The night for the Supercard of Honor is here. ROH has put together a show that has the potential to be the best of 2023 of all Tony Khan’s wrestling attributes. Eddie Kingston aims to fulfill his dream of winning a world championship, Mark Briscoe plans to fulfill his destiny and win the TV title, new tag team champions are crowned by reaching for the sky in a ranked match, Japanese legends are in the house, and more.
Supercard of Honor goes live on Friday, March 31, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The PPV will be streamed on Bleacher Report in the US and Fite TV for the rest of the world
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Results:
pre show
•Jeff Cobb def. Tracy Williams via pinfall after Tour of the Islands
• Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman welcome the third man to their booth tonight – former ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness!
• Konosuke Takeshita def. Willie Mack via a pinfall to a running knee. That was as good as expected.
• Willow Nightingale def. Miranda Alize via pinfall with a powerbomb
• Stu Grayson def. Slim J via pinfall with the Nightfall Backbreaker after Evil Uno finally dealt with Smart Mark Sterling
• After the match, Dutch & Vincent from The Righteous (who have been rumored at times to be WWE and will be working with Bray Wyatt) return. They strut onto the stage as the Dark Order boys watch from ringside.
PPV
• Hello del Vikingo against Komander via pinfall after a 630 senton to retain the AAA Mega Championship
Well-deserved “This is lucha” chants as these two made the most of their showcase. Komander ran over the top rope to hit a spike on the floor and Vikingo fired back with some sort of Super Canadian Destroyer and then at a table with a Springboard 630 (never breaking the table). Komander hit his hidden ace finisher, but the champion grabbed the bottom rope before the three counted. They headed back up where Vikingo hit a super sideslam and then his finisher. The two men adhered to the code of honor and embraced him after the bell.
• The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun & Toa Liona) def. Metalik, Blake Christian and AR Fox retain ROH Six-Man titles. While everyone else outside was busy/incapacitated, Cage Drillclaw punched and pinned Metalik. The power of the champ was too much for the high-flying challengers.
• A redesigned women’s title will be shown for our next game.
• Athena def. Yuka Sakazaki via pinfall to O-Face to retain the ROH Women’s World Championship
Sakazaki came in and sold a neck injury, and after stabbing herself from the outside early in the game, the announcers played up a possible head injury that came with it. The sadistic champion aimed for the area, but of course the TJPW star fought back for a couple of near falls. She showed her fighting spirit, but to no avail.
• Samoa Joe def. Mark Briscoe on a referee stop to retain the ROH World Television title
Briscoe came out hot, motivated by a loud “Dem Boys” chant early on. This momentum led to some characteristically reckless attacks, which Joe parried with his own quick burst of power. Joe brought a chair that Briscoe used for his step-up senton (he then kissed one of his kids ringside). He set up a table, eventually pushing Joe over to it with a bulldog. That bled Joe’s nose but couldn’t put it away. Mark wants to do a tag but of course his late brother isn’t there. It still seems to cheer Briscoe, and he survived Joe’s power to hit a Froggy Bow… one, two, NO! He can’t win Joe over for the Jay Driller or a cut-throat driver. Joe with a choke, and when Mark holds up his arm, he throws him out of the hold before locking him back in. The champion pulls Briscoe towards him in a meaningful show of respect. Mark spends time with the extended Pugh family at ringside before departing to a standing ovation.
• Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Daniel Garcia via pinfall after high fly flow
Ace is in control early on, which gets the crowd banging him with some air guitar. Garcia grabs those gorgeous curls to turn the tide and does his own dance taunt before stretching with him in the driver’s seat. Tanahashi fights back – and probably sends a message to Chris Jericho with a Liontamer. The sports entertainer responded with an impression of Shinsuke Nakamura, aiming for Tana’s bad knees throughout and controlling much of the action, but missing a pile driver resulted in a skid and the end. Garcia then refuses to shake hands.
• lucha bros def. Rush & Dralistico, The Kingdom, Top Flight & Aussie Open in the Reach for the Sky ranked match to win the ROH World Tag Team Champions
The expected madness, with a slew of Dem Boys homages like The Kingdom electrocuting one of the Darius Martins first used against the Briscoes in 2015. Top Flight took center stage as the announcement team played out the brother teams involved. One particularly brutal stretch saw Dralistico send Kyle Fletcher through the announce booth, then Matt Taven splashed Dralistico through a ladder. This was followed by a Darius Martin vs. Lucha Bros sequence that ended with Penta and Martin walking off a ladder set up between the top rope and another ladder, through four tables on the floor (Martin suffered an ugly-looking one in the process Leg injury – more Here). Fenix found himself up the ladder with Taven & Mike Bennett but fought them off and grabbed the belts.
• Mark Briscoe and FTR wanted to take a moment to honor Jay and celebrate with the new champions. The Kingdom joined them as the announcement team reminded us that she and Dem Boys were capturing the final days of the Sinclair era.
• Katsuyori Shibata def. Wheeler Yuta via pinfall after a PK to become the new ROH Pure Champion
Yuta was joined onto the stage by his Blackpool Combat Club teammate Jon Moxley, but Mox returned to the back after we met the judges – Christopher Daniels, Madison Rayne and Pat Buck. The issue was that Wheeler was overwhelmed, had to resort to a low punch while the referee turned his back, and received a warning for using a closed fist. Unfazed by Yuta’s attacks, Shibata put him in submissions that prompted him to take advantage of his broken ropes. The finish came after the wrestler knocked the younger man down with a choke. Wild to see Shibata as an active champion after nearly dying in 2017. Yuta refused to abide by the code of honor after the match.
• Claudio Castagnoli def. Eddie Kingston retains the ROH World Championship
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