Mark and Jupi review Ring of Honor Ep 12 5/18/23 (Women's Matches)

 By Mark Rodriguez and Ninja Jupi

Ring of Honor is back to having weekly shows, though they are on the Ring of Honor app under the Honor Club. After seeing a few episodes, we realized that they have more than one Women's Match every week and there are a lot of familiar faces. With AEW Dark and AEW Dark Elevation now gone, Jupi and I will give our thoughts on the matches. It might not be every week, but we'll try to go for at least once a month or if someone notable shows up. This time we got Willow in action as well as Lady Frost and the return of Mercedes Martinez.

Match 1- Madi Wrenkowski VS Willow Nightingale

Willow started off strong, nearly destroying Madi with a diving senton. Madi managed to get Willow's head in a leglock while she hung off the ropes, gaining control of the match. She managed to wrap the ring apron's covering around Willow's head and land some cheap shots across the back. She tried to get Willow in a hold, but this is when her opponent was able to power out of it and start getting Madi into some powerful slams. Willow went for a power bomb which Madi countered with a facebuster. Madi tried to go for a thrust kick but Willow shoved her into next week with The Pounce. She grabbed Madi with the Doctor Bomb and won the match.

Mark's thoughts-

Pretty fun match and Madi's debut in Ring of Honor. Here's hoping Miss Reality becomes a regular. Willow is the favorite of course, full of joy and intensity. She got to show off her power moves but it was great to see Madi get some offense as well, like the facebuster counter and taunting the crowd. Good match and Willow is now on a six-win streak in Ring of Honor!

Jupi's thoughts-

When Madi grabbed Willow from behind. I laughed a little because it did look funny. It was like Willow was trying to dance her way out of it. “Hey, Willow is trying to Cabbage Patch her way out of Madi’s hold.” At one point, Madi had Willow on the rope, hanging from her with her legs wrapped around her neck.  I was like, “DANG!”  It was unexpected. 

In the end, the straps came down and Willow used her Doctor Bomb, giving her the win! She now has a 6-0 ROH streak.  Let’s see how this will work in her favor in the future. Will she continue this streak and if she does lose, who will break it? I personally really like Willow and always look forward to seeing her in the ring. I just hate that I couldn’t see her at a live show.

Match 2- Lady Frost VS Miranda Alize

Miranda started the match coming in hot with a loud cracking kick to the ribs and biting into Lady Frost's hand. She also nailed Frost with a Butterfly Suplex. Miranda started talking trash which Frost shut down with a knee to the face. She followed up with a running kick and then a handspring cannonball while Miranda was up against the ropes. Miranda slams Frost with a Tiger Driver and goes for the pin but couldn't keep her down. Miranda went for another slam but Frost managed to kick her in the midsection and regain control. Lady Frost went in for a cartwheel and grabbed Miranda in a backwards slam. She then went for the ropes and landed on Miranda with the Temperature Drop. She pinned Miranda and won the match!

Mark's Thoughts-

This was a fun match full of intense moves and power slams. Miranda got to show off her repertoire with moves like the Butterfly Suplex and the Tiger Driver. Lady Frost also held her ground and had some cool moves. Having seen her on Ring of Honor a few times, it was nice to see Lady Frost score the win. I've already been following her for a bit in the indies and we actually got to see Frost wrestle live against Athena a few weeks ago with Johnny and Jupi. Obviously Lady Frost had much better luck against Miranda than she did against the current RoH champ.  I've seen Miranda wrestle in the indies as well (especially Rise Women's Wrestling), but I do like the Frost gimmick a little more.

Jupi's Thoughts-

Before I could barely pick up my pen to takes notes after both were in the ring, things started up fast!  Alize came in fast and was very aggressive. She was even biting Frost’s hand!  Alize even blew a kiss to the camera in a “Yeah, I know I’m awesome” type of way right before suplexing Frost for a pin, who kicked out. Frost did eventually get back into the game by showing off that athleticism and gymnastic ability that I’m sure most who have seen her will recognize her for.

It was fun seeing this match as the last time I saw Lady Frost was a while ago with Mark and Johnny. I’d forgotten how much of a gymnast she was. That aside, this match with Alize was nuts!

Match 3- Ashley D'Amboise VS Mercedes Martinez

The match started with a technical back and forth between the competitors as Mercedes had to fight her way out of Ashley's headscissors. Mercedes managed to slam Ashley with two consecutive rolling suplexes and using a delayed vertical suplex as the third. Ashley hit Mercedes with a Rolling Neckbreaker which got her back in control. She tried to pick up the former RoH Women's champ in a Firewoman's Carry but Mercedes got her with a Spinebuster. Mercedes went for the Fisherwoman Suplex but Ashley reversed it into an Inside Cradle Pin, but couldn't keep her down. 

Ashley starts hitting Mercedes repeatedly, culminating with a running elbow to the back of the head. As Mercedes was dazed, Ashley got her in the Firewoman's Carry and slammed her with the Death Valley Driver. Mercedes manages to kick out. Ashley goes for another attempt but Mercedes grabs her and smashes her with the Curb Stomp. She then grabs her in the Brass City Sleeper and makes her tap. Mercedes wins the match.

Mark's Thoughts-

Pretty awesome match to welcome Mercedes back to the ring after returning from injury. There were a lot of cool moves in this match and Ashley did a great job keeping up with Mercedes and giving her a decent fight. I liked how she put extra emphasis on the Death Valley Driver which gave it that much more of an impact when she slammed the former champ down. Mercedes didn't miss a beat with her power moves so it looks like she's back to 100%. Seeing that Athena beat her for the title and is still current champ, I do wonder what will happen if those two cross paths. 

Jupi's Thoughts-

Mercedes came across really strong, which I found impressive as someone fairly new to ROH and AEW compared to other wrestling fans. Mercedes at one point kept swinging at Ashley! She was tiring me out just watching! It was like Mercedes was saying, “I’m back, and I’m going to retake my spot at the top! Athena will be mine!”  Well, that’s how I viewed this match anyway.  Even Mercedes’ chops and slaps were strong! She had to shake her hand out a few times. Ashley did make a comeback with chops of her own and used her “Death Valley Driver”, which looked cool, but in the end, she lost to the painful looking “Brass City Sleeper” and tapped out. 

This match was good for both, I feel. Neither looked particularly weak to me and for a comeback match, Mercedes proved herself. I’m glad for that because I missed out on her prior to her absence due to injury.  Here’s hoping to seeing more of Mercedes in the future.

Mark's Final Thoughts-

Pretty good show and some fun matches. Willow got to show off her usual intensity and positive energy she brings to the ring. We got to see Lady Frost score an impressive win, and we also saw the retuning Mercedes Martinez. Lots of impressive moves and a fun night overall. I don't think we've seen Athena set her eye on a particular opponent recently, the way she did with Yuka Sakazaki not that long ago... so I do wonder if either Willow or Mercedes will be getting a rematch down the line.

Jupi's Final Thoughts-

The women’s matches for this episode of ROH were fun to watch and had different intensities. The first match with Willow was very low key, a bit slow paced and such.  A good starter.  The match with Lady Frost had high energy and kept me hyped. The final match was like a slight cooldown from the second match. It’s like a workout. Warm up, high intense workout, and then the cooldown.  Out of the three matches, I liked the Lady Frost vs Miranda Alize one best. It had me the most engaged and curious. I look forward to watching again. Women’s wrestling stateside has come such a long way…still behind Joushi wrestling, but still enjoyable. 😊

-Back to Mark to wrap things up-

Ring of Honor has been bringing us some great Women's Matches so we'll do out best to cover them. They probably won't be every week, unless something epic happens, but we will shoot for the very least once a month. Stay tuned as we continue to enjoy the revival of Ring of Honor.