Tenille Dashwood vs. Sumie Sakai ROH Death Before Dishonor 3 Takeaways

2. But Did The Right Woman Win?

Following last night’s loss to Sakai, Dashwood is now 0-2 against the Women of Honor Champion, and it’s hard not to think that this was her final opportunity to take the title off of Sakai. Though Dashwood didn’t tap and only lost by referee stoppage, it’s hard to tell if ROH will use this to build another title match or to move Dashwood back to the end of the line.

The finish of this match was bizarre, and it overshadowed a lot of the good work these two did during the match, including a powerbomb to Sakai on the outside. Dashwood passed out, leading to the referee stoppage in Sakai’s favor, in an armbar. I get that Sakai used her leg to wrap around Dashwood’s head, but there wasn’t nearly enough pressure for Dashwood to pass out, especially since the submission hold was focused on the arm. I mean, how many babyfaces pass out to an armbar in their first opportunity at a title they are seen as the favorites to win?

It didn’t make much sense to me, even operating under the assumption that Dashwood passing out was designed to help protect her from tapping out to Sakai.

What made this finish even more bizarre was the fact that Sakai’s shoulders were on the mat during the submission, which Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp astutely pointed out. That issue didn’t exactly make the quizzical finish look more appealing, though the silver lining is that ROH could use it to help Dashwood’s case for another title opportunity.

Dashwood was brought in by WOH to become the division’s biggest star, and while I love that they didn’t just throw the title on her due to her status as a former WWE Superstar, it’s about time they pulled the trigger on her as a champion or did something more with her. It just feels like ROH isn’t taking full advantage of a highly-respected wrestler who elevates everyone else in the company by association, seeing as how her matches with Paige in NXT are still viewed as some of the most influential in WWE’s Women’s Revolution.