Tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub will feature three Proving Ground matches featuring ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher, ROH Women’s Champion Athena, and ROH Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom in action.
Athena will take on Nicole Matthews, Fletcher will face Mentallo, and Mike Bennett & Matt Taven will take on Jason Geiger & London Lightning. If any of the challengers either draw or defeat their opponents, they earn a future title shot.
The seven-match card will also see Skye Blue take on Rachael Ellering, Anna Jay vs. an opponent to be named, Darius Martin & Action Andretti vs. Jon Cruz & Levi Night, and Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh against Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds.
This will be Blue’s first match since losing in a Manitoba Massacre match to TBS Champion Willow Nightingale.
The majority of the matches were taped earlier this month in Winnipeg with other bouts filed in both Edmonton and Vancouver.
After a rundown of the card, the show kicked off with the first of three Proving Ground matches on the card.
ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher defeated Mentallo in a Proving Ground Match
Always nice to see the ROH TV Champion on ROH TV! Fletcher was up against Mentallo in a Proving Ground match, which means if Mentallo could last 10 minutes or pin Fletcher, then he’d get a shot at the title.
Mentallo (pronounced Menta-Lo) was an old foe of Kenny Omega and Fletcher did not give him a chance to show off his stuff. Fletcher had no interest in running out the clock and pounded Mentallo in the corner with some stiff strikes and a cocky attempt at a cover.
Fletcher’s showboating was all over the match including one-handed stalling suplexes, standing covers and more importantly, total control of the pace of the match. Mentallo managed get in a few flurries of offense here and there, including a nice moonsault onto the floor, but most of this match was mostly Fletcher doing his thing and doing it very well.
Fletcher chose his moment and hit a spinning kick followed by a dragon suplex. Mentallo actually kicked out of a drop brainbuster suplex, surprising Fetcher and the audience. Pushing the time limit, Fletcher put Mentallo away with a piledriver to dash his hopes of a title shot.
Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh defeated Dark Order (Evil Uno & John Silver)
Sanjay Dutt accompanied Lethal and Singh to the ring. Evening the odds was Dark Order member Alex Reynolds, backing up Uno and Silver. Uno has been getting huge ovations during these Canadian-taped matches and tonight was no exception. Even standing across from Lethal, Uno was who the crowd wanted to see.
Singh standing across from Silver for a code of honor was honestly staggering. Singh was literally almost double Silver’s size. Uno and Lethal kicked things off, but as soon as Silver was in the ring, he demanded that Lethal tag in Singh. Uno remarked “that’s so stupid” outside the ring to Reynolds as the two attempted to square up. Even Singh looked a little uncomfortable taking on the smaller Silver.
Silver’s speed however gave him, and edge and he was able to get a few shots in on Singh’s knee. Unfortunately, that knee was attached to a really large foot and that knocked Silver into next week. Uno knocked Lethal off the side of the ring, and he and Silver tried to double team Singh. Singh responded by choke slamming Uno while Silver jumped on his back to try and put on a sleeper.
Lethal broke up the chaos though and nailed Silver with a big boot to knock him 7 feet down to the ring and get a quick pin.
-Backstage, the Iron Savages joined us for a promo. They are three of the biggest, baddest athletes in ROH and they are done getting passed by! They are the most massive, with the highest T, and they are peak male performance. Nothing to joke about. They are going to start working for themselves, sippin’ sauce, living hoss, and taking everyone to Titty City!
Anna Jay defeated Tara Zep
Jay has been on a bit of an ROH streak, winning three in a row, but Zep made her name in Deathmatches, so this was an interesting matchup.
Jay held control early in the match, keeping things slow and methodical, focusing on Zep’s neck. She slapped Zep from pillar to post and after a Gory Bomb, got a two count. This was only because Jay pulled up Zep at the last minute to slap a sleeper on her and get her fourth win in a row.
Skye Blue defeated Rachael Ellering
This was Blue’s first match since losing in a Manitoba Massacre match to TBS Champion Willow Nightingale. Ellering was still stinging from Maria’s insults last week and looking to prove that she is a wrestler worth watching.
Blue had no interest in a code of honor and went right into it. Ellering saw it coming through and the two traded headlocks in the center of the ring. Ellering had the strength advantage over Blue and was putting a little extra emphasis on each move to make sure she got her point across.
Blue for her part was able to tap into some deep resiliency, reversing and protecting against Ellering. The one thing she couldn’t defend against was getting dropped on her head and Ellering did it with a piledriver suplex.
The two flipped and rolled into a series of two counts, neither one gaining the upper hand. This match would come down to who made the first mistake. That turned out to be Ellering who left herself open for big kick and Code Blue from Blue to get the pin.
-Anjelico and Serpentico joined us by vignette. They are frustrated but Serpentico told Anjelico they need to keep the vibes chill. Anjelico calmed down and warned Maria and Garrison and Karter that this was only the beginning.
Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated Jon Cruz & Levi Knight
Andretti and Martin were a twosome this week, and amateur Ginger-Baker-impersonator Knight joined Cruz to take on Top Flight.
These four all ran a fast, high-action style, so it was a lot of fun to watch. Cruz played the comedy card off the top but managed to stay on top against Andretti. Knight held his own against Martin as well, getting about 6 inches in height on the Top Flight member.
Knight and Cruz isolated Martin in their corner and traded tags and double teams to work him down. Knight did a lot of dancing, but also had a real aggressive streak, which he was able to turn on and off at a moment's notice, keeping Martin on his toes.
Andretti got a hot tag and took Knight to the woodshed. Cruz tagged in and fared no better. Andretti and Martin double teamed Knight with a series of high kicks and managed to get the pin and pick up a well-earned win.
ROH World Tag Team Champions Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated London Lighting & Jason Geiger in a Proving Ground Match
The second Proving Ground match of the night gave Lightning and Geiger a chance to win an ROH Tag Team Championship match. All they had to do was last 10 minutes or eke out a win against the Undisputed Kingdom.
Geiger and Bennett started things off. Geiger has a ton of MMA and amateur wresting accolades, but they don’t mean much when you’re in the ring with Bennett. Geiger managed to ground and pound Bennett, keeping him off his feet. Lightning tagged in and managed to fight off both Bennett and Taven, surprising the champions.
It was mentioned that The Undisputed Kingdom are not undefeated in Proving Ground matches, and Lightning managed to score a near fall on Taven. Settling down, Taven and Bennett regained control though, isolating Lightning in the corner and unleashing a flurry of “your mom” comments for some reason.
Even though he was smaller than Taven and Bennett, Geiger was able to take both on and regain control of the ring. A shot from behind by Taven though put him on the mat and a Rockstar Supernova got the champs the pin.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena vs. Nicole Matthews in a Proving Ground Match
Athena has been reveling in her 500+ days as champion, but Matthews wasn’t a slouch. If she could last 10 minutes, or pin the champ, Matthews would get a title shot at a later date. Athena and Matthews have a long history, dating back to their days in SHIMMER, where Matthews holds a 2-0 record against Athena.
Matthews was not intimidated by Athena and worked the crowd off the top. Athena was quite annoyed by this and the two locked up. Matthews slowed the match to a snail’s pace, keeping Athena off her feet and unable to reverse the holds. Athena managed to wriggle free and exit the ring to regain her composure.
Athena nailed Matthews with a big forearm to switch the momentum and hung her up on the ropes to deliver some big back blows. Athena locked Matthews in an abdominal stretch, but the crafty veteran was able to roll through and almost pick up a pin.
Matthews got another near fall with a northern lights suplex. It was looking like Matthews would be able to put away the champ, but a double knee reversal gave control firmly back to Athena. A high-flying move off the top rope sealed the deal for Athena and gave her the win. That made the champ 51-0 since winning the title.
To add insult to injury, Athena put Matthews in a crossface after the bell until Queen Aminata ran down to make the save! Aminata sent Athena to the outside and stood tall over the literally Fallen Goddess as the show came to a close.
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