ROH Supercard of Honor adds Mercedes Martinez in interim women’s world title bout

Tony Khan strikes again. As bookerman of Ring of Honor since purchasing the promotion, Khan has been filling out ROH Supercard of Honor with championship matches. His latest addition is in the women’s division.

Deonna Purrazzo is the current titleholder of the ROH Women’s World Championship, but she has an engagement on the same evening as the April 1 show. Purrazzo is scheduled for a Champ Champ Challenge at Impact Wrestling: Multiverse of Matches. The double champ is offering an open challenge for either the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship or the ROH Women’s World Championship.

Since Purrazzo is unavailable for Supercard of Honor, ROH will be introducing an interim world title for the women. Khan’s handpicked competitors are Mercedes Martinez and Willow Nightingale. The winner will face Purrazzo at a later date.

The press release provides a little background on each competitor.

Willow is known for her big smile and bubbly personality, but she’s as tough as they come once the bell rings. She has scored victories over the likes of Purrazzo, Britt Baker and Tasha Steelz, and gave then-ROH Women’s World Champion Rok-C some anxious moments in their title match at Final Battle in December.

Martinez, who is a member of the AEW roster, has been wrestling for more than 20 years and is still at the top of her game. A two-time former Shimmer Champion who competed briefly in ROH in 2006, Martinez is adept at both technical wrestling and brawling.

That is a solid matchup with great unpredictability for who will win. At this moment, it is unclear how ROH will transform under Khan’s leadership. Martinez as champ adds legitimacy to the division. Nightingale as champ would do well playing into the idea of ROH becoming a training ground for young talent.

The advertised lineup for ROH Supercard of Honor includes:

• ROH World Championship unification: Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido
• ROH World Tag Team Championship: Briscoes (c) vs. FTR
• ROH Pure Championship: Josh Woods (c) vs. Wheeler Yuta
• Interim ROH World Women’s Championship: Mercedes Martinez vs. Willow Nightingale
• Swerve Strickland vs. Alex Zayne
• Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty (with Matt Sydal)

ROH Supercard of Honor tickets are available for the live show (here). The broadcast can be viewed through HonorClub, PPV, and Fite TV.

Would you prefer Mercedes Martinez or Willow Nightingale as the face of the ROH women’s division? That’s assuming the winner advances to dethrone Deonna Purrazzo.