ROH TV
Episode 515
Original Air Date: July 30, 2021
Event Date: ?
City: Baltimore, MD
Venue: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (empty arena)
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Lenny Leonard, Chelsea Green (1), Caprice Coleman (2, 3)
Ring Announcer: Bobby Cruise
Intro Video
Video
At Best in the World on July 11th, Maria Kanellis Bennett announced that Lenny Leonard will be the special guest commentator during the ROH Women’s Championship Tournament. During the announcement, Chelsea Green showed up and announced that she is in Ring of Honor and will take the women’s division to the forefront of professional wrestling.
In the Studio
Quinn McKay welcomes us to the beginning of the ROH Women’s Championship Tournament. McKay also says that she has been voted into the tournament by a fan vote.
Video
A look at Miranda Alize and Alex Gracia heading into their first round match against each other.
Match 1
ROH Women’s Championship Tournament First Round Match
“The Pink Dream” Alex Gracia vs “The Lucha Baddie” Miranda Alize
(referee: Joe Mandak)
Result: Miranda Alize wins via pinfall after the Drive-By (running knee strike)
Time: 6:41 (TV time with 1 commercial break); 8:43 (official time with no break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Miranda Alize got off to a good start with some aggressive attacks, and it looked like Alex Gracia’s tournament was going to end very quickly. Gracia started to mount a comeback after a commercial break, but Alize hit some high impact moves in a nice combination that put Gracia down. Alize looked strong tonight against an opponent she knows very well.
Video
A look at Mazzerati and Nicole Savoy before their first round match in the tournament.
Match 2
ROH Women’s Championship Tournament First Round Match
Mazzerati vs Nicole Savoy
(referee: Joe Mandak)
Result: Nicole Savoy wins via pinfall with a bridging half nelson suplex
Time: 8:40 (TV time with 1 commercial break); 8:45 (official time with no break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Nicole Savoy looked a little slow to react on a few occasions, but overall she stayed in control of most of the match. Mazzerati had some nice moments and gave the former Shimmer Champion a good fight, but this felt like Savoy’s match to win or lose. As far as first round matches go, this was a good warm-up for the remainder of the tournament.
Video
A look at Rok-C and Sumie Sakai prior to their first round tournament match.
Match 3
ROH Women’s Championship Tournament First Round Match
“The Prodigy” Rok-C vs Sumie Sakai
(referee: Todd Sinclair)
Result: Rok-C wins via pinfall with a wheelbarrow victory roll
Time: 9:36
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Rok-C came into the match with a ton of confidence, but her confidence looked to be shaken when the veteran Sumie Sakai began to dominate Rok-C while essentially playing around with her. Rok-C surprised Sakai early with a nice sequence done in retaliation, but Sakai still seemed to want to humble Rok-C throughout the match. Rok-C seemed to get a little angry which led her into some traps and great counters from Sakai, but Sakai also got caught a few time when she probably should have been working harder to put Rok-C away. This was a very fun opening match that sets a nice tone for the main event of the first night of tournament action. I’m looking forward to what comes next.
Show Impressions
This was a good show. I’m happy that the women’s tournament made up the entirety of the show. I don’t think that trend will continue every week, but it was a good way to make the tournament feel important (which it is).
Match of the Night
Rok-C vs Sumie Sakai
I picked Rok-C as the person to watch early on in the ROH Women’s Division Wednesday shows, and I still think her story is going to be one of the best in the tournament. She might not win the whole thing, but the tournament is definitely going to set her up as a strong part of the division going forward in ROH.