ROH Death Before Dishonor 2023 live results: Claudio Castagnoli vs. PAC

Ring of Honor returns with their annual Death Before Dishonor event on Fri., July 21, 2023, from Newark, New Jersey. The card has six title fights headlined by Claudio Castagnoli defending the ROH World championship against PAC, and Athena putting the ROH Women’s title on the line against Willow Nightingale in the deciding match of a trilogy.

Death Before Dishonor is available for purchase on Bleacher Report & WatchROH.com in the U.S. and Fite internationally. The PPV starts at 8pm ET with the free “Zero Hour” pre-show an hour earlier.

Following along here for updates, and have fun chatting in the open thread. Enjoy the show!

Zero Hour pre-show

Josh Woods defeated Tracy Williams. Pure rules in effect. Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, and Jerry Lynn were the judges in case of a draw. Williams used his first rope-break to escape a double wristlock. The referee called the second rope-break for Williams when he instinctively grabbed the ropes to prevent being pulled by Woods. Williams rallied for a piledriver, and Woods reached the ropes for his first break to stop the pin count. Williams used his third and final rope-break on a grapevine ankle lock by Woods. Both men tussled on the apron, then Woods exploded for a German suplex. When Williams woozily climbed back into the ring, Woods slapped on a headlock while hooking the leg for a submission through the ropes. Woods squeezed Williams into submitting.

Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated JD Drake & Anthony Henry. Hot tag to Andretti as a house afire for a double bulldog and a running shooting star press onto both opponents. The Workhorsemen had victory within their grasp on a moonsault by Drake onto Martin, but Andretti slammed Henry onto the pile to break the pin. The closing sequence saw Henry eat a dropkick into a German suplex to knock him out of the ring. Andretti muscled up to lift Drake, and Martin gave a shove to start the motion for a whirlybird neckbreaker to win.

Leyla Hirsch defeated Trish Adora. Hirsch used crafty tricks to bend the rules to her advantage. The match progressed with a mix of technical wrestling and heavy blows. The finish came on a roll-up exchange with Hirsch transitioning to an armbar for victory. After the match, Adora extended her hand for the Code of Honor handshake. Hirsch pulled her right into another armbar. Skye Blue ran in for the save, and Hirsch fled to the outside.

AR Fox defeated Shane Taylor. Speed versus power. Fox survived a spinning piledriver by grabbing the ropes to break the three-count. Fox rallied to lift Taylor off the turnbuckles for a rolling Death Valley Driver. Fox finished with a 450 splash for victory.

Two thumbs up of recommendation to watch the free pre-show. Electric action with creative moves.

Death Before Dishonor PPV

Gravity defeated Komander. Lucha libre showcase. I can’t even describe some of these moves. The closing sequence came with Komander executing a suplex to send Gravity crashing across the top turnbuckle. Komander walked the length of the top rope for a springboard moonsault. Kick out by Gravity. Komander kept on the pressure for a super rana. Komander pulled Gravity toward the corner to set up a high-flying finisher, but Gravity surprised Komander with a roll-up to win.

ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe retained against Dalton Castle. Stokely Hathaway joined commentary for this match. The contest worked as playing to the crowd. Joe overwhelmed Castle with brute force, but Castle fought tough with peacock power. The Boys helped Castle a few times to avoid harm, and they did it legally. When Castle found his groove for a run of suplexes, Joe rolled out of the ring and threatened Hathaway to fix this. Big Stoke used his board of director powers to order the referee to eject the Boys. The crowd was disgruntled with that decision. Meanwhile, it bought Joe time to recover. He returned to the ring for a low blow kick and the Coquina Clutch choke to win. Castle passed out.

ROH World Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open won the titles against Lucha Bros, The Kingdom, and Best Friends. Fenix and Pentagon entered as champions. Four teams but only two legal men at once. This match had tons of exciting near falls. Down the stretch, Best Friends hit the flying stomp Strong Zero combo. 1, 2, the Lucha Bros pulled the referee out of the ring onto his ass. Fenix created a distraction for Penta to hit Trent with a chair. Taven crawled over to pin Trent. Mark Davis made the save to break it up. Aussie Open was alone with Trent. A clothesline sandwich paved the way for the Corealis teamwork finisher. New champs! (More on this here.)

ROH World Six-Man Championship: Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, & Toa Liona retained against Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Leon Ruffin. The NJPW wrestlers scored a hot rally. Prince Nana hopped onto the apron as a distraction for Kaun to mule kick Taguchi. Taguchi returned fire on his way down for a kick to the groin. He shoved Kaun into Nana and swooped for a small package. Liona made the save in the nick of time. The match continued with Ruffin showing the heart of a lion, but Liona caught him for a swinging slam. Ruffin surprisingly kicked out. Cage and Kaun cleared Wato and Taguchi off the apron. The Embassy pulled Ruffin off the mat high into the air for a free fall back down. Liona sat on Ruffin’s chest for the winning pin.

ROH Pure Championship: Katsuyori Shibata retained against Daniel Garcia. Pure rules in effect with Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, and Jerry Lynn as the judges in case of a draw. Garcia literally danced circles around Shibata, and it was hilarious. The only rope-break of the match came from Garcia early to escape a figure-four. This match was equal parts slugfest and technical wrestling. The climax came with Garcia hooking in the Sharpshooter. He leaned too far back, and Shibata grabbed his neck for a choke to escape. Garcia kept on the pressure for chops and suplexes, then Shibata unloaded vicious chops of his own. That stunned Garcia enough for Shibata to secure a sleeper. Garcia was fading upstairs, but his hips were dancing downstairs as he was losing consciousness. Shibata released to finish with the penalty kick to win.

Fight Without Honor: Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, & John Silver defeated Vincent, Dutch, & Stu Grayson. No rules, anything goes. Weapons included tables, ladders, chairs, barbed wire, tacks, and Lego pieces. Blood flowed freely from everyone in a wild brawl. The big spot came when Stu climbed a tall ladder in the ring with Uno on tables outside. Uno sprang up to tip the ladder over, and Stu crashed through the tables. The Dark Order executed their teamwork windmill slam to Stu falling on top of tacks and Lego. Uno made the cover to win.

ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli retained against PAC. Aggressive ass-kicking match. PAC had the edge down the stretch with a Brutalizer submission. Claudio went to extreme measures to escape. He climbed the corner with PAC still on his back with the submission, then he executed an avalanche Air Raid Crash to break free. As PAC was plotting his next attack, Wheeler Yuta ran out as a distraction. Claudio struck with the Ricola bomb for victory. After the match, the Lucha Bros ran out to protect PAC. Death Triangle put the boots to the Black Pool Combat Club duo. Best Friends ran out to fight the Lucha Bros, which was carrying over beef from the tag title match. Orange Cassidy came out for superman punches to PAC and Claudio. (Full details here.)

ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena retained against Willow Nightingale. Great match. The action unfolded with both competitors digging deep into their arsenal of offense to execute signature moves from past women stars in ROH. In the end, Athena thought she had the win on the O-Face flying stunner, but Willow kicked out. Willow rallied for a powerbomb. Athena kicked out. Willow placed Athena on the turnbuckles working for a gutwrench powerbomb, however, Athena escaped and blasted Willow down to the mat. Athena hit the O-Face again. This time, she went to a crossface submission rather than a pin. Willow tried to escape with high drama, but she could not. Willow passed out. The referee checked her arm, then awarded the win to Athena. Afterward, Athena finally showed respect for an opponent by raising Willow’s arm in the air and bowing. (Full details here.)

Death Before Dishonor was an A-level PPV in terms of entertainment. The show was a blast with fantastic action. The matches told stories using ring work for great drama.