ROH Death Before Dishonor PPV card taking shape with addition of Pure title fight

Ring of Honor has a PPV this week with Death Before Dishonor on Friday, July 21 in Trenton, NJ. Even though the card is slim pickings at the moment, it is taking shape with the addition of a Pure Championship bout.

Tony Khan conducted a press conference to announce Katsuyori Shibata will defend the ROH Pure Championship against Daniel Garcia. This will be their first one-on-one matchup against each another.

Shibata was not a fan of Garcia’s dancing. Garcia brushed off that criticism, since he is a sports entertainer and not a wrestler. Besides, that dancing helped him pin Shibata for the win in tag team action back in June on Dynamite. Garcia wants his respect. Tension was thick for the photo opp face-off, but no fisticuffs were engaged.

Shibata versus Garcia is the only official matchup so far for the PPV.

The Death Before Dishonor card currently stands with:

• ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. TBA
• ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. TBD (winner of Dalton Castle vs. Shane Taylor)
• ROH Pure Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Daniel Garcia

Claudio was supposed to wrestle Mark Briscoe, but Briscoe was pulled due to injury. The replacement opponent is expected to be named on Wednesday, maybe even on Dynamite.

Joe will face the winner of the ROH Television Championship Eliminator Tournament. Dalton Castle and Shane Taylor meet in the final on Thursday’s episode of ROH TV on Honor Club.

Shibata and Garcia have been building to their bout ever since Garcia confronted Shibata on the June 2 episode of Rampage. Garcia is a former Pure champion in his own right.

Let’s dig into other likely candidates to fill out the card. It starts with looking at the champions.

ROH women’s champion Athena talked a big game about being able to beat Willow Nightingale in the Owen Hart women’s tournament. Athena said she would consider a title shot if Willow could beat her. Willow did just that and won the whole tournament. She also knocked Athena out backstage after their match.

The Lucha Bros hold the ROH World Tag Team Championship. There are no contenders that stand out above the pack to challenge Fenix and Pentagon, but Matt Taven and Mike Bennett are always squawking about getting a title shot. They just might get their wish this time. The Kingdom are have held tag titles in Impact, NJPW, and ROH. Also, they never received a rematch last time they lost the ROH belts.

The Embassy have been mauling the competition as ROH six-man champions. Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona have yet to meet their equals in an ROH ring. They should definitely be action, but I don’t have an inkling on the direction for their opponents.

A grudge match of sorts could be in store for the Dark Order against The Righteous and Stu Grayson. Stu left the Dark Order after accusing them of losing the killer instinct. A stipulation for a violent affair could be the play to match the storyline.

That’s where the Death Before Dishonor picture looks at the moment. Even though the build has been shabby, Khan promised a great show, and I believe him. The new era of ROH has always delivered on PPV so far in terms of entertainment and excitement in the ring.

What’s your take on the Death Before Dishonor PPV?