The statement reads, “We have now concluded our internal investigation into the events that occurred in Portland on June 2nd and have taken appropriate actions with all parties involved. Our Code of Honor, which calls for sportsmanship, respect and honor in – and outside of the ring is a core value of this company and one we will continue to strive to uphold. To all of our loyal and dedicated fans, we apologize for the incident that transpired and we encourage all of our fans to continue attending our events. Furthermore, we promise to continue delivering the best wrestling and the best live experience on the planet. In adherence to Ring of Honor policy, we will not comment further on these matters.”
The company issued the response only when PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reached out to them for an update.
At that Portland house show, fan Josh Ketch was heckling female wrestlers Velvet Sky and Mandy Leon during their matches and security later brought him backstage at which time Bully Ray allegedly confronted him about his actions. Ketch took to social media about it, saying he felt intimidated. Ketch said Leon hit him and spat at him earlier in the night.
Ketch tweeted “shrugs forever” Saturday with a retweet of the statement. As of June 6th, he said he had yet to be contacted by ROH.
The incident occurred at last Sunday’s State of the Art event in Portland, OR.
From ROH:
“Ring of Honor prides itself on providing a fun and entertaining environment for both our fans and wrestlers to experience professional wrestling at the highest level.
Fans are encouraged to cheer, boo, and chant during the show while wrestlers interact both positively and in rivalry, as that is the engagement that makes the ROH experience what it is. Wrestlers interacting with fans is core to the experience, however, under no circumstance should any of our athletes or staff confront or engage fans outside the bounds of this entertainment experience or outside the bounds of the area that hosts this experience. We hold all of our athletes and staff members to the highest standards and, because of the actions over the weekend, we fell short of meeting those standards.
We are still in the process of investigating this matter as well as reviewing and assessing internal security protocols to ensure a safe environment for all fans and athletes. All of our athletes and staff will also be trained and reminded of our policies and protocols for fan interaction and appropriate behavior in all situations.
To our amazing and wonderful fans, we apologize for the matter that transpired this past weekend as it does not reflect who we are as an organization or how we hope to engage with our fans. ROH fans are known worldwide for their passion, admiration, and appreciation for our athletes, and we share this same admiration and appreciation for our fans. We encourage all of our fans to continue attending our events and supporting our amazing athletes in a respectful manner as they have done in the past, and we promise to continue delivering what the fans deserve – the best wrestling and the best fan experience on the planet.”
Fan Josh Ketch attended the show and claimed security brought him backstage to be confronted and intimidated by Bully Ray (Mark LoMonaco) for heckling The Allure (Velvet Sky, Mandy Leon, and Angelina Love) over the course of several matches. Ketch claims he wasn’t being vulgar and was both struck and spat on by Leon in addition to being insulted by Sky (Jamie Lynn Szantyr).
LoMonaco released a statement on Twitter admitting to talking to Ketch backstage, but said he did not intimidate him and was merely sticking up for The Allure after Ketch crossed the line, citing other fans who can back up that Ketch was out of line during both nights of the Pacific Northwest tour.
Szantyr and Leon accused Ketch of verbal sexual harassment on Twitter. Szantyr called Ketch’s comments “lewd and disgusting” while Leon said he was “scratching for attention” and “extremely inappropriate” with his comments on both nights. Love tweeted it was sexual and verbal harassment, adding “Fans don’t act the way you did. I looked directly in your eyes. You had evil intent in them.”
Reaction from fans and media have been expectedly mixed with some saying that Ketch was out of line and has been an issue at other shows in the region while others noted that he did nothing wrong and that it was the talents who overstepped their bounds.
We’re looking for your thoughts on Saturday night’s NXT Takeover show so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
We’re also looking for reports on these weekend shows:
We’re also looking for reports on the matches from tonight in Austin, TX not on Raw to [email protected].
Raw is tonight night in Austin, TX, featuring the return of Stephanie McMahon, the promise that Brock Lesnar will cash in his Money In the Bank contract during the three hours, the return of the Undertaker, plus Roman Reigns & Usos vs. Drew McIntyre & The Revival.
Smackdown will be Tuesday in Laredo, TX. There will be A Moment of Bliss with Bayley, an interview with Lars Sullivan and the return of Bill Goldberg.
NEW JAPAN AT TOKYO SUMO HALL AT 5:30 A.M. WEDNESDAY MORNING ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
If it wasn’t already clear, the success of All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing has solidified one thing: the remainder of 2019 is going to be a great time for the professional wrestling industry and its fans.
AEW’s maiden voyage had a lot of hype to live up to. There’s always difficulty when something transforms from an idea to a fully-formed product, complete with its own issues and imperfections. And while Double or Nothing wasn’t perfect, it managed to exceed reasonable expectations.
A look at Double or Nothing and the debut of AEW is the lead story in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Look at how the show did on PPV, where the buys came from, and how this number compares with the other companies. Compare it with All In, look at what was both good and bad about running in Las Vegas, the problems with Starrcast and high spots of Starrcast, merch numbers, the Cody vs. Dustin match,
Look at what Jon Moxley is doing next, why he left WWE, and cover his detailed interview on Talk is Jericho about why he left WWE and his goals going forward.
Also look at WWE’s Super Showdown, including some questions that you can’t get away from asking. Also run down the show, and the issue of it being easy to say things when it’s to your benefit but another having to make decisions that back up your proclaimed beliefs.
Examine this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament and where New Japan goes next.
Read about new legislation that could greatly affect how WWE and AEW wrestlers are treated, preview Takeover Bridgeport, updated PPV cards, update on Ric Flair, update on Sasha Banks, Lineups for big shows and WWE looking at making more purchases.
Have a look at the Hall of Fame career of Rashad Evans, from his start in winning The Ultimate Fighter, to winning the light heavyweight title, to his grudge matches with Jon Jones and Rampage Jackson, and famous bouts with the likes of Lyoto Machida and Chuck Liddell.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw and the latest pro wrestling and MMA news. You can send questions to today’s show to [email protected].
With no NBA playoffs, the promise of a Money in the Bank cash-in and Undertaker advertised in advance, tonight’s Raw should do a good number, North of 2.5 million viewers. Whether it actually does we shall see. Raw is going against game four of the Bruins vs. Blues Stanley Cup finals. Smackdown is unopposed as the NHL playoffs game five is Thursday while the NBA playoffs game three is Wednesday. Raw on 6/10 will go against game five of the NBA playoffs and that has a shot to set an all-time record low.
Mickie James is out of action with a knee injury after all. She was hurt on Saturday night but we were told that she was listed to wrestle yesterday in College Station, TX. She was replaced in the match by Zelina Vega and her injury was listed in the company’s new injury report. We don’t have word yet on the severity of the injury.
The lineup for Wednesday’s New Japan Sumo Hall show should be announced late tonight. It’s crazy they run a major show and don’t announce the full card until the day before. It’s not like they are sold out in advance or even close. It’s Jon Moxley’s first match since WWE against Juice Robinson, plus the Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi Best of the Super Juniors tournament final that has been building for the last few weeks.
WWE
Last week they were also advertising the U.S. title situation would be announced tonight with Rey Mysterio vacating the title due to his shoulder separation.
WWE is among a number of investors in FloSports, that raised another $47 million in funding. FloSports briefly had a pro wrestling channel, that was disbanded. They have all kinds of minor sports channels including a strong amateur wrestling channel. They have more than 250 rights deals. Fertitta Capital, an investment firm owned by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, were also inventors in the latest round of funding.
Peter Rosenberg, who did some WWE television work including kickoff shows, said he was no longer with the company beacuse there was no spot for him. He said he was doing other projects and missed some shows, but he was free for WrestleMania and expected to do the show, but Michael Cole told him he was no longer going to be used.
WWE has cut localized promos for Friday’s show in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the General Sports Authority Twitter accounts both the English and Arabic language versions.
MISCELLANEOUS
FITE TV will carry Dominion from New Japan which starts early Sunday morning at 3 a.m. headlined by Kazuchika Okada vs. Chris Jericho for the IWGP title, Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IC title, Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the Never title and Dragon Lee vs. Wednesday’s Super Juniors winner for the jr. title. Dominion has historically been one of the best shows of the year. It will be priced at $29.99. It is also available live on New Japan World.
Alexander Gustafsson was the 20th most searched term yesterday on Google. There were three major MMA retirements this weekend, as besides Gustafsson, also retiring is Nick Hein (who did some pro wrestling training and an angle for wXw in Germany, and also once came out to “Badstreet USA” by Michael Hayes as his entrance music) and King Mo Lawal, who worked for Impact and did some indie wrestling and once turned down a WWE contract after being recruited by Gerald Brisco.
Andy Ruiz was listed as a +1600 underdog to Anthony Joshua on Saturday. It was compared to Buster Douglas-Mike Tyson as the biggest heavyweight title upset in history, but going by the odds it was the fourth biggest of the last 30 years behind:
1) Douglas +4200 against Tyson in 1990
2) Corrie Sanders +2000 against Klitschko (2003)
3) Hasim Rahman +2000 against Lennox Lewis (2001)
The Wrestlers on Viceland on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. will air an episode on Japanese women’s wrestling.
Thunder Championship Wrestling from Saturday night in Auburndale, FL: Spirit Kid b Bruce Worley, George Rodriguez b Irish Jack, Michael Patrick & Leon Brien DCOR Kahagas & Michael Tarver, Anna Diaz b Amber Nova, Ray Beez b Chico Adams falls count anywhere, Sean Maluta b Mike Reed-DQ. Hector Guerrero and Brian Knobs also worked the show. (thanks to Al Haft)
United Wrestling Coalition on 6/15 in Wrightstown, NJ at Kelly’s Banquet Hall with the tenth annual Wrightstown Rumble.
TCM has a short called Bone Crushers on Saturday night at 5:10 a.m. It’s a film about pro wrestling in 1933. (thanks to Russell Griffith)
Konnan will be working for CWE out of Winnipeg on 6/28 and 6/29. He will be part of a show on 6/28 and then at 12:30 a.m. on 6/29 he will be doing a seminar/training session. For more info you can go to [email protected].
Sendai Girls from Sunday in Hiroshima: Mikoto Shindo b Manami, Aiger b Sakura Hirota, Meiko Satomura & Heidi Katrina b Alex Lee & Kaoru, Chihiro Hashimoto b Yuu, Dash Chisako & Mika Iwata b Millie McKenzie & Charli Evans. Katrina appears here through 6/9 and then returns to the U.S. for bookings starting on 6/11. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
The XFL announced a health advisory committee headed by Dr. Julian Bailes, Dr. Larry Mema and Dr. Claudia Reardon representing neurosurgery, orthopedics and mental health. Bailes will be the XFL’s Chief Medical Advisor. Daniel Wright, who was the head trainer for the Milwaukee Brewers was hired as Vice President of Heath and Safety. He will be there to prepare and run XFL health, wellness and safety policies and also hire and supervise each team’s trainers.
NFC debuts on 6/29 at the Pink Pony for an 18-and-over MMA show in Atlanta.
Defy runs 6/15 in Portland, OR at the Hawthorne Theater with Artemis Spencer, Brian Cage and TJ Perkins. They also run 6/16 in Tacoma at Jazzbones for a 5 p.m. Father’s Day show.
Josh Ketch, a fan who attended the show, tweeted several times Sunday night that after he heckled Velvet Sky and Mandy Leon early in the night, security took him backstage and left him with Bully Ray (real name Mark LoMonaco).
According to Ketch, LoMonaco intimidated him, told him he was done talking to the women, and needed to treat them with respect. He then told Ketch to “go be a fan” at which time security brought him back to his seat.
Ketch said that Leon both facepalmed and spat at him and that Sky (real name Jamie Lynn Szantyr) got into it with him as well, spraying perfume in his mouth at one point.
Ketch never admitted to using obscenity or foul language, but said that after Szantyr called him a virgin, he reminded her “she has sex with that fat turd Bully Ray” and said he called them “the tramp stamp trio.”
ROH GM Greg Gilleland issued the following statement to POST:
“ROH has always taken a fan-first approach with fan experience being at the forefront of all of our live events. We consider this to be very serious and we will be conducting an internal review over the next 48 hours to determine the appropriate actions.”
LoMonaco addressed the situation on Twitter late Monday afternoon, releasing a statement where he said he never intimidated “the fan” and said that he handled it “the exact opposite way most would assume, with decorum.” He said the conversation lasted 30 seconds and that he gave Ketch a “friendly pat on the back”, and told him to enjoy the show and be a fan.
LoMonaco also said that other fans who attended the Portland and Kent, WA, shows confirmed Ketch crossed the line with both male and female talents. He said that he’s guilty of defending three women who needed defending, not by being a bully but by being a man.
Szantyr quote tweeted a fan (“This.”) who said Ketch isn’t the victim and has been been a problem at other shows in the Pacific Northwest. She has been retweeting other fans coming to the wrestlers’ defense.
Bully Ray vs. Juice Robinson was set up for Madison Square Garden at ROH’s Road to G1 Supercard show in Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday night. Robinson announced that he’s answering Bully Ray’s open challenge for a New York City street fight at G1 Supercard.
Silas Young faced Mark Haskins at the Baltimore show, with Haskins getting the pin after referee Todd Sinclair stopped Young from using the ropes for leverage. Bully Ray came out, intimidated the referee, and told him to reverse the decision. Robinson, Tracy Williams, and Bandido made the save when Bully Ray and Young were going to put Haskins through a table.
Robinson then cut a promo, told Bully Ray to get back in the ring, and they went face-to-face. Robinson said he’ll be facing Bully Ray at Madison Square Garden.
Bully Ray also responded to ROH and Robinson on Twitter about the match: “1- Suzuki obviously doesn’t have the balls to accept my challenge. 2- I guarantee Juice DOES NOT make it to MSG. #RoadToG1Supercard”
Robinson is the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.
G1 Supercard is taking place on Saturday (April 6) and will air live on HonorClub and New Japan World. Here’s the updated card:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White defending against Kazuchika Okada
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Marty Scurll and Matt Taven in a triple threat ladder match
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito defending against Kota Ibushi
RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defending against Hiroshi Tanahashi
Title vs. title match: IWGP Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. ROH Tag Team Champions PCO & Brody King vs. The Briscoes vs. EVIL & SANADA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori defending against Dragon Lee and Bandido in a triple threat match
Bully Ray vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Juice Robinson in a New York City street fight
Women of Honor World Champion Mayu Iwatani defending against Kelly Klein
Rush vs. Dalton Castle
Title vs. title match: NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay vs. ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb
A Tag Team title change with G1 Supercard implications took place at Friday’s ROH 17th Anniversary pay-per-view.
Villain Enterprises (PCO & Brody King) defeated The Briscoes in a no disqualification match to win the ROH Tag Team titles. With that, PCO & King are currently set to face IWGP Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa in a title vs. title match with both sets of championships on the line at G1 Supercard.
In other developments for G1 Supercard, ROH Television Champion Jeff Cobb challenged NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay to a title vs. title match, Dalton Castle challenged Rush, and Bully Ray said he’ll be having a New York City street fight.
Castle was on commentary for Rush vs. Bandido and then got into the ring after Rush won. Castle challenged Rush to a match at G1 Supercard, with the storyline being that Castle wants to get back on track by facing someone who’s undefeated in singles matches in ROH.
Bully Ray interrupted rapper Mega Ran’s performance at the 17th Anniversary PPV, talked about wrestling at Madison Square Garden, and issued an open challenge to anyone in the professional wrestling business to face him in an NYC street fight at G1 Supercard. Bully Ray said the person he wants to face knows that he’s talking about them.
At one point, the crowd chanted for Flip Gordon. Bully Ray mentioned that he didn’t say “I Quit” in the I Quit match he lost to Gordon at Final Battle.
G1 Supercard is taking place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, April 6.
Bully Ray and Flip Gordon’s feud will continue with a stipulation match at Final Battle.
ROH announced today that Bully Ray will face Gordon in an I Quit match at Final Battle 2018. The pay-per-view is taking place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Friday, December 14.
Bully Ray and Gordon were on opposite sides of a tag team tables elimination match at ROH’s most recent PPV, with Bully Ray & Silas Young defeating Gordon & Colt Cabana at Death Before Dishonor. Gordon defeated Bully Ray by disqualification at Best in the World this June.
During the build to Final Battle, there was a storyline where Bully Ray and Gordon picked wrestlers to represent them in a match. Silas Young defeated The Sandman, which meant that Bully Ray got to do whatever he wanted to Gordon. Bully Ray hit Gordon with a cane multiple times and gave him a low blow.
Gordon issued the challenge for an I Quit match at Global Wars: Toronto earlier this month.
Jay Lethal defending the ROH World Championship against Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page challenging for Jeff Cobb’s Television title, Sumie Sakai defending her Women of Honor World title in a four-way match, Matt Taven vs. Dalton Castle, Jonathan Gresham vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and Bully Ray and Gordon’s I Quit match have been publicly confirmed for Final Battle.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman called the action on this week’s episode, which was the go-home show for Friday’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view.
Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) defeated The Boys
The Boys each used lungblowers on Barreta for a near fall. Barreta and Taylor each went for package piledrivers. The Boys countered into pins, which didn’t get it done and allowed for Barreta to hit the Dudebuster as Taylor nailed the Awful Waffle for the win.
A video package of the feud between The Briscoes and SoCal Uncensored aired. The Briscoes are set to defend their ROH Tag Team titles against Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian at Death Before Dishonor.
Kenny King defeated Hangman Page
King came to the ring wearing a sun hat, sunglasses, and with a huge blow-up inner tube that resembled a sprinkles donut and another huge blow-up raft shaped like a bottle of champagne. No explanation was given.
The two exchanged grappling maneuvers until a clean break. King took over with a high dropkick and then posed for a selfie with a fan. That lapse allowed Page to hit a Shooting Star Press off the apron, then he also posed for a selfie with the same fan. Page brought the bottle of champagne into the ring and suplexed King onto the raft for a hilariously large pop, which led to commercial.
After the break, King connected with a nice knee and wheel kick combination that set up a spinebuster. A string of reversals led to Page landing on his feet after a German suplex and landing one of his own. Page connected with the Buckshot Lariat but only got a two count.
Page was set up to hit the Rite of Passage, but King countered and used the ropes to get extra leverage on the pin. The referee saw it and didn’t count the fall. That led to a series of rolling pins that ended with King grabbing the tights and getting the three count. That makes two matches in a row that King has cheated to get wins over the Bullet Club.
Dante Caballero vs. Brian Johnson ended in a no contest
These two young guns started off quickly, but that didn’t matter as Jeff Cobb came out and mauled them with throws and slams. Cobb took the microphone and said that the Top Prospect Tournament was over because he was the top prospect. No debate.
A recap aired of Sumie Sakai calling out Tenille Dashwood. That match for the Women of Honor World Championship will happen at Friday’s PPV.
Silas Young & Bully Ray defeated Jonathan Gresham & Jay Lethal
Ray and Young were seemingly not thrilled to be teaming together as Ray tagged in Young and turned his back on him. Young mocked Gresham, but Gresham landed a hurricanrana and then slapped Ray in the face — forcing Young to tag him in. Ray then appeared to walk out of the match but instead threw a tantrum at ringside before entering the ring.
Ray launched Gresham with a backdrop and then pie-faced Lethal — causing Gresham to make the tag. Ray and Lethal had a quick exchange and both missed dropkicks. That led to the commercial.
After the break, Ray was chopping Lethal. Lethal fired back with slaps and chops of his own but then ran into a huge shoulder tackle. Lethal nailed an enzuigiri, tagged in Gresham. and both did suicide dives in tandem. Gresham got the Octopus lock on Ray, but it wasn’t for long. Ray dished out some monster chops to Gresham, who just kept getting back up.
Ray missed a back senton, allowing Lethal and Young to tag in. A Lethal Combination on Young brought in Ray. Lethal couldn’t suplex Ray over on his own — so Gresham came in for the assist. Gresham and Lethal did the “wazzup” headbutt to the groin.
Lethal took over on Young and landed the Macho Elbow and Gresham landed a Shooting Star Press, but Ray broke up the pin. Ray tossed out Lethal and Young hit Misery on Gresham for the win.
Bully Ray walked out on Young during a tag match against Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor at ROH’s television tapings in July. In a post-show angle, Bully Ray said he did it to motivate Young and bring out the old version of him. Bully & Young then faced Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham at last month’s tapings.
The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will host Death Before Dishonor on September 28 and a set of TV tapings on September 29. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal defending against Will Ospreay
Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll & Hangman Page) vs. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor)
Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai defending against Tenille Dashwood
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defending against Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian
ROH Television Champion Punishment Martinez defending against Chris Sabin
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kenny King
Flip Gordon & Colt Cabana vs. Bully Ray & Silas Young in a tables match
Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, and Mandy Leon called the action for the first match.
Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai defeated Madison Rayne to retain her title
They exchanged a rolling pin sequence to start it off. Sakai landed seven chops and followed that with some stiff forearms.
After the break, Sakai hit a missile dropkick off the top but missed a moonsault, which allowed Rayne to land a tornado DDT. Sakai kicked out at two and landed a fisherman’s suplex, but Rayne kicked out.
Rayne hit a cutter out of nowhere and almost got the win, but it was not enough to keep Sakai down. Rayne then ran into Sakai’s Smash Mouth finisher and Sakai retained with the win.
A video recap of the feud between Josh Woods and Shane Taylor aired.
Shane Taylor defeated Josh Woods
Woods started it off with a running knee. He declared that Taylor had a loaded glove, as Taylor was suspiciously wearing MMA gloves on this evening. Woods used some jiu-jitsu to attack the ankle of Taylor. A huge forearm sent Woods to the floor and the brawl continued outside the ring.
Back inside, Taylor landed a big splash but only got a one count. Woods fought back, landed a strong kick to the head of Taylor, and both went down. Woods landed a spinning back elbow, a running knee, and an exploder suplex that earned him a two count.
After the break, Woods applied an armbar and took off Taylor’s glove to reveal that, in fact, Taylor had loaded his glove. He pleaded with the referee not to throw out the match, but that allowed Taylor to recover and connect with his Greetings from the 216 piledriver for the finish.
SoCal Uncensored cut a promo on The Briscoes saying that Sandy Fork, Delaware was the worst town they’d ever been to.
They replayed the Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham video package that has been on the last few episodes hyping the upcoming 30-minute Iron Man match for the ROH World Championship that will air next week.
Caprice Coleman joined the announcers for the next match.
Marcus Kross and Charles Zanders went to a no contest in a Top Prospect Tournament first round match
A nice sequence of counters and kicks ensued, but this match didn’t last too long as Jeff Cobb made his way to the ring and destroyed both with monstrous suplexes.
Eli Isom came out and landed about 10 forearms to Cobb that had zero effect. Cobb manhandled Isom with an insane reverse powerslam as well.
Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) defeated Bully Ray & Silas Young
Ray talked trash to Cabana before the match. Coleman calmed down Cabana.
Ray slammed Barreta and went after his recently repaired arm. Barreta fought back and tagged in Taylor, but Ray squished him with a Thesz press. Young tagged in, then the Best Friends landed some friendly offense until Ray used a distraction of the referee to rack Barreta around the ring post.
After the break, Young went back to work on the arm of Barreta. Some cheap double team moves by Ray and Young kept Barreta isolated. Finally, Barreta landed a tornado DDT, flipped off Ray, and made the tag to Taylor. He landed the Falcon Arrow, but Young kicked out. The Best Friends landed a lawndart cutter and then gave each other a hug, but that allowed Ray to blindside them.
Ray screamed at Young to tag him. But as he went for the tag, Ray jumped off the apron and bailed on the match to teach him a lesson. The Best Friends landed the Dudebuster on Young for the win.
Episode #359 of Ring of Honor television was taped in Fairfax, Virginia at the end of June.
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defeated The Bouncers (Brian Milonas & Beer City Bruiser) in a non-title match
This was a non-title tag team match featuring the largest team in ROH history. The Bouncers weighed in at 772 pounds. This is the ninth title reign for The Briscoes.
The size of the Bouncers was too much for The Briscoes to overcome at first. Jay Briscoe and Beer City Bruiser then had a stiff forearm exchange. The Briscoes sent The Bouncers to the floor, and each Briscoe brother landed a flip dive. Jay did a running flip over the top rope and Mark landed a twisting flip off the top turnbuckle to the floor.
After the break, The Bouncers were squishing Mark with big man moves, which included a combo slam and leg drop. A sandwich by the big men sent Jay to the floor, but Beer City Bruiser missed a flip dive. That allowed The Briscoes to double up on Milonas and lay him out. Jay hoisted the Bruiser up on his shoulders and landed a DVD for a two count.
Mark hit a blockbuster from the apron to the floor on Milonas, which allowed Jay to connect with a neckbreaker, followed by a Froggy Elbow from Mark. That combination earned The Briscoes the pin on Bruiser.
The Briscoes then called out SoCal Uncensored. All three members of SCU came to the ring. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian attacked The Briscoes. This brought out security members to separate the teams.
Madison Rayne defeated Tenille Dashwood, Kelly Klein, and Karen Q in a four corner survival number one contender’s match
A pre-taped promo aired for each wrestler as they came to the ring.
Karen Q immediately bailed and let Klein take over on her own. Rayne and Dashwood had a quick exchange with a few pin attempts. Q came in and took a double suplex for her efforts. Rayne hit a head scissors on Dashwood. Q jumped on Rayne and hit a snap suplex, but Dashwood broke up the pin.
They did a four-woman stack up spot in the corner, which resulted in Klein landing a double powerbomb and suplex on the other three.
After the break, Dashwood had all three in separate corners and was able to connect with the Taste of Tenille on each. Klein had Q on her shoulders and caught Rayne in a crossbody and slammed both at once.
Dashwood hit the Spotlight on Klein. Q attempted to steal the pin, but Klein kicked out. This allowed Rayne to hit the Rayne Check on Q for the win.
Rayne is now the number one contender for the Women of Honor Championship. Sumie Sakai came out to stare down Rayne.
Cody and Brandi Rhodes came to the ring for a promo. Cody said he was unlucky in his last two ROH title opportunities. He called out Burnard the Business Bear, but Nick Aldis came out instead.
Aldis asked what was in it for him — in reference to their NWA Championship match at All In. Cody then baited Aldis to accept the challenge by offering his “Ring of Honor” ring as collateral. They got into each other’s faces after Cody said that all Aldis did was beat a 53-year-old history teacher (Tim Storm) for the NWA title, but the Bullet Club came out to separate them.
This was supposed to be a six-man tag team match, but Bully Ray jumped Flip Gordon on his way to the ring, which made it a handicap match to start things off.
Woods was able to get in some early offense on Taylor. Cheeseburger demanded to be tagged in to face Ray. Taylor cheated to cut off Cheeseburger with a distraction. Taylor landed an immense chop on poor Cheeseburger.
Taylor knocked Woods off the apron, which made time for Cheeseburger to hit a tornado DDT. Cheeseburger had no one to tag, so Colt Cabana came down from the announce table to accept the tag. He ran wild and landed a springboard moonsault on Taylor and stuck Ray with a spear.
Cheeseburger tagged back in and landed a double stomp on Ray. Cabana did a dive to the floor, but that allowed Taylor to hit a sit-down piledriver on Cheeseburger for the win.
Ray and Taylor beat down Cabana and Cheeseburger with a chain until Gordon made the save with a steel chair. The bad guys fled before Gordon could get his hands on Ray.
Bully Ray teamed with Mark & Jay Briscoe to challenge The Kingdom for their six-man tag titles. Hanson and Punishment Martinez battled in a singles match with tag team implications. And a semifinal match set the stage for the conclusion of the Top Prospect Tournament.
Also, “Story time with Adam Cole” turned solemn and the Bullet Club retaliated against Frankie Kazarian.
Where to watch —
Airing this past weekend in syndication, the episode is available this week via the FITE TV app before airing on Wednesday at midnight ET on Comet TV, including on that channel’s free online live stream. The episode is also available on the official ROH website to watch for free on Thursday. Check local listings for availability.
Show recap —
The show opened with Mark and Jay Briscoe reflecting on the debut of Bully Ray in ROH where he joined up with “Dem Boys” to form a team. In the main event of this show, they challenge The Kingdom for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.
Damien “Punishment” Martinez defeated Hanson
These two were recently in a short tag team feud that produced some wild brawls. They picked up where they left off here by brawling at the outset of a mean guy match.
Though the match was good enough, annoying noises (and these weren’t just cheers or boos) from a portion of the crowd were so audible it made the first half of the match almost unbearable to watch. The second half of the match after the first commercial break was much more pleasant as the noises stopped.
The brawling gave way to them trading near falls down the stretch. Hanson kept countering Martinez when he attempted a chokeslam. Not necessarily breaking news, but Hanson can fly like a cruiserweight. He did springboards and such. Not to be outdone, Martinez ran and leapt over the ropes into a dive to the outside.
In the closing moments, Hanson climbed the ropes looking to finish off Martinez with a high flying move off the top. Suddenly, Davey Boy Smith Jr. walked onstage to cause a distraction. Hanson turned his attention to Davey Boy, allowing Martinez to capitalize and execute his South of Heaven chokeslam for the pinfall.
Recapping events from the 15th Anniversary Show, footage of TK O’Ryan smashing his leg into a guardrail showed the injury that led to him being sidelined for some time to come. Thusly, the six-man tag later in the show will include a substitute for The Kingdom to defend the titles.
After the recap of the severe injury to O’Ryan, Silas Young cut a promo hyping a house show. That was ironic as he would go on to replace O’Ryan in the main event of this TV show.
In his promo, Silas promoted the “ROH Unauthorized” show in Milwaukee. As the tagline indicates, the show will be more edgy as all the matches are “unsanctioned” so anything goes. Silas vowed to fight a lot and drink lots of beer.
In an angle, Hangman Page attacked Frankie Kazarian in a parking garage. The Bullet Club were retaliating on Kazarian for swerving them. Page jumped Kazarian as an unknown associate filmed the sneak attack.
Grabbing a rope, Page went to presumably put a noose around Kazarian’s neck when a bystander wandered onto the scene off camera. Bullet Club then fled the scene.
John Skyler defeated Curt Stallion and advanced to the finals of the Top Prospect Tournament
Taped during “Manhattan Mayhem” from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Brutal Bob Evans provided guest commentary for this semifinal match of the tournament.
Both Stallion and Skyler worked hard trying to have as exciting a match as possible. They were doing just that when Stallion wiped out on a dive through the ropes. Skyler sidestepped and Stallion crashed onto the floor just before a commercial break. The match continued and they kept working hard. God only knows how as Stallion took quite a bump on the outside.
They set a quick pace and continued it throughout most of the match. For the finish, Stallion went for a Frankensteiner as they were perched on the top turnbuckle. Skyler blocked it to deliver his finisher, Southern Salvation. Skyler pinned Stallion to advance towards the finals of the Top Prospect Tournament.
Adam Cole somewhat tried to repair ill will in the Superkliq subfaction of the Bullet Club. In a solemn promo, Cole pleaded with The Young Bucks for them all to reconcile their differences. Ever the heel, Cole never totally admitted his own fault nor did he take any blame for their issues.
The Briscoes & Bully Ray defeated The Kingdom & Silas Young to win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship
A backstage skit showed Silas Young making his proposal to The Kingdom for himself to sub in exchange for his own team getting a future title shot. Though everyone agreed to him being the replacement, tension clearly existed within the group from the beginning.
That would play into the story of the match. Young even argued with both Matt Taven and Vinny Marseglia in the ring before things got started.
As Young argued with The Kingdom, Bully Ray interrupted them to introduce himself and The Briscoes. Then they jumped the heels before the bell and cleaned house.
Marseglia was getting bullied by Bully Ray when he cut him off. The Briscoes pummeled Marseglia for doing such. Taven and Young interfered to crotch Jay Briscoe on a ring post, turning the tide for The Kingdom.
The heels worked over Jay until a hot tag to brother Mark. As Mark began to run wild, The Kingdom cut him off. Young tried to steal a cover from The Kingdom. Taven and Young begin to argue when a babyface tag brought in Bully Ray to clean house.
Both Briscoes lifted Marseglia for Bully Ray to deliver the 3D. Bully Ray then pinned Marseglia to capture the ROH World Six-Man Championship.
Detroit, Michigan:
– James H. McLaughlin won a tournament to become American Collar-and-Elbow Champion
1919
Kansas City, Kansas:
– World Champions Wladek Zbyszko beat Joe Stecher in 2 out of 3 falls
1950
St. Joseph, Missouri:
– Tommy O’Toole defeated Sonny Myers in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title
1959
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
– Mighty Ursus and Shag Thomas defeated Maurice and Paul Vachon to win the Calgary NWA Canadian Tag Team Titles
Dallas, Texas:
– Andre Bollet and Frank Valois defeated Johnny Walker and The Amazing Zuma for the NWA Texas Tag Team Titles
1960
Kansas City, Kansas:
– Bob Ellis won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title from Kinji Shibuya
Amarillo, Texas:
– Mighty Ortega and Alex Perez defeated Dory Funk, Sr. and Dick Hutton for the Amarillo NWA North American Tag Team Titles
1962
St. Paul, Minnesota:
– AWA Champion Mr. M beat Larry Hennig
– Doug Gilbert beat Bob Geigel in 2 out of 3 falls
– Tiny Mills beat Karl Von Schoberg
– Duke Hoffman beat Tony Nero
1967
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
– The Assassins (Jody Hamilton and Tom Renesto) defeated Skandor Akbar and Swede Karlson to win the Tri-State NWA United States Tag Team Titles
1968
Osaka, Japan:
– Yukiko Tomoe defeated The Fabulous Moolah for the NWA World Women’s Title
1972
Los Angeles, California:
– John Tolos defeated Killer Kowalski to win the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title
1975
Memphis, Tennessee:
– George Barnes and Bill Dundee defeated Eddie Marlin and Tojo Yamamoto to win the Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Titles
1976
Miami, Florida:
– NWA Title: Andre The Giant defeated Terry Funk by DQ
– Lights Out Match: Dusty Rhodes defeated King Curtis
– Billy Robinson & Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Frank Goodish & Kim Duk
– Bob Roop & Bob Orton, Jr. drew Mike Graham & Jerry Brisco
– Missouri Mauler defeated Bob Orton, Sr.
– Pak Song defeated Abe Jacobs
– Steve Keirn defeated Ali Pasha by DQ
1978
– Ron Bass and Moondog Lonnie Mayne defeated Chavo Guerrero and El Halcón for the NWA Americas Tag Team Title
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Georgia Champion Stan Hansen beat Thunderbolt Patterson
– Ole Anderson & Lars Anderson beat Mr. Wrestling II & Rocky Johnson
– AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel beat Adrian Adonis
– Helmut Schmidt & Wolfgang Schmidt beat Zulu & Pierre Lefebvre
– Jacques Goulet beat Steve Regal
1980
West Palm Beach, Florida:
– Jack Brisco and Jimmy Garvin defeated Stanley Lane and Bryan St. John to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles
1983
Salem, Oregon:
– Billy Jack Haynes and Stan Stasiak defeated The Assassin (David Sierra) and Rip Hamilton for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles
1984
St. Louis, Missouri:
– NWA Champion Ric Flair ddq King Kong Brody
– Non Title Indian Strap Match: Wahoo McDaniel beat Missouri State Champion Harley Race
– Kamala vs Bulldog Bob Brown & Buck Zumhofe
– Greg Gagne & Ted Oates vs AWA Champion Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenyru
– Blackjack Mulligan vs Ox Baker
– Blackjack Lanza vs Roger Kirby
– Luke Graham vs Jay Wolfe
– Buzz Tyler & Ron Ritchie vs the Grapplers
1986
Fort Worth, Texas
– Brian Adias defeated The Grappler to win the World Class Texas Heavyweight Title
1991
Atlanta, Georgia:
– Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong defeated Dr. X & Larry Zbyzsko
– Dustin Rhodes defeated Dutch Mantell
– Stan Hansen defeated Ricky Morton
– WCW US Champion Lex Luger defeated Sid Vicious
– Danny Spivey defeated Big Josh via disqualification
– Bobby Eaton fought Terrance Taylor to a draw
– Barry Windham defeated Tom Zenk
– Ron Simmons defeated Butch Reed
– WCW Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin
– WCW World Champion Ric Flair defeated Sting in a steel cage match
1992
Louisville, Kentucky:
– Dr. Death defeated Tom Prichard to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight Title
1994
Armstrong Family Reunion: Marietta, Georgia:
– The 1-2-3 Kid fought Bobby Blaze to a 15-minute draw at 12:23
– Hillbilly Festus pinned NGWA Champion New Jack to win the title
– Tracey Smothers pinned Chris Candido (w/ Dennis Coraluzzo) in a non-title match
– Ron Garvin defeated Kevin Sullivan via disqualification
– Lex Luger pinned IRS
– Tony Anthony & the Dirty White Girl defeated Brian Lee & Tammy Fytch
– Brian, Scott, & Steve Armstrong defeated Owen Hart & Well Dunn
– Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated SMW Tag Team Champions Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray (w/ Jim Cornette) via disqualification
– Bob Armstrong pinned Jim Cornette in a steel cage match
1995
Cookville, Tennessee:
– Boo Bradley defeated D-Lo Brown
– The Dirty White Boy defeated Buddy Landel
– New Jack & Mustafa defeated Tracy Smothers & Boo Bradley (sub. for Bob Armstrong)
– SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Al Snow & Unabomb via disqualification
Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada:
– Scott D’Amore defeated Mickey Doyle for the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title
2001
Morovis, Puerto Rico:
– Eddie Colón defeated Damien Steel to win the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title
2007
Crystal River, Florida:
– Erick Stevens defeated FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong to win the Eddie Graham Memorial Battle of the Belts Tournament to become the first FIP Florida Heritage Champion
2013
TNA Lockdown:
– TNA X-Division champion Kenny King defeated Zema Ion and Christian York to retain the title
– TNA Knockouts champion Velvet Sky defeated Gail Kim to retain the title
– TNA Tag Team champions Austin Aries & Bobby Roode defeated Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero and Bad Influence
– Steel Cage Match: Wes Brisco beat Kurt Angle
– Lethal Lockdown Match: Team TNA beat Aces & Eights
– TNA World Title: Bully Ray defeated Jeff Hardy to win the title
Image: @ringofhonor. Report submitted by reader Matt Singer. Check out our post on The Hardys and Bully Ray showing up for more on their surprise appearances.
– Christopher Daniels defeated TK O’Ryan
– Dalton Castle defeated Colt Cabana
This was a solid comedy match. Castle won after a distraction (and a big bump) from the Boys.
– ROH Television Champion Marty Scurll defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain his title
Scurll vs. Dutt was a really good match with probably the best psychology on the show. The crowd loved Scurll. He worked over Dutt’s arm and then won with the crossface chicken wing.
– Dragon Lee defeated Will Ospreay
This was the match I came to see and it didn’t disappoint. It was a total spotfest, but a spectacular one. Lee won after they traded one big move after another. Ospreay is incredible live.
– ROH Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defeated Lio Rush & Jay White to retain their titles
The Hardys appeared after to confront the Bucks, leading to a title match between the teams.
– The Hardys defeated The Young Bucks to win the ROH Tag Team Championship
– Matt Taven won a battle royal to earn a future ROH World title shot
– Cody, Hangman Page & Frankie Kazarian defeated The Briscoes & Jay Lethal
The match was mostly a brawl. They went up the aisle and onto the stage and back. Lethal got a great reception when he came out, but didn’t get much of a spotlight. He was mostly teasing a match with Cody.
– ROH World Champion Adam Cole defeated Bobby Fish to retain his title
Cole won by roll-up with a handful of tights. Bullet Club tried to beat down Fish after, which led to Bully Ray making the save and saying that he’s now with ROH.
There were surprise appearances by both The Hardys and Bully Ray at Manhattan Mayhem VI, with Broken Matt & Brother Nero (in their full Broken gimmicks) even going on to defeat The Young Bucks and win the ROH Tag Team Championship.
Both The Hardys and Bully Ray indicated that they were now with ROH, though how long they’ll be with the company remains to be seen. The Hardys listed dates they’ll be at going forward, including ROH’s 15th Anniversary pay-per-view, but none of those were after WrestleMania weekend.
Below is a report from reader Matt Singer about the relevant segments:
– ROH Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defeated Lio Rush & Jay White to retain their titles
The Bucks were the most over act on the show by far (at least until The Hardys showed up). This was a chaotic match. It had nonstop action, and it was pretty fun even though there wasn’t much of a story. The Bucks won after hitting the Meltzer Driver.
The lights then went out. They came back after a minute and The Hardys were in the ring, saying the Bucks’ time has come. The Bucks accepted their challenge and told the ref to ring the bell. That moment was probably the single biggest pop of the night when the crowd realized they were actually having a match.
– The Hardys defeated The Young Bucks to win the ROH Tag Team Championship
The Hardys won and then cut a promo saying they had left TNA (prompting huge “f*ck TNA” chants) and that the rumors that they were going to WWE were wrong. They claimed that they have signed with the “Honorable Ring” and then rattled off a bunch of dates, which were all before WrestleMania.
– ROH World Champion Adam Cole defeated Bobby Fish to retain his title
This was a good match, though the crowd was kind of dead. Cole got the pin with a roll-up by using a handful of tights. Bully Ray showed up to make the save after the Bullet Club came out to beat up Fish and tried putting him through a table.
Ray said he had offers from other places (more “f*ck TNA” chants) but he was a fan of ROH and wanted to say he retired having fought there. He said he wasn’t there for money or for a guy’s spot — he was there because he wanted to be.
It ended with him asking for Joe Koff, which didn’t happen, but he said he was now with ROH and that was it.
