Posted on 3/09/123 by Ring of Honor
ROH ON HONORCLUB EPISODE 2 PREVIEW
Samoa Joe vs Tony Deppen
The premiere edition of ROH ON HONOR CLUB ended in shocking
fashion when “The Mad King” Eddie Kingston returned to Ring
of Honor television for the first time since May 2014 and
made a beeline for ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli.
There is no love lost between these two men, something
Kingston made quite clear when Castagnoli was brought into
The Blackpool Combat Club last June and Eddie had to team
with him in BLOOD & GUTS II, but it's a hate that dates back
nearly two decades to the infancy of each man's wrestling
career. Claudio clearly had no interest in accepting Eddie's
challenge, walking away from “The Mad King” without a spoken
answer, but knowing Kingston, especially now that he's
apparently walked away from AEW, there's no chance he's
letting this challenge just fade out.
And while that moment may have been a shocker, it would be a
disservice to not mention the amazing effort AR Fox put forth
in trying to claim the ROH World Championship from Claudio,
coming close on multiple occasions to pulling the upset of
his lengthy career! And Fox wasn't the only one on the verge
of an upset; Blake Christian nearly pulled one off as well in
his NJPW World Television Title fight with Zack Sabre Jr
earlier in the night. Plus we witnessed Mark Briscoe open the
new era of honor with a victory over Slim J, Willow
Nightingale challenge Athena to a ROH Women's World
Championship Match, and Wheeler Yuta see his Pure
Championship invitiation answered by the vicious Timothy
Thatcher!
This week there will be THREE championship matches going down
with the Women's, Pure, and Television Titles all at stake,
as well as the return of former ROH World Tag Champions Rhett
Titus and Tracy Williams as they take on Aussie Open! Plus
Eddie Kingston will be in action, LFI is back in ROH taking
on The Spanish Announce Project, and former World Six Man
Champions Dalton Castle and his Boys are back in the house!
The premiere episode of ROH ON HONOR CLUB showcased just why
Ring of Honor has endured for more than two decades, and why
it was the most influential professional wrestling company of
the last twenty years. With this new era of honor, ROH will
continue to demonstrate each and every week how it is the
home for pure professional wrestling at its finest, and it
takes place this and every Thursday night beginning at 7pm
ET/6pm CT exclusively on Honor Club
(https://www.watchroh.com/)!
ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
Samoa Joe(c) vs. Tony Deppen
In October 2nd of 2020, Tony Deppen made his debut for Ring
of Honor Wrestling, taking part in the tournament to crown a
new Pure Champion as the title was reinstated 14 years after
its unification with the ROH World Championship.
Unfortunately for Deppen, he was knocked out of contention in
the first round by PJ Black, but left a lasting enough
impression that just two months later, he earned his way into
a ROH World TV Championship opportunity at FINAL BATTLE 2020.
While Deppen failed to dethrone Dragon Lee that night, it
made him hungry for success in Ring of Honor, and actually
led him into a faction known as VLNCE ULTD alongside Brody
King and ROH Legend, former World Champion, “The Notorious
187” Homicide.
That proved to be the key ingredient as just a month after
their formation, Deppen defeated The Foundation's Tracy
Williams to become the 25th Television Champion, holding the
title for 72 days before Dragon Lee reclaimed it. Deppen's
tenure in ROH would last until FINAL BATTLE 2021: END OF AN
ERA, and he would participate in several memorable bouts,
including a World Six Man Championship fight against Shane
Taylor Promotions, a wild Street Fight at GLORY BY HONOR
2021, and a tremendous eight-man tag at that aforementioned
FINAL BATTLE event.
Deppen would appear on the DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2022: ZERO
HOUR in a Six Man bout against The Embassy, but it was his
presence at FINAL BATTLE 2022 that raised some eyebrows. That
night Deppen appeared not as a competitor in a match, but
rather a spectator whose attention was fixed on the ROH World
Television Title match between Samoa Joe and Juice Robinson.
Without saying a word, the intent was clear: Tony Deppen had
designs on reclaiming the championship he'd lost many months
before.
Well this Thursday night during ROH ON HONOR CLUB's loaded
second episode, Deppen will have his chance when he squares
off with ROH Legend, the longest reigning World Champion in
company history, and Triple Crown Winner (World/Pure/TV), the
incomparable Samoa Joe! What a beginning to ROH ON HONOR CLUB
it would be to see Deppen rise up and knock down Joe this
early in the programs run, and just weeks before SUPERCARD OF
HONOR 2023
(https://www.rohwrestling.com/live/events/supercard-honor-
2023) goes down in Los Angeles!
ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Wheeler Yuta(c) vs. Timothy Thatcher
Wheeler Yuta put out the call last week for a worthy
challenger to step up this week and try to end his ROH Pure
Championship reign, but it is highly unlikely he expected
Timothy Thatcher to be in the zone that night, much less be
the man to answer the call!
As was witnessed on DYNAMITE when Thatcher brutalized Yuta's
BCC mate Bryan Danielson, this is a man who relishes in
violence and delights in inflicting pain on his foes, and not
just the pain necessary to secure victory, but rather above
the call of duty simply to hear an opponent break. Thatcher
answering Yuta's call marked the man's debut appearance for
Ring of Honor, and thus this Thursday will mark his first-
ever match, but it is not the first outing for Yuta and
Thatcher as foes.
In August 2022, just after Thatcher's first tour of Pro
Wrestling NOAH, the two men would meet at the White Eagle for
Beyond's AMERICANRANA 2022: BLACKOUT event, and after fifteen
minutes of combat, it would be Yuta who defeated the then-GHC
Tag Team Champion. Thatcher would return to NOAH following
that battle only to lose the GHC Tag Team Titles, as well as
unsuccessfully challenge for the GHC Heavyweight
Championship. His return to the States led to that collision
with Danielson, followed by a brief return to NOAH to
participate in the KEIJI MUTO GRAND FINAL PRO-WRESTLING LAST
LOVE HOLD OUT event.
Now he's back from NOAH, a promotion with whom ROH had a
tremendous working relationship with for several years, for
this first-ever bout under the Ring of Honor banner, and he's
aiming to end this second Pure Championship reign of Wheeler
Yuta! As the only two-time Pure Champion in the title's
history, Wheeler Yuta is already a part of ROH history, but
he wants to go down as the greatest Pure Champ in history as
well, he wants to surpass men like Nigel McGuinness and Samoa
Joe, arguably the two greatest to ever hold and defend the
title, and be the name most associated with said title.
In addition, as can be heard in Yuta's response to Ian
Riccaboni calling him the “junior member of the Blackpool
Combat Club”, there is certainly a level of needing to prove
just how wrong that label is, of how he's every bit as world
class as the men he associates with, otherwise he would not
be standing with the BCC letters emblazoned on his soul.
Yuta is in for a tremendous fight in this second defense of
his second reign, can he have the same success against
Thatcher that his BCC partner did several weeks back? Or will
Thatcher take the Pure Championship back to NOAH and defend
it as McGuinness and Takeshi Morishima did with the ROH World
Championship many years back?
ROH WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Athena(c) vs. Willow Nightingale
One would be hard-pressed to find a woman on a hotter streak
than ROH Women's World Champion Athena. Between AEW, ROH, and
a ROH Women's Championship defense against Miyu Yamashita
from Prestige Wrestling's VENDETTA show on IWTV, Athena has
won more than 25 consecutive matches! With 90 days as
champion, four successful defenses under her belt, and
numerous victories in Eliminator/Proving Ground matches, it
is getting to the point where one has to wonder if there's
any women in ROH or AEW capable of putting a stop to this
roll?
Well, Willow Nightingale is going to step up and try! With
victories in Ring of Honor over Allysin Kay and Trish Adora
on 2022 pay-per-view events, as well as last week's over Lady
Frost, Nightingale feels ready to challenge the women she
once called an ally in All Elite Wrestling! Willow will
absolutely have the fan support in this one; with that
infectious smile, bubbly personality, and most importantly,
hard-hitting style in the ring, it's hard not to rally behind
Willow even if she's facing another fan favorite combatant.
And when it's someone like “The Fallen Goddess” who has
earned the ire of the ROH and AEW faithful, there's no
question who the people are rooting for on Thursday night!
But if Willow can't stop the rampage of Athena, just who can?
PLUS:
Eddie Kingston in action!
Dalton Castle & The Boys in action!!
Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher &
Mark Davis)
Trish Adora vs. Billie Starkz
The TrustBusters (Ari Daivari & Slim J) vs. Jake Crist & Man
Scout
LFI (Dralistico & Rush) vs. Spanish Announce Project
(Angelico & Serpentico)
With three championship matches, ROH ON HONOR CLUB's second
episode is as loaded as it gets! Who will step up and stake
their championship claim as ROH looks towards SUPERCARD OF
HONOR 2023 on March 31st? Will Kingston get the championship
shot he's demanding? The only way to watch is to sign up for
Honor Club, but it isn't just the home for all-new Ring of
Honor, it's also the place to peruse twenty years worth of
history from the most influential professional wrestling
promotion of this generation, including the new “This Week in
ROH History” playlist, the BRYAN DANIELSON: WORLD CHAMPION
compilation spotlighting his reign as ROH World Champion, and
a rich event archive dating back to THE ERA OF HONOR BEGINS!