Ring of Honor Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and ROH Highlights from May 11

Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of Ring of Honor Wrestling on May 11.

ROH is keeping with the trend of featuring regular title matches by having two different championships defended on this week's show.

Not only did we see Black Christian challenge Samoa Joe for the ROH TV title, but we also saw Athena put her ROH Women's Championship on the line against Skye Blue.

As usual, a lot of matches were packed into less than two hours of screen time, so we have a lot to get through.

Let's take a look at everything that happened on Thursday's episode of ROH TV.

The first match of the night featured two men who have been important to both eras of Ring of Honor, Mark Briscoe and Shane Taylor.

Both of these guys are known for being fighters who take it right to their opponents, so they didn't waste any time making this a competitive fight.

One of Taylor's biggest attributes is his surprising quickness. He is twice the size of Briscoe, but he was keeping up with the chicken farmer every step of the way.

Jay Briscoe's presence still feels strong whenever Mark wrestles, especially when he sets up the Jay Driller. Even though it hasn't been that long since his passing, Mark's ability to cope and keep moving forward while continuing to honor his brother's legacy has made it so much easier for many of Jay's fans to do the same.

The fact that he was able to get someone the size of Taylor up for the Jay Driller is one of many reasons why Mark is one of those guys you should never underestimate. He may not seem serious sometimes, but he is as real a wrestling talent as anyone in ROH or any promotion.

These two worked well together in their first singles encounter. After the match, they ended up embracing instead of just shaking hands.

Winner: Mark Briscoe

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Taylor's trash-talk was brutal, but Mark didn't let it get to him. 
• All of the little grunts and noises Mark makes add to his whole image. The Redneck Kung-Fu is always fun to watch. 
• These guys were really teeing off on each other. Mark's chops were stiff, but some of Taylor's punches looked so good that they didn't even look like worked strikes, and that made it so much more fun. 
• Mark constantly using a chair for a springboard feels appropriate because he and Sabu have similar devil-may-care styles. 

The Blackpool Combat Club was represented on this week's show when Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta battled Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus in tag team action.

While the BCC controlled a slight majority of the action, Titus and Williams were not here to play jobbers. This was much more competitive than expected, which is great because Williams and Titus have been regular fixtures since ROH returned to TV and deserve to be seen as a formidable duo on this brand.

If this were on AEW Rampage, The Swiss Superman probably would have destroyed both guys with uppercuts before Yuta locked in a submission for a quick win. Thankfully, that is not what we got here.

Yuta took the low road with a poke to the eye before hitting a splash with an assist from Castagnoli for the pin and the win.

Winners: Castagnoli and Yuta

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman always add so much to every match they call, but finding a third man for the booth in Nigel McGuinness has added so much legitimacy to the team because of his lauded career as a competitor. 
• The chop block Yuta hit looked pretty painful for Williams, but he didn't seem to show any signs of injury, so he must just be good at selling blind moves like that. 
• That assisted splash in the corner is such a classic tag team finisher, and that is kind of why it's perfect for Yuta and Castagnoli.
• The handshake Yura and Castagnoli did was pretty funny.  

Samoa Joe has been regularly defending his TV title since he won it almost 400 days ago, and he added another defense to his record this week when he faced Christian.

The crowd was fully behind the challenger with chants of "All Heart" during the first couple of minutes. He used his speed to put his much larger opponent on defense almost immediately.

Christian put most of his focus on Joe's left leg, but once the champ was able to regain his composure, he slowed the pace down and started making Christian fight his kind of match.

This wasn't a very long bout, but it gave both guys a fair chance to show off their particular sets of skills. Christian continues to impress with each outing, so it wouldn't be shocking to see him get an opportunity at another title soon.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• The 619 through the bottom rope to hit Joe's leg was a nice little spot. 
• Joe's powerslam is right up there with Dustin Rhodes' and Randy Orton's. All three of those guys hit the move smoother than anyone else. 
• Christian vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the Pure Championship sounds like fun. Are you listening, Tony Khan?

MJF's most successful opponent was in action Thursday night when Shawn Dean and his tag team partner, Charlie Bravo, took on Vincent and Dutch, known collectively as The Righteous.

Ian and Caprice made sure to reference The Righteous' feud with The Dark Order as Vincent and Dean kicked things off with a fast-paced exchange of takedowns. The Captain hit a few nice arm drags and a dropkick before bringing in Bravo for a quick double-team sequence.

Stu Grayson appeared on the ramp to watch the action, and his presence seemed to light a fire under Dutch. The Righteous predictably won the match, but what happened after it was over is what really matters.

Vincent and Dutch walked right up to Grayson and treated him as if he was a friend, which only seemed to perplex Grayson further.

Even though the match was less important to the ongoing story than what came after, a few more minutes and these two teams could have stolen the show this week.

Winners: The Righteous

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• When Dutch is just kind of standing there holding his suspenders and smiling, he gives off the same vibe as John Goodman's crooked one-eyed bible salesman in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. 
• Dean and Bravo have incredible chemistry as partners. They have so many similar attributes, but you can still see their individual styles shine through when they are in the ring. 
• The more intimate atmosphere of filming the show at the usual studio is so much better than half-empty arenas on the road. It makes hearing so much of what happens in the ring part of the show instead of a byproduct of half the crowd leaving early. 

Robyn Renegade was back in action this week against someone who has been impressive in recent showings in both ROH and AEW, VertVixen.

Both of these women are on the taller side, and neither appeared to have a significant speed or strength advantage, so it felt like an evenly matched fight.

However, the fight itself wasn't exactly even. Renegade definitely dominated most of the match before eventually scoring the win. She showed a lot of aggression in this performance and came out looking better on the other end, which is always the goal.

Winner: Robyn Renegade

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Why does it seem like Robyn is always the one getting singles matches? Is Charlette injured? She seemed fine while walking around at ringside. 
• Some of the kicks Renegade was hitting were brutal. VertVixen sold everything well.  

A Battle of the Macks took place on this week's show when Willie Mack and Ninja Mack squared off, much to the delight of the crowd.

Chants of "Let's go Mack" began the match as both men tried to feel each other out and decide what kind of offense they wanted to use on each other.

Willie established his dominance early with several big slams in a row while keeping his grip on his opponent. When Ninja tried to pick up the pace, Willie was right there with him step for step.

The great thing about a match like this is that even though Ninja appears to have the speed and agility advantage, Willie being just as capable of hitting all of those high spots makes everything twice as fun.

There were so many impressive spots in this match that trying to highlight anything specific would be impossible. Just go see this one if you can. It's highly enjoyable.

Winner: Willie Mack

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Can you imagine if some of the wrestlers from the '80s who had the build of Mack were doing the kinds of things he can do? Pro wrestling would look so different today. 
• The powerbomb Willie used to win shook the whole ring.  

The ROH six-man champs were finally back in action as a unit after weeks of Brian Cage working singles matches. Victor Benjamin, Lucky Ali and Adam Priest were their victims for the week.

Sorry, we mean opponents.

Kaun, Toa Liona and The Machine are as dominant as you could want, but this wasn't a total squash. Priest, Benjamin and Ali did manage to get in a little bit of offense, but it wasn't much in the grand scheme of things.

One-sided fights are sometimes necessary for pro wrestling. Back-and-forth fights are more enjoyable most of the time, but sometimes you just have to book a group like The Embassy to bulldoze over everyone in their path. This is one of those times. It might not have been a great match, but it was the right booking decision.

The Embassy scored an easy victory, but it looks like Dalton Castle has his sights set on the titles again after a backstage interaction from earlier in the show.

Winners: The Embassy

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• McGuinness started to turn into a British gangster during this match. He may as well have said, "Snitches get stitches."
• The way Liona hits people is so ugly but in the best possible way. It looks like he is putting people in the hospital with some of his strikes. 
• It's so great to see Castle back on ROH TV. He should be a big part of this brand. 

Before he goes after Orange Cassidy's International Championship in AEW, Kyle Fletcher had a chance to flex his skills as a singles wrestler this week against Tony Deppen.

Mark Davis was at ringside to support his Aussie Open partner. Deppen is not one to be intimidated and took the fight right to the IWGP tag team champion.

Fletcher was able to withstand some of his best shots, so Deppen relied on a poke to the eye at one point.

Both of these guys can go 100 mph anytime they want, so this match had more than one fast-paced exchange that showed off their different styles.

It really felt like this bout was designed to make Fletcher look like a threat as a singles star, and it worked. Deppen looked great, too, but the young gun of Aussie Open put him away with a modified Michinoku driver for the win.

The finish ended up being the only hiccup in this match. It was hard to tell if Deppen just tried to kick out too late and the ref called an audible or if that was what was supposed to happen, but either way, it looked awkward.

Winner: Kyle Fletcher

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Fletcher's size is so deceptive. He's taller than he looks, so it's easy to underestimate how much muscle he has, too. 
• The sequence of suplex reversals looked smooth. 
• For some reason, Davis wearing a hat and shirt at ringside made him look like a coach, especially when you could occasionally see him giving Fletcher instructions. 
• Fletcher just asking Deppen to keep hitting him a few times was great.  

The Workhorsemen's Anthony Henry took on AR Fox in one of the later matches on this week's show. Much to the surprise of the announcers, Henry obeyed the Code of Honor and shook Fox's hand.

JD Drake played a role in this match almost immediately by distracting Fox so Henry could attempt a roll-up from behind, but the veteran performer was wise to it.

The pace of this bout was quick right up until the point when Henry hit a piledriver on the apron. Fox struggled to beat the count back into the ring, but Henry didn't let that slow him down.

Both men came close to winning more than once while putting on a physical performance that saw them use just about everything they had in their respective playbooks.

Fox took a few opportunities to go after Drake at ringside before he scored the victory with a textbook 450 splash. It can be hard to pick the Match of the Week on ROH sometimes because there are multiple candidates. This is one of those weeks, and this is one of those matches.

Henry and Drake attacked Fox after the match, and Taylor came out to join them in the beatdown. FTR's music hit, and they made their way to the ring to even the odds and brawl with The Workhorsemen and Taylor.

As Henry tried to make an exit up the ramp, Eddie Kingston showed up and drove him back to the ring to take The Big Rig from FTR to pop the crowd.

Winner: AR Fox

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• The apron piledriver is one of those spots that look so risky. They pulled it off well. 
• Trying to milk a 20-count until the last second can't be easy. Fox had to pretend to struggle for so long just for that moment when he beats the count to pop the crowd. 
• The brainbuster is one of those moves that has been soft-banned in other promotions, so seeing someone take multiple brainbusters in a row is probably new for some fans who are just now getting into ROH. 
• Drake was used just enough. His presence did not take away from what was going on in the ring, but he still helped his partner once or twice.   

Josh Woods and Evil Uno started for their teams in this huge eight-man tag team match. The Dark Order consisted of Uno, Grayson, Alex Reynolds and John Silver. The Opposing team included Slim J, Sonny Kiss, Woods and Jeeves Kay.

Ari Daivari and Mark Sterling were at ringside, so they would occasionally make their presence known by distracting whichever member of The Dark Order was in the ring.

Grayson seemed fine and competed with the same energy he always has, but the announcers made sure to remind us about what happened with The Righteous earlier in the night. McGuinness seemed to think Grayson is already going to side with The Righteous in all of this.

With eight competitors, there was a lot to follow in this match. They did a decent job making sure we always knew who was legal, and that is not something you can say about every eight-man tag match.

The Dark Order scored the win after all four men hit Slim J with a series of moves. Grayson ended up looking in from outside the ring as his team celebrated. He looked confused, even though he could have just gotten back in the ring to celebrate with them.

Winners: The Dark Order

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• The announcers do a great job making sure Sonny's preferred pronouns are used. 
• It has to be a little weird to wrestle in a leather vest like Uno does sometimes. 
• That whole finishing sequence from The Dark Order ruled. Slim sold it perfectly, and all four DO members had a chance to shine.   

Athena was looking to extend her title reign and her winning streak in ROH when she put the Women's World Championship on the line against Blue.

These two have been at each other's throats, but they both adhered to the Code of Honor before the ref called for the bell.

The match started off clean, but as soon as they took it out of the ring, Athena set up the steel steps to use against her opponent. Blue reversed the momentum and sent the champ head-first into the steps.

Athena is known as one of the biggest badasses in ROH thanks to this run, but she made sure her opponent had plenty of opportunities to look like a tough competitor. Blue is young and still building her career, but matches like this will go a long way toward convincing the powers that be to take more chances on her.

Not only did they earn their spot in the main event with this performance, but they made great use of all of the time they were given so that both of them came away from this looking great.

Not only did Blue survive a powerbomb on to the steel steps, but she kicked out at one and appeared to have found her second wind, but Athena quickly grounded her in a submission and forced her to tap out after a long fight.

Forget what we said about the Match of the Night earlier. This one gets that distinction.

Winner: Athena

Grade: A

Notable Moments and Observations

• Whenever someone does a hurricanrana and doesn't lock their ankles behind their opponent's head, or at least come close, it looks weird if the other person sells it. 
• Having defined rules is great, but sometimes allowing the ref to have discretion on when they will use countouts and DQs can improve a match. This bout felt like the right time for the ref to do that kind of thing because of the stakes, so it didn't feel out of place when they stretched the rules. 
• The multiple rolling inside cradles spot is not as easy as it looks. The one we saw in this match was great. 
• The sound from the crowd before Blue took a powerbomb on to the stairs was wild. You could hear an entire audience express fear all at once.  

The past few episodes of ROH were taped in the same arenas as AEW Dynamite, so the way the show was presented felt completely different.

The return to the studio this week really helped bring back that intimate environment. If some of the crowd leaves after Dynamite is over, it's going to affect how the entire show comes across on television.

This week's show not only felt like a return to form in that regard, but it also had a handful of highly entertaining matches.

Samoa Joe is always a delight, Mark Briscoe has continued to be a great part of the show, the women's division is getting multiple matches every week, and Athena continues to be the MVP of the entire brand.

While a few matches on the card left a little to be desired, as a whole, this week's episode was a great two-hour program.

Grade: A-