Baltimore, MD – 8.20.2021
Commentary is provided by Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman & Lenny Leonard.
On the August 17th episode of “Week By Week”, a newly formed trio saw action:
Danhausen, PCO & Sledge vs. Primal Fear (Adrien Soriano, Gabriel Hodder & Matthew Omen)
Rocco who appeared on Week by Week the last time Primal Fear wrestled trying to become their manager (albeit a half-hearted attempt after failing to secure the services of the Bouncers and Ken Dixon) literally sneaks on over to commentary, unwelcome by Ian and Caprice. Sledge tags himself in after PCO does some damage. Sledge is able to fight all of Primal Fear on his own until he is caught off guard with a chop block. Primal Fear smother him in their corner until Sledge shuts down Hodder in the corner with a rolling clothesline. He tags PCO back in before giving Hodder a facewash kick. PCO wipes out Soriano and Omen, then splashes all three members in the corner. Danhausen impressively controls Primal Fear, delivering Very Nice, Very Kneevil to Soriano. Hodder and Omen then wipe out Danhausen with a modified Total Elimination. Sledge and PCO take them out with simultaneous piledriver and elevated DDT. As Sledge and PCO go face to face after this, Danhausen slips in and pins Hodder at 5:49. This match did a great job portraying the dynamics of this new trio, with PCO and Sledge co-existing as they work towards the same goal with some trepidation, and Danhausen playing clean up in the wake of their destruction. I was going to comment that Primal Fear has been good as fodder for trio teams who need wins, but that I also felt it was time to give them some direction of their own. Then I learned on Twitter Rocco managed Primal Fear in MCW, so it seems like my wish may be coming true before I even had to put it out into the universe. *¼
Now onto this week’s episode! We start with a recap of last week’s “Champions vs. All-Stars” main event, which saw Gordon pin Homicide to win the match for the All-Stars. Ian Riccaboni is our host since usual host Quinn McKay is back in action.
ROH Women’s Championship Tournament Quarter-Final Round Match
Rok-C vs. Quinn McKay
A pre-match interview with Brian Zane with both competitors goes awry, as McKay thinks Rok-C said she wanted to face McKay in the quarterfinal round match, and McKay misconstrues that to think Rok-C only sees her as a backstage interviewer. Before Rok-C can clarify, her music hits and she has to go to the ring. The confidence with both women builds as the match progresses, but so does the tension between the two. An up and over out of the corner results in McKay tweaking her knee. Rok-C does not go after the ankle directly, but also does not take it easy on McKay. Rok-C misses double knees in the corner and McKay goes for Tangerine Dream. Rok-C Judo throws her way free and takes down McKay with a Thesz Press. After a neckbreaker, McKay goes after Rok-C’s neck. Rok-C blocks a spinning neckbreaker with a backslide for one. Rok-C holds onto the ropes when McKay looks for a leapfrog. McKay lands on her leg again, as as she fumbles, Rok-C wastes no time and hits the Code Rok for the pin at 10:14. It was so nice to see McKay in a match with someone other than The Allure to show what she is capable of. She is certainly still green, but Rok-C was a great individual to pair her with. I appreciate that while McKay’s hurt ankle affected her performance during the match, Rok-C maintained her honor by not directly taking advantage of the injury. They kept things really competitive and interesting to watch, which is exactly what I like to see from tournament bouts. ***
ROH Women’s Championship Tournament Quarter-Final Round Match
Miranda Alize vs. Nicole Savoy
Chelsea Green joins commentary for this bout. Alize gets the ropes to escape an ankle lock, and later we see her bite Savoy’s fingers while stretching out Savoy’s right arm. Alize headscissors Savoy to the floor and baseball slide dropkicks Savoy between her shoulder blades. Savoy suplexes Alize on the floor, but during the commercial, Alize headbutt Savoy in the back of the head. In the ring she dropkicks Savoy in the back of her head for two. Savoy comes back with a German Suplex and sliding clothesline for two. Savoy ends a strike exchange with two butterfly suplexes and a Royal butterfly for two, immediately transitioning to a cross armbreaker after. Alize rolls her up to escape, then applies a crossface. Savoy breaks free and drops Alize with a Michinoku Driver. Savoy comes off the second rope and is caught mid-air with a kick. Alize DDT’s Savoy off the second turnbuckle and hits the Drive By for the pin at 13:04. Definitely a surprise not to see Savoy advance, but I like that ROH is making wrestlers like Rok-C and Alize their own. Alize’s “baddie” character has some legs to it, and I liked that her aggression and perseverance is what helped her to overcome the veteran. More good stuff from this tournament. ***¼
The Bouncers and Ken Dixon are backstage. Bruiser said they used to be a laughing stock, but now nobody is laughing at them. They aren’t interested in making friends. Bruiser says they’re unstoppable when they’re on the same page, and we learn that Milonas and Bruiser will face Joe Keys and Eric Martin on the 8/24 edition of Week By Week.
No Disqualification Match
Rey Horus vs. Demonic Flamita
This is a rematch from “Best in the World 2021”, where Horus defeated Flamita, but Flamita attacked Horus after the bell and left him laying, as well as nearly unmaking him during the bout. Flamita brings a chair into the ring and places it in the corner. Horus almost pins Flamita with a Code Red early on. Flamita rolls outside, and when Horus looks to dive after him, Flamita gamengiri’s Horus from the floor. Horus dropkicks another chair Flamita grabs into his face, although Flamita throws the chair at Horus when he tries to pescado out of the ring. Flamita sets up a table ringside, but in the ring he throws Horus face first into a chair. Horus is able to throw a chair into Flamita’s face. Outside the ring, Horus spikes Flamita with a pop-up DDT onto the floor. Back inside, Horus takes down Flamita with a high crossbody and belly-to-belly suplexes him into the corner for a two count. Flamita suplexes Horus and gives him a butterfly backbreaker for two. Flamita pulls Hours into a Spanish Fly. Horus DDT’s him, so Flamita delivers another Spanish Fly, and Horus pops himself up into another DDT on Flamita, leaving both men laying. They fight to the apron. Flamita stops Horus on the top turnbuckle. Flamita attempts to superplex Horus through the table on the floor. Horus fights out, but Flamita successfully puts Horus through the table with a super Spanish Fly! Horus manages to kick out of Flamita’s pin when they get back into the ring. Flamita hits a Phoenix Splash to get the pin at 12:08. They didn’t overuse the stipulation which I appreciate. The big moves reached overkill territory in the last few moments, but otherwise this was totally solid. The table spot is of course the moment most people will remember, and truthfully it would’ve been better to just end the match with that instead of another move after it. Flamita picking up another win en route to a World title opportunity at the next PPV, especially over the champion’s partner, is a nice move as well. This was a good but not great feud ending match, which sadly is becoming a bit of an ROH trend. ***
Overall: The women’s tournament is on a roll, and even if I found the main event slightly disappointing, I think many may like it more than I did, and it’s worthwhile just to see the culmination of the feud.
NEXT WEEK: The quarter-final round of the Women’s Championship tournament concludes with Angelina Love vs. Max The Impaler and Allysin Kay vs. Trish Adora, and Eli Isom challenges Dragon Lee for the ROH Television championship!
The latest episode of ROH TV is always free to watch on ROH’s website and FITE TV. It can also be watched via the Honor Club.
For more information on Ring of Honor, check out their official website and the great ROH World.