The Beautiful People’s inductor has been revealed.
In an interview with Gabby LaSpisa, Tommy Dreamer revealed that he would be the one inducting Angelina Love and Velvet Sky this weekend at Bound for Glory in Lowell, MA.
“They asked me. It was a big honor, so there you go,” Dreamer said.
It was also announced LaSpisa would be the host of the ceremony, which will be held prior to Bound for Glory. Earlier on Monday it was revealed that Tara, aka Victoria in WWE, would be inducting Mickie James.
The Beautiful People were a major part of the Knockouts division in TNA throughout the 2010s, mainly consisting of Love and Sky but also featured Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich at one point. Together, Love & Sky held the Knockouts Tag Team titles twice, while Love held the Knockouts title 4 times.
Here’s a look at every TNA Hall of Fame inductee since the honor was established in 2012:
2012: Sting
2013: Kurt Angle
2014: Team 3D (Bully Ray & D-Von)
2015: Jeff Jarrett, Earl Hebner
2016: Gail Kim
2018: Abyss
2020: Ken Shamrock
2021: Awesome Kong
2022: Raven
2023: Mike Tenay & Don West, Traci Brooks
2024: Rhino, Bob Ryder
2025: Mickie James, The Beautiful People (Angelina Love & Velvet Sky)
Two more Knockouts division legends have been confirmed for the TNA Wrestling Hall of Fame class of 2025.
It was announced today that The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky & Angelina Love) will be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame at Bound for Glory on Sunday, October 12. They join Mickie James as members of the 2025 class.
The announcement was made in a video where TNA President Carlos Silva surprised Sky & Love with news of their induction. Silva thanked Sky & Love for all they’ve contributed to the promotion.
“We’re excited that this will preserve and promote your legacy forever,” Silva said.
“Thank you so much,” an emotional Sky responded. “That means everything.”
Love & Sky were both multi-time Knockouts World Champions for TNA. They told Silva that the induction means the world to them, and they believe the Knockouts division holds a significant place in wrestling history as the place where the women’s revolution really started.
“Angelina Love and Velvet Sky were the original members of The Beautiful People, characters inspired by Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie,” TNA wrote. “The arrogant blondes had one goal: to cleanse the TNA roster ‘one ugly person at a time.'”
Bound for Glory 2025 is being held at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts. Trick Williams vs. Mike Santana for the TNA World Championship will headline the PPV, which is also set to feature a Tag Team title bout between The Hardys and Dudleys. It’s the final time those two legendary teams will ever face each other.
Here’s a look at every TNA Hall of Fame inductee since the honor was established:
2012: Sting
2013: Kurt Angle
2014: Team 3D (Bully Ray & D-Von)
2015: Jeff Jarrett, Earl Hebner
2016: Gail Kim
2018: Abyss
2020: Ken Shamrock
2021: Awesome Kong
2022: Raven
2023: Mike Tenay & Don West, Traci Brooks
2024: Rhino, Bob Ryder
2025: Mickie James, The Beautiful People (Angelina Love & Velvet Sky)
Hall of Famers and both past and current Knockouts Champions will be part of an all star 10-woman tag team match on the 1000th episode of Impact Wrestling.
Current champion Trinity will team with former champion Jordynne Grace, Hall of Famers Gail Kim and Awesome Kong and a mystery partner against former champions Deonna Purrazzo and Angelina Love, Gisele Shaw, Savannah Evans and a mystery partner.
The episode is being filmed at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York on Saturday, September 9th, to air the following Thursday.
This will be Kim’s first match since 2019’s Rebellion and Kong’s first since 2020. Love will be making her return to the company for the first time since 2017.
Grace will make her return to the company the night before at Impact’s Victory Road in her first appearance since late-May while Trinity will defend her title against a battle royal winner.
Here’s the current lineup:
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Trey Miguel
Trinity, Jordynne Grace, Gail Kim & Awesome Kong and a mystery partner vs. Deonna Purrazzo, Angelina Love, Gisele Shaw, Savannah Evans & a mystery partner
The first names for Impact’s 1000th episode celebration have been announced.
On Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV, the promotion revealed that Impact Hall of Famer and former Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong will appear as will The Beautiful People’s Velvet Sky & Angelina Love.
Sky & Love are both currently part of the NWA while Kong retired from in-ring competition in 2021.
The 1000th episode will be taped in White Plains, New York, on Saturday, September 9th — the night after their Victory Road streaming special in the same venue.
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The Rascalz have taken their first step toward a shot at the Impact Tag Team titles.
Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel defeated Jonathan Gresham & “Speedball” Mike Bailey on Thursday’s show to advance in the four-team eliminator tournament.
Wentz & Miguel await the winners of next Thursday’s bout between former champions ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) vs. Rich Swann & Sami Callihan. The tournament winners will challenge current champions Subculture at this month’s Emergence.
Several new matches have been announced for NWA Nuff Said.
The promotion revealed on Saturday that Kamille will defend her NWA World Women’s Championship against Angelina Love on the pay-per-view. Kerry Morton will defend his NWA Junior Heavyweight belt against Alex Taylor and EC3 will take on a debuting Alex Riley, who will wrestle under his real name of Kevin Kiley.
The 41-year-old Kiley returned to the ring in December for the first time since his release from WWE in 2016. He teamed with Tyrus on a Create a Pro event in Lynbrook, New York on December 8, 2022. He would later appear on Tyrus’ podcast and spoke about wanting to get back in the ring again soon.
On Sunday, the NWA also announced that Chris Adonis will face former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Trevor Murdoch, Cyon will defend the National title against Homicide and Thom Latimer will face Fodder in a Singapore cane match.
NWA Nuff Said takes place Saturday, February 11, 2023, from the Egypt Shrine Center in Tampa, Florida. The lineup for the show is below.
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tyrus defends against Matt Cardona
NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille defends against Angelina Love
NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton w/ Ricky Morton defends against Alex Taylor w/ Danny Dealz
NWA National Heavyweight Champion Cyon w/ Austin Idol defends against Homicide
The NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions are stepping through the “forbidden door” for a title defense in ROH.
NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) will defend their titles against ROH’s The Allure (Angelina Love & Mandy Leon) on next week’s episode of ROH Women’s Division Wednesday. The show premieres on ROH’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesdays.
Kay & Belle cut a promo calling The Allure bullies and announcing that ROH’s Maria Kanellis-Bennett and the NWA’s Mickie James had agreed to a title match between the two teams.
Kanellis-Bennett tweeted about the match: “Mickie James and I had a very nice chat about this match after The Allure tried to interfere in Chelsea Green’s match against Ashley Vox 2 weeks ago. When I said at the PPV there is no door, I meant it!! The NWA Tag Titles will be on the line next week!! @nwa @MickieJames”
James wrote: “Haha!!! Yas Baebee!!! #HEXmarksthespot I know my girls @Sienna & @MartiBelle are gonna do us so proud! @nwa After all…. that’s what the #NWAWomensTagChamps do!”
Kay & Belle won the newly reintroduced NWA Women’s Tag Team titles at this August’s Empower pay-per-view, defeating Red Velvet & KiLynn King in the finals of a one-night tournament.
Kay and Belle were both entrants in ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament this year. Kay made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Trish Adora, while Belle lost to Adora in the first round. The tournament was won by Rok-C.
ROH has revealed how Rok-C’s challenger for Final Battle will be decided.
Over the next several weeks, two triple threat matches will take place to determine the two wrestlers who will advance to face each other in a number one contender’s match. The winner of that match will challenge for Rok-C’s ROH Women’s World Championship at Final Battle.
Allysin Kay, Mandy Leon, and Trish Adora will be the participants in the second triple threat match.
The two triple threat winners will meet in their number one contender’s match the week before Final Battle. Details on when this year’s Final Battle pay-per-view will be taking place haven’t been announced.
Rok-C defeated Alize in the finals of ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament at Death Before Dishonor last month. Rok-C is the inaugural ROH Women’s World Champion, with the title replacing the old Women of Honor World Championship.
On the latest episode of ROH TV, Rok-C was confronted by Love, Leon, Alize, Adora, Willow, and Kay. Maria Kanellis-Bennett then revealed that those would be the six wrestlers vying to challenge Rok-C at Final Battle.
Alize attacked Rok-C on the ramp after the confrontation.
ROH World Champion Bandido & Rey Horus vs. The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) is also set for this weekend’s ROH TV episode, along with The Soldiers of Savagery (Moses & Kaun) vs. Dalton Castle & Dak Draper.
– Quinn McKay returned to the broadcast center and welcomed us to the show. McKay announced that the two semifinal matchups in the ROH Women’s Championship tournament would take place on tonight’s episode, as well as an eight-man tag match between Shane Taylor Promotions and La Faccion Ingobernable.
ROH Women’s title tournament semifinal match: Miranda Alize defeated Trish Adora (12:16)
Chelsea Green joined commentary for this bout.
Trish Adora’s overwhelming size advantage had Alize reeling on the outside very early on. Adora attempted a Cattle Mutilation, but Alize locked her fingers, not allowing the submission to be completed. Alize got ahead of herself quickly, which led to a few mistimed moves into a commercial break.
Alize focused on her striking abilities to try and wear down Adora, but Adora was able to match anything Alize had for her. Both women made their way to ringside and started an intense brawl heading into another commercial break.
As we returned from break, Adora was nailing Alize with some very stiff strikes. Adora still had a massive size advantage, allowing her to just pull Alize out of thin air into a rear naked choke. Alize was close to submitting, but she eventually escaped the hold.
Alize gained some momentum with a few strong running kicks. That eventually opened the door for her Drive By knee strike, followed by her Miranda Rights crossface hold. Adora hesitated to tap for about 20 seconds before she eventually submitted.
Alize is headed to the finals of the ROH Women’s Championship tournament this Sunday, September 12 at Death Before Dishonor.
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ROH Women’s title tournament semifinal match: Rok-C defeated Angelina Love (6:44)
Rok-C tried to shake Angelina Love’s hand before the match, but Love refused.
Rok-C didn’t hesitate to go after the injured shoulder of Love, to which Love had a major issue with. Love didn’t taunt much and just focused on multiple body parts of Rok-C heading into a commercial break.
Love attempted her signature pump kick as we returned from the break, but Rok-C ducked. Love would try to follow up with a flurry of moves, but Rok-C had a counter for almost everything.
The final moments of the match saw Love and Rok-C exchange a few pinning combinations before Rok-C locked in an armbar, making Love submit quickly.
Rok-C will face Alize in the tournament finals.
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La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring) defeated Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses, Kaun & O’Shay Edwards) (7:28)
STP met LFI at the ramp and began brawling. Commentary called for a quick commercial break as order was restored.
Back from the break, Moses and Kenny King were the legal men. Chaos ensued almost immediately and the match broke down, but Dragon Lee and O’Shay Edwards were legal after order was restored.
Every time that LFI tried to pull one of their underhand tactics, STP had a rebuttal and showed that they weren’t going to fall for the tricks of the villainous stable.
The match was building up to an eventual clash between Shane Taylor and Rush. Taylor clocked Rush with a few strikes, but Rush returned them easily and got the upper hand. These two have great chemistry and should wrestle more matches against each other.
The finish saw Taylor in the ring with former friend Kenny King. When the referees were distracted with Bestia del Ring, King low blowed Taylor and pinned him for a three count.
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Final Thoughts —
Headed into this weekend’s Death Before Dishonor PPV, ROH put on an average episode of television. Although I enjoyed Alize vs. Adora, the other two matches were rather short and never really developed a rhythm or a consistent pace.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of ROH TV is worth your while. The scale is as follows:
Must-Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommended Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Watch YouTube Clips
Ian Riccaboni welcomed us to the ROH studio and immediately gave a shout out to Quinn McKay and her dedication to the Women’s Championship tournament. Although McKay has been officially eliminated, Riccaboni gave her a warm message about this just being the beginning.
Riccaboni also ran down the card for tonight’s episode. Dragon Lee will defend his ROH World Television Championship against Eli Isom, while two more quarterfinal matchups will take place in the Women’s Championship tournament.
Angelina Love defeated Max The Impaler (with Amy Rose) via disqualification (5:53)
Love tried to punch Max in the back, but it had no effect on them. Love had a terrified look on her face and slid out of the ring, where she started talking trash to Amy Rose outside of the ring.
Max followed Love to the outside and began beating her down. Max was toying with Love at this point with a slow, methodical pace before she rolled her back in the ring.
Love tried to escape out of Max’s grasp to the apron, but Max caught her in a chokehold on the ropes and wouldn’t let go. Max repeatedly was warned by referee Joe Mandak to let go of the hold, but they refused. As a result, Mandak disqualified Max.
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Trish Adora defeated Allysin Kay (13:50)
Kay applied a standing headlock to Adora and eventually took it down to the mat, which resulted in Adora reversing it into a head scissor lock.
Both women hit a stalemate eventually and rose to their feet. Kay focused on Adora’s arm to try and prevent a lariat and had her reeling heading into a commercial break.
Kay was in full control when the match returned. Kay nailed Adora with constant kicks to the chest and was taunting her afterwards. At this point in the match, Kay would start talking trash and shoving Adora’s face into the mat.
Adora eventually developed a second gear and began unloading a number of strikes onto Kay. Kay would try to lock in an octopus stretch, to which Adora rolled out of, bounced off the ropes and hit a Lariat Tubman for the win.
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Dragon Lee defeated Eli Isom to retain his ROH Television Championship (12:25)
Dalton Castle joined commentary for this bout.
Lee offered Isom a handshake, to which Isom accepted but also gave Lee a kick to the gut. Lee immediately made Isom pay for it by dumping him to the outside and diving onto him on the floor.
Lee stuck his foot on Isom’s skull and applied a single leg crab whenever he got back in the ring. Isom was only motivated more by this, and got up in a fury of rage.
Isom and Lee traded strikes before trading back-to-back-to-back german suplexes. Lee followed it up by spiking Isom with a poison rana, but Isom popped right up and hit a lariat which resulted in a very good near fall.
The final minutes of this match were insane, with both guys just trading move after move. Lee nailed Isom with multiple knee strikes to where he was practically knocked out, to which Lee followed up with a falcon’s arrow for a great near fall. Lee would eventually put away Isom with his signature incinerator knee strike, allowing him to score the pinfall victory.
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Final Thoughts: This edition of ROH TV started off with what I think was one of the most questionable booking choices that the company has made since their return from their pandemic hiatus. Max The Imapler was made to look really dumb with that finish and for what we’ve seen from them so far, they obviously aren’t dumb and they know how to win matches and get the job done. Max was undefeated in the company up to this point and I think this was a terrible way to beat her.
Besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed both Adora/Kay and Lee/Isom.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of TV is worth your while. The scale is as followed:
Must Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommend Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Go Out Of Your Way
The Big Takeaway: Allie Recks made her Ring Of Honor debut against Angelina Love, and another Ticket To Gold was given out.
Lenny Leonard welcomed us to the show. Leonard revealed that the Women’s Division Wednesday’s match taking place this week is Angelina Love vs Allie Recks. Leonard also revealed that Love is the one who recommended Recks to the ROH Board Of Directors.
A brief history on Allie Recks: She’s worked in Shine, CZW, American Combat Wrestling, and Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling. She is also the current Women’s Champion for American Combat Wrestling.
Angelina Love (with Mandy Leon) defeated Allie Recks (9:51)
Love did her usual taunting and wearing down her opponent style in this match. I’ll note that Recks is a great seller, but she didn’t get much offense until the tail end of the match.
I wouldn’t say this was a squash match necessarily, but I would have appreciated Recks getting more offense. Recks was able to hit her codebreaker finisher, The Recks Effect, at one point and it was a great near fall. I’ll also compliment Recks on her great basement dropkick.
After Love kicked out of the Recks Effect, Recks tried to capitalize with a crossbody but missed. Love followed up on her opponent’s missed opportunity with a Botox Injection kick for the win.
After the match, Recks grabbed a mic and thanked Love for the opportunity. Love made fun of Recks but said she’d grant her one more opportunity.
Amy Rose came out in gear but said she wasn’t going to be the one wrestling Recks. Max The Impaler came out afterward and made a beeline for the ring. The Allure went to the commentary desk and kicked Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman out of the building.
Max The Impaler (w/ Amy Rose) defeated Allie Recks (3:58)
This “match” was simply to put Max The Impaler over. They chunked Recks around the ring for almost four minutes like it was nothing.
The Allure and Maria Kanellis Bennett were arguing over commentary the whole match about their personal issues. It took me out of the match quite honestly.
Recks’ fatigue from her previous match obviously played a big factor here, as she didn’t get a single offensive maneuver in this match. Max won the match with their Impaler backbreaker.
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Max The Impaler was given a ticket to gold via Zoom after their match. Maria Kanellis Bennett tried to get a few words out of them, but they just screamed into the camera.
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Final Thoughts: This wasn’t my favorite episode of Women’s Division Wednesday to say the least. I’m completely fine with the push of Angelina Love, after all, she is one of the few recognizable names in the division currently. Recks getting squashed twice left a bad taste in my mouth. Recks seems to be a good wrestler, and I wanted her to get some more action in both of her matches. Angelina Love’s match against Mazzerati a few weeks back was much more competitive.
Max The Impaler getting their Ticket To Gold is long overdue, but well deserved. I’m still not feeling this partnership with Amy Rose. In my opinion, Rose should have a manager, not be a manager.
Lenny Leonard made a surprise return to the broadcasting crew, while Angelina Love and Mazzerati had a fun match and another Ticket to Gold was given out.
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Quinn — No! Lenny Leonard welcomed us to the show. A nice surprise. Leonard introduced the two competitors for tonight’s match: Angelina Love and Mazzerati. Love needs little to no introduction, but Mazzerati has a long list of accomplishments. She’s the current Women’s Champion for the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion in Las Vegas. She’s a former OVW Women’s Champion as well. Mazzerati has worked for ROH before, as well as Impact Wrestling.
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Angelina Love (w/ Mandy Leon) defeated Mazzerati (11:18)
Love applied a front facelock, but Mazzerati was able to escape quickly. Love took her to the mat, but Mazzerati was able to turn it into a pinning attempt for a two count. After being given a dropkick, Love rolled out of the ring to regain her composure for a second and to talk with Leon. Mazzerati went for a kick, but Love caught it and sent her face-first into the apron. When Love got back into the ring, Leon threw Mazzerati into the barricade while the referee wasn’t looking.
Love was back in control until Mazzerati was able to hit a big pump kick that caught Love off guard. Love snatched back her momentum by hitting a great neckbreaker. Love positioned Mazzerati on the second turnbuckle and hit a great diving cutter. Love went for a pin after this, but Mazzerati kicked out just in time.
Love began to let her frustrations get the best of her, opening another door for Mazzerati. She used her opening to nail Love with a kick to the skull, which was followed up by lifting Love in a fireman’s carry position. Love was able to break free and hit a flatliner, then turned it into a Koji Clutch.
Mazzerati was able to get her feet on the ropes to break the hold. She wasted no time following up her escape with an Eat Defeat, which got her a very close two count. Love was able to duck another pump kick after the pin and hit her own Botox Injection pump kick for the win.
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Ticket to Gold: Mazzerati
Maria Kanellis-Bennett returned to offer another Ticket to Gold. Bennett said she was impressed with Mazzerati and offered her a Ticket to Gold, to which she accepted. Rok-C, Love, Miranda Alize, Trish Adora, Allysin Kay, and Mazzerati are the first six entrants confirmed for this summer’s ROH Women’s World Championship tournament.
Mazzerati said she’s thankful for the opportunity because ROH always has the best locker room environment, with people willing to help all the time. Mazzerati noted that The Hardy Boyz and the Attitude Era are what helped her get into pro wrestling.
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Final Thoughts —
Love and Mazzerati’s match started off kind of slow, but it picked up in a big way in the final half of the match. Love plays her heel role very well, but I genuinely couldn’t think of a worse outcome than her winning the tournament/championship. It’s not the right precedent to set when restarting an entire division. I also thought Love got maybe too much action in this match, i wanted to see more from Mazzerati
Nonetheless, Mazzerati impressed in this match and deserved a Ticket to Gold. I’m excited to see what she can do.
Angelina Love is getting a pass to the second round of Ring of Honor’s Women’s World Championship tournament.
In the main event of the latest episode of ROH TV, Love defeated Quinn McKay to get a first-round bye in the Women’s title tournament. McKay, who is a host and backstage interviewer for ROH, was making her ROH in-ring debut in the match and would have secured a spot in the tournament if she defeated Love.
The story of Love vs. McKay involved McKay losing after interference by Mandy Leon. Leon is part of The Allure with Love.
Love had McKay in the Koji Clutch during the match but taunted McKay by willingly letting go of the move before she passed out. McKay then countered Love and hit a jawbreaker, but Leon interfered by grabbing McKay’s legs when she ran the ropes. Love went for her Botox Injection kick when McKay turned around, but McKay avoided it and hit a powerslam for a near fall.
McKay had Love locked in her Tangerine Dream submission in the middle of the ring, but McKay got distracted by Leon insulting her and saying McKay will never be a wrestler. After McKay let go of the submission and tried to go after Leon, Love hit the Botox Injection to get the win.
Fellow ROH broadcast team members Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman gave McKay an ovation after the match.
ROH had been building to Love vs. McKay since Love attacked McKay on the set of ROH Week By Week last November.
The ROH Women’s World Championship tournament is taking place this summer. Love and Rok-C are the first two entrants confirmed for it. The ROH Women’s World Championship is a new title that’s replacing the former Women of Honor World Championship.
Love formerly held the Women of Honor World Championship one time. She’s also a former six-time Knockouts Champion in Impact Wrestling/TNA.
The Big Takeaway: Flip Gordon and EC3 took on The Briscoe Brothers in a fun TV match, while PCO answered Brian Johnson’s open challenge. Also, Quinn McKay made her ROH debut.
The broadcast began with Ian Riccaboni checking in from the ROH Studio, rather than Quinn McKay. This is obviously because McKay headlines tonight’s show against Angelina Love. Riccaboni also notes that the ROH board of directors teamed up Flip Gordon and EC3 to take on The Briscoes for tonight’s show.
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Flip Gordon and EC3 defeated The Briscoes (12:38)
Note: This match was filmed before EC3 was hospitalized with an infection. Best wishes go out to Ethan and I hope recovery is going well for him.
EC3 and Jay started the match out. Commentary put this over because of their phenomenal encounter at the 19th Anniversary show, which is currently in my top 5 matches of the year.
Both men grappled for a minute and exchanged a few head scissors, eventually coming to a stalemate. EC3 sent Jay to the other side of the ring where Gordon cheap shotted him. EC3 questioned Gordon’s antics, to which Gordon responded by tagging himself in.
Jay came in on a blind tag and sent Gordon to the mat with a headbutt. The Briscoes did a great job keeping in the fresh man in this match. Mark came in and started choking Gordon with his bandana. Gordon eventually was able to tag out to EC3, which sent us into a commercial break.
Back from the break and EC3 was in control of Jay until Gordon tagged himself in. EC3 stared him down for a few moments before stepping out of the ring. Gordon tried a springboard stunner but Jay shoved him down in mid air. Mark got a hot tag and demolished Gordon with the help of Jay. EC3 tagged himself in and got hit with the redneck boogie, but Gordon broke up the pin.
In the final sequence of the match, referee Joe Mandak was distracted by a chair that Mark Briscoe had introduced to the match. Gordon took advantage of this and punched Mark with a chain, letting EC3 hit his inverted DDT for the win. EC3 didn’t see Gordon hit Mark with the chain.
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Brian Johnson had his best promo of his career before his open challenge. Johnson touched on how faction heavy ROH is, and boasted himself for standing alone. Johnson whined about not getting talked about and said he would do whatever it takes to get noticed, even if it included “bankrupting the Mercenary, mocking the narrative, cooking the Octopus into calamari, lassoing the Bull, ending the Purple Reign or making The Franchise fall.”
Another great quote from the promo: “Before you say the names Danielson, Punk, Nigel or Joe, Aries, Black, Richards, Cole, Lethal, Briscoe, Cabana or Steen; you better clear your throat and say the M.E.C.C.A. Because i don’t care who you are or who you align with, it’ll always be Mecca vs Everybody.”
PCO defeated Brian Johnson (6:57)
PCO accepted Johnson’t open challenge. Danhausen came out and said since he’s beaten Johnson multiple times, he has a gift for him. PCO came out.
Johnson tried to jump PCO before the bell but to no avail. PCO came back with fiery chops and sent Johnson over his head with a back body drop into a commercial break.
Back from the break and PCO back body drops Brian Johnson over the barricade. PCO started to “malfunction” as commentary put it and ran around ringside before launching himself into a barricade. Johnson took advantage of this and threw PCO into the barricade himself.
Johnson slid PCO back in the ring and went to the top rope. Johnson hit a great splash, but PCO sat up immediately after and “malfunctioned” again. Johnson was sent to the mat with a few punches while PCO climbed to the top rope and hit a PCOsault. Johnson surprisingly kicked out.
PCO chased referee Joe Mandak out of the ring and then returned to the ring, where he started ripping Johnson’s jaw apart. It was played off as a submission and Johnson submitted.
****
Angelina Love (w/ Mandy Leon) defeated Quinn McKay (8:01)
Love and McKay started the match with a lock up, which is a weird choice after having a almost year long feud. Love sent McKay to the mat with a wrist lock and then walked on her back. This sent us into a commercial break.
Back from the break and Love is bashing McKay’s head into the mat. Love eventually picked up McKay and nailed her with a flat liner, followed by locking in a Koji Clutch. McKay fought to get a rope break but was on the verge of passing out when Love let her go. Leon exclaimed at ringside that it wasn’t gonna end like that.
Love was showboating when McKay took advantage of an opportunity and hit a stunner. McKay followed it up with a great running powerslam that opened the door for her to get back in the match. McKay then locked in a standing cobra clutch, which Love didn’t really sell at all.
McKay still had the clutch cinched in when Leon stood on the apron and started yelling at McKay. McKay let go of the hold and entertained Leon’s bickering, allowing Love to recover and nail McKay with the “Botox Injection” kick for the win. As a stipulation of her winning, Love will get a first-round bye in ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament this summer.
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Final Thoughts: A lot to unpack here on a very eventful and newsworthy episode of ROH TV. The Briscoes and EC3/Flip Gordon had a great match. Briscoes lost again though, and I’m sticking with my theory that they are headed for a split.
Brian Johnson had the best promo I’ve ever heard from him personally and the best promo on ROH TV in some time. But then he loses to a 53 year old PCO. that hasn’t been on TV in months and has no general direction. It was an awful decision in my opinion, and had the results been reversed could have done a lot for Johnson.
Quinn McKay and Angelina Love was short, but sweet. In roughly 8 minutes they told a great story without giving away too much action. With the distraction finish, it’s clearly a story ROH wants to continue and have a bigger payoff for in the future, which is great, if it ends with McKay standing tall.
Quinn McKay’s in-ring debut for Ring of Honor will take place on the weekend of May 8.
It was announced in Kevin Eck’s weekly Eck’s Files column that McKay would face Angelina Love on the episode of Ring of Honor television that will premiere the weekend of Saturday, May 8. The winner of the match will get a first-round bye in the upcoming ROH Women’s World Title tournament.
The match was set up last month at Ring of Honor’s 19th anniversary event. Maria Kanellis-Benett, who in storyline is a member of the ROH Board of Directors, made the match after McKay was previously attacked by Love and fellow Allure member Mandy Leon in an angle that took place last fall.
The Women’s World Title tournament, which will crown the first-ever ROH Women’s World Champion, will take place this summer.
Eck also announced that EC3 and Flip Gordon will face The Briscoes on the May 8 edition of Ring of Honor TV.
A year after debuting for the promotion, Angelina Love has signed a new contract to remain with Ring of Honor.
Love’s new deal was announced by ROH today. “I am extremely happy to have re-signed with Ring of Honor,” she said. “I’m very happy working here and look forward to continuing to take the women’s division to new heights this year and beyond. The Allure will continue to dominate. Just watch.”
Love and Velvet Sky made their ROH debuts at G1 Supercard last April, forming The Allure with Mandy Leon. Love held the Women of Honor Championship for 15 days last year, both winning it from and losing it to Kelly Klein.
Before coming to ROH, Love was a six-time Knockouts Champion in TNA/Impact Wrestling.
In February, Love was announced as one of the 16 entrants in ROH’s Women’s Championship tournament. It was set to begin at Quest for Gold in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 24, but all ROH events through the end of May have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
