ROH TV recap & reactions (July 6, 2023): Brian Cage wins $25,000

Brian Cage is in the money. The Machine took home $25,000 of cold, hard cash in week nineteen of the ROH TV revival (July 6, 2023) on Honor Club. The show also featured Mark Briscoe being booked in the PPV main event, the return of Leyla Hirsch, and more.

Cage competed in a 6-way Mayhem Match with the lucrative prize against Shane Taylor, Josh Woods, Willie Mack, Dalton Castle, and Trent Seven. Mack had big plans to spend that money on buying exotic animals and vacationing in Jamaica to eat jerk chicken.

The contest was constant action with cool moves aplenty. Down the stretch, Cage suplexed Seven over the ropes onto a pile of bodies below.

Mack landed a cannonball on Cage. Back in the ring, Mack hit the frog splash, but Prince Nana placed Cage’s foot on the ropes to break the three-count.

Mack kept focus to hit stunners all around to his opponents. He came back to Cage for a stunner, however, Cage countered for a roll-up and grabbed the tights for victory.

Cage and Nana were in a chipper mood upon winning the cash prize.

ROH TV quick results:

Komander defeated Gringo Loco. Lucha libre entertainment. Komander exploded for springboard moves to finish with a double bouncing 450 splash with a twist.

Daniel Garcia defeated Christopher Daniels. CD hit Angel’s Wings, but Garcia rolled outside to prevent the pin. Daniels brought Garcia back into the ring. As Daniels stepped between the ropes for reentry, Garcia kicked the cord to stumble the Fallen Angel. Garcia pounced for a modified Codebreaker to win. Afterward, Garcia took referee Aubrey Edwards for a spin to execute some dance moves. She wanted no part of it.

Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona defeated Action Andretti & Darius Martin. Power versus high flying. Power prevailed with the help of Prince Nana. The Gates of Agony manager hopped onto the apron when Andretti covered Kaun off a standing Spanish Fly. The referee stopped his count at 1 to confront Nana. That distraction allowed Kaun and Liona to take control with a double-team pendulum slam on Andretti for victory. I do have to say the referee distraction was stupid in execution. The ref should have continued his count in that crucial moment. If Prince Nana interfered, then take action.

Vincent, Dutch, & Stu Grayson defeated Zak Patterson, Macrae Martin, & Rip Impact. The Righteous attacked before the bell to squash their opponents. The Righteous and Stu executed the Dark Order’s teamwork windmill slam as a taunt to that crew.

Lee Moriarty and Big Bill Morrissey aimed to show fans to stop sleeping on them. Momentum is going their way, and it will result in tag team gold.

Lee Moriarty & Big Bill Morrissey defeated The Boys. Brent Tate and Brandon Tate pulled a Voltron stacking on top of each other to try and fight the 7-footer. It did not work. Bill punched them down. Bill was a dominant force, but the Boys rallied with speed. Bill crushed their chances by chokeslamming one Boy on the apron, while Moriarty finished with a spinning heel kick to pin the other Boy.

Athena defeated Seleziya Sparx. Proving Ground match for the ROH Women’s World Championship. Athena’s aggression was on a higher level. She clocked Sparx with an elbow to win. Athena continued her fondness for post-match attacks on her opponent.

Mark Briscoe defeated JD Drake and Tony Nese. This three-way was brought about when Briscoe heard enough chattering from Drake and Nese insulting the crowd. It was originally a one-on-one contest, but Nese wanted to do group training with Drake instead. Rather than heel Drake go babyface, he insulted the Canadian crowd and their terrible cuisine. That brought in Briscoe to make it a proper match. The bad guys teamed up against Briscoe and took turns exercising. Nese did bicycle crunches to kick Briscoe, and he wanted Drake to do the same. Drake did not do that routine, but he did do some jumping jacks. Briscoe rallied in the end with a froggy bow to Drake. Nese tried to steal the pin, but Briscoe womped him with the Jay Driller for victory.

Eddie Kingston urged Mark Briscoe to seize the moment to challenge Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Championship at the Death Before Dishonor PPV on July 21. Briscoe was game to step up. Claudio warned him that they aren’t on the same level of excellence. The champ will pull Briscoe down to earth to show him his limits. Tony Khan made the match official. (Full details here.)

Diamante defeated Vanessa Kraven. Diamante overcame the size difference with a stunner and a Code Red to chop Kraven down for the win.

Maria Kanellis was expected to return to the ring to wrestle in the main event. She claimed that she was not medically cleared, so she brought out Leyla Hirsch to take her place. This was Hirsch’s surprise return from injury.

Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, & Leyla Hirsch defeated Shawn Dean, Carlie Bravo, & Trish Adora. Mixed tag rules. Maria helped Hirsch win in the end. Adora worked for an armbar, so Maria hopped onto the apron. Bennett distracted the referee, and Maria pulled Adora into the ropes. Hirsch capitalized for an armbar submission. (Full details here.)

Backstage, Hirsch stated that she is here to stay in ROH.

The cream of the crop watchlist for this episode is the Gates of Agony versus Action Andretti & Darius Martin, the six-way match with Brian Cage, and the three-way with Mark Briscoe. The standard tag team bout was a real good display of power versus speed. The six-way match rocked with energy. The crowd was fully behind Willie Mack, so it helped Cage’s cheating win to receive that much more of a reaction. The Briscoe match is worth checking out for the comedy between Tony Nese and JD Drake. The return of Leyla Hirsch and the set up for Briscoe’s world title shot were bonus treats.

The Gates of Agony were the standout performers as rising talent. I’m glad that Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona earned the win. It helps establish them as more than dudes who hang out with Cage. I think the Gates of Agony are ready to be on the AEW scene as more than fodder. Their power attack is so dominating in a division which lacks that element. Kaun and Liona look the part and act the part of menacing marauders.

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