After last week's outstanding Chicago Street Fight between ROH Women's World Champion Athena and Kiera Hogan, ROH ON HONOR CLUB (www.watchroh.com) is back this Thursday at 7pm ET/6pm CT with an all-new, loaded edition of the best pound-for-pound wrestling on the planet! This week we've got a wild Lucha Libre tinged 8-Man tag, La Faccion Ingobernable in action, The Righteous and Dark Order continuing their Stu Grayson-centered rivalry, and Claudio Castagnoli inviting old friend Chuck Taylor onto the Proving Ground!
But that's not all; in honor of FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, Ring of Honor welcomes New Japan back into the fold as members of Los Ingobernables de Japon challenge for the ROH World Six-Man Championship, El Desperado takes on Willie Mack, The House of Torture takes on Roppongi Vice, and The United Empire is in Trios action against Christopher Daniels, Action Andretti, and Darius Martin! This is one of the biggest episodes yet in the new era of honor, and it's available exclusively on Honor Club (www.watchroh.com) for just $9.99/month!
PROVING GROUND MATCH...
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli(c) vs. Chuck Taylor
It's kind of wild to think that in the nearly 20 years they've known each other, Claudio Castagnoli and Chuck Taylor have only ever gone one-on-one three times in their careers! Once in Reading, PA in 2007, once in Joliet, IL in 2008, and once in Rahway, NJ in 2010, with Chuckie T holding the advantage 2-1. In fact, that second bout is also their only singles match which involved a championship, and it was Taylor who walked out with that championship in his possession. Now in the times before AEW, they've been foes and they've been partners, but since Claudio's arrival in All Elite Wrestling, there has been nothing but dominance from ROH World Champion and his BCC allies in their two Trios interactions.
Suffice to say, these two men knew each other, and knew each other well, but it's been a long time since that point in their lives, and neither is the same man. As of late, Taylor is more often looked upon for his work as a tag with Trent Beretta, or their trios work with Orange Cassidy, so the Proving Ground concept absolutely applies here, but as a former 2-Time PWG World Champion, as well as singles champion elsewhere throughout his career, Taylor has the ability and skill to pull off this upset. That being said, the version of Double C that we've seen competing over the last years is more vicious than at any other point in his career, and his BCC training has only honed that knife edge.
Can Taylor survive the ten minutes? Can he actually pull off the unexpected and pin Claudio's shoulders to the mat? He's done it before, can he make history repeat itself?
PROVING GROUND MATCH...
ROH Women's World Champion Athena vs. KC Spinelli
For nearly 15 years KC Spinelli has been competing across Canada, in the United Kingdom, in the United States, and even in Mexico, to hone her craft in that never-ending trek to become the best wrestler she can possibly be. This Thursday night in Toronto, in front of a hometown audience, Spinelli will not only get to make her debut for Ring of Honor, but she will get to do so against the top dog in the Ring of Honor Women's Division: Athena!
Coming into this bout after having beaten Kiera Hogan last Thursday in that unforgettable Chicago Street Fight, and three days later topping Billie Starks to advance in the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, the AEW Women's World Champion is riding high. She is 27-0 in Ring of Honor competition, has not lost any type of match since a tag on January 30th's DARK: ELEVATION, and hasn't lost a one-on-one match since ALL OUT 2022!
Athena seems completely untouchable at this point, whether it be Ring of Honor, AEW, or anywhere else in the world she plies her craft, but KC Spinelli aims to tap into her wealth of experience and find somehow, someway, to pull off the upset. If she can beat Athena, for that matter if she can just last ten minutes with the champ, then Spinelli will earn a future ROH Women's World Championship match. Thus far Madison Rayne has come the closest, lasting eight and a half minutes on the JAY BRISCOE TRIBUTE & CELEBRATION OF LIFE event, but that extra ninety seconds of survival can be an eternity when fighting someone the caliber of Athena.
Can Spinelli be the first? Or will she just be the next?
TAG TEAM GRUDGE MATCH...
Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver w/ Evil Uno) vs.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent w/ Stu Grayson)
Last week we saw The Dark Order team of Alex Reynolds and John Silver smash through Davey Bang and August Matthews in just under two and a half minutes, but it wasn't the speed at which the match happened, but rather the edge they displayed in dispatching their foes. Clearly the last few weeks of entanglement with The Righteous, and being questioned by Stu Grayson, a man they looked to as a brother, clearly that's hit a nerve with The Dark Order.
Will that hint of the edge Grayson has talked about be enough when Alex and John go head-to-head with Dutch and Vincent this Thursday night on Honor Club? A month ago, in Trios competition, The Righteous and Grayson beat The Dark Order quite decisively but that was three men rather uncertain about themselves when it came to fighting their brother. Now though, after being verbally berated by Grayson, after watching him take up with Dutch and Vincent over the men who stood by his side for the last several years, after being beaten by those very same men because of their former friend, there just might be a fire lit inside The Dark Order that The Righteous have only themselves to blame for igniting!
Will it be enough for Reynolds and Silver to step up and put down The Righteous? We will see this Thursday night!
GRUDGE MATCH...
Diamante vs. Leila Grey (w/ “Smart” Mark Sterling)
The tensions between Diamante and Leila Grey have rapidly ratcheted up here in Ring of Honor, first with Diamante spurning a “generous” offer by “Smart” Mark Sterling, and then with Grey using Sterling, as well as some rope leverage, to steal a victory on Diamante in their match.
Payback's a...you know...and Leila Grey is about to feel that when Diamante steps up for round two this Thursday night! She's prepared for Sterling's interference, she's prepared for the inevitable shenanigans that come with his presence, but is Grey prepared for response her actions have earned?
ALSO FEATURING:
-Strong Style's El Desperado vs. Willie Mack
-ROH World Six-Man Title Match The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, Toa Liona) vs.
LIJ (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi)
-The United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Kyle Fletcher, & TJP) vs. Action Andretti, Christopher Daniels, & Darius Martin
-House of Torture (SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Roppongi Vice (Chuck Taylor & Rocky Romero)
-ROH World Tag Team Champion Lucha Brothers, El Hijo Del Vikingo, & Komander vs.
Gringo Loco, Shane Taylor, & The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
-LFI (Preston Vance & Dralistico) vs. Mark Wheeler & Vikram Prashar
-Big Bill & Lee Moriarty vs. Karou & TARIK
Ring of Honor welcomes New Japan Pro Wrestling back to the fold when an all-new ROH ON HONOR CLUB drops this Thursday night at 7pm ET/6pm CT, with a plethora of NJPW wrestlers making their way to the ROH ring! Los Faccion Ingobernables, House of Torture, Strong Style, CHAOS; so many New Japan units are represented this Thursday, and LFI could even walk away as ROH champions when they take on The Mogul Embassy! Plus ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli meets an old friend on the Proving Ground, while ROH Women's World Champion Athena welcomes the debuting KC Spinelli onto those Grounds as well. The Righteous and Dark Order will collide, a huge Lucha 8-Man will go down, and so much more to be seen only on Honor Club!
Honor Club is the home for 20+ years of wrestling history, including a WEEK IN HISTORY playlist updated every Monday, the Joe/Punk Trilogy, and plenty featuring The Young Bucks, Homicide, Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black, Cody Rhodes, Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Steen, and others who have defined the last two decades of professional wrestling!