ROH SuperCard of Honor 2023: How to Watch on FITE
It's once again time for perhaps the biggest Ring of Honor event of the year, Supercard of Honor 2023, available exclusively on FITE for international viewers!
For years, Ring of Honor has set the stage for greatness in alternative professional wrestling, standing tall and vibrant, showcasing the way the world of professional wrestling should be against the mighty corporate monoliths. Athleticism. Physicality. Honor.
Over the years, Supercard of Honor has always meant one thing to the most true blue of professional wrestling aficionados. What matches will blow the rest of the world away? What champions will stand tall? What stars will emerge? How will ROH evolve into its next form? Who will survive and thrive by the Code of Honor?
This year's Supercard of Honor is special, yet bittersweet following the untimely passing of ROH Hall of Famer Jay Briscoe in a traffic accident several months before, but in his absence Ring of Honor finds inspiration. In his legacy, ROH finds salvation. In his name, ROH and all of its talents reach for the sky, to better themselves, to entertain the audience and to achieve just a fraction of all that the mighty Jay Briscoe brought to professional wrestling, Ring of Honor and fans worldwide.
Indeed, Supercard of Honor 2023 will be the most emotional installment of an event that literally changed the trajectory for all of professional wrestling when it was first unveiled back in 2005 in Chicago. A world away in Los Angeles, the latest iteration of ROH warriors and fighters stand tall, ready to make their own names eternal before the time capsule of excellence that stands forever tall, The Supercard of Honor!
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!
Eddie Kingston and the reigning ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli really don't like each other. Now, this isn't a wink wink, nudge nudge they "don't" like each other to build up fight hype and hyperbole to make more money, but a legitimate disdain for each other that dates back to their formative years in CHIKARA, where the proud son of Yonkers, NY and the Swiss Superman first crossed paths - and that mutual dislike has festered and grown into a bonded hatred. No matter where these men went across the globe, their undying disgust for the other has only compounded exponentially.
So, it makes perfect sense they battle for the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship at Supercard of Honor. Eddie Kingston announced he was quitting AEW and immediately bounded for ROH, seeking to antagonize Claudio by announcing his intentions for the ROH title. Over the last several weeks, the rivalry, always simmering, has exploded with bad intentions for all involved.
Claudio Castagnoli has always carried himself in ROH as one of the true chessmasters of the sport, holding up the esteemed Code of Honor, but with Kingston on the other side of the ring, seeking to rip all that Castagnoli holds dear away from him, this will be nothing but a war, perhaps even a Fight without Honor. Emotions will boil over, long-held grudges will explode to the surface and live on FITE international, the fate of Ring of Honor may be changed forever.
ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP!
The Briscoe family is a Ring of Honor dynasty but now, Mark Briscoe fights alone, at least in theory. Empowered by his love for his brother Jay and his belief that he remains alongside him, Mark journeys along a new path as one of the most popular and beloved ROH veterans, seeking his first major singles championship at Supercard of Honor in Los Angeles.
To capture the ROH World Television Championship, Mark will have to out-fight someone who's brutality is enough to even make one of Delaware's favorite sons take pause. Samoa Joe is one of the definitive fighters who took Ring of Honor from a small promotion held in a South Philadelphia Recreation Center and carried it on his back into the global force it is recognized as today. One of the most successful champions in ROH history, Joe does today for the World Television Championship as he did in the mid-2000s for the World title - he legitimized it.
For Mark Briscoe, Supercard of Honor represents a connection to his brother, a man who teamed with countless times at major ROH events but also a chance to spark a new chapter, one where Mark stands triumphant over one of the most dangerous predators to ever enter a Ring of Honor ring. The hearts of the ROH fandom have to be with Briscoe here. After all, who doesn't want to see the Chicken Farmer capture his first ever ROH World Television Championship?
It would take surviving the Muscle Buster and the Coquina Clutch to do so, but if there's one person everyone should believe in when it comes to miracles, it's the master of the Froggy Boy, Mark Briscoe!
REACH FOR THE SKY!
With the passing of Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and ROH owner Tony Khan came together and agreed that it was time to crown new ROH World Tag Team Champions, setting forth a new chapter and era in ROH that sparks anew with the first-ever Reach for the Sky Ladder Match giving all the competitors involved a chance to ascend to the top of the Ladder and claim those coveted Championships for themselves.
An incredible array of tandems have arrived at Supercard of Honor, looking to seize the day and anoint themselves the new champions. Chief among them are one of the most popular teams in lucha libre history, former AEW World Tag Team Champions, Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo, the Lucha Brothers. Having conquered numerous realms and promotions, Rey and Penta seek to take to the air and utilize their aerial might to smash all opposition and claim the World Tag Team Championships for themselves.
The other teams involved are no less than extraordinary. The Kingdom, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven, led into battle by Maria Kanellis-Bennett are one of the finest teams in ROH history. Aussie Open have empowered The United Empire in New Japan Pro Wrestling and seek to change the entire face of tag team wrestling with a victory at Supercard of Honor. Former ROH World Champion RUSH and Dralistico, no strangers to the Lucha Brothers, are looking for more championships to showcase their greatness with. Then there's Top Flight, one of the most beloved, young combinations in professional wrestlers, seeking to make history by winning their first ever World Tag Team titles.
These courageous tandems will all sprint into this Ladder War, seeking to push themselves beyond the brink of sanity to claim the gold. The winners will stand upon the same hallowed ground that The Briscoes defined over the course of their legendary wars in Ring of Honor. A new chapter for Ring of Honor's tag team division launches live on FITE this Friday!
ROH WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DREAM MATCH!
Since capturing the ROH Women's World Championship from Mercedes Martinez, Athena has been leaving a path of destruction behind her against hapless opponents all across the world. It is a regular fixture of AEW Dark and Elevation broadcasts to see defeated would-be challengers carried to the back as a sneering, smiling Athena looks down upon all she's beaten down. After years of frustrations in the pro wrestling world, a truly unleashed Athena has rained down upon all with God-like vengeance, reigning above all as the champion she always expected to be.
Now, as Champion, Athena has called out international star Yuka Sakazaki to face her at Supercard of Honor. No stranger to AEW fans, Sakazaki is a decorated star, even after just a decade in the ring, as she's a three-time Princess of Princess Champion as well as a three-time Princess Tag Team Champion. Challenging Athena in Los Angeles, live on FITE, however, will be the biggest international opportunity of her life.
Sakazaki may be the Magical Girl, but she's going to have to pull every single trick out to defeat a game Athena, because if the Rocket Launcher and the High Wire dropkick can't stun and take out the Champion, it may just be a matter of time before the O-Face topples the Japanese superstar. This Friday, live on FITE, the Women's World Championship is spotlighted at Supercard of Honor!
INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT: ROH PURE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP!
Wheeler Yuta had traveled the world before finding himself in ROH. Now, as a proud member of the Blackpool Combat Club, Wheeler reigns supreme as the Ring of Honor Pure Wrestling Championship, a division that has always held a special aura for the ROH faithful as a centerpiece that showcases the pure artistry of in-ring professional wrestling, whether it be grappling, submissions or counter. With each man only allowed three rope breaks per contest, once that barrier is broken, an entire new world of inventiveness and versatility comes into play for offensive maneuvers, submissions and beyond.
Since winning the Pure Championship for the second time at Final Battle 2022, Yuta has been on a tear, defeating opposition regularly but never satisfied by even his own victories. Thus, he has challenged one of the greatest living professional wrestlers today, New Japan Pro Wrestling's Katsuyori Shibata to come to Supercard of Honor and attempt to wrest the championship from Yuta, live on FITE from Los Angeles this Friday evening.
Shibata, a former NEVER Openweight Champion who captured the New Japan Cup Tournament back in 2017, is among the most beloved members of the NJPW roster, having fought to return to the ring following a massive concussion, a journey very similar to the one underwent by former ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson. Since returning to the ring, Shibata has proven that from a mat-based, grappling standpoint, he may be one of the most dangerous and impactful competitors today - a legendary prowess that makes him perfect for Yuta to want to fight and defeat in order to make his own achievements that more legendary.
ROH has always proudly stated that it is where Wrestling Lives. No truer definition of that statement could be made when Shibata vs. Yuta, for the very first time anywhere in the world, goes down live on FITE at Supercard of Honor.
These are just some of the main event attractions that are sure to take the City of Angels all the ways to the limit this Friday as FITE fans internationally get to witness, in real time, the latest inscriptions into this new chapter of Ring of Honor, a promotion that has existed to evolve professional wrestling from 2002 through now, a mission statement that can never be completed, as Honor Lives Forever in the hearts and souls of all of its daring competitors, none of whom are ever satisfied and will always strive for an even greater professional wrestling perfection.
AAA MEGA CHAMPIONSHIP!
Lucha Libre is known as the sport of Mexico for a reason. The pageantry, drama and spectacle enlightens and captures the fans of professional wrestling like no other style can ever hope to do. This Friday at Supercard of Honor, ROH has imported perhaps what may be the most potentially influential lucha battle into the United States since Psicosis and Rey Mysterio battled in South Philadelphia's ECW Arena.
Komander, who captured the hearts and minds of fans recently on AEW Dynamite competing in an insane Face of the Revolution Ladder Match will challenge the most talked about and celebrated lucha talent in the universe, Hijio del Vikingo, the AAA Mega Champion. After destroying all expectations for a debuting talent on American television against Kenny Omega, Vikingo's next goal is to raise the stature of Lucha Libre AAA, but to do so, he'll have to successfully retain against Komander, who has been charging alongside him as the most likely international breakout prospect of 2023.
With no restrictions on the biggest weekend of the year, Ring of Honor brings yet another special international attraction to Supercard of Honor, live on FITE as Vikingo and Komander threaten to explode from high above through your devices as they take ROH, professional wrestling and FITE to the next level this Friday!
Up and down the lineup, a true, bonafide Supercard of Honor this Friday, live exclusively for international FITE fans!
Mike Johnson is the lead reporter for PWInsider.com and has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He can be found on Twitter @MikePWInsider and MikeJohnsonWrites.com.