Ring of Honor Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and ROH Highlights from April 6

Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of Ring of Honor Wrestling on April 6.

This is the first post-Supercard of Honor show for the recently relaunched brand, so we can expect to see that event covered with recaps while ROH sets up its next big feuds.

This week's show featured a ton of action, including two big title bouts. Fresh off a successful women's title defense, Athena put her belt on the line again this week, but this time it was Miyu Yayamshita eyeing the gold.

We also saw Katsuyori Shibata defend his newly won Pure Championship against Christopher Daniels.

Let's look at everything that went down on Thursday's show.

The first match of the night featured brand-new ROH tag team champions Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo teaming up with Mark Briscoe to take on Shane Taylor and The Workhorsmen, JD Drake and Anthony Henry.

Briscoe and Taylor had a tense standoff at first that included some trash-talking. The leader of Shane Taylor Promotions tried to corner him, but Briscoe used some redneck kung fu to take it to him.

What unfolded here was a pretty standard six-man tag match. Both teams had periods of control, and everyone had a chance to be the one dishing out the punishment as well as the one taking it.

We didn't see anything groundbreaking in this bout, but that's not a bad thing. In fact, most matches aren't going to produce a truly memorable moment. What matters most is how everyone looked, and all six guys did a good job in this one.

Briscoe scored the win for his team with the Jay Driller to Henry. QT Marshall and Powerhouse Hobbs were shown in the crowd since they have a tag title shot coming up.

Winners: Mark Briscoe and The Lucha Bros

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• This was the ROH debut for Henry and Drake. They do not get much exposure in All Elite Wrestling outside of Dark and Elevation, so hopefully ROH can be another way for them to get some screen time. 
• Penta's gear always looks great, but the black, red and white outfit he had on for this bout really stood out. 
• Drake and Henry used to have very basic gear, but they have had some upgrades in that department. They look like a real team with their matching attire. 
• Briscoe's blockbuster on the floor looked good. 
• It's always fun to see a guy the size of Drake hit a move like a Shining Wizard. 

The second match of the night was also the first of two title bouts. Shibata put the Pure Championship he won on Friday on the line against Daniels.

They started off with a respectful exchange of holds and counters before separating and locking up again because they had come to a stalemate. They were keeping things slow at first to feel each other out.

Shibata was the first one to take control for any significant amount of time, but The Fallen Angel was able to keep him at bay until he found himself in a Figure Four out of nowhere.

Daniels was able to escape and turn up the heat a little with some strikes. They never tried to reach a break-neck pace. They kept it steady from start to finish, but they did throw in the occasional moment of excitement to get the crowd invested.

Daniels put up a good fight, but there was never any doubt Shibata would retain his title. The Wrestler was able to score the pin and the win. He helped Daniels to his feet, and the pair shook hands and bowed to show each other respect.

Winner: Katsuyori Shibata

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Shibata has great entrance music. 
• Getting to hear Nigel McGuinness on commentary again is awesome. He brings a level of legitimacy that neither Caprice Coleman or Ian Riccaboni can provide because they have never been wrestlers. 
• Hearing Daniels yell in frustration when Shibata put him in the Figure Four was one of those little things that the intimate atmosphere of ROH makes easier. You wouldn't be able to hear them talking as much in a WWE or AEW ring because the crowd is so much louder. 

One-third of the six-man tag champs was in singles action this week when Brian Cage took on Ortiz.

The announcers made sure to mention the friction between Ortiz and Eddie Kingston from AEW, but the former appeared to be working as a babyface despite being the one to turn on his friend recently.

The Machine used his significant size and power advantage to dominate Ortiz early on, but the former member of Proud and Powerful was not going to let this match happen without getting in some shots of his own.

This wasn't even close to being called a squash match, but it was one-sided most of the time. Cage was just too much for Ortiz to handle, and in the end, he was able to get the win with his finisher.

Most of this match was fine, but a couple of sloppy moments stood out. It was probably due to a lack of experience working together.

Winner: Brian Cage

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Cage is working without a contract, so it's surprising that The Embassy retained the six-man titles at Supercard of Honor. 
• Ortiz spent most of his AEW career in a tag team, and while it would be great to see him reunite with Santana, it's also good to see him get a chance of a singles run. 
• Ortiz might not be a big guy, but it's still impressive that Cage was able to deadlift suplex him so easily. 
• The hurricanrana Ortiz tried to hit did not look good. He dropped too soon, so when Cage sold it and went to the corner, it looked awkward. 

Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh accompanied Jay Lethal to the ring for his match against Darius Martin.

Dante Martin was injured during the ladder match for the tag titles at Supercard of Honor, so Darius was flying solo in this bout.

Both men are capable of working at a quick pace, so that's exactly what they did. Lethal slowed it down whenever he was in control, but he was able to keep pace with Darius when he would start to get on a roll.

Taven decided to get a closer look at the action and ended up nailing Darius with a superkick behind the ref's back to set Lethal up for his finisher and the win.

Winner: Jay Lethal

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Maria Kanellis and Matt Taven were on commentary for this bout since Top Flight and The Kingdom have an ongoing feud. 
• If you only know Maria from her WWE run, you have missed a lot. She sounds so much more comfortable playing a heel manager on commentary than she ever did as a WWE wrestler. 
• It's always a little sad when someone tries to clothesline their opponent over the top rope and it doesn't land hard enough to knock them over all the way. Darius had one of those moments when he tried to send Lethal back into the ring from the apron.
• He made up for it with a nice Spanish Fly a minute later.  
• Singh brushing off a dropkick from Darius was a fun moment. 

The Infantry faced their biggest challenge in ROH to date when Charlie Bravo and Shawn Dean took on real-life brothers, Rush and Dralístico.

Dean and Dralístico started for their team and had a fast-paced exchange to get the action going. The latter pretended to show some respect with a handshake, but he made the former pay for the mistake of trusting him with a kick to the head.

Bravo tagged in and traded chops with the masked man. Rush eventually joined in and maintained the upper hand and the quick pace as Los Ingobernables de Faccion hit some nice double-team spots.

Dralístico got the pin over Dean to get the victory for his team in a short but fun match that gave both sides a few moments to shine.

Winners: Rush and Dralístico

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Charlie Bravo is a great pro wrestling name for a military veteran. 
• It feels like LFI has barely done anything with Preston Vance since he joined up with them. He just helps Rush and Dralístico most of the time. 
• Dralístico's mask and tights had a cool design this week. The luchadors in ROH and AEW have been killing it with their gear lately. 

"Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams took on Daniel Garcia in the next match.

Both men are known for their technical ability, so it didn't take long for us to see some submissions and takedown combinations mixed in with the strikes and throws.

At one point, the crowd started chanting for tables for some reason. Garcia pretended like he was going to get one but ended up just flipping everyone off.

This was a physical fight between two men who pride themselves on their toughness, so this was a lot of fun.

It might not win Match of the Week, but it was a highlight of this show. The Jericho Appreciation Society member scored the win by pinfall, which was somewhat unexpected for the submission specialist.

Winner: Daniel Garcia

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Garcia taunting Williams with applause was hilarious. 
• The JAS usually has someone accompany whoever is wrestling, but Garcia was all alone for this one. 
• McGuinness started to show his heel side during the commentary for this bout and had a few funny lines with Coleman. 
• Williams' DDT onto the top turnbuckle is a fantastic spot when it's done right. 

The first women's match of the night saw Willow Nightingale take on Notorious Mimi in singles competition.

Willow had some fun with her opponent at first before turning up the intensity by throwing some power moves into her offense.

It only took her a couple of minutes to put Mimi away with a pounce and a powerbomb.

This was a glorified squash, but the few things they did looked fine.

Winner: Willow Nightingale

Grade: C-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Mimi didn't get an entrance, so it was pretty obvious how this would play out. 
• At one point, Mimi used a nice pinning combination to get a two-count, but the way she posed while doing it felt out of place. 

The Righteous returned to Ring of Honor at the Supercard pay-per-view, and they wasted little time getting back into the ring.

Vincent and Dutch shook hands with Steve Somerset and Stephen Azure to start the match, but that just led to Dutch hitting a huge clothesline to take out both men.

Much like the previous bout, this was little more than a squash. Dutch dominated before tagging in Vincent to hit a senton bomb. He followed up with a move called Autumn Sunshine to get the win.

This wasn't much, but it did what it needed to do to convey how dangerous The Righteous can be.

Winners: The Righteous

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Even if you don't know who they are, it's hard not to be intrigued by The Righteous. They have a unique presentation and vibe. 

Mark Sterling gave Tony Nese a special introduction before he entered the ring for his match against Konosuke Takeshita.

Josh Woods, Ari Daivari and Sterling were at ringside, so Takeshita was at a disadvantage before the ref even called for the bell. They shook hands, but Nese didn't seem to care.

They started slow with a few basic holds to show off their technical prowess. After Nese hit a series of kicks, Takeshita offered his hand as a sign of respect. The Premier Athlete took it but then tried to kick him again right away.

The 27-year-old tried to get back into the ring, but Woods blocked him so Nese could hit a dropkick that knocked him to the floor.

This was probably the match of the night in terms of pure excitement and technical ability. Both men were on point with every move, but only one could leave with the win.

When the dust settled after several near-falls, Takeshita picked up the victory with a German suplex.

Winner: Konosuke Takeshita

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• It's funny how McGuinness was trying to put over Daivari as a rich guy with style when he came out wearing simple black pants. 
• Nese's combination of kicks always looks good. 
• Woods wasn't exactly trying to hide his interference. It's a good thing the ref knew when to look away and when to keep an eye on him. It's always awkward when a ref accidentally catches sight of someone cheating and then has to ignore it to keep the match moving. 
• Takeshita's dive out of the ring was about as good as you could want. Nese and Woods caught him perfectly. 
• Nese's springboard moonsault is a thing of beauty. 

Athena defeated one Japanese talent last weekend when she beat Yuka Sakazaki, and she was looking for a repeat performance this week against TJPW's Miyu Yamashita.

Athena has been much more aggressive in recent months, but she was the one who ended up rolling out of the ring to avoid a stiff kick from the challenger.

Yamashita controlled the first several minutes with a flurry of kicks from every angle, but The Fallen Goddess was able to trip her with the ring apron and turn the tables.

Even with 10 matches packed into a two-hour show, they had plenty of time to make this an entertaining performance. Both women were swinging for the fences with every strike, so it felt more intense than most of the other matches we saw, too.

Athena shows us something new in every match. Her heel run has been great, and this was another in a string of fantastic performances from the ROH women's world champion.

They fought all the way to the stage and back to the ring because the ref chose to throw the count-out rule away. Yamashita put up a really good fight, but Athena was able to put her away with a crossface submission.

Winner: Athena

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Athena's entrance has gotten cooler since she turned heel. She keeps changing little things to make herself stand out. 
• All of the new title belts having a similar design is a bit strange because the TV and six-man belts were kept the same. 
• Yamashita has a level of confidence with her movements and offense that makes her a lot of fun to watch. She just seems so sure of herself with everything she does. 
• The way Athena spun Yamashita around so her head hit the ring post looked cool.