Ring of Honor

[Autistic Dragon]

Huge changes coming to Ring of Honor.

Rumors of a shake-up among RoH top brass have been confirmed. In a press release earlier this week company president Cary Silkin announced he had hired a new head for the company's booking committee as well as a change to the promotion's TV deal & streaming service.

Under the new deal, Ring of Honor will air a two hour show every Thursday night starting on 5/18/2023. The episodes will be uploaded to Honor Club 30 days after airing. Likewise pay per views shall now be airing live on Fite TV before being uploaded to Honor Club 90 days after airing. House shows will air live on Honor Club and be archived the next day. To compansate for the reduced amount of live content for the site, Honor Club's monthly fee will be lowered to $6.99.

The new era of Ring of Honor will begin on 5/14/2023 with Honor Reigns Supreme airing on Fite TV from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach California. Matches for the event will be announced in the coming days and the company is running a special 2 for 1 deal where purchasing Honor Reigns Supreme will allow buyers to get the following event Masters of the Craft airing 5/28/2023 from Cicero Stadium in Chicago Illinois at a discount.

Ring of Honor was founded in 2002 and has been a driving force in the American independent wrestling scene for over two decades. After a scare in which fans were wondering if the company might actually go under, we here at WhatCulture wait to see what awaits us in the new era of Honor.

[Autistic Dragon]

We can now bring you the full card for Honor Reigns Supreme. The night will see the beginning of a 16 man tournament for the vacant Ring of Honor Pure Championship. The tournament will continue through the TV taping with the semi-finals and finals occurring at Masters of the Craft.

Main Event. 8 man tag team match.

Blackpool Combat Club (Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxly, Bryan Danielson & Charlie Dempsey) w/William Regal vs The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams, Drew Gulak & ?)

Pure Title tournament round 1 match.

"The Iceman" Dean Malenko vs "American Wolf" Davey Richards

Pure Title tournament round 1 match.

"The Prestigious One" Joe Hendry vs "Champagne" Chris Kanyon

Four Corner Survival. Winners challenge for the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Titles at Honor Reigns Supreme.

Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr) vs TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & Shane Helms) vs Team Filthy (Danny Limelight & Slice Boogie) vs The All-Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King)

Pure Title tournament round 1 match.

Doug Williams vs "Filthy" Tom Lawler

Pure Title tournament round 1 match.

"Wild Rhino" Clark Connors vs TJ Perkins

Strong Hearts (Cima, El Lindeman & T-Hawk) vs The Rascalz (Trey Miguel, Zachary Wentz & Desmond Xavier)

[Perfectly Straightedge]

I am very excited for this debut episode of RoH. A very jam packed edition of RoH.

I wonder who is going to be the fourth man for the foundation.  Also Malenko Vs Dave’s Richards is a dream match that I didn’t know I wanted to see till now. 

[Autistic Dragon]

From the Walter Pyrimad in Long Beach California.

(A opening video shows clips from various stages in the history of Ring of Honor. Men like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, AJ Styles & more display their ability while truinphant music plays. We cut to a sweeping shot of the sell out crowd before going to the booth where Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuiness welcome us to the show)

KK: Ladies and gentlemen, a new era of Honor is upon us. I'm Kevin Kelly alongside former World Champion Nigel McGuiness and Nigel, this is truly set to be an unforgettable night in the history of Ring of Honor.

NG: It certainly is Kevin. you know I first wrestled for Ring of Honor all the way back in 2003 and I am as excited as I have ever been for the future of this company.

KK: Folks we have eight big matches for you tonight including the first part of a tournament to crown a new Ring of Honor Pure champion. Let's send it to the Voice of Ring of Honor, Bobby Cruise.

BC: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Honor Reigns Supreme opening contest. It is a six man tag team match, set for one fall with a 15 minute time limit. Introducing team number 1, from Osaka, Hokkaido and Tokyo Japan respectively...  at a combined weight of  528 lbs... they are the team of El Lindeman, T-Hawk and Cima, Strong Hearts! And their opponents, from Dayton Ohio at a combined weight of 538 lbs...they are the team of Tre Miguel, Zachary Wentz & Desmond Xavier...The Rascalz

The two teams follow the Code of Honor before a blistering opening match that sees a variety of styles. Technical exchanges, stiff kicks, a number of duplexes courtesy of El Lindeman and plenty of high speed offense. The finish sees a flurry of offense culminating in Cima hitting Wentz with the Meteora.

Winners: Strong Hearts.

Before the next match, McGuiness gives a break down of Pure rules for the uninitiated...

All Pure rules matches have a strict 20 minute time limit.

Punches to the face are illegal, punches to other parts of the body are allowed excluding low blows. One punch to the face gets a warning a second leads to a disqualification.

Each wrestler gets three rope breaks. After using all three rope breaks are used a wrestler can be submitted while in the ropes.

If there is no winner within the 20 minute time limit the result is decided by a panal of three judges.

BC: This is a match in the Ring of Honor Pure Title tournament. Introducing first from Bellevue Washington... weighing 195 lbs..."Wild Rhino" Clark Connors. And his opponent... from Los Angeles, California... weighing 176 lbs...TJ Perkins.

Perkins is a 24 year veteran and it shows as he controls much of the match against the former New Japan Young Lion. The NJPW Dojo graduate isn't one to be pushed around however and uses his training in strong style to fight back whenever possible. Connor's resilience begins to frustrate Perkins who gets into a argument with the ref allowing Connors to hit the Gore for the win.

Winner: Clark Connors.

BC: This is a match in the Ring of Honor Pure Title tournament. Introducing first from Reading, Berkshire England... weighing 260 lbs...Doug Williams! And his opponent from Las Vegas Nevada... weighing 205 lbs..."Filthy" Tom Lawler!

Lawler follows the Code of Honor albiet after spitting in his hand. It's the classic British wrestling of Williams vs the MMA offense of Lawler. After a impressive display of suplexs and chain wrestling, Williams claims victory with the "Chaos Theory" (O'Connor roll into a bridging German suplex)

Winner: Doug Williams

BC: This is a Four Corner Survival Tag Team match with the winners challenging for the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Titles at Masters of the Craft. Introducing team number 1...at a combined weight of 456 lbs..."Addicted to love" Rhett Titus & Kenny King...The All Night Express... introducing team number 2...at a combined weight of 475 lbs..."Hysterical Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito... TMDK. Introducing team number 3... representing Team Filthy...at a combined weight of 409 lbs... Danny Limelight Slice Boogie...and finally at a combined weight of 530 lbs..."The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer & "The Canadian Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith Jr... The Killer Elite Squad!

Each team has one team in the ring at a time. A recurring theme of the match is the KES member muscling around the smaller competition. Bad Dude Tito proves particularly difficult to boss around which earns the ire of Lance Archer. Eventually the KES & TMDK start brawling and end up fighting up the ramp. During the chaos, Team Filthy member Fred Yehi comes through the crowd and takes out Titus with a pumpkick allowing Limelight & Boogie to put King away with the "Street Sweeper" (Boogie takes King up on his shoulders while Limelight climbs the ropes before coming off with a double stomp which Boogie follows with a Death Valley Driver)

Winners: Team Filthy.

BC: This is a first round match in the Ring of Honor Pure Title tournament. Introducing first from Edinburgh Scotland... weighing 230 lbs..."The Prestigious One" Joe Hendry...and his opponent... Queens New York... weighing 270 lbs..."The Innovator of Offense" Chris Kanyon

Code of Honor is followed but Kanyon kicks Hendry in the gut as the bell is being rung. While there is certainly a fine display of technical ability from both men, this match has the most personality as the two take turns playing to the crowd. The end sees Kanyon punch Hendry square in the jaw which earns him a warning from the ref and boos from the crowd. Kanyon shrugs before quickly pulling the staggered Hendry into the Flatliner for the win 

Winner: Chris Kanyon.

BC: This is a first round match in the Ring of Honor Pure Title tournament. Introducing first...from Tampa Florida... weighing 212 lbs..."The Iceman" Dean Malenko... and his opponent... from St Louis Missouri... weighing 202 lbs..."The American Wolf" Davey Richards.

A 20 minute masterclass of chain wrestling which sees counters on top of counters. Holds are applied only to be reversed only for the reversal to be escaped. Both men use their three rope breaks. Malenko manages to apply his famous Texas Cloverleaf in the closing moments but Richards holds on until the time limit expires. It goes to the judges. Judge #1 gives the bout to... Dean Malenko. Judge #2 gives the bout to... Davey Richards. Judge #3 gives the bout to the winner... Dean Malenko! Richards graciously shakes Malenko's hand and Dean addures him if he wants a rematch all he needs to do is ask.

Winner: Dean Malenko.

BC: This is your Honor Reigns Supreme main event...it is a 8 man tag team match set for a 60 minute time limit... introducing team number 1... accompanied to to ringside by William Regal... from Blackpool England... weighing 217 lbs... Charlie Dempsey... from Aberdeen Washington... weighing 210 lbs..."The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson... from Cincinnati Ohio... weighing 225 lbs...Jon Moxly... from Lucerne Switzerland... weighing 232 lbs...he is the Ring of Honor World Champion... Claudio Castagnoli... together they are... Blackpool Combat Club! And their opponents... from Atlanta Georgia... weighing 180 lbs..."The Octopus" Jonathan Gresham... from Brooklyn New York... weighing 189 lbs..."Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams... from Philadelphia Pennsylvania... weighing 202 lbs...Drew Gulak... and from Toronto, Ontario Canada weighing 240 lbs..."The Walking Weapon" Josh Alexander... together they are... The Foundation!

A massive main event. The announcement of Josh Alexander gets a major pop. Everyone gets a chance to shine. Moxly is the wildcard, almost always the first to bend the rules. Alexander is the main one to step to him leading to some fun brawling. The match is mostly clean however with some crisp exchanges. Things break down towards the end with all 8 men in the ring. Castagnoli goes to hold Gresham while Dempsey goes for a Lariat but Gresham moves out of the way. Dempsey is stunned by his mistake and gets tackled out of the ring by Williams. Mox & Alexander are trading blows on the floor. Danielson & Gulak tied up with each other. During all this madness, Gresham performs a Oklahoma roll into a O'Connor bridge for the 1..2..3! Jonathan Gresham has pinned the World Champion!

Winners: The Foundation.