Category: Ring of Honor

AEW’s Tony Khan plans to continue ROH wrestling operations

Posted on by Ethan Renner

AEW president Tony Khan plans to continue Ring of Honor’s wrestling operations after acquiring the company, and will serve as the booker.

Khan made the announcement at the post-Revolution press conference. 

“What we’re going to do going forward? I think it assumes that we’re going to do something going forward. And yeah, I do still want to continue the operations going forward, and I am very excited about it and do have a lot of plans for it. I do expect to continue the wrestling operations,” Khan said. 

“I’m gonna be the booker. And there’s a reason for that,” said Khan. “Because I will be bringing in young wrestlers, and they have a lot of young wrestlers, and I think we’re very successful here and we’re doing very well here.”

“There should be a Ring of Honor, and I think I’ve got the resources to present a better version than anybody else can.”

Khan also said that while assets are still being transferred to him, he wants to be respectful of the deal he made with Sinclair to acquire ROH and did not want to discuss specific plans as to ROH potentially serving as a developmental brand, a touring company, or what the distribution for ROH content both new and old would look like.

“I do have a lot of plans. I was very excited about reaching an agreement. I still plan to make more announcements. I think I’m still in a very preliminary phase,” said Khan.

“It’s also a very valuable library that we acquired,” Khan said of the ROH video library, but said that he could not detail whether ROH’s Honor Club service will continue, or whether ROH footage and AEW footage could end up together on a streaming service. 

AEW’s Tony Khan purchases Ring of Honor from Sinclair Broadcast Group

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tony Khan is the new owner of Ring of Honor.

After announcing the acquisition on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite, a press release was sent out confirming that Khan had purchased the company from Sinclair Broadcast Group. Included in the deal are ROH’s video library, brand assets, intellectual property, production equipment, and more.

The press release states that the purchase will be completed through “an entity that is wholly-owned by Tony Khan”. It also said that further details regarding the extent of the acquisition will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Ring of Honor’s influence on modern professional wrestling is etched permanently in the history books, and this acquisition ensures that its legacy will be kept alive and treated with the utmost respect,” Khan said in the press release. “This deal adds thousands of hours of content to our rapidly growing library and creates new opportunities to expand our footprint on a national and global scale, while having the potential to produce new content under the ROH banner. I will immediately begin exploring opportunities to make ROH’s video library available to fans, who’ll have the opportunity to witness the beginnings of the careers of some of AEW’s biggest stars.”

“Ring of Honor has produced some of the best professional wrestlers over the past 20 years, but more importantly, it created a family,” COO of Ring of Honor Joe Koff said in the press release. “I will be forever grateful to everyone in the ROH family who has worked tirelessly for the past two decades to take ROH to levels previously unimagined. Tony has the utmost appreciation and respect for Ring of Honor, and I’m truly excited to see how he continues the legacy.”

ROH released all of their wrestlers under contract back in October and went into hiatus following their last pay-per-view, Final Battle, in December. Recently they have been promoting their first card for 2022, Supercard of Honor XV, which will take place on April 1 in Garland, Texas.

ROH adds talent to Supercard of Honor, sets Philly TV taping date

Posted on by Ian Carey

Ring of Honor has announced TV tapings in Philadelphia next month and a new match for Supercard of Honor XV. 

The company revealed today that Shane ‘Swerve’ Strickland will make his promotional debut April 1 at Supercard of Honor, facing Alex Zayne on the show. Strickland will wrestle under the name SW3RVE The Realest in ROH. 

During today’s ROH Live Chat on Facebook, Ian Riccaboni also revealed that ROH will return to Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena on April 10 for a set of television tapings. He also noted that they will be unveiling a new logo and a new set design. 

Additonally, Riccaboni said that company officials are negotiating with an “ROH favorite” to face the winner of the Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido match at Supercard of Honor. 

GCW’s Ninja Mack and Joe Hendry were also confirmed for the show. 

Our own Denise Salcedo was announced as a special host and backstage interviewer for Supercard of Honor. She joined Riccaboni in the live chat and teased that there will be an announcement regarding the ROH Women’s World Championship soon. Deonna Purrazzo has been defending the title in Impact Wrestling since defeating Rok-C on an episode of Impact Wrestling that aired on January 13. 

ROH Supercard of Honor XV takes place Friday April 1 from the Curtis Culwell Center in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX. The updated lineup for the show is below:

  • Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido in a Winner Takes All match to determine the undisputed ROH World Champion.
  • ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe) vs. TBA
  • SW3RVE The Realest vs. Alex Zayn

CM Punk inducted into ROH Hall of Fame as final member of inaugural class

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ring of Honor’s inaugural Hall of Fame class has now been fully unveiled.

It was announced today that CM Punk has been inducted into the ROH Hall of Fame as the final member of the inaugural class. The class also includes The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe), Bryan Danielson, and Samoa Joe.

Punk made his ROH debut in 2002. He held the ROH World Championship once and the ROH Tag Team titles twice during his time with the promotion. Both Tag Team title reigns came with Colt Cabana as the Second City Saints.

Before finally claiming the ROH World Championship from Austin Aries in 2005, Punk was unsuccessful in challenging for the title in a famous trilogy of matches against Joe in 2004. The first two of those matches were hour-long draws. The third saw Joe retain his title.

Punk defeating Aries for the ROH title kicked off the “Summer of Punk” storyline that ended with Punk leaving ROH after he signed with WWE.

Punk made his return to pro wrestling when he signed with AEW last year. He was away for more than seven years after departing WWE in 2014. Punk is set to face MJF in a dog collar match at AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view on Sunday, March 6.

“A career retrospective on Punk will be featured on this weekend’s episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling television, and a YouTube special on Punk drops Monday, Feb. 28 at 9 a.m. ET on ROH’s YouTube channel,” ROH wrote.

“A special Hall of Fame episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling featuring all of the inductees airs on TV the weekend of March 5.”

The Briscoes to defend ROH Tag Team titles at Supercard of Honor

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ring of Honor’s first show back from its hiatus will include a Tag Team title defense by The Briscoes.

Jay & Mark Briscoe will defend their ROH Tag Team titles at Supercard of Honor in Garland, Texas on Friday, April 1. The team that they’ll be facing has yet to be revealed.

At Final Battle this past December, The Briscoes won the ROH Tag Team titles by defeating The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett). The win kicked off The Briscoes’ 12th reign as ROH Tag Team Champions.

A confrontation between The Briscoes and FTR went down after The Briscoes’ victory at Final Battle. The two teams have been feuding with each other on social media, but a match between them has yet to be confirmed.

Last month, The Briscoes were announced as the first members of ROH’s inaugural Hall of Fame class. The class also includes Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, and one more member who will be announced next Monday.

ROH has been on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 as it works to “reimagine” the company. The promotion’s relaunch will be focused on the ROH World Championship, ROH Women’s World Championship, and ROH Tag Team titles, which are being defended in various promotions.

The Briscoes retained their ROH Tag Team titles against JD Drake & Anthony Henry at a show for Warrior Wrestling last weekend. It was The Briscoes’ first title defense of their current championship reign.

Supercard of Honor is being held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. It’s also been confirmed that Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido will take place at the show, with the winner becoming the undisputed ROH World Champion.

Samoa Joe inducted into ROH Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ring of Honor has revealed the third member of its inaugural Hall of Fame class.

It was announced today that Samoa Joe has been inducted into the ROH Hall of Fame. He joins The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) and Bryan Danielson in the promotion’s first Hall of Fame class.

The final member of the class will be announced next Monday.

Joe was the third-ever ROH World Champion, winning the title from Xavier in March 2003. He held the title for 645 days until losing it to Austin Aries in December 2004.

Joe’s World title reign is the longest in ROH’s history. It helped establish the promotion and included Joe’s famous trilogy of title defenses against CM Punk.

“A career retrospective on Samoa Joe will be featured on this weekend’s episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling television, and a YouTube special on Joe drops Monday, Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. ET on ROH’s YouTube channel,” ROH wrote.

“A special Hall of Fame episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling featuring all of the inductees airs on TV the weekend of March 5.”

Joe’s release from WWE last month was the second time he’s been let go by the company within a nine-month period. After initially being cut in April 2021, he returned to WWE for a role in NXT. That included working both as a wrestler and a talent scout. He won the NXT Championship from Karrion Kross at TakeOver 36 last August but relinquished the title prior to September’s NXT 2.0 rebrand. Joe hasn’t wrestled since the match where he won the title from Kross.

Joe tweeted about his ROH Hall of Fame induction:

The Briscoes to defend ROH Tag Team titles at Warrior Wrestling 19

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship will be on the line this Saturday, February 12 at Warrior Wrestling 19. 

Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe announced on Twitter today that their match with JD Drake and Anthony Henry on Saturday’s show will now be for the ROH World Tag Team titles. Warrior Wrestling 19 will be available for purchase on FITE TV.

https://twitter.com/jaybriscoe84/status/1491887970122715139

The Briscoes casually brought up AEW in their video promo as well, outright stating that for those watching the video expecting an announcement regarding a potential move to the company, they should turn the video off, as there would be no such announcement today. 

Jay and Mark captured the ROH Tag titles at the Final Battle pay-per-view in December, ROH’s last event before going on hiatus. The company is set to return to action with Supercard of Honor on WrestleMania weekend on Friday, April 1 at the Curtis Culwell Center in the Dallas area.

Bryan Danielson inducted into ROH Hall of Fame

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“The American Dragon” is the second act to be announced for Ring of Honor’s Hall of Fame.

ROH revealed today that Bryan Danielson is the second member of the promotion’s Hall of Fame class. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) were the first act to be announced for the ROH Hall of Fame.

Danielson was involved in the main event of ROH’s first-ever show in 2002, with Low Ki defeating Danielson and Christopher Daniels in a three-way match at the Era of Honor Begins.

From September 2005 to December 2006, Danielson held the ROH World Championship for 462 days. It’s the third-longest World Championship reign in ROH history, and Danielson made a record 38 successful title defenses.

Danielson currently wrestles for AEW. After departing WWE earlier in the year, he debuted for AEW at All Out in September 2021.

“A career retrospective on Danielson will be featured on this weekend’s episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling television, and a YouTube special on Danielson drops Monday, Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. ET on ROH’s YouTube channel,” ROH wrote.

“A special Hall of Fame episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling featuring all of the inductees airs on TV the weekend of March 5.”

Two more inductees will be part of the inaugural ROH Hall of Fame class. They’ll be announced on Monday, February 14 and Monday, February 21.

The Briscoes revealed as first ROH Hall of Fame inductees

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The most decorated tag team in Ring of Honor history are the first inductees into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.

ROH has announced that The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) are the first inductees of the promotion’s inaugural Hall of Fame class. They’re the first of four acts who will be part of the class.

The Briscoes started with ROH when the promotion was launched in 2002. The establishment of the ROH Hall of Fame is in celebration of the promotion’s 20th anniversary.

The Briscoes are 12-time ROH Tag Team Champions, including currently holding the titles. Their 12th reign began when they won the titles from The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) at December’s Final Battle pay-per-view.

Jay Briscoe is also a two-time ROH World Champion. 

The ROH TV episode that airs this coming weekend will focus on The Briscoes’ careers, and a special on The Briscoes will premiere on ROH’s YouTube channel on Monday, February 7.

A special Hall of Fame episode of ROH TV will premiere the weekend of Saturday, March 5.

The next three Hall of Fame inductees will be revealed on Monday, February 7, Monday, February 14, and Monday, February 21.

ROH has been on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 as it works to “reimagine” the company. It will return with Supercard of Honor being held in Garland, Texas this April.

Ring of Honor launching Hall of Fame, four inductees to be announced

Posted on by Josh Nason

Ring of Honor announced Wednesday that they are launching their own Hall of Fame to coincide with their 20th anniversary.

Four inductees will make up its inaugural class with the first inductee announced this Monday and the following three Mondays (February 7, 14 and 21).

Each February episode of ROH’s TV show, in addition to a weekly YouTube special, will be devoted to that week’s inductee.

The company is currently on a three-month hiatus from producing new events as they prepare for a relaunch with Supercard of Honor on April 1st. They didn’t say whether there will be any type of ceremony at that event.

The announcement comes days after the inaugural class of the GCW Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame was inducted. WWE, Impact Wrestling, NWA and other indie promotions also have their own respective Halls of Fame in addition to the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Cauliflower Alley Club Hall of Fame and others.

Gresham vs. Bandido winner-take-all title match set for ROH Supercard of Honor

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Jonathan Gresham and Bandido are set to face off in a winner-take-all match for the ROH World Championship.

Gresham vs. Bandido to determine the true ROH World Champion has been announced for Supercard of Honor on Friday, April 1. The show will be ROH’s first event since going on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 to “reimagine” the company. It’s taking place at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.

Bandido was supposed to defend the ROH World Championship against Gresham at last month’s Final Battle pay-per-view. But with Bandido having to be pulled from the show due to testing positive for COVID-19, Gresham instead defeated Jay Lethal in a match where the winner was awarded the original ROH World Championship belt. Gresham and Bandido have each claimed to be the rightful ROH World Champion since then.

Gresham and Bandido went face-to-face at the end of Terminus’ debut event this past Sunday. Gresham told Bandido that the time would come for them to face off.

Gresham is defending his version of the ROH World Championship against Blake Christian at The Wrld on GCW this Sunday. Gresham is also set to put his title on the line against AEW’s Santana at Terminus’ next show on Thursday, February 24.

Bryan Alvarez reported earlier this month that ROH’s relaunch will focus on the ROH World Championship, the ROH Women’s World Championship, and the ROH Tag Team titles. Those champions will continue to defend their titles in outside promotions, with Sinclair having the rights to air the matches on ROH television.

Deonna Purrazzo wins ROH Women’s title on Impact Wrestling

Posted on by Josh Nason

Deonna Purrazzo is once again a double champion.

“The Virtuosa” defeated Rok-C for the ROH Women’s title in the main event of Thursday’s edition of Impact Wrestling. It was a title vs. title match with Purrazzo putting her AAA Reina de Reinas championship on the line.

The end came when Purrazzo submitted Rok-C with the Venus de Milo armbar following some failed attempts at the Fujiwara armbar. 

Afterward, Maria Kanellis-Bennett and a contingent of ROH talent that weren’t welcome in Impact confronted her with Kanellis-Bennett saying she was taking the titles. Despite some Impact help, the group was laid out by the ROH invaders to end the show.

It’s the first ROH title reign for Purrazzo who is also a two-time Impact Knockouts Champion. She lost the title to Mickie James at last October’s Bound for Glory and was unable to reclaim it in a rematch at last Saturday’s Hard to Kill.

The loss ends Rok-C’s short reign with the new title she won in a tournament final. She defended the title successfully nine times, mainly in indie promotions outside ROH. Purrazzo challenged her to the winner take all match at December’s Final Battle.

Ring of Honor to focus on three titles as part of relaunch

Posted on by Josh Nason

As part of a relaunch that kicks off in April, Ring of Honor will focus on both the men’s and women’s World titles and the Tag Team titles.

Bryan Alvarez first reported the news on Monday’s Wrestling Observer Live.

Alvarez said that the three different titles will continue to be defended in various promotions like GCW and Impact as has been the case recently and that Ring of Honor has the rights to air those matches on their weekly TV show, essentially making them “old-school touring World champions” as he put it.

It’s likely to be mid-March when those matches will begin to air on ROH’s weekly TV show on Sinclair.

This news also means that the Pure title, the TV title and Six-Man titles will go dormant as they will no longer be defended.

After announcing in October that they would take the first quarter of 2022 off to reassess their future, ROH announced Monday that they will return at Supercard of Honor on Friday, April 1st in Garland, Texas, as part of WrestleMania weekend events. The promotion will run like an indie with non-contracted talent.

ROH announces Supercard of Honor for April

Posted on by Joseph Currier

ROH has revealed when and where the promotion will be returning from its hiatus.

It was announced today that Supercard of Honor 2022 will take place on Friday, April 1. The show is being held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.

“Tickets for the annual pay-per-view extravaganza go on sale Friday, Jan. 21 at 11 a.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Central for HonorClub members, and Friday, Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Central for the general public,” ROH wrote.

No matches have been announced for Supercard of Honor yet.

Last October, it was announced that ROH would be going on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 as it worked internally to reimagine the company. The last show before the hiatus was December’s Final Battle PPV.

Supercard of Honor is ROH’s annual WrestleMania week event. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it hasn’t been able to take place since 2019’s G1 Supercard. That show was held at Madison Square Garden and was in collaboration with NJPW.

The first Supercard of Honor event took place in 2006.

OGK, Maria Kanellis, PCO, Vincent appear at Impact Hard to Kill

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Four Ring of Honor wrestlers, along with Maria Kanellis, appeared on tonight’s Impact Hard to Kill event, laying out members of the Impact Wrestling roster.

Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Vincent, and PCO appeared following the Hardcore War match and attacked Rhino and Heath. Willie Mack and Rich Swann attempted to help, but were then jumped by PCO and Vincent. The Impact wrestlers were then laid out by the Ring of Honor wrestlers as Bennett brought in Maria Kanellis. All five then posed as the announcers suggested this may be an invasion from Ring of Honor.

Backstage, Gia Miller attempted to interview Scott D’Amore about the situation. D’Amore told Miller that he had to call Baltimore (the location of ROH’s headquarters) to figure out what was going on.

ROH has been on hiatus since December’s Final Battle, with the company planning resuming shows in April. Jonathan Gresham, the ROH World Champion, successfully defended the ROH title against Impact’s Chris Sabin earlier in the show.

Rok-C, the ROH Women’s Champion, appeared at ringside for the main event between Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo.