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Tonight's ROH Supercard of Honor was the first pay-per-view since Tony Khan bought the promotion. The show did not disappoint and we saw a number of title changes as well as a heel turn from a Ring of Honor veteran.
Swerve Strickland vs. Alex Zayne at ROH Supercard of Honor
The show kicked off with former WWE Superstar and current AEW star Swerve Strickland taking on Alex Zayne. Back and forth early on before Zayne showed off his athleticsm, hitting a senton onto Swerve's back followed by a standing splash.
Zayne went for a hurricanrana while Swerve was on the middle turnbuckle but the latter caught him in midair and hit a TKO onto the top rope. More back and forth before Zayne finally hit the hurricanrana with Swerve on the middle rope.
Strickland replied with a modified bow and arrow hold but Zayne crawled over to the bottom rope to break the hold. Swerve continued to work on the knee before hitting the JML Driver for the win at ROH Supercard of Honor.
Result: Swerve Strickland def. Alex Zayne
MATCH RATING: B
Ninja Mack vs. Brian Cage (w/Tully Blanchard) at ROH Supercard of Honor
Tully Blanchard introduced Brian Cage as his newest client. Cage caught Ninja Mack in midair as he made his way down to the ring and powerbombed him onto the apron.
Cage continued to dominate the match, hitting some big moves, including two massive German suplexes that launched Mack across the ring. Ninja Mack hit back with a spinning kick but Brian Cage caught him in midair and planted Mack with an Uranage. Cage then finished the match off with the Drill Claw at ROH Supercard of Honor.
Result: Brian Cage def. Ninja Mack
MATCH RATING: B+
Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty (w/ Matt Sydal) at ROH Supercard of Honor
ROH's franchise player Jay Lethal was in action next against fellow AEW star Lee Moriarty. The opening stages of the match saw Lethal and Moriarty go back and forth.
Lethal started to work on Lee Moriarty's left knee. With Moriarty at ringside, Lethal hit two tope suicidas in a row. As Lethal went for a third, Moriarty rolled back into the ring and hit a dive of his own.
Lethal and Moriarty exchanged strikes before the latter went for a dive off the middle rope. Lethal sidestepped it and went to lock in a Figure-4 but was unsuccessful. He then went to the top rope an elbow drop but Moriarty rolled him up for a two-count.
Moriarty with a series of pinning combinations but couldn't pick up the win. Out of desperation, Jay Lethal hit a low blow and followed it up with the Springboard Stunner for the win. Lethal has seemingly turned heel.
Result: Jay Lethal def. Lee Moriarty
MATCH RATING: B
Matt Sydal got into Jay Lethal's face after the match but Lethal kicked his crutch away and rained down right hands before being pulled away by officials.
Willow vs. Mercedes Martinez (for the Interim ROH Women's Championship)
Willow hit a shoulder tackle early on before going for an early cover. Mercedes Martinez replied with a roll-up. Martinez then hit a series of Buttlerfly Suplexes and locked in a submission hold.
Willow was close to the bottom rope and broke the hold. Martinez continued to dominate her. Willow hit back with The Pounce followed by a cannonball in the corner.
More back and forth before Willow headed to the top rope and hit a moonsault. It looked like it was over, but Martinez kicked out at the last moment. The finish of the match saw Mercedez Martinez lock in a sleeper hold to pick up the win at ROH Supercard of Honor.
Result: Mercedes Martinez def. Willow
MATCH RATING: C+
The Briscoes (c) vs. FTR (for the ROH Tag Team Championships)
The crowd were hot for this match before the bell even rang. Cash Wheeler and Mark Briscoe started things off for their respective teams and went toe-to-toe before both tagged out. Jay Briscoe and Dax Harwood came in as the legal men.
Jay locked in a headlock but Harwood escaped it and rolled out of the ring. Wheeler tagged back in and The Briscoes were on top at this point. Mark with some big right hands to Wheeler and he followed it up with a vertical suplex. Harwood tagged back in and took back control for FTR. Both Cash Wheeler and Jay Briscoe tagged back in. Jay took down Wheeler with a boot.
Wheeler was isolated in The Briscoes' corner before being booted out of the ring. Jay Briscoe followed up with a dive over the ropes, taking out FTR. The Briscoes continued to dominate FTR at ringside.
FTR fought back, double teaming Jay Briscoe at ringside before sending him face-first into the underside of a table which busted Jay open. Harwood rolled Jay back into the ring. FTR were all over Jay Briscoe.
Mark Briscoe finally tagged back in and he took the fight to FTR. The Briscoes hit Cash Wheeler with the Red Neck Boogie for a nearfall with Wheeler kicking out at the last second. FTR hit back with a powerbomb/frog splash combo to Jay Briscoe for a nearfall of their own. The Briscoes then turned the tables by hitting Harwood with the Big Rig but it didn't put him away.
Mark Briscoe tossed Wheeler out of the ring before heading to the top rope and hitting a corkscrew dive out to ringside. Meanwhile, Harwood and Jay traded right hands inside the ring.
Mark Briscoe headed to the top rope and hit Harwood with a flying elbow drop for a nearfall. The Briscoes looked set to finish the match off but Cash Wheeler came in and tossed Jay Briscoe out of the ring. FTR then hit Mark Briscoe with the Big Rig and Harwood made the tag to pick up the win.
Result: FTR def. The Briscoes
MATCH RATING: A
After the match, The Young Bucks blindsided The Briscoes and hit Jay Briscoe with the BTE Trigger. They then went for Mark Briscoe but FTR chased them away.
Rhett Titus (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki (for the ROH Television Championship)
The match spilled out to ringside soon after it started with Minoru Suzuki dragging Rhett Titus back into the ring. Suzuki with an evil grin on his face, locked in a front facelock which he transitioned into a Fujiwara armbar but Rhett caught the bottom rope, forcing the hold to be broken.
Rhett fought back but Suzuki locked in another submission hold, forcing the champion to grab hold of the bottom rope again. Suzuku went for the Gotch style piledriver but Titus hit a dropkick for a two-count.
Suzuki was not deterred. He tried again and hit the Gotch-style piledriver to pick up the win and the title. This is the first title in an American promotion Suzuki has won during his career.
Result: Minoru Suzuki def. Rhett Titus
MATCH RATING: B-
Josh Woods (c) vs. Wheeler Yuta (for the ROH Pure Championship)
AEW's Wheeler Yuta challenged Josh Woods for the ROH Pure Championship. Both men put on a fantastic match, repeatedly going back and forth and exchanging strikes trying to outdo each other.
Yuta showed us again why he's one of the top up and coming prospects in AEW, impressing once again in this outing. The finish of the match saw Yuta using his pinning combo to keep Josh Woods pinned down for the three count to pick up the win.
Result: Wheeler Yuta def. Josh Woods
MATCH RATING: B-
Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Bandido (c) (for the Undisputed ROH World Championship)
The match started off slow as both men gingerly felt each other out. They tried to outwrestle each other in the opening stages of the match. It was pretty even early on as both men went back and forth.
Bandido went for a surfboard lock and Jonathan Gresham tried to hit back with an Octopus Hold. Bandido the did a deadlift vertical suplex where he held Gresham in the air for a full minute. Greshman locked in the Octopus Hold again as Bandido reached for the ropes.
Gresham tossed Bandido out of the ring and went for a dive. Chavo pushed him out of the way as Gresham crashed and burned. Back in the ring, Bandido hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. Chavo interfered from ringside once again and Bandido was not happy, asking the referee to toss out his own man.
Bandido then hit a pop-up cutter for a nearfall. He continued to dominate and hit the 24plex for another nearfall. Greshman came out of nowhere with a pinning combination to pin Bandido. Gresham is now the undisputed ROH World Champion.
Result: Jonathan Gresham def. Bandido
MATCH RATING: B+
Jay Lethal came out of the ring after the match and wanted to be the first challenger for Gresham's title. Sonjay Dutt hit the ring to separate the two men but ended up attacking Gresham. Lee Moriarty came out to make the save but also got taken out.
As Lethal and Dutt were celebrating, Samoa Joe made his return to Ring Of Honor. He put Sonjay Dutt in the Coquina Clutch as Jay Lethal rolled out of the ring.
