ROH Death Before Dishonor was another event for the history books, with this being the second ever that Tony Khan has run for the company, and he worked hard to feature as many top stars as possible. While the build wasn't ideal for all of it because ROH doesn't have weekly television, there was enough hype heading into it.
From title matches to big grudge bouts, there were a lot of enjoyable matches and the in-ring product lived up to the expectations when fans think about ROH as a company. It's something that helped take ROH to the next stage of its journey, and while not every match was a five-star one, there were some incredible contests as well.
11 The Trust Busters vs. Cheeseburger & Eli Isom
This match didn't have much heat, mainly because there is no storyline between them, and it was simply a pre-show bout thrown out to warm up the crowd. That's exactly what they did, with all four men being talented workers, but there was nothing overly special about this.
The Trust Busters appears to be a tag team that Tony Khan likes as they have been working in AEW together, and this was all about establishing them as a duo as they got a routine victory after plenty of cheap tricks throughout.
10 Willow Nightingale vs. Allysin Kay
This was the final pre-show match out of the four, but it did not get tons of time which was a shame because Willow Nightingale was incredibly over. The fans loved her, and her fun attitude was played into throughout the match against the more serious Allysin Kay.
Kay was a great opponent for Willow as she is someone who could match her in terms of strength and power, which few can do, and that helped the match feel competitive, albeit just a little short.
9 Colt Cabana vs. Anthony Henry
This was a solid opening encounter for the event, taking place on the pre-show, with the live crowd reacting well to seeing Colt Cabana return to the ring. There weren't any major stakes here, but it was just a good classic wrestling match with a heel and a babyface telling a simple story.
Cabana added a few elements of comedy, while JD Drake tried to help Anthony Henry as much as possible, which did lead to a couple of good near falls. But ultimately, it was Cabana who secured the win with a moonsault in what was a fun back and forth match.
8 Tully Blanchard Enterprises vs. Blake Christian, Tony Deppen, & Alex Zayne
Tully Blanchard Enterprises was seemingly changed before this match as Prince Nana ended up buying him out, which was an odd call for before this. But the encounter itself was plenty of fun, with tons of action taking place throughout as this was kept at a fast pace from start to finish.
Alex Zayne was particularly impressive in this match, and while there were a few clunky moments throughout, for the most part, this was fun to watch. It was all about power vs. speed and agility, and that style of story is always entertaining when done right.
7 The Righteous (c) vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys (ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match)
The Six-Man Tag Team Championships are something that needs to be explained and built into the newer set of fans around from AEW, and that is also the case with all six men in this match. The crowd was a little quiet early on in this one, but Dalton Castle in particular did a great job of getting them invested.
He is a talented worker and that is something that pushed through here, as he worked hard to get this one going. The Boys also played their part well, taking a large amount of the offense as they continued to fight through to stay in this one as Castle helped them win the gold.
6 Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH World Championship Match)
The PPV kicked off hugely with a ROH World Championship match, and Jonathan Gresham and Claudio Castagnoli worked perfectly against each other. It was a competitive back and forth with the champion working the knee of the bigger man, while Castagnoli used his strength to his advantage.
This was much shorter than a lot of people expected, with the finish coming out of nowhere with the Ricola Bomb, but that shock finish got a great reaction. The audience was pumped to see him win, and the encounter was a lot of fun while it was around, but it could have been done with more time.
5 Samoa Joe (c) vs. Jay Lethal (ROH Television Championship Match)
Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal wasted no time in getting down to action, as it was a brawl from before the bell even rang, which was a lot of fun to see. It set the tone and throughout the encounter the audience never let slip, providing a great atmosphere to everything they did.
That was helped by Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt making their presence known, which led to some very believable near falls, which is always crucial in a tag team bout, with both men ending up looking great.
4 Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Daniel Garcia (ROH Pure Championship Match)
These are two young men that are on their way to the top of the card, and this match was perfect for them with the pure wrestling rules allowing them to simply focus on their in-ring qualities. There was just a single rope break in this entire encounter, showcasing their reversal skills which was amazing.
They brought intensity, told stories by using their respective veteran manager's submission finishers, and that helped bring some heat. But, they also didn't rush anything either, slowly building towards their bigger, more intense moments and that worked out well.
3 Mercedes Martinez (c) vs. Serena Deeb (ROH Women's World Championship Match)
The crowd reaction was relatively quiet throughout this match, but there is no doubt that Mercedes Martinez and Serena Deeb put on a clinic. The back and forth action from this match was excellent to see as they got tons of time, and the two women made the most of it.
It was a true battle of submissions, and while Martinez tried to make it focused on her power, Deeb ensured it stayed in her wheelhouse. Unfortunately for her, that's where Martinez is also confident, and that led to a brilliant technical match with both women looking great.
2 Rush vs. Dragon Lee
This was the only non-title match on the main card, and Rush and Dragon Lee went all out to prove that they didn't need one. While this match started cold, by the end the crowd was going insane for this, which was purely due to the hard work they both put in, with gritty performances and some major high-flying moves sprinkled in.
Lee put in one of the most insane table spots of all time as he hit a dive to the outside and then crashed through Rush into the table. But inside the ring, their work was just as good, with this featuring some great near falls that helped to make this match a thrilling one.
1 FTR (c) vs. The Briscoes (ROH World Tag Team Championship Two Out Of Three Falls Match)
Tony Khan made the right call by giving these two teams the chance to headline the show, and they did not disappoint at all. They built everything perfectly, not rushing spots, but adding in psychology, incredible selling, and bringing in callbacks as the match wore on throughout.
There was blood, brutal spots outside of the ring, and incredibly smart storytelling. From The Briscoes trying to hit a second Doomsday Device to the way they both could have won when the official was down, it was incredible to see, and they had the fans on their feet throughout, which closed the show perfectly with Dax Harwood nailing a Piledriver from the top turnbuckle to help FTR retain.