Ian Riccaboni welcomed us to the broadcast. Riccaboni is filling in for Quinn McKay, who has a first-round Women’s World Championship tournament match against Mandy Leon scheduled for this episode.
Riccaboni recapped the matches that have taken place in the tournament so far, including a great Allysin Kay vs. Willow bout from the previous installment of Women’s Division Wednesday.
Other matches scheduled for this episode of ROH TV include Trish Adora vs. Marti Belle and ROH World Champion Bandido teaming up with Rey Horus to take on Violence Unlimited’s Brody King & Chris Dickinson.
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ROH Women’s title tournament first-round match: Quinn McKay defeated Mandy Leon (7:12)
As Leon was taking off her entrance gear, McKay launched herself and speared Leon with ease. Commentary played up on the fact that Leon did the same thing in their last bout.
Leon and McKay fought on the outside for a short amount of time, which allowed McKay to suplex Leon on the ringside floor.
Both women eventually made their way back into the ring, which allowed the momentum to shift in Leon’s favor. Leon did her combination shtick of beating down McKay and slowly talking trash before capitalizing on her dominance with a running facebuster.
Leon was running at McKay from the corner when McKay caught her with a big powerslam for a near fall. McKay tried to lock in a sleeper hold after, but Leon would eventually lift herself up and plant McKay with a backpack stunner.
Leon looked like she was setting up a pumphandle driver when McKay sprung her way out with Leon’s hand intact. McKay twisted up Leon in a roll-up pin that commentary called a “Bowtie,” which resulted in McKay getting the three count.
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ROH Women’s title tournament first-round match: Trish Adora defeated Marti Belle (7:19)
Chelsea Green joined commentary for this bout.
Adora and Belle started off with a traditional lock-up. Both women took turns trying to outsmart one another, but things got physical and dirty fast.
Belle threw some really good strikes and took control of the match for a short amount of time. Belle’s strike-based offense had Adora reeling from a constant stream of punishment. But the second Belle took her eyes off the prize, she paid the price for it.
Adora was able to regain her composure and begin beating down on Belle. She wasted no time in locking in a Cattle Mutilation submission that made Belle give up almost instantly.
**********
ROH World Champion Bandido & Rey Horus defeated Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Chris Dickinson) (10:49)
Silas Young joined commentary for this bout. He’ll face Rey Horus at Glory By Honor night one on Friday, August 20.
King and Dickinson double teamed Horus to start off until Dickinson became the legal man. Dickinson kept Horus on the mat and tried to severely limit the lucha libre style of Horus. Dickinson and King worked down Horus into a commercial break and kept him cut off from Bandido.
Coming back from the break, Dickinson and King continued to double team Horus. Horus eventually had an opening and spiked King with a tornado DDT, allowing him to tag out to Bandido.
Bandido had a great exchange with King, including a great tope over the top rope onto both King and Dickinson. But once Horus was taken out of the equation again, Violence Unlimited resorted back to beating down Bandido two-on-one.
Dickinson and Bandido had a fun back and forth which saw Bandido attempt a 23 Plex, only to be denied by Dickinson the first time. Bandido would try it again — this time with a Horus assist — and successfully execute it to pin Dickinson.
Rush, Dragon Lee, Bestia Del Ring, and Kenny King rushed the ring afterwards, beating down both the winning and losing teams. Rush ripped the mask off Bandido while the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable brawled with various members of Violence Unlimited and Horus to end the show.
**********
Final Thoughts —
I genuinely enjoyed everything that this week’s episode of ROH TV threw at me. Quinn McKay vs. Mandy Leon was a fun way to again showcase the brilliant selling skills of McKay and give her a good mid-way payoff to a story that surely isn’t over yet.
Trish Adora vs. Marti Belle was great. I hope Adora goes far in the tournament.
The main event tag match between Bandido & Rey Horus and Violence Unlimited was fun as well. Not much in terms of story advancement — just an overall fun match.
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: Recommended Viewing
A Violence Unlimited vs. The Foundation matchup is the first match to be confirmed for Ring of Honor’s next pay-per-view.
On the latest episode of ROH Week By Week, it was announced that Brody King vs. Jay Lethal will take place at Best in the World 2021. The PPV is being held at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday, July 11. It will be the first ROH event with fans in attendance since February 2020.
King is part of Violence Unlimited with Tony Deppen, Homicide, and Chris Dickinson, while Lethal is part of The Foundation with Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams, and Rhett Titus. The two factions faced off in an eight-man tag match on the most recent episode of ROH TV. It ended with King pinning Lethal after hitting a Gonzo Bomb.
Violence Unlimited debuted as a faction at the end of ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV this March. After Rush retained the ROH World Championship against Lethal in the main event, Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable beat down Lethal and The Foundation. Violence Unlimited then appeared and stood tall over La Faccion Ingobernable. King extended his hand to Lethal, but he then dropped Lethal with a lariat. Homicide laid out Lethal with a Cop Killa to close the show.
This will be the first time King and Lethal have faced each other in a singles match.
Team Filthy (JR Kratos and Chris Dickinson) defeated Clark Connors and TJP
Good, hard-hitting opener. Connors got the tar beaten out of him in this match. Kratos launched him across the ring with a vertical suplex at one point. When Connors finally could tag out to partner TJP, the LA Dojo alum came into the match to clean the proverbial house. There was a spot where Connors had Dickinson in a Boston crab, while TJP locked Kratos in an octopus hold, a move symbolic of Antonio Inoki, founder of the first NJPW dojo in California.
Kratos powered out of the hold. Dickinson later spiked Connors with a brainbuster for two. The finish saw Connors try throwing Kratos in a Boston crab, but Kratos muscled out and reversed the hold into a huge wheelbarrow suplex for the win.
Rocky Romero defeated Wheeler Yuta via submission
Tonight saw Wheeler Yuta make his NJPW Strong debut. He looked very good despite the loss, which came across more as a “you’re-worthy-of-us” loss than anything. Yuta was in ROH’s Pure title tournament last year, and before that has traveled around the world working with various independents. It’s clear how much he has honed his craft and transformed his body over the past few years.
We saw smooth mat wrestling from both at the beginning. Romero went after Yuta’s left arm. The NJPW neophyte answered later with a forward-facing figure-four type submission before Romero could break the hold by grabbing hold of the bottom rope.
Yuta landed a nice flying cross body attack later on, then threw Romero into a figure four-STF submission hold. Romero escaped again, and later put Yuta on the mat with a low springboard dropkick. Romero delivered a sharp counter-kick into Yuta’s face, but Yuta ate it and immediately answered with a German suplex for two. Romero rallied back and put Yuta down with Sliced Bread, and eventually got him to tap out in an armbar after spending much of the match attacking Yuta’s arm.
This was good. Yuta is a good fit with the current roster.
NJPW Cup USA 2021 Finals: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Brody King via TKO to win the New Japan USA Cup and the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship
There’s not much better in life than a brawl, is there? Lawlor threw low kicks early. The much bigger King outmuscled Lawlor into the corner soon after, then laid in a few hard forearms into Lawlor’s chest. There was pensive energy from the match and between the two early in this. The volume and intensity started to rise when King threw a few huge knife-edged chops that sounded to echo throughout the venue. Lawlor rolled to the floor when he could for an early breather.
Lawlor tried trapping King outside the ring, baiting him to make chase. King didn’t bite, then quickly recovered, going right back on offense. He had Lawlor placed prone in the red corner when he went for a running cannonball, but Lawlor slipped out of the ring and out of harm’s way. “Filthy” Tom immediately went after King’s legs, smashing them against the ring post while on the floor. He stomped on King’s fingers, too. Lawlor kept King on the floor for as long as he could and took advantage of every second. After whipping King into the guardrail and working over his arm some more, Lawlor rolled back into the ring. The referee started the ring-out count, but King rolled in at the count of 13.
Lawlor tried knocking King off his feet with a few lariats, but King wouldn’t budge. He answered with a senton, squashing Lawlor. The two had another series of chops before King used an exploder to fold Lawlor into the corner post. He then connected with the same cannonball he’d attempted earlier on.
Later, Lawlor jumped onto King and locked on a guillotine choke. King carried Lawlor to the corner, placed him on top of the turnbuckle, then superplexed him off the top for two.
Lawlor recovered and threw on an ankle lock. King wouldn’t tap, so Lawlor flipped King to his back and used a jacknife pin, but King countered that and turned it into a jumping piledriver. After another close nearfall, King, exhausted, dropped a few more hammer forearms on Lawlor before the Filthy one powered up and planted King with an awesome-looking uranage. KIng kicked out at one and seemed to power up. He charged at Lawlor, who parried and dropkicked King low, in the knees. He locked in an STF, but no dice for Lawlor. He kicked King hard in the back with a penalty kick. On the next attempt, King caught his leg. Lawlor countered and locked in a rear naked choke, which neutralized King almost completely. Then, finally, Lawlor ripped King in the chest with a running PK, then put King in the same rear naked choke hold he used earlier. King let out a death rattle before losing consciousness; the referee eventually called for the bell.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor is this year’s New Japan Cup USA 2021 winner, as well as the first-ever New Japan Strong Openweight Champion. NJPW’s Kaname. Tezuka presented Lawlor his giant New Japan Cup USA trophy and his Strong Openweight title belt. JR Kratos and Chris Dickinson celebrated in the ring with Lawlor after the match.
Lawlor said this win had been “a long time comin’” and that he was now, in fact, the strongest competitor on the NJPW roster. He explained how this part of the show is usually when someone comes out and challenges the victor, so he insisted his next opponent come out and face him. No one came out. Lawlor explained that’s what he figured would happen. Lawlor’s music hit, but suddenly, we realized who Lawlor’s next opponent would be: Chris Dickinson, or Lawlor’s team mate, took the mic and challenged Lawlor for his newly-won championship. Lawlor and Kratos were shocked. The new champion asked, “Is this really the right time to do this?” Dickinson answered that it was.
Final thoughts: King and Lawlor had a hell of a match tonight. It was basically a hardcore match without weapons. The story was great, and the last couple minutes of this were top-notch pro wrestling. I don’t know how else to describe it other than just that. Nothing flashy, nothing kitschy, just two fighters fightin’. Go out of your way to watch this over the weekend, and congratulations to the first-ever member of the F4W Empire to simultaneously hold a New Japan title. History has been made.
The finals are set for the 2021 New Japan Cup USA.
Brody King and Tom Lawlor advanced to the finals with wins on tonight’s episode of NJPW Strong. King defeated Lio Rush with a Gonzo Bomb in 7:38, while Lawlor pinned Hikuleo in 8:58 with an inside cradle to punch his ticket to the final round.
King and Lawlor will meet on the Friday, April 23 episode of Strong to decide the 2021 New Japan Cup USA winner, and also to crown the first NJPW Strong Openweight Champion.
King carved his path to the finals with wins over Rush and Chris Dickinson, while Lawlor defeated Hikuleo and Ren Narita.
In 2020, Cup winner KENTA became number one contender to Jon Moxley’s IWGP United States Championship and received a right to challenge briefcase. NJPW has gone in a different direction this year with the introduction of the Strong Openweight title, while Moxley has challenged Yuji Nagata for his next US title defense.
NJPW has revealed the full card for this Friday’s episode of NJPW Strong.
After last week’s opening round, the New Japan Cup USA 2021 tournament will continue this week with the two semifinal matches.
In the main event of Friday’s show, Lio Rush will face Brody King in a Cup semifinal. Rush defeated Clark Connors in his opening round match on last week’s episode, while King defeated Chris Dickinson in last week’s main event.
In the other semifinal bout, Tom Lawlor will face Hikuleo. Lawlor defeated Ren Narita in the first round with a rear naked choke, and Hikuleo defeated Fred Rosser to advance.
In Friday’s opener, Karl Fredericks, Kevin Knight, The DKC and Alex Coughlin will face Misterioso, Barrett Brown, Adrian Quest and Jordan Clearwater in an eight-man tag.
Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World and is available on demand shortly after airing.
Here is Friday’s full lineup:
New Japan Cup USA semifinal match: Lio Rush vs. Brody King
New Japan Cup USA semifinal match: Tom Lawlor vs. Hikuleo
Karl Fredericks, Kevin Knight, The DKC & Alex Coughlin vs. Misterioso, Barrett Brown, Adrian Quest & Jordan Clearwater
On tonight’s episode of NJPW Strong, Brody King, Hikuleo, Tom Lawlor and Lio Rush advanced to the semifinals.
In the main event, King defeated Chris Dickinson in 10:42 after hitting a lariat. In the semi-main, Hikuleo defeated Fred Rosser with a Tongan Driller in 6:22 to advance. Lawlor used a rear naked choke to submit Ren Narita in 13:19 to move on. In the Strong opener, Lio Rush beat Clark Connors with a Rush Hour in 9:57 to stay alive in the tournament.
The semifinals will take place on the Friday, April 16 episode of Strong. Rush will face King, while Lawlor will take on Hikuleo.
The 2021 New Japan Cup USA finals will be held on the Friday, April 23 episode of Strong. In addition to winning the New Japan Cup USA, the winner of the tournament will also be crowned the first NJPW Strong Openweight Champion.
Here is the remaining tournament lineup:
New Japan Cup USA 2021 semifinals, Friday, April 16 on NJPW Strong —
Lio Rush vs. Brody King
Tom Lawlor vs. Hikuleo
New Japan Cup USA 2021 finals, Friday, April 23 on NJPW Strong —
The full card for this Friday’s New Japan Strong has been announced.
This week’s show is being billed as a Road to New Japan Cup USA event. The main event will have Brody King, Logan Riegel, and Sterling Riegel team up to take on Team Filthy, consisting of Tom Lawlor, Chris Dickinson, and JR Kratos. It was noted in NJPW’s preview of this week’s show that there may be a conflict of interest between Dickinson and Brody King, as the two appeared at the end of Friday’s Ring of Honor 19th anniversary event, seemingly forming a stable with themselves, Homicide and Tony Deppen.
Another match set for Friday is TJP and Alex Couglin vs. Misterioso and Jordan Clearwater. A third match, the opening bout, will have Rocky Romero face NJPW young lion Kevin Knight.
The NJPW Cup USA tournament will start on next week’s show. Opening round matches have Clark Connors facing Lio Rush, Brody King taking on Chris Dickinson, Ren Narita facing Tom Lawlor, and Hikuleo facing Fred Rosser.
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.
Tonight’s show opened with promos from both Brody King and Batemen, who were set to square off in the main event, a qualifying match for the New Japan Cup USA 2021 tournament. Bateman explained how this win could change his life. He also promised that tonight’s match between him and King would get physical. King talked about coming up short in last year’s Cup, and that this year, we would see a different version of Brody King.
Jeff Cobb defeated Alex Coughlin
The newly mustachioed Alex Coughlin held his own against Jeff Cobb early on. This is one of Cobb’s first appearances on Strong as a member of the United Empire alongside Great O-Khan, Will Ospreay and Bea Priestley. We saw a meaner, oilier Cobb here tonight, who quickly cut off Coughlin’s attempts at offense with serious power. He ragdolled Coughlin a bit, but the young lion hung in there and continuously fired back at Cobb with strikes of his own to no avail.
Next, Cobb locked in an old school bear hug submission. When Coughlin went for a spear, Cobb side-stepped out of the way and guided Coughlin face-first into the mat. At around five minutes in, Coughlin drained most of his energy on trying to bodyslam Cobb. He eventually pulled it off, but Cobb answered back later, catching him with a spinning back suplex and later a vicious Tour of the Islands powerslam for the pin.
Cobb looked killer here. When he works with someone like Coughlin, someone who can take a serious physical beating, Cobb is allowed to show more “follow-through” in the ring on offense; the chops, lariats, and suplexes all had greater impact tonight as opposed what we’ve seen from the former Olympian in the past. It’s more clear than ever that Cobb is a heel now, and it’s great. And kudos to Coughlin, as well, who has lost pretty much all of his matches so far this year but looked excellent in every loss.
Ren Narita defeated Misterioso to qualify for the NJPW Cup USA 2021 tournament
Both were hesitant at the start as the two felt each other out. We saw a nice monkey flip from Narita early. Narita muscled Misterioso down to the mat with headlock, but Misterioso slipped out of his grasp and sprang to his feet. Narita then bullied Misterioso into the corner and wailed away with strikes.
Misterioso later went for a triangle moonsault but caught himself on the top rope. Luckily, the momentum from the dive carried him all the way down to the floor so it didn’t look too bad. It could have been a lot worse.
Back in the ring, Misterioso stuck a flying lariat and followed it with a powerslam. He used a Guerrero Special from the top for two. Narita wouldn’t stop fighting back, answering Misterioso’s offense with more submissions as opposed to strikes. Before he landed a pretty German suplex for a two-count, Narita put Misterioso away with his modified Cloverleaf finish for the win in just over ten minutes. This was decent, but Misterioso’s slight botches were also hard to unsee.
Brody King defeated Bateman to qualify for the NJPW Cup USA 2021 tournament
The Riegel Twins accompanied Brody King to the ring tonight.
Slow start until both started trading hard forearms. Bateman feigned another forearm shot but poked King in the eyes instead. He then tripped King who was coming off the ropes, and King landed face-first onto the mat.
King seemed not to like any of Bateman’s foul play and quickly turned the tides, locking in a seated abdominal stretch while peppering Bateman with huge forearms to the chest, King growling with each shot.
Bateman went back to the eyes. Loud chops from both. After catching King with two big elbows in the corner, he took off his elbow pads and threw him at King’s head with contempt. King didn’t seem to like that either and responded by using an exploder suplex into the corner on Batemen, then launched himself at a prone Batemen with a running cannonball.
Both were out for a while. Bateman came back to his feet and was able to lay in a few more elbows. Bateman later tried using a German suplex into the corner on King, but King’s head missed the post, so I guess it was just a regular German suplex. He used a face wash on King next. King couldn’t make a proper comeback at this point because of his injured knee. The Riegels encouraged King from the outside the ring. King was able to deliver a snap German suplex, a huge running lariat, and finally a Gonzo Bomb to finally put Bateman away. Good stuff from both here.
Brody King with the Riegel Twins appeared after the match, celebrating backstage. Before departing, King stated: “Last year I came up short, but this year I’m taking the whole thing” in reference to the NJPW Cup USA tournament.
Final thoughts:
The main event was the standout on tonight’s episode. Bateman is a refreshing personality in the mix, and his style and size help spice up the show without compromising any of the show’s usual quality. King has been very good in these main event spotsl. His singles matches are usually the highlights of those particular shows, and tonight’s performance provides more evidence of this.
Chris Dickinson vs. Blake Christian and Clark Connors vs. TJP are in action next week. Both are New Japan Cup USA qualifying matches.
The Big Takeaway: Dak Draper defeated Fred Yehi, Tony Deppen upset ROH World Tag Team Champion Kenny King, and Flamita defeated Flip Gordon.
The broadcast began with Quinn McKay checking in from the studio. She previewed the three matches that are set to take place tonight and played a clip of Jay Lethal’s comments after winning the number one contendership to the ROH World Championship.
Lethal said despite losing the ROH Tag Team titles, he has a chance to redeem himself at the upcoming 19th Anniversary PPV. Lethal also hinted at the rest of The Foundation being involved in championship matches at the PPV, citing that they have a chance for a “gold sweep”.
McKay revealed later that Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams will challenge Kenny King and Dragon Lee for the ROH World Tag Team titles at the PPV.
*****
Dak Draper had pre-match comments. Draper said he respects Yehi for not letting his success get to his head, but can’t say the same for himself. Draper laughed about letting it go to his own head and called it a good thing. He finished off the promo by saying he eats success for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Fred Yehi reflected on his losses in ROH. Yehi said that if he doesn’t win, he doesn’t “eat”. Yehi then acknowledged that Dak Draper is on a bit of a tear, but asked if he was ready for a hungry savageweight.
Dak Draper defeated Fred Yehi in a Pure Rules match (11:15)
Yehi and Draper adhered to the Code Of Honor.
Both men jockeyed for a position for a good minute before coming to a stalemate. Draper eventually picked Yehi’s leg and tried to keep him grounded but it didn’t work. Yehi had a moment of offense with a few chops that took Draper off his feet. Yehi remained in control as a commercial break ensued.
Over the break, Draper retained control. Draper hit Yehi with a beautiful tilt-a-world power slam. Draper tried to capitalize but Yehi answered with a series of strikes that brought him to the ground yet again. Yehi attempted a Koji Clutch, but Draper denied it. The two men made it back to their feet and Draper nailed Yehi with a closed fist strike (which is illegal in Pure matches). Draper was issued a warning from the referee. Draper took advantage of a weary Yehi and hit a sloppy-looking Magnum K.O for the win.
******
Quinn McKay had a pre-match interview with Tony Deppen. Deppen said that one match stands between him and being the #1 Contender for the ROH Television Championship. Deppen said he knows La Faccion Ingobernable will be lurking around the ring, but he’s ready for anything.
Kenny King also had pre-match comments. King taunted Deppen for being an “Internet” favorite and dared him to step in the ring with him. King’s work in recent months has been a delight to watch.
Tony Deppen defeated Kenny King (9:26)
King offered the Code Of Honor to Deppen but then hit Deppen with a forearm instead. King took control of the match early and dominated Deppen in the corner and on the ground into a commercial break.
Back from the break and Deppen tried to roll up King but failed. King retaliated and hit a great pop-up spinebuster for a two count. Deppen made his way back to his feet and flushed King in the jaw with a forearm, followed by a series of chops and slaps. Deppen kept the momentum going with a knee to the face that sent King reeling to the outside.
Deppen followed King to the outside and nailed him with a tornado DDT on the floor. Deppen rolled King back in and attempted a springboard dropkick, but he slipped. King then tried to hit Royal Flush, but Deppen countered and rolled him up for the 3 count.
Immediately after the bell, LFI immediately rushed the ring and attacked Deppen. Brody King hit the ring to save Deppen but Rush showed up as well, making the odds stacked against King. LFI introduced a table to the ring and put King on it. La Bestia flew off the top rope and crashed into King through the table. The segment ended with LFI standing over King
******
Flamita def Flip Gordon (10:02)
Gordon and Flamita traded open palm strikes to start the contest. They took the match to the outside quickly, with Flamita connecting with a moonsault off the second turnbuckle onto Gordon. Gordon rolled back in the ring and Flamita tried to dive onto him again, but Gordon caught him with a dropkick.
Gordon maintained control for a few more minutes, eventually powerbombing Flamita off the top rope. Gordon picked up Flamita by his mask and started to taunt, but Flamita responded by spiking Gordon with a poison rana instead. Flamita went to the top rope and hit a magnificent frog splash on Gordon, but that didn’t put away The Mercenary.
In the closing sequences of the match, Mark Briscoe appeared from under the ring and slid a chair in the ring. With the referee distracted Briscoe pulled out another chair and nailed Gordon with it, allowing Flamita to roll him up for the win.
After the match, Gordon began beating up Flamita and ripped his mask off. Gordon taunted Flamita with the mask until Bandido and Rey Horus hit the ring, standing beside an unmasked Flamita to end the broadcast.
*******
Final Thoughts:
This week’s episode of ROH TV was exactly what it seems like on paper: filler. The three singles contests were average or good, but didn’t really contribute to any storyline or hype for the PPV. Tony Deppen seemed a bit slow and as if his timing was off during his match. Kenny King has always been very hit or miss for me, but his recent reintroduction to LFI is good and works well for him. King has also teased being annoyed with LFI, so a break-up could be coming soon.
Not a big fan of Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus challenging for the ROH Tag Team Titles given the ranking system, but it fits the whole “Foundation vs LFI” vibe they’re giving off for the PPV.
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.
**********
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.
– An eight-man tag match will headline Ring of Honor television the first weekend of February.
ROH has announced that Brody King, PCO & The Briscoes will face La Faccion Ingobernable (ROH World Champion Rush, ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee & La Bestia del Ring) & Flip Gordon in an eight-man tag match on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of February 6.
“LFI member Kenny King is unable to appear, so the ROH Board of Directors named Gordon to be his replacement. RUSH, Lee and Bestia are said to be less than thrilled about the board’s decision. Their reaction is understandable considering Gordon, Brody King and PCO were associates not all that long ago,” ROH’s Kevin Eck wrote.
Rush retained his ROH World Championship against King in the main event of December’s Final Battle pay-per-view. Rush won that match after interference by Lee and Bestia del Ring.
– In an interview with PWinsider, The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) revealed that they’ve come to terms with ROH on new contracts. Beer City Bruiser & Milonas are facing The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) on the episode of ROH TV that premieres this weekend.
ROH announced earlier this month that Mark Haskins, Bandido, Amy Rose, Bateman, Brian Johnson, Sumie Sakai, and Tracy Williams have also re-signed with the promotion.
Rocky Romero defeated Danny Limelight via submission
The mentor-mentee program between these two has been boiling slowly over the past few months, and this seems to act as the blow-off match.
Romero went after Limelight before the bell sounded. They let their hands go early, exchanging hard open hand strikes. Romero went for his patented Forever Clotheslines in the corner early, but Limelight moved out of the way, then threw him out of the ring and started working Rocky‘s left arm. That’s been a subtle angle Romero has milked over the summer into these current episodes, the injured left arm and his opponents consistently targeting it.
Romero mounted a comeback with another lariat out of the corner, then a springboard dropkick to Limelight as he was draped over the second rope.
Limelight answered, using a front suplex off the ropes, then turning the hold into a modified key lock once they hit the mat. Romero made it to the ropes for a break. Rocky used sliced bread a for close two count.
Moments later, Romero used a falcon arrow directly into an armbar for the submission victory.
Good match. Rocky iced his arm in the ring afterwards.
Jeff Cobb defeated Rust Taylor
Rust Taylor just signed with WWE NXT. Cobb is scheduled to wrestle Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 15.
This started off with a bit of standing chain wrestling and some flashy stuff from Taylor. Cobb eventually out-muscled Taylor and slammed into the mat. Just before Cobb tried a standing moonsault, Taylor blocked it and locked in a modified armbar/triangle thing. Taylor continued going after Cobb’s left arm from there.
Cobb used his gachi-muchi power again, muscling out with a swinging back suplex and standing moonsault.
Taylor responded by going after Cobb’s arm once again, keeping him on the mat, neutralized. Taylor threw a flurry of European uppercuts late in this, but ultimately it wasn’t enough, as Cobb planted Taylor with Tour of the Islands just a few moments later to win this one.
Another solid match.
Fred Rosser and PJ Black defeated Team Filthy (JR Kratos & “Filthy” Tom Lawlor)
Kratos looks massive. He reminded me of Steve Williams with the red and white color scheme tonight.
Kratos and Rosser were in first, but it wasn’t long before Black had tagged in and took a beating from Team Filthy. Kratos dragged Black to his team’s corner and tagged in Lawlor, who worked Black over for a few minutes. When Black tried a leapfrog, Tom countered, locking in an ankle lock after taking Black out of the air.
Black later reversed the momentum, escaping out of Lawlor’s German suplex attempt and somehow found a way to tag out to Rosser, who proceeded to clean house. He knocked Kratos off the apron to the floor, then launched himself and Lawlor from the ring to the floor with a lariat.
Rosser then jumped off the apron, launching himself at Lawlor on the floor. Go Fred. After a few more moments of brawling and chaos outside the ring, Rosser and “Filthy” Tom threw down and had a hot exchange, the final sprint of this match.
Rosser and Black began double-teaming Kratos. Lawlor tried making the save but accidentally got knocked to the floor by his partner. That fatal flaw led to a Black landing a springboard 450 splash on Kratos for the win.
Rosser and Lawlor’s mini-feud continues on NJPW Strong continues.
KENTA defeated Brody King to retain the right to challenge for the IWGP U.S. Championship
A slick promo package aired for this beforehand.
KENTA talked trash at King when both had made it to the ring, before the match.
KENTA tried avoiding King early on, holding himself between the ropes until the much larger King would back off. King simply went to the corner and dragged KENTA back to the middle to fight. King dwarves KENTA, which made for a pretty unique visual.
KENTA threw big kicks early. King ate them without wincing, then went after KENTA. King slowed the pace and punished him with a neck lock and some hard chops.
KENTA played chickensh*t heel perfectly throughout this. He tried escaping the ring a few times until he could find King distracted enough to catch him out of nowhere, using a stun gun from the apron to the floor.
KENTA’s chicanery opened up a chance for him to step in and dictate the pace for a little while. He used dozens of low kicks and one dragon screw leg whip in an attempt at chopping King down to the mat from the bottom up.
Later, King answered back with a huge jumping lariat, but he he couldn’t make the pin because of his knee. KENTA would throw on in a figure four leglock on King, who screamed in pain before he was able to grab the ropes, forcing KENTA to break the hold.
The two were soon on the apron next, where KENTA blocked a chokeslam attempt from King, then spiked King with the “Greed Killer,” his signature draping DDT. This earned him a two-count. He and King exchanged hard strikes until King planted KENTA with a sudden black hole slam, followed up with a big piledriver for two.
KENTA blocked King’s Gonzo Bomb finisher, but accidentally shoved King into the referee in the process. The ref lay dazed in the corner while KENTA spiked King with a DDT, then went to the floor to grab his IWGP US title briefcase. He brought it into the ring and smashed King in the head with it twice.
KENTA then blasted King with a penalty kick. KENTA lifted King into a fireman’s carry, then planted a knee in his face, a picture-perfect Go2Sleep to put King away. KENTA wins, and in doing so, he keeps his right to challenge for the IWGP US title.
**********
Afterwards, KENTA grabbed a microphone and shouted “Where are you Jon Moxley? I don’t wanna waste time anymore. I’m ready to fight anytime anywhere. Jon Moxley, I’m coming for you.”
Final thoughts —
A solid episode of NJPW Strong, with KENTA and Brody King delivering what could arguably be considered as a G1-level match. This was on par with KENTA’s main events on Strong with Jeff Cobb earlier in the year.
The only real weak point in this week’s show is the fact that it looks so obviously taped, similar to what we saw in some of last week’s episode. That can’t be helped, of course, because of the nature of how things are in 2020 at the moment. That nitpick aside, this was yet one more solid hour of pro wrestling.
The subtle angles between Danny Limelight and Rocky Romero and “Filthy” Tom and Fred Rosser were interesting, but the main event between KENTA and ROH’s Brody King was the clear standout.
While things are a bit different than normal, Ring of Honor begins to close out 2020 tonight with its traditional biggest pay-per-view of the year.
Final Battle 2020 will be the first ROH PPV of the pandemic era. The show was taped in advance and is being headlined by Rush defending his ROH World Championship against Brody King.
The ROH Tag Team titles will be on the line as Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham defend against Mark Briscoe & PCO. Gresham is pulling double duty and also defending his ROH Pure Championship against Flip Gordon.
Dragon Lee will defend his ROH Television Championship against the winner of a four-way match from earlier in the night, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett are facing Vincent Marseglia & Bateman in a grudge match, and Danhausen will square off with Brian Johnson. If Danhausen wins, his ROH contract will become official.
Final Battle Hour One is airing for free starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time and will feature Tony Deppen vs. Dak Draper vs. Josh Woods vs. LSG to determine Lee’s challenger and Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus vs. Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta in the first-ever Pure Rules tag match.
Jay Briscoe vs. EC3 was originally set for Final Battle, along with Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus defending their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery). But EC3, Bandido, Flamita, and Kenny King were pulled from the PPV tapings due to pre-travel COVID-19 testing. The subsequent changes to the card will be announced during Final Battle Hour One. The Final Battle main card will then begin on PPV and HonorClub at 9 p.m. Eastern.
**********
Show Report —
The commentary team of Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, and Dalton Castle welcomed us to the broadcast. They ran down the stacked card for tonight’s show.
Tony Deppen defeated LSG, Josh Woods, and Dak Draper in a Fatal 4-Way Television Title #1 Contenders match
This match is being contested under Lucha Rules because Dragon Lee is the ROH Television Champion.
Draper and Woods began the match. Woods and Draper exchanged control a few times early on. Once Woods got control, LSG tagged himself in the match. Deppen ended up tagging himself in and sent LSG to the outside, making Draper the legal man. Draper controlled Deppen, hitting a big boot from a flying Deppen off the top rope at one point.
Draper attempted a Magnum Drop on Deppen, but it was stopped by LSG trying to tag himself in. Deppen tried to go to the top, but Draper followed him up there and hit a superplex. LSG tagged himself in and instantly hit a clothesline on Draper. Draper poached LSG on the top rope, but Woods came from behind and suplexed both men.
Draper recovered and delivered a Doctor Bomb to Woods, but Woods recovered quickly and locked in a triangle choke for a split second. Woods really needed some more offense in this showing after his weak showing against Flip Gordon on ROH TV earlier in the week. LSG came off the top rope and hit Woods, then Deppen came from behind and rolled up LSG in a pinning combination for the win.
******
A promo for RUSH aired. He’s prepared to go tonight after being locked down for 8 months.
Tony Deppen joined Quinn McKay backstage after his win. Deppen said he did it for his wife and his son that was born three weeks ago. Deppen said that Dragon Lee will have to kill him because he’s not leaving tonight without the Television Title.
Quinn McKay is joined by Shane Taylor and the Soldiers Of Savagery. The ROH Six-Man Tag Team champions Mexi-Squad offered to forfeit the championships to them, but they declined. Taylor said he wants to win the titles the right way:
Next, Quinn McKay is joined by Brian Johnson. Johnson is pumped up for tonight’s show, citing some of the best matches in ROH history have taken place at Final Battle. Johnson states that tonight is Danhausen’s funeral.
Jay Briscoe arrived at the arena. Jay tells Mark that he’s free for the Tag Team Championship match, but Mark told him he already had a partner. Shane Taylor approached Jay and told him he was going to knock him on his ass. Quinn McKay basically confirmed that the match is happening tonight.
Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus defeated Wheeler Yuta and Fred Yehi in a Pure Rules Tag Team Match.
Code Of Honor was adhered too.
Yehi and Williams began the contest. Yehi took down Williams with an arm wrench, but Williams quickly regained his composure and tagged in Titus. Yehi stayed on the attack and got Titus in a Koji Clutch, causing Titus to use his first rope break. Yuta and Williams eventually tagged in and Williams held Yuta in place as Titus dove off the second rope with an axe-handle. Yuta tagged Yehi in who went straight for the Koji Clutch again on Titus, causing the team of Titus and Williams his third and final rope break. Yehi was on par with his timing on the submissions.
Williams and Yehi became the legal men eventually, and Yehi smushed Williams in the corner with a running splash. Williams got distracted and Yehi locked in another Koji Clutch. Titus realized he couldn’t break up the hold, so he launched Yuta into the clutch, breaking the hold. Titus tagged in after Williams recovered. Yuta tagged in after and hit an atomic drop-german suplex combo on Titus. Williams came in and spiked Yuta with a piledriver, but Yehi broke it up costing his team their final rope break. Williams followed it up with a crossface but with Yuta out of rope breaks, he submitted.
******
Jonathan Gresham and Jay Lethal defeated PCO and Mark Briscoe to retain the ROH Tag Team Championships
Code Of Honor adhered too.
Briscoe and Lethal began the contest. Briscoe is aggressive early, trying to down Lethal. Commentary noted that Lethal is trying to wrestle, while Briscoe is trying to fight. Good stuff from Lethal keeping his “pure” reputation. Gresham and PCO tag in, but again PCO is trying to fight while Gresham is trying to wrestle. All hell breaks loose and PCO dove onto Lethal on the outside while he regrouped with Gresham, and Briscoe dove onto Gresham.
Briscoe set up a chair and hit another springboard dive on the outside onto Gresham and Lethal. Eventually both teams made it back in the ring and Gresham began to cut off the ring. Lethal tagged in and tried to throw Gresham into Briscoe in the corner, but Briscoe caught Gresham with an elbow. PCO tagged in and hit repeated chops on Lethal. At a later point in the match, PCO and Briscoe hit a combination Froggy Bow and PCO-sault, but only for a two count.
In the closing sequence, Gresham and Lethal hit a doomsday device, and Gresham followed it up with a phenomenal moonsault on PCO. PCO shouldn’t have kicked out of this, but somehow he did. Gresham rolled up him quickly afterwards for the win.
******
Ian Riccaboni cut to earlier in the broadcast when Dalton Castle got upset that Rey Horus was in the building with no match. Castle got the match signed, and it’s up next! Should be a fun match, but not really needed.
Rey Horus defeated Dalton Castle
Horus tried to start with a fast, lucha style pace but Castle slowed him down every time. Castle got overwhelmed and frustrated following a springboard arm drag. Castle didn’t take lightly to the maneuver and started to ground Horus. Castle held a gut wrench lock on Horus for a good minute, slowing the pace down. Horus did regain his style of pace, clearing the top rope with a diving senton onto Castle on the outside.
Later in the match, Horus baited Castle into running at him but sidestepped him, sending Castle knee first into the barricade. Horus rolled Castle back in the ring and kept on the attack with a great looking springboard tornado DDT. Castle sold it very, very well. Horus baited Castle to the top rope and planted Castle with a tornado driver for the win. Castle losing again is a choice i’ll question for now, but we’ll see where it goes.
******
Mike Bennett and Matt Taven defeated Vincent and Bateman (w/ Vita VonnStar)
Bennett and Taven rushed Vincent and Bateman as the bell rang. Taven superkicked Vincent, and Bennett followed it up with a spear. Vincent taunted Taven, but Bateman tagged in and went for the knee of Taven immediately. Taven struggled to get a tag but eventually did, and Bennett went to work on Bateman in the corner with multiple chops. Von Star distracted Bennett, and Bateman regained control with a big boot. Vincent tagged in and hit a side slam, cutting off the ring to prevent a tag from Taven.
Vincent locked in the Grim Sleeper on Bennett. Bennett escaped out of the hold with a beautiful snap brainbuster. Taven got the great hot tag and hit a rolling cutter. Taven ducked a clothesline from Bateman and dove onto Vincent at ringside. Taven attempted the Climax on Bateman after getting back in the ring, but Vincent caught him and locked in another Grim Sleeper submission. Vincent does the hold very well and hopefully he uses it as a finisher going foward.
Vincent hit a red rum on Taven which got him a win over Taven last year, but Taven powered out at 2. Bateman and Bennett both got hot tags, and Bennett ended up spearing Bateman. Bateman’s offense looked very unbelievable and slow. Taven and Vincent returned to the ring, and Taven hit his signature knee strike. Bennett drug half of Vincent’s body off the apron, and Taven came off the top rope with a frog splash onto Vincent onto the concrete. Bennett spiked Bateman with a piledriver and followed it up with the spear for the win.
After the match ended, Vita Vonn Star low blowed the winners. Vincent and Bateman began attacking Taven and Bennett. Vincent introduced a wooden block and put it between Bennett’s feet. Vincent smacked a chair into Bennett’s ankles. Commentary requested to cut away from the attack as officials helped Bennett out of the ring.
******
Danhausen defeated Brian Johnson via DQ
Code Of Honor was adhered too.
While Johnson was trash talking, Danhausen pump kicked him. Johnson almost lost the match fast, kicked out at two. Johnson grabbed a mic and told the commentary team to shut up. Johnson told the viewers at home that Danhausen looks better cross-dressing than most girls look doing their makeup. Johnson hits a scoop slam for a two count on Danhausen. Danhausen grabs the mic from Johnson and tells him not to swear, and spears him into the corner. I love when promo’s get intertwined within matches, it’s usually very entertaining.
Johnson continues to yell on the mic, saying it’s him vs everybody. Danhausen takes advantage of Johnson and hits a roll-through german suplex. Danhausen grabs his jar of teeth and hits the go to sleephausen, but Johnson kicked out. Johnson poured the jar of teeth into Danhausen’s mouth and hit him, but the teeth flew out and hit the official. Danhausen rubbed his face paint on the microphone and pretended to be hit by it. The official disqualified Johnson, therefore earning Danhausen a ROH Contract.
******
Dragon Lee defeated Tony Deppen to retain the ROH Television Championship
Deppen and Lee start fast, exchanging constant pinning attempts. Lee went to fix his mask, and Deppen tried to roll up him to no avail. Deppen kept up the constant high speed action, springing off the rope and drop kicking Lee. Lee gained control back quickly, locking in a headlock. Lee spit in his hand and slapped Deppen, which made Deppen “hulk” up. Deppen came charging off the ropes and hit a moonsault northern lights DDT.
Lee climbed the top rope but Deppen halted him with an enziguri. Lee no sold it and perched Deppen on the top rope, but Deppen grabbed Lee and dove off with a somersault neckbreaker. Deppen tried to pin again but Lee kicked out. Lee sprung up and hit a poison rana, followed up with a pump knee. Deppen still kicked out, so Lee followed it up with another pump knee strike for the win.
This match really woke up the PPV. I questioned the four-hour format going in, but so far so good.
******
Shane Taylor (w/ S.O.S) defeated Jay Briscoe
Briscoe and Taylor adhere to Code Of Honor. Taylor catches Briscoe in the corner early, delivering big blows to the top half of Briscoe. Briscoe tried to run the ropes, but Taylor mowed him over with a shoulder tackle. Taylor has one of the best shoulder tackles in wrestling. As Briscoe tried to return to his feet, Taylor delivered a great forearm to Briscoe, buckling his knees and sending him to the canvas. Taylor is easily one of the best strikers in wrestling.
Briscoe started to fight back finally, clubbing multiple forearms to the skull of Taylor. Briscoe rolled Taylor in the ring and continued the hard hitting blows. Taylor spun around and clubbed Briscoe again with a great forearm. They worked really stiff in this match and it came across great on TV. Mark Briscoe came down to the ring to try to cheer on Jay. Taylor tried to drop Briscoe with the tower city DDT, but Briscoe turned it into a chokehold from behind. Briscoe worked Taylor down to the mat with the hold, but Taylor reached the ropes eventually. Briscoe hit his signature neckbreaker, but Taylor kicked out again. Taylor hit his signature headbutt followed by Welcome To The Land piledriver to pick up the win.
After the match, Mark Briscoe tried to elbow bump Jay. Jay was hesitant, but still followed through.
******
Jonathan Gresham defeated Flip Gordon to retain the ROH Pure Championship
Code Of Honor is adhered too.
Gresham worked on the arm of Gordon early. Gordon used his first rope break when Gresham wrenched the arm hard. Gordon is clearly getting outclassed early as Gresham locks in a knee bar. The submission caused Gordon to use his second rope break. Gresham continued to completely outclass Gordon, locking in a hammerlock armbar. A few moments later, Gresham baited Gordon into using his third and final rope break.
Gordon finally ended up getting some control, popping Gresham with a superkick. Gresham used his first rope break during the pinfall attempt. At one point, Gresham dove off the top rope and hit knee first. Gordon started to work over the knee of Gresham, locking in a grounded knee bar. Gresham kept trying to get back into the contest, but Gordon kept working on the knee. Gordon tried to lock in a Submit The Flip but Gresham used his second rope break.
Gordon hit a great falcon arrow moments later, and transitioned it into the Submit The Flip, but Gresham used his third and final rope break. Gresham regained composure but Gordon struck Gresham with a closed fist. The official issued Gordon his one warning. Gordon got Submit The Flip locked in for a third time but Gresham forced himself out of the ring with both men hitting the concrete instantly. Great spot there to put over the STF as a legit submission. Gresham brought Gordon to the top rope and hit a beautiful hammerlock suplex, but Gordon still kicked out. A frustrated Gresham started charging Gordon with forearms which eventually led to a referee stoppage, giving Gresham the win.
Credit to Jon Gresham for putting on TWO amazing matches in one PPV. He’s my favorite thing in the company at the moment.
******
Rush defeated Brody King to retain the ROH WORLD Chanpionship
King offered a handshake to Rush, but Rush kicked his hand. King dove onto Rush as he was recovering on the outside. King flung Rush skull first into the turnbuckle, then body slammed him onto a pile of chairs. Both competitors made their way back in the ring, with King in firm control. King cannonballed himself onto Rush in the corner.
Rush took the match to the outside again, clearing the top rope and diving onto King. Rush grabbed a power cord that was at ringside, and began whipping King with it. Rush began to choke King with the cord, but Todd Sinclair broke it up while he was laughing it off. Rush being a confident heel is great stuff. Rush rolled King back in the ring and continued dominating him. King charged Rush at one point, but Rush caught him with an overhead suplex. King spit on his hand and chopped Rush, and then threw up the tranquilo sign. Rush didn’t take it lightly, and began delivering knees to King. Dragon Lee came to the ring and distracted the referee while Bestia came to the ring and smacked Brody King with a chair. Rush followed up with Get The Horns for the win and to retain his ROH World Championship. The broadcast ended with The Foundation staring down La Faccion Ingobernable, teasing a power struggle in ROH.
Sterling Riegel (w/ Logan Riegel) defeated The DKC (w/ Clark Connors)
These two kicked off the match with what looked more like modern jiu-jitsu than pro wrestling, really smooth chain grappling with DKC even transitioning in and out of knee-on-belly position, something rarely (if ever) seen on a Friday night pro wrestling show. Sterling Riegel, twin brother of tag partner Logan, looked excellent in this, as did DKC.
After a few more minutes of mat wrestling, Riegel landed a tope suicida to the floor onto DKC, followed up with a nice missile dropkick back inside the ring. From here, Riegel clearly had an upper hand and went after pins with more aggression. He later went for a moonsault off the top rope but DKC moved out of the way, with Riegel landing on his feet. He sold his knee like he popped it on the way down. The DKC took advantage and landed a high roundhouse kick, then followed up with karate strikes for a two-count of his own.
WIth under three minutes left to go in this ten-minute bout, Riegel went for an elbow drop off the second rope. DKC caught him as he hit the mat and locked on an armlock. He transitioned from there into a submission hold that looked like a combination between an STF and a Cobra Clutch. When DKC moved to adjust the angle of his hold, Riegel cradled him into a pin and scored the sudden three-count.
Afterwards, both Riegel Twins got into the ring when DKC started jaw-jacking after the finish. Clark Connors was in quickly to back up his recent tag partner, but things de-escalated from there. I imagine we’ll see a tag match between the four of these guys soon.
The twins celebrated Sterling’s win backstage.They said it was the first singles match Sterling had in six months, and that even though they respect both Connors and the DKC, they were simply not as good as the Riegel Twins because they’re not a “real” tag team. They told the two to bring their A-game before the end of the segment. Good opener.
Alex Zayne defeated Blake Christian
Earlier this week, WWE announced that Alex Zayne (and NJPW Strong alumni Rust Taylor) will soon report to their Performance Center.
A full on stunt show from the bell. Kevin Kelly said that these two are actually best friends outside of the ring from their time together in GCW. Christian did a tope dragonrana, though it didn’t do much damage because Zayne had Christian locked in a chinlock inside the ring 30 seconds later. Christian fired back later with kicks and a basement dropkick into Zayne’s head. It felt like I was watching this in fast-forward.
Zayne botched an attempted twisting sunset flip that looked rough. Christian’s offense is really impressive, he’s comparable to Rey Fenix, but again, there were some mistimed spots that just didn’t cut it at times, really killing the momentum. They tried hard to keep the pace at 110 miles per hour but it wasn’t sustainable and that was clear. Zayne did a shooting star knee drop on Chistian for two. He finished off best friend Christian minutes later with a pump-handle Liger Bomb. Innovative ideas in this for sure, but all around but quite bad.
After the match, Zayne said the following, literally: “I finally found my footing here in New Japan.” I’m not sure why New Japan decided to air any of this.
Brody King, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, ACH, & Karl Fredericks defeated Bullet Club (KENTA, Jay White, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, & Hikuleo) in an elimination match
If a wrestler was pinned, submitted or thrown over the top rope, they would be eliminated.
Brody King, who is scheduled to wrestle Rush for the ROH World Heavyweight title at Final Battle at the end of this month, and Hikuleo, the big boys of their teams, were about to kick the match off for their respective teams when Bullet Club jumped in and ambushed King. Chaos ensued from here, with all eight men going at it until the babyface team eliminated Hikuleo by dumping him over the top rope.
Whenever David Finlay and Jay White were in the ring together, they were noticeably very tight. Same for Finlay and Tama Tonga.
We are in December now and guys like KENTA and Tama Tonga have entirely different haircuts, so while this was a solid match and everything, the fact that it’s so obviously dated now cheapened this as a “new” show. It’d be nice if commentary explained the situation and not be forced to ignore the obvious.
ACH continued to impress as he has on each of his appearances on NJPW Strong. He and Jay White were impressive together for the short amount of time they wrestled each other in this match. Later, Karl Fredericks tagged in and cleaned house. He always comes off like a focal point of any of these tag matches he’s in. He almost eliminated KENTA from the match, but KENTA skinned the cat, pulled himself back into the ring, then got himself eliminated after Jay White jumped in and held the top rope down, eliminating Fredericks. On commentary, they blamed the referee for not seeing Jay White, the illegal man at the time, but then what about when the babyfaces all teamed up on Hikuleo early on?
Tama Tonga eliminated Juice Robinson by throwing him over the top rope. ACH quickly eliminated Tama Tonga, but moments later Tonga pulled ACH from the apron to the floor, eliminating him. The two went at it on the floor afterwards. Finlay eliminated Jay White next, but then Tonga Loa eliminated Finlay. Rapid fire eliminations here. King blasted Loa with a lariat, and later another one, knocking Loa to the floor and out of the match. KENTA tried sneaking up on King from behind, but the big man was too quick for that.
KENTA backed off, then slapped King in the face, followed up with a series of yakuza kicks. But it didn’t do anything to King, who spiked KENTA with a Gonzo Bomb, winning the match for his team in emphatic fashion. It sounds like he and KENTA will square off for a match in the future, possibly with KENTA’s briefcase for the IWGP US title on the line.
Final thoughts:
Not a bad show in the grand scheme of things, but definitely the weakest episode of NJPW Strong so far. The first match between the DKC and Sterling Riegel was the best match on the show, and while the elimination match was good, it isn’t unlike what we’ve seen in recent episodes. NJPW has recorded so far in advance iit shows, and that cheapens the show. The Zayne vs. Christian match was not good, but if you’re a fan of them, you’d enjoy it as Blake Christian did some amazing stuff. Still, it was very off-brand for Strong.
We also need to address Alex Koslov’s commentary. Kevin Kelly’s carry-job on announcing has been unreal. When Koslov misread Sterling Riegel’s name as “Riegel Sterling,” it didn’t sound like a joke, and if it was, it was the most apathetic delivery on NJPW World ever. Kevin Kelly swooped in and brilliantly saved his ass, blaming the flub on the fact that Koslov “speaks more than three languages”. Kozlov is clearly the weak link on the show, and it showed not even five minutes into tonight’s episode.
