Women of Honor of logo.

Kelly Klein vs Mayu Iwatani – When this tournament was announced, not much was made of it on TV. They showed some highlights from first round qualifying matches and of the second round but I thought they did a poor job of telling the stories of these ladies. It really came to light when Ian Riccaboni  & Colt Cabana listed the accomplishments of Iwatani in Stardom. I know they have had more information on this tournament and the Women of Honor on YouTube but I haven’t had the time to watch it.

As for the match itself, it was a good match. Iwatani showed how good she was in that match. She seems to have a great baby face character which worked well against Klein’s bully character. Iwatani threw the kitchen sink at Klein including a double stomp followed up by a frog splash. Klein fired back after that combo. Iwatani got another near fall in the sequence. It ended though with Klein locking in a Dragon Sleeper that put out Iwatani without a tap.

Sumie Sakai vs Tenille Dashwood – I was more familiar with Sakai coming into this match because of her previous showings on the rare shows when women were on ROH since I’ve been watching on the Sinclair Networks in town. Dashwood used her size advantage early. Sakai showed some good ground work working over Dashwood’s arm with a variety of submissions involving the arm. A Missile Drop Kick only got Sakai a two count. Dashwood countered a head scissors into a power bomb. Smash Mouse (Similar to a Cross Rhodes) for another two count. German Suplex of the middle rope by Dashwood only got a two. Dashwood misses the Spot Light Kick. Sakai rolls her up for the win.

Kelly Klein vs Sumie Sakai – The match got off to a hot start with Sakai going right at Klein. Kelly turned it around somewhat quickly and used her power to toss around Sakai. The rest of the women on the roster came out and surrounded the ring. A Northern Lights Suplex by Klein got a two count. Fisherwoman’s Buster Suplex by Sakai. She misses a moonsault badly. They lock up. Sakai with a DDT for the win. I knew the result of this match but I’m still surprised. Klein’s first loss is at an odd time much like Asuka’s. Ian Riccaboni sold Sakai’s heart warming story of capping off a great career with this historic win. I’m still not sold though because her look is terrible and her in ring skills don’t make up for her lack of size like Sasha Banks. – Kevin DiFrango