ROH TV recap & reactions (June 29, 2023): NJPW Forbidden Door title match

With NJPW wrestlers in town for AEW television and Forbidden Door, Ring of Honor benefit from the extra stars. Several NJPW talent were mixed into the card for week eighteen of ROH TV revival (June 29, 2023).

Los Ingobernables de Japon entered for a ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship match against The Embassy. Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, & Shingo Takagi represented LIJ, while Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, & Toa Liona stood strong as champions.

LIJ was ready for the opportunity using slick teamwork to overcome the power advantage of the Embassy. That strategy lasted only so long. Cage muscled up to take control for a double power slam to Takahashi and Takagi. The Machine went outside to pound Bushi, but Bushi spit black mist in Cage’s face as the referee was bent over.

ROH

Bushi tried to rally against the odds against Kaun and Liona, but the Gates of Agony hammered him with tandem pendulum slam to pin his shoulders on the mat for victory. The Embassy retained gold.

The United Empire trio talked tough in a promo as potential challengers to the Embassy. No matter the company, United Empire runs the world.

United Empire spoke too soon, because TJP, Jeff Cobb, & Kyle Fletcher went out and lost their match to Darius Martin, Action Andretti, & Christopher Daniels. The AEW crew isolated TJP in the end for Martin and Andretti to finish on a combo swinging slam. That result was unexpected.

El Desperado graced the ring against Willie Mack. Chocolate Caliente had a good showing, but the masked man prevailed in the end. Desperado attacked the knee to slow down Mack’s momentum. Mack grit through to rally with fighting spirit. Desperado was intent on executing the butterfly facebuster, but Mack escaped several times to continue the action. Persistence persevered for Desperado when he eventually hit his finisher for victory.

The House of Torture were in the house with Sho & Yujiro Takahasi to face the Roppongi Vice duo of Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero. House of Torture tried several heel tricks, but it wasn’t enough. Roppongi Vice finished Takahasi with a flying stomp Strong Zero piledriver. Sho promptly attacked after the match to continue the fight. Orange Cassidy sauntered to the ring to scare the House of Torture away.

ROH TV quick results:

Tony Khan opened the show explaining that it would be a busy night. Stokely Hathaway offered to run everything backstage.

One thing Big Stoke couldn’t handle was Samoa Joe. The King of TV made it very clear that he runs Stokely.

Dralistico & Preston Vance defeated Mark Wheeler & Vikram Prashar. Squash. Dralistico downed one opponent with a springboard facebreaker. The other opponent ate a ripcord knee from Dralistico and a lariat from Perro Peligroso. Los Ingobernables stacked them in a pile for a double pin.

Vincent & Dutch defeated Alex Reynolds & John Silver. Stu Grayson and Evil Uno were ringside. Stu was clearly helping the Righteous against his former friends by providing timely distractions. At one point, Uno snatched a chair from Vincent. The referee saw the object in Uno’s hands and ejected him. On the finish, Stu ran into the ring for a vicious knee to Reynolds. Vincent took the winning pin on an inside cradle. Afterward, the Righteous continued attacking the Dark Order. Uno returned with the chair, and Stu begged Uno to hit him. Uno declined as the Righteous escaped unscathed. Reynolds was angry that Uno lacked the killer instinct in that moment.

Diamante defeated Leila Grey. This finish played into last week’s cheap win from Grey. Diamante had momentum for a German suplex and running dropkick in the corner. Diamante made the cover, but Mark Sterling placed Grey’s foot on the ropes to break the three-count. When Diamante grabbed Sterling, Grey tried to steal the win again with a roll-up. This time, Diamante kicked out and struck with a rolling cutter to win.

Fenix, Pentagon Jr., Hijo del Vikingo, & Komander defeated Shane Taylor, JD Drake, Anthony Henry, & Gringo Loco. High-octane action from all. The Lucha Bros isolated Anthony Henry for the flying stomp package piledriver finisher.

Big Bill Morrissey & Lee Moriarty defeated Karou & Tarik. Squash. Moriarty spun round and round for an airplane spin slam and finished with a crossface submission.

The Kingdom buttered up Jerry Lynn angling for a tag title shot, but Mike Bennett biffed it with his ego. Lynn agreed to booking them in a match. Instead of a tag team, it will be the Kingdom with Maria Kanellis as a wrestler versus Shawn Dean, Carlie Bravo, and Trish Adora in the next episode.

Athena defeated KC Spinelli. Proving Ground match to earn a shot at the ROH Women’s World Championship. Athena made it look easy for a quick win with a stiff punch. Afterward, she hit a running knee driving Spinelli’s head into the ring steps.

Claudio Castagnoli defeated Chuck Taylor. Proving Ground match to earn a shot at the ROH World Championship. This contest was set up when Chuck stepped up to answer Claudio’s call. Claudio decided to waive the ten-minute time-limit. If Chuck really wants a shot, then he has to beat Claudio.

Chuck fought with intensity controlling Claudio early. The tide shifted when Claudio unleashed his rage on the outside. Chuck was getting his ass kicked, so Trent and Rocky ran out to support their friend. Chuck found his groove for a piledriver, but Claudio kicked out. The champ exploded with a clothesline and the Ricola bomb for victory.

The cream of the crop watchlist for this episode are the NJPW matches. Los Ingobernables de Japon versus The Embassy was an interesting clash in styles with championship stakes, El Desperado versus Willie Mack was a classic battle of determination, and United Empire versus Darius Martin, Action, Andretti, & Christopher Daniels had the upset factor in play. Dark Order versus The Righteous is also worth watching for the story elements of the Dark Order losing Stu Grayson.

I’m also giving the nod to NJPW wrestlers as the standout performers. I don’t watch NJPW on the regular, so a lot of these stars have a fresh appeal to see what they’re about inside the ring. I’ll always pop for mist, so Bushi won me over easily. Jeff Cobb had fun strongman moments. El Desperado felt like a big deal. The House of Torture were amusing with their cheating antics. Lastly, shout out to Chuck Taylor for his bravado. Even though Chuck lost, he stepped his game up, considering the circumstances.

Share your thoughts on the latest ROH TV episode. Who were the standout performers?