Last week ROH ON HONOR CLUB featured three championship bouts, and this week we will have another as the NJPW STRONG Women's Title is at stake when Willow Nightingale welcomes Rachel Ellering back to Ring of Honor for the first time since 2016! And in the aftermath of his Pure Championship defense last week on RAMPAGE, Katsuyori Shibata was confronted by a former Pure Champion...
This week the action gets underway at 7pm ET/6pm CT only on Honor Club, and in addition to the NJPW Strong Women's Championship Match, will also see The Kingdom in action, ROH World Tag Champion Rey Fenix in action, “The Fallen Angel” taking on Aussie Open's Kyle Fletcher, The Dark Order in action after their heartbreak last week, and a ROH World Six Man Title Proving Ground Match! Honor Club is the home for all things ROH, where for only $9.99/month you've got access to Ring of Honor's 20+ years of history, plus brand-new weekly episodes showcasing great talent from around the professional wrestling world!
NJPW STRONG WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Willow Nightingale(c) vs. Rachel Ellering
Defeating Mercedes Mone to become the 1st champion on May 2st at NJPW STRONG RESURGENCE 2023, Willow Nightingale made her first defense of the NJPW STRONG Women's Championship last Friday night on RAMPAGE. Her challenger that evening was the hard-hitting veteran Emi Sakura, and though she pushed Nightingale to the brink, Emi was unable to dethrone “The Babe with the Power”.
As the face of the Women's division for NJPW STRONG, Willow aims to continue raising the profile and prestige of the newly-created title, and thus plans to defend whenever and wherever possible. The second opportunity to do so will take place this Thursday night when Nightingale battles Rachel Ellering for the title! This marks the second-ever match between the two women, the last time around taking place in 2018 and ending in a 15-Minute draw, and at a one point when both were barely three years into their careers.
Since then, each has garnered their fair share of experience with a great deal of Willow's playing out in front of the AEW and ROH faithful, while Rachel's took place in Japan's Stardom promotion, as well as under the learning tree of Sara Del Rey in Florida, IMPACT, and all around the independent wrestling world.
So when the two meet once more this Thursday night, neither are the same competitor they were back in July 2018, and with the NJPW STRONG Women's Championship on the line, they are fighting for far more than they were five years ago. Can Willow continue to be the champion who shapes the legacy of new title, or will Rachel pick up that mantle and run with it moving forward?
ONE-ON-ONE...
Aussie Open's Kyle Fletcher vs. “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels
Back on the fourth edition of ROH ON HONOR CLUB, Aussie Open of Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis defeated former ROH Tag Team Champions Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal as the latter pair began their quest to reclaim the successes they experienced during their 91-day reign in 2006 & 2007. It wasn't Daniels first encounter with the pair, he and Yuya Uemura fell to Aussie Open in the finals of the NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Title Tournament last year, but given it was on the turf Daniels helped create, and with a former championship partner rather than an unfamiliar one, it stung far greater.
Well this Thursday night, “The Fallen Angel” has an opportunity for a bit of redemption when he meets Kyle Fletcher in singles competition for the very first time! With his partner on the mend, and after having to forfeit both the IWGP Tag Titles and the NJPW STRONG ones, Fletcher is flying solo for the foreseeable future.
It's not completely alien territory to Fletcher, he did make it to the second round in the New Japan Cup Tournament this year, as well as has defeated both AR Fox and Tony Deppen in singles bouts over the last several weeks on Honor Club. Plus, in AEW competition, he's topped Action Andretti and took the measure of Orange Cassidy in an AEW International Championship match. So while singles competition has not been his preferred method of combat over the last few years, Kyle Fletcher has proven quite adept at it.
Can Fletcher continue this ROH singles winning streak against one of the pillars of honor, the first Grand Slam winner in company history, or will the former ROH World, TV, Tag, and Six-Man champion show Kyle just why he is one of the most respected men in professional wrestling today?
ONE-ON-ONE...
LFI's Dralistico vs. Willie Mack
It's been a rough go for Willie Mack since he come to Ring of Honor, he's been frustrated time-and-again in his handful of matches since debuting in this new era with a Proving Ground Match against ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli. Since then he's been beaten by Brian Cage, by Konosuke Takeshita, and in his tag team debut with Ninja Mack against The Kingdom. Willie's lone victory actually came against Ninja Mack, a win that served as a launching pad for their efforts as a team, but tag team work isn't Willie's only focus. He still aims for singles success, and that's what he's going for this Thursday night when he takes on LFI's Dralistico!
Dralistico heads into this fight coming off a Texas Tornado Tag on DYNAMITE, a bout that did not go in favor of La Faccion Ingobernables, and he's looking to rebound strong with a victory here. Dralistico is 1-0 in singles competition here in ROH, defeating former ROH World TV Champion Tony Deppen two weeks ago, and aims to add another “W” to those record books this Thursday night during ROH ON HONOR CLUB!
SIX-MAN CONTEST...
The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, & John Silver) vs. Shane Taylor & The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
After last week's Six-Man loss to The Righteous and Stu Grayson, a bout that culminated with Grayson hitting Nightfall on Evil Uno and leaving him prone for Vincent to make the pin, The Dark Order is back in action this Thursday night against one of Ring of Honor's newest trios. Shane Taylor and The Workhorsemen of Anthony Henry and JD Drake have formed an unlikely bond over the last couple months, splitting a pair of Six Man bouts as they find their footing together. So in facing one of AEW's strongest trios, they are taking on a huge challenge, but this Dark Order unit is also quite shook up after having one of their founding members, Stu Grayson, side with The Righteous over the men he once considered family.
What are Grayson's reasons for this move? What's going on below the surface? That remains to be seen, but we will see this Thursday is how Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver rebound from apparently losing their brother. Will this do what no other force, no other loss, has managed to do and break The Dark Order? Or will it strengthen the remaining three men in the face of adversity?
ALSO FEATURING:
-ROH World Six Man Proving Ground Match: The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, & Toa Liona)(c) vs. Cheeseburger, Eli Isom, & Marcus Kross
-The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. El Combarde & El Dragon
-ROH World Tag Champion Rey Fenix vs. Gravity
-Kiera Hogan vs. Robyn Renegade
-Mercedes Martinez vs. Vertvixen
-Lee Moriarty vs. Griff Garrison
-Action Andretti, AR Fox, & Darius Martin vs. Jeeves Kay, Slim J, & Sonny Kiss
-Matt Sydal vs. Zack Clayton
The newest edition of ROH ON HONOR CLUB drops this Thursday night at 7pm ET/6pm CT, and features Willow Nightingale defending her NJPW STRONG Women's Championship against Rachel Ellering, The Dark Order in action after their heartbreaking week last Thursday, Christopher Daniels versus Kyle Fletcher, The Kingdom in action, Rey Fenix, Gravity, and more!!! This can only be seen on Honor Club, the place for fans to experience ROH's rich history for just $9.99/month, including the WEEK IN ROH HISTORY playlist updated every Monday, GLORY BY HONOR 2021, FINAL BATTLE 2011 with Steen versus Corino, and so much more!
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