Ring of Honor: Death Before Dishonor Preview and Predictions

On Saturday, July 23rd, Ring of Honor will put on its second pay-per-view card under the ownership of Tony Khan when they present their Death Before Dishonor show.

AEW has given Ring of Honor a platform to promote the upcoming Ring of Honor show on not only Dynamite and Rampage, but also on the promotion’s YouTube shows, Dark and Elevation.

And the card that has been put together for Saturday’s show may just be a contender for show of the year as the card contains a number of intriguing matchups.

Let’s take a look at the announced matches for Ring of Honor: Death Before Dishonor and what to expect from each.

The Righteous vs Dalton Castle & The Boys for the ROH  Six Man Tag Team Titles

The Ring of Honor Six Man Tag Team Champions, The Righteous, made up of Dutch, Bateman, and Vincent won the titles on the last pay-per-view before Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor, Final Battle, 2021.

Since this is the first defense of these titles it is hard to imagine that The Righteous will drop them here.  While Dalton Castle is a very talented performer, The Boys are viewed more as enhancement talent.

So the best guess here is that one of The Boys eats a pinfall and The Righteous retain.  Winners: The Righteous Retain the ROH Six Man Titles

Allysin Kay vs Willow Nightingale

In a late addition to the card, Allison Kay will go one on one with Willow Nightingale.   Nightingale has impressed in her opportunities as of late, getting some air time on AEW television as well as having a really good match at Supercard of Honor against Mercedes Martinez for the interim ROH Women’s Title back in April.

This one is tough to call as Allysin Kay is a widely respected veteran with a list of accomplishments, but Nightingale is the up-and-comer that has had more national eyes on her as of late.

Nightingale hasn’t had her breakthrough in ROH/AEW as of yet, and that trend most likely continues here as Kay picks up a hard-fought win.  Winner: Allysin Kay

Wheeler Yuta vs Daniel Garcia for the ROH Pure Title

The ROH Pure Title will be on the line on Saturday when Yuta Wheeler defends against Daniel Garcia.

The two young lions of the Blackpool Combat Club and the Jericho Appreciate Society will most likely put on a fantastic match here as both competitors have excelled when given a chance to shine in AEW.

That is, of course, unless their match is marred by run-ins that we seem to get during every Jericho Appreciation Society match.

You can’t really go wrong with either man winning here as they both are superb mat wrestlers.  But in Yuta, AEW has put on a clinic on how to take someone that started as an enhancement talent and turn him into a budding star.  And on Saturday, that star will continue to shine.  Winner: Wheeler Yuta retains the ROH Pure Title

Mercedes Martinez vs Serena Deeb for the ROH Women’s Title

A makeshift tag team that quickly turned into a game of oneupmanship and then a vicious attack leads us to Mercedes Martinez looking for some revenge while defending her ROH Women’s Title against Serena Deeb.

In Deeb and Martinez you have two veterans of the sport with a long history and are no strangers to putting on great matches.  And that is what we will get on Saturday as well.

Deeb attacking Martinez from behind on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite will send Mercedes into this match as the face, with Deeb playing a role that she has excelled at over the past year, the ruthless heel.

And in a match where the competitors are pretty evenly matched it is usually the one that is willing to do whatever it takes that is able to pull out the win.  Winner: Serena Deeb wins the ROH Women’s Title

FTR vs The Briscoes in a Two Out of Three Falls Match for ROH Tag Team Titles

No disrespect to Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, or Claudio Castagnoli, but for most people, this is the main event of the card.

Back in April FTR and The Briscoes gave us what in many people’s opinion, is the 2022 match of the year thus far.  The danger of putting them back in the ring again is that expectations will be even higher, and wrestling fans will expect even more than these two fantastic teams gave us in April at Supercard of Honor.

How hot is FTR right now?  Not only do they hold three different sets of tag team titles, last Wednesday they did as good of a job as anyone can do promoting a match when your opposition is not in the building.  Because of Dax Harwood, “fight like an eight-year-old girl” now is being said in a much different context than it was before this week’s AEW Dynamite.

If there is a team that is worthy of taking the ROH Tag Team Titles off of FTR then The Briscoes are that team.  However, one fall is all the Briscoes will be able to score on Saturday, and the year of FTR will continue.  Winners: FTR retains the ROH Tag Team Titles

Samoa Joe vs Jay Lethal for the ROH Television Title

In a feud that started with Samoa Joe making his return to Ring of Honor back in April, Jay Lethal will finally get his long-awaited shot at the ROH Television Title when he battles his mentor, Samoa Joe.

Like so many other matches on this card, this one is truly a toss-up.  Joe has looked like an absolute monster since his arrival to ROH/AEW.  And it going to be terribly tough for anyone to beat him cleanly.

Lucky for Jay Lethal, he is perfectly fine with winning the ROH Television Title back by any means necessary.

The wild card in this match may very well end up being the two men in Lethal’s corner, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh.

Joe could very well retain here, but it seems like Tony Khan wants Satnam Singh to be a big-time player, and impacting this match could be step one of that plan.  Winner: Jay Lethal wins the ROH Television Title

Jonathan Gresham vs Claudio Castagnoli for the FOH World Title

In what will most likely be the main event of the Death Before Dishonor card, Jonathan Gresham will defend his ROH World Title against Claudio Castagnoli.

First, let’s give Jonathan Gresham all the props.  This man is one of the best technical wrestlers in the world and should be talked about as such with more regularity.

His nickname is very apt, as he truly could be the “foundation” of any promotion and is a very deserving ROH World Champion.

But this match is about righting a wrong.

Claudio Castagnoli has toiled in WWE for so many years, never being used to his full potential, while displaying that he has every tool you could ever want in a professional wrestler.

And now that Castagnoli is back from the land of sports entertainment and is wrestling again, it is hard to imagine that he doesn’t walk out with the ROH World Title around his waist.  Winner: Claudio Castagnoli wins the ROH World Title