GARLAND, Texas – A new era of Ring of Honor saw the shocking return of an ROH legend at the end of the show.
After Jonathan Gresham defeated fellow ROH World Title claimant Bandido in a fantastic main event at Supercard of Honor Friday night to become the undisputed ROH World Champion, Jay Lethal entered the ring and said he wanted to be Gresham’s first challenger.
Gresham said Lethal had changed and acted without honor, a reference to Lethal’s actions earlier in the night (more on that later).
Lethal and Gresham went nose to nose, and Sonjay Dutt, a good friend of Lethal’s who appeared frustrated with him, got between them. Suddenly, Dutt attacked Gresham.
As Lethal and Dutt stomped Gresham, Lee Moriarty hit the ring to attempt to make the save, but he fell victim to a Lethal Injection.
At that point, Samoa Joe appeared on the stage! The ROH Hall of Famer and record-holder for the longest reign as ROH World Champion entered the ring and confronted Lethal.
As Lethal slipped out of the ring, Joe snatched Dutt and choked him out. Joe helped Gresham back into the ring.
It was announced that Joe will appear on AEW Dynamite this Wednesday.
In a dream match that more than lived up to the hype, FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) defeated the Briscoes in a bloody brawl to become ROH World Tag Team Champions. It will be extremely difficult for any match taking place this weekend to top that one.
After the match, FTR showed the 12-time ROH World Tag Team Champion Briscoes respect by giving them the ring. Out of nowhere, The Young Bucks sneak-attacked the Briscoes.
FTR came back to the ring and chased away the Bucks. FTR challenged the Bucks to face them right then, but the Bucks declined.
The match between FTR and the Bucks scheduled for AEW Dynamite this Wednesday was originally supposed to be for FTR’s AAA Tag Team Title, but now it will be for both the AAA and ROH titles.
The ROH World Television and Pure titles also changed hands at Supercard, and an Interim ROH Women’s World Champion was crowned.
Here are the complete results of the pre-show and main show:
SUPERCARD OF HONOR ZERO HOUR
Colt Cabana defeated Blake Christian
Cabana, who spent nearly half of his 23-year career in ROH, returned to an ROH ring for the first time since 2019. Christian, a rising star, was making his ROH debut.
Christian came within an eyelash of pulling an upset after hitting a Springboard 450 Splash, but Cabana recovered and hit Chicago Skyline for the win.
AQA defeated Miranda Alize
AQA made an impressive ROH debut by knocking off Alize, who was a finalist in the ROH Women’s World Title Tournament last summer.
Alize hit a ripcord cutter and then applied a crossface, but AQA rolled on top of Alize for a two count. AQA landed an enziguri and followed with a shooting star press for the victory.
Gates of Agony (Kaun & Toa Liona) w/Tully Blanchard defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Eli Isom & Cheeseburger)
Blanchard introduced Kaun, formerly one-third of the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions, and Liona as the newest members of TBE (Tully Blanchard Enterprises).
The GOA made quick work of 3S. Liona hit a pop-up Samoan Spike on Isom for the win in just over two minutes.
Dalton Castle defeated Joe Hendry
The former tag team partners had a falling out at Final Battle in December when Hendry nailed Castle in the back of the head with the ROH World Television Title belt during a Four Corner Survival Match. This is the first time they’ve faced each other in a one-on-one match.
Hendry used his strength advantage to stay on the offensive for much of the match, but Castle rallied and hit Bang-a-Rang for the victory.
SUPERCARD OF HONOR PAY-PER-VIEW
Swerve Strickland defeated Alex Zayne
The first meeting between these two dynamic stars did not disappoint.
Zayne hit an insane Poisonrana off the apron to the floor that popped the crowd. Zayne hit Crunch Wrap Supreme for a near fall.
Strickland, making his ROH debut, hit a rolling flat-liner followed by the Swerve Stomp for a near fall. Strickland finished off Zayne with the JML Driver.
Brian Cage w/Tully Blanchard defeated Ninja Mack
Blanchard revealed Cage as his newest client and Mack’s mystery opponent.
Mack is an impressive athlete, but he was simply no match for Cage. Mack tried to stick and move, but Cage repeatedly overpowered him before hitting Drill Claw for the dominant win.
Jay Lethal defeated Lee Moriarty w/Matt Sydal
This started out as a great, back-and-forth match, with both competitors adhering to the rules and trading near falls.
However, Lethal grew frustrated after Moriarty countered Hail to the King and Lethal Injection to score near falls. Lethal nailed Moriarty with a low blow behind the referee’s back, and then hit Lethal Injection for a tainted victory.
Sydal, who is recovering from a dislocated knee and was on crutches, confronted Lethal about his tactics after the match. Lethal kicked one of Sydal’s crutches out from under him and began attacking him.
Sonjay Dutt entered the ring and tried to get Lethal to calm down, but Lethal wasn’t interested in anything Dutt had to say.
Mercedes Martinez defeated Willow Nightingale to become Interim ROH Women’s World Champion
The winner of this match goes on to face ROH Women’s World Champion Deonna Purrazzo at a later date.
This was a hard-hitting contest between two powerhouses. Nightingale rocked Martinez with a pounce, followed by a cannonball in the corner for a near fall. Martinez answered with the OG Drop for a near fall.
Nightingale hit a moonsault for another near fall. Martinez recovered and applied the Brass City Sleeper for the submission victory.
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defeated ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe to win the title
After months of trash-talking and anticipation, two of the best tag teams in the sport were finally in the ring together to battle for the ROH World Tag Team Title and bragging rights. The atmosphere was electric, as the fans were going nuts before the match even began.
After the action spilled outside the ring, FTR sling-shotted Jay Briscoe into the bottom of a table, busting him wide open. FTR continued to punish Jay for several minutes before he was able to tag in his brother.
The Briscoes hit Redneck Boogie for a near fall. FTR hit a powerbomb/splash combination on Jay for a two count. The Briscoes answered with Big Rig on Harwood for a near fall. From the apron, Jay suplexed Harwood to the floor.
With all four men down on the floor, the trainers checked on them. Both Briscoes and Harwood were bleeding.
After the action resumed, Jay hit a neckbreaker on Harwood, and Mark followed with Froggy Bow for a near fall. The Briscoes set up for the Doomsday Device on Harwood, but Wheeler knocked Mark off the top rope to the floor. FTR hit Big Rig on Jay for the win.
Both teams shook hands and embraced after the war.
FTR now holds both the ROH World and AAA tag team titles. They are former AEW World, WWE Raw, WWE Smackdown and NXT tag team champions.
Minoru Suzuki defeated ROH World Television Champion Rhett Titus to win the title
Having won numerous championships in Japan throughout his storied career, the legendary Suzuki captured his first title in the United States.
After several minutes of back-and-forth action, Titus nailed Suzuki with a dropkick. Titus has finished off many opponents with that move, but Suzuki kicked out at two.
Shortly thereafter, Suzuki planted Titus with a Gotch-style piledriver for the win.
Wheeler Yuta defeated ROH Pure Champion Josh Woods to win the title
The competitors exchanged holds and counter holds during the first 10 minutes with neither man able to sustain an advantage.
Woods rocked Yuta with a spiral suplex into the turnbuckle and made the cover. Yuta used his third and final rope break to stay alive.
The challenger rallied, stunning Woods with a series of elbow strikes. Yuta then rolled Woods into a pinning combination and scored the biggest victory of his career.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Bandido w/Chavo Guerrero Jr. to become Undisputed ROH World Champion
Gresham came to the ring with the original ROH World Title belt, while Bandido had the current version of the championship belt.
Bandido was accompanied by Chavo Guerrero Jr.. Bandido made it clear to Guerrero in a pre-match interview that he did not want to win by cheating.
In an amazing display of strength, Bandido held Gresham in a vertical suplex position for a minute before completing the move. After a series of near falls by both men, Bandido was outside the ring and Gresham set up for a dive. Guerrero pulled Bandido out of the way, which did not sit well with Bandido.
After the action returned to inside the ring, Bandido superkicked Gresham, who inadvertently knocked down the referee. With the referee temporarily incapacitated, Guerrero nailed Gresham with one of the championship belts. Bandido was irate at Guerrero and ordered the referee to eject his manager.
Bandido hit a pop-up cutter for a near fall and then attempted 21 Plex, but Gresham landed on his feet and caught Bandido in La Magistral Cradle into a bridge for a near fall.
Bandido got on a roll, hitting Fosbury Flop and Go To Sleep before completing 21 Plex. Remarkably, Gresham kicked out. Bandido landed three superkicks, but Gresham answered with a springboard moonsault. Gresham then countered into a cradle for the three count.
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