Live Notes From Last Night’s ROH: Death Before Dishonor XIII

Credit: Mike Specian and PWInsider

I was at Death Before Dishonor in Baltimore last night. The show was really fun live. I’m not sure how it came off on camera, but we spent a lot of energy during the undercard. By the main event, the temperature in the building felt near 80 degrees with high humidity. The air was thick. From my vantage point, it looked like both Roderick and Lethal were physically exhausted near they end. They beat the holy hell out of each other and the crowd certainly appreciated their effort. The end sequences were stiff and dramatic. Truth Martini was excellent. He would get in Lethal’s ear and tell him that he was #1, that he was the champ, and that he needed to give everything he had times ten.

After the match, both men lay suppine in the ring for about four minutes. The House of Truth slowly helped Lethal to the back. Roderick did an interview with Kevin Kelly where he stated that he was not done with Lethal and would take a rematch anyplace, anytime.

The main event was polarizing. The first half of the match seemed like a series of spots without any real story to bind them together. The crowd got back into it after the flurry of strong style strikes. Some people were audibly wishing for the match to end while others were chanting that it should be a Match of the Year Candidate. By the end, the main event had made it feel like we were back at an old school 2005-era ROH show.

My other lasting impression is that Dalton Castle is exceptionally popular. He and Adam Cole got the loudest reactions of the night. Watching The Boys run over to fan Castle after the crowd chanted, “Fan up” was great. The crowd was really into the four corners survival match. Moose got a strong reaction. The Briscoes vs. RPG Vice was excellent.

The building was packed, though I don’t think the Myers Pavilion can easily sell out because there is a ton of standing room space way in the back of the arena. The bleachers on the side that run all the way to the back wall appeared full. ROH had placed flyers on all of the seats for New Japan World. There was a coupon code on the back for subscription. I imagine this was part of the deal they made with New Japan for the talent exchange. Before the show, Roderick Strong, Jay Lethal, and Dalton Castle were signing autographs and taking photos.

In the dark match, Donovan Dijak, with Truth and J. Diesel, fought Watanabe. Diesel grabbed Watanabe’s leg during a pin attempt, so Watanabe suplexed him on the floor. Dijak won a hard-hitting match with Feast Your Eyes in about six minutes.

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