The 20th anniversary of DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR is just eight days away and while we know Claudio Castagnoli will have to defend his ROH World Championship against 13-Time ROH World Tag Champion Mark Briscoe, so much of that night is still to be determined, leaving everyone else in a position to jockey for their spot, and possible title opportunities! The last week of vying for DBD status begins this Thursday exclusively on Honor Club with the newest edition of ROH ON HONOR CLUB dropping at 7pm ET/6pm CT!
We will see The Righteous, alongside Stu Grayson, in Trios action as the issues between them and The Dark Order grow deeper! Plus, ROH Women's World Champion Athena will be in Proving Ground action ahead of her Semi-Final bout in the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament on RAMPAGE, Dalton Castle will go head-up with Tony Nese while The Boys lock horns with The Kingdom in tag team action, and The Embassy will be in Trios action against Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, and Darius Martin! All that, and more, is coming to you this Thursday night exclusively on Honor Club!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Dalton Castle vs. Tony Nese
Though this will mark the first one-on-one collision between Tony Nese and Dalton Castle, the former ROH World Champion is quite familiar with the individuals that “The Premier Athlete” has surrounded himself with in recent months. Castle has been in the ring with Ari Daivari, even defended the ROH World Six Man Titles against him and his Trustbusters many moons ago. Dalton is also quite familiar with the man whom Nese frequently calls his partner, Josh Woods, the two having clashed several times in 2021, as well as just a few weeks ago on Honor Club, but this will the a first-time around for Nese and the former ROH World Champion, with each looking to solidify a spot on the July 21st pay-per-view extravaganza going down in Trenton, NJ!
Dalton will have The Boys on his side, ideally balancing out the presence of Ari Daivari and “Smart” Mark Sterling, and leaving this fight a fair one between the world class athletes! And what will the future have in store for the victor? Will he earn himself a spot at DBD '23? A title opportunity of some sort? A marquee match-up? There will no doubt be plenty of news coming out of this Thursday night, so every person competing better be fighting as if their futures depend on it!
TAG TEAM BOUT...
The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Boys (Brandon & Brent)
The Boys have been a constant source of frustration and irritation for Matt Taven, dating back to his reign as ROH World Six Man Champion alongside TK O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia in 2017, and continuing to this very day with Mike Bennett by his side in The Kingdom!
This Thursday night on Honor Club, the former multi-time ROH World Tag Team Champions will have to tussle with Brandon and Brent Tate for the very first time, meaning Mike Bennett will feel the pain that Taven has many times over, the pain that comes from chasing after the high-speed offense of The Boys, and trying to keep up without getting knocked off.
The Kingdom are in hot pursuit of a tag team championship fight, pretty much demanding they get The Lucha Brothers in the ring immediately, but after coming up short to The Infantry in their last tag bout, Taven and Bennett need to prove they deserve a shot. If they want DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 to be that spot, they better swat down The Boys this Thursday night, because if they can't, The Kingdom may just be sitting on the sidelines come July 21st and watching The Tates get the shot!
SINGLES MATCH...
Leyla Hirsch vs. Bambi Hall
Last week, Leyla Hirsch made her return to active competition after over a year recovering from injury, as well as made her Ring of Honor debut, in victorious fashion alongside The Kingdom. This week, “Legit” has her first singles match since April 2022, and she aims to use it to send a message to the rest of the women competing in ROH! Hirsch has spent her career proving that the”Legit” moniker goes far beyond a catchy nickname, so one can imagine the frustration that not being able to compete has built up over the last year. This Thursday night, she begins to take it all out on whoever happens to stand across the ring!
PROVING GROUND MATCH...
ROH Women's World Champion Athena vs. Ava Lawless
Another week, another Proving Ground match for “The Fallen Goddess” as she continues to give opportunities to women around the professional wrestling landscape, either in hopes of finding suitable competition to actually challenge for her ROH Women's World Championship, or simply to bolster Athena's own ego with victories over competition she views as less than her.
But with her Semi-Final match against Willow Nightingale for the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament going down twenty-four hours after this battle, is stepping into the ring on Thursday the smartest of decisions? Perhaps, perhaps not, but perhaps that is why Athena is doing it, to prove that she can fight any one, any time, and still rise up to the biggest of challenges.
Can Ava Lawless survive the ten minutes in her debut ROH match? Can she actually beat the ROH Women's World Champion and shock the world? Tune into Honor Club on Thursday night to see if Athena continues her monstrous unbeaten streak or if she gets knocked off her perch?
ALSO FEATURING:
-Big Bill vs. Serpentico
-The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) & Stu Grayson vs. Evan Rivers, Levi Knight & Michael Allen Richard Clark
-Shane Taylor vs. Shawn Dean
-Six Man Tag Team: ROH World Six Man Champions The Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) vs. Christopher Daniels, Darius Martin & Matt Sydal
Ring of Honor returns with an all-new ROH ON HONOR CLUB this Thursday night at 7pm ET/6pm CT with a stacked event headlined by The Kingdom versus The Boys, ROH Women's World Champion Athena back on the Proving Ground, “The Fallen Angel” leading Darius Martin and Matt Sydal into battle with The Embassy, and Stu Grayson in trios action alongside The Righteous!
Honor Club is your home for over 20 years of Ring of Honor, including the WEEK IN HISTORY playlist updated every Monday, the Joe/Punk Trilogy, and plenty more content featuring fighters such as Jay & Mark Briscoe, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, El Generico, Jerry Lynn, and countless others who have helped to define the last two decades of professional wrestling!