Ring of Honor returns to pay-per-view for the first time in 2023 with Supercard of Honor 2023. The main event will see Claudio Castagnoli face long time rival Eddie Kingston for the ROH Championship
Supercard Of Honor 2023
AAA Mega Championship: El Hijo del Vikingo (c) vs. Komander
Typical lucha libre match , with lots of pirouettes. There wasn’t even a gradual increase in intensity, it was shocking blow after shocking blow, with both fighters using the ropes to add some kind of innovation and spectacularity to the strikes. Seeing a Canadian Destroyer from the top rope not dictate the end of the fight is surreal. This fight was perhaps the maximum exponent of an exaggeration that is transforming and discrediting wrestling , because without so much time and in other types of situations it would take much less to sentence a victory. After a number of spectacular strikes, El Hijo del Vikingo achieved triumph after a 630 .
Winner : El Hijo del Vikingo
Rating : 8/10
Supercard Of Honor 2023 | ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship:
The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun and Toa Liona) (c) vs. AR Fox, Blake Christian and Metalik
Chaotic combat with fast and furious action. After moments of brilliance for the six men in the match, Brian Cage gave his team the victory after a Drill Claw .
Winners : The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun and Toa Liona)
Rating : 7.5/10
Supercard Of Honor 2023 | ROH Women’s World Championship:
Athena (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki
The more robust Athena dominated the match for several minutes and ended up winning after The Eclipse from the top rope.
Winner : Athena
Rating : 5/10
Supercard Of Honor 2023 | ROH World Television Championship:
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Mark Briscoe
Mark Briscoe even started the fight very well, but ended up falling into the clutches of Samoa Joe , who managed to stop the main candidate’s momentum and counterattack. The combat was very balanced, very divided, with both managing to apply some of their main blows.
Mark Briscoe was very close to the triumph after a Froggy Bow , but Joe got the kick out and responded shortly afterwards with the Coquina Clutch that gave him the victory via submission, after Briscoe had passed out.
Winner : Samoa Joe
Rating : 7.5/10
Supercard Of Honor 2023 | Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Daniel Garcia
One of the fights of the night in which the technical dimension was more present. Still, Hiroshi Tanahashi’s victory came through a high-flying move – a High Fly Flow .
Winner : Hiroshi Tanahashi
Rating : 6/10
“Reach for the Sky” Ladder Match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship:
The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix) vs. Top Flight (Dante Martin and Darius Martin) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) vs. Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) vs. La Facción Ingobernable (Rush and Dralistic)
Chaotic combat, with ten men trying to reach the belts.
Mike Bennett was the one who suffered the most, as he was executed by a Piledriver by one of the members of the Aussie Open in the ramp area and a Sunset Flip Powerbomb by Dante Martin from the top of a ladder. Matt Taven avenged him by diving on top of a Dralistic who was lying on a ladder.
Penta El Zero Miedo starred in the most chilling spot of the bout, when he applied a Canadian Destroyer to Dante Martin from a ladder that was lying on the top rope onto a pile of tables outside the ring.
The tag team mate, Rey Fénix, was in charge of taking down Matt Taven and collecting the belts.
Winners : The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix) (new champions)
Rating : 8/10
Pure Wrestling Rules match for the ROH Pure Championship:
Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Wheeler Yuta was the first to use the rope break , shortly after the clock reached five minutes into the match. Already after the ten minutes he used the second. Shortly after, Katsuyori Shibata achieved triumph after a Sleeper Hold and a PK .
Winner : Katsuyori Shibata (new champion)
Rating : 5/10
ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. Eddie Kingston
Before watching the event I thought it might be the “Reach for the Sky” ladder match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship and not this the main event of the night. It was not, at the outset, a very exciting fight.
Both fighters came close to triumph after forearm strikes, but both managed to get the kick out .
Meanwhile, Castagnoli applied the Neutralizer , but Eddie Kingston quickly lifted his shoulder blades. The Swiss insisted, through Uppercuts , and ended up retaining the title following a quick settling that surprised Kingston.
Winner : Claudio Castagnoli
Rating : 7/10