ROH Death Before Dishonor 2024 Review

Athena and Billie Starkz were imposed with a duo of Queen Aminata and Red Velvet for their respective championships, Mark Briscoe and Roderick Strong revisited history with the ROH World Championship on the line, and Atlantis Jr. was met with a plethora of threats for the ROH Television Championship. Much more happened in ROH’s latest pay-per-view from E-Sports Stadium in Arlington, Texas and everything will be reviewed in this article.

Singles Match: Komander w/Alex Abrahantes vs. The Beast Mortos

The Beast Mortos def. Komander by pinfall in 13:31

The chemistry was great between these luchadors, but there was a mild feeling of holding back from going even crazier. Maybe I’m typecasted to lucha wrestling a lot, but both men have the potential to show out better than what was done here. As much as I enjoy the work of Komander all over AEW & ROH, Beast Mortos needed this win more as the freshly brewed beast of the roster.

Rating: 3.5/5

ROH World Tag Team Championships Match: The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) [C] vs. The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii)

The Undisputed Kingdom (Mike Bennett def. Kyle O’Reilly by pinfall) retained the titles in 19:41

As light-headed as the storyline’s impact was, the in-ring performance saved this match from being another lame attempt to put the tag champions in the PPV. Kyle & Ishii worked excellently as a duo and inflicted an intense dose of offense on the heels. On the other hand, Kingdom worked its way to shine the brightest in a while until the dusty finish. I’m not sure of the next steps in this brewing enmity between the Don Callis Family/The Conglomeration that ruined the ending of an otherwise awesome match.

Rating: 4/5

Texas Death Match: “Legit” Leyla Hirsch vs. Diamanté

Leyla Hirsch knocked out Diamanté in 15:41

This was a great encounter that worked as a proving ground for both women to scale up in the roster. From the start, the treatment of two badass women reaching the high district of hardcore action suited their caliber and elevated them to a more formidable stature than before. Even though the execution of spots took time, it was a wild collection of weapons and crazy moments that encapsulated the stipulation’s ideology.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pure Rules Match for the ROH Pure Wrestling Championship: Wheeler Yuta [C] vs. Lee Moriarty

Lee Moriarty won the title by pinning Wheeler Yuta in 19:56

Finally, the Pure Wrestling division met a hard reset with a brand-new champion! No disrespect to Yuta and his work as the champ, but his injuries fared the worst out of this reign by barely making it to any show of ROH for the past six months. Nonetheless, the quality was never in doubt as both men proved time after time that they’re some of the best budding technicians in the field currently. The utilization of Pure Rules was masterfully done, especially during the finishing stretch that suited Moriarty’s edginess to win the title and bolster his standard as a prominent figure in the brand.

Rating: 4.5/5

ROH Women’s World Television Championship Match: Billie Starkz [C] vs. Red Velvet

Red Velvet pinned Billie Starkz to win the title in 14:56

Probably, this was the best match of Velvet’s career and the credit goes to her time spent in ROH to evolve both as an in-ring talent and as a character. The same can be said for Billie after doing the same but more quickly and attractively. Coming off the coattails of the hottest act of ROH, the ladies weren’t ready to take a step back for the hugely pictured story. Their chemistry was great making this match a treat of rising stars proving who’s the better of both. With the neck injury fakeout, I’m glad that Velvet was presented as a smart babyface to not buy into the action which made her victory more convincing. For someone who’s been hustling so long, this was a well-deserved podium finish for Velvet so that Billie could be upscaled to a newer and bigger stage.

Rating: 4/5

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships Eliminator Match: Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs (Marshall Von Erich & Ross Von Erich) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver & Alex Reynolds)

Dustin Rhodes pinned Alex Reynolds for the victory in 14:24

For a story that was worked at the last minute, this was a fun way of including nostalgic plug-ins to the show. Dustin and Uno are severely undermined in AEW’s deep roster, and utilizing them in a platform like ROH fares the better for both. Adding in the younger generation of the Von Erich bloodline was a nice way to polish them for the bigger picture despite having a lot of areas to construct and refine. Dark Order was a rad group of sick heels that were psychotic and worked well in seeking huge levels of heat. Considering the opponents in line for the gold, Dustin & Von Erichs’ win made sense, but I would’ve loved to see Dark Order reaping benefits for their work so far.

Rating: 3/5

Survival Of The Fittest Match for the ROH World Television Championship: Atlantis Jr. [C] vs. Brian Cage vs. Lio Rush vs. Shane Taylor vs. Lee Johnson vs. Johnny TV

Atlantis Jr. survived last to retain the title in 19:11

I don’t get the reason why Fletcher was made to drop the TV Title on a sudden CMLL show when this show was around the corner to make that alliance stronger. To add, I’m not as interested in Atlantis Jr. even though the name is historically high in the Mexican wrestling scene. Following the build of the competitors ahead of this battle, my money was on Shane Taylor so that STP could be reformed as a force to reckon with, but there were different plans in store. The clear favorites being eliminated too early hurt this match on a major scale as they brought the best for a strong core to lead a lackluster final stretch. No disrespect to the caliber, but John and Cage were treated as canon fodder to the more important names and Atlantis didn’t feel like one.

Rating: 3.75/5 (only because of the exciting first half)

ROH Women’s World Championship Match: Athena [C] vs. Queen Aminata

Athena pinned Queen Aminata to retain the title in 20:15

Similar to Velvet, this is the best showcase of Aminata in her short rise to prominence in the roster. The major credit goes to the champion herself, Athena for lighting a fire in the challenger’s heart to flesh out as a hungry prospect who proved to be ready for the step-up. Since it was a slow burn, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the action was stiff and gruesome. Athena as the homecoming lass emitted the opposite reaction to her work on Aminata, opening a shadow of nervousness in Aminata’s retaliation phase. The finish didn’t sit well initially, but after sinking the teeth in, it feels like a poetic work between Athena and Billie is in the making.

Rating: 4.25/5

ROH World Championship Match: Mark Briscoe [C] vs. Roderick Strong

Mark Briscoe pinned Roderick Strong to retain the title at 19:31

Despite receiving a short time and attention in the mainstream broadcast, this rivalry crunched in a lot of history between these two and their journey to where they are currently. Harkening back to the nostalgic significance, this match had a wild atmosphere, unlike the rest of the card from the get-go. Both men fought tooth and nail, blistered heavy strikes, and even led to a crimson mask endorsed by the champion. Strong thrived and delivered his best showing in a long time while Briscoe’s adored character played so well in eyeing him as a fantabulous underdog. Even though the interferences were a bit much, it didn’t shy away from the fact that it’s far from over.

Rating: 4.25/5

Overall Match Rating: 3.75/5 Overall Show Rating: 8/10

Match of the Night: Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty Highlight of the Night: Classic main event Weak Link of the Night: N/A

Overall Thoughts

This was another successful PPV under the banner of Ring of Honor, which has been a recurring theme even though the weekly show on HonorClub is barely prominent. The answers to some of the major questions in AEW’s booking decisions are right here, especially cementing the primary champions as strong frontrunners for wrestling fans to sink their teeth and follow up constantly. Even, the structure and the pacing served better for the PPV and the more compact atmosphere was the cherry on the cake’s top. If this momentum was maintained and somehow factored in its way to enhance the flaws in AEW, ROH would become its old self of being sought after by all generations of fans.

What are your thoughts on this pay-per-view? Leave a rating and chime your thoughts in the comments section below.

Until next time, enjoy wrestling and life!