Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of Ring of Honor's Final Battle pay-per-view.

For the last year, ROH has been anchored by Athena's reign as the women's champion, but she faced one of her biggest challenges to date when she battled her former minion, Billie Starkz in the main event.

Here is the full lineup from Friday's show:

• Athena vs. Billie Starkz (ROH Women's Championship)
• Vikingo vs. Black Taurus (AAA Mega Championship)
• FTR and Mark Briscoe vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Fight to honor Jay Briscoe)
• Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. Lee Johnson vs. Lee Moriarty vs. TBD (ROH TV Championship)
• Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor
• The Mogul Embassy vs. TMDK (ROH Six-Man Championships)
• Tony Nese vs. Ethan Page
• Wheeler Yuta vs. Tom Lawlor (ROH Pure Championship)
• The Von Erichs vs. The Outrunners (Pre-show)

Let's take a look at everything that happened at Final Battle 2023.

Zero Hour

Taya Valkyrie vs. Jazmin Allure

The first match on the Zero Hour featured Taya Valkyrie taking on Jazmin Allure, Johnny TV was there to be in Valkyrie's corner. This was a passable match that got more time than expected. Valkyrie scored the pinfall to earn the first win of the night. It was nice to see another match for the women's division added to the show, too.

Result: Taya Valkyrie defeated Jazmin Allure

Grade: C+

The Von Erichs vs. The Outrunners

Marshall and Ross Von Erich made their ROH debut on the Zero Hour in a tag team match against Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum, known collectively as The Outrunners. This was a throwback match due to the legacy of The Von Erich family and the retro style of The Outrunners.

This was a fun bout that will give fans of past generations some flashbacks. The Von Erichs picked up the win when both men applied The Claw. Kevin Von Erich joined his sons to celebrate after the match.

Result: The Von Erichs defeated The Outrunners

Grade: B-

Bryan Keith vs. Jack Cartwheel

Bryan Keith and Jack Cartweehl competed to see who would get the final spot in the six-way TV title match that will take place later in the show. After an awesome back-and-forth fight, The Bounty Hunter picked up the win with a Tiger Driver.

Result: Bryan Keith defeated Jack Cartwheel

Grade: B+

Daniel Garcia vs. Black Christian

The final match on the pre-show saw Daniel Garcia take on Blake Christian. These two men employ very different styles of wrestling, but they meshed together well to create a fun and energetic contest. Both men left everything in the ring, but only one could leave with the W. On this night, it was Garcia who had his hand raised.

Result: Daniel Garcia defeated Blake Christian

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• The matching fur coats were a nice touch for Valkyrie and Johnny. 
• Valkyrie does so many little things between each move to add to her performance. 
• The Von Erichs also appeared on this week's pre-taped Rampage the same night. 
• Floyd accidentally monkey-flipping Magnum was a great spot. 
• Cartwheel did so many cool things in this match that trying to list them all would take too long. 
• Christian is one of the most interesting wrestlers to watch when he gets going because you never know what he is going to do. He comes up with so many unique variations of existing moves. 

El Hijo Del Vikingo vs. Black Taurus (AAA Mega Championship)

Vikingo and Taurus locked horns over the AAA Mega Championship, both literally and figuratively since both men donned horned masks. Vikingo only wore his for his entrance though.

Taurus had the size and strength advantage and he made sure to use it every chance he got. Early in the match, he caught Vikingo diving over the top rope and delivered a brutal powerbomb that grounded the champion for a long time.

Vikingo did an excellent job playing the underdog and selling everything Taurus did to him. Even when they came close to messing something up, they recovered and made it look good.

Anyone who came into this show not knowing who these men were left with a good idea of their capabilities. After both men had several close calls, Vikingo hit his finisher to get the win and retain his title.

Result: Vikingo defeated Black Taurus

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Legend has it Taurus is the illegitimate son of Mantuar. 
• The powerbomb Taurus hit on the floor was nuts. The thud when Vikingo hit was so loud. 
• Taurus hit an incredible corkscrew suicide dive. 
• Taurus just standing there while Vikingo jumped to the top rope three times before hitting a moonsault was a weird spot. It looked cool but made no sense. 
• Vikingo didn't get the full rotation on a 630 splash and landed on his knees. Then he had trouble getting Taurus down for the pin. It only hurt the momentum of the match for a few seconds before they did something else that looked cool. 

Mogul Embassy vs. TMDK (ROH Six-man Titles)

Shane Haste, Bad Dude Tito and Kosei Fujita of TMDK got a shot at the ROH Six-Man Championships when they took on Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona.

Prince Nana was there with his clients but wasn't doing nearly as much dancing since Swerve Strickland wasn't around. He danced a bit though. He can't help it.

The champions had the upper hand throughout most of the match, but TMDK occasionally managed to put some sequences together. Fujita took most of the damage since he was the smallest member of his team, which gave Tito and Haste the chance to shine whenever they were tagged in.

Six-man matches have a lot of moving parts, so they can sometimes be chaotic and hard to follow. This bout was a lot of fun but it was easy to lose track of which men were legal for their teams.

Cage got the pin for his team with a huge powerbomb to Fujita.

Result: The Mogul Embassy defeated TMDK

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Ian Ricabonni and Caprice Coleman did a great job recapping the history between these teams in NJPW. 
• The ROH six-man and AEW trios titles should be merged. AEW doesn't have enough trios to properly support two divisions, especially in ROH. 
• Tito looks like he could be Jeff Cobb's younger brother, and Cobb looks like he could be Rhyno's son. None of this is important information but it's kind of funny. 
• Cage's pump handle facebuster was cool. 

Tony Nese vs. Ethan Page

Two former friends turned rivals competed in an I Quit match when Nese and Page squared off in the next matchup. Mark Sterling was handcuffed to the ring post to prevent him from getting involved. He tried to protest but Mark Henry showed up to make sure it happened.

Nese attacked Page before the bell, forgoing the Code of Honor in the process. As soon as he had the upper hand for a moment, All Ego tried to corner Sterling at ringside. The Premier Athlete took him down with a dive over the top rope before he could do anything.

Page was busted open at one point but refused to give up despite barely being able to keep his balance. Nese used some unconventional weapons like protein powder and a jump rope, but All Ego kept finding ways to fight back.

Both men did a really good job telling this story and making this match memorable. It was the best Nese has looked since signing with AEW, and the best Page has looked in quite some time. When it looked like Nese and Sterling were going to steal the win, Scorpio Sky came out to make the save.

All Ego found his second wind and took out Sterling before Nese handcuffed his hands behind his back. Page managed to fight back with no hands until the ref unlocked him. He choked Nese with the chain on his cuffs until he quit to get the victory.

Result: Ethan Page made Tony Nese quit

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• It's easy to forget Henry works for AEW because he is barely ever used for anything anymore. 
• The protein powder spot was pretty funny. 
• It took a long time for someone to grab the mic to ask if their opponent quit. It was a nice change of pace from the ref shoving the mic in someone's face every time they get knocked down. 
• The way Page put Nese through the two tables looked awesome. 
• Page went right over the chairs he was supposed to land on after a hurricanrana. 

Nyla Rose vs. Vertvixen

A late addition to the card saw Nyla Rose take on Vertvixen. The Native Beast got a great reaction from the crowd and almost won in less than a minute, but Vertvixen countered The Beast Bomb.

It's always nice to see more women being featured in AEW and ROH, but this match was the definition of filler. It had no story and a predictable outcome. Rose won in just a few minutes with her patented powerbomb.

Result: Nyla Rose defeated Vertvixen

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Rose has one of the coolest masks for her entrance. 
• Vertvixen has popped up in a lot of promotions in 2023. She is someone to keep an eye on. 

Castle vs. Johnson vs. Moriarty vs. Fletcher vs. Komander vs. Keith (ROH TV Title)

Dalton Castle, Kyle Fletcher, Bryan Keith, Komander, Lee Johnson and Lee Moriarty competed in a six-man match for the vacant ROH Television Championship that was willingly given up by Samoa Joe several weeks ago.

This match had a unique setup. Two men were legal and the other four stood on the apron available to be tagged in. It was single-elimination, so no matter who spent the most time in the ring, it was the last survivor who left with the title.

Here is the order of eliminations:

• Moriarty eliminated Johnson
• Moriarty eliminated Castle
• Keith eliminated Moriarty
• Fletcher eliminated Keith
• Fletcher eliminated Komander

This match had a ton of entertaining moments and gave a handful of deserving talents some much-needed screen time. Everyone had at least one standout moment, but Moriarty seemed to have more than everyone else.

It came down to Fletcher and Komander at the end. They went for several more minutes and gave us several convincing near-falls before Fletcher finally put Komander away to get the win and become the new ROH television champion.

Result: Kyle Fletcher defeated five other men to win the TV title

Grade: A

Notable Moments and Observations

• It feels like Moriarty has had so many start-and-stop pushes in AEW. He needs to be booked more consistently. 
• Fletcher had some interesting paint on his arm and shoulder. He looked like he was infected by the fungus in The Last of Us. 
• Why would anyone want to be tagged in before they had to in a match like this? It makes no sense for anyone to want to compete until it was down to the final two competitors. 
• The spot with Komander and Fletcher on the top rope was fun. 
  
• Johnson and Moriarty had the best exchange of the match. 
• Komander did too many cool things to list them all. Just go watch this match. It's awesome. 

Wheeler Yuta vs. Tom Lawlor (Pure Championship)

"Filthy" Tom Lawlor made his way over from NJPW to face Wheeler Yuta in a pure rules match for the ROH Pure Championship.

They started with a basic lockup and a nice exchange of holds and reversals. Both men have great technical abilities and came to a stalemate in their first sequence.

Lawlor made Yuta use the first rope break, but he also got the first warning for a closed fist punch, which is illegal in a pure rules match.

As expected, they did a great job using the rules of this stipulation to their advantage. Yuta earned a warning for using a closed fist after exhausting his second rope break. It made him look desperate, which gave Lawlor the opening he needed to hit a wild hammerlock superplex.

This bout was totally different than the spot fest that came before it. The fans were going wild for both bouts but for completely different reasons. Yuta and Lawlor worked well together to put on a clinic. Yuta won but the announcers called it into question after it looked like Lawlor had his foot on the rope during the pin.

After Yuta hit a low blow, Hook came down to the ring to confront him. The pure champion looked like he was going to retreat before hitting a low blow and a DDT to the FTW champion.

Result: Wheeler Yuta defeated Tom Lawlor

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• The announcers did a good job pointing out how Lawlor isn't used to being limited to one punch since he uses an MMA style of wrestling. 
• Yuta hit a dropkick that looked so ugly that it looked more realistic than most dropkicks. 
• The hammerlock piledriver Lawlor used looked great, but Yuta also came very close to landing on his head for real. 

Shane Taylor vs. Keith Lee

A grudge match years in the making took place at Final Battle when Taylor and Lee finally stepped into the ring to settle their feud once and for all.

They were slow to lock up and spent a long time circling each other and sizing each other up. For a match that was billed as a feud between two bitter rivals who used to be friends, it didn't feel like there was a lot of animosity in the way they were acting.

You would expect a match like this to start with both guys throwing hands, not poking at each other with weak jabs. Once they started colliding in the middle of the ring to test their power, things got much more interesting.

The crowd started getting more active with chants and it seemed to give the competitors a bit more energy, but the pace of this match still felt off.

The longer it went, the better it got, but the first half had some very slow moments. The Limitless One was able to get the victory over his former tag team partner. After it was over, Lee and Taylor shook hands and seemed to put their differences behind them for the time being.

Result: Keith Lee defeated Shane Taylor

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Taylor hugging his kids was a nice moment, but it's always a little weird when heels do that stuff. It makes them more likable. 
• Taylor catching Lee when he tried to slingshot over the top rope was impressive.
• The crowd wanted to like this match but there were long moments of silence when the match slowed down. 
• The way Lee lifted Taylor up for a spinebuster was nuts. Both guys had a couple of impressive feats of strength. 
• Moriarty showed up and Lee brought him into the ring the hard way for a huge powerbomb. This gave Taylor a chance to hit a running knee for a two-count. 
  

FTR and Mark Briscoe vs. Blackpool Combat Club

The Fight to Honor Jay Briscoe featured Mark teaming up with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler to take on Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley. They observed the Code of Honor with some hand slaps but didn't actually shake hands.

Harwood and Mox started for their teams. When they ended up in the corner, Moxley told Dax to hit him, which he was more than happy to do.

These are six men who all pride themselves on being some of the best at what they do, so we saw a lot of great wrestling across the different combinations of opponents.

This was an action-packed match that only ever slowed down to sell big spots. This was a fun and fitting tribute to the late Briscoe brother.

Six-man tag matches are difficult to make as dramatic as a singles or tag bout, but both teams did a great job in this one, especially when it came to selling some of the near-falls.

Both teams brawled near the stage until the ref declared a double countout, but Mark got on the mic and told the ref to start the match again without countouts or DQs. The bell rang and Mark immediately jumped off the stage onto a pile of security guards and wrestlers.

All six men started fighting in different parts of the arena. Tables, tacks and a barbed wire ladder were brought into the ring, turning this from a traditional trios bout into a bloody hardcore match.

Matches like this are not for everybody, but if this is the kind of thing you enjoy, then this was likely the best thing you saw all night. Mark was able to get the victory for his team by pinning Danielson on a pile of chairs.

Result: FTR and Mark Briscoe defeated Blackpool Combat Club

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• This was Moxley's first match on Honor Club. 
• Harwood was not holding back with some of his chops. 
• Mox was doing a good job selling his shoulder after hitting the ring post. 
• It's kind of funny how Danielson and Vikingo have similar hairstyles now. 
• The colliding crossbody spot from Mark and Danielson looked great. 
• Mark took a wild bump onto the ladder from the top turnbuckle. 

Eddie Kingston vs. Anthony Henry

During the pre-show, Kingston and Henry agreed to have a match after the ROH champion expressed his disappointment with not being booked. If Henry were to win, he would earn a shot at the Continental Championship after the tournament is over.

Both men were trying to throw punches and kicks while blocking hits from each other. Kingston caught Henry with a good one on the jaw, so they took a second to reset before going at it again.

The majority of this match was made up of kicks, punches, elbows and chops, but they threw a few slams and suplexes in for good measure.

For an impromptu match with no real storyline, this ended up being better than expected. Kingston and Henry are both great wrestlers, but they had a difficult job following a wild six-man tag match while also being the cooldown bout before the main event.

The Mad King won in about five minutes by submission. Henry looked great, even in defeat.

Result: Eddie Kingston defeated Anthony Henry

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• It's weird seeing Kingston without his titles. 
• Henry has great kicks, but they weren't even close to being as loud as Kingston's chops. 
• Garcia came out for a standoff but Kingston just walked right past him. 

Athena vs. Billie Starkz (ROH Women's Championship)

For the first time ever, the ROH women's title was on the line in the main event of Final Battle. Athena won the belt at last year's Final Battle and has dominated ROH for over a year as the most active champion, so having her in the main event was the right call.

Starkz has been serving as Athena's minion for months but turned on the champ a few weeks ago after it became clear Athena didn't value her. Both women waved off the Code of Honor, which felt appropriate given their history. Athena donned a protective mask to cover up the broken nose Starkz gave her on Thursday's episode of ROH.

The 19-year-old got in a couple of nice moves before Athena took her out of the ring and started throwing her into anything with a hard surface. The ref had to make her back off to check on Starkz to make sure she could continue after having her face smashed into the barricade numerous times and busted open.

There are many different kinds of wrestling matches. Some focus on exciting spots, some focus on hardcore action, some focus on technical prowess, and others focus on the storyline behind the fight. This bout definitely falls into that last category.

Everything they did felt like it had a purpose. Athena was overbearing during their alliance, so it makes sense that she would be just as overbearing with the violence she was dishing out against her former student.

The teenage prodigy did a fantastic job selling everything and looking like the underdog who was trying to overcome her more experienced bully. The crowd, which had been there for nearly five hours by this point, was still chanting "This is awesome" to show its appreciation for these wrestlers.

A lot of people went into this show thinking Athena would drop the title to her former protege, but she was able to retain the belt by making Starkz tap out. They had a staredown and got into an argument after the match as the crowd chanted "Hug it out."

They did end up hugging and Athena raised Billie's hand in a show of respect. Nair joined them to pose in the ring to end the show.

Result: Athena defeated Billie Starkz

Grade: A

Notable Moments and Observations

• Athena's entrance gear was a reference to Bane from DC Comics. 
• Lexy Nair served as the special guest ring announcer. She has done a great job during this storyline. 
• The fans were chanting "Women's wrestling" as the match got going. 
• Starkz has a nice spear, but the flip she did over the top rope almost didn't work.
• The way Starkz hit the barricade when Athena hit a running dropkick was brutal.  
• The high-angle German suplex Athena hit from the middle rope was one of the best spots of the night. 

The Final Word

The weekly programming for ROH has been inconsistent due to certain champions being absent and storylines being dropped without explanation, but the one thing this promotion has always excelled at is the in-ring product.

Friday's Final Battle event was another in a long line of great Ring of Honor shows that highlighted some of the best wrestling you will see in any company.

Picking the best match on this show would be difficult because it had so many different kinds of performances. It had everything from high-flying luchadors to 300-pound powerhouses ramming into each other like animals. It had technical clinics, bloody violence and anything else you could ask for at a PPV.

A couple of the matches were clearly added to pad the card and give a few people spots on the show, but even those bouts added something to the event in their own way.

It will be interesting to see if Honor Club sees a bump in subscribers since this event was part of the monthly cost instead of being an additional cost to purchase.

When the good outweighs the bad by as much as it did on Friday night, it's hard to have any complaints.

Grade: A