ROH Women’s World Championship
Athena vs. Alex Windsor
AEW Collision #103 – Chicago, IL – 7.26.2025

Athena has been the champion since 12.10.2022 and this is her thirtieth defense. Billie Starkz is in Athena’s corner. Windsor is able to keep up with the champion, surprising her with sliding boots and getting her frustrated. They fight to the apron where Athena scores big with a modified uranage slam. Athena angrily throws Windsor into the barricades twice before battering her with forearm strikes back in the ring. Windsor ducked a clothesline and weaved Athena into a headbutt. Windsor followed that up with a corner clothesline and a lariat. Athena bites Windsor’s leg to block a piledriver. She then maneuvers Windsor into a Complete Shot slam, which Athena then turns into a Koji Clutch. Windsor rolls Athena onto her shoulders to escape. When Windsor goes for a rolling forearm, Athena ducks and Saito suplexes Windsor for two. Windsor headbutts Athena on the top turnbuckle and pulls her down into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Athena kicks Windsor away when Windsor looks for a sharpshooter. Windsor side steps a baseball slide kick and slams Athena face and chest first onto the ring apron. Windsor does it again before dropping her face first onto the mat. When Windsor throws Athena in the ring, Athena ties up referee Mike Posey long enough for Starkz to grab hold of Windsor. The distraction allows for Athena to surprise Windsor with a suicide dive. Athena then throws Windsor face first into the ring post and Jon Woo dropkicks her into the barricades. Athena powerbombs Windsor off of the barricades and polishes her off with the O-Face in the ring at 12:19. This took a little time to get going and had an awkward moment or two, but otherwise was another quality title defense from Athena. She was also en route to an AEW Title match against Toni Storm, and her victory gives her momentum towards that as well. That said, the match itself was untainted by AEW storylines, so I can live with that. ***½

Speaking of Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa would speak up against Athena in a pre-taped promo. Mina wanted to win the Casino Gauntlet match at All In Texas so she could face her “girlfriend” Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s title. Athena not only took out Shirakawa during the match with the O-Face, but also broke her wrist in the process. Shirakawa is coming after Athena’s ROH Women’s World title as a measure of revenge at Death Before Dishonor. That’s fine enough for short-term storytelling, and Mina being the ROH Women’s TV title is justification as well. However, it does mean that the Women’s TV title won’t be defended on the PPV. I suspect most will not notice or care.

ROH World Championship
Bandido vs. Adam Priest
ROH on HonorClub #127 – Chicago, IL – 7.31.2025

Bandido has been champion since 4.6.2025 and this is his fourth defense. The WorkHorsemen of Anthony Henry and JD Drake come out with Priest, give him a good luck fist bump, and then head to the back. Bandido impresses the crowd by giving Priest a twenty second delayed vertical suplex. Before that, he landed a springboard back elbow on Priest, and when he attempted it a second time, Priest had it scouted and dropkicked Bandido out of mid-air. Priest throws Bandido back first into the barricades before putting him in a Camel Clutch back inside of the ring. Bandido fires up as Priest throws strikes at him, only for Priest to shut him down with a forearm shot to the lower back. When Priest whips him into the ropes, Bandido bounces off them from his chest and rolls under a clothesline. He gives Priest a one-handed slam, pump kicks him in the corner, and then powerslams him coming out of the corner, following up with a dropkick for two. Priest cuts him off with a backbreaker for two. Priest’s Three Amigos is interrupted when Bandido reverses the third suplex into one of his own. Bandido uses Priest’s momentum off of the ropes to hit him with the X-Knee. Priest chop blocks Bandido’s knee when Bandido goes for the 21 Plex. He puts Bandido in a half crab. When Bandido grabs the ropes to escape, Priest slams his knee into the mat before fully releasing the hold. After Bandido moves away from a top rope move from Priest, he pops Priest up into an Ace Crusher. Bandido follows that up with a Shining Wizard and a frog splash for the pin at 9:56. The sound psychology is what made this match work. Because Priest had worn down Bandido’s back, Bandido had to use Priest’s own momentum against him to pull off any power moves. Bandido also pivoted away from the 21 Plex because of it (and because Priest had cut it off), finding another way to beat the challenger. Priest didn’t earn this title opportunity, but he definitely showed he could hang with the champ during the course of the bout. I hope we see a lot more of him in ROH. ***¼

After Bandido defeated Konosuke Takeshita at Supercard of Honor, Hechicero made it known he was coming for Bandido’s World title. The following Wednesday, Hechicero pinned Bandido in an eight man tag team match on AEW Dynamite. In ROH, Hechicero would go on to be successful in another eight man tag team match, a singles match against the debuting Jordan Oliver, and a singles victory over former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal. Both the Oliver and Lethal matches were won by submission. After the Oliver match, Hechicero refused to break his hold until Bandido came to Oliver’s aid. Hechicero also did not obey the Code of Honor handshake during the Lethal bout. Just days before the PPV, Hechicero would defeat Bandido in another eight man tag team match on Dynamite, though neither was involved in the fall. On the other hand, Bandido recently won the AEW Tag Team titles with Brody King. Could the champion’s focus being split between two titles cost him?

ROH Pure Championship Proving Ground Match
Lee Moriarty vs. Xelhua
ROH on HonorClub #129 – Chicago, IL – 8.14.2025

If Xelhua wins this match or lasts the ten minute time limit, he will earn a future Pure Championship match. He defeated Virus in a Pure Rules match two weeks prior. The Pure Rules are as follows:
*The competitors are to obey the “Code of Honor”, shaking one another’s hand before and after the match.
*The title can change hands on a count out and disqualification in addition to a pinfall.
*Each wrestler has 3 rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls. After a wrestler has used all 3 of their rope breaks, submission and pin attempts on or under the ropes by the opponent are considered legal.
*Closed-fist punches to the face are not permitted. Overhanded slaps and chops to the face are permitted. Punches to the rest of the body are permitted, excluding low blows. The first use of a closed fist results in a warning. The second use of a closed fist to the face results in a disqualification.

It’s over three minutes deep into the match when Moriarty finally gets Xelhua to use his first rope break, putting him in a kimura lock with a bodyscissors. Xelhua borderline humiliates Moriarty with the full body stretch he puts him in. Moriarty is able to free part of himself to get the ropes, using his first rope break. Xelhua damages Moriarty’s ankle. Moriarty pushes Xelhua away. He baits Xelhua to the ropes where he snaps his arm over the top rope. Moriarty shakes out his leg before going back to Xelhua’s shoulder. He figure sevens Xelhua’s legs and puts him in a butterfly lock. Xelhua grabs the bottom rope, using his second rope break to escape. Xelhua snaps off a pair of armdrags and tilt-a-whirls Moriarty into a backbreaker. Xelhua puts Moriarty in an inside cloverleaf while also twisting his neck using his legs. Moriarty uses his second rope break to escape. Moriarty goes right back to Xelhua’s shoulder. He slams him into the FANG! submission, which Xelhua escapes by rolling Moriarty onto his shoulders. Xelhua cuts off Moriarty’s strikes with a rolling back elbow. Moriarty rolls Xelhua back into FANG! Xelhua converts into a double shoulder lock. Moriarty kicks at Xelhua trying to escape when the 10:00 time limit expires. Xelhua earns a future title match, which would be confirmed to be happening at Death Before Dishonor right at the end of the episode. Xelhua is disappointed he didn’t win the match, but the way it was done, you could see that he had Moriarty’s number. It’s rare to see Moriarty outwrestled these days, and it would be interesting to see a CMLL competitor hold the title for a little bit. I enjoyed this match and look forward to seeing it again. ***¼

Earlier in the episode, Willie Mack cut a promo backstage. He was victorious against Gringo Loco, and he says he is feeling the need for gold. He says since they’re on television (they’re not), maybe he’ll go for the World TV Title. Nick Wayne approaches. He tells Mack he’s been injuring people left and right and questions Mack coming for his title. Wayne then says that he’s been champion for 100 days and dares Mack to challenge him for the title. Whenever Mack wants it, it’s waiting for him. That match would take place the next day on a YouTube Special.

ROH World Television Championship
Nick Wayne vs. Willie Mack
ROH YouTube Special – Chicago, IL – 8.15.2025

Nick Wayne has been champion since 4.17.2025 and this is his fifth defense. Kip Sabian and Mother Wayne are in Wayne’s corner. Wayne immediately goes for the Killswitch. Mack escapes and shoulder blocks Wayne, resulting in Wayne rolling to the outside. Wayne comes back in, takes some strikes, and gets dropkicked right back to the floor. This time, Mack follows Wayne out, chopping and open hand striking him around ringside. Sabian distracts Mack long enough for Wayne to shove him face first into the ring post. Wayne also shoves him into the barricades. Wayne attacks Mack’s mid section back in the ring until Mack cuts him off with headbutt. Wayne side steps a corner attack, sending Mack crashing into the corner. Wayne goes for the Killswitch again. Mack once again escapes, and this time gives Wayne a stunner for two. Sabian grabs Mack’s foot to pause his ascension to the top turnbuckle. It’s enough for Wayne to be able to move out of the way of Mack’s frog splash, and for Wayne to successfully pull off the Killswitch for the pin at 7:28. A perfectly cromulent and enjoyable title defense. Mack’s size alone made him feel like an obstacle, one that Wayne needed outside help to overcome. It’s also kind of fun that Wayne is now stealing the Killswitch after ditching Christian. ***

There’s no matches per se to build to what I think is the best built match on the show: QT Marshall and Paul Walter Hauser in a Fight Without Honor. Here’s the backstory:

Back in March, Hauser was a guest on the AEW Revolution Zero Hour pre-show. Hauser had also begun wrestling part-time a couple of years earlier, primarily wrestling for REVOLVER and then signing with MLW. During that pre-show, QT Marshall was invited to discuss bringing Big Boom AJ to AEW. Marshall said he thought it would be a one-time thing that was good for AEW, but if it was up to him, celebrities should stick to being talking heads and leave the wrestling to the wrestlers, making sure to say “no offense” to Hauser. Hauser responded by saying if Marshall were to get an acting gig, he would be happy for him and not tell him to stay out of Hollywood. Marshall says he knows Hauser has been doing some wrestling and says he wants to see him lock-up. Hauser agrees and transitions into a side headlock. It clearly bothered Marshall, as he states he feels like Hauser “was given an inch and took a mile” and leaves. Before he does, he throws his drink on Hauser. A few moments later, Hauser took off his jacket and stormed off the set.

It wouldn’t be until late July when this issue came up again. While on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast, Hauser says things it took a few moments to realize that it was an alcoholic drink that Marshall threw at him. A regular drink he would’ve shrugged off, but Hauser is three years sober, and he found out from Marshall’s friends that Marshall rarely drinks. After learning that, Hauser believed it may have been a personal attack. Hauser then throws out that he wants a match with QT. He says QT will find out whether or not he is acting when he leaves QT lying bleeding on the mat. QT responded by saying he had no idea Hauser was an alcoholic and has apologized over and over again. At the end of the day, Hauser is a fan, and he was trying to be nice to a fan. The more he thinks about it, this isn’t about him, but rather Hauser’s fixation on proving he is a professional wrestler. He invites Hauser to be at ROH next week to watch him and see what a real wrestler looks like, and then they can sit down and settle things once and for all.

Marshall would face The OXP on ROH’s Special YouTube episode. OXP was portrayed by Justin Ortiz, who played Diego in the Cobra Kai show with Paul Walter Hauser. OXP’s impressive showing, Marshall would pin him with a Diamond Cutter in 2:46. After the match, Marshall had Aaron Solo hold up the OXP. Marshall was about to send a message to Paul Walter Hauser when Hauser himself showed up. Why Marshall and Solo were so surprised confounds me, given he invited Hauser to show up. Marshall sends Solo after him, and Hauser drops Solo with the Haus Call (a leg sweep wrist-capture Complete Shot.) In the ring, Hauser would block Marshall’s sucker punch and give him a side Russian Leg Sweep and Kokeshi headbutt. Marshall cut off Hauser with a boot to the stomach. Hauser blocked the Diamond Cutter and back suplexed Marshall before sending him over the top rope with a clothesline. Hauser held up OXP’s arm in victory and told the camera that he would see Marshall soon.
A Fight Without Honor at Death Before Dishonor was then signed between them for Death Before Dishonor. QT promised to end Hauser’s hero’s journey, and for Paul to remember that he asked for this.

It was announced on August 20th that Nick Wayne broke his foot and would miss Death Before Dishonor. The very next day, one-half of the ROH Tag Champions and one-third of the ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions Dustin Rhodes went in for double knee surgery. Throw in Red Velvet, and that is four ROH titles affected by injuries at the time. That’s bad timing. The day before the PPV, Tony Khan declared both the tag and six man tag team titles vacant. Sammy Guevara will get a chance to win the tag titles with a new partner, as will the Rhodes Brothers with the Six Man Tag Titles. The Rhodes have declared Sammy as their new partner, while Sammy’s partner for the tag titles is a mystery.

Not a lot of time between PPV’s this time and a lot of injuries to champions make for a pretty ho-hum looking DBD. I anticipate the main event being great, the Fight Without Honor overdelivering, and the rest meeting expectations.