Tony Khan talked about Goldberg, the latest on Dante Martin, and other topics at Friday’s ROH Supercard of Honor event.
Athena, Claudio Castagnoli, Katsuyori Shibata, Mark Briscoe, and Tony Khan all took questions from the media following Friday’s pay-per-view event. Here are some notes:
Shibata noted that he had flight issues and didn’t get to Los Angeles until Friday afternoon.
During Shibata’s interview, Khan said that Shibata will be at the ROH tapings next week.
When asked if he would like to face Bryan Danielson, Shibata said he felt winning the Pure Championship on Friday made him that much closer to eventually face Danielson.
One interviewer mentioned the reports that Trinity Fatu was backstage to Athena. She confirmed them, saying Trinity was a friend and had come to the show to support her. Athena also mentioned wanting to work with the likes of Masa Slamovich, Toni Storm, Tootie Lynn, and Jamie Hayter.
When asked how he is able to stay positive after everything that has happened this year, Briscoe said it was Jesus. He talked about a time where he struggled with his faith and it was one of the scariest moments of his life. However, he then felt God.
Briscoe closed his interview by saying Jay had a better night than him, saying that while he wrestled Samoa Joe, Jay wrestled Eddie Guerrero.
Castagnoli mentioned that he would like to work with the likes of Adam Cole, Bandido, and Rush.
Khan said that Dante Martin is currently at the hospital. He said that he talked to Darius Martin and that he’s hoping for an update soon. However, he indicated that Martin may be out of action for a while as a result of the injury that took place during the ladder match, and that Darius Martin might be branching out in a singles role as a result.
One reporter asked if we could see Goldberg in Ring of Honor. Khan flatly said no, saying that “Goldberg in Ring of Honor will never happen.” He explained that when he meant that bringing Goldberg in would be an “interesting idea”, he meant for it to be in All Elite Wrestling. He explained that AEW and ROH have different budgets.
Regarding Brian Cage, Khan said that he would like to see Cage compete in AEW for a long time. However, he didn’t clarify if Cage had extended his contract.
Khan said he was a big fan of Nigel McGuiness during his run in Ring of Honor. Praised his performance tonight but didn’t say if he would be a part of future ROH broadcasts moving forward.
When asked about the length of ROH television shows, Khan said it changes due to having the freedom of not being constrained by television time.
Regarding if ROH would continue taping at Universal Studios in Florida, or it would be taped on the road. Khan said it would be a mixture of both.
Khan closed the press conference by thanking the media and emphasizing that Wednesday’s announcement on AEW Dynamite would be a big one.
The Six-Man Tag Team Championships will be defended at Supercard of Honor.
Tony Khan revealed on Monday that The Embassy will put their titles on the line against AR Fox, Blake Christian, and Metalik on the show.
According to a report earlier this month from Fightful, The Embassy’s Brian Cage is expected to leave the promotion following Supercard of Honor. His contract was said to have expired earlier this year but the two sides reached an agreement for him to work through the pay-per-view.
The Embassy defeated Dalton Castle and The Boys for the belts at Final Battle in December. They then retained the titles in a rematch held at the ROH TV tapings last month.
ROH presents Supercard of Honor on Friday, March 31, 2023, from the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
ROH Supercard of Honor lineup:
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defends against Eddie Kingston
AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo defends against Komander
Reach for the Sky ladder match for the ROH Tag Team titles: Lucha Bros vs. Top Flight vs. The Kingdom vs. Aussie Open vs. Rush & Dralistico
ROH Television Champion Samoa Joe defends against Mark Briscoe
ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta defends against Katsuyori Shibata
ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) defend against AR Fox, Blake Christian & Metalik
It’s Monday night and you know what that means: an episode of AEW Dark: Elevation taped last week at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA, with the wonderful Paul Wight and Matt Menard on the call.
Emi Sakura defeated Zyra
Sakura started the match with a surfboard submission. The queen continued with chops and slaps when Zyra avoided one and countered into a DDT. But, Sakura got back up and used part of her outfit to whip Zyra. After that, she went up to the top, proclaimed herself “your highness,” and hit a moonsault for the win.
Jake Hager (w/ Angelo Parker) defeated Levi Shapiro
I used to think Michael Cole used to be biased toward heels back in the early 2010s when he was doing that weird gimmick in a glass box. But this commentary job had the epitome of bias with Hager’s JAS teammate on the call.
Hager got started by taking off the hat that he loves so dearly. He hit Shapiro with hard right hands in the corner and started yelling at him to quit. When Shapiro tried to fight out, Hager took him down and locked in the triangle choke for the win.
Marina Shafir defeated Mighty Mayra
Shafir made her way out to ringside where she sat down on the ring steps and took off her shoes and socks. She actually threw her socks out into the crowd and Wight commented, “I bet someone in the crowd really appreciates that” to which Menard replied, “A real pervert I bet!” Hilarious.
Shafir let Mayra put her in a headlock who tried to turn it into a crucifix, but Shafir just threw her around like a ragdoll. A judo throw was followed by some shadowboxing and the crowd chanted “put some shoes on.” Mayra tried to get the crowd behind her and get back into it, but Shafir lifted her up onto her shoulders and started squeezing until she tapped.
Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Jack Cartwheel
GCW and AAA regular Cartwheel was making his Dark Elevation debut here and looked absolutely fantastic in doing so. After he did some, you guessed it, cartwheels, Cage used his power to turn the match around. He slammed Cartwheel onto the apron and chopped him on the outside. Back in the ring, Cage used him to do some curls. Cartwheel, though, avoided a few clotheslines and swept Cage’s legs with a really impressive move you would only see on American Ninja Warrior.
Cartwheel went straight to the top for a senton, but Cage caught him and planted him for a near fall. When Cage went for the Drill Claw, Cartwheel flipped out and went for the surprise pin but Cage kicked out. Cartwheel went to the top again for a shooting star press, but Cage moved out of the way and locked in his new submission for the win to end an awesome match.
The Butcher & The Blade defeated Midas Kreed & Vinnie Massaro
Massaro started with Blade, who was absolutely brutal in this match. When Massaro had to fight out of some chops to get Kreed in the match, he suffered the same fate. Butcher dropped a leg that would make Terry Bollea sweat. After some more domination, Butcher and Blade hit Kreed with the Full Death to get the quick win.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Inder Mundi in a Proving Ground match
This was another ROH-style title eliminator match where if Mundi beat Athena or lasted long enough for a draw, she earned a future title shot.
Mundi tried to get it done quickly with a roll-up, but Athena kicked out, fought into the corner, and destroyed Mundi with a right hand. Athena started to question if her competition is the best she could get.
The ROH Women’s champion started hitting repeated clotheslines in each corner and finished it with double knees. Athena then caught Mundi off the ropes for a spinning back suplex and a choke for the win. After the match, Athena laid down her belt like usual and drove poor Mundi’s head face-first into it. There was no help for the aggrieved this week.
Best Friends defeated Olumide & Starboy Charlie
I loved this match. Not only is Charlie another GCW regular but, no offense to Danhausen or Orange Cassidy, I love the classic Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta tag team.
The crowd was chanting for Best Friends when the bell rang. Beretta started with Olumide who was absurdly athletic. He countered an Irish whip and hit a dropkick by jumping an estimated 50 feet in the air both times. Charlie, wearing nothing but boots and overalls, got the tag and immediately took off the overalls. Taylor came in and did the same thing. Olumide tried to help his teammate, but Best Friends double-teamed both guys until Olumide recovered and knocked Taylor off the ropes.
Charlie hit Beretta with a sunset flip for a near fall, but their offense didn’t last long as Best Friends threw the two into each other and hit them both with piledrivers for the win. A second hug followed the bell.
Lucha Brothers (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated The Wingmen
The Wingmen have a very underrated theme song with “The Walk of Fame.” Awesome song, but not many beat the Lucha Brothers’ “Zero Miedo.”
The featured match started with Rey Fenix and “Pretty” Peter Avalon. For some reason, Avalon called for Penta to tag in, but right when he did, he turned around and let Ryan Nemeth take over. Penta called Avalon a word I can’t repeat here and Nemeth tagged him right back in. Avalon actually got the better of Penta while Nemeth attacked Fenix on the outside. When they went to double-team Penta, he destroyed each with a superkick and a sling blade, respectfully.
This match started going a million miles a minute. Fenix and Penta hit both Wingmen with more superkicks and tried pinning them both, but they kicked at two. Each team got outsmarted at every turn, but I don’t know if I would use the word “smart” when I refer to The Wingmen.
While Nemeth was holding up Fenix for a move, Penta tripped Avalon and drove his crotch into the ring post that led to Avalon letting out a scream that only he could. This helped set up an insane double stunner by the Lucha Brothers to win the match.
AEW & Ring of Honor roster member Brian Cage is set to become a free agent after this month, according to Fightful.
The outlet originally reported in late-January that the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champion’s deal was set to expire in a matter of weeks which they clarified as late-January/early-February.
On Wednesday, they reported that AEW was looking to extend his deal through “at least the end of June” due to injury time as he was recovering from an injury when he first signed with the company. He pushed back on that and they came to a deal for him to work through March 31st’s Supercard of Honor.
They reported that while AEW has offered an extension that is comparable to his current contract, Cage wants to explore free agency as WWE is reportedly interested in talking to him once his deal is up.
Cage has been featured more prominently on AEW TV as of late with matches against Bryan Danielson, Konosuke Takeshita, and “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry. He was also part of last week’s first episode of the ROH TV relaunch.
Hey there! Welcome to another episode of Speak Now Pro Wrestling with Denise Salcedo! On today’s show Denise will be breaking down the January 25, 2023 edition of AEW Dynamite! #AEW #AEWDynamite
Matches that took place tonight include:
* Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal
* Toni Storm vs. Ruby Soho
* Bryan Danielson vs. Brian Cage
* Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara team vs Ricky Starks & Action Andretti
Unless an extension or new deal is reached, ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champion Brian Cage’s AEW contract is reportedly set to expire in a matter of weeks, according to Fightful.
The 38-year-old Cage signed with the company in the spring of 2020, debuting at May’s Double or Nothing and winning the Casino ladder match. Surprising to many at the time, his extension was picked up in the early part of 2022.
Fightful also reported there have been feelers within WWE to gauge their interest, but were unsure if there was interest between either side.
After an October 2021 street fight loss to Ricky Starks, Cage inexplicably didn’t appear on any AEW broadcast until September 2022 at Grand Slam in Queens, New York.
Cage debuted for Khan’s Ring of Honor last April at Supercard of Honor, joining Tully Blanchard Enterprises with the Gates of Agony. Under Prince Nana, the three won the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles at last December’s Final Battle.
After back-to-back wins over Willie Mack, Cage will take on Bryan Danielson on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
Bryan Danielson’s march towards MJF’s AEW World Championship will continue on the January 25 Dynamite.
In a match announced on Wednesday’s show, Danielson will face Brian Cage on next week’s Dynamite.
In a backstage segment this week, MJF gave Cage and manager Prince Nana an envelope intimated to be full of cash. MJF said that he doesn’t care if Cage wins or loses the match, so long as Danielson ends up with a broken arm.
Also announced for next week’s Dynamite, Chris Jericho and a tag partner will face Ricky Starks and Action Andretti in a tag team bout. If Daniel Garcia defeats Andretti on this week’s Rampage, he will team with Jericho. If Garcia loses, Sammy Guevara will team with Jericho.
More matches for Dynamite will be announced during Friday’s Rampage broadcast.
The announced lineup for next week to this point:
AEW Dynamite, Wednesday, January 25 —
Bryan Danielson vs. Brian Cage
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara or Daniel Garcia vs. Ricky Starks & Action Andretti
AEW has announced the lineup for this week’s Dark: Elevation.
Former Impact and NWA wrestler Willie Mack will make his promotional debut on the show when he faces The Embassy’s Brian Cage.
A three-way tag team match involving The Butcher & The Blade, Top Flight, and Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta is also set to air on the show.
Athena will face Zeda Zhang in an ROH Women’s title eliminator match as well.
AEW Dark: Elevation airs Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern time on YouTube. This week’s show was filmed on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, from the KIA Forum in Los Angeles, California.
The announced lineup is as follows:
Brian Cage w/ Prince Nana vs. Willie Mack
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) vs. The Butcher & The Blade w/ The Bunny
Ten matches are advertised for the show including Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ari Daivari, Eddie Kingston & Ortiz vs. Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto, and Athena vs. Laynie Luck.
The Bunny, Nyla Rose & Marin Shafir, Maki Itoh, Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh, The Best Friends, Matt Hardy, Private Party, Lee Moriarty, and Brandon Cutler are all scheduled for the show as well.
This week’s episode was filmed on Wednesday, November 23 from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
AEW Dark: Elevation airs Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern time on YouTube. The announced lineup for the show is as follows:
Lee Moriarty vs. Robert Anthony
The Bunny vs. Blair Onyx
Nyla Rose & Marina Shafir vs. Emi Sakura & Maki Itoh
Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh vs. GPA & Joe Alonzo
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ari Daivari
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) & Rocky Romero vs. Davey Bang, Freedom Ramsey, & Yabo
Athena vs. Laynie Luck
Brandon Cutler vs. Man Scout
Matt Hardy & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Chaos Project (Luther & Serpentico) & Isaiah Moore
Eddie Kingston & Ortiz vs. Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto
Brian Cage and Bandido have advanced in the AEW World title eliminator tournament.
Cage defeated Dante Martin on Friday’s Rampage to advance after hitting Martin with Weapon X. Bandido defeated Rush after John Silver of the Dark Order came out to ringside, distracting Rush long enough for Bandido to score the rollup win.
The winner of Friday’s match between Cage and Martin is set to take on the winner of a match between Lance Archer and Ricky Starks. However, Starks was taken out in an angle that aired on social media, with AEW later announcing the match wouldn’t take place on Friday’s show. It is currently not known when the Starks/Archer match will take place.
Ethan Page was the first to advance in the tournament, defeating Eddie Kingston. He will face Bandido on next week’s Dynamite.
The winner of the tournament, which will be determined at Full Gear on November 19, will receive an AEW World title match at the Winter is Coming Dynamite special, which will air on December 14.
Samoa Joe will defend the ROH TV Championship on AEW Dynamite.
Tony Khan has announced that Brian Cage will challenge for the belt on Wednesday’s show.
“After weeks of altercations between @ringofhonor World TV Champion @SamoaJoe and #theEmbassy’s @briancagegmsi these two will fight for the title LIVE on Wednesday!” Khan wrote on Twitter.
The match will be the fourth time Joe has defended the title since winning it earlier this year. He defeated Minoru Suzuki to claim the belt on the April 13 edition of Dynamite.
AEW Dynamite on Wednesday takes place from the Chesapeake Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The advertised lineup for the show is as follows:
ROH Champion Chris Jericho defends against a former ROH champion of any kind
AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Rey Fenix and Luchasaurus
TBS Champion Jade Cargill defends against Marina Shafir
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Brian Cage
Jon Moxley vs. Lee Moriarty AEW World title eliminator match
This is a loaded episode of Speak Now Pro Wrestling with Denise Salcedo!
The episode kicks off with an in-depth recap and analysis of the backstage drama between Andrade and Sammy Guevara, then Denise dives into AEW Dynamite coverage. Topics discussed include Wheeler Yuta vs MJF, Wardlow and Brian Cage, the women’s segment, National Scissoring Day celebration, and lots more! This is a fun and engaging show perfect for all fans of AEW!
Wardlow wrote “I dare someone to challenge me for the TNT title this Wednesday at the anniversary show. Someone remotely close to my level. Just show up, I’ll be waiting.”
Khan confirmed the match, with AEW’s Twitter account posting a video of Cage talking about the challenge. He said that he hasn’t been on AEW television recently because he’s in ROH and elsewhere creating a winning streak so he’ll come back to AEW for the right opportunity. He said the fans have been waiting and there’s no better time than the three-year anniversary to become the new TNT Champion. He said Wardlow is taking the path of least resistance, and that he’s the real competition.
Tully Blanchard has introducedBrian Cage as his newest protege.
Blanchard introduced Cage as his newest client for Tully Blanchard Enterprises during tonight’s ROH Supercard of Honor event as Ninja Mack’s mystery opponent. Cage controlled most of the match and won quickly with the Drill Claw.
After the match, Toa Liona and Kaun came out and celebrated with Blanchard and Cage. Blanchard had introduced the two as a new tag team called Gates of Agony on the Supercard of Honor Zero Hour pre-show, where they defeated Cheeseburger and Eli Isom in a squash match.
Cage, who recently had his AEW contract extended, had not been on AEW television since the October 6 edition of Rampage, where he lost an FTW title match against Ricky Starks.
Ninja Mack had been announced for Supercard of Honor prior to Tony Khan purchasing the company last month. He is a regular for Game Changer Wrestling and is also set to debut in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
According to a report from Fightful, Brian Cage has told those close to him that AEW picked up the option year on his contract.
Cage was reportedly surprised by this as he had been expecting his contract to expire. The report also said he believed he’s among the top paid in the company.
In a Twitter reply to the story earlier Thursday, Cage acknowledged the rumor without confirming or denying:
His last match on AEW TV was a taped episode of Rampage that aired last October when he lost an FTW title bout to Ricky Starks. He also wrestled on the Jericho Cruise later that month, but none of those matches have made air.
He first signed with the promotion in early 2020. He won the Casino Ladder match at Double or Nothing that year in his first match with the promotion.
His last AEW TV match was an early-October 2021 Rampage episode where lost an FTW title bout to Ricky Starks. He also wrestled on the Jericho Cruise from October 22nd to 25th.
While he has not been active in AEW for months, Cage has been appearing on plenty of indie shows including Warrior Wrestling, Future Stars of Wrestling, Maryland Championship Wrestling, XPW and REVOLVER. Most recently, he wrestled in a tag match alongside KC Navarro in a losing effort to The Acclaimed at Warrior Wrestling 19.
