ROH Death Before Dishonor preview: EC3 needs world title to destroy the past and build the future

Ring of Honor is firing up for their latest PPV offering. Death Before Dishonor features four title fights with EC3 looking to earn his Excalibur, Jonathan Gresham’s toughest Pure challenge to date, a new women’s champ to be crowned in the tournament final, and Los Ingobernables looking to add trios gold to their collection.

Let’s break down the matchups and offer predictions.

ROH World Championship: Bandido vs. Brody King vs. EC3 vs. Demonic Flamita

Bandido shocked the world when he dethroned Rush as world champion. Bandido’s quest to build his legacy only gets harder with a four-way. There is not much story to this one other than the desire to be the best. Flamita used to be trios champs with Bandido until Flamita turned rudo. King wants to capture the glory that has eluded him thus far. EC3 is looking to destroy the past and rebuild the future. To do that, he needs the ROH World Championship as a tool. Listen to him explain in the following promo.

Prediction: Bandido stands tall. It feels too early in his reign to drop the strap. Bandido is just starting to build momentum toward potential superstardom. Who knows how high his ceiling could be with a longer run at the top. However, odds are not in his favor. If Bandido does fall, I’d say King is the top man to take his place. His size gives him instant legitimacy, and he has the power skills to match.

ROH Pure Championship: Jonathan Gresham vs. Josh Woods

Gresham’s mission has been to restore honor in wrestling, and he is doing that through the Pure style.

This match is a strong contender to steal the show. Both men have superior skills in the ring to provide sizzle to technical prowess.

Prediction: Woods as new Pure champ. Gresham has had a magnificent title run, but injuries are catching up to him. For Woods, he’s been building toward this moment ever since the Pure tournament last year. A loss sticks him in no man’s land. Woods is far too talented for that fate.

ROH Women’s World Championship: Rok-C vs. Miranda Alize

A new women’s champion will be crowned as the tournament comes to an end. Rok-C triumphed over Sumie Sakai, Quinn McKay, and Angelina Love. Alize is coming in hot with wins over Alex Gracia, Nicole Savoy, and Trish Adora. The two youngsters will compete for gold, and a star will be made.

Prediction: Alize is crowned winner. Rok-C has made a big splash as an adorable warrior. She’s only 19 years old, and I think there is a bigger story to be told for a babyface to face adversity before finally winning the title. For Alize, her time is now to rise as a star.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Shane Taylor, Moses, & Kaun vs. Dragon Lee, Bestia del Ring, & Kenny King

Faction feuding carries on between Shane Taylor Promotions and Los Ingobernables. Rush was supposed to be involved, but a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the year.

Prediction: Shane T and his boys will bring the heat en route to retaining. Los Ingobernables will sorely miss Rush’s power to counteract Taylor’s brawn. The two factions had a recent 8-man tag in which Los Ingoberables prevailed through nefarious means. The silver lining in defeat for STP should be experience to strategize against cheating tricks.

Homicide, Chris Dickinson, & Tony Deppen vs. John Walters, LSG, & Lee Moriarty

Violence Unlimited issued a challenge to Pure wrestlers to show there is honor in violence. The past, present, and future of Pure wrestling answered the call.

Prediction: Violence Unlimited brings the pain in victory. Homicide and Dickinson are going to be in a surly mood, surlier than usual, after losing the tag titles to Los Ingobernables on the latest ROH Wrestling TV episode.

Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. Briscoes

Tag team action? Tag team action! Dem Boys are squaring off against classic rivals OGK. Mike Bennett and Matt Taven are all up in their emotions for returning to the old ECW arena. Bennett has bittersweet memories of the joint. Sweet being when he was signed to ROH after a match with Adam Cole, and bitter being Taven busting his knee during a match. Through thick and thin, OGK is looking toward the tag titles.

The Briscoes are also on the hunt for tag team gold with a desire to become 12-time ROH champs. They had a minor hiccup last month at Glory By Honor when Jay missed the show due to catching a case of COVID. He’s all clear, and now the Briscoes are coming for OGK.

Prediction: Briscoes move onward and upward. It is going to be sweet once they win the tag titles again, so there is no need for OGK to get in their way.

Eli Isom vs. Dalton Castle

Castle had his eye on a pair of prospects that could become entertainment commodities. Dak Draper eventually saw the light, but Isom preferred to do things on his own. Castle is going to teach Isom a lesson the hard way.

Prediction: Castle to celebrate victory with a peacock strut. To establish Castle in his new role as mentor, he’s going to need wins to maintain his status. Isom isn’t high enough in the pecking order to knock Castle off his perch yet.

Jake Atlas vs. Taylor Rust

This is a battle of two recently released NXT talents looking to make a positive impression with a victory. ROH brought them in to pop some news, and now it is up to Atlas and Rust to put on a show. A strong performance could lead to greater ROH riches.

Prediction: Atlas to win. I’m not too familiar with either wrestler, but it seems like Atlas has a higher ceiling out of the two prospects.

Honor Rumble

The pre-show will feature a 15-man Royal Rumble with a future world title shot going to the winner. Confirmed participants include Danhausen, Beer City Bruiser, PJ Black, Dak Draper, Rey Horus, Brian Johnson, Joe Keys, Brian Milonas, Sledge, and Silas Young. That leaves five spots open for surprises.

Prediction: Dralistico. The surprises leave room to make a splash and create buzz for last-minute PPV buys. This would certainly do the trick. I’m guessing the man that left the Mistico mask behind in CMLL will join his brothers and father in Los Ingobernables to fill the void of Rush’s injury absence.

Death Before Dishonor can be viewed through ROH Honor Club, Fite TV, and other PPV outlets. The shows begins at 8 pm ET with the free pre-show kicking off at 7 pm ET in Philadelphia, PA. Tickets are still available.

Share your predictions for Death Before Dishonor.

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