Welcome to Fightful.com's Ring of Honor Death Before Dishonor 2018 coverage. We're trying something a little different with our live coverage, instead making the customary match ratings and podcast notes that Managing Editor Sean Ross Sapp does for the shows live. Make sure to check out our live, post-show podcast immediately following the event!
Kenny King defeated Jushin "Thunder" Liger
4.25/10
- Jushin "Thunder" Liger's theme is still great.
- Liger applies a Liger special.
- Riccaboni is talking like this is a golf tournament, perhaps to echo the quiet (per usual) Las Vegas crowd. I just don't think that's a great idea for a show opener.
- Always a dead crowd for ROH in Vegas. Then always someone comments days later saying "I was there and it was actually very loud." That train is never late.
- King is working Liger's back over with a backbreaker and Boston Crab. Liger fights back with a rolling kick, but eats a swinging backbreaker.
- These two don't have good chemistry. It's went a little long to not get heat. This was to get Kenny King a win and get Liger on the card.
- Liger connects with a Frog Splash after reversing a Chin Checker. They're trying to play up that Liger can't get to his feet. King and the announcers telegraph it big time, though.
- Fake handshake, spinebuster. Pin.
ROH World Tag Team Championships
Briscoes (c) defeated The Addiction (w/ Scorpio Sky)
5/10
- Scorpio Sky's line isn't as popular as it was at All In, which is a bummer. Kazarian cues them up for the SCU chant.
- Briscoes are 3-0 against the Addiction.
- Kazarian has fallen down an awful lot in this match, but he and Daniels can still bring their offense 100 miles an hour.
- Briscoes try to get chairs involved, but only do it to set up Addiction. Mark hits a great apron Blockbuster at ringside, then a great assisted kick.
- Daniels is working from underneath. He gets thrown into a barricade hard. ROH's barricade fronts sound so great.
- I don't think any team has ever done the old "run an opponent into your partner's kick" spot better than the Briscoes.
- A few years ago, it looked like Kazarian could be near the end of his rope physically. He got in great shape and is as good as ever.
- Addiction go to the Blue Thunder neckbreaker, but only get a two count.
- Daniels does a somersault senton over the ropes on Mark, while Kazarian yanks Jay over with a slingshot cutter. The Addiction offense was sparked by a nice stomp off the second rope from Daniels.
- Fisherman's brainbuster on Daniels gets two. This is where ROH tag matches go into the "babyface kicks out of everything" spot.
- Kazarian is out of action, and Daniels escapes the Doomsday Device, and Jay Briscoe is late to break up.
- Jay Briscoe is late to break up a pin and the crowd lets him have it. Then Daniels kicks out of a Jay Driller on the floor. He's letting too many people kick out of that.
- I wanna say like three people have kicked out of the Jay Driller in the last year, only to be pinned less than a minute later. It was protected for years.
- This landed really low because of some of the standard ROH tropes that familiarize themselves every PPV.
Women Of Honor World Championship
Sumie Sakai (c) defeated Tenille Dashwood
5.75/10
- Sumie Sakai is really aggressive early on.
- Tenille drop toe holds Sakai before connecting with the Taste of Tenille. The kickout left a lot to be desired.
- My only qualm with Tenille's work is how she looks throwing some strikes. She'll throw an elbow and her face will be to the ceiling.
- She bumps her ass off on a missile dropkick from Sakai, though. Sakai also gets a big high cross body to the outside.
- The two get off the same page, but Tenille cracks Sumie with a big punch, which rights the track.
- Tenille looking like she's wrestling in CZW with that t-shirt on and shoulder taped up. Heavily taped.
- Tenille gets a deathlock surfboard and follows up with a mare stomp for two. A Sakai huracanrana ends up likewise.
- Tenille is able to kick out of a fisherman's neckbreaker, running knee and Smash Mouth.
- After fighting out of an armbar, Tenille hits a couple of stiff kicks and a nice double underhook suplex into the corner. She follows with a Tarantula, then powerbombs Sakai on the rebound.
- A really bad German suplex lands for Tenille after a failed wheelbarrow. The two end up trading strikes in the ring.
- Tenille catches Sakai in a powerbomb, but is put in an armbar. I'm not sure how you pass out from an armbar, but that's what they did. Sakai had her shoulders flat on the mat during the armbar where Tenille "passed out," too.
- Tenille and Sumie with the match of the night so far.
- Tenille is shown backstage later holding her arm, and BJ Whitmer checking on her.
ROH TV Championship
Punishment Martinez (c) defeated Chris Sabin
5/10
- This goes from fast paced to awkward early, but Punishment kind of resets things with a chokeslam on the apron after catching a suicide dive.
- Some back and forth strikes that Punishment gets the best of before a ref bump.
- Punishment tries to introduce a chair, but gets Tornado DDT'd into it for two.
- Psycho Driver into the buckle, then a regular one, then a Silencer and South of Heaven chokeslam for a Martinez win.
- Jeff Cobb comes out to stop a Punishment beatdown, and promptly no-sells a chairshot.
- WOW. Cobb threw Punishment around like he was nothing.
Tables Match
Silas Young & Bully Ray defeated Flip Gordon & Colt Cabana
4.75/10
- Flip Gordon's punches aren't the best, but his athleticism is.
- Some cutesy stuff early, like Cabana and Flip doing the Wazzup Headbutt and Bully Ray screaming "MY BALLS."
- Cabana saves Flip going through the table by pulling it out of the way of a back body drop in a cool spot.
- Bully keeps stalking Ian, who comes down to check on Colt. Flip Gordon bails him out with two big suicide dives, but the second sends him into the barricade.
- Ian gives Colt Cabana a chair to use, but Bully gets free after and punches Riccaboni. Cabana is powerbombed through a table.
- Caprice goes off on Riccaboni, and sounds really concerned. Good stuff from him.
- Crowd chanting "move the table" because they left a table turned over and nobody can see.
- Flip fights from underneath and sends Silas into the table, but Bully runs into him for the save. Silas isn't happy about it though.
- Flip Gordon ran up a damn table in the corner to avoid elimination, then threw Bully Ray through it. Great spot.
- It's down to Silas and Flip, and Young hits a great corner clothesline to Gordon on the apron.
- Another ref bump. ROH does way too many ref bumps. Flip Gordon 450s Young through the table, but no dice.
- Bully Ray attacks Flip, and puts him into the pile of table. The ref wakes up and gives the match to Young and Bully.
- Bully attacks Flip with a chain.
Bullet Club (Young Bucks, Cody, Hangman Page, Marty Scurll) defeated CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Best Friends)
6.5/10
- Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman have to kill time while they clean up the ring. Nick Aldis is on commentary.
- I think the right move WOULD be to have Bullet Club come out together -- save Cody, it's the first public appearance for many since All In. However, this crowd may not give them the reception I expected.
- Scurll gets a good reaction, Page gets a smattering, Cody gets a nice reaction, Young Bucks an okay one. Disappointing all things considered, after the show they put on four weeks ago.
- Page and Ishii slug it out early on.
- Okada went face to face with Scurll and tagged out like "I'm not getting blamed for this shit going over time again." Romero tags in and gets some offense instead.
- Best Friends hit a Lawn Dart on Matt, but won't hug Romero. They give in after triple suicide dives.
- Cody is now getting chants as he battles it out with Okada, but he eats a flapjack.
- SuperDive party ends in Chuckie flipping off the stage onto everyone, then Ishii flying off the top rope outside onto the pile.
- There are two women getting their drank on in the front row who are PUMPED and into everything. They flipped out for the Ishii spot. Fantastic.
- Rocky Romero does a bunch of huracanranas and his corner clothesline spots. Rocky Romero is on tonight. He got superkicked by the whole team.
- Every time I see Nick Jackson wrestle, I'm amazed at the evolution of his striking game. Full speed, great technique, always looks great whether it lands or not.
- Inverted Infrared from Matt, Disaster Kick from Cody, double superkick from the Bucks. The hits keep coming. Okada reverses a Meltzer Driver into one of his own with Chuckie T. He also eats a Cross Rhodes, but lands a Rainmaker.
- Nick Aldis announces that he vs. Cody at NWA 70th Anniversary will be two out of 3 falls for the title.
- Matt accidentally superkicks Scurll, then Matt is sent into Nick on the apron, which leads to Nick getting piledrivered on the apron by Trent.
- Scurll suplex into a chickenwing gets the win.
ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) defeated Will Ospreay
8/10
- Ah we're gonna go back to the "call it like a golf tournament, if we're too loud we might distract them" approach.
- This gets going at a crazy pace, which I think bodes best. Both guys go for their finish but get reversed.
- Finally the crowd gets going for this main event.
- The story they're telling is that Lethal can slow down the match and that it helps him, but that the dynamic is different now because Ospreay has put on muscle.
- Ospreay no-sells a couple of chops that get progressively more violent. I'm not sure what spitting on the hand does before a chop. They get into a chop war.
- I like that Riccaboni explained why a ladder was under the ring.
- Lethal counters a Space Flying Tiger Drop with a big chop, but superkicks Bobby Cruise, who threw the title in the air, caught by Ospreay, beautiful spot.
- Ospreay is teasing hitting Lethal with the title, but doesn't do it. Instead, he sends Lethal into the guard rail, before the favor is returned.
- This match is cooking, and Ospreay sunset flip powerbombs Lethal to the outside into a ladder.
- Lethal Injection is countered by a wraparound kick. Another huge kick and Oscutter land, but Lethal kicks out.
- Ospreay goes crazy with stomps, but Lethal ends up on the apron.
- Lethal does a super tigerbomb, and a Lethal Injection for the win.
- Wouldn't be ROH if they didn't shoehorn in Kingdom somehow. So they come down and beat up Lethal, then Jonathan Gresham. Taven has a purple title belt and says he's the real ROH champ, which doesn't make any sense, but there ya go.
10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor
Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a "star rating," which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive "TV match" lands at a 5.
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