legdrop for two. Renegade worked over Hogan’s arm. Renegade locked in an overhead wristlock, but Hogan made the ropes to force the break. Hogan came back with a series of forearms and flying axehandles before stomping a mudhole into Renegade in the corner. Hogan followed up with a sliding dropkick and a running hip attack, and Robyn slid to the floor. Charlette Renegade (not her twin sister but very much a lookalike) ran in to help. Hogan dropped to the floor to take them both out, then brought one of the Renegades back in the ring and finished them off with a superkick to get the pinfall.

After the match, Athena ran in and attacked Hogan with a kendo stick. But that backfired, and Hogan got the kendo stick and beat Athea out of the ring. Hogan held up Athena’s ROH Women’s title to taunt Athena.

Dark Order (Evil Uno, Jon Silver & Alex Reynolds) defeated Shane Taylor and The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)

A slugfest broke out during the handshake between both teams to start the match. Reynolds took a lot of punishment from Taylor and Drake in the corner. Drake hit a belly to belly suplex on Reynolds, and Shane Taylor followed up with a big splash for a near fall. Drake hit a cannonball in the corner, then Taylor and Drake did a tag team stunner for a near fall. Anthony Henry came off the top rope with a double stomp,

Reynolds got the tag to Uno. Uno sent Drake to the floor with a boot, then stomped away at Henry in the corner. Uno hit a suplex on Henry for a near fall. Taylor and Uno exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring a battle which Taylor easily won. But a miscommunication spot lead to Drake hitting his own partner Taylor with a boot. Uno hit Henry with a Sky High. The Dark Order gave Henry a triple team windmill slam. Reynolds and Silver hit their rapid-fire finisher on Drake to get the pinfall.

– After the match, the Righteous with new member Stu Grayson (formerly of the Dark Order) were interviewed by Dasha Fuentes. They were not impressed with the Dark Order. The Righteous will have a match next week.

AR Fox, Darius Martin & Action Andretti defeated The Trustbusters (Sonny Kiss, Slim J and Jeeves Kay) (6:00)

There sure are a lot of trios in ROH. Sonny Kiss press slammed Andretti out of the corner, then hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Kiss split into a legdrop for a near fall. Slim J got the tag and ran right into a boot from Andretti. Darius Martin tagged in and hit Slim J with a forearm. Darius gave Slim J a pump handle into a facebuster for a near fall. Kiss hit a spinning kick on Martin, and after an assisted slice break, Daivari came off the top with a splash for two. AR Fox came in and hit a couple of cutters, then Martin and Andretti hit a double steam slam on Daivari to get the pinfall.

The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) (w/ Maria Kanellas) defeated El Cobarde & El Dragon

Two minutes into the match, Bennett got busted open. Dragon took both guys to the floor with a hurricanrana. Cobarde and Dragon had their chances, but this was another glorified squash match in a series of them. Bennett and Taven won with the Proton Pack. After the match, Maria kissed her bloodied husband to celebrate the victory.

The ROH Board of Directors announcement

Hathaway suggested Action Andretti vs. the entire Embassy, but Jerry Lynn whispered his own suggestion to Tony Khan, making an ROH Six-Man title match with the Embassy against Andretti, AR Fox, and Darius Martin. Khan then brought ROH Tag Team Champion Rey Fenix out for the main event.

Rey Fenix (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated Gravity (10:38)

Gravity is Bandido’s brother and making his ROH debut. Gravity dressed like an astronaut for his entrance but took the astronaut suit off for the match. Fenix locked up Gravity on the mat, and twice it looked like Gravity tapped out, but the ref never acknowledged it and the match continued. Gravity countered a suplex attempt with a small package, but Fenix escaped and floored Gravity with a superkick. Gravity hit a springboard crossbody over the ropes to the floor for a near fall.

Gravity hit Fenix with a powerslam and a standing moonsault for a near fall. Fenix hit a sit-out burning hammer for a near fall. Fenix tied Gravity up into a crucifix on his own back, then spun him around like an airplane spin for a near fall. Gravity and Fenix exchanged a series of cradles for near falls.

Gravity deadlifted Fenix into a power bomb off the mat for a near fall. Gravity missed a splash off the top, and Fenix ran the ropes to give Gravity a kick to the head for another near fall. Gravity hit a crucifix driver for another near fall. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” for a match that actually deserved it tonight.

Fenix and Gravity exchanged chops in the center of the ring. Fenix hit the pop-up cutter, then finished off Gravity with the sit-out tombstone to get the pinfall. This was a great main event.

Final Thoughts:

This was my first Ring of Honor show. No show needs to be two hours of glorified squashes. It felt like I was watching AEW Dark from 2021, and that’s not a good thing. A 60-minute show would be a lot easier to digest.

Next week:

Samoa Joe defends the ROH TV title against Matt Sydal
The Embassy defends the ROH Six-Man titles against AR Fox, Action Andretti & Darius Martin