Two top luchadors are set to face off at MLW’s next Azteca Underground tapings.
MLW has announced that Bandido vs. Flamita will take place at their Azteca Underground tapings in Dallas on April 1, which is the Friday of WrestleMania week. The tapings are being held at Gilley’s Dallas.
Bandido and Flamita are former tag team partners.
Bandido made his MLW debut at January’s Blood & Thunder tapings, appearing as part of a four-way match where Myron Reed won the MLW Middleweight Championship.
Flamita previously made one appearance for MLW in 2019.
The Azteca Underground tapings are taking place on the afternoon of April 1. Later that night, Bandido will face Jonathan Gresham at Supercard of Honor in a match to determine an undisputed ROH World Champion.
MLW will also have a regular set of television tapings in Dallas on Thursday, March 31.
Here’s the updated lineup for the Azteca Underground event:
Azteca Apocalypto match: LA Park vs. Jacob Fatu
Bandido vs. Flamita
Mexican strap match: Aramis vs. Gino Medina
Aerostar, Microman & El Dragon vs. Arez, Mini Abismo Negro, and a mystery partner
Ring Of Honor’s second to last special event of the year will see a main event between ROH World Champion Bandido and Flamita, as the two former Mexi-Squad partners clash in a No Disqualification non-title affair.
The show also features two championship matches – both of which are for separate Tag Team Titles. ROH World Tag Team Champions La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee & Kenny King) will defend their titles against the OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett), while The Briscoes will defend their recently-won GCW Tag Team Championships against GCW stars Effy & AJ Gray. This will be the first time that Gray, Effy, or any GCW Championship has appeared on Ring Of Honor programming.
The war between Violence and Pure is set to come to a end, as the leaders of their respective stables, Jonathan Gresham and Brody King, will collide in singles action.
In women’s action, we’ll see a four way bout between Quinn McKay, Holidead, Trish Adora, and Vita VonStarr.
A rematch from 2020’s Pure Tournament will resurface as well, with Tracy Williams taking on Taylor Rust.
Our live coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
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The announce team of Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman and Brian Johnson welcome the viewers to the show. They ran down the six match card and introduced the opening match.
Taylor Rust defeated Tracy Williams in a Pure Rules match
This was a great opening match that saw both guys come out looking strong.
Williams and Rust exchanged strong strikes in the beginning stages of the bout, with Williams gaining the upper hand. Williams targeted the arm of Rust and worked tirelessly to apply a cross arm breaker and once he cinched in the hold, Rust used a rope break and rolled out of the ring.
Once Rust recovered, Williams went right back and targeted the arm with a few stomps and holds — to which Rust never found a good way to counter it. There were a few instances where Rust got some offense in, but it wasn’t much as the match stretched into the eight minute mark.
Rust used another rope break to escape a Williams headlock, which gave him a second wind. Rust threw a few kicks and punches as the two positioned themself in the corner. Rust escaped an armbar on the ropes and applied his own armbar to Williams, who used his second rope break.
As the bout reached its final stage, Williams and Rust began throwing forearms and kicks in a back and forth exchange. Rust eventually took the fighting to the mat and applied a double hook stretchy, which made Williams verbally give up.
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Holidead defeated Vita VonStarr, Quinn McKay and Trish Adora
This match never really picked up a consistent pace, but saw all four women shine in their own way.
The match was contested under Lucha Rules.
Holidead and Adora started off the bout. Holidead tried to take Adora off her feet but was met with strong resistance. Once Holidead rolled out of the ring, the “legal” women began to change rapidly with VonStarr and McKay getting a good chunk of action in.
Holidead began to dominate McKay, slamming her into the turnbuckle multiple times and delivering a suplex. McKay hurt her shoulder at one point, to which Holidead followed up with a powerbomb. Adora came in after McKay rolled out, but was also planted with a powerbomb. Holidead tagged out to VonStarr, who began to trade forearms with Adora.
Adora got the upper-hand in that exchange, which led to McKay coming back in. McKay tried a monkey flip on Adora, but ran straight into a back breaker. The match broke down at this point, with all four women getting in the ring and hitting moves. McKay hit a gorilla press slam on VonStarr and almost scored a victory, but Holidead broke up the pin.
McKay lost her focus and dove onto Adora on the outside, which allowed Holidead to hit a underhook slam on VonStarr and pin her for the win.
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GCW World Tag Team Championship Match – The Briscoes defeated AJ Gray & Effy to retain the titles
This was a great weapon fest of a match, but was way too short for my liking.
Effy and Jay started the match and immediately started throwing haymakers. Jay got overwhelmed and tagged out to Mark, who made Effy tag out after a chop. The match spilled to the outside for a short amount of time, but got back in order once Gray suplexed Mark on a chair in the ring.
The weapons began to spill out as a table was introduced. The Briscoes started just throwing chairs at both of their opponents faces, before slamming Gray into a chair positioned in the corner. A table was set up in the ring by Jay, but Effy jumped off the top rope and hit a blockbuster neck breaker – which didn’t break the table surprisingly. The move resulted in a two count after the pin was broken by Mark.
Another table was set up on the outside, which Effy ended up on. Mark hit a froggy bow elbow drop to the outside onto Effy, while Jay hit a Jay-Driller on AJ Gray which resulted in a three count and a pin.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jonathan Gresham defeated Brody King
This was a really good match and told the “David vs. Goliath” story to a tee.
King immediately planted Gresham with a gonzo bomb and tried to end the match within seconds, but Gresham kicked out of the pin at the very last second. King took the match to the outside and began beating down Gresham and taunting him. King slammed Gresham into two ring posts, before setting up “The Octopus” against the barricade and throwing his entire body into him.
Gresham somehow recovered and found a way to slow down King, hitting him with multiple dives to the outside. King was almost counted out, but made it back at a nineteen count.
Gresham started capitalizing off of King’s mistakes, moving out of the way when King attempted a cannonball in the corner. King attempted a senton shortly after, but Gresham moved out of harms way at the last second. Gresham unleashed a fury of offense, including a series of rapid fire MMA-like strikes. After that, King was introduced to a running forearm from Gresham that essentially knocked out him out — as he was pinned shortly after.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
ROH World Tag Team Championship match – The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated LFI (Dragon Lee & Kenny King) to win the titles
Both teams had really good pre-match promos. Kenny King said that The Kingdom used to be just Matt Taven and Mike Bennett polishing Adam Cole’s crotch, while Taven had some passionate words about wanting to win the tag titles and take them home forever.
This was a very story driven match with a lot of great action, and it tied up some loose story ends.
The legal man was kept fresh early on, with there being frequent tags between both teams. Taven dove onto both Lee and King on the outside before heading to the top rope. Taven went to attempt a spike piledriver with Bennett, but was shoved off the top at the last second.
Lee and King cut off the ring and isolated Taven. King saw most of the action, mostly resorting to submissions and wearing him down. After Taven eventually tagged out, Bennett and Lee had a fun exchange where they threw multiple forearms and German suplexes. When Lee got a chance to tag out, King planted Bennett with a powerbomb – but immediately ate a running knee strike from Taven which broke up a pin.
The match broke down and saw a lot of confusion about who the legal men were. All four men got to hit their finishers at one point, but nobody was able to capitalize. Amy Rose and Max The Impaler came to the ring and distracted King and Bestia Del Ring, which allowed Taven to roll King for the three count and the win.
After the match, Max speared King on the outside as the OGK celebrated.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ROH World Champion Bandido defeated Flamita in a non-title no DQ match
This was a great way to close the current chapter of the Bandido/Flamita rivalry.
Flamita dominated Bandido from the start, keeping him down in the corner and using a chair to keep the advantage. Flamita specifically targeted the knee of his former partner, but that was a non factor when Bandido snatched back control after hitting a fosbury flop to the outside.
Bandido set a table up on the outside and rolled Flamita back in. Flamita superkicked Bandido and went to the top rope, but flipped off the camera and hopped down. The energy began to drain from both competitors after a spanish fly, but they both managed to roll to the outside and keep the match going.
Bandido tried to put Flamita through the table with a back drop bomb, but the table refused to break. Bandido rolled Flamita back in the ring and had a standoff before the action began to pick up speed again.
In the closing stage of the match, Flamita low blowed Bandido and rolled up him – but the “Most Wanted” was able to kick out. Bandido then positioned Flamita in the corner and went for a 21-Plex but when he got to the springboard part of the move, he low-blowed Flamita and completed the move – which resulted in the three count and the win.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Final Thoughts:
This “pit-stop” show before Final Battle was an enjoyable watch that hosted six different matches and kept things short and sweet, clocking in at two hours on the dot.
The appearance of AJ Gray and Effy was surreal, given that ROH hasn’t participated in any of the “forbidden door” stuff. Although their match with The Briscoes was shorter than I would have liked, I enjoyed it for what it was.
The OGK winning the tag belts at the hands of an Amy Rose distraction was a cool way to tie up that story – which has been left untouched for a while.
Brody King vs. Jonathan Gresham was just a fantastic match, with an always interesting “David vs. Goliath” story.
Every other match on the card was at least good, which made the entire show a good watch overall.
Ian Riccaboni was our host yet again as usual host Quinn McKay has a match tonight. Riccaboni recapped last week’s episode of TV and ran down the card for tonight’s show. Rok-C vs. McKay and Miranda Alize vs. Nicole Savoy will take place as the ROH Women’s World Championship tournament continues, while the main event will see Rey Horus face Demonic Flamita in a no DQ match.
McKay wrestled Rok-C to the mat early and focused on her head, transitioning back and forth between a headscissors and a headlock.
As the match went on, McKay started showboating the same way Rok-C does. Rok-C showed signs of struggling with McKay’s constant offense, but the two were still at a stalemate into the commercial break.
As the match returned from the break, McKay hurt her knee on a drop down. Rok-C tried to let McKay get back to her feet, but shortly after that she began targeting the knee.
Later on in the match, Rok-C tried a double knee strike in the corner. McKay moved at the last second, sending Rok-C knee-first into the turnbuckle. This wouldn’t affect Rok-C as much as McKay’s injury would in the closing stages of the match.
McKay tried to lift up Rok-C in a fireman’s carry, but her knee buckled. Rok-C took advantage of the situation and hit her signature move, a Code Red, for the win.
**********
ROH Women’s title tournament quarterfinal match: Miranda Alize defeated Nicole Savoy (13:04)
Savoy and Alize exchanged holds on the mat in the early stages of the bout, but nothing came from it. They followed it up with exchanging a few pinning combinations — but yet again, they came to a stalemate.
After a short commercial break, the two women resorted to a striking exchange. Savoy would strike harder, allowing her to start a chain of suplexes.
After a few near falls, Savoy began showing severe frustration. This allowed Alize to pick her spot and hit a draping DDT, followed by her Drive By knee strike for the win.
**********
Demonic Flamita defeated Rey Horus in a no DQ match (12:08)
Both guys wasted no time in getting straight to the action, nailing each other with chops. Flamita slid to the outside and grabbed a chair, but Horus dropkicked him through the ropes. When Horus went to dive onto Flamita, he was met with a chair straight to the face.
Flamita kept full control of the match after whipping Horus head-first into a chair positioned on the turnbuckle. Flamita rolled Horus to the outside and tried to beat him down more, but Horus was able to spike Flamita with a rotating DDT on the floor. As Flamita recovered, a commercial break ensued.
When the action returned, Horus and Flamita made it back in the ring. Flamita’s trash talk fired up Horus and gave him the motivation to hit another satellite DDT.
Both wrestlers made their way out to the apron. After a small exchange of strikes and counters, Flamita and Horus headed to the top rope. Flamita got the advantage and hit a Spanish Fly through a table on the outside, but Flamita got the worst of it.
Flamita rolled Horus in the ring and tried to pin him, but Horus kicked out. Flamita followed up with a rotating 450 splash for the win.
**********
Final Thoughts —
This great episode of ROH TV capped off a excellent weekend for the company in general. I enjoyed all three matches, and while I expected Savoy to defeat Alize, it’s nice to see a surprise every now and then.
I’ve recently 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:
A pair of matches have been added to the card for ROH Glory By Honor night two.
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) will face off with The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus) in an eight-man tag match at the show. The Briscoes will also take on Flip Gordon & Demonic Flamita in a tag team match.
King defeated Lethal at ROH’s Best in the World pay-per-view earlier this month, while Homicide & Dickinson defeated Titus & Gresham in a Fight Without Honor to win the ROH Tag Team titles. Gresham was filling in for the injured Williams in that match.
Violence Unlimited defeated The Foundation when they faced each other in an eight-man tag match on ROH TV this May.
Violence Unlimited are also set for eight-man tag team action at Glory By Honor night one. They’ll be facing La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring).
Gresham is defending the ROH Pure Championship against his stablemate Titus at Glory By Honor night one.
The main event of Glory By Honor night one will be Gordon challenging Bandido for the ROH World Championship.
Glory By Honor nights one and two are taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, August 20 and Saturday, August 21. Both shows will air live on HonorClub. Here are the updated lineups:
Glory By Honor night one (Friday, August 20) —
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Flip Gordon
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham (w/ Jay Lethal) defends against Rhett Titus (w/ Tracy Williams)
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring)
Glory By Honor night two (Saturday, August 21) —
Steel cage match: Matt Taven vs. Vincent Marseglia (Taven’s future ROH World title shot is on the line)
Bandido & Rey Horus vs. Rush & Dragon Lee
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) vs. The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus)
Two matches will be taking place as part of ROH Best in the World Hour One.
At 7 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, July 11, Best in the World Hour One will stream live for free on platforms including HonorClub, YouTube, and pay-per-view channels carrying Best in the World. Best in the World will then begin on HonorClub and PPV starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.
PCO & Danhausen vs. The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas) and Demonic Flamita vs. Rey Horus are the two matches that have been announced for Best in the World Hour One.
Flamita and Horus were stablemates in MexiSquad prior to Flamita turning heel. Flamita defeated Horus when they faced off in a Survival of the Fittest tournament first round match on ROH TV last month. In the six-way Survival of the Fittest finals, Bandido won despite being attacked by Flamita and put through a table after eliminating him. Horus came out to make the save for Bandido.
Bandido will challenge for Rush’s ROH World Championship in the main event of Best in the World. The PPV is taking place at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland and will feature ROH’s first live crowd since February 2020. Here’s the updated card for the event:
ROH World Champion Rush defends against Bandido
ROH Television Champion Tony Deppen defends against Dragon Lee
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Mike Bennett
Brody King vs. Jay Lethal
EC3 vs. Flip Gordon
Last Man Standing match: Josh Woods vs. Silas Young
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defend against Dalton Castle, Eli Isom & Dak Draper
Demonic Flamita vs. Rey Horus (Best in the World Hour One)
PCO & Danhausen vs. The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas) (Best in the World Hour One)
The winner of this year’s Survival of the Fittest tournament will be determined on the next episode of ROH television.
ROH has announced that the Survival of the Fittest finals will take place on the ROH TV episode that premieres this weekend (Saturday, June 26). The finals are a six-way elimination match where the winner will receive a future shot at the ROH World Championship.
Demonic Flamita, Eli Isom, Bandido, Brian Johnson, and Chris Dickinson have already advanced to the Survival of the Fittest finals. Danhausen vs. Rhett Titus is the final first-round match. Danhausen vs. Titus will air on this Tuesday’s edition of ROH Week By Week on YouTube.
Flamita defeated Rey Horus in the first round of the tournament, Isom defeated Dak Draper, Bandido defeated Bateman, Johnson defeated Sledge, and Dickinson defeated O’Shay Edwards. ROH said the participants for the tournament were chosen because they’ve all never held the ROH World Championship and aren’t currently in the World title rankings.
The ROH World Championship is currently held by Rush.
Matt Taven vs. Dutch will also take place on this weekend’s episode of ROH TV. Dutch (Bill Carr) is a member of Vincent Marseglia’s The Righteous stable and is making his ROH in-ring debut in the match.
Quick note: Best wishes go out to Tracy Williams after his accident last week. Here’s to a speedy recovery for Hot Sauce.
The Big Takeaway —
As the build toward the return of fans at the Best in the World PPV continued, ROH delivered two fantastic matches that furthered two heated rivalries.
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The episode opened with a video package recapping some of the best moments in Survival of the Fittest history. Quinn McKay then welcomed us to the show and ran down the tournament as a whole. Survival of the Fittest features 12 wrestlers competing in a round of singles matches. The six winners to emerge from these matches will go on to a six-man elimination bout with a future shot at the ROH World Championship on the line.
ROH is really making this tournament feel like a big deal. Although some of the competitors are questionable choices, I’m extremely excited.
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Survival of the Fittest first round match: Demonic Flamita defeated Rey Horus (11:02)
With the name change, Flamita also had a new titantron and new gear. He also had dark eyeliner on.
Flamita seemed to be cordial with Horus early on despite their recent tension, but that ended quickly. Horus matched Flamita’s intensity early on, and he hit a beautiful tornado bodyscissors. Flamita responded with a spear to the arena floor.
Flamita kept Horus grounded on the outside for as long as possible until Horus was able to slide back in the ring and hit a wonderful looking dive over the ropes. Flamita stayed outside the ring until a 15 count where he stuck half of his body in the ring to break the count. Horus followed Flamita to the outside and hit a brutal looking Spanish fly on the floor. This led into a commercial break.
Returning from the break, Horus tried to hit a Canadian Destroyer, but it rolled through into a pin attempt. Flamita was able to remain in control after this, hitting a stunning slingshot DDT. Flamita kept in control until Horus made an attempt to get back in a groove, but it didn’t pan out. Flamita ended up hitting a great musclebuster/gutbuster combo for the win.
**********
A video package promoting Sledge vs. Brian Johnson for the Survival of the Fittest tournament aired. It was also announced that some SOTF matches will take place on ROH’s YouTube show Week By Week. Personally, I’m not a fan of some of these matches airing on YouTube instead of TV.
**********
Pure Rules match: Josh Woods defeated Silas Young (21:29)
They began trading various submissions and holds back and forth to start off, but neither man really gained any advantage. Around six minutes in, Young struck Woods with a closed fist. Referee Joe Mandak didn’t see it, therefore Young wasn’t caught.
A few moments later, Young used another closed fist while the referee was bending down. Out of anger, Woods struck Young with a closed fist that sent Young tumbling outside the ring. Woods was issued a warning. Woods then took the fight back to the mat, cinching in multiple holds targeting the feet and arms. This led into a commercial break.
Returning from the break, Young had Woods backed into the corner, delivering constant chops and forearms. Young positioned Woods on the top rope for a superplex, but Woods was able to turn it into a swinging neckbreaker. Woods tried to capitalize quickly by applying a rear naked choke, but Young turned it into a pin for a two count.
In the final sequences of the match, Young used both of his remaining rope breaks. Woods would eventually hit a running swinging neckbreaker into the turnbuckle, but Young responded by attempting his Plunge. Nobody was home, allowing Woods to lock in his signature Beast Lock. After some hesitation, Young tapped.
Next Week —
ROH Tag Team Champions Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus defend against Dragon Lee & Kenny King
Survival of the Fittest first round match: Eli Isom vs. Dak Draper
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Final Thoughts —
We were treated with another great episode of ROH TV this week. Flamita vs. Rey Horus was great. I preferred Flamita’s match against Bandido personally, but this match was still good. Flamita’s new presentation is quite demonic, no pun intended. I like it so far — we’ll see where it goes. Horus also had really cool angel-themed gear. I would have been fine with either guy winning, but it does seem like the company is bigger on Flamita right now.
Josh Woods vs. Silas Young was a fantastic Pure Rules match. It was the longest match on ROH TV since the Pure Rules gauntlet match back in March. It’s also the longest singles match on ROH TV since November 2018. Woods going over was the right decision, and I’m hoping they’re building toward Woods facing ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham at next month’s Best in the World PPV.
I’m gonna try out a ranking system for these shows,. It will consist of five options:
Federacion Wrestling has announced Andrade for their debut pay-per-view event on June 19.
It was announced during an online press conference that Andrade will join ROH talent Rush, Bestia del Ring, and a surprise partner against Matt Taven, PJ Black, and two of their own surprise partners. Andrade’s first post-WWE booking was announced earlier this week against Alberto el Patron, however that is not scheduled to take place until July 31.
In addition to ROH talent, AEW stars Penta El 0 M and Rey Fenix will take on Bandido and Dragon Lee. Red Velvet and Tay Conti will also be on the show, competing in a six-woman trios match with a mystery partner against Miranda Alize, Zeuxis, and Ayako Hamada.
Other matches include Futuro and Brillante Jr. vs. Shoko and Barabas and a triple threat match with Rey Horus facing Flamita and a mystery opponent. A Torneo Copa Federacion Wrestling has also been announced and will feature 20 participants, which will be announced throughout the month of May.
Ordering information for the show is located here, with options for cryptocurrency and PayPal.
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.
A title match that was originally scheduled for Final Battle will now take place on ROH television later this month.
ROH has announced that Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery) will challenge for Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus’ ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, February 20.
Shane Taylor Promotions were set to challenge for the Six-Man Tag Team titles at December’s Final Battle pay-per-view, but Bandido and Flamita were removed from the show due to pre-travel COVID-19 testing. Taylor and The Soldiers of Savagery (Moses & Kaun) were interviewed at Final Battle and refused to win the Six-Man Tag Team titles by forfeit. Taylor said they wanted to win the titles the right way.
Taylor instead defeated Jay Briscoe at Final Battle. Horus defeated Dalton Castle at the PPV.
Shane Taylor Promotions defeated The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal & Tracy Williams) in a six-man tag match on an episode of ROH TV in January.
Taylor is also challenging for Rush’s ROH World Championship on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, February 27.
Bandido, Flamita & Horus have been ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions since January 2020.
Mike Bennett vs. Bateman will also air on the February 20 episode of ROH TV.
Changes are coming to the ROH Final Battle card due to four wrestlers being off the show.
Ring of Honor announced today that — as a result of pre-travel COVID-19 testing — Bandido, EC3, Flamita, and Kenny King will not be appearing at Final Battle. Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus were supposed to defend their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery at Final Battle. EC3 was set to face Jay Briscoe in a grudge match. King didn’t have a match announced for the pay-per-view.
ROH stated that all four wrestlers are doing well and resting at home. It was noted that all other ROH performers and staff are safely in the ROH bubble after passing their second round of tests.
Final Battle will air on PPV and HonorClub starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time next Friday (December 18). Prior to the main card starting, Final Battle Hour One will air for free on several platforms at 8 p.m. Eastern. The changes to the Final Battle card will be announced during Final Battle Hour One.
ROH’s full announcement regarding Bandido, EC3, Flamita, and Kenny King being off Final Battle is available below:
With the health and safety of Ring of Honor’s talent, staff and fans the company’s No. 1 priority during the pandemic, ROH enacted stringent COVID-19 protocols in conjunction with the Maryland State Athletic Commission.
As a result of pre-travel testing, the following performers will not appear at the Final Battle pay-per-view on Dec. 18:
Bandido
EC3
Flamita
Kenny King
All four performers are doing well and resting at home. ROH wishes them a speedy recovery and looks forward to their return to action in 2021.
All other ROH performers, production staff and general staff are safely in the ROH bubble after passing their second round of tests.
Changes to the Final Battle card given this development will be announced during Final Battle Hour One, which airs free from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern on Best on the Planet, STIRR City, Facebook, YouTube, FITE, pay-per-view and for HonorClub members on ROHWrestling.com.
A new title match has been made official for Final Battle 2020.
Ring of Honor has announced that MexiSquad (Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus) will defend their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery) at Final Battle. The show is taking place on Friday, December 18 and will air on pay-per-view and HonorClub.
MexiSquad became ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions by defeating Villain Enterprises for the titles this January.
In the main event of this week’s episode of ROH TV, Brody King and Taylor faced off in a matchup of top contenders to the ROH World Championship. King defeated Taylor and will challenge for Rush’s World title at Final Battle.
Here’s the updated card for Final Battle:
ROH World Champion Rush defends his title against Brody King
Jay Briscoe vs. EC3
Tony Deppen vs. Dak Draper vs. LSG vs. Josh Woods (winner will challenge Dragon Lee for the ROH Television Championship later in the night)
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus defend their titles against Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery (Moses & Kaun)
The first teams for the Crockett Cup have been announced, while a couple of new matches have been added to the card.
NWA announced today on their Circle Squared program that The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Flip Gordon & Brody King, Rey Horus & Flamita, and Thom Latimer & Royce Issacs are the first four teams to enter the tournament. There will be three more teams announced.
Like last year, there will be a match that will determine the final spot in the tournament. The rules, however, will be different. It will instead be a gauntlet-style match where both tag teams and singles wrestlers will be eligible to enter. Two wrestlers will start, and every 90 seconds a new participant will enter the match. The last two participants remaining will be the last team to enter the tournament.
Tim Storm, Ricky Starks, and Zicky Dice have been announced for the gauntlet match.
It was also announced that Trevor Murdoch will get a chance at the NWA National championship, as he will face champion Aron Stevens.
The show will be headlined by Nick Aldis defending the NWA World’s Heavyweight title against Marty Scurll, who is putting $500,000 on the line.
This year’s Crockett Cup will take place on April 19 at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Ring of Honor has revealed which team the Havana Pitbulls will be facing when they reunite next month.
It was announced today that The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes) vs. Bandido & Flamita is set for ROH Past vs. Present. Flamita suffered a torn meniscus at Free Enterprise earlier this month and was pulled from Bound By Honor on February 28 and Gateway to Honor on February 29, but ROH wrote that he’s expected to be cleared to return in time for Past vs. Present
Romero & Reyes held the ROH Tag Team titles once together from August 2004 to February 2005. ROH wrote that this is the first time they’ll be teaming up in nearly 13 years.
Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus are the current ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions.
Past vs. Present is being held at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas as part of ROH’s 18th Anniversary weekend. Past vs. Present is taking place on Saturday, March 14, which is the night after the Anniversary PPV.
Here’s the updated Past vs. Present card:
Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
Xavier vs. Jay Lethal
Generation Next (Alex Shelley & Matt Sydal) vs. Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon)
Homicide vs. Brody King
The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes) vs. Bandido & Flamita
Doug Williams vs. Jonathan Gresham
Delirious & Grizzly Redwood vs. Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry
Past vs. Present will stream live on HonorClub. Necro Butcher and Allison Danger are also confirmed for the show.
Flamita has been pulled from two upcoming Ring of Honor shows due to injury.
In this week’s edition of his Eck’s Files column for ROH’s website, Kevin Eck wrote that Flamita suffered a torn meniscus while teaming with Bandido against The Briscoes at Free Enterprise. Flamita won’t be able to wrestle at Bound By Honor in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday, February 28 or Gateway to Honor in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, February 29.
Flamita, Bandido & Rey Horus are the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions. They were scheduled to defend their titles against Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham & Jeff Cobb at Gateway to Honor, but it will now be Bandido & Horus vs. Lethal & Gresham in a Proving Ground match.
Bandido & Horus will get a future shot at Lethal & Gresham’s ROH Tag Team titles if they defeat Lethal & Gresham or if the match ends in a time-limit draw.
Flamita & Bandido vs. Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry vs. Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams vs. Vincent & Bateman had been set for Bound By Honor. PJ Black & Brian Johnson will replace Flamita & Bandido in that match, while Bandido has been added to Marty Scurll vs. Slex to make it a triple threat.
Flamita is one of ROH’s recent signees. Flamita, Bandido & Horus won the Six-Man titles from Villain Enterprises (Scurll, Brody King & Flip Gordon) last month.
ROH didn’t announce a timetable for when Flamita will be returning from his injury.
