Category: Ring of Honor

Jay Briscoe ROH tribute show available on YouTube, HonorClub

Posted on by Josh Nason

The Jay Briscoe Ring of Honor tribute show and celebration of life is now available for free on both YouTube and HonorClub.

The three-hour show features a mix of new tribute matches taped on Wednesday, January 18th, three of Briscoe’s ROH matches, and sit-down interviews with those who knew him.

Here’s the lineup:

  • ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta defends against Hagane Shinno
  • Marina Shafir vs. Mighty Mayra
  • Eddie Kingston vs. QT Marshall
  • ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Madison Rayne 
  • Juice Robinson vs. Brandon Cutler
  • Yuka Sakazaki vs. Sandra Moone
  • ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli defends against Christopher Daniels
  • Adam Cole in-ring promo

Archive matches on the show include:

  • ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole
  • Jay Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels
  • The Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling (Final Battle 2006)

The show also features sit-down thoughts from BJ Whitmer, Samoa Joe, Adam Cole, Matt Hardy, Christopher Daniels, Eddie Kingston, Austin Gunn, Stokely Hathaway, Ryan Nemeth, Prince Nana, Claudio Castagnoli and Zane Decker.

Tony Khan reveals some details on Jay Briscoe ROH tribute show

Posted on by Josh Nason

While announcing some details Wednesday, AEW & Ring of Honor head Tony Khan said more will be revealed on tonight’s Dynamite regarding the Jay Briscoe ROH tribute show they taped matches for last week.

Talking to Busted Open Radio Wednesday, Khan said the show will be three hours and consist of some of Briscoe’s best matches, interviews with those who knew him best, and matches that were taped after last Wednesday’s Dynamite by those who wanted to honor him.

He also said the show will be available on YouTube after an episode of AEW Dynamite with more information about that to be announced tonight.

The 38-year-old Briscoe died in a fatal car crash last Tuesday that also took the life of the driver that hit his truck head-on and seriously injured his two daughters who are still recovering in the hospital.

Tonight’s Dynamite will also feature tributes to Briscoe on what would have been his 39th birthday. His brother and longtime tag team partner, Mark, will make his AEW debut against Jay Lethal.

Family friends provide update on Jay Briscoe’s daughters, Mark Briscoe

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Family friends of Jaymin Pugh (Jay Briscoe) provided an update on Monday regarding his daughters as well as Mark Briscoe.

Josh Wharton went live on Facebook Monday night and provided another update on the Pugh family. He said during the broadcast that he had talked to Mark a half hour prior, noting he was chipper and upbeat.

“The one thing that stuck out to me,” Wharton said, “he said, ‘I can’t imagine going through this not being a believer.’ He, and you guys reading the Bible, realize that our time here on Earth is a small glimpse in our existence. [Mark] realizes that we’re going to see him again and he’s hoping to use this as a tool to motivate people to get into heaven with us, use Jamin’s untimely death as a witness almost to get people to come to heaven with him.”

Wharton shared a text message from Mark which read ”’GOD IS ON THE THRONE. That’s all I got bro.”

Wharton noted that Gracie, 12, has worked with physical and occupational therapy over the last several days, with her strength improving. He noted that today, she assisted with her transfer into a wheelchair using a sideboard. She has been able to be up for a while to play games and watch movies with her family.

Jayleigh, 9, had her NG tube removed on Saturday and by Sunday morning was able to eat and drink “as much as she pleases,” with Wharton noting she was much happier. On Monday, she worked with physical and occupational therapy and was able to do her first stand transfer into her wheelchair. The wound vac on her abdominal incision was also removed.

ROH on Monday released a new Jay Briscoe t-shirt, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Pugh family.

ROH releases memorial T-shirt to raise money for Jay Briscoe’s family

Posted on by Joseph Currier

ROH has released a memorial T-shirt to help raise money for Jay Briscoe’s family.

The “Reach for the Sky” T-shirt is available through Shop AEW and ShopHonor on Pro Wrestling Tees for $24.99. All of the proceeds will go to benefit Briscoe’s family.

On January 17th, the wrestling world lost one of its most beloved family members when Jamin Pugh, known professionally as Jay Briscoe, tragically lost his life in an automobile accident. A member of the Ring of Honor family from the very beginning, Jay became a multi-time ROH World Champion, a 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, and a first-ballot ROH Hall of Famer with his brother Mark. Together, The Briscoe Brothers were a part of ROH’s foundation, the heart and soul, and were essential in building that company into the most influential wrestling promotion of the last twenty years. But more than that, the Pugh family lost a husband, a father, a brother, a son, and in an effort to both honor Jay’s memory as well as support those left behind, we are offering this ‘Reach For The Sky’ t-shirt with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit the Pugh family as they cope with this tragic loss.

A crowdfunding campaign to raise money for Briscoe’s family has surpassed its $200,000 goal and has currently raised more than $287,000.

Briscoe’s 12-year-old daughter Gracie and nine-year-old daughter Jaylie both suffered serious injuries in the accident. A positive update on their condition was issued last Friday.

An ROH tribute show for Briscoe was filmed after last Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. The tribute will be available for free on HonorClub and YouTube when it is released. When the tribute show will be premiering hasn’t been announced.

ROH is also planning future tributes for Briscoe when weekly ROH television launches and at this March’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view.

AEW Rampage & ROH Jay Briscoe tribute show spoilers from Fresno

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Here are results from AEW Dark Elevation and Rampage, which was taped before and after Wednesday’s Dynamite.

Additionally, AEW taped a ROH tribute show to Jay Briscoe following Rampage.

AEW Dark Elevation:

  • Skye Blue defeated Zoe Dubois
  • The Butcher & The Blade defeated David McCallion and Richie Slade
  • Rush & Preston Vance defeated Papacito Blanco and Papacito Negro
  • Emi Sakura defeated Brooke Havok
  • Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Evil Uno) defeated Ryan Nemeth, Peter Avalon, and Serptentico
  • Tony Nese & Ari Daivari defeated Big Fonz and Jordan Cruz

AEW Rampage:

  • Jungle Boy defeated Ethan Page. Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy were at ringside. Towards the end of the match, Page grabbed Matt Hardy’s hair to avoid a code red. Hardy shoved Page, leading Jungle Boy to hit the code red for the win.
  • Tony Schaivone interviewed Eddie Kingston and Ortiz. They argued, with Ortiz saying their trainer Homicide would be mad at him, calling Kingston a fake tough guy. Kingston attacked Ortiz with a steel chair and walked out.
  • Brian Cage defeated Willie Mack
  • Jade Cargill and Leila Gray defeated Jaina and Jordyn Vanity
  • Action Andretti defeated Daniel Garcia

ROH Jay Briscoe tribute show:

  • Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman opened the show, talking about Jay Briscoe.
  • Wheeler Yuta defeated Hagane Shino to retain the ROH Pure Championship. Judges were Jerry Lynn, Dean Malenko, and BJ Whitmer. Yuta won via submission.
  • Adam Cole came out and talked about Jay Briscoe
  • Marina Shafir defeated Mighty Myra via submission
  • Eddie Kingston defeated QT Marshall by submission
  • ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Madison Rayne via submission with a crossface. After the match, Athena attacked Skye Blue at ringside, laying her out with a belt shot.
  • Yuka Sakazaki defeated Sandra Moone
  • Juice Robinson defeated Brandon Cutler
  • Claudio Castagnoli defeated Christopher Daniels to retain the ROH World Championship. Both Danielson and Castagnoli talked about Briscoe after the match.

AEW to tape ROH Jay Briscoe tribute show following Dynamite

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A Ring Of Honor show paying tribute to Jamin Pugh (Jay Briscoe) will be taped following Wednesday’s live edition of Dynamite.

Tony Khan made the announcement Wednesday night.

“Thank you all watching Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite on TBS tonight!,” Khan’s tweet said. We’re just getting started, we have a great live show for you all, + after the live show we’ll film a special ROH tribute to the late great Jay Briscoe which will be available soon free to everyone on Honor Club.”

Khan later reiterated that the show will not be behind a paywall and will also be shown on ROH’s YouTube page.

Briscoe, 38, died Tuesday evening in a car accident when his car, traveling westward, collided with a car traveling eastward that had suddenly crossed into their lane. Ashley Pugh, Jay’s wife, posted on Facebook that their two daughters are currently hospitalized, with one undergoing back surgery.

Prior to the start of Dynamite, a graphic aired honoring Briscoe. Wrestlers came to the ring during the show wearing armbands with the words “Briscoe” and “Jay”

Jay Briscoe’s wife gives medical update on children, asks for prayers

Posted on by Josh Nason

Jay Briscoe’s wife posted an update to Facebook Wednesday asking for prayers for their children following a fatal Tuesday evening car crash that took her husband’s life.

Ashley Pugh said her daughter, Gracie, is having surgery on her back and asked for people to “pray for her precious legs to move again!” She said her other daughter, Jayleigh, has “some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting” while the couple’s other child Gannon is waiting for them at home.

Details are still light on what exactly happened in the aforementioned crash in Laurel, Delaware, Tuesday around 5:30 PM Eastern that took the life of the 38-year-old Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) and another person that has yet to be identified other than they were also driving a vehicle involved in the crash.

Out of respect for the family, the Laurel School District closed their schools Wednesday.

There was an outpouring of love for Briscoe and his family on social media Tuesday following the news, coming from all corners of the wrestling world including dozens and dozens of wrestlers and executives from WWE, AEW, the former ROH regime, Japan, and more.

Jay Briscoe dies in car accident in Delaware

Posted on by Josh Nason

Ring of Honor wrestler Jay Briscoe and one other person died Tuesday evening after a fatal car crash in Laurel, Delaware.

While details are still limited at this time, Delaware State Police did report that the crash occurred in the area of Laurel Road and Little Hill Road around 5:30 PM Eastern. 

It’s unknown how many vehicles were involved, but the driver of another car involved also died.

According to an initial report on the Shore News Beacon, “four patients were trapped.” There were two fatalities and “two critical patients” with one referenced as pediatric. 

Briscoe (born Jamin Pugh) was set to turn 39 later this month.

Due to the tragic accident, the Laurel School District is closing their schools Wednesday.

AEW & ROH head Tony Khan tweeted the news several hours afterward:

A fixture in ROH for 20 years, Briscoe and his brother, Mark, started making a name for themselves in the early 2000s in the Northeast U.S. indie scene working for CZW, NWA Wildside, NWA and other promotions.

But it was in ROH that the Sandy Fork, Delaware, natives became tag team stars synonymous with the promotion. The two first won their ROH Tag Team titles in 2003 and had just begun their 13th reign at December’s Final Battle by defeating FTR in a double dog collar match.

In addition to holding the company’s Six-Man titles with Bully Ray in 2017, Jay Briscoe also was a two-time ROH World Champion. first holding the gold in 2013 and then for a longer run in 2014 through 2015.

He and Mark wrestled around the world and held the IWGP Tag Team titles, the GCW Tag Team titles three times, the Impact Tag Team titles, and the NEVER Openweight Tag Team titles to name just a few.

ROH announces date & location for Supercard of Honor

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the second straight year under the Tony Khan regime, Ring of Honor will hold Supercard of Honor during WWE WrestleMania weekend.

Announced via a graphic prior to AEW Dynamite Wednesday, the pay-per-view will take place on Friday, March 31st at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA — a 10,000-seat arena that is home to USC basketball.

It will be a 7 PM Eastern pay-per-view (4 PM Pacific) and will go on-sale on Friday, January 27th.

This will mark the fourth ROH PPV in the Khan era and marks the full first year of ownership since he bought the company early last year. As he has stated on media calls before, he has been happy with the financial success of the PPVs and live gates for Dallas, Texas; Lowell, Massachusetts; and Arlington, Texas, respectively. He also alluded to the fact the financials have already covered what he paid for the company.

The PPV will mark Supercard of Honor’s first time in California since 2015 and the promotion’s first show of any kind in the state since 2011.

On a packed Friday night with a lot of competition, last year’s show did more than 20,000 total pay-per-view buys on linear and streaming at a time when the show also aired free for HonorClub subscribers. This year’s show will not be available on HonorClub.

Athena to defend ROH Women’s title on January indie show

Posted on by Josh Nason

The first title defense for new Ring of Honor Women’s Champion Athena will not come in an ROH or AEW ring but on the indies instead.

Announced on Saturday, Athena will defend her title against Miyu Yamashita for Prestige Wrestling in Pomona, California, on Saturday, January 21st.

For fans unable to attend, they can watch the action live on IWTV with a subscription.

Athena defeated Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women’s title at last Saturday’s ROH Final Battle. 

Yamashita should be familiar to AEW fans as she challenged then-AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa for the title this summer at the Fight for the Fallen edition of Dynamite. That followed her non-title win over Rosa when Rose competed in Japan that set up that title match.

Yamashita currently holds the EVE title and is a fixture in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. This will be their first-ever match of any kind.

The future of ROH is somewhat on hold as ROH head Tony Khan said the company’s future TV show will be available on HonorClub but no tapings have been announced. He said news on that would be coming after Wrestle Kingdom in early-January and that he would be pulling back on featuring ROH titles on AEW TV.

Dax Harwood reflects on ‘masterpiece’ ROH Final Battle dog collar match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Nearly a week removed from Final Battle, Dax Harwood is reflecting on FTR and The Briscoes’ “masterpiece” double dog collar match.

FTR and The Briscoes completed their trilogy as The Briscoes won the ROH Tag Team titles at Final Battle last Saturday. The dog collar match was rated five and a half stars by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

In a social media post on Thursday, Harwood wrote that, over every match he’s had in his career, the dog collar match is the one he’s most proud of.

Artists have the one piece they’re the most proud of, and that’s their Masterpiece. This was my Masterpiece. Watching it, honest to God, I’ve laughed, I’ve cringed, and I’ve cried. Over every other match I’ve had, this is the one I’m the most proud of.

2022 has been a storybook year for me. Almost unbelievable at times. Through anger, frustration, joy, and pain, it’s been the greatest year of my life. Thank you all for allowing me to be a part of yours. I hope we could make it a little bit better.

2023 is going to be unknown territory, and I’m not even sure that we can match up to what we’ve done this year, but you all have my word, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re just as entertained as ever.

Harwood & Cash Wheeler’s ROH Tag Team title reign began when they defeated The Briscoes at Supercard of Honor this April. They also defeated The Briscoes in a two-out-of-three falls match at Death Before Dishonor in July.

By defeating FTR at Final Battle, The Briscoes became 13-time ROH Tag Team Champions.

FTR are still the IWGP and AAA Tag Team Champions. They’re set to defend the AAA titles against Dragon Lee & Dralistico in Mexico later this month. In January, FTR will defend the IWGP Tag Team titles against Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

Tonight’s AEW Rampage will feature a promo from FTR.

ROH Final Battle PPV buys down from Death Before Dishonor

Posted on by Josh Nason

The early pay-per-view buy estimates are in for last Saturday’s Ring of Honor Final Battle.

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that based on the first week estimates, the show did more than 25,000 PPV buys, comprised of 19,000 via streaming platforms and 6400 on linear platforms.

He noted the linear number could increase by anywhere from five to ten percent when the final tallies are in.

While the number is up from April’s Supercard of Honor’s 23,000 buys, even with a ten percent increase, the show would be down from July’s Death Before Dishonor which generated 37,000 buys.

While April’s show was on a crowded Friday during WrestleMania weekend, this past Saturday’s show was the first in the Tony Khan era to be held in the afternoon. The night was also a busy one with NXT Deadline and a UFC pay-per-view.

The buys, the attendance and the live gate were the highest in the 21-event history of Final Battle.

A Chris Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli rematch for the ROH title headlined the show with FTR vs. The Briscoes in a double dog collar trilogy match for the ROH Tag Team titles announced on the Wednesday before the show.

Tony Khan: ROH’s weekly TV show will air on HonorClub

Posted on by Josh Nason

The home of Ring of Honor’s weekly TV show will be in a familiar place: HonorClub.

ROH head Tony Khan revealed the news at the post-Final Battle press conference Saturday.

Khan didn’t provide any plans or a start date for when that weekly TV would begin, but expects news to start coming out after NJPW Wrestle Kingdom in early-January.

The reason for that is Khan expects NJPW to be involved heavily in the project and he has been talking to them about it.

Khan said he wanted to take advantage of the development work that former owners Sinclair Broadcasting funded on the technology behind HonorClub that his team finished off.

The service, available now for $9.99, has their complete archive available now with future PPVs, including Final Battle, moving to the service 90 days after they happen.

Khan said he is going to keep the existing relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery and Bleacher Report to keep airing PPVs based on the success thus far with them.

Khan said he expected some talent to remain exclusive with ROH and also have involvement from other promotions like NJPW. He also mentioned his relationships with DDT and NOAH and mentioned having a luchador presence.

Here’s a few other notes from Khan at the press conference:

  • Asked why Colt Cabana wasn’t on the show, Khan said he is injured or else he would have been. He did say Cabana was working backstage as a coach tonight.
  • Even though he was in the crowd tonight, Khan said Trent Seven is not under contract and is on a per-appearance deal. He put over the match Seven had with Orange Cassidy on AEW Rampage.
  • He said he felt FTR vs. Briscoes is one of the best trilogies in wrestling history. He was asked about why it wasn’t the main event and deferred to talking about how great he thought the Claudio Castagnoli/Chris Jericho main event was.

Claudio Castagnoli defeats Chris Jericho for ROH title at Final Battle

Posted on by Josh Nason

Claudio Castagnoli capped off an eventful ROH Final Battle by defeating Chris Jericho to regain the ROH World title in Saturday’s main event.

The end came in a unique fashion with Jericho submitting during Castagnoli’s giant swing, finally giving up in the midst of a 27th consecutive swing. The win ensures that “The Swiss Superman” doesn’t have to join the Jericho Appreciation Society as was the stipulation of the match.

That followed Matt Menard and Angelo Parker interfering on Jericho’s behalf, slipping the now-former champion a bat that he used to unsuccessfully get the victory. Menard and Parker were eventually tossed from ringside.

After the win, Castagnoli celebrated with new ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta and Jerry Lynn in the ring to close the show. Lynn had been taken out by Jericho during his run as champion.

It’s the second ROH World title reign for Castagnoli. He held the championship for 60 days from July through September of this year starting with his win over Jonathan Gresham at July’s Death Before Dishonor and ending with his loss to Jericho at September’s Dynamite Grand Slam.

ROH Women’s, Six-Man, Pure titles change hands at Final Battle

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three titles changed hands at ROH’s Final Battle event on Saturday.

Athena defeated Mercedes Martinez to capture the ROH Women’s title, Wheeler Yuta regained the ROH Pure Championship from Daniel Garcia, and The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Leona, and Kaun) won the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles, defeating Dalton Castle and The Boys.

Athena defeated Martinez with the eclipse to win the ROH Women’s Championship for the first time. The match was made after Martinez confronted Athena on a recent episode of AEW Rampage, where in recent weeks Athena has shown more of a dangerous streak in the way she handles her opponents.

Wheeler Yuta won his trilogy with Daniel Garcia, capturing the ROH Pure Championship for a second time. Yuta gave Garcia a piledriver, then struck Garcia with a series of elbows to Garcia’s jaw, causing Garcia to pass out and allowing Yuta the victory.

The Embassy won their first championship under this iteration of the group on Saturday, with Cage pinning Brent Tate after Kaun swung Tate into Cage, who delivered a powerbomb to score the pinfall victory.

In addition to these title victories, Claudio Castagnoli regained the ROH World Championship from Chris Jericho, and The Briscoes won the ROH Tag Team titles, defeating FTR.