Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett are officially back with Ring of Honor full-time.
In an interview with PWinsider today, Bennett and Kanellis-Bennett announced that they’ve signed new contracts with ROH and will be with the promotion full-time going forward. The two had been on short-term deals with ROH that were set to run through the end of June.
ROH has also officially announced that Bennett and Kanellis-Bennett have re-signed with the promotion..
Bennett and Kanellis-Bennett were both released by WWE as part of the company’s pandemic-related roster cuts last April. In November, Bennett returned to ROH by reuniting with his former Kingdom stablemate Matt Taven. Bennett and Taven are now known as The OGK.
Kanellis-Bennett made her return to ROH by announcing the promotion’s The Experience fan-engagement initiative in December of last year. She’s working for ROH both behind the scenes and as an on-air talent. At ROH’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view last month, Kanellis-Bennett announced that ROH will be holding a Women’s Championship tournament that will begin this summer.
Bennett and Kanellis-Bennett’s original run with ROH ended in December 2015. They were then with Impact Wrestling prior to joining WWE in 2017.
Rocky Romero defeated Delirious in a Pure rules match (14:52)
Delirious had a pre-match promo discussing his history with Romero. He revealed that his first ROH event was also Romero’s first in the company as well and that a scar above his eye is from one of the many battles they had years ago.
Romero also reflected on his past battles with Delirious and made an interesting comment about potentially winning the Pure Championship and defending it in another company he works with such as NJPW. This was his first match in ROH since last August.
Both attempted multiple different holds to start the match but to no avail. Romero eventually picked the ankle and got an ankle lock, but Delirious used his first rope break. Once Delirious recovered, Romero hit a few armdrags and sent him reeling to the outside into a commercial break.
Back from the break, Romero drilled Delirious with a great running clothesline. Romero tried to follow it up with a few more big moves, but Delirious trapped him in a cobra clutch. Romero fell to the mat while in the clutch and used his first rope break.
Once Romero recovered, the match went into next gear. Delirious planted Romero with a fisherman’s buster, followed by a gorilla press. Romero tried to fight off a slew of Delirious offensive attacks, blocking a few cobra clutch attempts. Delirious used a closed fist out of frustration which opened the door for Romero to take him to the ground and lock in his signature armbar, making him submit.
The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham and Jay Lethal) defeated MexiSquad (Bandido and Flamita) (13:45)
Earlier, Quinn McKay revealed that Rey Horus was originally supposed to be Bandido’s partner, but was pulled from the match due to injury. Flamita came in and offered to be Bandido’s partner.
Flamita and Lethal began with Flamita taking Lethal to the mat immediately with an armbar that had Lethal grabbing the ropes. Lethal was overwhelmed by Flamita after he did a springboard hurricanrana, leading to him tagging out to Gresham. Gresham slowed down Flamita after exchanging a few hip tosses which sent us into a commercial break.
Back from the break, Bandido was the legal man with Gresham. Bandido got the better of him and frustrated him quickly because he tagged back out to Lethal. Bandido also frustrated Lethal quickly, dodging and countering most of his offensive attempts.
Flamita tagged in and did a bit of heel work, much to this to Bandido’s disapproval. They also miscommunicated on a few double team moves. Gresham tagged in and began working on Flamita’s arm and leg. Lethal came back in quickly and continued the work that Gresham began. Lethal kept Flamita grounded for a good while before Gresham tagged back in.
In the final stretch, Gresham tried to apply his octopus submission. When Bandido came in to try and break the hold up, he accidentally kicked Flamita in the head. They tried to get back on the same page one more time, but Flamita dropped Bandido when he attempted an around the world. Flamita loaded a forearm to Bandido’s head and walked out on him. Lethal came in, planted Bandido with a powerbomb and transitioned it into a figure four leglock for the submission
Final Thoughts:
I’m ready for the build to what I assume will be for the Best In The World PPV. While i wasn’t too keen on seeing Delirious wrestle after a good Mania week, he had a good match with Romero. Gresham & Lethal vs. Bandido & Flamita was the best television match ROH has put on in a good while. While it’s sad to see MexiSquad split up, I hope it leads to the inevitable Bandido push.
ROH has announced that Violence Unlimited’s Brody King, Homicide & Chris Dickinson will face La Faccion Ingobernable’s Rush, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring in a six-man tag match on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, April 24. Violence Unlimited debuted at last month’s ROH 19th Anniversary pay-per-view. Tony Deppen is also a member of the group.
After Rush retained his ROH World Championship against Jay Lethal in the main event of the 19th Anniversary PPV, Brody King made his way out as La Faccion Ingobernable were beating down Lethal and the rest of The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams, and Rhett Titus). King said Rush has had the numbers game against him, but now King has numbers of his own. King was joined by Deppen, then the returning Homicide and debuting Dickinson appeared.
Brody King, Deppen, Homicide, and Dickinson stood tall after beating down La Faccion Ingobernable. King extended his hand to help Lethal up, but he then dropped Lethal with a lariat. The show ended with Homicide giving Lethal a Cop Killa.
Brody King had challenged for Rush’s ROH World Championship in the main event of December’s Final Battle PPV. Rush defeated King after getting help from Dragon Lee and Bestia del Ring.
The ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of April 24 will also feature Dak Draper vs. Eli Isom. Plus, The Righteous’ Bateman, Vita Von Starr, and Dutch will speak.
This week’s 498th episode of Ring of Honor featured two very competitive matches with one settling a rivalry and another advancing the winner toward a possible TV Title shot.
Brian Johnson defeated Danhausen
This was the third match in a series as the macabre Danhausen picked up the first win with Johnson earning the second by “cheating” as Danhausen explained. The commentary team (joined by Mark Briscoe) were having fun with this being one of the great trilogies in combat sports history.
This was a very competitive match ultimately helped along by Johnson cheating once again. He almost didn’t get away with it the first time as he poked Danhausen’s eyes, but his knee gave out (a tie-in to earlier in the match). Danhausen hit the Go To Sleephausen, but accidently swung Johnson into referee Todd Sinclair and knocked him silly in the process. He had the visual pin, but it was to no avail.
Later, Johnson and Danhausen both went into the corner and stopped just short of running into Sinclair. Johnson took advantage and connected on a low blow off a back kick up the middle that gave him an opening to hit Trust The Process, while clutching his bad knee, leading to the pin.
He did a promo afterward putting the roster on notice now that he was done with Danhausen. Caprice Coleman had a funny line asking, “How did the mic get in there?” when the microphone randomly appeared in the middle of the ring after the match.
Eli Isom defeated LSG
It’s pretty clear ROH has some plans for Isom as he went 2-0 in his return, defeating LSG after initially beating Rey Horus several weeks ago. In promos before the match, both guys made it clear they want a TV Title shot because of the history of those who have won it before. Isom said that he isn’t the same young guy LSG knew as he was learning the business and the Horus win proved it.
Riccaboni said this match was supposed to happen at the October tapings, but Isom was held out due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols.
Like the first match, this was very competitive. It took a while to get going but the last few minutes were very entertaining. At 15:15, it went a few minutes too long.
Both guys unloaded the truck with moves in that aforementioned second half including a Isom sequence that included a double pump northern lights suplex, a sidewinder back suplex, and a springboard moonsault. LSG later rallied with a Rockabye Baby, springboard elbow and a Saintsplosion that got a close two count.
The gateway to the end was a big Isom spear to LSG through the middle ropes, taking both guys to the outside. Both guys hit hard and Isom barely got in before the count hit 20.
The two exchanged a slew of elbows and punches before LSG attempted his Starjammer finisher. Isom blocked and hit his Promise brainbuster to get the victory. Isom has the look and likeability, so it should be fun to see where ROH goes with him throughout the year.
The rest:
They opened the show recapping last week’s Pure wrestling gauntlet, won by Fred Yehi. Yehi did a promo where he didn’t call out Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham, but that would seem to be the obvious next step for both guys.
Speaking of Gresham, he will defend the Pure title against friend and tag team partner Jay Lethal on the 500th ROH TV show coming up in two weeks.
And speaking of that 500th show, Mark Briscoe and Jay Briscoe did promos ahead of their clash on that very show.
A brother vs. brother matchup will headline the 500th episode of Ring of Honor television.
ROH announced today that Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe will be the main event of the 500th episode of ROH TV. The episode will premiere at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, April 15 on ROH’s free 24/7 Best on the Planet streaming channel, which is available via the STIRR and PLEX apps. The episode will then air on TV affiliates that weekend and will be uploaded to ROH’s website on Monday, April 19.
Jay and Mark Briscoe were originally scheduled to face off at ROH Past vs. Present in March 2020, but that event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Jay being sidetracked by his feud with EC3, there’s recently been tension between Jay and Mark Briscoe in storyline. Jay and Mark’s father told them that they need to face off and settle their differences before they team together again.
The Briscoes had been in line for an ROH Tag Team title shot, but — due to Jay being focused on EC3 — Mark instead teamed with PCO at December’s Final Battle pay-per-view. Mark & PCO lost to then-ROH Tag Team Champions Jonathan Gresham & Jay Lethal at Final Battle.
Jay Briscoe vs. EC3 was supposed to happen at Final Battle, but the match was postponed due to EC3 testing positive for COVID-19. At ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV last week, Jay defeated EC3 in a grudge match. Jay and EC3 shook hands after the match.
Leading into the premiere of ROH TV’s 500th episode, there will be a two-hour 500th Episode Special airing on ROH’s Best on the Planet streaming channel starting at 6 p.m. Eastern on April 15. It will feature 10 of the greatest matches in ROH TV history.
Gresham defending his ROH Pure Championship against Lethal has also been announced for the 500th episode of ROH TV. Gresham and Lethal are stablemates in The Foundation.
ROH’s video announcing Jay vs. Mark Briscoe for the 500th episode of ROH TV is available to watch below:
Former Ring of Honor World Champion Dalton Castle is staying with the company.
It was announced today that Castle has signed a new contract with ROH. After defeating Josh Woods at last week’s ROH 19th Anniversary pay-per-view, Castle did a backstage interview where he declared that he’s staying in ROH. Castle had stated in storyline that it could’ve been his last match in ROH if he lost.
Castle defeated Woods at the 19th Anniversary PPV after Silas Young turned against Woods by hitting him with a chair. Castle then rolled up Woods to get the win.
After they had previously traded wins against each other in two matches, Castle vs. Woods at the 19th Anniversary PPV was billed as the rubber match between them. Castle lost to Woods in their first match but then won the rematch after feigning a back injury and rolling Woods up.
Castle held the ROH World Championship from December 2017 to June 2018, winning the title from Cody Rhodes and then losing it to Jay Lethal. Castle is also a former ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champion.
Quinn McKay kicked things off by revealing this week would feature the first-ever Pure rules gauntlet match, along with Mike Bennett seeking to dish out revenge to the Beer City Bruiser.
Per usual, Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call. Note this show aired on local Fox affiliates before Friday’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view.
Beer City Bruiser vs. Mike Bennett ended in a no contest
Bruiser came out to the same music he always does, which they need to change if he’s going to be a heel as it’s a a chantable song.
Matt Taven joined on commentary. Because this was the go-home for the pay-per-view, his presence made sense.
As Bennett posed on the apron, Bruiser blindsided and sent him to the floor. Bennett recovered quickly and slid back in the ring. The two traded forearms before Bruiser planted Bennett with a DDT that was followed by a commercial break.
Back from the break, Bennett connected with a running forearm to the back of the head. Bruiser practically no-sold it and stood up quickly. He caught an attempted kick and drove his elbow into Bennett’s ankle. I want a Mike Bennett match where someone doesn’t try to lacerate his ankle, please. Bennett tried to stand up, but to no avail. Bruiser contributed to his pain by stomping on his ankle and yanking it backwards.
Bennett fought back valiantly, hitting a side slam before immediately selling the ankle. Bennett started to gain some traction, though, bringing Bruiser down to one knee and following it up with a running knee to the face.
After some more back and forth, Bruiser planted Bennett with his signature DDT, but Bennett kicked out at two. Bruiser, clearly frustrated, went to the outside and got a beer bottle from under the ring. He shattered it over the ring post and prompted Taven to rush the ring. Referee Todd Sinclair called for the bell, calling the match a no contest.
Fred Yehi won a Pure rules gauntlet match
The rules: six men were participating with each match having a 15-minute time limit. Also, rope breaks carry over as the gauntlet moves along.
1) Will Ferrara pinned Dante Caballero (5:55)
Ferrara grounded Caballero rather quickly. Ferrara applied a front headlock and floated over a few times before Caballero found a way out. Ferrara planted Caballero with a wristlock driver that sent him into the canvas neck first.
Ferrara continued to work on Caballero’s arm. Caballero attempted a few big moves, but couldn’t finish them because of the damage. After finally hitting a variation of a GTS, Caballero turned his back for a split second and got rolled up by Ferrara for the pin.
2) World Famous CB pinned Ferrara (4:13)
CB was the next man up. He applied an armbar early that Ferrara shook off immediately. Ferrara applied a wristlock that kept CB at bay for a good amount of time. CB found his way out and applied a back submission that Ferrara eventually countered into a crossface, but CB used his first rope break to escape. CB hit a fakeout power bomb/rollup combination for the three count and the win.
3) World Famous CB submitted Eric Martin (6:02)
Martin had some early success escaping from CB’s moves, but couldn’t seem to keep his own holds. Martin hit a few big clotheslines that had CB reeling in the corner, but when Martin charged him, CB ducked out of harm’s way.
Martin wasted no time in countering a CB dropkick and turning it into a Boston crab that forced CB to use his second rope break. CB caught a running Martin attack and twisted him up in a Muelo submission, causing Martin to submit.
4) Wheeler Yuta pinned CB (3:08)
CB attempted a few roll-up pins early, but Yuta had scouted them and escaped. CB threw around Yuta with a few armdrags which didn’t seem to phase him. Yuta and CB then exchanged about 15 different pinning combinations which resulted in a stalemate.
Yuta was the first man back to his feet and hit CB with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a German suplex. Yuta went to the top and plant CB with a paydirt DDT for the win.
Fred Yehi submitted Yuta (6:23)
Yehi immediately charged Yuta who caught him in a head scissors lock that Yehi escaped out of easily. Yehi caught a running Yuta with a T-Bone suplex and then applied a wristlock. Yuta tried to jump out of the hold, but fell back to the mat in pain.
Yuta eventually found his way out and connected with a step-up enziguri to Yehi’s skull. Yuta went to the top and faked out Yehi once, but connected with a dive the second time around. Yehi rolled to the outside afterward and when Yuta followed him, Yehi launched him over his head with an exploder suplex.
Yehi rolled Yuta back in the ring and applied a Koji clutch. Yuta wrenched Yehi’s ankle to remove himself. Yuta applied a heel hook to Yehi, causing him to use his first rope break. Yehi applied another Koji clutch and Yuta tapped pretty fast to give Yehi the win.
Final Thoughts:
Coming off a wonderful 19th Anniversary PPV (even though it technically aired beforehand), this week’s episode of ROH TV was good. We got a continuation of Beer City Bruiser’s heel turn — one that assume leads to his tag partner (Brawler Milonas) turning as well. ROH is short on tag teams, so it would be smart to keep them together for now.
The Pure Wrestling Gauntlet match was a good showcase of the rest of the Pure division. Fred Yehi and Wheeler Yuta had the longest and best match and I hope they are signed by ROH soon, if they haven’t signed already.
Homicide and Chris Dickinson appeared at the end of tonight’s ROH 19th Anniversary show, forming a stable with Brody King and Tony Deppen.
The angle started after Rush, who successfully defended the ROH World Championship, and the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable (Bestia del Ring and Kenny King), attacked Jay Lethal. The Foundation (Rhett Titus, Tracey Williams, Jonathan Gresham) came in for the save, but was overwhelmed by Rush and his stable. Brody’s new stable then came in and cleared the ring, eventually taking out both stables. All four men posed with one another to close out the show, making it clear they were a new stable in the company.
Brody King later wrote on Twitter: “Is it just me or is there something about @IanRiccaboni and @azucarRoc screaming “ COP KILLER “ that’ll make the hair on your arms stand up? The past, The present, THE FUTURE. Change is here. VLNCE UNLTD IS HERE. @ringofhonor #ROH19”
Homicide has been associated with Ring of Honor since the first show in 2002, and is a former ROH World Champion. He hasn’t appeared for the promotion since 2014, but was scheduled to appear at ROH’s Past vs. Present event last March before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Chris Dickinson has appeared on NJPW Strong in the last year and is also a regular for Game Changer Wrestling, most notably appearing on their Bloodsport events.
Two championships changed hands during tonight’s ROH 19th Anniversary show.
Tracy Williams walked out of tonight’s show a double champion. He defeated Kenny King to win the Television championship for the first time. King was defending the title for Dragon Lee, who was unable to compete following minor surgery for a broken eardrum. This ends Lee’s run after over 470 days with the title, winning it at Final Battle 2019.
The ROH World Tag Team titles also changed hands, with Williams and Rhett Titus defeating Bestia del Ring and Kenny King. Bestia replaced Dragon Lee, who was also one half of the Tag Team champions. Titus submitted Bestia with a full nelson to win the match and the titles.
After the match, Bestia and King confronted manager Amy Rose, blaming her for the loss after the referee took away a steel chair she tried to introduce into the match. She gave the middle finger to King and started to leave, but King grabbed her and told her that she was done, allowing Bestia to spear her.
ROH has announced a new Women’s Championship tournament that will take place this summer.
During tonight’s 19th Anniversary event, Maria Kanellis-Benett came out and announced the tournament for this summer. The winner of the tournament will become the new Ring of Honor Women’s champion.
The segment was then interrupted by The Allure (Mandy Leon and Angelina Love). Love confronted Kanellis-Bennett, which led to Kanellis-Bennett announcing that Love will compete against Quinn McKay in a match where the winner will get a first-round bye. No specific date was given as to when the tournament will begin.
ROH has not had a women’s championship since Kelly Klein was the Women of Honor champion, defeating Angelina Love at Glory by Honor XVII on October 12, 2019. However, she was stripped of the championship after she did not renew her contract at the end of that year.
The Women of Honor title was then deactivated and a tournament was announced to crown the new ROH Women’s Champion. That was scheduled to take place last April, however ROH shut down for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and didn’t resume tapings until the fall.
Ring of Honor returns to pay-per-view for the first time in 2021 with their 19th Anniversary event — one year after the 18th Anniversary show was canceled due to the pandemic.
In the main event, ROH World Champion Rush will look to extend his year-long run as champion against former World Champion Jay Lethal in Rush’s third title defense. Lethal earned the opportunity in a recent four corner survival match over Matt Taven, EC3, and Jay Briscoe.
ROH Television Champion and one half of the Tag Team Champions Dragon Lee is off the show due to recovery from broken eardrum surgery, but his partner Kenny King will be entrusted to defend the TV title on his behalf against Tracy Williams. King will also defend the tag titles with Bestia del Ring (filling in for Lee) against Williams and Rhett Titus.
The four-hour event will also feature Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Dak Draper, Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions vs. MexiSquad, Jay Briscoe vs. EC3, an unsanctioned match between Matt Taven vs. Vincent Marseglia, and more.
19th Anniversary Hour One will air for free starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The main card will then begin on PPV and HonorClub at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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Four Corner Survival: Brian Johnson defeated Eli Isom, LSG, & Danhausen to become the #1 contender to the ROH Television Title
This was a really solid opening match for the preshow. Johnson looked good, and came across as a real threat to whomever holds the TV title at the end of the night.
Brian Johnson kept loudly trash talking until the bell rang with him and Isom starting the match. The match follows lucha rules, where as soon as one competitor leaves the ring, one of the others can enter. LSG and Johnson spilled to the outside so Isom hit a triangle moonsault onto them on the floor.
Isom and LSG had a really good exchange next. Johnson tried to cheat at every opportunity, but got foiled by the referee several times. Danhausen opened a jar of teeth and poured them into Johnson’s mouth. All three men superkicked Johnson in the mouth, sending teeth flying everywhere.
As the other three tried to win, Johnson sneaked into the ring and hit the Process on Danhausen, scoring the win and becoming the #1 contender for the TV title.
Jay Lethal Promo
Jay Lethal cut a promo about how The Foundation was going to capture all the titles from Los Faccion Ingobernables, saving the company from them. He said that this is the most important thing in his life, and he was going to set the company right.
Mike Bennett was asked about where Matt Taven was, and Bennett hadn’t heard anything. Brian Milonas came up to him and asked as well, as he hadn’t heard anything either. The Beer City Bruiser came up and said that Milonas should be more worried about them, rather than Bennett or Taven.The announcers talked about a tape being sent to them of the match, and they don’t know what is on it. They haven’t heard anything from either Taven or Vincent since getting the tape. That should be interesing
This was fine. Not a great match, as something just didn’t click, but that could be because of the story ROH was trying to tell with Flamita not getting along with his partners, and Taylor being off his game.
The luchadores started the match hitting a series of dives on everyone. Kaun and Maddox pulled Bandido and Flamita from the ring as Taylor dropped Horus. Flamita tried to hit a crossbody on Maddox and Taylor, but they caught him and Maddox sent Flamita into a flatliner by Taylor. Throughout this, Flamita seemed to not be on the same page as the rest of the Mexisquad.
The luchadores stacked onto each other’s backs and jumped off the middle rope in a triple splash for a 2 count. Taylor seemed off his game throughout the match, constantly taking offence from the luchadores. The Mexisquad kept having communication troubles and despite Shane Taylor taking most of the offence, Flamita ended up eating the pin from Kaun and Maddox.
Flamita, after the match, asked for a triple threat with Horus and Bandido to settle their differences, and it was confirmed. As the preshow went off the air, Rocky Romero joined the commentary team, saying that there was no ROH birthday without NJPW.
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ROH World Television Championship: Tracy Williams defeated. Kenny King w/ Amy Rose
This match was fine given the last-minute change with Dragon Lee not being available. Putting the title on Williams starts the Foundation off right tonight, as they aim to take back all the gold except for the Six-Man Championships.
Los Facción Ingobernables put Kenny King in this match to defend the TV title in Dragon Lee’s absence. Kenny King hit a big spinebuster on Williams after Williams tried to keep it on the mat for the first few minutes. Williams hit some hard chops, but they only seemed to wake up King, until Williams was able to lock on a submission. Rose put King’s foot on the ropes to break it.
Rose threw the TV title into the ring, and Williams faked going for it to cause King to dive at it, which led to Williams grabbing him and hitting a piledriver for the pinfall victory. We have a new ROH World TV champion!
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Flip Gordon defeated Mark Briscoe
This was another quick match, with Briscoe trying to sell and make Gordon look good. The goal was to get him over as the “next thing” in ROH, and I would say it succeeded.
They started the match fast, but Gordon eventually sent Briscoe crashing to the floor with the Kinder Surprise, where he trashed talked Briscoe, asking about his 19 years experience with the company. Mark Briscoe hit a blockbuster on Gordon onto the floor, which I can’t believe he somehow keeps doing this long into his career.
Briscoe setup a chair in the ring to hit a dive on Gordon, but Gordon cut him off and hit the Flip Dive for a pinfall victory over Mark Briscoe. Gordon did hit a low blow earlier, showing his heel leaning quite strongly.
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Dalton Castle defeated Josh Woods w/ Silas Young
This was a fine technical match, with Woods and Castle really relying on their wrestling background. I really enjoyed this one.
This was a very technical match with both men doing a lot of grappling, using their past in amateur wrestling, blending it really well with professional wrestling. Castle eventually rolled to the floor and managed to sneak around the ring and get a front facelock takeover on Woods.
Eventually, Castle managed to send Woods crashing into the barrier around ringside, then hit a Russian Leg Sweep on Woods for a 2 count. Woods got really frustrated as the match went on, hitting a giant right hand on Castle and then hitting a series of forearms. Woods bat Castle around the ringside area, sending him crashing into the barrier multiple times, to Silas Young’s approval.
Young went for a chair, but Woods stopped it, and Castle hit a German suplex, but Woods hit butterfly suplex on Castle. As Woods got sent towards the ropes, Young hit Woods with a chairshot, saying “You should have stuck to the gameplan,” and Castle rolled Woods up to score the pinfall, and he gets to keep wrestling for ROH.
Young grabbed a mic and said he wasted the last year trying to teach Woods what it meant to be a real man, and now he was going to find out first hand. The biggest story coming out of this match, outside of the breakup of Woods and Young, is that Castle is clearly staying with ROH, which is great news for them.
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Jay Briscoe defeated EC3
This was a fine match, but it went way too long. If they shaved 5-7 minutes of it, it would have been far better. Maybe even 10 minutes. Still a good match, but it didn’t feel like the blood feud that ROH was promoting it as.
EC3 still refused to look Jay Briscoe in the eyes, and Briscoe took this very personally, refusing to shake his hand. EC3 wanted Briscoe to shake his hand, but Briscoe has consistently refused to, saying that EC3 doesn’t deserve to the honor of having his hand shaken by the same hand that shook hands with the likes of Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Misawa, and more.
EC3 used a lot of power throughout the match, hitting a big powerbomb, for example. Briscoe was never fully out of it, but EC3 seemed to take most of the opening parts of the match until Briscoe hit a flatliner in the corner and then a huge dropkick to send EC3 crash to the mat. Briscoe hit a forearm off the apron onto EC3, but hurt his knee on the landing.
EC3 sent Briscoe into the ring post. As they got back into the ring, EC3 cut Briscoe off on the top rope, and he managed to hit a big superplex. EC3 yelled “Honor me!” as he hit a big clothesline on Briscoe and the followed with an Olympic slam. It was at this point that my cat jumped into my face, quite literally, looking for attention, but EC3 hit a brainbuster. I’m a professional, after all.
Briscoe hit a Death Valley Driver on the apron, but he couldn’t take advantage of it. Briscoe hit three neckbreakers, finally starting to get an advantage in the match. Every time Briscoe would hit EC3 at this point in the match, EC3 started laughing and yelling Briscoe’s name. Briscoe finally hit the Jay Driller and pinned EC3. Briscoe shook EC3’s hand, closing their feud.
**********
Bandido defeated Rey Horus & Flamita
This was an awesome match. Mexisquad seems to be done, which is unfortunate, but holy cow this was a great match.
Flamita refused the code of honor, showing he is still upset about earlier. Horus and Bandido exchanged a ton of lucha spots, with neither really getting the advantage. Flamita hit a dropkick on both men, and hit a few Forever clotheslines in the corner and then hit Bandido with a tornado DDT.
Flamita trash talked Bandido throughout the match, showing considerable distdain towards him in general. Flamita hit a top con giro on Horus. After an exchange, Flamita hit a huge superkick on Bandido. Horus really didn’t want to fight either guy, as this really seemed to become personal between Bandido and Flamita. Flamita hit a huge DDT and then hit a muscle buster on into a gut buster on Horus while hitting a senton on Bandido.
Flamita said “No more Mexisquad,” and Horus and Bandido teamed up and hit a hurricanrana off the apron on Flamita. Now, they could focus on a clean match, and Bandido hit a popup cutter on Horus. All three men hit kicks at the same time, dropping all 3.
Horus and Flamita tried to hit a doomsday crossbody on Bandido, but Bandido caught Horus, and flipped backwards into a posion rana on Flamita and a backflip fallaway slam on Horus, and I have no idea how they pulled that off. That was insane. Bandido then hit a 21-plex on Flamita for the pinfall victory.
**********
Fight Without Honor: Matt Taven vs. Vincent
This was quite entertaining, but calling it a match is a bit of a stretch as there was no pinfalls or submissions. The brawling was good and I liked the story they were telling, as it was quite personal and easy to understand. The venue they fought in was really great. It suited this match quite well. I wonder what is going to happen going forward with this one?
This was a cinematic match that took place in the old school where they used to train together. Taven said that the camera man was to record it, and it’s up to them if they call an ambulance or not. Taven went upstairs to find Vincent, and they brawled all around the ring. Taven missed a suicide dive and crashed into some ladders against the wall.
Taven threw Vincent down the stairs and then hit a flying elbow from the stairs onto the landing before dragging Vincent down the stairs. Vincent managed to send Taven into the wall several times, before asking “Do you remember this place, Taven?” before brawling into the area where shows would be held.
Taven blocked a cutter and dropped Vincent onto a pile of chairs, before he said “I do remember!” Vincent rolled back the mat and slammed Taven face first into the exposed wood. Vincent then talked about how everyone knew he was world title material since Final Battle 2019, but Taven kept getting in the way.
He setup tables on the floor and dragged Taven upstair and went to hit a cutter off the balcony before a large man ran in and shoved both men off the balcony through the tables. He then picked Vincent up and carried him out of the building, ending the cinematic match.
**********
Quinn MacKay was in the ring and invited Maria Kanellis Bennett out, who announced that there was going to be an ROH Women’s Championship Tournament this summer to crown a new women’s champion. Angelina Love and Mandy Leon came out said that they deserved to be in the tournament, and that they deserved to be handed the title.
Maria said that she was going to give Angelina a chance to earn a bye in the first round of the tournament by facing off against someone that has wanted a match with her for a long time – Quinn MacKay. MacKay looked excited, and Angelina laughed, but agreed. The match will happen on ROH TV soon.
**********
ROH Pure Championship: Jonathan Gresham defeated Dak Draper to retain
This match was so awesome. Gresham and Draper’s selling was so great, and the way the worked the match as a pseudo shoot, with lots of MMA influence really worked well for me. Absolutely fantastic technical display.
Gresham did a lot of countering from the bigger man in the match, trying to work over the legs to chop him down. Gresham did a really clever spot as Draper was doing a handstand to into a knee drop on Gresham, but Gresham rolled into his hands, forcing him back to the mat quickly and driving Draper’s knees into the mat.
However, Draper was no slouch, forcing Gresham to make the first rope break, and using his size to stay on top of Gresham, forcing him to carry Draper’s weight. Draper forced Gresham to the ropes again, with Gresham having used 2 of his 3 rope breaks in less than 8 minutes. Draper continued the attack over the midsection of Gresham, forcing a third rope break only 10 minutes in.
Gresham kept kicking the leg, which is showing more and more effect against Draper, finally bringing him down to one knee and hitting hard forearms, which led to Draper having to use 2 rope breaks to get away from pinfalls. Suddenly, Gresham is right back in it. Gresham rolled through and locked on an ankle lock, which forced Draper to grab the ropes for a 3rd time, and in less than 2 minutes, it was suddenly even.
Draper threw a closed fist and dropped Gresham, which the referee gave an official warning, but counted the potential knock out. Gresham rolled under the ropes to break the count, but Draper dragged Gresham back to the center of the ring and got a 2-count.
Draper hit a deadlift superplex and a huge doctor bomb on Gresham for a 2-count. Gresham hyper-extended the knee of Draper, but Draper hit a big boot that dropped Gresham. Draper hit a powerbomb from the middle rope, but Gresham barely kicked out.
Draper locked on a Mile High Muffler, but his knee buckled. Gresham hit a lionsault and Draper rolled to the floor. Gresham hit a suicide dive, landing on the back of Draper, locking on a sleeper hold. Draper fought and got back into the ring with Gresham on his back, and held the ropes, but he had no rope breaks left, and Gresham was able to make him pass out with the Rear Naked Choke.
As the commentators were talking, Delirous came out and whispered something in Rocky Romero’s ear.
**********
ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Foundation (Tracey Williams & Rhett Titus) defeated La Facción Igobernables (Bestia del Ring & Kenny King) w/ Amy Rose
This match was fine. The ending was really weird. Bestia del Ring getting distracted by sexism is not something I expected would factor into the match. It made no sense for him to give up the pinfall attempt to ask for a chair, and even less sense for him to be upset that Rose gave him the chair. Weird. Ah well, at least The Foundation won.
Bestia del Ring worked way too much of the early parts of this match, doing lucha spots with Tracy Williams. King hit a tope on Williams, which left him vulnerable in the ring. King and Titus have a history, given they used to be a tag team, so this was quite personal for them.
Rhett hit a belly-to-belly on King and then a monkey flip on Bestia. Titus hit a clothesline on King which Williams then locked on a cloverleaf on King. Titus locked a single leg crab on Bestia to stop him from breaking up the submission.
Williams managed to hit another piledriver on King, and Titus locked on a full nelson clutch, but Bestia broke it up. Bestia randomly gave up a pinfall attempt on Titus and asked for a chair from Amy Rose. This made no sense. When she gave the chair to him, he kicked the ropes and asked her to give the chair to him properly.
Titus dropkicked him. So, Bestia got distracted by sexism. Titus locked on the full nelson clutch, and Bestia tapped out, and the Foundation are the new tag team champions! The Foundation is holding almost all the gold now.
Bestia del Ring then speared Amy Rose after the match. Okay. This made zero sense.
**********
ROH World Championship: Rush defeated Jay Lethal to retain
The finish of this match was a bit overbooked, but Rush and Lethal still had a very good match. I hope we get less of the outside interference shennaigans in future shows, but the new faction that debuted after the match might help keep LIF in check.
Rush came out wearing a mask that was inspired by his entire family. The hype video for the match was excellent, with Lethal saying he needed to win and take back Ring of Honor for pure wrestling, to bring the heart back to the company.
Rush actually adhered to the code of honor here, for the very first time of his ROH career. Rush wasn’t respectful for long though, leading to Lethal attacking viscously. Lethal hit a suicide dive and then started working over the knee of Rush back int the ring.
Rush wasn’t down for long, however, taking it to ringside and slamming a door from the barrier into Lethal’s head twice. Rush grabbed camera cables from under the ring and started choking Lethal. Rush then said to the camera that he was going to be the longest reigning champion in ROH history, and no one will stop him.
Rush had a chance to hit his corner dropkick finisher, but stopped short and just booted Lethal in the face before going tranquillo and saying “Appreciate me!” Rush is a great heel. Rush’s arrogance, however, did not help him as Lethal recovered and hit the Lethal Combination.
Both men exchanged chops and Lethal managed to hit Hail to the King, but Rush kicked out. Lethal locked on the figure four leglock. Rush managed to escape and hit a series of knees and dropkicks on Lethal before countering into a Calf Killer.
Bestia del Ring and Kenny King came out, and as Lethal went for the Lethal Injection, Bestia hit Lethal with a chair right in front of the referee. The referee looked conflicted, but he decided not to DQ them. The Foundation ran out and dragged them backstage and Lethal managed to hit a Lethal Injection for a 2-count!
Rush hit a Superman Forearm on Lethal and then hit the corner dropkick on Lethal, but Lethal rolled to the floor, escaping the finish. Rush looked frustrated, and tried to get Lethal back in the ring. Rush went for it again, and hit a second dropkick and managed to pin Lethal.
Los Facción Ingobernables then attacked Lethal, and as they were doing so, Brody King came out and talked about how Rush almost won the match without help from his family, but now he has some numbers of his own. Tony Deppen came out, but he wasn’t alone, as Chris Dickenson and Homcide also ran out and chased LIF away. King then took Lethal’s head off with a clothesline, and Homicide hit the Cop Killa on Lethal as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts:
This was a very good show from ROH, but it was way too long. While nothing in the show was bad (other than Bestia del Ring being distracted by sexism), it was a really good show. Gresham stole the show again. The triple threat with Rey Horus, Flamita, and Bandido was excellent. The formation of a new faction, adding a fourth to ROH’s loaded roster is showing that ROH is finally emerging from the shadow that the Elite left behind, which is excellent news for them, as they have finally found their identity apart from them.
Match of the Night: Jonathan Gresham vs. Dak Draper
Major Takeaway:
Looks like we’re getting faction warfare in ROH, with 4 major factions, from Shane Taylor Promotions, to the Foundation, to Los Facción Ingobernables, and now Brody King’s faction. I like how ROH is having sides being drawn up, and the booking benefits from having all these people, as it makes it easy to setup storylines as well. It seems ROH is learning from NJPW’s overall approach in that regard, and I think that is a good thing.
Dragon Lee, who is the reigning Ring of Honor Television Champion and one half of the ROH Tag Team Champions with Kenny King, suffered a broken eardrum and is off Friday’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view.
On Thursday’s Week by Week show on YouTube, Quinn McKay said Lee had undergone minor surgery last week and is unable to fly. She didn’t specify what the injury was.
Lee was set to defend the TV title against Tracy Williams, but now King will defend the title on Lee’s behalf. If King wins, Lee remains the champion.
Lee was set to do double-duty as he and King (part of La Faccion Ingobernable) were to defend their Tag Team titles against Williams & Rhett Titus. That match is still on, but Bestia del Ring (Lee’s father) will replace Lee in that spot instead.
The new card for this Friday’s taped show is as follows:
ROH World Champion Rush defends against Jay Lethal
Grudge match: Jay Briscoe vs. EC3
Kenny King defends the ROH Television Championship against Tracy Williams on behalf of Dragon Lee
Unsanctioned match: Matt Taven vs, Vincent Marseglia
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Dak Draper
Kenny King & Bestia del Ring defend The ROH Tag Team titles against Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods
Mark Briscoe vs. Flip Gordon
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defend against MexiSquad (Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus) (19th Anniversary Hour One)
Four corner survival match: Danhausen vs. Brian Johnson vs. LSG vs. Eli Isom (19th Anniversary Hour One)
Quinn McKay hyped up that this is the go-home show for this Friday’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view. Tonight’s main event is set to be a war with The Foundation taking on La Faccion Ingobernable in an eight-man tag team match.
Eli Isom defeated Rey Horus (8:01)
Isom had a great video package reintroducing himself to the ROH fans, revealing that his fandom for wrestling started as a child and that he’s only been wrestling for three years. Isom also reflected on his past venture with Shinobi Shadow Squad and said that while it was fun, it’s time to move on.
Horus reflected on his recent loss to Dragon Lee and claimed the result would be different next time around. He recognized that many people think Isom is the future of ROH, but that he is the present and his time is now.
Isom and Horus exchanged wristlocks and came to a stalemate fairly quickly. Isom tried to gain an advantage after a few chops from Horus, but he was sent to the outside. Horus took advantage and cleared the top rope with a dive. Horus threw Isom into the barricade going into a commercial break.
Back from the break, Isom hit a great looking northern lights suplex. Horus fought back and hit a beautiful Spanish fly. Isom tried to charge Horus in the corner, but got caught in a suplex into the corner. Horus went to the top, but Isom ducked out of the way. Horus landed on his feet and charged at Isom who caught him in a sweet looking pop-up brainbuster for the three count and win.
La Faccion Ingobernable (World Champion Rush, TV Champion and Tag Team Champion Dragon Lee, La Bestia Del Ring and Tag Team Champion Kenny King) defeated The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus) (18:50)
Lee and Gresham started out with a fast exchange. Lee spat on Lethal and chaos broke out with all members of both groups getting in the ring before referee Todd Sinclair kept both groups apart. Williams and Del Ring tagged in and began a chopping war. Bestia took out Williams with a running clothesline and shoved Lethal. Williams took advantage of the distraction and came off the second rope, dropkicking Bestia.
Williams tagged out to Lethal and Bestia tagged out to Rush. Rush offered Lethal a free shot, but Rush clocked him instead. Lethal recovered quickly and sent Rush to the outside, following it up with a great suicide dive. Lethal spit in LFI’s corner, prompting both teams to again get in the ring heading into the break.
Back from the break, Titus and King became the legal men. Titus applied a great hammerlock and kept King grounded for a while. King eventually made his way back to his feet and enticed Titus to engage in the second chopping war of the match. Titus played King’s part for a minute before tagging out to Lethal who was in for a brief second before tagging out to Gresham.
Gresham applied multiple holds to King, isolating him from the rest of LFI. Titus tagged in and got hung up in the ropes after missing a big boot on King. All hell broke loose and both groups started brawling around the arena. Rush slammed Lethal’s head into the barricade while Bestia choked out Williams at ringside. Rush got his signature power cords and wrapped them around Titus’ neck as we went into a second commercial break.
Back from the break, all four members of LFI were in the ring chopping away at Lethal. They all took turns hitting splashes in the corner and cohesively hit a quadruple dropkick on Lethal. Williams got in and tried to fight back, but LFI downed him quickly. Titus took his turn and immediately was shut down by King and Lee. Gresham slid in and fought back valiantly for a moment, downing all members of LFI.
Gresham made a hot tag to Titus who charged and clotheslined Lee over the top rope and caught Bestia with a suplex. Titus tagged out to Williams, who wasted no time in spiking Bestia with a piledriver. Williams tried to pin him, but Lee broke it up. Rush came in, but Lethal stopped him fast, hitting a Lethal Injection on the World Champion. Bestia threw Lethal out and picked up Williams to spike him with a piledriver to pick up the win for LFI.
Final Thoughts:
This was great go-home episode for the 19th Anniversary PPV which is shaping up to be a great one on paper and I’m almost certain it will deliver. Isom was a forgettable name in ROH until tonight, but he had a great return. I don’t know if I agree with him beating Horus, because Horus just beat Dalton Castle at the previous PPV, but it seems as Castle isn’t as important as he once was in ROH.
Two matches are set for Ring of Honor’s 19th Anniversary Hour One.
19th Anniversary Hour One is an hour-long broadcast that will air for free on HonorClub, Best on the Planet, STIRR City, Facebook, YouTube, FITE, and channels carrying the pay-per-view at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, March 26. The 19th Anniversary event will then begin on PPV and HonorClub at 9 p.m. Eastern.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) will defend their titles against MexiSquad (Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus) on 19th Anniversary Hour One. That match had already been confirmed for the 19th Anniversary event. MexiSquad are getting their rematch for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles after losing them to Shane Taylor Promotions last month.
ROH has also announced that Danhausen, Brian Johnson, LSG, and Eli Isom will face off in a four corner survival match on 19th Anniversary Hour One.
Here’s the updated card for the 19th Anniversary event:
ROH World Champion Rush defends against Jay Lethal
Grudge match: Jay Briscoe vs. EC3
ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee defends against Tracy Williams
Unsanctioned match: Matt Taven vs, Vincent Marseglia
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Dak Draper
ROH Tag Team Champions Dragon Lee & Kenny King defend against Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods
Mark Briscoe vs. Flip Gordon
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions defend against MexiSquad (19th Anniversary Hour One)
Four corner survival match: Danhausen vs. Brian Johnson vs. LSG vs. Eli Isom (19th Anniversary Hour One)
Mark Briscoe vs. Flip Gordon and Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods (w/ Silas Young) are the other two new additions to the 19th Anniversary card.
Dragon Lee & King vs. Williams & Titus is the third La Faccion Ingobernable vs. The Foundation title match that’s been announced for the 19th Anniversary show. With every ROH title on the line at the PPV, Dragon Lee and Williams are pulling double duty and also facing each other in a singles match for Lee’s ROH Television Championship. The Anniversary PPV will be headlined by Rush defending his ROH World Championship against Jay Lethal.
Williams & Titus defeated The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) and The Soldiers of Savagery (Moses & Kaun) in a three-way tag match on this week’s edition of ROH Week By Week.
On ROH TV last month, Dragon Lee & King defeated Lethal & Gresham to win the ROH Tag Team titles. The finish of the match was Dragon Lee pinning Gresham after hitting an illegal closed-fist punch.
Draper defeated Fred Yehi in a Pure Rules match on the latest episode of ROH TV. Draper, who won ROH’s Top Prospect tournament in 2019, is ranked as the top challenger in the Pure division.
The main event of the latest episode of ROH TV saw Flamita defeat Gordon after Mark Briscoe hit Gordon with a chair. There was an angle on ROH TV last month where EC3 paid Gordon to cost The Briscoes a tag team number one contender’s match. EC3 is facing Jay Briscoe at the 19th Anniversary PPV.
Castle and Woods are 1-1 against each other this year. Their match at the 19th Anniversary PPV is being promoted as the rubber match between them.
ROH’s 19th Anniversary event is airing on PPV and HonorClub on Friday, March 26. Here’s the updated card for the show:
ROH World Champion Rush defends against Jay Lethal
Grudge match: Jay Briscoe vs. EC3
ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee defends against Tracy Williams
Unsanctioned match: Matt Taven vs, Vincent
ROH Tag Team Champions Dragon Lee & Kenny King defend against Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Dak Draper
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery) defend against MexiSquad (Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus)
