ROH ON HONOR CLUB is back this Thursday night only at WatchROH.com, and history begins to be made once again with this week's edition! The landmark ROH Women's World Television Championship Tournament begins this week with four big match-ups, plus former ROH World Tag and World Television Champion Kenny King returns to the fold, “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith is in action, and Lance Archer unites with The Righteous for trios competitions! All that, and more, begins at 7pm ET/6pm CT on Honor Club, and also includes The Infantry in action, The Outrunners, and more for your ROH ON HONOR CLUB membership!
ROH WOMEN'S WORLD TV CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT...
First Round Matches
Rachael Ellering vs. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch
After a rocky start to their relationship, thanks to the involvement of Maria, Rachael Ellering and Leyla Hirsch have gelled into a solid pairing. They've picked up a couple victories in tag team action, but have also been there to support one another in their individual endeavors, but with the announcement of the ROH Women's World TV Title Tournament, the chance that these two friends could collide became a possibility.
They've danced once before, a victory for Leyla Hirsch on HONOR CLUB #25, but that was quite many months ago, and these two women have become far more familiar with the capabilities of each other than they were then.
So after the miscommunication that Hirsch a victory in last week's Four Corner Survival, can the friendship between these two sustain another blow with the outcome of this first round tournament match? Will they shake hands when the final bell rings and accept the result, or will losing an opportunity to be the first ROH Women's TV Champion prove to much for their friendship to endure?
Diamante vs. Kiera Hogan
Last week Diamante won that aforementioned Four Corner Survival by pinning Leyla Hirsch, but Kiera Hogan was also part of that bout, and it was another situation where she found herself wrapped up in a match involving Diamante. Three consecutive weeks Diamante and Kiera have been on opposite sides of the ring, starting with a Trios Tag on #48 won by Diamante, Leila Grey, and Taya Valkyrie, followed by a Four Corner Survival on #49 that also included Trish Adora, but was won by Red Velvet.
Last week's Four Corner Survival made it three in a row, and now with the kick-off of the Women's TV Title Tournament, these two competitors will have a fourth consecutive week of facing one another, but for the first time since November 2019, it will be a one-on-one contest! That night so long ago the battle went in favor of Diamante, but with the championship implications of this bout, both women are going to be fighting with everything they've got to advance! Who will move onto the next round of this historic tournament and get one step closer to becoming the first?
Mercedes Martinez vs. Trish Adora
Now Trish Adora and Mercedes Martinez have a bit of a history when it comes to Ring of Honor, not one steeped in animosity or grudges, but rather one of a competitive nature dating back to their first meeting on the 5/16/22 edition of DARK: ELEVATION where Mercedes successfully defended the ROH Women's World Championship against Adora. The two would meet again, a little over a year down the line, following the launch of ROH ON HONOR CLUB and that battle would go the same way as the first: Mercedes with her hand raised in victory.
Trish and Mercedes have been in the ring with each other before with a championship in the picture, but this time neither is the defending champ, each one just hopeful they'll be the first one crowned ROH Women's World TV Champion when all is said and done. The motivation isn't remaining champion for Martinez, but instead she is in the same position as Trish Adora was in their first encounter; a challenger, and that is what both women will be until the Finals are completed and the last woman standing is handed the championship belt for the first time.
Can Mercedes get closer to scoring her second Ring of Honor championship, or will this be the beginning of Trish Adora's road to her first?
Queen Aminata vs. J-Rod
With a tough singles match set for RAMPAGE against Anna Jay, Queen Aminata must first step onto the field of the ROH Women's World TV Title Tournament and attempt to move forward toward the ultimate goal of becoming the first Women's TV Champion! There are plenty of voices singing Aminata's praises for her efforts the last few weeks in AEW, and continuing to move forward in this tournament will only bolster those supporters. That being said, this is also a tremendous opportunity for the newcomer to Ring of Honor to make a tremendous impact on the landscape of this tournament. J-Rod has never been inside a ROH ring before, and only once inside the AEW one, and with just two years of experience under her belt, J-Rod is most assuredly the underdog of these match-ups Thursday night. If she can find a way to stop Aminata and move onto the next round herself, J-Rod will instantaneously make a name for herself the way Queen Aminata has with her performances over the last several weeks!
A CHAMPION RETURNS...
Dalton Castle vs. Kenny King
He is a 3-Time former ROH World Tag Team Champion, a 2-Time ROH World Television Champion, a former member of La Faccion Ingobernable with RUSH, and one of the best all-around athletes to ever grace the ROH ring! He is “The Pretty Boy Pitbull” Kenny King and this Thursday night on Honor Club he comes home for the first time since FINAL BATTLE 2021: END OF AN ERA!
It's not just a homecoming for Kenny King because it's Ring of Honor, but also because he's stepping into the ring with a very familiar foe in Dalton Castle! They first crossed paths in 2016 when Kenny and Rhett Titus, collectively the All Night Express, defeated Dalton and The Boys in a 2-on-3 bout, but that was just the first of their sixteen meetings over the next four years. Tags and trios, Four Corner Survivals and Six Man Mayhems, but only one other time did they ever lock-up in a singles bout, a match won by Kenny King during ROH WRESTLING #390 (available as part of an Honor Club subscription) in 2019. Their last engagement took place on October 20, 2020, a tag team victory for King and Rocky Romero, but this Thursday night they get an opportunity to bring it back around!
Can Dalton Castle, in his seemingly fruitless quest to get Johnny TV in a match, at least find satisfaction in a victory over Kenny King? Or will the multi-time ROH Champion make his homecoming a triumphant one?
ALSO FEATURING:
-“Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith in action!
-Lance Archer & The Righteous in Trios Competition!
-The Outrunners!
-The Infantry of Carlie Bravo & Capt. Shawn Dean!