Sports desk weekly rundown — ROH & Stardom
Ed: “Fans, we’ve had a busy stretch—titles defended, new challengers circling, and one joshi powerhouse lining up a unique online event. Let’s start with Ring of Honor on HonorClub.”
Gordon: “Indeed. The latest ROH TV on HonorClub gave us a clear look at where the promotion is heading after Death Before Dishonor.”
Ring of Honor — HonorClub TV (August 27, 2026)
Opening: Bandido sets the tone
- ROH World Champion Bandido opened the show with a backstage promo, addressing critics in Mexico who say the ROH World Title doesn’t matter or that he should chase other belts.
- He framed the championship as representing the people, la raza, his family, and vowed to stay World Champion “one more day, every day,” even if it means beating top names like Chris Jericho again or fellow Mexican stars.
Ed: “That’s a champion staking his claim—not just to a belt, but to what it stands for.”
ROH Women’s division: Athena’s “Forever Champion” stance
- ROH Women’s Champion Athena cut a promo declaring herself the “Forever Champion,” promising to break anyone who steps in the ring—international stars, hometown heroes, it doesn’t matter.
- She leaned into her persona as the longest‑reigning champion in modern ROH history, promising to “break another porcelain hussy” every time the crowd boos.
Gordon: “She’s not just defending a title; she’s defending a reign built on intimidation and dominance.”
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Lacey Lane
Match result: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Lacey Lane
- Stipulation: Women’s Pure Title Proving Ground Match.
- Lane attacked the leg, using a rolling death lock and forcing Purrazzo to burn a rope break.
- Purrazzo answered with a high‑stack powerbomb and transitioned repeatedly into the Fujiwara armbar.
- After a flurry of kicks and suplexes from both, Purrazzo finally grounded Lane with an exploder suplex and secured the pin.
Ed: “Lane came in with a smart game plan, but once Purrazzo locked onto that arm, the outcome felt inevitable.”
Action Andretti promo & TV Title match
Backstage promo:
- ROH TV Champion Action Andretti vowed to be “hungrier than ever,” calling himself the most dangerous man in ROH now that he holds the TV Title.
- He was joined by HOOK, Anthony Bowens, and Katsuyori Shibata, who gave him a nod of respect—signaling serious company around that belt.
Action Andretti vs. Boom Harden Match result: Action Andretti defeated Boom Harden
- Andretti honored the Code of Honor, then blindsided Harden to seize control.
- He hit a handspring kick off the apron, a tope, a pump kick, and a Falcon Arrow before finishing with Lights, Camera, Action for a decisive win.
- As Andretti left, The Rascalz appeared, eyeing the TV Title—three potential challengers lined up in one shot.
Gordon: “That’s how you frame a champion: dominant in the ring, surrounded by dangerous contenders.”
Dark Order story beat
- Evil Uno spoke about Dark Order’s “dark and winding road” and the need to bury the past.
- Preston Vance was welcomed back by Uno and Alex Reynolds, but John Silver refused, reminding everyone of Vance ripping off his “10” mask and breaking Brodie Lee Jr.’s heart years ago.
Ed: “Old wounds don’t heal easily in wrestling, especially when they involve family and legacy.”
The Beast Mortos vs. Rob Vegas
Match result: The Beast Mortos defeated Rob Vegas
- Vegas refused the Code of Honor and paid for it immediately—Mortos flattened him with a lightning‑quick pop‑up Samoan drop for the squash win.
Caprice Coleman interviews Bryan Keith
- Bryan Keith talked Texas roots, “Texas Strong Style,” and his mission as a bounty hunter willing to collect any bounty—mentioning names like Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels as the level he’s chasing.
Gordon: “A strong vignette—Keith is positioning himself as a hard‑hitting, no‑nonsense player in ROH’s future.”
Don Callis Family (Brian Cage & RPG Vice) vs. Joey Martinez, Kiran Grey & Oxx Adams
Match result: Don Callis Family defeated Joey Martinez, Kiran Grey & Oxx Adams (Beretta pinned Grey)
- RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta) were introduced as “Japanese legends.”
- Cage steamrolled Grey and Adams with power offense (Spicolli Driver, F‑5, discus lariat).
- RPG Vice hit their signature corner strikes and Strong Zero to finish Grey.
- Post‑match, Romero declared they’re coming for the ROH Tag Team Titles.
Sammy Guevara & Beast Mortos — World Title ambitions
- Sammy Guevara cut a promo with Mortos, promising LFI will reclaim the ROH Tag Titles and announcing Mortos’ challenge for the ROH World Title next week.
- Bandido had not yet accepted at the time of the episode.
Red Velvet & Zayda Steel vs. Vertvixen & Viva Van
Match result: Red Velvet & Zayda Steel defeated Vertvixen & Viva Van (Steel pinned Van)
- Velvet hit her trademark double knees and “stir it up” offense.
- Van and Vertvixen used double‑team offense and a Dragon Screw to isolate Velvet.
- Steel re‑entered, spiked Van with a spinning Killswitch, and scored the pin.
The Lethal Twist promo
- Jay Lethal, Lee Johnson, and Blake Christian—now The Lethal Twist—celebrated their gold, with Lethal calling himself ROH royalty after winning every major title in the company.
- They framed their current run as “just the beginning,” demanding that this level of success become the norm.
Bang Bang Gang vs. Premier Athletes
Match result: Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson & Ace Austin) defeated Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari) — Austin pinned Nese
- Robinson opened hot with hip tosses, leg sweeps, and a standing frog splash.
- Nese and Daivari isolated Austin, but Austin rallied with a Parkour kick, spinning back suplex, and a double Samoan drop spot.
- After Sterling’s interference backfired, Robinson hit Left Hand of God, and Austin finished with The Fold.
Ed: “ROH’s tag scene is crowded—Bang Bang Gang, RPG Vice, Lethal Twist, and LFI all hovering around the belts. That’s a lot of traffic for one highway.”
ROH news & rumors
- Bandido vs. Beast Mortos is being teased as a major upcoming ROH World Title match.
- RPG Vice are openly targeting the ROH Tag Titles, adding pressure to the division.
- The Rascalz eyeing the TV Title suggests Andretti’s first big defense may come sooner rather than later.
- Dark Order’s internal drama with Preston Vance and John Silver hints at a long‑term storyline about forgiveness and betrayal.
Stardom — promotion snapshot & current champions
Gordon: “On the other side of the globe, Stardom continues to operate as the premier joshi promotion, with a stacked championship lineup.”
Current champions
- World of Stardom Championship: Suzu Suzuki
- Wonder of Stardom Championship: Hanan
- Artist of Stardom Championship: Triangle Of Madness (Julia Hart, Skye Blue & Thekla)
- Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Neo Genesis (AZM & Miyu Amasaki)
- High Speed Championship: Yuna Mizumori
- Future of Stardom Championship: Ranna Yagami
- New Blood Tag Team Championship: Cosmic Angels (Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara)
Ed: “That’s a deep board—Stardom’s title scene is layered from rookies to world‑level main eventers.”
Stardom — H.A.T.E. Online Special Event announcement (August 27, 2026)
From Stardom’s official news page.
- Stardom announced the second H.A.T.E. Online Special Event, scheduled for September 15, 2026, streamed live on the official Stardom YouTube channel.
- The event features H.A.T.E members reading fans’ names and signing items in real time, creating a “special time” between wrestlers and fans watching from home.
- Two sessions are planned:
- First session (18:00): Featuring 刀羅ナツコ (Natsuko Tora), 上谷沙弥 (Saya Kamitani), and 渡辺桃 (Momo Watanabe).
- Second session (20:00): Featuring 琉悪夏 (Ruaka), 小波 (Konami), and 吏南 (Rina).
- Multiple tiers of “plans” (A, B, C, D) offer different signed items, photos, and special messages, with limited slots and lottery selection if demand exceeds capacity.
- The event is designed as an accessible, at‑home experience for fans who can’t attend live shows, emphasizing interaction and personalized autographs.
Gordon: “Not a match card, but a fan‑engagement initiative—Stardom is leaning hard into digital connection and exclusive perks.”
Stardom recent landscape (context)
From the promotion overview and ratings.
- Stardom continues to be rated extremely highly by fans, with an average rating above 9.3 across hundreds of votes.
- The promotion’s major annual events—5STAR Grand Prix, Cinderella Tournament, Goddesses of Stardom, Dream Queendom—anchor its calendar, while Stardom World remains the streaming hub for current and past shows.
Ed: “Even in weeks where the headlines are more about special events than big title defenses, Stardom’s foundation stays strong—top champions, high fan approval, and a busy schedule.”
wXw
Credit: wxw-wrestling.com
The first-round matches for the wXw World Tag Team Tournament have been determined
“In the current issue of wXw Shotgun, the pairings for the first round have been announced. In the knockout system, the teams will meet in the following matches:
– Greedy Souls vs. Quick & Dirty
– Hyper Active vs. Best Bros
– 10/10 Next Level vs. The Grind
– Planet Gojirah vs. Better Together”
| The first round matches for wXw Femmes Fatales have been determined |
“In the current issue of wXw Shotgun, the pairings for the first round for Femmes Fatales at the Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix have been announced. In the knockout system, the wrestlers will meet in the following matches:
– Mercedes Martinez* vs. Stephanie Maze
– Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Manami
– Kanji vs. Madison Marley
– Killer Kelly vs. Jane Nero
(*Mercedes Martinez announced last night that she has torn her cruciate ligament and will therefore not be able to compete in Femmes Fatales. We are working on a solution.)
Who is your favorite? The winner of the tournament will become the new wXw Women’s World Champion, as the Championship officially returns at Femmes Fatales.”
| First title defense of the new wXw World Tag Team Champions CSI at the Extreme Wrestling Party “CSI have been crowned the new wXw World Tag Team Champions at wXw Shortcut to the Top. But they will not compete in the World Tag Team Tournament of the wXw Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix – Nordino missed the registration and thus caused a lot of trouble for Luca de Leone. At wXw Shotgun, however, there was good news from Ben Thamer: CSI will still defend their titles at the festival. wXw World Tag Team Championship CSI (Nordino & Luca de Leone) (c) vs. Sinner and Saint (Judas Icarus & Travis Williams)” |
NOAH
Credit: cagematch.net
(30.08.2026) NOAH Lethal Odyssey Tour 2026 – Online Stream @ Kobe Sambo Hall in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
AMAKUSA, Hiroto Tsuruya & Super Crazy defeat Hiroya Namiki, Naomichi Marufuji & Yuto Koyanagi (10:21)
HAYATA defeats Black Menso-re (2:11)
Team 2000X (Jun Masaoka & Kai Fujimura) defeat Daiki Odashima & Eita (9:18)
Los Tranquilos de Japon (BUSHI, RYUSEI & Tetsuya Naito) defeat Alejandro, Dragon Bane & Katsumi Inahata (11:35)
Team 2000X (Masa Kitamiya & OZAWA) defeat Kenoh & Tetsuya Endo (12:22)
Manabu Soya defeats YO-HEY (w/Tadasuke) (13:04)
Kaito Kiyomiya, Takashi Sugiura & Yoshiki Inamura defeat Alpha Wolf, Kazuyuki Fujita & Yuki Iino (14:41)
(29.08.2026) NOAH Lethal Odyssey Tour 2026 – Online Stream @ Fukuyama Industrial Exchange Center Big Rose in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan
Eita defeats Hiroya Namiki (7:06)
Team 2000X (Masa Kitamiya & Takashi Sugiura) defeat AMAKUSA & Black Menso-re (0:04)
Team 2000X (Masa Kitamiya & Takashi Sugiura) defeat AMAKUSA & Black Menso-re (5:06)
Kenoh defeats Yuto Koyanagi (6:55)
Katsumi Inahata, Kazuyuki Fujita & Yoshiki Inamura defeat Daiki Odashima, Hiroto Tsuruya & Kaito Kiyomiya (10:32)
Los Tranquilos de Japon (BUSHI, RYUSEI & Tetsuya Naito) defeat Passionate RATEL’S (Manabu Soya & Yuki Iino) & Super Crazy (9:29)
Team 2000X (Alpha Wolf, Kai Fujimura & OZAWA) defeat Alejandro, Dragon Bane & Naomichi Marufuji (14:32)
White Raven Squad (HAYATA & Tetsuya Endo) & Yuya Susumu defeat Team 2000X (Jun Masaoka, Tadasuke & YO-HEY) (16:49)
All Japan Pro Wrestling
(29.08.2026) AJPW Nettou Summer Action Wars 2026 – Tag 7 – Online Stream @ EBARA WAVE Arena Ota in Tokyo, Japan
Shota Kofuji defeats Senor Saito (6:01)
Hyo Ogawa, Ryuki Honda, Shotaro Ashino & Yuma Aoyagi defeat Daisuke Sekimoto, Hideki Suzuki, Kuma Arashi & Ren Ayabe (10:03)
Hokuto Omori, Mochizuki Jr., MUSASHI, Rising HAYATO & Yasutaka Yano defeat Leon de Oro, Masaaki Mochizuki, Naruki Doi, Seigo Tachibana & Yuya Aoki (10:13)
Go Shiozaki defeats Suwama (14:17)
AJPW World Tag Team Title: Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) (c) defeat HAVOC (Oddyssey & Xyon) (8:53)
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Final: Seiki Yoshioka defeats Dan Tamura (20:14)
Triple Crown Title: Kento Miyahara (c) defeats Yuma Anzai (31:34)
(26.08.2026) AJPW Nettou Summer Action Wars 2026 – Tag 6 – Online Stream @ Hiroshima Industrial Hall East Exhibition Hall in Hiroshima, Japan
Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) & Yuko Miyamoto defeat Imabari Towel Mascaras, Shotaro Ashino & Tsuyoshi Okada (5:32)
Leon de Oro, Yasutaka Yano & Yuma Aoyagi defeat GuC, Hideki Suzuki & MUSASHI (7:20)
Go Shiozaki, Ren Ayabe, Seiki Yoshioka & Yuma Anzai defeat Kento Miyahara, Kuma Arashi, Ryuki Honda & Seigo Tachibana (16:37)
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Block B: Dan Tamura [7] defeats Shota Kofuji [0] (12:40)
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Block B: Naruki Doi [4] defeats Masaaki Mochizuki [7] (7:48)
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Block B: Hokuto Omori [6] defeats Yuya Aoki [6] (14:36)
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Block B Representative Decision: Dan Tamura defeats Masaaki Mochizuki (12:32)
(25.08.2026) AJPW Nettou Summer Action Wars 2026 – Tag 5 – Online Stream @ Matsuyama City General Community Center & Planned Exhibition Hall in Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Block A: Yasutaka Yano [4] defeats Rising HAYATO [4] by forfeit
GuC, Hideki Suzuki & Hokuto Omori defeat Imabari Towel Mascaras, Masaaki Mochizuki & Yuma Aoyagi (7:32)
Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) & Yuko Miyamoto defeat Kuma Arashi, Shotaro Ashino & Yuya Aoki (9:00)
Dan Tamura, Kento Miyahara & Ryuki Honda defeat Ren Ayabe, Shota Kofuji & Yuma Anzai (16:37)
Go Shiozaki defeats Yasutaka Yano (17:25)
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Block A: Leon de Oro [4] vs. MUSASHI [5] – Double Count Out (8:23)
Zennichi Junior Festival 2026 Block A: Seiki Yoshioka [6] defeats Seigo Tachibana [5] (17:08)
Power rankings
🏆 Power Rankings — (Week of Aug 24–31, 2026)
- Camaro Jackson (Territory Classic 2026 Champion) 3-0 NWA WLW
- Mercedes Mone (AEW Women’s World Champion) 2-0 AEW
- Jon Moxley (AEW Continental Champion) 2-0 AEW
- Los Tranquilos de Japon (BUSHI, RYUSEI & Tetsuya Naito (GHC Heavyweight Champion)) 2-0 NOAH
- Seiki Yoshioka 2-0 AJPW
- Go Shiozaki 2-0 AJPW
- Dan Tamura (AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion) 2-0 AJPW
- Saito Brothers (Rei & Jun) (AJPW World Tag Team Champions) & Yuko Miyamoto 2-0 AJPW
- Team 2000X (Masa Kitamiya & Takashi Sugiura) 2-0 NOAH
- Kento Miyahara 1-0 AJPW
- Saito Brothers (Rei & Jun) (AJPW World Tag Team Champions) 1-0 AJPW
- Dulce Gardenia, Soberano Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero 1-0 CMLL
- Los Infernales (Averno (World Historic Light Heavyweight Champion) & Euforia) & Soberano Jr. 1-0 CMLL
- Los Hermanos Chavez (Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja) (CMLL World Tag Team Champions, NJPW STRONG Tag Team Champions) & Soberano Jr. 1-0 CMLL
- Hokuto Omori 1-0 AJPW
- Hokuto Omori, Mochizuki Jr., MUSASHI, Rising HAYATO & Yasutaka Yano 1-0 AJPW
- Naruki Doi 1-0 AJPW
- Hyo Ogawa, Ryuki Honda (AJPW TV Six Man Tag Team Champion), Shotaro Ashino & Yuna Aoyagi 1-0 AJPW
- Go Shiozaki, Ren Ayabe, Seiki Yoshioka & Yuna Anzai 1-0 AJPW
- Leon de Oro, Yasutaka, Yano & Yuna Aoyagi 1-0 AJPW
- Leon de Oro 1-0 AJPW
- Dan Tamura (AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion), Kento Miyahara (Triple Crown Champion) & Ryuki Honda (AJPW TV Six Man Tag Team Champion) 1-0 AJPW
- White Raven Squad (HAYATA (GHC200 Champion) & Tetsuya Endo) 1-0 NOAH
- HAYATA (GHC200 Champion) NOAH 1-0 NOAH
- GuC, Hideki Suzuki, Hokuto Omori 1-0 AJPW
Sports desk closing
Gordon: “Ring of Honor is tightening its grip on post‑PPV direction—Bandido’s pride, Andretti’s hunger, tag teams jostling for position, and Mortos looming as a monstrous challenger.”
Ed: “And across the ocean, Stardom keeps its championship board stacked while experimenting with online fan experiences like the H.A.T.E special. Different approaches, same goal: keep fans invested.”
Gordon: “Stay tuned to the sports desk—these stories are just starting to unfold.”