Ring of Honor on HonorClub 8/3/2023 Episode #23

Ring of Honor on HonorClub 8/3/2023 Episode #23

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/ring-of-honor-on-honorclub-7272023.html 

ROH World TV Championship Eliminator Semifinals - Christopher Daniels vs Shane Taylor

Shane blocks his armdrag. Daniels hits corner punches then Shane punches him then body blocks him. Daniels hits punches then Shane hits a big lariat for 2. Shane hits another great punch then elbow drops him. Daniels hits a neckbreaker then clotheslines. Daniels hits an enzugiri then 2nd rope hurricanrana's him.

Daniels lariats him in the back of the head. Shane catches him off the buckles then hits a uranage and splash for 2. Shane gets stuck on the top then crossbodies him from there. Shane then hits a package piledriver and wins it.

It wasn't a bad match. Shane's offense looked good like usual.

The Iron Savages and Jacked Jameson talked about how they were jacked and how they were going to make Aussie Open suck brick. It was very intense and high energy, making for a good promo.

ROH Tag Titles - Aussie Open vs Iron Savages

Kyle says they can give them a shot but the belts ain't going nowhere. They tell Tony to keep the belts warm for them. Kyle shoulders him and they trade forearms. Bronson back elbows him and gorilla presses him but Kyle gets out and slams him. 

Boulder and Mark shoulder battle. Boulder runs through a chop and shoulders him over. Boulder is whipped into a corner splash on Mark then side slams Kyle. Bronson sentons Kyle. The Savages are knocked off the apron then Boulder has Bronson thrown into him. Bronson takes a PK and a senton for 2. Bronson hits a double boot in the corner and 2nd rope crossbodies both.

Bronson runs through a double lariat then dishes out his own double lariat. Boulder slams both opponents then has both in the air and hits a samaon drop + fallaway slam combo. Boulder power slams Kyle for 2. Boulder misses a 2nd rope moonsault then takes a sandwich forearm. Mark takes a forearm and boot then Bronson fire thunders Kyle while doing a butt drop on Mark. Mark then takes a double flapjack for 2. Bronson gets on Boulder's shoulders and Kyle turns it into a doomsday device.

Boulder takes a double kick then is thrown into a Kyle kick for 2. Boulder takes an impressive coriolis and Aussie Open win it.

It was a fun match with the Iron Savages getting to do a lot and looking good even in defeat. They had lots of time for this.

Kyle goes up to Tony Khan after with Mark and they say they won two nights in a row. Kyle then kisses Tony.

Stokeley Hathaway is interviewed. He said you should have to go through hoops to get through the greatest TV champ and said they may do another eliminator tournament for it. Dalton Castle and The Boys come in. Dalton says his chance to beat Joe was stolen. He wants to know why he's not in the tournament. Stokeley says his name was erased from the tournament somehow and brings up Jussie Smollett. Dalton asks his boys to smell him as he's letting off smoke. He says he will beat Joe again if given the champ. Joe then comes in. He says how dare you talk to the boss like that. Joe then says he will give him what he wants and says Dalton and The Boys will fight Joe and Stokeley in 2 weeks. Stokeley is shocked by this and Dalton says he doesn't know what happened after Lexi says as such.

ROH Pure Title - Katsuyori Shibata vs Josh Woods

Mark Sterling says Josh will beat Shibata with his own move that he says he does better. They fight for holds early and each grab a kneebar on each other. They roll out to the floor with both having it on. They then collar and elbow tie up outside then come in and do it when they are about to get counted out. Woods side headlocks him.

Mark Sterling gets on the apron to distract the ref and Shibata then Woods shoulders Shibata. Shibata has his shoulder thrown into the barricade. They fight over an armlock and Woods gets sent out. Woods gets in first and works his arm. Woods gutwrench suplexes him for 2 then doctor bombs him for 2. Woods hits Shibata with a PK then Shibata hits forearms on him in the corner. Shibata delay dropkicks him in the corner.

Woods uses a ropebreak then is backdropped. Woods backdrops him then Shibata germans him. They trade forearms with Woods hitting forearms to the arm. They then pump kick each other at the same time. Shibata facekicks him then Woods lariats him. They lariat each other and Shibata goes down. Woods stomps his arm and Shibata slips a choke on him. Shibata then PK's him and wins it.

The first part of this was silly with them doing lockups outside. Shibata can't take shots to the head, so Woods had to go real light on everything and hit him anywhere but the head. It didn't look good and just brought this one down.

Dalton Castle vs Zack Clayton

DC goes for waistlocks and Zack stomps him in the corner. Zack corner lariats him and exploders him. Zack chokes him on the ropes. DC does a nice suplex then does more of a uranage suplex on him. DC flying knees him in the corner then hits a bangarang for the quick win.

It was a short squash with DC taking a few moves then getting the rest of the offense in and winning it.

The Infantry vs Nick Comoroto and Jora Johl

Johl shoulders Bravo over then Bravo does a nice armdrag. Bravo corkscrew euros him. Bravo lariats him then Johl pounds on him. Nick lariats Bravo in the corner then gorilla press slams him. Bravo then takes a double back elbow.

Johl suplexes Bravo for 2 then accidentally superkicks his own partner. Dean gets the hot tag in, beats up Johl and flapjacks him. Bravo kicks Nick off the apron then neckbreakers Johl as he hangs over the 2nd rope. Nick takes a scissors kick over the 2nd rope then Joh takes a face kick + russian leg sweep combo for the Infantry win.

It was another short squash. I feel bad for Nick and Johl having to do this as Johl especially is good.

Leyla Hirsch vs Miranda Vionette

Leyla kicks MV's handshake attempt away. Leyla takes her down and rolls her around on the mat. MV cradles her and dropkicks her in the knee. Leyla stomps on her in the corner and suplexes her. Leyla pounds on her with forearms and pump kicks her as she's down. Leyla yanks her into a backdrop then misses a corner charge. MV hits euros and slams her. MV has her sliding lariat turned into an armbar and Leyla wins it.

It was a squash and neither girl showed that much here.

ROH World TV Championship Eliminator Semifinals - Gravity vs Tony Nese

Nese said it's a shame the Hartford Whalers left because all he sees are whales here. He then says we will do group training. He asks everyone to stretch then Gravity interrupts.

Nese slams him down and then hits punches in the corner. Grav bounces off the ropes to armdrag him and gorilla slams him but basically drops him. Grav taunts him then Nese spin kicks him in the gut.

Grav handsprings and does a back elbow. He then lariats him over the top. Mark Sterling gets on the apron to distract Grav. Nese lariats Grav off the distraction for 1. Grav is thrown out then Sterling stomps on Grav. They trade chest slaps and Nese hits him in the throat. Nese jumps over the top rope and brings his throat down over it.

Nese is back body dropped to the floor then Mark Sterling gets on the apron. Grav jumps from the 2nd to the 3rd rope with a crossbody outside. Nese hangs from the top rope and Grav top rope splashes him as he hangs for 2. Grav sunset flips him and Nese rolls through then spin kicks him in the face. Grav deadlift powerbombs him then hits a top rope splash for the win.

Grav had some sloppy moments as usual and his flying was pretty basic as usual. It was your standard, average match with Mark Sterling getting involved twice.

ROH Women's Title - Athena vs Diamante

Athena flips out of an armlock, armdrags her and kips up. Dia headscissors her and she flips out of it. Dia hits dropkicks and backdrops her. Dia baseball slides her of the apron. Dia dives off the apron onto her but is slammed on the floor. Athena then swinging slams her into the rails.

Athena sweeps her and then sentons her. Athena then cartwheel kneedrops her. Athena clubs her back on the apron then Dia is rammed into the post. Athena then side effects her on the apron. Athena hits corner spears and Dia hits some lariats. Dia headscissors her and Athena tries to catch herself on a monkey flip but doesn't.

Dia sliding clotheslines her for 2 then Athena swings her around and backbreakers her. Dia germans her for 2. Dia comes off the buckles and is hit with a front kick. Athena facekicks her and rolls her up for the win.

The finish was random but it was mostly a competitive match and they did a decent job with it.

They bury Dia after though as Athena grabs her by the hair and teases banging her head off the title.

Gates of Agony vs The Boys

Kaun chops Brent then catches him off the ropes. Kaun then hits a stiff lariat. Kaun and Toa slap each other and Toa splashes Brent in the corner. Nana hits cheap shots on Brent then Toa slams Brent. Kaun sentons Brent for 2. Rent enzugiri's Toa and tags Brandon.

Brandon tope con hilos Kaun outside then enzugiri's Toa. Brent enzugiri's Toa and Toa takes a double dropkick. Toa samoan drops Brandon and Brandon takes a double slam on his chest and is pinned.

It was a squash and there was nothing wrong with it. The Boys bumped aroun for the GoA and they beat them up well.

Diamante is interviewed. Dia says she doesn't understand Athena. Athena walks in and Lexi asks why she didn't attack her. Athena calls her Diabla and says she looked in her eyes and saw a younger version of herself. She called her porcelain and told her to change it up as she has what it takes but is missing something. She then tells her to stay away from her and figure it out. Dia just takes it and says she has to figure it out, apparently. Stuff like this is why I'm not a fan of Athena's reign. She just buries whoever she is paired with and they have to take it.

Cole Karter vs LSG

They say Cole teams with Zack Clayton, but you wouldn't know it watching this. Cole piefaces him off the handshake and dropkicks him. LSG shoulders him and has his neck put into the ropes. Cole lariats him and elbow drops him. Cole hits a nice dropkick and throws him into the buckles chest first. Cole suplexes him and Maria Kanellis comes out to watch. LSG hits punches then 2nd rope crossbodies him. LSG springboards and is met with a kick in the air. Cole then puts him on his shoulder and twists him into a ddt to win it.

Cole's dropkicks were nice but it was a squash. At least it is going somewhere as Maria was down watching.

The Righteous are talking after Death Before Dishonor. They say finally The Dark Order are finally not shells of their former selves. Uno thanks Stu and Stu says, "finally".

Robyn Renegade vs Christina Marie

Robyn headlocks her and is armdragged and dropkicked. Marie slams her and Robyn goes out. Marie chases her outside but avoids the elbow drop when she goes in. Marie is then thrown into the post by Charlette Renegade. Robyn shotgun dropkicks her and hits a jumping knee. Robyn then dropkicks her as she is seated for 2.

Marie rolls her up then is lariated. Marie lariats her and hits a back elbow and dropkick. Marie slingshots over her then Robyn hits an abdominal stretch. She then does grounded octopus without using her arms much and wins it.

As often with these, Marie looked better than Robyn did at times. Marie would have to lose weight though to get further. It was a pretty basic match but totally passable.

The Workhorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry) vs El Hijo de Vikingo and Komander

Vik - Vikingo, Kom = Komander

Kom uses the ropes to flip out of an armlock but is just kicked anyway. Kom does a springboard into an armdrag then hits another armdrag and dropkick. Kom hits forearms on JD then is popped up but dropkicks him out of it. Vik springboard dropkicks JD then spinning high kicks him. Kom and Vik then hit topes outside on their opponents. Vik top rope frogsplashes JD for 2.

Vik corkscrew headscissors JD then Kom takes an STO on the apron. JD slingshot sentons Vik then Vik takes a facekick into a russian legsweep. Henry spin kicks Vik in the gut then takes a corkscrew kick. Henry backcrackers Vik and reverse sitout slams him. JD hits a shining wizard on him for 2. JD goes for a powerbomb on Vik and Vik turns it into a code red.

Kom gets the hot tag in and hits forearms on Henry. Kom basement dropkicks JD. Kom facekicks Henry off the apron. JD throws Kom into the ropes from the outside for a lariat. Vik springboards onto JD but JD catches him and hits a twisting double underhook ddt. Vik jumps off of Kom's back for a dropkick on JD. Kom and Vik then walk the top rope at the same time and moonsault outside together. Vik and Kom then do stereo 450's together on JD and win it.

This was a decent main event. The lucha guys just did the flips and didn't overdo it and the heels were there to beat them up some. This is was the best case scenario version of this match and I liked it.

Overall thoughts: They had a couple of decent matches here along with the usual squashes. Nothing was truly awful here. While I did like the ROH Tag Title match and the main, I don't know if I'd recommend this one.