ROH and Action Wrestling Presents Action Dean 3 – 09.11.25

Welcome back to a special presentation of ROH Honor Club, available exclusively at WatchROH.com. Last week we were treated to our regularly scheduled Thursday night episode as well as a 2-hour YouTube Special on Friday, and to my surprise, there were some teases for future conflict on the Friday episode, though pushing out an extra two hours for the sake of doing it was still a choice. Tonight’s episode is ROH and Action Wrestling’s collaboration “Action Dean 3”, shows dedicated to the memory of Dean Rasmussen (founder of DVDR and a beloved member of the online wrestling community), with all matches taped from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA along with last week’s episode of AEW Collision.

Dylan Hales and “Jumping” Johnny Moseley are calling the action this week. If I got either name wrong, I apologize, there was no chyron.

Hechicero, Xelhua, and Dr. Cerebro vs. Blue Panther, El Pantera, and Virus:
This is Best out of 3 Falls, SUBMISSIONS ONLY. Pantera and Cerebro start with a slow feeling out process that ends in a stalemate. Blue Panther and Xelhua in next, taking turns sweeping the legs and trying to find control on the canvas, again, neither man getting much of an advantage. Hechicero and Virus get their chance to jockey for control and we’re already 5-minutes deep. Hechicero rolls through a flying body press and sits across Virus, but Aubrey Edwards reminds him that pins don’t count. Hechicero gets sent to the floor and BLUE PANTHER jumps off the apron, executing a hurricanrana on the outside! Xelhua has Virus trapped in a modified Octopus Stretch and Virus taps at 7:34.

Xelhua flashes his speed against Pantera to start the second fall. Pantera with the head-stand off the top turnbuckle and a mule kick, followed by a spinning head-scissors that sends Xelhua to the floor. Cerebro and Virus with a back-and-forth before bringing Blue Panther and Hechicero back in. Hechicero puts on the brakes on a drop-down and lays in some strikes. We get an impressive spot where Blue Panther bridges off the canvas while his legs are wrapped around the body of Hechicero. Blue Panther with a head-scissors and Powerbomb. Cerebro makes the save on a submission attempt and gets sent to the floor. Pantera with a spinning back-breaker on Cerebro. Crisscross and Virus clips the knee before Pantera comes off the top with a splash. Xelhua with the save and he runs wild with back breakers until Panther plants him with a spine-buster and gets the submission from a cross-leg straight-jacket at 13:23 (continuous clock).

Xelhua and Virus hit the ropes, trading arm drags. Virus locks up the arms AND leg of Xelhua, but Hechicero comes in to land a boot to the face. We get a medley of submission attempts, with each new man in the ring getting a hold on the last guy, and repeating the process. Hechicero with a spinning back breaker on Blue Panther and a grapevine leg lock on Virus. Virus visually taps, but Aubrey waves it off for whatever reason. Blue Panther knocks Hechicero out of the ring and hits him on the floor with a twisting body press. Inside the ring, Cerebro has an Ankle Lock and leg hook but Pantera scrambles for the ropes. Virus pushes off the ring post to hit Xelhua with an arm drag on the floor. Hechicero with a running knee strike to Pantera in the corner and he ties him up for the final submission at 19:55. I didn’t love it, and at times it felt like a mess, but they hit some good looking spots and Blue Panther continues to fight off Father Time, putting on the best performance of anyone in the match.

Nicole Matthews vs. Billie Starkz:
Color me surprised to see Nicole Matthews is still working, but that’s the magic of the tribute shows. Lockup and Matthews with a side headlock takeover. Billie counters with a head-scissors and Matthews quickly escapes and transitions to a bow-and-arrow. Billie jerks around on the knuckle-lock and lands a hard slap. Matthews responds with a forearm and Billie answers by biting on her foot. Interesting strategy right there. Matthews sends Billie to the corner and unloads with kicks to the chest. Billie blocks a double underhook and almost kills Nicole with a sloppy-as-f*ck Alabama Slam into the top turnbuckle. Literally 30-seconds later, Matthews is fine so we can do the BOO/YAY strike exchange. She lays out Starkz with a lariat with some extra stink on it. Matthews comes off the second rope with a missile dropkick. Billie blocks a suplex and counters by dropping Matthews’ neck across the knee. Matthews comes right back with a brain buster for two. Starkz avoids a moonsault and finishes with an electric chair drop into a slam that sees Matthews land on her head because Starkz is f*cking careless. People can’t do all the work and just bump for her big moves, it requires skill and cooperation that she clearly cannot offer any support with and in one short match, dunked a girl on her head and whipped her into the turnbuckle. Oh, the time of the fall was like 7:30. The match sucked, if you couldn’t tell by the rant at the end. I know this is a tribute show and I don’t want to snark all over it, but careless work is inexcusable.

Matt Mako vs. Wheeler Yuta (w/ Marina Shafir):
It’s a BONUS MATCH! What sacrifices must be made to get Moxley to wrestle a match for an episode of ROH Honor Club? No code of honor here, as Yuta slaps Mako across the face. Mako with a waist-lock takedown into a leg lock, but Yuta gets to the ropes for the break. Yuta taunts Mako with another cheap shot and finds himself fighting from underneath for a second time. Maybe Yuta should reconsider that strategy. Mako rattles Yuta’s brains with a roundhouse heel kick. Yuta slips out of a suplex and sends Mako through the ropes with a shotgun dropkick. Mako cuts off a dive attempt, but is no match for THE PROBLEM, Marina Shafir, who wipes him out on the floor with a Judo throw.

Yuta adds assault to insult, hitting Mako with a tope suicida before throwing him back in the ring. Yuta basks in the negative chants directed towards him as he hits Mako with a snap suplex and flying elbow for a two-count. Mako teases a comeback but Yuta cuts him off and hooks the Cattle Mutilation. Mako manages to get to his feet and takes Yuta to the canvas with a Saito suplex. Mako unloads with a flurry of strikes and a butterfly suplex. Yuta desperately holds onto the turnbuckle to avoid further punishment, exposing the steel rod in the process. Mako gets dropped throat-first across the bar and falls to the floor. Yuta’s attempts to follow up backfires and gets wiped out while being put to sleep on a steel chair. Back inside, Yuta blocks the cross arm breaker, stacking Mako up and hits the Angle Slam for a near-fall. They fight for control on the top rope, with Mako hitting a super-plex and Blue Thunder Bomb combo for 2.999999. Wheeler cuts off a strikes combo with some Greco-Roman biting and hits a snap German suplex for two. Mako catches Yuta on the top rope with a Spanish Fly into the arm breaker! Shafir hops on the apron and the distraction allows Yuta to go to the eyes and finish with the Busaiku Knee at 11:46. Post-match, Wheeler gets some heel heat by beating up on the son of the late-Dean Rasmussen. I’m sure if this were featured on National TV, people would be up in arms about it. Post-match shenanigans aside, this was definitely a match to check out, though you can argue that with how they are positioned on TV (or among the ROH regulars), it didn’t need to go THIS hard. Also, Wheeler Yuta is seriously over-hated.

We get a hype video of the Premier Athletes and “Smart” Mark Sterling’s latest acquisition, Sori Dinali. If she’s not completely terrible, she shouldn’t be too hard to book. Just keep her away from Mercedes Mone and her 10 inch heels.

Cheeseburger, Rhett Titus and Eli Isom vs. Sammy Guevara, Dralistico, and The Beast Mortos (w/ Rush):
This is our SECOND “Bonus Match! Sammy Guevara going back to his heel attitude is fine in theory, but now we’re getting 2020 Sammy in 2025, and what left is there for Sammy to do? Mortos and Titus start… FALSE ALARM. Guevara wants in and is already hotdogging before we get contact. Titus makes a move for the leg and Sammy casually ducks through the ropes to avoid contact, then tags out to Dralistico. Titus misses a charge into the corner and gets lit up with chops. Mortos chews through Cheeseburger like a piece of meat and sends him out of the ring. Titus gets dumped out and now it’s Isom taking a three-on-one sh*t-kicking. Dralistico springs off the ropes and hits a Code Breaker. Mortos with a pop-up Samoan drop and Sammy finishes the poor guy with a Swanton Bomb at 3:41. Well, it was short, and the babyfaces were given zero offense (well, zero offense that was sold). Post-match, Sammy gets on the microphone to tell Philadelphia how much it sucks. The crowd chants “Texas sucks”, which Sammy responds to with “that’s why I moved to Orlando.” Just a basic heel promo.

Lee Johnson and Blake Christian, a.k.a. SWIRL, have words for ROH World Champion Bandido. Christian says he’s “the flavor of inevitability.” Oh man, that line had my eyes roll so far back, they write their own Toni Storm innuendo.

Hair vs. Hair Match:
Demus el Demonio vs. Mad Dog Connelly:
This feels like a weird stipulation for the 3rd tribute card for a wrestling fan. You’d figure it would be more sportsmanlike stuff and exhibition level attractions. We’re also never really told WHY this match is happening, because I’m sure there is, but I guess I need to google it myself. We ARE told that Mad Dog has his eye injured earlier in the week. These guys look like hosses and work like they should, throwing heavy blows out of the gate. Mad Dog rips away at Demus’ gear and uses the shirt to hang him from the apron. Demus escapes, going after the injured eye. They bring the fight to the floor, with Demus being slammed into the ring steps, and Mad Dog getting a taste of the steps himself. Back inside, they take turns whipping each other from corner to corner and Demus goes for the eyes again before hitting a sloppy flying body press for two. Demus starts chewing on Mad Dog’s chest, which is certainly an odd thing to type out. Mad Dog responds with a stiff forearm and gut-wrench suplex for a near-fall.

Mad Dog brings a chair in the ring and sits Demus across it for a big move that doesn’t pay off for him, as he goes crashing into the chair on a missed shoulder tackle. Demus misses a senton from the top rope and Connelly follows up with a Gotch Piledriver for two. Demus cuts Mad Dog off on the top rope with a chair across the back and hits a modified Muscle Buster for a near-fall. He puts the dog collar around the neck of Mad Dog and chokes him out at 10:28. Demus puts the chain around Mad Dog’s neck and chokes him out at 10:28. Post-match, Mad Dog won’t give Demus the honor and shaves his own head. That’s going to be difficult considering the circumstances, but he gets some of it. This was a garbage brawl in the truest form, and if it’s what you like, all the power to you.

ROH Pure Championship Match:
Lee Moriarty (c ) vs. Josh Woods:
Woods earned the title shot at this show by defeating Matt Mako on the YouTube Special. Thankfully, this is our last match of the night. We’ve got a 60-Minute Time Limit and the usual rules apply for a Pure Rules Match; three rope breaks per participant and a warning for one closed fist, DQ and other possible punishments for anything further. If the match goes the distance (not likely here), three judges will score the match and determine a winner.

We adhere to the code of honor as we put over Lee Moriarty’s reign as the Pure Champion. Woods makes several attempts for the leg and they take it around the ring fighting for position in a small package. Moriarty avoids a charge to the corner and hits the taunt button. Lee flashes his athleticism and starts targeting the arm. They roll into the ropes and Woods uses his first break (originally misidentified as Lee’s spending one). Woods puts on the brakes during an international and hooks the legs, forcing Moriarty to (officially) use his first break. We hit a soft reset, with both men jockeying for control of an arm bar. Woods leaves Moriarty hanging out to dry and plants him in the center of the ring with a gut-wrench suplex for two. Moriarty gets dropped face-first on a suplex and Woods punishes him in the ropes, which seems like an unfair judgment from the referee to consider it a second rope break.

Woods throws Moriarty around with a pair of dead-lift gut-wrench suplexes. He goes to the well too often and Moriarty counters, sending him out of the ring. Moriarty catches Woods bringing the fight back in the ring and rips away at the left arm, sending Woods to the ropes for his second break. Moriarty kicks the outstretched arm of Woods and dives off the top rope with a clothesline for two. Woods fights for survival in a cross arm bar and Moriarty transitions to a triangle choke. Woods muscles up, drives Moriarty into the canvas with a powerbomb, and throws him into the turnbuckles with a twisting suplex for three at 9:19… BUT WAIT, MORIARTY’S FOOT IS UNDER THE ROPES, SO THE MATCH CONTINUES (and Moriarty uses his last break). Wood pounces on the downed Champion and applies an Ankle Lock. Moriarty counters the transition into an ankle-trap German and sits back with a victory roll while hoking the arms, getting the three-count to retain at 10:11. Lee Moriarty continues to be one of the unsung heroes of ROH regulars, and Josh Woods worked well with him. I think the match could have used a little more time, but better to understay than overstay your welcome.

Shane Taylor Promotions (that’s Trios Champs Shane Taylor and the Infantry, Trish Adora, and Anthony “Still Here” Ogogo) comes out to celebrate Lee Moriarty’s victory and Shane Taylor decides to issue an open challenge…

AR Fox vs. Shane Taylor:
OK, THIS is the final match of the night. Taylor with some disrespect to open the match. Fox goes for the leg sweep, but Taylor remains vertical. Taylor’s strikes are too slow to connect. Fox sends him out of the ring and hits a beautiful dive over the top rope. Taylor catches a rolling senton and swings Fox head-first into the guardrail. Back inside, Taylor blasts Fox with a lariat and throws him across the ring. He cuts off Fox’s comeback attempt with a headbutt and uranage. Fox avoids the leg drop and unwisely gets into a slugfest. Fox’s athleticism helps push things back in his favor, knocking Taylor into the corner with a heel kick. They bring the fight to the apron, with Taylor throwing bombs. He tries tossing Fox off the apron, but he jumps to the guardrail and pops back with a Cutter. Back inside, the Swanton Bomb (Flip-a-Delphia!) gets two. Taylor avoids a second attempt and lands the KO right hand for three at 5:55. Interesting choice to do the impromptu challenge to finish a tribute show and put the heel over clean. This was a fun sprint. Fox is another guy who deserves better, and if not for Taylor’s unique physique, he could be better used on AEW TV, at least as a mid-card monster.

Final Thoughts: An overall enjoyable night of wrestling, though that one match cratered my interest, forcing me to walk away briefly to clear my mind. I didn’t want to be too negative on a tribute show, so a lot of snark was edited out so I didn’t come across as a monster (though the snark for Billie remained, as it was well deserved). If you don’t have an hour and 40 minutes, I’d recommend giving a look at the Pure Rules Title and Wheeler/Mako more than anything. I would give as soft recommendation for the opening trios as well, but some of it just felt off, so it’s hard to give full endorsement (except for Blue Panther. Dude is awesome).