Special Event: ROH Supercard of Honor 2023

March 31, 2023 5:46 PM

There is no shortage of wrestling content this weekend, for obvious reasons. Tonight Ring of Honor makes their play for the world's attention. This is the first pay-per-view since the company returned to airing weekly episodes five weeks ago, so most of the matches on the card can take advantage of having been built up enough to drum up some interest. Every title will be defended, along with a few loaners from AAA and NJPW.

"Zero Hour" Pre-show card:

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Willie Mack
Jeff Cobb vs. Tracy Williams
Stu Grayson vs. Slim J
Willow Nightingale vs. Miranda Alize

Reach For The Sky Ladder Match: Aussie Open vs. The Lucha Brothers vs. The Kingdom vs. Top Flight vs. Rush and Dralistico

ROH World TV Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Mark Briscoe

With the ladder match named in honor of the Briscoes, and the encomiums to honor the late Jay Briscoe, Mark is headed into ROH with all the goodwill. But Samoa Joe is having one of those phases where he's the greatest talker and the most intimidating man you've ever met.

ROH World Six-Man Championship: The Embassy (c) (Brian Cage, Kaun & Toa Liona) vs. AR Fox, Blake Christian and Metalik

ROH Women's World Championship Match: Athena (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki

AAA Mega Campeonado: El Hijo del Vikingo (c) vs. Komander

ROH Pure Championship Match: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Daniel Garcia

ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. Eddie Kingston

posted by The Pluto Gangsta (6 comments total)

Brain Cage and The Embassy once again win due to their strategy of being twice as big and five times as strong as their opponents. I don't think the challengers have much future as a trio, but it's good to be reminded they're all great competitors. Victory for Cage probably means he's not going to WWE, unless some kind of chicanery is afoot.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:55 PM on March 31, 2023

The story of Athena vs. Yuka is that Yuka's high-flying fearlessness is countered by Athena's craftiness and willingness to smash a "porcelain doll" into the ground repeatedly.

In the Briscoe promo, one might actually get a little teary when you hear Mark say "I got no one to tag out to anymore."
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:00 PM on March 31, 2023

Judging by the screams and shouts coming from Briscoe's family at ringside, I'm fairly certain Mark's kids don't know wrestling is a work. The two of them worked a fairly classic-style match of meaty chest slaps and equal exchanges of violence until Joe got behind and rear-naked-choked Mark into sleepyland. For certain there will be another match between the two of them, I mean, Mark didn't even get to hit the Jay Driller!

Garcia going all "colonizer" by infringing on some Tanahashi and also Nakamura gimmicks while murdering the heck out of Tanahashi's knee. A brief match, hopefully it's not The Ace's last match in the States.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:53 PM on March 31, 2023

It didn't even register for me that the ladder match is for the new ROH Tag titles, as the current titles will be retired and taken back to Delaware by Mark Briscoe in memory of their 13 reigns. Huzzah for the Lucha Bros, but HOLY SHIT WHAT HAPPENED TO DANTE MARTIN'S FOOT

Don't click here unless you want to see something gnarly happen to a foot.

Lord, why do You hate Top Flight so much?
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 7:08 PM on March 31, 2023

I was only ever about 55% sure that Claudio was going to retain, but if there's a single "money's in the chase" guy in wrestling today, it's Eddie.
posted by Etrigan at 9:39 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

This was more extremely my shit than anything has been my shit in a long time. Thank god I got it in before the (mostly) slog of Wrestlemania…
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:56 PM on April 2, 2023