ROH, it’s time to get Filthy!

The ROH World Tag Team Champions, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, step onto the Proving Grounds against NJPW Strong’s Fred Rosser & “Filthy” Tom Lawlor! Will The Kingdom still be undisputed?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Spanish Announce Project VS Kameron & Allen Russell; SAP wins.
• Nyla Rose VS Emmy Camacho; Nyla wins.
• Six Man Tag: The Iron Savages & Jacked Jameson VS KM, Braxton Hunter & Jon Cruz; The Iron Savages win.
• Dalton Castle VS Aaron Solo; Castle wins.
• ROH World Tag Team Championships Proving Ground Match: The Undisputed Kingdom VS Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor; The Kingdom wins and denies Rosser & Lawlor a title match.
• Ethan Page VS Slim J; Ethan wins.
• Billie Starkz VS Killa Kate; Billie wins.
• The Righteous VS The Infantry; The Righteous win.
• Queen Aminata VS Reiza Clark; Aminata wins.
• Gringo Loco VS Bad Dude Tito; Tito wins.
• Four Corner Survival: Trish Adora VS Kiera Hogan VS Diamante VS Red Velvet; Velvet wins.
• Four Corner Survival: Jack Cartwheel VS Alex Zayne VS Blake Christian VS Lee Johnson; Johnson wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Lexi Nair finds Dalton Castle loitering backstage.

She walks up to The Peacock and he says hey. She asks what he’s doing here. Castle says “John TV” is in the other room, and he wants them to wash him smash Johnny’s face in! No, Lexi doesn’t want that! But Castle still busts in, scares Mr. & Mrs. TV, and grabs a trash can! But Johnny shouts, “Suspend him, Jerry! Suspend him!!” Jerry Lynn was right around the corner!? Johnny says Castle should be suspended for attempting to throw trash at Johnny and his wife, Taya! Taya says Castle also threw cheese at them last time, and it wasn’t even good cheese! It was cheddar!

Jerry asks Castle if he came in here for a fight. Castle denies it but Johnny & Taya say yes he was! Castle says good to see you, Jerry, did you get the email? Yes, Jerry did got that email, and he says Castle’s friend will get his match on ROH. Sweet! Wait, what friend? Is he imaginary~? Hah! But y’know what? Have Castle’s “friend” face Johnny TV so Castle can see what being “TV Ready” means! HAH! Jerry says okay then, it’s official. Next week, Johnny TV VS Castle’s friend. Johnny says Castle’s friend is going to Slam Town! And Taya says clean that suit, it stinks. Mr. & Mrs. TV head out, and Lexi does agree, Castle should clean his suit.

Castle says he doesn’t stink, JOHNNY stinks! And he throws his cheese at the wall! But is Castle’s friend real? And if so, who is it?

After Spanish Announce Project VS The Russell Brothers…

Angelico & Serpentico came out on top, but then Maria Kanellis-Bennett and her “baby boys,” Griff Garrison & Cole Karter appear on stage. And Karter is wearing the mask they STOLE from Serpentico! SAP rushes out to chase them down but Maria and her boys get away! When and where will the South African Stud & #SNAKEMAN have their revenge?

Backstage interview with Ethan Page.

Lexi is with All Ego and says while he’s gonna face Slim J tonight, she wants to throw back to the last time they spoke, where Ethan mentioned aiming for the ROH World Television Championship. Does Ethan still feel he is on the right path? Uh, yeah, he does. If you went to his house to ask his family, his kids, no, they don’t think so. Every week when he comes home, they don’t care whether he won or lost, just that he came home emptyhanded. His daughter says to him, “Daddy, you said on TV you’d win a title for me.”

Ethan tells Gabby that a promise is a promise, and to keep the promise, that while he may be coming home emptyhanded, his family has sent him with full hands. And this outfit. This outfit is brought to you by Gabby Page, her imagination and her two favorite colors: purple and pink. The colors don’t matter, but the person that picked those colors does. His promise to his daughter is what matters. So yes, the path he is on also matters. His match with Slim J definitely matters. And so does continuing his momentum towards Kyle Fletcher and the ROH World Television Championship.

So Ethan now promises to win tonight, next week, and so on, and wear these colors, this gear, every single match he has until the day his hand is raised while the other hand is holding gold so he can return home NOT emptyhanded ever again! So Ethan believes he is on the right path. And since now that his daughter will be with him during every single moment of this journey, finally… yeah, this is happening. Lexi wishes him luck and she does love pink ‘n’ purple, too. Yeah it is growing on him. Ethan wears his daughter’s favorite colors, but will he be wearing everyone’s favorite color in championship gold?

Dalton Castle VS Aaron Solo!

The Peacock’s friend, real or otherwise, gets the fight with Johnny TV next week, the fight Castle wants. But will Castle prove he is more than “TV Ready” when he takes down Aaron solo?

Wait, where is Castle? The substitute Boys hurry backstage again, and they drag out a catering cart with Castle slouched all over it! Castle sits up, takes a sip of water, and he leads the way down the ramp. Fans cheer Castle on, but is he going to be able to light it up like he always does?

The Code of Honor is barely upheld, and the bell rings. Castle doesn’t let Solo go! The fans rally for Castle but Solo grabs ropes! The ref reprimands, Castle lets go then runs in, but Solo ELBOWS him! Solo then ROCKS Castle, but Castle shoves him back. Castle runs in but Solo dumps Castle out! Solo cheers himself on but fans boo. Solo mocks Castle feeding The Boys, then eggs Castle on. Castle huffs and puffs as the count climbs, and he gets up on the apron. Solo RAMS into Castle then POSTS him! Castle staggers around, throws a fit, but Solo goes out to CLUB Castle! Castle shoves, Solo dodges and CLUBS Castle again!

Solo RAMS Castle into railing, whips, but Castle reverses and Solo hits the apron edge! Fans fire up for Castle as he flounders into the ring. Solo slides in and CLUBS Castle down! Solo mocks the fans, but Castle throws body shots! Castle RAMS Solo into a corner! Castle throws elbows, says Solo has bad manners, and then runs in. Solo BOOTS Castle, SUPERKICKS and SCREW HIGH KICKS! Solo laughs but fans boo. Solo soaks up the heat, runs in, but Castle blocks, ELBOWS and LARIATS Solo down! The fans fire up again and Castle shoots in to EXPLODER! Solo flounders now but Castle storms up on him.

Castle whips, Alabama Lifts, and BANGAAAAA~RANG! Cover, Castle wins!

Winner: Dalton Castle, by pinfall

Even disheveled and disgruntled, Castle reminds us why he is a former ROH World, ROH Television and ROH Six Man Tag Champion! And he tells Johnny, “Your face…? SMASH!” The Peacock is on the hunt, will he get his time with Johnny TV? Or will Castle’s “friend” tear Johnny down for him?

Backstage interview with Nyla Rose.

The Native Beast barges in as Lexi starts introducing something else, and says, “Well, well, well, well, well. If it isn’t the Quaker Oatmeal man! Just who I wanted to talk to.” Where’s Lexi’s friend? Oh, sorry, was Lexi doing something? Cool, let the cameras hang around, we need witnesses for this. Where is Lexi’s little friend? Lexi laughs and says Billie’s busy with a thing. But she is here tonight! In a match! And the ROH Women’s Television Championship tournament, too. Oh, right, of course. Lexi, Nyla isn’t sure what she’d do without her. Lexi’s a dang good reporter. Nyla has no idea what she was doing, maybe her mind was somewhere else. She’s gonna go do something else then.

Oh, really? Okay, cool. NO, LEXI NAIR!! Nyla told you last week that she wants Billie Starkz HERE, right in front of her! Same place as the wonderful people are, because Nyla has something important to say. Lexi’s onboard, right? Y-yes… Great! They’re such a good team! Lexi’s an excellent minion! Why isn’t Billie? Why? They both graduated “from that dumb little school Athena set up.” Actually… Nyla realizes, they will be near Athena’s dumb little wrestling school. Next week is Athena’s hometown! Now if memory serves, Nyla has: taken over Athena’s show; taken over Athena’s minions; and taken Athena’s “rule of the roost,” as they might say.

So uh, Nyla thinks that what Lexi needs to do is get her little friend her, talk sense to her, and have her fall in line. Cuz Nyla would “hate” to do to Billie what she did to that “John Legend lookin’ cameraman” from last week! Or to an upstanding reporter. Now we wouldn’t want that, right? N-no, that’d be crazy. Yeah, that’d be insane! Insane. Because Nyla doesn’t just bring the chaos. “Get this through your head! I AM the chaos!!” The self-proclaimed NEW Overlord has issued her final warning, will Billie heed it?

ROH World Tag Team Championships Proving Ground Match: The Undisputed Kingdom VS Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor!

Matt Taven & Mike Bennett are now THREE-TIME ROH World Tag Team Champions, and aren’t looking to change that any time soon. But they’re up against some NJPW Strong competition tonight. Rosser & Lawlor have gone from rivals to allies, can they then go from contenders to challengers? Or will the Kingdom finish this in 10 minutes or less?

The Code of Honor is upheld, and then Rosser and Lawlor shove and even SLAP each other to get fired up! The bell rings, and The Kingdom BLINDSIDE Team NJPW Strong! They stomp and CLUB away, then Taven CHOPS Rosser. Taven whips, Rosser barrels through the chop to run Taven over! Taven ends up in a corner, Rosser gives him CHOPS and haymakers on repeat! The ref reprimands, Rosser lets off to whip, but Taven reverses. Bennett gets a cheap shot in, but Rosser DECKS him for it! Bennett grabs at Rosser’s leg but Rosser kicks him away. Rosser turns around, into Taven’s LEG LARIAT!

Taven rains down fists, the ref reprimands but Taven tells him to shut up! Tag to Bennett, and he feeds Rosser to Taven’s BOOT! FOREARM then MISSILE DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Bennett drags Rosser up, CHOPS him in the corner, fires off forearms, then CHOPS again! Bennett wrenches and whips corner to corner hard! Rosser drops in the corner, Bennett tells fans to shut up, and he stomps Rosser. Bennett CHOPS and ROCKS Rosser, whips corner to corner, but Rosser reverses. Bennett bounces off buckles, and staggers into Rosser’s back drop! Hot tag to Lawlor and he fires forearms and CHOPS!

Lawlor wrenches to WRING Bennett out in the corner! Bennett stands, Lawlor and Bennett trade forearms, and fans rally up! Lawlor and Bennett keep going back and forth, neither backing down! Bennett ROCKS Lawlor but Lawlor ROCKS Bennett! They keep trading forearms, then Lawlor throws body shots! Lawlor hoists Bennett up, for a SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Taven coaches Bennett but Lawlor DECKS him! Bennett kicks low, CHOPS, and Lawlor wobbles. Bennett powers up, runs, but Lawlor follows. Taven trips Lawlor just enough so Bennett can SPINEBUSTER! High stack, TWO!

Taven says time is running, so he tags in. Taven goes up, Bennett hits a BRAINBUSTER! Taven hits the AURORA FROG SPLASH! Cover, Rosser breaks it! Taven protests, Rosser backs off, Bennett tags in. Bennett stomps Lawlor, drags him up, but Lawlor JUMP KNEES! Fans rally up as Lawlor and Bennett stir. They rise up, and they go back to throwing forearms! Lawlor ROCKS Bennett, Bennett ROCKS Lawlor, repeat! Bennett SUPERKICKS, then GERMAN SUPLEXES! But Lawlor rises to KNEE Bennett down! Fans rally up again as both men crawl! Hot tags to Taven and Rosser! Mr. No Days Off RAMS Taven, CHOPS Bennett, but Taven kicks low!

Taven & Bennett double whip but Rosser breaks the line to DOUBLE LARIAT! Rosser hits an OVERHEAD BELLY2BELLY on Bennett, then drags Taven to the apron! APRON BACK SUPLEX! Taven writhes, Rosser shoves him in, and Rosser covers, but Bennett breaks it! Lawlor BOOTS Bennett, Rosser puts Taven in a corner, and Lawlor headlocks Bennett for a BULLDOG into Taven! Lawlor & Rosser then send Bennett back into Taven, for Rosser to then send Lawlor in, DOUBLE SHOULDER TACKLE! They each get someone, STEREO GUT BUSTERS!! Sliding FOREARM for Taven! Rosser covers, TWO!!

Taven survives, but Lawlor & Rosser rally the fans. Rosser CLUBS Taven, clinches, but Taven fights! Rosser still powers on the CROSSFACE CHICKEN WING!! Lawlor intercepts Bennett with a REAR NAKED CHOKE!! The Kingdom endures submissions, and Taven falls back! Bennett fades, but he falls onto Rosser! The Kingdom is still alive, but time is running out! Bennett and Lawlor trade CHOPS on the outside! Lawlor ROLLING ELBOWS Bennett down! Lawlor & Rosser coordinate, but Taven drops down, DOUBLE ROLLING ELBOWS collide!! Lawlor falls out, Bennett gets him for a DEATH VALLEY DRIVER to the ramp!!

Taven gets Rosser up, but Rosser slips out of the Climax! CROSSFACE CHICKENWING!! Bennett tags in and runs in, BOSTON BAYONET! Then feed back to Bennett, DEATH VALLEY DRIVER and JUST THE TIP of the knee! Taven drags Rosser up, he and Bennett coordinate, THY KINGDOM COME!!! Cover, The Kingdom wins!!

Winners: The Undisputed Kingdom, by pinfall (denies Lawlor & Rosser a title opportunity)

With just seconds to spare, Taven & Bennett slam the door shut on Team NJPW Strong! But with as hard as they’re having to finish this in 10 minutes, will there come a time when a team catches them slipping? Or will The Kingdom always be undisputed?

Ethan Page VS Slim J!

We heard the All Ego mission statement, and he wants to keep that promise to Gabby. Will the streak build momentum? Or will Ethan’s daughter have her trust busted by the OG investment?

The Code of Honor is rejected by Slim and the bell rings. Fans boo but Ethan and Slim circle. They tie up, go around, and Ethan puts Slim in the corner. The ref counts, Ethan lets off and there’s trash talked on both sides. Slim then uses the ref to SLAP Ethan!! Slim pretends like that was the ref but Ethan knows better. Even so, he runs into a BOOT and RANA! Ethan ends up in a corner, but he comes back to CLOBBER Slim! Fans fire up and Ethan suplexes Slim for a stall, and he gets the fans fired up for the SLAM! All Ego is all fired up and the fans are with him as he cobra clutches and fisherman lifts!

Ethan carries Slim around. The fans want those golden shoes and Ethan says they’re gonna come flying right off! Ethan hits the CHIMERA SLAM! Ethan goes to the apron, tells Slim to get up, and then steps in, but Slim uses the ref as a shield! Ethan moves the ref aside, Slim runs up, SHIRANUI! Cover, TWO! Slim is frustrated but he drags Ethan back up. Slim ROCKS Ethan with a haymaker, then storms up in a corner. Ethan kicks low but Slim fires off haymakers! Ethan throws body shots, but Slim cording holds so he can throw LARIAT after LARIAT! Slim then wristlocks, runs, and FLYING REVERSE DDT! Cover, TWO!

Slim clamps onto Ethan with a chinlock. The fans rally up for Ethan but Slim tells ’em to shut up. Ethan stands but Slim hops on for a SLEEPER! Ethan starts to fade, but the fans rally harder. Ethan powers back up and RAMS Slim into buckles! Slim holds on, so Ethan THROWS Slim away! But Slim ENZIGIRIS Ethan down! Slim grins, goes up the corner, and MOONSAULTS but FLOPS as Ethan moves! Ethan goes to a corner, Slim runs in, but into an ELBOW! Ethan then ROCKS Slim, and ROCKS him again! Slim shoves, Ethan LARIATS on return! And then back drops Slim to a corner!

The fans fire up with Ethan and he runs corner to corner, to FOREARM! Ethan keeps moving, Slim dodges the lariat, but runs into a scoop! Slim slips free but Ethan ELBOWS, runs, and BOOTS Slim inside-out! Ethan deadlifts Slim into the POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO!! Slim survives but Ethan doesn’t hesitate! Ethan hoists Slim up and the fans fire up, for the EGO’S EDGE- RANA!! Slim runs back in, wheelbarrow to FLATLINER! Cover, TWO!! Ethan survives and Slim is shocked! Slim hurries to get Ethan to a corner. Slim RAMS into Ethan, hoists him to the top, and ROCKS him! Slim flexes, and he wants to Electric Chair Lift?!

Ethan CLUBS away on Slim, Slim staggers away, and Ethan RAMS into him. Then the HEADSHOT!! Ethan hauls Slim back up and the fans are thunderous for the EGO’S EDGE!! Cover, Ethan wins!

Winner: Ethan Page, by pinfall

And the win streak continues to five! Ethan is laser focused, will he get his shot at the Aussie Arrow soon enough?

Billie Starkz VS Killa Kate!

The Prodigy, the Top Minion, Athena’s right hand woman, is preparing for the ROH Women’s Television Championship tournament, but she also has a Native Beast after her. Will Billie be able to focus on her match? Or will she lose to a real Killa?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the fans rally up. The two tie up, go around, and Billie waistlocks. Kate wrenches free, wristlocks, but Billie spins and slips through to wristlock back. Kate powers her way through to a cording hold, then wristlock. Billie spins, breaks free, then headlocks. Billie grinds the hold and holds on as Kate tries to power out. Kate throws body shots, powers out, then dodges. But Billie dodges back, sunset flips, TWO! EDDY GORDO KICK! Fans fire up as Kate flops out of the ring and Billie grins. Billie then builds speed and she DIVES, into a FOREARM!

Kate shoves Billie back in, runs up and wrenches to ELBOW! And KICK! And then suplex, only for Billie to slip free! Billie wrenches, cravats for a KNEE SMASH, then HEEL KICKS! Kate staggers to a corner and the fans fire up. Billie says that new belt is hers, and she runs corner to corner. Kate dodges, runs back in, blocks boots, but Billie rebounds to KICK! Billie goes up the corner, but Kate hits low! Kate climbs up, fires forearms, but Billie CLUBS her in return! Billie HAMMERS away on Kate, then shoves Kate down. Billie sneers, goes to the very top, but Kate gets under the jump. Kate runs in but is sent into the corner!

Billie hoists Kate up in an Electric Chair Lift! And then makes that a DRIVER! Cover, Billie wins!

Winner: Billie Starkz, by pinfall

Billie proves she is more than ready for that title tournament! She mockingly gives the Code of Honor handshake, as she learned from Athena, but will she learn to “fall in line” behind Nyla? Or will Billie really lean into that rebellious teenage phase for this one?

Rachael Ellering speaks.

“The brackets are about to be released for the Women’s TV title tournament, and baby, I tell you what. I’m feeling real good. Tough couple months here pushed me to my limit, but y’know what? My girl Leyla has had my back through it all. And I can’t lie to you guys, she’s right here supporting me.” Rachael has Leyla get on camera and says she couldn’t just leave her standing there. But quick recap: the brackets are about to drop, and their preparations are gonna pay off. Yeah, Leyla says at the end of the day, this is gonna be some tough competition. But they’re used to that. And whatever we get, they’re gonna…

Rachael says how crazy would it be if they ended up having to face off in the first round. They both laugh cuz that would be wild. Real crazy. But they both know that Leyla is so prepared, ready for anything, better than ever, she’s gonna crush it. Same to Rachael. She’s been killing it. Whatever we get, they’ll make it work. So guess what? Release the brackets, Hirsch & Ellering are ready! But will their “crazy” idea end up becoming reality?

Backstage interview with Red Velvet.

Lexi is with The Chef and notes she is part of the “co-main-event” tonight, a big Women’s Fatal 4 this close to the tournament. How is she feeling? She’s feeling great! Confident, and with momentum. The tournament is right around the corner so all eyes are on the ROH Women’s Division. But after tonight, when she defeats Trish Adora, Diamante and former fellow Baddie in Kiera Hogan, all eyes will finally be on Velvet. And then everyone will see The Chef is always cookin’. Velvet heads out, will she be the one serving L’s tonight?

Lexi finds Castle in the “bowels of the arena.”

Lexi grumbles that she’s not a babysitter. The Peacock is scooting around with a janitor’s bucket and Lexi tells him to step out. Lexi says a lot has happened recently, and would like some clarification on who this friend facing Johnny TV next week is gonna be. Castle apologizes about earlier tonight, and he thought he was that close to smashing Johnny TV’s face in. But what does he do? Jerry Lynn’s the worst, right? Yeah, it happens… But again, could he please give us some insight as to who Castle’s “friend” is? Next week, right? Yes, he’s facing Johnny next week. Well, this guy’s a good wrestler, that’s for sure.

Okay… What’s his name? Oh, uh… Well, Lexi wouldn’t know this guy. Okay, but what’s his name? Just a letter even! Castle says he doesn’t go to this school. What? So he’s not signed to ROH? Well, no, cuz he’s new. New to wrestling, new to ROH. Then how about some clues. Height? Eye color? Castle says next week, his “friend” is going to face John TV, so tune in. Yes, okay, but Lexi is just trying to do her job so- Castle flops into a laundry basket and says he is done, goodnight. Then he drapes a curtain over himself. Where are his shoes!? Night, Lexi. Lexi storms off, but is this going to be a case of the hypothetical friend getting his match with Johnny TV?

Four Corner Survival: Trish Adora VS Kiera Hogan VS Diamante VS Red Velvet!

It is ladies first for tonight’s co-main-event! This match will go a long way to finalizing those ROH Women’s Television Championship Tournament brackets, who proves they should be the number one seed?

The Code of Honor is upheld by all four, though more reluctantly by Diamante. The bell rings, Velvet swings on Adora but she blocks that. Kiera runs up but Adora shoves her away, and then they both run in, so Adora DOUBLE LARIATS them! Diamante fires forearms with Adora and fans rally up. Adora swings, Diamante ducks! Diamante uppercuts but Adora dodges! Kiera rolls up Diamante while Velvet rolls up Adora! TWO! Velvet arm-drags Kiera, but Adora scoops and BACKBREAKERS Velvet! Diamante SHOTGUNS Adora! Kiera is in a corner, Diamante runs in but into a BOOT! Diamante comes back, but Kiera drop toeholds her into buckles!

Kiera HIP ATTACKS Adora, BOOT WASHES Velvet, but Diamante dodges to clothesline! Diamante sits Kiera down, runs in and HYDRAULIC DROPKICKS! Fans fire up, things speed up and Velvet CALF KICKS Diamante! Cover, Adora deadlifts Velvet away! Velvet throws elbows and mule kicks, then body shots! Adora avoids the Buzzsaw to BASEMENT GERMAN! Bridging cover but Kiera breaks that! Kiera then runs to hit the STEP-UP LEG DROP! Cover, Diamante SPLASHES it! Velvet fires off hands on Diamante! Diamante dodges then runs up, but Velvet slips out to the apron! Diamante still ROCKS Velvet!

Diamante brings Velvet into ropes, HOTSHOT NECKBREAKER! Adora stands, Diamante tilt-o-whirls and RUSSIAN LEG SWEEPS! Cover, Kiera breaks it! Kiera Oklahoma Rolls Diamante, TWO! Kiera BOOTS Adora, stomps Diamante, then ROCKS Velvet! Kiera storms up to fire forearms on Adora, then she kicks Diamante out. Kiera fires forearms again, runs and DIVES onto Diamante! Diamante tumbles up the ramp and Velvet CROSSBODIES at Adora! Adora catches her, to POWERSLAM her! Kiera goes up now, and she CROSSBODIES, only to get caught! Adora hits a POWERSLAM again!

Diamante returns, fires forearms, and then cravats. SLICED- NO, Adora denies that to LARIAT TUBMAN!! But Diamante flounders out of the ring! Kiera runs up to HIP ATTACK Adora! Kiera runs at Velvet but Velvet DUMPS her out! Then Velvet DOUBLE KNEES Adora, and then hits THE MIXER! Cover, Velvet wins!!

Winner: Red Velvet, by pinfall

She called her shot and she won this fast ‘n’ furious Fatal 4! Will Velvet be the one holding the gold in the end?

Four Corner Survival: Jack Cartwheel VS Alex Zayne VS Blake Christian VS Lee Johnson!

And now for the gentlemen! Whether it’s the ROH World Television Championship or THE ROH World Championship, the winner here could easily call their shot! Will it be the acrobat, the Sauce, All Heart or Big Shotty that moves into pole position after tonight?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the fans rally up. Jack says wait! Who wants to see a cartwheel? The fans fire up for that! Jack powers up, and then he CARTWHEELS! The fans cheer, the others applaud, and then Zayne says let’s get another one! The fans join in on that, “One More Time!” Jack powers up again, to CART- Blake SHOTGUNS him! Fans boo but Blake knows this is about winning, not having fun! Then he runs up, only for Zayne & Lee to dodge, double kick and double whip! But Blake handsprings to DOUBLE BACK ELBOW! Blake trips Zayne and has him and Lee on ropes, DOUBLE 619!

Fans are torn as Blake springboards in, TORNILLO CROSSBODY! Blake flexes but Jack returns to waistlock! Blake breaks free but Jack uses cartwheels to evade! Jack wants a cutter but Blake denies him! Blake puts Jack on the apron, brings him in for a suplex but Jack fights it. Zayne adds on with a waistlock on Blake! Blake holds ropes to deny the German Suplex, and then Jack FLAG POLE SWEEPS the legs out! Then he slingshots to POMMEL ELBOW DROP! Cover on Blake, TWO! Cover on Zayne, but Lee drags Jack up! Jack throws elbows, switches, and back suplexes. Lee lands on his feet to NECKBREAKER! Cover, Blake breaks it!

Blake brings Lee up, ROCKS him, then whips him to a corner. Lee reverses, runs in, but Blake BOOTS him! Zayne storms over but Blake leapfrogs Lee to SHOTGUN Zayne! Blake then half nelsons Lee, uses him to LARIAT Zayne, and then HALF ‘N’ HALF suplexes Lee away! Blake kips up, fans are torn, but Blake dusts himself off. Blake aims at Zayne in a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Jack runs in and goes up, but Zayne puts him up top! GAMANGIRI! Blake runs in, but he’s sent into Jack’s knees! Zayne then uses Blake as a pommel horse so he can SUPER RANA Jack! Then he GERMAN SUPLEXES Blake onto Jack!

Blake and Jack are a stack, but Lee uses them to step up and DESTROYER Zayne!! The fans are thunderous, “This is Awesome!” as all four men are down! Lee rises, he fires himself up and the fans are with him. Lee dragon sleepers Jack but Jack fights free! Jack fireman’s carries, but Lee slips free! BLUE THUNDER BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Jack survives, Lee is stunned, but Zayne brings Lee up! Scoop and BAJA BLAST! Zayne goes up a corner but Blake is after him! Blake CLUBS Zayne, POSTS him, then climbs up over him, to then tie up the legs! Corner assisted CLOVERLEAF!! Zayne can only endure because there’s no disqualifications!

Blake then leaps to MACHO ELBOW Lee!! Cover, Jack breaks it! Fans fire up for Jack and he gets Blake up. Jack ROCKS Blake, ROCKS him again, then kicks and whips. Blake reverses, but Jack scarecrow rebounds, cartwheels through, but Blake victory rolls, to SPLASH! The fans are fired up again as Blake WRECKS Lee with a dropkick! Blake skins the cat, goes again, and he DIVES Lee at the ramp! The fans fire up again, Blake sees Zayne is still in the ring so he hurries up a corner. Zayne stands, Blake aims, and Blake- NO, Zayne dodges the stomps! But Blake comes back to TACKLE Zayne through the ropes!

Blake hurries back to the apron, he takes aim, but Jack YANKS Blake down! Fans fire up as Jack goes up! But Zayne hurries up to CHOP! Zayne climbs, he brings Jack up but Jack fires body shots! Jack ROCKS Zayne and Zayne hops back. Blake returns, SPANISH FLY to the floor! The fans lose their minds, but Jack is still on the corner! He sees all three targets out there, he builds speed and he FOSBURY FLOPS! Lee & Blake go down and the fans are thunderous with Jack! Jack puts Lee back in, storms his way up to the top rope, and then CARTWHEEL ELBOW FLOPS as Lee moves! Lee spins Jack around, half nelson to the dragon sleeper, SAVING GRACE!! Cover, LEE WINS!!

Winner: Lee Johnson, by pinfall

Big Shotty with the BIG win! It is only a matter of time, but will Lee Johnson be a champion in ROH sooner rather than later?

My Thoughts:

Another really good ROH, and at least this was under two hours. Still a little disappointed that the “co-main-events” were each under 10 minutes so that they both fit into the last 30 minutes of the show. I know people gotta get in the ring and get paid, but ROH has gotta trim the filler to give more time to the stuff that’s supposed to matter. Like, it’s nice of them to give some shine to the local indie wrestlers, as we got out of SAP VS The Russell Bros and Aminata VS Reiza, but I dunno, I just feel like both Fatal 4 Ways were time crunch versions. It is fun for the Fatal 4 Ways to be fast and furious, but it also just seems a shame we didn’t get even more good stuff from all involved.

I will say, great wins for Velvet and Johnson from those matches. Velvet is going into the tournament strong, and Johnson should get himself a shot at something. Ethan Page had a great match with Slim J, and between that and the really good promo beforehand, Ethan is definitely getting an ROH World TV Championship match. And Johnson isn’t dethroning Eddie Kingston at this point, so I guess that leaves going after Wheeler Yuta and the ROH Pure Championship, even though that style of match is the opposite of this high speed stuff Lee’s been winning. But I still stand by what I said years ago watching AEW Dark: Lee Johnson (along with Ben Carter/Nathan Frazer) is a future star, and that’ll happen if Tony Khan doesn’t waste him.

Rachael and Leyla had a good promo hyping up the tournament bracket, they are definitely having that opening round match with each other now, even though that seems like a real waste to me. Great story stuff tonight with Dalton Castle, from him almost smashing Johnny TV but getting caught by Jerry Lynn. They clearly want us thinking this “friend” is just a workaround for Castle to face Johnny under some alternate identity, but they could be very clever and make it someone who really is new to ROH. In which case, I have no idea who that could be, but it’d be a lot of fun. It’ll still be fun if it’s just Castle putting on a luchador mask and pretending he’s some other person, but I feel like it is just too obvious if they’re going through with Castle’s “friend.”

And great story stuff with Nyla Rose. Great promo with Lexi, and Nyla of course won her match. But it is clever that she is fighting and beating students of Athena’s. Billie gets a good win, too, and as I’ve said before, she is definitely on a collision course with Nyla. That’ll be a great opening for Athena to return, she helps Billie beat Nyla so that Billie has momentum going into the tournament and Athena has momentum going into her title match with Nyla.

My Score: 8.6/10