Written by Bill Bodkin & Kimmy Sokol
The build to this show has been interesting. With little to no build and the whole card being announced the week of the show, you can make the argument that by glance this can be by far the worst ROH pay-per-view of all time. However, the wrestling on the card will be top-notch. So with basically nothing here is our Death Before Dishonor 2023 predictions.
Zero Hour:
Action Andretti & Darius Marin vs The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
Kimmy: The team of Andretti and Martin has been on a roll and has gained a lot of momentum. I am actually shocked they are not in the fatal four-way match and they are in this match on zero hour instead. Regardless they will pick up the win here to continue their momentum as they look to capture the ROH Tag Team Titles down the line.
Winners: Darius Martin & Action Andretti
Bill: The Work Horsemen are great, but they’re not the pushed commodity in ROH. Martin and Andretti are a very fun team and have the upside. I see them taking the W and by year’s end I can see them holding the ROH straps.
Winners: Darius Martin & Action Andretti
Pure Rules Match: Josh Woods vs Tracy Williams:
Kimmy: Given what happened on TV yesterday, it looks like we are going to get a Josh Woods and Daniel Garcia program down the line for the Pure Championship. This would mean in this match Josh Woods will get a huge win for the Varsity Athletes.
Winner: Josh Woods
Bill: “The Goods” will take this one in a highly competitive, technical match that Kimmy will definitely hate.
Winner: Josh Woods
Leyla Hirsch vs Trish Adora:
Kimmy: This match is going to be fantastic. Two women trying to make a name for themselves within the ROH Women’s Division. Hirsch seems to be the one next in line to win the ROH Women’s Championship if Nightingale doesn’t win the title tonight. Although Adora needs to rack up some singles wins, this match will be going to the legit one herself.
Winner: Leyla Hirsch
Bill: Sleeper match of the night right here. Leyla is likely going to take the W here because she just came back and I wouldn’t be surprised if Maria Kanellis-Bennett helps her out. I like that pairing as Hirsch is more wrestler than promo machine, and Maria is a terrific hype woman and manager. Trish Adora definitely will get her due in ROH and likely Japan (she’s in the NJPW dojo in LA), just not tonight.
Winner: Leyla Hirsch
AR Fox vs Shane Taylor:
Kimmy: Taylor can not seem to get on a consistent winning roll on ROH TV. As soon as he starts to gain momentum he quickly loses it. Although this match will be great Taylor will yet again lose another match as Fox picks up the huge win to close out zero hour.
Winner: AR Fox
Bill: AR Fox has a match with Orange Cassidy for the International Title coming up, so he’s picking up the win here.
Winner: AR Fox
Main Show:
ROH Pure Championship Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs Daniel Garcia:
Kimmy: I am 95% certain Shibata has only appeared once every month on ROH TV since winning the Pure Championship… see the problem. That reason alone is why Garcia will reclaim his title and become a two-time Pure Champion.
Winner: “And New” Daniel Garcia
Bill: I wouldn’t mind Shibata retaining, as he’s an attraction to ROH and keeping the belt on him will allow him to remain an attraction to a brand that desperately needs eyes on it. However, I think Dancing Danny takes the gold here. It will fuel the dissension within the JAS (he didn’t need Jericho to win the title) and honestly, Garcia is strong enough to be on his own.
Winner: “And New” Daniel Garcia
Gravity vs Komander:
Kimmy: This match is going to rule. Two amazing luchador wrestlers fighting it out to see which one can prevail! They seem to be building Komander up on ROH TV where we have only seen Gravity one other time, so for that reason alone I am going to go with Komander for the win,
Winner: Komander
Bill: With the absence of Bandido, his brother Gravity is going to step and I believe he has all the potential to show out in this match. Komander is signed to AEW/ROH, so he’s going to get the duke here. This one, like Komander vs. El Hijo del Vikingo from Supercard of Honor will be an absolute highlight reel of a match.
Winner: Komander
ROH TV Championship: Samoa Joe vs Dalton Castle:
Kimmy: Samoa Joe is a little over 100 days away from becoming the longest ROH TV Champion in history and topping Jay Lethal’s reign of 567 days. For this reason alone and seeing how dominant he has been on ROH TV (when he defends the title) I can not see him losing this match.
Winner: “And Still” Samoa Joe
Bill: I love Dalton Castle, and I hope one day he gets a title in ROH again. However, tonight is not the night. Samoa Joe is gonna retain.
Winner: “And Still” Samoa Joe
Six Man Tag Team Championships: Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, & Toa Liona) vs Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Leon Ruffin:
Kimmy: Keeping this short and sweet just like this match will be, no one is stopping the Mogul Embassy right now, especially a random put-together tag team.
Winners: “And Still” Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, & Toa Liona)
Bill: What a delightfully silly match. Ruffin, Wato and Taguchi is a bonkers amalgam of a team, and they’re going to get destroyed.
Winners: “And Still” Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, & Toa Liona)
ROH Women’s Championship: Athena vs Willow Nightingale:
Kimmy: If you would have asked me last year, I would have picked Nightingale hands down, but now this match is a little bit harder to pick. Athena is 31-0 in ROH competition and since I can not see them moving Nightingale down to ROH full-time, especially after the Owen Hart Tournament I can not see the “Fallen Goddess” losing. If it were me, you have Hirsch defeat Athena at Final Battle after she has held the title for a full year.
Winner: “And Still” Athena
Bill: Maaaaan. This is the toughest match on the card to predict. Willow has one hell of a summer — defeating Mercedes Mone for the NJPW Strong Title, wrestling Giulia in Japan, winning The Owen…and now fighting for the ROH Women’s Title again. Athena has lost to Willow recently and I don’t know who would take the belt off Athena (Skye Blue was my choice, but that seems to have past) … maybe Billie Starkz, Trish Adora or someone not yet in the company? This is a tough one, but I’m gonna go chalk.
Winner: “And Still” Athena
Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, & John Silver) vs The Righteous (Dutch, Vincent, & Stu Grayson):
Kimmy: All the heated build-up, a tag team for over 20 years, and quite frankly the only match on this card with any true build to it. The Righteous has gotten the upper hand in this feud since the beginning, which means The Dark Order will not only win, but Evil Uno will pin his former tag team partner to win this one for his team.
Winners: The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, & John Silver)
Bill: I like Kimmy’s idea of Uno pinning Stu because I’d love to see these two have a Fight without Honor/Lights Out Match singles match. This is going to be a big fun match, and once again I’m on board with Kimmy.
Winners: The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, & John Silver)
ROH Tag Team Championships: Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo) vs The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) vs The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Baretta) vs Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis):
Kimmy: According to Mike Bennett, I am contractually obligated to pick The Kingdom at all times.
Winners: “And New” The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven)
Bill: Oh, Kimmy is gonna be big mad on this one. Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! They’re a highly touted team within AEW and ROH, as Tony Khan seems to be very high on them. As someone who’s watched them since they made their UK run four-five years ago, the upside on these guys is huge. If ROH is really about the youth movement — the Aussies take it.
Winners: “And New” Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
ROH World Heavyweight Championship: Claudio Castagnoli vs Pac:
Kimmy: If this was one of the original matches where Castagnoli was facing Mark Briscoe or Eddie Kingston I would have picked a new champion. However, since Pac only seems to stay in AEW for a short period of time before going back to London, I have to pick Castagnoli to retain.
Winner: “And Still” Claudio Castagnoli
Bill: Claudio is gonna hold onto the belt, but man alive this is going to be an absolute banger.
Winner: “And Still” Claudio Castagnoli
ROH Death Before Dishonor 2023 is streaming live July 21st at 8 PM EST on Bleacher Report and Watchroh.com
The current record in Bill vs Kimmy is 1-1.
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