ROH Death Before Dishonor XVI
September 28, 2018
Orleans Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada

Meet our reviewers:

  • Sean Sedor: Whenever Voices of Wrestling is in need of ROH content (articles, previews, reviews, and so on), Sean is always ready to answer the call. He’s excited for this PPV, but he’s also hoping that the Honor Club stream goes off without any major problems or issues (fingers crossed). You can follow Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994, and you can check out his wrestling reviews blog at http://dxvsnwo1994.blogspot.com.
  • Suit Williams: Since he has the Honor Club VIP deal, he might as well use it. You can hear his podcast Smark Sports on iTunes, and you can find him on Twitter @SuitWilliams.

Kenny King def. Jushin “Thunder” Liger

Sean Sedor: That red carpet they had for Kenny King’s entrance looked cheap….dollar store cheap. Opening the PPV with Liger was a good choice, and he ended up having a relatively decent match with King. Liger had the edge in the first few minutes, but then King took control after a twisting dive to the outside. The match slowed down a bit in the middle, as King had the advantage, but the pace picked up a little bit in the final few minutes. The story was that Liger injured his back during the match, and this served as the catalyst for Kenny King’s heel turn, as he went after Liger’s injured back and scored the victory. King then thanked Austin Aries for showing him the way. This wasn’t quite as good as I was expecting, but it was perfectly fine for what it was. On the bright side, the Kenny King heel turn seemed to come off well. **3/4

Suit Williams: Kenny King comes out with the most bootleg red carpet I’ve ever seen. MNM would laugh on this carpet. The finish was Liger going down with a bad back, and King taking advantage and pinning him with a MAIN EVENT SPINEBUSTER. This was King turning heel after being pulled to the dark side by Austin Aries, and it was done well as King got a lot of heat after the match. The match was nothing special, as King’s control period was slow and quiet. **1/2

ROH World Tag Team Titles
The Briscoes (c) def. The Addiction

Sean Sedor: I was a little surprised to see this bout so early on in the show. These two teams have met several times over the last few years, and their matches are usually pretty good. This particular encounter was good, but it was certainly one of their weakest encounters. In the first half, they told a basic, but effective, story. The Addiction had the edge in the opening moments, but The Briscoes gained the advantage after luring Daniels and Kazarian to the floor. The Briscoes then isolated Daniels for a few minutes until the hot tag was finally made to Kazarian. Unfortunately for The Addiction, Kazarian got taken out of the equation after getting slammed onto a chair on the outside. This meant Daniels was all on his own, and although he found valiantly, he ultimately got pinned after two Jay Drillers (the first of those was on the floor). They did a really nice at getting the crowd behind Daniels once Kazarian got taken out. This was better than the opener, but it suffered from similar issues. The action from start to finish was pretty solid, but it did seem slow at points, and it never felt like they got to that next level. SoCal Uncensored’s story is far from over, and after the way this bout went down, it wouldn’t shock me if Daniels and Kazarian got another shot at The Briscoes at some point before the end of the year. ***1/4

Suit Williams: The Briscoes just have not clicked with me since turning heel last year. I’ve seen them live, I’ve watched them on tape, and nothing has hit that next level to me. This was another decent tag, although there was very little crowd noise for this one. Kaz got taken out on the floor and left Daniels by himself. Jay hit him with a Jay Driller on the floor and in the ring to get the win. Another unmemorable defense from the Briscoes. **1/4

Women Of Honor Title
Sumie Sakai (c) def. Tenille Dashwood

Sean Sedor: While the quality of the division itself isn’t exactly stellar (aside from when STARDOM talents come over), it’s nice to see that the Women Of Honor are starting to get featuring more regularly on the bigger ROH events. Unfortunately, this wasn’t exactly their best outing. It was by no means bad, but it was certainly the worst match of the show, up to this point. They were given time, and it seemed like these two were working hard (you can’t discredit them for putting forth a ton of effort). In the end, however, this was nothing more than a decent undercard title bout. The crowd for this one was a mixed bag. It seemed like they reacted for the bigger spots, but at other points, they just seemed to be dead. Tenille came into this with kinesio tape on her right arm/shoulder, and Sakai went after it. Even though Tenille fought back hard, the submission attempts from Sakai were too much, and Dashwood eventually passed out in an armbar. I was legitimately shocked by the result, as I fully expected Tenille to be the one to dethrone Sakai. I have no idea where they go from here, but that might be a good thing. Nothing wrong with a little unpredictability. **1/2

Suit Williams: This was probably the best Sumie Sakai match I’ve ever seen, as her and Tenille had a decent match here. There were some sloppy parts, especially around Sumie’s strikes. But the crowd got into it late, and there were a couple points where I thought the match was about to wrap up. Tenille kicked out of the Smash Mouth, which I don’t think has happened before. But Sumie got the win after locking in an armbar on Tenille’s taped up shoulder and making her pass out. I don’t know where we go with Sumie Sakai as champion, as Tenille was her most credible challenger. Tenille was attacked by a mystery person later in the show, so they have an idea for the next woman up. But as far as this match goes, it was fine. **1/2

ROH World TV Title
Punishment Martinez (c) def. Chris Sabin

Sean Sedor: Punishment Martinez attacked the recently retired Alex Shelley in the lead up to this match, so Chris Sabin was fighting for more than just the ROH World TV Title. Speaking of Sabin, he forced Bobby Cruise to do this ridiculously long ring introduction (It was very Steve Corino-esque). This got off to a fast start, as Sabin went after the knees of Martinez right from the opening bell. Sabin wouldn’t have the advantage long, however, as he soon got nailed with a big chokeslam on the apron from Martinez.

These two then had a couple of decent exchanges until referee Paul Turner got taken out. Martinez would try to use a chair, but this led to Sabin hitting a Tornado DDT on a chair for a nice nearfall. For some reason, Sabin then tried to use the chair again, but Paul Turner had recovered by this point, and took the chair from him. This allowed Martinez to regain control, and he retained his title after hitting the South Of Heaven Chokeslam. The match was solid, but honestly, it wouldn’t been a much better fit for an episode of ROH TV. In the end, this ultimately served as a backdrop for an angle afterwards involving Jeff Cobb, who saved Sabin from a post-match beatdown. Martinez tried to attack Cobb with a chair, but Cobb just shook it off, and sent Martinez packing. It looks like we’re getting a Jeff Cobb/Punishment Martinez feud over the ROH World TV Title, and I have no problems with that as the next step for Cobb in ROH. I fully expect him to capture the gold from Martinez, whenever they face off. ***

Suit Williams: Sabin and Martinez had another good match here, probably the best of the night so far. There was a good story to root for Sabin here, as he was doing this at the request of his now-retired tag partner Alex Shelley. They did the classic big man/little man match, where Sabin went after Punishment’s legs and did high-flying manuevers to take him down. Despite using a chair that Punishment brought in to take advantage, I never really thought Sabin was winning here. And after a South of Heaven chokeslam, Punishment proved me right. Afterwards, Jeff Cobb, whose been getting a big push on ROH TV, came out and laid out Punishment with an Athletic-plex. A fine match with a really good angle afterwards. ***

Tables Match
Bully Ray & Silas Young def. Colt Cabana & Flip Gordon

Sean Sedor: So this is essentially an elimination match, as both members of a team have to get put through separate tables in order for the other side to win. That’s the proper way to do a Tag Team Tables Match, in my view. Anyway, Flip Gordon didn’t waste any time here, as he came out through the crowd and attacked Bully Ray from behind. They did a good job early on building up to the table spots, but the bout took an odd turn when Ian Riccaboni (for some reason) ran down from the commentary table to check on Colt Cabana. He gave Cabana a chair to use on Bully Ray, but Cabana got eliminated a short time later after Bully Ray powerbombed him through a table. This meant that Gordon was on the wrong side of a two-on-one situation, and although things looked bleak for him, (predictable) miscommunication between the heels allowed Gordon to stay in the fight. He sent Bully Ray through a table after dodging an attack, which meant it came down to Flip Gordon vs. Silas Young. It seemed like Gordon had the match won after hitting a 450 Splash on Young through a table, but the referee got taken out a few moments prior. Bully then attacked Gordon, put Young on top in the mangled mess of the table, and got the win for his side. I liked the fact that they put the focus on Flip Gordon here (after it seemed like they were putting the focus more on Cabana), but I’m disappointed that this feud appears to be continuing. The match itself was decent for what it was, though much like the ROH World TV Title bout, it would’ve been a much better fit for ROH TV. I guess this feud is ending at Final Battle? Hopefully it does. **

Suit Williams: This match has the good table match rules, where both teammates have to go through the table. Unfortunately, this didn’t make for a good tables match, as we saw involvement from Ian Riccaboni, a ref bump, heel dissension, and a prime TNA finish. Bully eliminated Cabana, Flip eliminated Bully, and Flip seemingly eliminate Silas. But Bully jumped Flip and put him in the broken table, and Todd Sinclair, who was bumped before, saw Flip in the table and rang the bell. Because yes, THIS FEUD MUST CONTINUE. Can we get to Final Battle and be done with this already? *

The Bullet Club (Cody, The Young Bucks, “The Villain” Marty Scurll, & “The Hangman” Adam Page) def. CHAOS (“Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Beretta, & Chuckie T)

Sean Sedor: So up to this point, this PPV was (at best) incredibly average. It was in desperate need of an awesome match, and fortunately, this ten-man tag delivered in a big way. This was a crazy bout that was easily the best thing on the entire PPV, up to this point. For the most part, it played out exactly how you thought it would play out. There was nonstop action from start to finish, and everyone involved had opportunities to shine. The biggest highlight (for me anyway) saw Ishii hit a big dive off the top rope to the floor onto a pile of guys. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen Ishii do something like that. We did see miscommunication between The Bullet Club throughout (more than usual), but it didn’t matter that much in the end, as Marty Scurll got Rocky Romero to tap out to the Crossface Chickenwing. There’s not much more to say beyond that. This was an incredibly entertaining contest that was the shot in the arm this show was looking for. ****1/4

Suit Williams: If a match with Tomohiro Ishii, Okada and the Young Bucks underwhelms, I’m calling it a day. Luckily, it was a very fun 10 man tag. It was what you would expect a Bullet Club/Young Bucks tag team match on PPV, high energy and non-stop action. We got Chuckie T diving off the ramp, and Ishii diving off of the top rope to the floor. I was wondering who would take the fall as there are champions and protected parties on both sides, but Scurll got the win on Rocky with the Chickenwing. Fun action, and a big PPV fall scored for Scurll. ***3/4

ROH World Title
Jay Lethal (c) def. Will Ospreay

Sean Sedor: This was Will Ospreay’s first ROH appearance since the end of 2017, when he (interestingly enough) lost to Jay Lethal on an episode of ROH TV. I went into this expecting an incredible main event, and these two gave us just that. Even though this wasn’t nearly as great as I was anticipating (I thought it had potential to be the best ROH match this year), it was still pretty awesome. There was great action from start to finish, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Ospreay was simply amazing, while Lethal (once again) delivered in big spot. At one point, a ladder was introduced by Ospreay, and it ended up getting used a few minutes later when Ospreay hit Lethal with a sunset flip powerbomb onto the ladder. In addition to the fantastic wrestling we saw, there was also a strong story told involving Ospreay. He came into this match wanting to avenge that aforementioned loss to Lethal from late last year, and he almost went too far as he tried to achieve that goal. On a few occasions, Ospreay had the opportunity to use the ROH World Title as a weapon, but he decided against it both times (on the latter occasion, Ospreay used it as a distraction to catch Lethal off guard). The bout really peaked in the final few minutes, and the “Aerial Assassin” took the fight the Lethal. However, Lethal ultimately retained after hitting the Lethal Injection. The two shook hands afterwards, but they were jumped by TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia from The Kingdom. Jonathan Gresham tried to make the save, but he was quickly disposed of. Matt Taven (with a fresh haircut following his loss in the main event of CMLL’s Anniversary Show) then came out, and clocked Lethal with what turned out to be his version of the ROH World Title (the only real difference is that Taven’s version has a purple strap). I guess we’re getting a Jay Lethal/Matt Taven feud over the ROH World Title? That doesn’t get me too excited, especially if it’s a potential main event for Final Battle. If there’s a silver lining, at least this angle was saved until after the match. WWE could take some notes from ROH in that regard. Anyway, Lethal/Ospreay delivered an incredible main event title bout that capped off the 16th edition of Death Before Dishonor. ****1/4

Suit Williams: Ospreay is in his first ROH PPV main event, which is odd considering he was contracted to the company for all of 2017. Yeah, this was awesome. Ospreay is so good at putting together spots that get people to jump out of their seats, and Lethal is great when he’s put in main event situations. Together, these guys put on a great main event. Ospreay wrestled with an edge here, never going full-on heel, but wrestling with an arrogance about him. He teased hitting Lethal with the title twice, but ended up using it as a distraction to get the advantage. After hitting a sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder, Ospreay had the upper hand for the last few minutes. Just when Ospreay was ready to put Lethal away with a top rope rana, Lethal countered with a powerbomb and got the win with the Lethal Injection. Fantastic match, and far and away the match of the night. After the match, The Kingdom attacked Lethal and Ospreay, and Matt Taven (shaved bald after the CMLL Anniversary show) held up a purple strapped World Title to close the show. This was a two match card, and both matches delivered, so I can’t complain. ****1/2