Originally published at ROH Death Before Dishonor: Bandido retains, Woods wins title, Rok-C
ROH Death Before Dishonor 2021
September 12th, 2021
2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni & Caprice Coleman
Hour One Pre-Show: 16-man Honor Rumble
Entrant number one was Brian Johnson who cut a promo being here in his hometown for Philadelphia, as Brian Milonas came out as #2 in Pittsburgh Steelers colors. His partner, Beer City Bruiser comes out as #3 accompanied by Ken Dixon. Danhausen comes out as entrant #4. Caprice Coleman takes off his shirt and leave’s the commentary and becomes a surprise entrant at #5, saying there are 16 men in this match now, and eliminates Bruiser. Entrant #6 is Sledge, as Coleman eliminates Milonas as Johnson eliminates Coleman. PCO is #7 and starts attacking Johnson. PJ Black comes out at #8. Dak Draper comes out as #9. Entrant #10 is Silas Young. Draper eliminates Sledge as #11 is Rey Horus. Entrant #12 is Dante Caballero from the ROH Dojo as Brian Johnson eliminates Danhausen as the fans boo. Everybody attacks PCO as he ‘short circuits’ and eliminates himself. Flip Gordon comes out as #13 sporting a new clean-shaven look with a US flag and eliminates Silas Young. #14 is Joe Keys also from the ROH Dojo. #15 is World Famous CB. Draper eliminates Caballero and Keys back-to-back. The 16th and the final entrant is Alex Zayne, who just came off of NXT as Ari Sterling who comes in and eliminates Draper. Horus and Cheeseburger fight on the apron and Horus eliminates him and gets eliminated by Johnson as the final four are Zayne, PJ Black, Johnson, and Gordon. Gordon eliminates Johnson, then Zayne eliminates Gordon who was trying to springboard off the ropes. The final two comes down to PJ Black and Alex Zayne. PJ Black runs and hits a crossbody, but the force drives him over the top rope as Zayne wins and gets a future ROH World Championship opportunity.
Winner: Alex Zayne at 32:08
Dalton Castle vs. Eli Isom
Dak Draper who was keyed as being in Castle’s corner actually joins commentary for this match. They go right at it and Castle gets dumped to the outside where Isom dives onto him. Castle goes to hide behind the Baby Chickens and uses them as a shield, but it fails as Isom catches him and back body drops him. They continue to fight on the outside for a bit, before heading back inside where Isom stays in control. Castle comes back and hits a German Suplex and hits a running knee to Isom on the ropes to knock him to the outside. Back inside, Castle stays in control and hits a sliding knee for a two count. Isom comes back and hits a Sidewinder Slam for a two count of his own. They battle on the ropes back and forth until Castle ends up on the outside. Isom tries to throw him back inside, but Castle holds on to the ropes and hits a head scissors. As Isom gains control, Dak Draper leaves the commentary to go check on the match. Draper starts giving orders to the Baby Chickens, before pulling Castle out of the ring to make sure he’s ok. Isom hits a moonsault on all the Baby Chickens as Draper pulls Castle out of the way. Draper comes into the ring, never puts a hand on Isom and gets a kick in between the legs. Castle comes in, tries the Bang-A-Rang, Isom reverses into a pin, but Castle gets him back up and does hit the Bang-A-Rang for the pin.
Winner: Dalton Castle by pinfall at 9:18
Jake Atlas vs. Taylor Rust
Both men coming off their recent NXT runs as Taylor is no longer Tyler and Atlas is sporting blue hair. Ian Riccaboni drops some NXT stats from both men including Rust having a recent win over Bobby Fish and Atlas over Ashante ‘Thee’ Adonis. Rust starts by working over the arm of Atlas, which transitions into a couple of crucifix pin attempts. Rust catches Atlas’ leg and puts on an ankle lock, but Atlas rolls out of it. Rust continues to work on the wrist and shoulder of Atlas, with precision targeting. Atlas fights out with a superkick and hits a forearm on the apron for a two. Rust dodges out of the corner, as Atlas crashes into it. Rust hits ‘Eat Defeat’ and gets a very questionable two count that everybody watching thought was a three. Rust tries to go for his Full Circle move, but transitions into the Gaia Lock (head scissors armbar) as Atlas immediately gives up. Commentary announces both Atlas and Rust will appear on ROH TV in the coming weeks.
Winner: Taylor Rust by submission at 6:56
Lee Moriarty, LSG & John Walters vs. VLNCE UNLTD (Chris Dickinson, Tony Deppen & Homicide)
Commentary mentions how Moriarty (making his ROH debut) has recently signed with AEW. Deppen gets a big reaction, as Walters and Homicide start the match as Homicide has a ‘Daffney’ tribute armband. GCW alums Moriarty and Deppen come in and have a great sequence with pin attempts and submissions, but Homicide comes in to break it up. Walters comes in and ties up Deppen with Homicide while putting on a double submission that Dickinson breaks up. Deppen and Dickinson double team Walters, as Dickinson gets a two. Homicide and Walters battle with Homicide biting Walters, and Walters coming back with a lungblower. Dickinson and LSG tag in with LSG hitting a stunner and a superkick for a two. Moriarty comes in tries a sunset flip on Dickinson, but Deppen breaks it up as Homicide drags Moriarty to the outside. Inside, LSG hits Rock-A-Bye Baby on Dickinson but jumps into a knee from Deppen. Moriarty dives onto Homicide on the outside and hits a flying clothesline on Dickinson. Walters and Dickinson end up in the ring as Walters puts on a Double Muta Lock on Dickinson and Homicide. Deppen hits a double stomp off the top rope on Walters, before LSG comes in and takes out Deppen. Moriarty and Dickinson go at it, but Homicide knocks out Moriarty and cannonballs on him on the outside. Moriarty gets thrown back inside where Dickinson hits a Spicolli Driver on him for the pin and wins in a very fun six-man bout.
Winners: VLNCE UNLTD (Chris Dickinson, Tony Deppen & Homicide) by pinfall at 10:58
Pure Wrestling Will Prevail
After the match, as Moriarty, Walters & LSG are in the ring, The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Rhett Titus, and Tracy Williams) come into the ring. Jay Lethal says it’s been a long time since he hasn’t wrestled in an ROH PPV, but it’s an honor to watch these matches and makes him excited for the future in this company and mentions Eli Isom, a new ROH Women’s Champion and the Pure Division with LSG. He shakes his hand then calls John Walters a legend. Lethal says he wished Moriarty would stay there, so he could be in the Pure Division. Lethal then mentions Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Reckless Youth & Alex Shelley as members of the ROH roster start making their way to the entranceway. Lethal mentions the wrestling world as a whole doing pretty darn good but it’s time for Pure Wrestling to prevail and mentions Jonathan Gresham being unmatched. He continues with a real passionate speech about the entire locker room loving professional wrestling and during the peak of the pandemic everybody described the pure division as fresh & exciting, but it’s not new, it’s the same wrestling we all grew up on. No matter what company you’re in, pure wrestling is alive and well in Ring of Honor Wrestling.
The OGK (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) vs. The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)
All four men start brawling as the bell rings, but the referee maintains order and gets them to separate as Mark Briscoe and Taven become the legal men. Jay and Bennett tag in and start going to blows as the Briscoes keep Bennett in their corner with chops. The Briscoes keep exchanging tags while working on Bennett. Taven comes in, but the Briscoes continue with their double teaming. Taven tries to fight back, but Jay hits a DDT. Bennett holds Mark Briscoe up for a Doomsday Device on the outside, but Jay takes out Taven. The Briscoes then try the Doomsday Device, but Taven stops it and hits a moonsault on Jay Briscoe and Bennett on the outside, but they receive a flying Mark Briscoe for their troubles. Back inside, The Briscoes work on Taven and get a two count. The OGK then comes in and work on Jay Briscoe including Bennett with a submission on Jay that Mark breaks up. Bennett tries to piledrive Jay but gets reverses as he tags in Mark who starts doing Redneck Kung Fu. Mark is able to take the OGK to the outside and hits a running Blockbuster off the apron on Taven. The Briscoes take out Taven on the inside, but Bennett breaks up the pin attempt. Jay throws a chair on the inside as the Briscoes try to powerbomb Taven on it, but Bennett stops them. Mark dives onto Bennett on the outside, as Taven pins Jay Briscoe with an inside cradle for the win.
Winners: The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) by pinfall at 13:16
ROH Pure Championship: Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Josh Woods
They start the match slowly working on each other’s wrists and having a test of strength with some attempted pins by Woods. They go back-to-back against the ropes as the referee breaks it up and doesn’t use any of their rope breaks. They continue to do the same a couple more times until the referee eventually charges them both for one rope break each after multiple warnings. They continue to size each other up as a fan yells out ‘Will you guys just fight, already?’ They take it to the mat, with Gresham holding Woods down with a head scissors. Back up, Gresham stops Woods on the top rope, but Woods runs up and tosses Gresham down. They go back and forth with suplex attempts and both tangle up on the ropes again as the referee is getting tired of them doing this but doesn’t take off any rope breaks. They trade off working on each other’s arms and end up back on the ropes as the referee charges them both with their second rope break finally. Gresham starts working on Woods’ leg and they go back and forth with an inside cradle, and both end up pinning each other. The referee stops the match at 11:46 and decides it’s a draw.
Gresham grabs the mic and says there is no way in hell that he’s going to allow a decision like this to tarnish his record and to put the title back on the table and restart the match. Woods thanks Gresham for doing that and then smacks him with a giant chop followed by an even bigger one to knock him down. They tie up in a grapevine and end up tied up on the ropes again as the referee takes away their third and final rope break. They take it to the next gear now with Gresham attempting a couple of pin attempts, until Woods applies a rear-naked choke. Gresham grabs Woods’ arm and fights his way out of it as they trade off a couple more pin attempts. Gresham jumps off the ropes but falls into a kick by Woods as both men are laid out on the mat. Gresham from a crucifix into an ankle lock, but Woods rolls through into an ankle lock of his own, but Gresham kicks his way out of it. Woods rolls through with the Chaos Theory suplex, but Gresham puts his shoulder up gently to break up the close pin. They get up and slowly exchange forearms and gradually speed them up until Gresham hits a German followed by a forearm to the back of the head into a Kimura Lock, but Woods powers out into a Tombstone position into a back suplex and gets the pin for the win and the championship.
Winner: Josh Woods by pinfall at 20:01, to become NEW ROH Pure Champion
Big moment here for Woods, as Gresham puts the title on Woods’ waist and commentary mentions how Woods just lost his father to COVID last week
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Shane Taylor Promotions (O’Shay Edwards, Kaun & Moses) (c) (w/ Ron Hunt) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable (Kenny King, Dragon Lee & La Bestia Del Ring)
It was supposed to be Shane Taylor in this match defending the titles, but before the bell rings, Kenny King attacks Shane Taylor with a chair and seems to have taken him out. O’Shay Edwards who was on the outside accompanying them says he will take Taylor’s spot and defend the title in his spot. Edwards and King start the match, but King tags out to Lee right away. Kaun and Lee go at it, with Lee hitting a dropkick and taking Kaun out in the corner. Moses comes in and easily takes out Lee, who tags out to Bestia as the two big lads whip each other and hit avalanches in the corners. King and Edwards come in as Edwards takes down King, but Bestia takes Edwards to the outside. King and Kaun go at it as they keep Kaun in the LFI corner. Moses comes in and hits a big powerbomb on Dragon Lee for a two count. Edwards comes in and hits a power slam on Lee, but Bestia and King break it up, but both get a double clothesline for their troubles. Edwards catches Lee for a sit-down powerbomb that King breaks up. Everybody runs in now hitting moves on each other. Kaun and King end up in the ring, but Moses comes in and they hit a double team DDT on King. Edwards comes in and hits a big splash from the second rope, but Lee and Bestia break it up. They start all hitting dives to the outside, as Moses and King end up in the ring, but King ends up diving onto Lee on the outside by accident. Moses hits a big cannonball from the apron on them all the outside. Back inside, King hits a blockbuster on Moses, but Shane Taylor runs in and hits a protected chair shot to the head of King while the referee was distracted on the outside. Moses falls over on King for the pin and the win.
Winners: Shane Taylor Promotions (O’Shay Edwards, Moses & Kaun) by pinfall at 11:28, to retain
Taylor grabs a sign that says ‘Ingobernable Bitches’ as they all stand tall over Kenny King holding their titles.
ROH Women’s World Championship Finals: Miranda Alize vs. Rok-C
Maria Kanellis-Bennett is in the ring with the new ROH Women’s Championship in the finals of a tournament that started back on ROH TV on July 30th, 2021, as Bobby Cruise gives both finalists a big introduction for this match. Lenny Leonard joins commentary, as he’s been doing for all these women’s tournament matches. Rok-C extends her hand to start the match, but Alize smacks it away. The crowd seems fully behind Rok-C, as they take each other right to the mat and exchange armbars and face locks. Rok-C starts to taunt Alize and gets a pie face as a result. Rok-C gets angry and hits a Thesz Press and mounts Alize with punches. Alize comes back with heavy chops to Rok-C before whipping and splashing her in the corner, followed by a boot wash and a dropkick. Alize keeps fighting Rok-C and even bites her fingers at one point. They go back and forth on the apron for a bit, until Alize is able to hold Rok-C down with a bow and arrow in the middle of the ring. Rok-C fights it off and hits a pair of uppercuts followed by running double knees in the corner and hits a Thesz Press off the second rope for a two count. They start trading off forearms, but Rok-C hits a head scissors, Russian leg sweep into a moonsault with the knees to the ribs of Alize. Alize comes back with a ripcord knee for a two-count. Alize comes back with a Go to Sleep but only gets a two and attempts a couple more pinfalls after. Alize corners Rok-C and starts talking trash, but Rok-C comes back with double boots, climbs the ropes but gets knocked as Alize hits a DDT for a two count, and quickly puts on the Miranda Rights submission. Alize drags the move to the middle of the ring, but Rok-C slowly makes her way to the ropes and breaks it up with her foot. Rok-C rolls to the outside where she drags Alize out there and hits a dive from the inside onto her. As they go back inside, Alize takes Rok-C off the apron with a dropkick followed by a dive of her own, using more of her knee on Rok-C. As they are both are about to get counted out, they run in at the 19-second mark. They start exchanging strikes, but Alize hits a cutter, but Rok-C quickly comes back with a knee of her own, slowly going over for the cover getting a two. Alize tries one of her own and puts her back into the Miranda Rights. Rok-C gets out and puts on a crossface of her own, but Alize gets out of it and hits a pair of superkicks. Alize goes for the Drive-By, but Rok-C stops it and hits the Code Rok for the pin.
Winner: Rok-C by pinfall at 18:13, to become NEW ROH Women’s World Champion
Maria Kanellis-Bennett hands Rok-C the championship as Rok-C’s family comes into the ring to embrace her.
ROH World Championship Four-Way Elimination Match: Bandido (c) vs. Demonic Flamita vs. Brody King vs. EC3
Brody King and EC3 start staring each other down as Flamita gets in both their faces until they drive him to the outside where he drags Bandido out with him. EC3 and Brody start going at it, but Brody stops EC3 with a big toss and splash in the corner followed by another toss but EC3 comes back with a big clothesline knocking them both to the outside. Flamita and Bandido end up in the ring and have a crazy fast transition including Bandido with a three-time wrap-around tilt-a-whirl knocking Flamita to the outside where he hits a Fosbury Flop on him. All four men start brawling on the outside, but Bandido quickly dives onto them driving himself right over the barricade. EC3 pulls him out of the fans and into the ring, but Flamita stops the pinfall and tries to suplex EC3 but gets one himself. Commentary mentions Flamita stopping it, as he wants to be the one to pin Bandido himself. EC3 places Bandido on the top rope but Brody runs in and tries to superplex Bandido, but EC3 grabs him and hits a powerbomb on Brody and tosses Bandido right on top of him followed by power bombing Bandido on top of Brody. Flamita comes in and hits a chair to the back of EC3, but it has no effect on him. EC3 grabs the chair and hits Flamita with it, at this point the referee notices it and disqualifies EC3, thus eliminating him.
Flamita extends his hand to Bandido and says they used to be best friends and work together on Brody, but before Bandido can answer, Brody takes them both out. Flamita and Bandido start to work together and tease a MexiSquad reunion and hits a number of double team moves on Brody including a wheelbarrow backflip for a two count. Brody starts fighting back, places Bandido on the top rope, but Flamita puts Brody on his shoulders, and they hit a devastating-looking Mexican Destroyer on Brody who looks like he falls flat on the top of his head. The MexiSquad brief alliance is over as Bandido attacks Flamita, throws him to the outside where he hits a moonsault off the top rope onto Flamita and Brody on the outside. Back inside, Bandido and Flamita go at it, Flamita tries a Muscle Buster, but Brody kicks Flamita in the face and hits the All-Seeing Eye for pin eliminating Flamita.
Brody and Bandido are the last two, as Brody hits a piledriver on Bandido for a two. They both trade big chops to each other, followed by Bandido hitting a huracanrana and a crucifix powerbomb for two counts. Bandido goes to the top and hits a shooting star press that Brody kicks out at one. Brody comes back with an inside-out lariat followed by a Gonzo Bomb attempt, but Bandido reverses into a Magistral cradle for the pin and the win.
Winner: Bandido by pinfall at 17:10, to retain
All four members of The Foundation make their way to the ring and embrace Bandido with Jonathan Gresham being the last one to shake his hand and stare at the World Title. Vincent and his entourage of Bateman, Vita VonStarr, and Dutch come out dressed in white (Midsommar vibes) and start clapping for Bandido as the show ends.