Ring of Honor Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and ROH Highlights from March 9

Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of Ring of Honor's second episode on March 9.

This week's show featured two big title matches in addition to several other bouts including ROH regulars and some visiting talent.

Samoa Joe put his ROH Television Championship on the line against Tony Deppen; Timothy Thatcher challenged Wheeler Yuta for the ROH Pure title; and Athena defended the ROH Women's Championship against Willow Nightingale.

We also heard from Mark Briscoe regarding the future of the ROH tag team titles.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on Thursday's show.

We just saw Samoa Joe lose the TNT title to Wardlow on Sunday, so putting the ROH TV belt on the line in the opening match of this week's show made him look like a fighting champion.

Tony Deppen was his challenger and as a former TV champ himself, he was looking to regain the title and establish himself in the new ROH with a big win.

While the challenger had a lot of energy, The Samoan Submission Machine was too much to overcome during most of the contest. He laid out some stiff strikes and didn't give his opponent an inch of breathing room.

This was a hard-fought match that didn't overstay its welcome. Joe won in just under 10 minutes with a Muscle Buster. He issued a challenge after the bout was over, and Mark Briscoe arrived to answer the call.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Does Joe still deserve to be called The King of Television after he lost the TNT title?
• This bout was taped a few weeks ago, so Joe didn't actually have to defend his belts a few days apart, but the way the schedule was planned out worked in his favor. 
• The way Deppen sold the overhead kick from Joe was hilarious. 

Marcus Kross teamed up with Guillermo Rosas and Cody Chhun to take on the former ROH six-man tag champs, Dalton Castle and The Boys.

Castle was the largest competitor in the match, which means everyone else was a bit on the smaller side. That led to a fast-paced encounter, with both teams hitting multiple double- and triple-team spots.

After allowing The Boys to do a lot of the hard work for a few minutes, Castle came in hot and started throwing everyone around like rag dolls. He even threw The Boys at his opponents.

The Peacock scored the win for his team with a spinning reverse powerbomb on Rosas to cap off a solid match.

There wasn't much of a story here, but it gave Castle and The Boys a good win as they build themselves back up to challenge for the six-man titles.

Winners: Dalton Castle and The Boys

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Kross has hair that looks right out of the 1980s. It's glorious. 
• Castle is a great babyface, but his eventual heel turn is going to be great. He can play such a good jerk when he wants to. 
• The crowd loves Castle and The Boys. They could end up being a top act in this new version of ROH. 

Luther accompanied Serpentico and Angelico to the ring for their tag team match against the real-life brothers Rush and Dralístico.

Rush refused to abide by the Code of Honor when Angelico extended his hand, so there was immediately some tension between both teams.

Rush had a great exchange with Angelico, but when it was Serpentico's turn, Rush embarrassed him by no-selling all of his chops before beating him senseless.

Dralístico tagged in so the two masked men could show off their high-flying skills. It was an interesting matchup because each team had one member who favors aerial offense and one who likes a more grounded approach.

Even Luther found himself in the line of fire when the action spilled out of the ring. The longer this match went, the more personal it felt. What started as a relatively normal tag team bout turned into a physical fight.

Spanish Announce Project were able to rally and get in some offense, but Rush and Dralístico dominated most of the match before sealing the victory. They tore off Serpentico's mask after it was over.

Winners: Rush and Dralístico

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Dralístico had a cool mouth cover on his mask that he removed before the match started. It definitely added to his look. 
• Angelico is such an underrated worker because he never gets TV time in All Elite Wrestling. His technical ability is up there with the best. 
• They mentioned Dragon Lee on commentary. He signed with WWE recently and appeared on NXT this week in the crowd. 
• Rush needs to figure out how to turn the fans against him. He should be the most hated heel in the company. 

For those who are not familiar with her, Billie Starkz is only 18 years old and considered a prodigy by many.

She and Trish Adora observed the Code of Honor and started with a somewhat friendly exchange of holds and counters. The teenager had a smile on her face for a while, but that didn't last long.

Adora began to turn up the heat with attacks that were more aggressive as the match went on. Starkz kept the bout competitive, but she was the underdog the entire time.

Adora scored the win with Lariat Tubman, but both women hugged after it was over to show there were no hard feelings. This was a good performance from both women, but they definitely left room to grow.

Winner: Trish Adora

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Adora is one of the most convincing fighters in ROH. She just has that look about her that says you don't want to mess with her. 
• The scream Starkz let out when she was slammed on the apron was bloodcurdling. 
• Starkz is taller than she appears at first glance. 
• Adora's finisher always looks great. 

Man Scout and Jake Crist teamed up to take on The Trustbusters' Ari Daivari and Slim J.

Scout was trying to read a book as the match began, so Daivari easily took control.

Crist was able to gain the upper hand with a flurry of quick moves, but one missed crossbody forced him to bing Scout back in. Slim J picked up the win with an STF in less than five minutes.

This match felt more like filler than anything else. The comedy stuff in the beginning didn't hit, and there wasn't enough action to make the crowd care.

Winners: Ari Daivari and Slim J

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Man Scout is not a gimmick that is going to last long on television unless he ends up being the funniest person ever. 
• What is so special about the tank tops Daivari and Slim were wearing? The announcers made it seem like they were important. 

The most British American in pro wrestling got a shot at the ROH Pure Championship this week when Timothy Thatcher challenged Wheeler Yuta.

Yuta was forced to use one of his three rope breaks almost immediately when Thatcher took him down into an armbar.

The pure title is contested under different rules, so these matches tend to be a lot more technical than the average bout. These two men are incredibly gifted workers, so they were able to put on quite a show.

Yuta eventually found his groove and made Thatcher use two of his rope breaks to escape submissions, but he was also warned for using a closed fist to the face.

Yuta took a cheap shot with a punch while the ref had his back turned, and since he didn't have to abide by rope breaks after Thatcher used his third, the champ was able to tie him up to get the win with a submission. This was easily the Match of the Night.

Winner: Wheeler Yuta

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Every week, it seems more fans find out Thatcher isn't British, which is hilarious. His entrance music and overall look make it easy to understand why some people think he is, though. 
• Thatcher is so smooth with his transitions. He has an understanding of movement that only comes with years of experience. 
• Both men were using some heel tactics, but the crowd had no problem cheering for Yuta. 
• Thatcher's open-handed strikes looked brutal. 

Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus teamed up to take on Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher, known collectively as Aussie Open.

The match ended up being a textbook tag team bout. Both teams looked good, but it was how they actually obeyed the rules most of the time that made this stand out.

We didn't see long periods with the illegal partner in the ring, we didn't see a ton of cheating, and we didn't see the referee being made to look foolish.

The second half of the contest had a bit more double-team action as they worked toward the finish, but they still kept the mayhem within reason.

After a high-impact match that made all four competitors look tough, Aussie Open got the win.

Winners: Aussie Open

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• The announcers were making a lot of references to New Japan Pro-Wrestling during this match, which is understandable with Aussie Open involved. With Forbidden Door 2 coming up in a few months, we should expect to see more NJPW stars showing up in ROH and AEW soon. 
• "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams is such a great name for a pro wrestler. 
• Davis was leaving marks with some of his chops. He was not holding back. 

Ben Dejo didn't get a televised entrance, so it was pretty clear what was going to happen before the ref even called for the bell.

Dejo made the mistake of trying to chop Eddie Kingston, so the brawler cornered him for some rapid-fire chips before hitting a back fist for the win. This was the closest thing to a squash match that we have seen during the first two weeks of ROH TV.

Kingston called out Claudio Castagnoli and demanded a world title shot, but the champ had no interest in accepting.

Winner: Eddie Kingston

Grade: Incomplete

Notable Moments and Observations

• Kingston's entrance music fits him perfectly. 
• Castagnoli calling Kingston "Edward" was funny. 

Willow Nightingale and Athena both had an opportunity to cut promos before the main event for the ROH Women's Championship.

They had the last 20 minutes of the show, so there was plenty of time to feel each other out and pose a little for the crowd as they exchanged a series of takedowns.

Athena began to control the pace and dished out some stiff strikes. Despite being the smaller competitor, she was definitely the aggressor.

This was one of the most physical matches of the night and the crowd gave a lot of positive reactions. Yuta vs. Thatcher may have been the Match of the Night from a technical perspective, but this bout had more theatrics to it.

Willow did an excellent job selling for The Fallen Goddess and making her look like a dominant champion, and Athena played the heel to perfection. This was worthy of the main event spot.

After weathering the storm from Nightingale, Athena was able to retain her title to end the show on a high note.

Winner: Athena

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Athena turned into Gollum for a second when she was talking about her previous title. 
• The ring jacket the champion wore was cool and looked like it would be easier to travel with than her old winged jacket. 
• Sticking your fingers in someone else's mouth should be just as illegal as a low blow. 
• Some of Athena's strikes had some real impact behind them. 
• Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are an outstanding commentary team. They add so many little things that make it easier to follow the show such as explaining that ROH has a 20-count, rather than a 10-count.