Philadelphia, PA – 10.8.2021

Commentary is provided by Ian Riccaboni & Caprice Coleman.

The October 5th episode of Week by Week featured two ROH debuts:

Matt Makowski vs. Ativalu

Rocco is back on commentary for this one. Makowski is a former Bellator fighter who trained at the Wrestle Factory. Ativalu made his name in Hawaii and was trained by his uncle Afa, and currently wrestles primarily in Florida. Makowski scores with a high kick. Ativalu absorbs a series of kicks and strikes and wipes out Makowski with a high knee as Makowski comes off the ropes. Makwoski kicks out Ativalu’s legs from the apron, rolling inside and getting Ativalu down in a rear-naked choke. He converts into an ankle lock. Ativalu escapes, but Makowski knocks him down with a modified Sankakugeri. Ativalu then uses the ropes to escape a second ankle lock. Ativalu heads to the top turnbuckle, and Makowski brings him down with a suplex. Makowski puts Ativalu in a knee bar and Ativalu gets the ropes again. Makowski pulls Ativalu into the middle of the ring and taps him out to a heel hook at 5:27. As a fan of Makowski I love seeing him demolish the opposition and really hope he finds a home in ROH. As many people have said, he is made for the Pure Division. As strong as the match was, I don’t think I got to see much of what Ativalu could do, and wouldn’t mind him getting another chance. Rocco follows Makowski backstage. **¼

Chelsea Green was in singles action on the October 6th episode of Women’s Division Wednesday against a returning competitor to the Women’s division:

Chelsea Green vs. Ashley Vox

This is Vox’s first ROH singles match and her first ROH match since December 2018. She was also announced to be part of the Women’s Championship tournament before COVID postponed it indefinitely. Vox’s reeling entrance got some well deserved love on Twitter. This is also Green’s first ROH singles match. Green smashes Vox with a back elbow as Vox comes off the ropes and further stuns her with an enzuigiri. Vox responds with an enzuigiri of her own in the corner, followed by a cannonball senton. As Vox tries to fish hook Green, Green pulls Vox forward to jam her throat onto the top rope. Green pump kicks Vox for a two count. She goes after Vox’s neck and throat with her offense. Both women knock each other down during a strike exchange. Back on their feet, Vox headbutts Green and takes her down with a ripcord clothesline for two. Green armdrags her way out of a Fish Hook. She lands a version of the Natural Selection. Vox avoids an Unprettier and drops Green with an Air Raid Crash for two. Green back elbows Green and drops her with the Unpretti-Her. As she is about to go for the pin, The Allure of Angelina Love and Mandy Leon come to ringside. The Hex of Allysin Kay and Marti Belle come in from behind and get in a shoving match with the Allure. This all distracts Green who turns into an inside cradle from Vox. However, Green has the wherewithal to hold down Vox’s shoulders and pin Vox at 8:39. Belle and Kay celebrate with Green, while also dismissing The Allure who head backstage. This was more evenly contested and hard hitting than I anticipated and I really enjoyed it. The ending could’ve been better, but there is no denying both Vox and Green put in a great effort and had some really convincing nearfalls. Hopefully we see more of Vox in the division going forward. ***

Now onto this week’s episode! The voice of Ian Riccaboni is this week’s host.

S.O.S (Kaun & Moses) vs. Dalton Castle & Dak Draper

The Briscoes are on commentary for this bout. Castle german suplexes Kaun to the corner. Although Draper gives him a few forearm shots to the shoulder blade, Kaun rolls through an armdrag and tags in Moses who assists with a double suplex. Castle keeps trying to run in to help Draper but gets tossed out on his first two attempts. On his third, he pulls Draper out of the corner. This distraction allows Draper to nail a back elbow off the middle rope. Draper and Castle impressively manhandle Kaun in their corner until Kaun escapes a Dominator from Draper, giving him a chinbreaker and leapfrogging over him to tag Moses. Moses backdrops Castle to the floor and comes off the middle rope with a crossbody to Draper. S.O.S. nail him with a Doomsday Device for two. Moses scares the chickens away so he can throw Castle over the barricades and onto the concrete floor. S.O.S. then drop Castle with their tandem elevated DDT for the pin at 9:16. Totally solid match to get Kaun and Moses a win to climb the tag rankings, and more proof that Draper’s relationship with Castle isn’t as fruitful as he may have been convinced it would be. **¼

Tag Team Champions Kenny King and Dragon Lee attack S.O.S. after the bell. After knocking them both out, Lee and King take a selfie with their titles while sitting on Kaun. Moses is able to get on the microphone and challenge Lee and King for their titles, saying they will bring two body bags to their match. Lee and King seem unbothered.

Women’s Championship Contenders Match
Willow vs. Miranda Alize vs. Angelina Love

The winner of this match will face the winner of a second triple threat match in a#1 Contenders match for the Women’s Championship. Chelsea Green is on commentary, and Mandy Leon is in Love’s corner. Love and Alize both come after Willow. Willow impressively counters a double suplex attempt with a double DDT. Love pushes Alize into the trajectory of a dropkick from Willow, then tosses Willow outside so she can try to steal the pin on Alize. Love and Alize come to blows, leading to Love putting Alize in a headscissors. Willow punt kicks Love and throws both her opponents outside, wiping them out with a double dropkick off the apron! Alize and Love follow Willow’s lead of landing offense outside and trying to isolate one of the opponents back inside. Love puts Willow back inside and gets a two count. When Alize is climbing onto the apron, Love knocks her down with the Botox Injection. Willow surprises Love with a roll-up to get the pin at 8:32! I am thrilled for Willow to get the win here. She’s the freshest of the three in the fact she hasn’t received a title opportunity ever. She was also the one I least expected to win, and genuine surprises in wrestling, especially positive ones, can be hard to come by these days. Match itself was good. I think the last portion got a bit repetitive, but otherwise no complaints. **½

MexiSquad (Bandido & Rey Horus) vs. The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)

Bennett and Horus shake hands after reaching a stand-off in their opening exchange. Bandido and Taven pick up the pace, with Taven shutting down Bandido with a dropkick. Although Bandido fights out of Bennett’s backpack stunner, the OGK are able to take him down with a superkick/spear combo. They attack Bandido’s left leg while keeping him trapped in their corner. Bandido rolls out of the trajectory of a lionsault from Taven and takes down Bennett with a tornado DDT, which enables him to slowly crawl to his corner and tag Horus. A relatively fresh Horus scores a two count on Taven after a leg drop. Horus evades a spear from Bennett, sending Bennett into the ring post. Horus takes him down with a Spanish Fly. Bandido gamenigiri’s a charging Taven as Horus wipes out Bennett on the floor with a tope con hilo over the ring post. Bandido flies in with a twisting crossbody onto Taven. Bandido drops Horus onto Taven with an X-Factor, then hits his own standing shooting star press, and Taven is still able to kick out. Taven rolls through Bandido’s sunset flip and hits Just The Tip. The OGK nails Bandido with Hail Mary, and Horus tackles Taven onto the pile to break the pin. A series of strikes and kicks leaves all four men laying. Bandido takes out Bennett with a Fosbury Flop, and Taven follows him out with the Flight of the Conqueror. In the ring, Horus locks Bennett into a headscissors with a wristlock. Bennett backs Horus to the corner to free himself. Horus misses a 450 splash. Bennett follows his roll-through to the corner with a forearm smash. The OGK hit him with a bicycle kick/backpack stunner for the pin at 12:07. This was action packed and really enjoyable to watch. Taven especially put in a stand-out performance. At this particular time I think the OGK are much stronger in the tag division than any respective singles division, and wins over the ROH World Champion, even in a tag setting, will help their cause as they work towards recapturing the gold. As usual, Bandido and Horus were great as well. ***¼

Overall: We got momentum going towards future tag team title matches, both near and far, as well as progress towards the Women’s Championship challenger at Final Battle all of which I am quite happy about. No must see matches, but the main event was a load of fun.

NEXT WEEK: The Foundation faces Taylor Rust, Eli Isom, Joe Keys, and The World Famous CB, and S.O.S. challenge Dragon Lee and Kenny King for the ROH Tag Team Championship!