It wasn’t a good night for AEW wrestlers keeping their AAA titles at Wednesday’s Noche de Campeones event.
The show in Acapulco saw Flammer and Abismo Negro Jr. win the AAA Mixed Tag Team titles, which were declared vacant on Wednesday after the company announced that champions Tay Melo and Sammy Guevara would be stripped of the titles. FTR, who did appear on the show, lost the AAA Tag Team titles to Dralistico and Dragon Lee. The future of the titles remain unclear, however, as Lee announced he had signed with WWE after winning the titles.
Konnan came out before the Mixed Tag Team title match and announced that the titles would be stripped due to Guevara and Melo making excessive demands, and requested the titles be sent back to Mexico. The match also involved Lady Shani & Octagon Jr. and Kommander & Sexy Star. Guevara and Melo had held the titles for over 241 days, winning them back at the Triplemania XXX show in Monterrey back on April 30.
FTR lost the Tag Team titles to Dralistico and Lee in a match where heel referee Hijo del Tirantes was not allowed to cheat. When he did just that, Konnan came out and ejected him from the match. A new referee came in, allowing Dralistico and Lee to score the win and the titles. FTR had held onto the titles for over 427 days, defeating Fenix and Pentagon Jr. on the October 16, 2021 edition of AEW Dynamite.
Arez additionally became the first La Leyenda Azul champion on Wednesday, defeating Villano III Jr. and Black Taurus in a three-way to become the first champion.
Lee announced he had signed after he and Dralsitico defeated FTR to win the AAA Tag Team titles on Wednesday’s AAA Noche de Campeones event in Acapulco. ESPN reported that Lee will start with the company in January for the NXT brand.
“An unbelievable athlete who has collected accolades and held championships across the globe… and he’s just getting started,” Triple H wrote on Twitter. “The next chapter of @dragonlee95’s career begins with @WWENXT!”
As a result of his announcement, Lee and Dralistico then vacated the titles just minutes after winning them. According to The Cubs Fan, Lee notified AAA of his status “well in advance” of Wednesday’s show.
“Dragon Lee is a tremendous talent that will immediately add value to the NXT roster,” James Kimball, WWE’s head of talent strategy and operations, told ESPN. “This signing is reflective of WWE’s renewed emphasis on globalizing our talent pipeline with Latin America positioned as a focal market.”
Lee was also interviewed by ESPN, saying he hoped that he could be the next Rey Mysterio. He had originally talked to former WWE head of talent relations Canyon Ceman about coming in with talks advancing after he spoke to Finn Balor a few months ago.
“[Balor] told me, ‘Would you like to be in WWE?'” Lee said. “I said, ‘Yeah, sure. Why not?’ … It was something special for me.”
Lee broke into professional wrestling in 2014, first wrestling for CMLL. Over the last several years, he has worked for ROH, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and AAA. Other family members include his father Bestia del Ring and brother Rush, who is signed to AEW.
FTR are returning to Mexico this December for a AAA Tag Team title defense.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Lucha Libre AAA announced that FTR will defend their AAA Tag Team titles against Dragon Lee & Dralistico in Acapulco, Mexico on Wednesday, December 28. Lee & Dralistico got the title shot by winning a four-way tag match at Triplemania XXX: Mexico City earlier this month.
FTR have been AAA Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix on AEW Dynamite in October 2021.
FTR are also the current ROH and IWGP Tag Team Champions. On Dynamite this Wednesday, they’re facing Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland in a match where the winning team will earn an AEW Tag Team title shot.
The announcement of FTR being in Mexico on December 28 means they’ll miss this year’s New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite and the tapings for the New Year’s Smash episode of Rampage. AAA’s Dorian Roldan thanked Tony Khan for allowing FTR to come to AAA’s event.
Night of Champions is the theme of the December 28 Lucha Libre AAA event. The show is also set to feature El Hijo del Vikingo defending the AAA Mega Championship against Bandido.
Host Quinn McKay joined us from the ROH studio and ran down the three match card for tonight’s show that includes a Pure Rules match between Brian Johnson and John Walters, a contenders three way bout between Allysin Kay, Mandy Leon and Trish Adora, and a ROH Television Championship match between current champ Dragon Lee and Dalton Castle.
Brian Johnson defeated John Walters in a Pure Rules match (11:30)
This match never really clicked or reached that second level that I was hoping it would reach.
The match started with a Walters takedown before abruptly going to commercial break only a few seconds in.
When the bout returned, Walters had Johnson trying to avoid the onslaught of strikes he was delivering. Walters molded his strategy to take down Johnson to the mat and continue with a heavy emphasis on the arm. Johnson eventually found a way out of the ring and took a moment to recover.
Walters climbed to the top turnbuckle, but was knocked out by the “Mecca”. Johnson saw an opportunity and planted Walters with a draping neckbreaker for a two count. A cobra clutch was applied shortly afterwards by Johnson as the match went into another break.
As the match returned, Johnson used a closed fist and received a warning. This gave Walters an opportunity to will his way back into the match, hitting a series of clotheslines and focusing on the arm of Johnson again. As the match approached the 10 minute mark, Walters applied a few different submissions that would force Johnson to use all three of his allowed rope breaks.
As the match reached the final stages, Johnson was able to sneak in a poke to the eyes of Walters. After that, Walters tripped onto Johnson’s knee and was effectively knocked out. Johnson lifted him up and hit his signature neckbreaker before pinning him afterwards.
Mandy Leon (with Angelina Love) defeated Allysin Kay (with Marti Belle) and Trish Adora in a Contender’s Match (6:58)
Chelsea Green joined commentary for this match.
This was fine, but way too short. The result was also frustrating.
Leon retreated from the ring as soon as the bell rang, leaving Kay and Adora to fight it out. Kay applied a headlock to Adora and worked her to the mat. When Adora began to fight back, Leon came in and tried to take out both women, but failed.
Kay and Adora began working together to take down Leon, but seemed to struggle. There was a cool sequence where Kay cinched in a kimura lock on Leon while Adora worked on the ankle, but the hold broke down quickly after Kay and Adora traded strikes in the submission.
Kay positioned Adora on the top turnbuckle and was looking for a superplex, but Leon came to pick the bones again and turned it into a powerbomb combination. Adora rolled to the outside and looked to be in pain, causing the referee to get distracted and check on her. While this was happening, Love came in and clocked Kay with a forearm strike, allowing Leon to hit her signature pumphandle driver for the win.
Leon will face Willow in the coming weeks to determine Rok-C’s championship challenger at Final Battle.
Dalton Castle defeated Dragon Lee to capture the ROH Television Championship (11:34)
Dak Draper joined commentary for this bout.
This was a great championship main event bout and even seemed to re-ignite the “old” Dalton Castle.
Castle tried to take Lee off his feet but would be met with hard resilience and speed. Castle wrestled back with a speed that he normally doesn’t perform at anymore, controlling the waist of Lee.
When the match returned, Castle planted Lee with a German suplex before following it up with a kick to the face. The bout spilled to the outside and went awry quickly when Lee clotheslined Castle over the barricade but when Lee went to attempt a dive, Castle’s “boys” got in the way and took the dive.
Both competitors made their way back to the ring and Lee looked for the Incinerator knee strike, but Castle turned him inside out with a clothesline. Lee popped up quickly and looked for another knee strike when Kenny King came down to the ring. King almost got involved but was stopped by Shane Taylor Promotions. When the referee was distracted, Draper ran in from commentary and pushed Lee into Castle, who hit the Bang-A-Rang for the cover and the three count.
Next week:
Rok C vs. Gia Scott – ROH Women’s Championship match
Jay Lethal vs. EC3
Final Thoughts: This week’s episode of ROH TV featured some good in-ring action, but also a few questionable finishes. There’s not much benefit to Mandy Leon winning the contender’s match as Adora or Kay deserved that spot much more. Castle winning the TV title is a-ok in my book, but I’m unsure of where Lee and LFI (minus Kenny King) fit in on the Final Battle card.
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Recommended Viewing
New Tag Team Champions were crowned on the pre-Death Before Dishonor episode of ROH TV.
On the ROH TV episode that premiered this weekend, Dragon Lee & Kenny King defeated Homicide & Chris Dickinson to win the ROH Tag Team titles. Lee pinned Dickinson after hitting his Incinerator knee strike to the face. Homicide was taken out when King hit a tornillo to the outside leading into the finish. King prevented him from getting back in the ring and breaking up the pin.
Lee is now a double champion in ROH. He also holds the ROH Television title.
This is the second time La Faccion Ingobernable’s Lee & King have held the ROH Tag Team titles together. They won the titles this February but then lost them to Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus at ROH’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view in March. La Bestia del Ring was filling in for Lee in that match due to Lee suffering a ruptured eardrum.
Homicide & Dickinson won the ROH Tag Team titles from Titus & Jonathan Gresham in a Fight Without Honor at Best in the World this July. Gresham was replacing Williams in that match.
Lee, King & Bestia del Ring are challenging Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles at this Sunday’s Death Before Dishonor PPV.
Violence Unlimited’s Homicide, Dickinson & Tony Deppen are facing John Walters, LSG & Lee Moriarty in a six-man tag match at Death Before Dishonor.
Quinn McKay joined us from the ROH studio and revealed that this week’s episode of TV is themed as a bonus prior to the Death Before Dishonor show, as the main event features a World Tag Team Championship match with the current champions Chris Dickinson and Homicide defending against Kenny King and Dragon Lee.
McKay revealed that The Briscoes vs. ROH World Champion Bandido & Rey Horus and Josh Woods vs. Will Fererra are also scheduled for the show.
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The Briscoes defeated ROH World Champion Bandido & Rey Horus (12:10)
Bandido and Jay started off the match. Jay tried to wrestle Bandido to the mat, but the “Most Wanted” would respond with a handspring arm drag. They would trade some more moves but eventually came to a stalemate that led into a commercial break.
When the broadcast returned from the break, Jay and Mark were isolating Rey Horus in their corner. The match would spill to the outside where both luchadors were thrown into the barricade. Mark would toss Bandido back in the ring and began draining the stamina of the world champion.
The match broke down eventually and everybody got to hit their big move, but it left all four men on their backs in the middle of the ring. Bandido was the first man up and he immediately caught fire, hitting a fosbury flop on Jay Briscoe on the outside. Bandido was down on the outside which allowed Mark to scoop up Horus and give time for Jay to climb to the top rope and hit a doomsday device for the win.
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Josh Woods defeated Will Ferrara (w/ Eric Martin) in a Pure Rules match (6:18)
Jonathan Gresham joined commentary for this bout.
Woods virtually had control of Ferrara for the entire duration of this match. Ferrara had a couple spots here and there, but it never amounted to anything tide-shifting.
This was a showcase for Woods headed into his Pure Title match at tomorrow’s Death Before Dishonor. He played all of his “greatest hits” and made Ferrara exhaust all of his rope breaks within the first five minutes of the match.
There was a cool spot in the match where Woods had Ferrara in a waist lock, hoisting him in the air while staring dead into Jonathan Gresham’s eyes. Woods would eventually win with a bridging German suplex.
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La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee & Kenny King) defeated Violence Unlimited (Chris Dickinson & Homicide) to win the ROH Tag Team titles (14:08)
King and Homicide started off the bout. King had Homicide in an arm lock headed into a commercial break.
When the show returned, Lee and Dickinson tagged themselves in. They had a great, counter-based exchange that led to Dickinson getting the upper hand. The match broke down shortly after. Lee and Homicide would be the legal men after the smoke cleared.
King and Lee hit a few double team maneuvers after they took Dickinson off the apron. LFI had a stranglehold on Homicide and it seemed like the match would cease, but Dickinson would come in with freight train-like speed and clear the ring.
Dickinson would have another great exchange with Lee, but Lee would win the battle again. Lee tagged out to King, who hit a Royal Flush on Dickinson for a very close near fall.
The final stages of the match saw Lee and Dickinson yet again facing off. Lee would pull his knee pad down and attempt an Incinerator strike, but Dickinson blocked it and twisted his knee into a heap. Lee would recover quickly and deliver not one, but two Incinerator knee strikes, which allowed him to pin Dickinson for the win.
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Final Thoughts —
This was a fantastic go-home episode of Ring Of Honor television that reminded me of one thing: One hour wrestling shows are the best.
All three matches felt very different from one another, and all three matches did exactly what they were supposed to do.
I didn’t expect King and Lee to win the Tag Team titles, but the element of surprise was really nice to see. The few exchanges that Dickinson and Lee had were fantastic and I hope they face off in a singles match sooner rather than later.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of TV is worth your while. The scale is as followed:
Must-Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommended Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Go Out Of Your Way
Ian Riccaboni welcomed us to the ROH studio and immediately gave a shout out to Quinn McKay and her dedication to the Women’s Championship tournament. Although McKay has been officially eliminated, Riccaboni gave her a warm message about this just being the beginning.
Riccaboni also ran down the card for tonight’s episode. Dragon Lee will defend his ROH World Television Championship against Eli Isom, while two more quarterfinal matchups will take place in the Women’s Championship tournament.
Angelina Love defeated Max The Impaler (with Amy Rose) via disqualification (5:53)
Love tried to punch Max in the back, but it had no effect on them. Love had a terrified look on her face and slid out of the ring, where she started talking trash to Amy Rose outside of the ring.
Max followed Love to the outside and began beating her down. Max was toying with Love at this point with a slow, methodical pace before she rolled her back in the ring.
Love tried to escape out of Max’s grasp to the apron, but Max caught her in a chokehold on the ropes and wouldn’t let go. Max repeatedly was warned by referee Joe Mandak to let go of the hold, but they refused. As a result, Mandak disqualified Max.
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Trish Adora defeated Allysin Kay (13:50)
Kay applied a standing headlock to Adora and eventually took it down to the mat, which resulted in Adora reversing it into a head scissor lock.
Both women hit a stalemate eventually and rose to their feet. Kay focused on Adora’s arm to try and prevent a lariat and had her reeling heading into a commercial break.
Kay was in full control when the match returned. Kay nailed Adora with constant kicks to the chest and was taunting her afterwards. At this point in the match, Kay would start talking trash and shoving Adora’s face into the mat.
Adora eventually developed a second gear and began unloading a number of strikes onto Kay. Kay would try to lock in an octopus stretch, to which Adora rolled out of, bounced off the ropes and hit a Lariat Tubman for the win.
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Dragon Lee defeated Eli Isom to retain his ROH Television Championship (12:25)
Dalton Castle joined commentary for this bout.
Lee offered Isom a handshake, to which Isom accepted but also gave Lee a kick to the gut. Lee immediately made Isom pay for it by dumping him to the outside and diving onto him on the floor.
Lee stuck his foot on Isom’s skull and applied a single leg crab whenever he got back in the ring. Isom was only motivated more by this, and got up in a fury of rage.
Isom and Lee traded strikes before trading back-to-back-to-back german suplexes. Lee followed it up by spiking Isom with a poison rana, but Isom popped right up and hit a lariat which resulted in a very good near fall.
The final minutes of this match were insane, with both guys just trading move after move. Lee nailed Isom with multiple knee strikes to where he was practically knocked out, to which Lee followed up with a falcon’s arrow for a great near fall. Lee would eventually put away Isom with his signature incinerator knee strike, allowing him to score the pinfall victory.
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Final Thoughts: This edition of ROH TV started off with what I think was one of the most questionable booking choices that the company has made since their return from their pandemic hiatus. Max The Imapler was made to look really dumb with that finish and for what we’ve seen from them so far, they obviously aren’t dumb and they know how to win matches and get the job done. Max was undefeated in the company up to this point and I think this was a terrible way to beat her.
Besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed both Adora/Kay and Lee/Isom.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of TV is worth your while. The scale is as followed:
Must Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommend Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Go Out Of Your Way
ROH has set a date for Violence Unlimited’s first Tag Team title defense.
Homicide & Chris Dickinson will defend their ROH Tag Team titles against La Faccion Ingobernable’s Dragon Lee & Kenny King on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, September 11. Homicide & Dickinson won the titles by defeating The Foundation’s Rhett Titus & Jonathan Gresham (filling in for the injured Tracy Williams) in a Fight Without Honor at July’s Best in the World pay-per-view.
Dragon Lee & King formerly held the ROH Tag Team titles together. They were champions going into ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV this March, but Dragon Lee had to miss the show due to injury. La Bestia del Ring replaced Dragon Lee at the PPV, and he and King lost the titles to Titus & Williams.
For ROH’s Death Before Dishonor PPV, Homicide, Dickinson & Tony Deppen have issued a challenge for three Pure wrestlers to face them in a six-man tag match. The challenge has been accepted by a team consisting of one Pure wrestler from the past, one from the present, and one who is considered part of the future. The identities of Violence Unlimited’s opponents will be revealed on ROH Week By Week next Tuesday.
Death Before Dishonor is taking place on Sunday, September 12.
The Big Takeaway: Matt Taven and Vincent met in the main event, while various ROH Champions competed throughout a very fun card.
Dalton Castle defeated Danhausen
Dak Draper joined commentary for this bout.
Castle started off with his usual antics, taunting Danhausen with his “boys” at ringside. After Danhausen was distracted by the “boys”, Draper jumped off commentary and helped orchestrate a sneak attack with Castle.
Both guys eventually found their way back in the ring where Danhausen was able to hit a few German suplexes. Castle was losing steam and confidence when he resorted to pouring a bottle of Danhausen’s teeth onto the ring canvas. Castle would follow it up with his signature Bang-A-Rang onto the teeth for the win.
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LSG defeated World Famous CB in a pure rules match
The offense between both men was immediately taken to the mat and it led to some fun exchanges. CB targeted the arm of LSG and nearly every form of attack that CB performed was based on the arm.
CB was clearly overwhelming LSG because he used all three of his rope breaks within the first seven minutes of the match. LSG got his offense in when he could and hit a surprise “Rocket By Baby” butterfly suplex, followed by a surprise pinning combination which was able to muster a three count.
CB refused to shake LSG’s hand afterwards.
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Rok-C and Miranda Alize defeated Willow & Chelsea Green
Willow and Alize started out the match. Alize threw some strong strikes at Willow but couldn’t seem to match the power or intensity that her opponent was giving out, so she tagged out to Rok-C.
Rok-C came in and had a fantastic exchange with Willow, one that included a top rope arm drag. Willow was shaken up so she tagged out to Chelsea Green. Green and Rok-C had a fun exchange that saw Green tag back out to Willow pretty quickly.
Willow came back in and missed a moonsault on Rok-C, which allowed the latter to hit a massive code red and pin Willow for the three count.
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Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses, and Kaun) defeated Incoherence (Delirious, Hallowicked, and Frightmare) to retain the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championships
Incoherence was joined by Ultra Mantis Black, who joined commentary after their entrance.
Delirious and Kaun started off the match and while Delirious went for a few takedowns, none of them manifested. Frightmare and Taylor came in after which got a massive reaction from the crowd.
Frightmare slapped Taylor, which prompted Taylor to clock him with a forearm strike. The match broke down for a minute and all of Incoherence sent STP reeling to the outside, which allowed Incoherence to regroup. This would end up favoring STP, who took over the match shortly after.
Moses had Delirious down and out when Hallowicked came in. Hallowicked slammed down Moses, and hit a great standing knee-based moonsault. When Hallowicked went for the pin, Taylor came running out of nowhere and bulldozed him.
Taylor and Delirious became the legal men. Taylor went to the second rope and was going to dive onto Delirious, but Frightmare pulled Taylor off the top rope with a cutter. This was the result of a very close near fall, but when Frightmare became legal, Taylor bulldozed him with a knee strike and followed it up with a package piledriver for the win.
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Brian Johnson & Mark Briscoe defeated Demonic Flamita and Flip Gordon
Johnson and Flamita started out and Flamita absolutely handled him easily. Gordon came in and Johnson had better luck with him, having a fun slug fest. Flamita and Briscoe came in and had a really fast paced exchange that slowed down Briscoe’s energy significantly.
Flamita and Gordon took turns tagging in and out and beating down Briscoe in their corner. Briscoe eventually made a massive hot tag to Johnson, who got a great reaction.
After the hot tag, Johnson and Briscoe miscommunicated and crashed into one another. This led to Johnson telling Briscoe to kick rocks and he walked out of the match to a chorus of boos.
Flamita perched on the top rope for a 450 on Briscoe, but flipped off the crowd and jumped down instead. Flamita went to grab a chair but when Gordon encouraged him to use it, Flamita flipped off Gordon and tagged himself out. Gordon started to yell at his partner which allowed Briscoe to pick him up and piledrive him into the chair for the win.
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The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams) defeated VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Chris Dickinson, Tony Deppen and Homicide)
Kenny King joined commentary for this bout.
Deppen and Titus started off the match. Both guys exchanged a headlock or two and once Deppen got cocky, he backed away from Titus and tagged out to King. King called for Gresham, but once Gresham came in, Lethal tagged himself in. Homicide came in afterwards, leading to Lethal and Homicide being legal.
Lethal’s chops had Homicide reeling quickly and made him tag out to Dickinson. Williams came in and exchanged a few shoulder tackles with Dickinson. Williams perched Dickinson on the top rope and hit a masterful butterfly suplex that warranted a near fall.
Dickinson was able to eventually tag out to Deppen, who became a target for The Foundation. They all took turns tagging in and out and targeting Deppen’s knee. Deppen would see an opening and fight off a double team from Lethal and Gresham, but it led to Gresham hitting a fantastic jumping cutter.
The Foundation had full control of their opponents until King eventually got the hot tag. King went absolutely insane and started throwing people into other people and diving onto others. Eventually King and Gresham went face to face and had a great striking exchange, but when distracted, Dickinson would pick Gresham and drive him through a table with a falcon arrow.
The final stages of the match saw Lethal and Deppen as the legal men. Deppen would try to fend off Lethal’s offense but couldn’t and eventually ate a Lethal Injection, which allowed Lethal to win.
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La Facción Ingobernable (Dragon Lee & Rush) defeated Mexisquad (Bandido & Rey Horus)
Rush attacked Bandido with a chair as he was making his entrance.
With Bandido being hurt and out, Rush and Dragon Lee resorted to double teaming Horus. Horus wouldn’t lay down and take a beating though and valiantly fought back until Bandido was able to help him.
LFI would still be in full control when Bandido returned. A ton of double team moves ensued and the crowd eventually willed Bandido back into the match. Bandido had a fantastic exchange with Dragon Lee where he countered a pop up DDT into a Canadian Destroyer.
Rush showed weakness and favored his knee in the late stages in the match, but eventually was able to hit his signature running dropkick in the corner on Horus for the win.
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Vincent defeated Matt Taven in a Steel Cage match
When Taven was trying to enter the cage, Vincent smacked him with the cage door and the match spilled to the outside.
Vincent and Taven fought all over the 2300 arena before eventually making their way into the cage, where the match officially began. Taven wasted no time and went to the top rope with Vincent, where Taven was able to hit a swing neckbreaker. Taven followed that up with multiple running knees into Vincent’s face.
Taven would lift Vincent up for a suplex but Vincent would counter with a erungai submission. Taven escaped quickly and began an assault on Vincent again. Bateman would come down to the ring with barbed wire and slide it into the ring, but Mike Bennett would run in from commentary and try to eliminate the problem.
Vincent took the barbed wire and weaved it throughout the cage walls, which allowed him to rub Taven’s forehead straight into it and cause him to bleed profusely. Taven would fight through the blood and start to wrap barbed wire around Vincent’s head like a crown.
Once Vincent started bleeding, Taven pulled out a purple hatchet and rubbed it on Vincent’s head. Taven followed it up with multiple running knee strikes but he refused to go for a pin.
Vita VonStarr would come to the ring with a bag of thumbtacks. VonStarr would climb to the top of the cage and attempt to dive onto Taven, but missed completely and hit Vincent instead. Taven would follow up by back body dropping VonStarr onto a pile of thumbtacks, and then hit a “Climax ” DDT on Vincent onto the pile of thumbtacks as well.
Dutch, the final member of The Righteous, came down to the ring afterwards. Dutch climbed to the top of the cage and Taven pushed him off into two tables. Vincent took advantage of a distracted Taven and hit a cutter off the top of the cage. Vincent hesitated for a moment before pinning Taven for the three count.
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Final Thoughts: I enjoyed Glory By Honor Night Two a lot more than I enjoyed night one. The show featured a great variety of matches that all told a different story and had different variations to it. My favorite bout was the LFI vs Mexisquad tag team match followed closely by the Six Man Tag Team Championship match, although I don’t think there was necessarily a bad match on the card.
Dragon Lee became the fifth wrestler in Ring of Honor history to hold the TV title for a second time Sunday as he defeated Tony Deppen for the belt at Best in the World.
Lee got the clean pin on Deppen following his running Incinerator knee strike, a blow that closed a hard-hitting and competitive match between both men that included an impressive sequence of German suplexes.
Lee last held the title in February, but couldn’t make his title defense against Tracy Williams at March’s 19th Anniversary PPV due to a ruptured eardrum. Lee’s factionmate teammate Kenny King defended the title for Lee that night and lost it to Williams.
Lee returned to action last month and he and King lost the Tag Team titles to Rhett Titus and Williams. He was unable to take the TV title from Deppen in a three-way that included Williams and got the shot due to the fact he wasn’t pinned.
Deppen won the title on ROH TV in April by defeating Williams and only defended it once.
A new match has been made official for next month’s ROH Best in the World pay-per-view.
It was announced today that Tony Deppen will defend his ROH Television Championship against Dragon Lee at Best in the World. Deppen is part of ROH’s Violence Unlimited stable and Lee is part of La Faccion Ingobernable.
The TV title match was confirmed for Best in the World after Deppen retained the title against Tracy Williams and Lee in a triple threat match on the latest episode of ROH TV. Deppen rolled up Williams to get the win after Lee gave Williams a low blow. Lee could have broken up the pin but chose not to.
After the triple threat TV title match, Lee’s La Faccion Ingobernable stablemate Kenny King said that Lee’s strategy was just not to get pinned — even if that meant that he didn’t win. King said that, with Williams being pinned, Lee is now the number one contender to the TV title. King said Deppen will defend the TV title against Lee at Best in the World. Lee threatened that La Faccion Ingobernable would come to Deppen’s house and take the title if he didn’t.
Lee was ROH TV Champion going into the promotion’s 19th Anniversary PPV this March, but Lee suffered a ruptured eardrum and had to miss the tapings for the event. King instead defended the TV title on Lee’s behalf and lost it to Williams. Deppen defeated Williams on ROH TV last month to win the TV title.
When Lee was ROH TV Champion, he retained the title against Deppen at Final Battle last December. Deppen won a four corner survival match earlier in the night to get that title shot.
Best in the World is taking place at 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. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
ROH Television Champion Tony Deppen defends against Dragon Lee
Brody King vs. Jay Lethal
EC3 vs. Flip Gordon
Last Man Standing match: Josh Woods vs. Silas Young
The Survival of the Fittest tournament continued with Bandido advancing to the six-way elimination match finals, while Tony Deppen made his first defense of the Television title.
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Quinn McKay joined us in the studio. McKay recapped the Survival of the Fittest tournament to date and promoted the Bandido vs. Bateman match that’s taking place on this episode.
McKay also announced that Tony Deppen will defend his ROH Television Championship against Dragon Lee and Tracy Williams in a triple threat match in this week’s main event. McKay made sure it was recognized that Lee never lost the TV title, but rather that his fellow La Faccion Ingobernable stablemate Kenny King lost it for him at the 19th Anniversary PPV.
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Survival of the Fittest first-round match: Bandido defeated Bateman (13:23)
Bateman had a really good promo beforehand about the sacrifices he’s made to get to where he’s at today.
Bateman is a really smart wrestler, and this match proved that. Bandido tried to accelerate the match to his pace in the early stages, but Bateman always seemed to have him scouted.
At around the three-minute mark, Bateman cleaned Bandido’s clock with a forearm that genuinely seemed to catch him off guard. Bateman hits so hard and so stiff and is a top tier striker in North America in my opinion.
The story here was that Bandido kept trying to turn the jets on, but Bateman would stop him almost every time. But Bandido eventually found a way to start his own engine and get the big moves in — including a phenomenal top rope twisting dive. Bandido even picked up Bateman and hit a great Michinoku Driver at one point.
The finish saw Bateman leaning over the middle rope and trying to catch his breath when Bandido sprung off his back and hit a catapult German suplex for the win.
After the match, Vincent appeared at ringside with Dutch and Vita VonStarr. Vincent said that his journey of self-clarity made him realize his one goal is the ROH World Championship. Vincent shamed Bateman for failing him, and then Bateman offered himself for sacrifice. VonStarr and Dutch attacked Bateman, who was willing to take the beatdown.
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Triple threat match: Tony Deppen defeated Tracy Williams and Dragon Lee to retain the ROH Television Championship (11:27)
This was a really, really fun match. Dragon Lee tried to stay out of the action early and let Williams and Deppen wear themselves down, but both guys recognized Lee’s gameplan.
All three guys have different styles, but they all have one thing in common: they all hit really hard. Williams and Lee had a great 20-second exchange of straight forearms in the middle portion of the match.
Deppen has really good intensity attached to his style of wrestling and it makes it to where his matches don’t have a dull moment. There was a really good spot in the latter half of the match where Lee started a German suplex chain that saw all three men hit a few suplexes.
The final sequence saw Lee hit a low blow on Williams, but Deppen stole the pinfall to retain the TV title. Lee had a chance to break it up but chose not to.
After the match, The Foundation, Violence Unlimited, and La Faccion Ingobernable all made their way out. Kenny King claimed that the strategy for Dragon Lee was simply to not be pinned, allowing him to slide into the number one contenders spot. King challenged Deppen to defend the TV title against Lee at next month’s Best in the World pay-per-view.
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Final Thoughts —
Two great matches made for a very easy to digest episode of ROH TV. Bateman is extremely underrated in the ring in my opinion. He had a great showing here. Bandido was the right man to win. I’m iffy about the post-match antics, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.
Deppen vs. Williams vs. Lee was really fun. I can’t put into words just how great Dragon Lee is, and the fact that he’s only 26 years old makes it almost unbelievable. I really didn’t like the finish of this match at first, but after letting it simmer for a minute I can understand the want of having Deppen vs. Lee in front of a crowd at Best in the World.
In closing, this week’s episode of ROH TV is: Recommended Viewing.
Two great matches carried us closer and closer to the highly anticipated Best in the World PPV on July 11.
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Host Quinn McKay welcomed viewers to the broadcast. She discussed the Survival of the Fittest bracket and the upcoming qualifying match on today’s edition of ROH TV: Eli Isom vs. Dak Draper.
This is a rematch of Isom and Draper’s first encounter that took place a few weeks ago that went to a time limit draw.
McKay also revealed that Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus will defend their ROH Tag Team titles against Kenny King and the returning Dragon Lee.
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Survival of the Fittest first round match: Eli Isom defeated Dak Draper (11:17)
Draper’s pre-match promo was simple but great. He’s very well-spoken and has grown on me a lot.
Right before the bell rang, Dalton Castle appeared on the stage. He danced his way to ringside with four “boys” and said he was just here to watch the match.
Draper booted Isom right before the match began, which gave Draper a clear advantage throughout the first portion of the match. Both guys got distracted at different times due to Castle and his Boys’ clapping profusely and walking around the ring. Draper nailed Isom with a big clothesline that led into a commercial break.
Draper is so athletic. Coming back from the break, he casually ran up the turnbuckle and hit a twisting springboard ax handle like it was nothing. Draper then took another risk and hit a crossbody that saw him and Isom tumbling over the top rope and onto the floor.
The story of this match was that Draper is performing a high-risk style in order to beat Isom, something he couldn’t do in their first encounter.
Draper continued with his big move offense throughout. Eventually, Isom sprung back to life with a stunning sidewinder powerbomb.
In the final moments of the match, Draper had a chance to put away Isom with the Magnum but instead perched him on the top turnbuckle. At this point, Castle and his boys walked out on the match, citing that Castle was “late for a meeting\.” Isom took advantage of Draper’s distraction and hit his signature Promise Brainbuster for the win.
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ROH Tag Team title match: The Foundation (Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams) defeated La Faccion Ingobernable (Kenny King & Dragon Lee) by disqualification (16:09)
This match was contested under Pure Rules.
Titus and King began the match, but Williams quickly made himself the legal man. Almost immediately after being put in a cloverleaf, King used his team’s first rope break.
Lee and Williams had a chopping exchange later on in the match that was great. Lee went for a top rope suicida but when Williams moved, Lee hand planted on the apron and landed on his feet.
King and Lee exchanged tags over the middle portion of the match, working on the shoulder of Williams. Williams sold the shoulder pain very well. Williams was eventually able to tag Titus in for the hot tag.
Titus came in and went crazy on King, his former tag partner. Titus hit a big powerslam on King and then went for a cover, but King used his team’s second rope break.
Williams eventually got a hot tag and locked King in a crossface, but King used his team’s third and final rope break. King showed visible frustration and looked to tag out to Lee.
All hell broke loose in the final stages of the match. Titus hit King with a hydraulic dropkick that seemed to take him out of the match. Lee was setting up for an incinerator knee strike but Williams caught him. Williams perched Lee on the top rope and was able to hit a super piledriver. Williams seemed to have the match in the bag, but King broke up the pin.
Referee Todd Sinclair rang the bell and called for a DQ. Since pinfall breakups count as rope breaks in Pure Rules tag matches and Lee/King were out of them, Williams and Titus won by DQ.
After the match, Bestia Del Ring rushed the ring and attacked Williams and Titus. Lethal and Gresham came to assist their stablemates while Violence Unlimited stood on the stage and watched.
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Final Thoughts —
The reason I enjoy ROH so much is just because it’s simple but sweet. The storytelling both inside and out of the ring is easy to understand. The wrestling is outstanding and they have arguably two of the top 15 wrestlers in the world on their roster in Dragon Lee and Jonathan Gresham. I’m really excited for fans to come back and hopefully, more eyes will be on the product then.
Isom vs. Draper was good, but I’m ready for the payoff with Castle’s new direction. He’s always been one of the better characters in the company.
The Tag Team title match was great as well, and I’m intrigued to see where they go next with the titles. It does seem like King will get booted from the group sooner rather than later, as he has cost LFI a lot of opportunities.
A triple threat Television title match will be taking place on ROH TV later this month.
Tony Deppen will defend his ROH Television title against Tracy Williams and Dragon Lee in a triple threat match on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, June 19. The announcement of the title match was made on the latest edition of ROH Week By Week.
This will be Deppen’s first title defense since becoming ROH TV Champion. Williams and Lee were the two most recent champions prior to Deppen.
Lee was ROH TV Champion heading into March’s ROH 19th Anniversary pay-per-view but had to miss the tapings for the show due to a ruptured eardrum. Lee’s La Faccion Ingobernable stablemate Kenny King defended the title on behalf of Lee at the PPV but lost it to Williams. Deppen then defeated Williams for the TV title last month.
Lee & King were also the ROH Tag Team Champions heading into 19th Anniversary. Lee’s father Bestia del Ring filled in for him at the PPV, but Williams & Rhett Titus defeated King & Bestia del Ring to win the titles. Lee & King will challenge for Williams & Titus’ Tag Team titles in a Pure Rules match on the episode of ROH TV that premieres this coming weekend.
For the first time since being forced to miss March’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view due to injury, Dragon Lee is returning to Ring of Honor.
On the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, June 12, Dragon Lee & Kenny King will challenge for Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus’ ROH Tag Team titles in a Pure Rules match. The announcement was made on the latest edition of ROH Week By Week.
Dragon Lee had to miss ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV due to suffering a ruptured eardrum. Lee & King held the ROH Tag Team titles going into the PPV, but Williams & Titus defeated King & Bestia del Ring to become champions. Bestia del Ring was filling in for Dragon Lee in the match.
Dragon Lee was also ROH Television Champion heading into the 19th Anniversary PPV. King defended the TV title on his behalf and lost it to Williams. Tony Deppen has since defeated Williams to become TV Champion.
It was said on ROH Week By Week that Dragon Lee is also scheduled to get a TV title shot on ROH TV very soon.
