Ring of Honor Supercard of Honor XII (4/7/18)
UNO Lakefront Arena
New Orleans, Louisiana
This Saturday, Ring of Honor presents Supercard of Honor XII show, headlined by Dalton Castle defending the ROH World title Marty Scurll and the battle of the Bullet Club Leaders, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes.
Pre Show: Women of Honor Championship Tournament Match
Sumie Sakai vs. Tenille Dashwood/ Kelly Klein vs. Mayu Iwatani
With Mandy Leon and Deonna Purrazzo out of the tournament, the final four will clash before the main show to determine who ends up in the finals on the show proper. With Kelly Klein’s dominance in the division in the past, Klein was always a favorite going into the tournament as a whole. Klein’s actions during her match with Leon, bamboozling Leon into thinking she had tapped, prove that she’s adopted a win at any cost attitude. A nice balance of star power and the WOH division stalwart, a likely final would be Klein squaring off against Tenille Dashwood. Although Dashwood does bring more eyes to the division as a whole, Klein’s role as gatekeeper, coupled with her antics against Leon establish some challengers out of the gate if she does indeed become the first champion of the division.
Adam Page vs. Kota Ibushi
Over the last year, Adam Page has found his star increasing, as he has developed into a character, with the help of the Being the Elite Youtube show. His antics there have endeared him to the fans, allowing him to stand out as more than just a skilled in-ring competitor. In the storyline, Page is firmly behind Cody in the Bullet Club divide-a divide that was exacerbated when Kota Ibushi came to defend his former partner Kenny Omega. This is a big spot for Page, his star is on the rise internationally and this also plays an important role in the Bullet Club angle. Look for Page to win what can easily be one of the better matches on the night, from a pure one on one wrestling match.
Punishment Martinez vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Martinez’s career really took off after facing Goto last year during the Honor Rising shows in Japan. Since then, he won Survival of the Fittest and earned a ROH World title match. Although he came up short, it’s ROH views him as one of their top talents. As such, Martinez often gets placed into matches with international talent and this match with Ishii is a chance for him to prove his mettle against one of the toughest men in wrestling right now. Expect this to be a hard-hitting affair, with Martinez sprinkling in some of his agility in an attempt to overcome Ishii’s hard-nosed style. This match could go either way, but look for Martinez to come out on top and continue looking strong in 2018.
ROH World Television Championship Match
Last Man Standing Match
Kenny King (c) vs. Silas Young
One of the most contentious rivalries that has been taking place in ROH has been the battle between Young and King. King has been placed in the epicenter of the division since his stint on the Bachelorette and despite losing the title, he regained it again against the same man who defeated him for it at Final Battle 2017. Although King cleanly won the title on Television, the two tangled at the 16th Anniversary show, only for the story of the feud to include Austin Aries. Aries arrived as the belt collector, intimating that he is looking to add the ROH TV title to his cache- a title he never worse during his time in ROH. With that brewing in the background, there may not be a clear-cut winner here, as Aries and King were previously allies. As such, Young, who has made the Last Man Standing matches his niche match, might actually lose this one, allowing the natural story of mentor/mentee between King and Aries to run its course.
6-Man Tag Team Championship Match Ladder Match
Socal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs Flip Gordon and the Young Bucks
Daniels and Kazarian quickly went from being beloved to public enemy number one, interfering in matches and spoiling the fun for wrestlers and fans alike. Since then, COO Joe Koff made it known that the Addiction would not be resigned when their contracts are up at the end of the year. The expiration date on both the contracts of Daniels and Kazarian has made their championship reign that much more intriguing, as it would be unlikely that they are allowed to leave as champions. Scorpio Sky has been a great addition to the squad and after defeating the Young Bucks and Adam Page for the 6-man titles, they were originally scheduled to defend against the Kingdom. However, Bully Ray felt that the Kingdom’s constant interference was a detriment to the company and he removed them from the match, instead of inserting the Young Bucks and Flip Gordon. Gordon finally accepted the Young Bucks overture of kindness after they saved him from a 3 on one beatdown, prompting Ray to not only include them in the match but also making it a ladder match. Look for this to be an exciting affair, but ultimately SoCal should retain here. The question here is if Gordon is truly aligned with Young Bucks and how this match may see him turn on them to align with Cody in an effort to be featured on the All In show in September.
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match
The Briscoes(c) vs. Jay Lethal and Hiroshi Tanahashi
The Briscoes are fresh off taking the title off of the Motor City Machine Guns and are in the midst of a revitalization of their careers of sports, as they have returned to exclusively tagging together while sporting a new mean streak. They have actually looked so strong that the rest of the tag team division does not seem ready for them, especially with MCMG not getting a return match for the titles. Insert Jay Lethal and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Lethal recently challenged for the ROH World title unsuccessfully and this looks like a stopgap more than anything before he moves on to something else. With the short time between the anniversary and Supercard, seeing him paired with Tanahashi will be fun, but ultimately the Briscoes will get the nod here.
Cody vs. Kenny Omega
This has easily been one of the best-told stories in professional wrestling right now. Cody leaving the WWE and eventually joining the Bullet Club has been chronicled on Being the Elite and the twists and turns have gotten us to a showdown between what is essentially the leader of the Bullet Club East vs the Bullet Club west. Cody has been essential to this story and not many may have been able to embrace the duplicitous villain quite like he has. With All In looming in the background, this feels like a first direct blow, but by no means the end of the story. On ROH television this past week, Cody made it seem as Omega had wronged him, not the other way around. Cody will win this match by hook or crook and lead to further issues between the members of the Bullet Club moving forward into the summer and perhaps even the fall.
ROH World Championship Match
Dalton Castle (c) w/The Boys vs. Marty Scurll
Castle has been champion since mid-December, but by virtue of ROH’s schedule, still feels to be in the infancy of his title reign. With successful defenses against Punishment Martinez and Jay Lethal, he has proven that he can overcome both larger and more experienced opponents thus far. Scurll won a championship in his very weekend in the company, but this is his first crack at the ROH World title since he has joined ROH and as of late, he made this well known. Scurll previously tried to finagle his way into a title shot by asking Martinez and Lethal to grant him one should they win, before going to the source himself. Scurll is ready to hold the title and the fans seem ready for his reign as well, but Castle will keep the strap here in what should be an excellent wrestling match between two of ROH’s biggest personas.
The event can be view at ROH’s website, for HonorClub members.
