Location: Baltimore, Maryland
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The Big Takeaway --
The ROH Women's World Championship tournament kicked off with three competitive and diverse matches.
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Quinn McKay welcomed us to the broadcast and seemed more ecstatic than usual, which was due to the fact that this week’s episode of TV marks the start of the Women’s World Championship tournament.
McKay then previewed the three first round matches that we’ll see tonight. They are: Miranda Alize vs. Alex Gracia, Mazzerati vs. Nicole Savoy, and Sumie Sakai vs. Rok-C.
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Miranda Alize defeated Alex Gracia (8:43)
Chelsea Green joined commentary for this bout.
Alize and Gracia exchanged a few different holds and attempts at moves but eventually came to a stalemate. The lucha-based styles of both women led to a few fun air-based maneuvers, but the two couldn’t seem to connect chemistry wise.
After a short commercial break, Alize and Gracia exchanged some stiff strikes and even a few headbutts. Gracia laid in a few really good chops in this match. Alize started growing frustrated with Gracia’s constant comebacks and eventually hit her signature Drive By knee strike for the win.
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Nicole Savoy defeated Mazzerati (8:45)
Mazzerati tried to talk big, but Savoy straight up outwrestled her in the first portion of the match. Savoy used her usual wrestling tactics that are submission based, leading to commentary comparing her to Jonathan Gresham.
These two seemed to have much better chemistry than Alize/Gracia. Savoy would attempt her signature half nelson suplex multiple times, but Mazzerati had a counter for it every time.
That didn’t stop the “Queen Of Suplexes” from hitting some, well, suplexes. Savoy hit a beautiful butterfly suplex, which led Mazzerati to counter with a Northern Lights suplex.
Mazzerati got some more great offense in during the home stretch, nailing Savoy with a stiff superkick. Savoy was able to recover and duck a few kicks from Mazzerati before eventually trapping her in a half-nelson suplex for the win.
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Rok-C defeated Sumie Sakai (9:36)
Sakai overwhelmed Rok-C with a flurry of offense early on, but Rok-C regained her confidence rather quickly and was able to reverse the momentum back in her favor.
Rok-C’s offense is so smooth and rhythmic that it reminds me of Sasha Banks. Her offensive style is very similar to Banks as well. She continued her momentum and nailed Sakai with a pair of double knees in the corner into a commercial break.
When the broadcast returned, Sakai was in full control. She targeted the lower back of the self proclaimed “Prodigy” and even showboated a little bit. Sakai went to the top rope to try and capitalize on her momentum, but Rok-C nailed her with two kicks to the head. Rok-C would follow it up with a top rope flip into a close near fall on Sakai.
Lots of near falls ensued in the following minutes, including a couple of phenomenal roll-up near falls. Rok-C would eventually get the better of Sakai and successfully complete a roll-up for a three count.
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Final Thoughts: I thought this was a fun and exciting three-match lineup to kick off the ROH Women’s World Championship tournament. Rok-C and Sumie Sakai delivered a home run, while the other two bouts delivered an RBI. I’m very happy that ROH is focusing on younger stars like Rok-C and giving them big and meaningful wins over veterans like Sakai.
n recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of ROH TV is worth your while. The scale is as follows:
- Must-Watch TV
- Go Out Of Your Way
- Recommended Viewing
- Watch YouTube Clips
- Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is:
Go Out Of Your Way
really enjoyed Rok-C vs Sumie especially, that was fucking great
