Thursday night has come around once more and that means ROH ON HONOR CLUB is coming your way with an all-new episode! This week we will see a rivalry renewed when Undisputed Kingdom's Matt Taven challenges ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe for the title, plus Premier Athletes enter the Proving Grounds to try and earn a shot at the ROH World Six-Man Titles held by Dustin Rhodes and The Von Erichs! In addition, The Infantry and The Outrunners will meet once again in tag team action, and “The Native Beast” Nyla Rose will be in action, as will the tandem of BEEF and Anthony Henry!
The latest offering from Ring of Honor begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT exclusively on Honor Club, your one-stop shop for ROH's weekly event as well as the home for over 20 years of wrestling history, like the above noted Samoa Joe compilation, as well as competitors such as Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, and the two men competing in tonight's World Title match, Matt Taven and Mark Briscoe!
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Mark Briscoe(c) vs. Undisputed Kingdom's Matt Taven
It has been more than 11 years since Mark Briscoe and Matt Taven met in a one-on-one match, BORDER WARS 2013 to be exact, and on that May 4th evening inside Toronto's Ted Reeve Arena, it was Taven who successfully defended the ROH World Television Title. It may have been the only head-to-head match between the two, as well their very first meeting in any form, but it was far from their last encounter. The following year, with Taven standing alongside Adam Cole, Mike Bennett, and Maria as the original Kingdom, they began a rivalry that endured beyond FINAL BATTLE 2021: END OF AN ERA and into their mutual arrivals on the All Elite Wrestling landscape. Mark, Jay, Taven, and Bennett engaged in multiple tags and trios, including the unforgettable Armageddon Two-Of-Three Falls match during the Atlanta WINTER WARRIORS 2015 tour stop, as well as the match during ROH WRESTLING #290 on 4/8/17 where they ended Taven's World Six-Man Title reign, and the FINAL BATTLE 2021 bout where they ended Taven and Bennett's World Tag Title run.
Mark and Taven were even reluctant partners on a few occasions, notably during an October 2018 trip to CMLL, and even fought in several 2022 bouts outside the AEW/ROH landscape. The final tag team meeting between The Kingdom and The Briscoes went down on 11/26/22 in Winston-Salem, taking place just six weeks before Jay's tragic passing.
Their rivalry reignited on AEW programming as Mark Briscoe found allies in FTR, The Conglomeration and others, with the ROH World Champion and his allies scoring victories on COLLISION in both Arlington and Cardiff, but those were all in multi-man situations. This is one-on-one, this is for the biggest prize in Ring of Honor, and as already mentioned, the last time Mark Briscoe and Matt Taven did this one-on-one dance with a title on the line, it was Taven who walked away still World TV Champion. Can the Undisputed Kingdom member repeat that performance and regain the title he last held five years ago, or will it be “Chicken” who walks out of Pittsburgh hearing the words “and still...” echoing through Petersen Events Center?
PROVING GROUND MATCH...
ROH World Six-Man Champions Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs (Marshall & Ross)
vs.
Premier Athletes (Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese, & “Smart” Mark Sterling)
With 68 days as ROH World Six-Man Champions under their belts, Dustin Rhodes and The Von Erichs are coming into tonight's edition of Honor Club riding high, but with another trio looking to earn their shot at the gold! Now Rhodes has had his issues with Premier Athletes in the recent past, like when he, Sammy Guevara, and Hologram recently defeated Ariya Daivari, Josh Woods, and Tony Nese during the ALL OUT 2024: ZERO HOUR, but this isn't that particular combination of Premier Athletes stepping onto the Proving Ground tonight.
In fact, it's more accurate to say two premier athletes and an ambulance chaser are making their bid for a future championship match, because tonight it will be Daivari and Nese but instead of Josh Woods at their side, it will be “Smart” Mark Sterling lacing up his boots! While Sterling has competed in a pair of non-televised matches under the Ring of Honor banner, most notably being humiliated by Alex Abrahantes, this will be the first time he's competed on HONOR CLUB as well as the first time he's saddled up as partner to both Daivari and Nese. Back in July 2022, at DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN, Sterling did step into the ring alongside Nese for a 2-on-1 fight against Swerve Strickland, but the world witnessed how well “Smart” Mark fared in that endeavor. Will he fair any better in a trios battle than he did in that situation two years ago, or will the lawyer fail his clients once again?
TAG TEAM ACTION...
The Infantry (Capt. Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo) vs. The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
The Outrunners and The Infantry have had their fair share of issues over the last several months, with Capt. Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo picking up the victory in their lone previous tag battle back during HONOR CLUB #62 on May 2nd. In the five months since then, they've exchanged words quite a few times, engaged in social media battles, and we've even seen The Outrunners come to the aid of The Infantry, seemingly putting an end to those issues.
However, that doesn't mean tag team competition between the two teams is over and done with, both are still hungry for shots at the ROH World Tag Titles held by Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. The Infantry came close to capturing the championship in their bouts with Undisputed Kingdom while the closest Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd have gotten was stepping onto the Proving Grounds with Matt Taven and Mike Bennett during HONOR CLUB #61 on April 24th. While this bout will certainly bear some weigh towards how future contention shakes out, it's also a chance for The Outrunners to even the tally with The Infantry, but we know Iron Savages will have their eyes on this one as they've got their own issues with Truth and Turbo...
ALSO IN ACTION:
-Anthony Henry & BEEF!
-“The Native Beast” Nyla Rose!
-And more!!!