ROH Death Before Dishonor Preview
9/22/17 9pm ET/6pm PT
Las Vegas, Nevada
This Friday, Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor emanates from Las Vegas for a PPV that features every title being defended and a litany of exciting matches taking place in Las Vegas. Every title will be on the line and the fallout from the event could set the table for Final Battle in December.
Chuck Taylor vs. Marty Scurll
Chuckie T has been a pleasant surprise in Ring of Honor and carries with him a cache that garners interest from the fan base that has seen him elsewhere. Scurll seems to being groomed to move into the world title picture, as he is being kept away from the TV title after failing to recapture it from KUSHIDA. Recently on ROH TV, Scurll worked a different style with Romero, showing off a different move set and a different finisher. This has added to his matches feeling fresh and that has made his work that much better. A loss to Scurll would not damage him in anyway, but rather putting Taylor over here for the uninitiated fan would establish him as a credible threat with the company. Of course, this is predicated upon the fact that he is here to stay and not making the odd appearance. If Taylor is here to stay, look for an Awful Waffle from one half of the Best Friends to have a solid win in his first ROH PPV appearance.
Las Vegas Street Fight: Jay White vs. Punishment Martinez
This match has been built to for months, with both of these men beginning their hostilities when they co-won an Honor Rumble to earn a World title shot against then champion Christopher Daniels. Since then, White has been the only person to have Martinez’s number, which has not sat well with the big man. White really established himself as an upper-echelon talent during his match with Ospreay during the War of the Worlds tour in Manhattan. After that match, Martinez attacked White, a recurring action that has been in direct retaliation for White’s supremacy over Martinez. As White is on excursion, look for Martinez to win a match during which both will pull out all of the stops, continuing the slow build the company has invested in the monstrously large man, with great success thus far. He has not been shoved into a spot, but brought along at the perfect pace and this win could really put him on the map and thrust him into a title shot of one type or another moving forward.
Last Man Standing Match: Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young
One of the longest running feuds in Ring of Honor, the meta issues between the two truly seem to be Slas Young speaking the truth about his frustration over Lethal being granted the top spot in the company, while he feels he has earned it. Young bested Lethal in the Honor rumble last year and has consistently seemed to get the one up on ROH’s gatekeeper. The Beer City Bruiser and Young attacked Lethal, hurting him and supposedly costing him shot during the NJPW United States tournament. After an extended absence from ROH, Lethal returned to gain a measure of revenge. Despite losing an Edinburgh street fight as cleanly as one can lose a street fight, Lethal bounced back to take the BCB out of action during a no disqualification match, setting up the apt Last Man Standing match against the Last Real Man. Lethal’s loss in Edinburgh and the injuring of BCB seems to point that he wins this blow off and heads towards Final battle with Cody, but a Young win to this feud would ensconce him in the top tier of talent in the company. Lethal can still move on and have the same role as before the loss. The Last Man standing will be the Last Real Man.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship Match
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) vs. Bully Ray & The Briscoes
Winner Faces The Young Bucks
The Kingdom is finally complete again, as TK O’Ryan has recovered from his injury, one that ultimately cost the squad to drop the titles to the Briscoes and Bully Ray. Upon his return, he and his cronies Matt Taven and Vinny Marseglia targeted the very team that defeated them for the titles while Young subbed for O;Ryan. After weeks of sneak attacks, the two teams will clash in a battle to become to number one contenders and challenge the Hung Bucks on the very same night. Although Adam Page and The Young Bucks looked strong in their victory, recent developments on Being the Elite have teased that Page is missing, with ROH twitter playing along. How this will impact the final match should be interesting. Look for the Kingdom pull the victory out here, causing a larger rift between Bully Ray and The Briscoes, with a another person stepping in to team with Bully. The story of Page’s absence here creates a sense of unpredictability on the behalf of the Hung Bucks, making it likely that the Kingdom regain the six man titles here.
ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelly & Chris Sabin)
The story here is that the Motor City Machine Guns, the innovators of the light heavyweight tag team style, have never won the titles in ROH. Since the Ladder Wars at All Star Extravaganza last year, the Young Bucks dethroned the Addiction in a match that put on display how great MCMG really is. Through some injuries, Shelley and Sabin have been out of the title picture, but as of late, the team has picked up a win over War Machine, earning a title shot. Newly turned Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian interrupted that match. With the Addiction not on this card and having released a promo that said they would ruin the night for the fans, look for them to interfere at the end of the match, costing MCMG the titles here. However, the Addiction could very well attack the Young Bucks, softening them up for the Kingdom during the 6 man tag team match. Overall, this feels like an issue that will ultimately be resolved at Final Battle.
ROH World Television Championship
KUSHIDA (c) vs. Kenny King
KUSHIDA has been an excellent television champion and credit should go to both him and ROH for making sure that his reign was not defined by his absence from ROH programming. King’s new persona, born of his appearance on the Bachelorette and the forced breakup of the Rebellion at the hands of Search & Destroy. King earned a match against KUSHIDA that was spoiled by Adam Page and Marty Scurll, necessitating a rematch between the two. With the match taking place in King’s hometown, all signs seem to point to King winning the strap in front of his friends and family in what would be a feel good story. KUSHIDA’s excellent reign adds more gravitas to the match and the two have proven that they can have a very entertaining match and on the PPV expect both to go the extra mile to make this extra special.
ROH World Championship
Cody vs. Minoru Suzuki
After Cody issued an open challenge in Edinburgh, Dalton Castle came to throw his name into the hat, but was attacked backstage, taking him out and preventing him from being in this spot. It was later announced that Suzuki had accepted the challenge, although he has not appeared on ROH television in any form to build to the match. Cody has done an admirable job of hyping this match up to the casual viewer who may not be familiar with Suzuki’s work. The addition of the Ring of Honor that Cody is now sporting adds to this notion of him being royalty and able to overcome all challengers in a brash way. With Suzuki’s cache as a real tough man in NJPW due to his previous MMA work, look for Cody to retain here in a clash of styles, most probably with interference from his Bullet Club brethren.
To purchase the PPV, click here for viewing options, courtesy of ROH.
