Ring of Honor’s first show back from its hiatus will include a Tag Team title defense by The Briscoes.
Jay & Mark Briscoe will defend their ROH Tag Team titles at Supercard of Honor in Garland, Texas on Friday, April 1. The team that they’ll be facing has yet to be revealed.
At Final Battle this past December, The Briscoes won the ROH Tag Team titles by defeating The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett). The win kicked off The Briscoes’ 12th reign as ROH Tag Team Champions.
A confrontation between The Briscoes and FTR went down after The Briscoes’ victory at Final Battle. The two teams have been feuding with each other on social media, but a match between them has yet to be confirmed.
Last month, The Briscoes were announced as the first members of ROH’s inaugural Hall of Fame class. The class also includes Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, and one more member who will be announced next Monday.
ROH has been on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 as it works to “reimagine” the company. The promotion’s relaunch will be focused on the ROH World Championship, ROH Women’s World Championship, and ROH Tag Team titles, which are being defended in various promotions.
The Briscoes retained their ROH Tag Team titles against JD Drake & Anthony Henry at a show for Warrior Wrestling last weekend. It was The Briscoes’ first title defense of their current championship reign.
Supercard of Honor is being held at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland. It’s also been confirmed that Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido will take place at the show, with the winner becoming the undisputed ROH World Champion.
The Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship will be on the line this Saturday, February 12 at Warrior Wrestling 19.
Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe announced on Twitter today that their match with JD Drake and Anthony Henry on Saturday’s show will now be for the ROH World Tag Team titles. Warrior Wrestling 19 will be available for purchase on FITE TV.
The Briscoes casually brought up AEW in their video promo as well, outright stating that for those watching the video expecting an announcement regarding a potential move to the company, they should turn the video off, as there would be no such announcement today.
Jay and Mark captured the ROH Tag titles at the Final Battle pay-per-view in December, ROH’s last event before going on hiatus. The company is set to return to action with Supercard of Honor on WrestleMania weekend on Friday, April 1 at the Curtis Culwell Center in the Dallas area.
The most decorated tag team in Ring of Honor history are the first inductees into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.
ROH has announced that The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) are the first inductees of the promotion’s inaugural Hall of Fame class. They’re the first of four acts who will be part of the class.
The Briscoes started with ROH when the promotion was launched in 2002. The establishment of the ROH Hall of Fame is in celebration of the promotion’s 20th anniversary.
The Briscoes are 12-time ROH Tag Team Champions, including currently holding the titles. Their 12th reign began when they won the titles from The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) at December’s Final Battle pay-per-view.
Jay Briscoe is also a two-time ROH World Champion.
The ROH TV episode that airs this coming weekend will focus on The Briscoes’ careers, and a special on The Briscoes will premiere on ROH’s YouTube channel on Monday, February 7.
A special Hall of Fame episode of ROH TV will premiere the weekend of Saturday, March 5.
The next three Hall of Fame inductees will be revealed on Monday, February 7, Monday, February 14, and Monday, February 21.
ROH has been on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 as it works to “reimagine” the company. It will return with Supercard of Honor being held in Garland, Texas this April.
An open challenge for the GCW Tag Team Championship has been added to next Sunday’s GCW event at Hammerstein Ballroom.
Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe will put the GCW Tag Team titles on the line in an open challenge. The Briscoes have held the GCW Tag titles since October 2021. The duo has defended the titles twice so far in 2022, including a win over John Wayne Murdoch and Reed Bentley at Say You Will yesterday.
The Briscoes are also the current ROH World Tag Team Champions, as they defeated Mike Bennett and Matt Taven at Final Battle in December 2021.
*HAMMERSTEIN UPDATE*
The Briscoes have issued an OPEN CHALLENGE for the GCW World Tag Team Titles next Sunday at #TheWrldOnGCW!
Plus: Mox vs 187 Janela vs Cardona Allie vs Ruby Gresham vs Blake Team Bandido vs Team Gringo
The Wrld on GCW will be available on traditional pay-per-view in addition to FITE TV on Sunday, January 23 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Here is the announced lineup:
GCW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Homicide
Matt Cardona (w/Chelsea Green) vs. Joey Janela
Ruby Soho vs. Allie Katch
ROH World Championship: Jonathan Gresham vs. Blake Christian
Team Bandido (Bandido, Laredo Kid & ASF) vs. Team Gringo (Gringo Loco, Demonic Flamita & Arez)
GCW Tag Team Championship: Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. TBA
Quinn McKay joined the broadcast from the holiday-decorated ROH Studio and wished the viewers Happy Holidays. McKay then ran down the card for the show, which will feature the annual Christmas surprise twelve man tag, as well as an ROH Women’s Championship match between current champion Rok-C and Holidead.
A special vignette aired showing Josh Woods and Brian Johnson opening special “presents” that featured the names of their respective teammates. Although the names weren’t revealed, Woods was delighted with his team while Johnson was not.
ROH Women’s World Champion Rok-C defeated Holidead in a title match (13:30)
This was a good title match between two competitors that seemed to match up very well.
Holidead tried to use her size advantage to control the champion throughout the beginning stage of the match, but Rok-C read the room and fended it off well. When Holidead went to the outside, Rok-C attempted a dive but was stopped dead in her tracks when Holidead caught her and slammed her into the turnbuckle.
After a short commercial break, Holidead started to lose her grip on the match. Rok-C hit a knee to the face, and followed it up shortly after with a pair of double knees to the rib area of Holidead. Holidead went on to respond with a swing out flatliner that warranted a near fall, but Rok-C would deliver a running knee shortly after.
In the final stages of the match, both women continued to trade big moves. Holidead hit a backbreaker that resulted in the closest near fall of the match, but Rok-C was able to find that final wind and hit her modified Code Red shortly after for the win.
Dalton Castle had a backstage vignette celebrating Christmas with Dak Draper and his “boys”. Things went awry quickly and Draper started throwing things around.
Christmas Wildcard Twelve Man Tag Team Match: Team Woods (Bandido, Jay Briscoe, Josh Woods, Mark Briscoe, Matt Taven & Silas Young) defeated Team Johnson (Brian Johnson, Flip Gordon, Homicide, Kenny King, Rey Horus & Rhett Titus) (20:45)
This was a blast as always.
Homicide and Jay Briscoe locked up as the tags began to roll in. Woods and Titus got a nice sequence in on the mat, with Woods heavily targeting the arm and scoring a few near falls out of it.
After a commercial break, Flip Gordon and Matt Taven became the legal men. They had a small back and forth before the focus shifted to a face off between Rey Horus and Bandido.
Everybody else included in the match hopped off the apron and let the two luchadors do their own thing. Bandido was the first to strike, springing off the ropes and jumping over Horus. They traded a few hurricanranas before coming to a stalemate — which was applauded by their respective teammates.
King and Mark Briscoe began to tee off on one another shortly after, which led to Titus and Jay Briscoe entering the ring. The commentary team sold the “nostalgia” aspect of the showdown, as the history between the two teams dates back to 2009.
The match fell apart at this point, with everybody in sight hitting a big dive to the outside onto various opponents. Flip Gordon rushed to the commentary booth and began to chat up a storm, before realizing he was still in the match and making a massive dive off the stage.
The final moments of the match saw Brian Johnson try to roll up Mark Briscoe with a handful of tights. After the fall was unsuccessful, Briscoe scolded Johnson and told him to “be a man”. This led to both men teeing off on each other with forearms, but Jay Briscoe eventually came in and helped his brother. The duo scored the win for their team after a Doomsday Device on Johnson.
Everybody in the match celebrated in the ring as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts: This was a great sendoff show for this era of Ring Of Honor.
Thanks to all that have kept up with my weekly ROH recaps for the past 16 months. Although I’m not sure what the future holds for both me and the supposed return of ROH in April, I appreciate anybody that has stuck around along the way.
AEW’s FTR came to Ring of Honor on Saturday night for a brawl with The Briscoes.
Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) to win the ROH Tag Team titles at Saturday’s Final Battle pay-per-view. After the match, The Briscoes said Final Battle may be the end of an era — but it’s not the end of The Briscoes. They challenged any team to step to them.
The lights then went out. When they came back on, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were standing on the apron. They came into the ring, went face-to-face with The Briscoes, and then a brawl between the two teams broke out. The brawl was broken up by officials, with FTR then going after The Briscoes again.
The commentary team questioned where we’d be seeing The Briscoes vs. FTR take place. The two teams had been feuding on social media leading into FTR’s appearance at Final Battle.
AEW’s Tony Khan said on Busted Open Radio on Friday that AEW would be lending some support to ROH for Final Battle. That also included AEW’s Jay Lethal returning to ROH to face Jonathan Gresham for the ROH World Championship in the main event, along with video messages from other AEW stars who used to be part of ROH airing on the PPV. CM Punk and Bryan Danielson were among those who sent video messages.
The Briscoes are now 12-time ROH Tag Team Champions.
FTR are the current Lucha Libre AAA Tag Team Champions.
The Briscoes’ GCW Tag Team titles will be on the line at Blood on the Hills.
Game Changer Wrestling announced today that Jay & Mark Briscoe will defend their Tag Team titles against Brody King & PCO at Blood on the Hills on Friday, December 17. The show is taking place at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles and will be available live via Fite TV.
The Briscoes made their surprise GCW debut this October, setting up a Tag Team title match against Mance Warner & Matthew Justice. The Briscoes defeated Warner & Justice at War Ready later that month to win the titles.
The Briscoes’ first GCW Tag Team title defense took place at ROH’s Honor for All show last month. They retained against Effy & AJ Gray.
Before Blood on the Hills, The Briscoes will defend their titles against Ninja Mack & Dante Leon at GCW’s So Alive this Saturday.
King and PCO are both returning to GCW at Blood on the Hills.
Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green vs. Bussy (Effy & Allie Katch), Bandido vs. Blake Christian, Jonathan Gresham vs. AJ Gray, Tony Deppen vs. Jigsaw, and Jacob Fatu vs. Dark Sheik are also set for Blood on the Hills.
Two championship matches have been made official for ROH’s end of an era Final Battle pay-per-view.
The ROH World Championship will be on the line as Bandido defends against Jonathan Gresham at Final Battle on Saturday, December 11. An ROH Tag Team title match has also been confirmed for the PPV, with Matt Taven & Mike Bennett defending against The Briscoes.
Gresham announced last month that he was leaving ROH’s Pure division and entering the World title division. He was set up as Bandido’s challenger for Final Battle by defeating Brody King at Honor for All on Sunday.
Bandido won the ROH World Championship from Rush at Best in the World this July.
Taven & Bennett defeated Kenny King & Dragon Lee to win the ROH Tag Team titles at Honor for All. On ROH Week By Week, Taven called The Briscoes the greatest tag team in ROH history and said that, if this is the end, there would be no greater honor than facing them at Final Battle.
ROH is going on hiatus after Final Battle and taking the first quarter of 2022 to reimagine the company. Talent won’t have their contracts renewed after Final Battle and are able to work wherever they want immediately.
Final Battle is taking place at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Jonathan Gresham
ROH Tag Team Champions The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defend against The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
The Briscoes are the new Game Changer Wrestling Tag Team Champions.
The Briscoes defeated champions the Second Gear Crew (Mance Warner and Matthew Justice) at tonight’s GCW War Ready event in Los Angeles, California. The finish had both champions being pinned after a Jay Driller from Jay and a froggy elbow by Mark, After the match, the champions got back up to their feet and their music played as they walked to the back. The Second Gear Crew had held the titles for 92 days, defeating G-Raver and Jimmy Lloyd back on July 24.
The Briscoes made a surprise appearance back at GCW Fight Club on October 9 after the Second Gear Crew declared that there weren’t any teams in pro wrestling that could challenge them. The Brisoces, who have been ROH regulars since the company’s inception, then appeared and accepted the challenge, leading to tonight’s match.
After holding Bloodsport and War Ready this weekend, GCW will return with Evil Deeds on November 12.
The Big Takeaway: As the journey to Final Battle begins, two tag matches take place and ROH Women’s World Champion Rok-C makes an appearance.
The Briscoes defeated Alex Zayne & Taylor Rust (11:16)
Rust and Mark started the match. Rust showed his technical prowess early on, working down Mark and keeping him from hitting any big moves. Rust and Mark continued to exchange holds and strikes as the match transitioned into a commercial break.
When the bout returned from break, Zayne and Jay became the legal men. Zayne tried to pull some of his usual tricks on Jay, but was instead met with a clothesline from the former World Champion.
There was a point in the bout where Mark and Jay isolated Zayne, keeping him away from Rust. The two brothers took turns beating down Zayne before he eventually reversed a few moves and made a tag to Rust.
Rust came in and he thought he took out Jay, then shifted his attention to Mark and locked in an arm-based submission. Jay came back and immediately broke up the submission as the match went into a second commercial break.
As the match returned, Zayne hit an inside-out springboard moonsault to both Briscoe brothers who were standing on the outside of the ring. This wouldn’t keep either brother down for long, as the finishing sequence saw Jay hit a Jay-Driller on Rust followed by a Froggy Bow elbow drop from Mark for the win.
Rok-C interview
Brian Zane was joined by the ROH Women’s World Champion Rok-C for an in-ring interview. Rok-C explained what winning the title meant for her, before being interrupted by The Allure.
Leon and Love ran down Rok-C and expressed that the “C” in her name stands for a word that can’t be said on television. Miranda Alize, Trish Adora, Willow, Allysin Kay, and Maria Kanellis-Bennett all trotted their way down to the ring shortly after.
Bennett made two three way matches that will lead to a number one contender’s match which will determine Rok-C’s challenger for Final Battle.
VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Chris Dickinson, Homicide & Tony Deppen) defeated Danhausen, Demonic Flamita, PCO & Sledge (15:05)
Danhausen and Homicide shared the ring to start the bout. They squabbled back and forth for a bit before going to a commercial break.
As the match returned, Flamita and Deppen became legal. Flamita took Deppen lightly, which caused him to tag out to Dickinson. Dickinson didn’t last for long either, as he hit a few moves on Flamita and tagged out to faction leader, Brody King.
Sledge became the center of attention, as VLNCE UNLTD isolated him and kept him from tagging out. Sledge was beat down for what felt like forever, but eventually made the tag to PCO.
PCO cleared the ring into a commercial break. When the break returned, he squared up with King. After King nailed PCO with a piledriver, he did his usual “malfunction” shtick and began targeting members of his own team, including hitting a chokeslam on Danhausen and a moonsault on Sledge.
The finish of the match saw a ton of tags being exchanged, but Sledge took the pin after King delivered a Ganso bomb.
Final Thoughts:
This week’s edition of ROH TV was rather uneventful and skippable.
The show featured two good matches, but nothing was advanced in terms of storylines other than Rok-C’s title challengers being teased. Nothing on the show was bad, just uneventful.
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: Watch YouTube Clips
Two new matches have been added to the card for ROH’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view.
It was announced on the latest episode of ROH TV that The Briscoes vs. The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) will take place at Death Before Dishonor. Eli Isom vs. Dalton Castle has also been added to the PPV.
Death Before Dishonor is being held at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Sunday, September 12.
While running down the Death Before Dishonor card, ROH listed that Bestia del Ring will be replacing Rush in the Six-Man Tag Team title match at the PPV. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) will defend their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring).
Here’s the updated card for Death Before Dishonor:
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Brody King, EC3, and Demonic Flamita in a four-way elimination match
The finals of ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Josh Woods
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defend against La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring)
Two “top free agents” who were recently released from another promotion will face off against each other
Violence Unlimited (Homicide, Chris Dickinson & Tony Deppen) vs. three Pure wrestlers in a six-man tag team match
The Briscoes vs. The OGK
Eli Isom vs. Dalton Castle
Homicide, Dickinson & Deppen’s opponents will be revealed on ROH Week By Week this Tuesday. ROH noted that one of the Pure wrestlers is from the past, one is from the present, and one is considered part of the future.
ROH has added two title matches to the card for its next pay-per-view.
The ROH World Championship will be on the line in a four-way elimination match at Death Before Dishonor on Sunday, September 12. Bandido will defend his title against Brody King, EC3, and Demonic Flamita.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defending their titles against La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee & Kenny King) has also been confirmed for Death Before Dishonor.
Bandido won the ROH World Championship from Rush at ROH’s Best in the World PPV last month. At Glory By Honor night one last Friday, Bandido retained the title against Flip Gordon.
Shane Taylor Promotions defeated Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus this February to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles. Taylor, Moses & Kaun retained the titles against Incoherence (Delirious, Hallowicked & Frightmare) at Glory By Honor night two on Saturday.
Death Before Dishonor is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Brody King, EC3, and Demonic Flamita in a four-way elimination match
The finals of ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Josh Woods
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defend against La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee & Kenny King)
Two “top free agents” who were recently released from another promotion will face off
A pair of matches have been added to the card for ROH Glory By Honor night two.
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) will face off with The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus) in an eight-man tag match at the show. The Briscoes will also take on Flip Gordon & Demonic Flamita in a tag team match.
King defeated Lethal at ROH’s Best in the World pay-per-view earlier this month, while Homicide & Dickinson defeated Titus & Gresham in a Fight Without Honor to win the ROH Tag Team titles. Gresham was filling in for the injured Williams in that match.
Violence Unlimited defeated The Foundation when they faced each other in an eight-man tag match on ROH TV this May.
Violence Unlimited are also set for eight-man tag team action at Glory By Honor night one. They’ll be facing La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring).
Gresham is defending the ROH Pure Championship against his stablemate Titus at Glory By Honor night one.
The main event of Glory By Honor night one will be Gordon challenging Bandido for the ROH World Championship.
Glory By Honor nights one and two are taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, August 20 and Saturday, August 21. Both shows will air live on HonorClub. Here are the updated lineups:
Glory By Honor night one (Friday, August 20) —
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Flip Gordon
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham (w/ Jay Lethal) defends against Rhett Titus (w/ Tracy Williams)
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring)
Glory By Honor night two (Saturday, August 21) —
Steel cage match: Matt Taven vs. Vincent Marseglia (Taven’s future ROH World title shot is on the line)
Bandido & Rey Horus vs. Rush & Dragon Lee
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) vs. The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus)
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.
****
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.
****
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.
****
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.
Tracy Williams put down the newly reinvented World Famous CB in a Pure Rules match. In the main event, La Faccion Ingobernable fought to a brutal no contest with Brody King, PCO & The Briscoes.
**********
Quinn McKay welcomed us to the show, per usual. She revealed the stacked main event, pitting La Faccion Ingobernable & Flip Gordon against Brody King, PCO & The Briscoes. McKay also announced the opening match on the card: Tracy Williams vs. The World Famous CB (formerly known as Cheeseburger). It seems as though Cheeseburger has been repackaged which is a good move on ROH’s part.
McKay then shifted the focus to last week’s broadcast. We got a recap of the Vincent/Beer City Bruiser incident where Bruiser seemingly turned heel after smashing a bottle over Matt Taven’s head.
Some post-match comments aired from Beer City Bruiser as well. Bruiser essentially said he was tired of being second and being everybody’s bitch. Brian Milonas approached him and questioned his actions, but Bruiser walked away.
**********
Tracy Williams had a pre-match promo. He said that The Foundation’s goal is to take underutilized professional wrestlers and show them the light of being a Pure wrestler. Williams pointed to stablemate Rhett Titus as an example of this. Williams also noted that he realizes the talent of “World Famous CB” and he won’t be taking him lightly.
The World Famous CB also had some pre-match comments. CB said that the Cheeseburger gimmick is in the past — and that it was the best and worst thing to ever happen to him. He also said that joining the Pure division will help him break through the glass ceiling that the Cheeseburger gimmick set for him.
**********
Tracy Williams defeated The World Famous CB in a Pure Rules match (13:04)
CB and Williams tangled up early with Williams getting the advantage, locking in multiple headlocks. As commentary noted, Williams had a great reach advantage over CB and it showed.
After a commercial break, CB began to regain some control in the match as he worked on the arm of Williams. CB jumped on Williams’ back and instead of using a sleeper hold, he cinched both arms behind Williams’ back. Williams bit down on the rope, causing him to use his first rope break.
Williams regained his position quickly after, hitting a series of suplexes and then attempting his crossface. CB got his foot on the rope before Williams could lock it in, costing CB his first rope break. CB tried to submit Williams with an armbar, but he used his second rope break. The match sped up after that, with CB getting in some signature offense including a standing superkick. Williams ended up regaining his composure and spiking CB with a piledriver for the win
**********
La Faccion Ingobernable (ROH World Champion Rush, ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee & La Bestia Del Ring) & Flip Gordon vs. Brody King, PCO & The Briscoes ended in a no contest (14:23)
Amy Rose joined the commentary team for this match.
An interesting note before the match: Mark and Jay Briscoe came out separately.
Mark Briscoe and Gordon began the match. Gordon had the advantage early on, but Mark turned it around and powerslammed Gordon. LFI jumped off the apron while Gordon was getting beat down and began admiring each other’s hair. Jay Briscoe tagged in and stomped on Gordon in the corner. He threw Gordon out of the ring, but LFI tossed him right back in and laughed.
King tagged in and chucked Gordon out of the ring, but LFI again tossed him right back in and taunted. Jay Briscoe tagged back in and ran into a flying Gordon. Gordon tried to extend his arm for a tag, but all three members of LFI jumped off the apron instead. Mark Briscoe came in and hit the Redneck Boogie on Gordon and tried to pin him, but LFI came in and all hell broke loose.
Rush took a chair and drove it into King’s knee and followed that up with taking an extension cord and whipping it into King’s knee as well. LFI positioned King on the apron and draped him while Lee stomped on him and sent him to the floor. Lee and PCO were the legal men after the chaos. But when PCO went to dive on LFI on the outside, they shoved Gordon in harm’s way.
In the final moments of the match, King and Lee had an exchange in the ring that saw Lee get the best of King with help from LFI. Mark Briscoe set up a chair in the ring and dove onto a pile of practically everybody in the match. King positioned Rush on a table and instructed PCO to go to the top rope, which he did. PCO then crashed into the table by himself after Rush moved out of the way. Finally, referee Todd Sinclair called the match a no contest as all hell continued to break loose.
After security and multiple ROH officials rushed the ring to put a stop to the chaos, the cameras cut backstage to The Foundation. Jonathan Gresham and company shook their heads as the broadcast went off the air.
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Final Thoughts —
Another Monday and another great showing for ROH. Seeing Cheeseburger repackaged was something i didn’t expect, but it was for the better. CB put up a great fight against Tracy Williams and i hope he is a future player in the Pure division.
I’m also glad we saw the return of ROH World Champion Rush and his faction. They’re absolutely phenomenal heels and do a lot for the ROH product. They just need to be on TV more. The dynamic of the match with them letting Flip Gordon getting beat up by himself early was brilliant. The match was an absolute war and one of my favorites so far this year. The no contest finish was the right move, as well. All in all, this was my favorite ROH TV episode of 2021 so far.
