9 Live Observations From ROH Supercard Of Honor XV
Tony Khan labels it a "new era" and SAMOA JOE kicks that era off with a bang!
It couldn’t be understated just how big a night this was for Ring Of Honor.
Supercard Of Honor XV had been on the docket even when ROH announced, with a heavy heart, that it would pivoting from financially backed organisation to super-indie in late-2021.
Set to return almost entirely to its fiercely independent roots, ROH may not have relaunched with the game-changing zeal of 2002, but the plan to exist as a contemporary wrestling show with a legacy brand on the marquee felt pointed. Where they could run shows and pay talent, they would. But if they couldn’t, for any logical and logistical reasons, they wouldn’t. It wasn’t growth, but at least it might not have looked as in decline as it had done by comparison to the newer, fresher and almost instantly beloved All Elite Wrestling.
All good. Ish. All until, oddly enough, AEW president Tony Khan announced on the March 2nd edition of Dynamite that he’d bought the company, and followed up in the days and weeks with news that he intended to have a big hand in the management of his new purchase.
This was enormous news, not least with Supercard on the horizon. Every match took on some additional heft, especially with AEW talent peppered throughout the show. How would this all look and feel, and would it prove an end of one era, or the hastened start of a new one?
Answers to these questions and more were provided on a chaotic night in Garland, Texas…
9. Swerve Strickland Vs. Alex Zayne
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As Isiah "Swerve" Scott in NXT, Shane/Swerve Strickland was one of the most dynamic performers on a show that constantly felt like it was slipping into wet cement.
Bone dry, paced poorly with no light at the end of the physical and mental tunnel, the once-proud black-and-gold band needed the likes of Swerve to make it feel as young and relevant as it professed to be.
Perhaps the new ROH will offer him a bit of that as well? That certainly seemed to be the case here, particularly after a poisoned 'rana from the apron to the floor by Zayne that took both guys out. After beating the count, the final act took delicious shape.
Zayne levelled Swerve with double knees off the shooting star, but only found two. As did Swerve off a top rope one of his own, leading to a series of reversals and kickouts that culminated in Swerve hitting his finisher for the win. Everybody went apesh*t for almost all of this - the omens were good for the night ahead.