Ring of Honor has revealed when Flip Gordon is getting his shot at their World Championship.
It was announced today that Gordon will challenge for the ROH World title at Supercard of Honor XIV in Lakeland, Florida on Saturday, April 4. Gordon got the title shot by winning a battle royal at ROH’s Free Enterprise show last month.
Rush won the ROH World title by defeating PCO and Mark Haskins in a triple threat match in the main event of Gateway to Honor over the weekend. As a stipulation of not losing the fall in that match, Haskins will challenge for Rush’s title at ROH’s 18th Anniversary pay-per-view in Las Vegas on Friday, March 13.
This is the second time Rush has held the ROH World title. He had dropped it to PCO at Final Battle 2019 in December.
Gordon & Marty Scurll are challenging Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham for the ROH Tag Team titles at the 18th Anniversary PPV.
Supercard of Honor XIV is taking place at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida and will go against NXT TakeOver: Tampa.
Scurll vs. Jay White, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Jeff Cobb & Dan Maff, and ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus defending their titles against Will Ospreay, Rocky Romero & Amazing Red have also been announced for Supercard of Honor, along with PCO vs. Nick Aldis being set up for the show.
Two members of Villain Enterprises are getting a Tag Team title shot at ROH’s 18th Anniversary pay-per-view.
It was announced this morning that ROH Tag Team Champions Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham will defend their titles against Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon at the 18th Anniversary PPV. It’s taking place at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas on Friday, March 13.
Lethal & Gresham have been the ROH Tag Team Champions since defeating The Briscoes for the titles at Final Battle in December.
This is the second match that’s been confirmed for the 18th Anniversary PPV. Dragon Lee will also defend his ROH Television title against Bandido at the show.
The main event of the 18th Anniversary PPV will be decided at Gateway to Honor on February 29. PCO is defending his ROH World Championship against Rush and Mark Haskins in a triple threat match at Gateway to Honor, and the wrestler who doesn’t lose the fall in that match will challenge for the World title at 18th Anniversary.
Lethal & Gresham will defend their titles against Silas Young & Josh Woods at Bound By Honor on February 28. ROH wrote that Scurll & Gordon will be in the title match at 18th Anniversary regardless of which team wins at Bound By Honor.
ROH Past vs. Present is also being held at Sam’s Town Live on March 14.
Sunday’s Ring of Honor Free Enterrprise show in Balitmore, Maryland, saw new contenders created for both the World title and the Tag Team titles.
In a twenty man battle royal for a shot at current Ring of Honor World Champion PCO, Flip Gordon won, posing as Dragon Lee throughout the match only to reveal himself following the final elimination of Kenny King.
Gordon wasn’t announced for the battle royal as he had competed earlier in the night with a victory over the debuting Slex. He even shaved his beard after the Slex match as to throw people off the scent even more. One complication to the title shot is that he and PCO are stablemates in Villian Enterprises.
In the other title shot that was earned Sunday, the hard-hitting duo of Jeff Cobb and Dan Maff defeated the reigning ROH Tag Team Champions Jay Lethal and Jon Gresham in a Proving Ground match to earn themselves a future title opportunity. The end came when Maff hit a burning hammer on Lethal to get the pin. Proving Ground rules are that the challengers must beat the champions or go to a time limit draw to earn a title shot.
Dates were not announced for when those matches will take place.
ROH has made a pair of match announcements for their Past vs. Present event.
Members of Generation Next and Villain Enterprises are set to face off at Past vs. Present, with Alex Shelley & Matt Sydal teaming against Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon.
Shelley and Sydal weren’t in Generation Next at the same time. Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Jack Evans were the other members of the group.
Doug Williams, Allison Danger, Necro Butcher, Delirious, and Grizzly Redwood are other names advertised for Past vs. Present. ROH posted a video on Sunday where Jay Lethal issued a challenge to Xavier for the show. Xavier was the second-ever World Champion in ROH history.
Past vs. Present is taking place at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 14. It’s part of ROH’s 18th Anniversary weekend. Sam’s Town Live is also hosting the promotion’s 18th Anniversary pay-per-view on March 13, and tickets for both shows went on sale to the general public today.
A new NWA Television Champion will be crowned as Hard Times takes place at GPB Studios in Atlanta tonight.
The pay-per-view will feature the first round, semifinals, and finals of the TV title tournament. The opening round matches on the left side of the bracket are Tim Storm vs. Ken Anderson and Ricky Starks vs. Matt Cross. The right side of the bracket has Dan Maff vs. Zicky Dice and Trevor Murdoch vs. The Question Mark.
The feud between NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis and Villain Enterprises will continue with Aldis facing ROH’s Flip Gordon in a non-title inter-promotional match tonight. Marty Scurll is also set to appear.
NWA Women’s World Champion Allysin Kay defends her title against Thunder Rosa, NWA National Champion Aron Stevens defends against Scott Steiner, and NWA Tag Team Champions The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) put their titles on the line against The Wild Cards (Thomas Latimer & Royce Isaacs) and Eli Drake & James Storm.
Our live coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
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We’re on! Joe Galli and Stu Bennett doing commentary, they run down the card for tonight.
We are told that the judges for the tournamnet are Stu Bennet, Billy Corgan, and the ref in the ring.
Trevor Murdoch defeated ?The Question Mark? in a NWA TV Championship tournament first round match
Murdoch started strong with some dropkicks, but Mark quickly cut him off, sent him out with a kick from the ropes. They brawled outside the ring, but Murdoch accidentally clotheslined the ringpost and gave Mark the opening to work him over with Karate Palm Thrusts. Big backdrop from Mark, followed by a Karate Chop and a suplex for a two count.
Murdoch made a small comeback with strikes and landed the top rope bulldog, but the Question Mark no sold it. Murdoch hit a second and picked up the win. Arguably an upset.
Dan Maff defeated Zicky Dice in a NWA TV Championship tournament first round match
Match started with Dice playing around, but Maff quickly took him down with a shoulder tackle and a corner squash, followed by a handful of chops and forearms. Dice managed to dodge and get some chops in the corner, followed by a bulldog, but Maff kicked out at 1. Dice went for the stomps and the elbow drop, earning another 1 count.
Dice went for a backdrop, but Maff coutnered. Dice got him with his knees on the back. Went for the Shake, Rattle, and Roll, but Maff countered. Dice went for the second rope hit, but Maff speared him mid-air, big senton, and Maff picks up the win. Dice was my favorite for that side of the brackets, but Maff is a beast, he can’t be denied.
Ricky Starks defeated Matt Cross in a NWA TV Championship tournament first round match
Collar and elbow to start the match and quickly into the shoulder tackles and the quick sequence or coutners and show-offs. Cross sends Starks outside, fakes out a dropkick and hits the second. Cross drops an elbow from the ringpost to the floor.
Back in the ring, Starks got the upper hand on Cross, strikes in the corner and neckbreaker for a two count. Starks goes for the Buster Keaton, but Cross escapes, hits some Lariats, Back elbow and Springboard Plancha for a two count. Cross hits a double stomp for another two count. Cross hits a counter and follows with Death From Above, but Starks moves out of the way. Starks hits the Stroke and gets the win. 6 minutes is not enough for these guys.
Dave Marquez interviewed Tim Storm. He asks about bypassing his match due to Anderson not being able to compete. Storm said that he was looking forward to the match, but that he would take the by and win the next round. Tonight, he makes Mama Storm proud.
Stu Bennet made the announcement that the next pay-per-view takes place in April. The 2020 Crockett Cup Returns!
Eli Drake & “Cowboy” James Storm defeated NWA World Tag Team Champions RNR Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) and The Wild Card (Royce Issacs & Tom Latimer) w/Kamille & May Valentine to become the NEW Tag Team Champions
Drake, Morton, and Latimer start the match. Latimer blindsides Morton, but Drake is there to run wild on Latimer and double team him with Morton with the double elbow. Once down, Morton and Drake go for each other with the collar and elbow, but Issacs runs in, only to now get taken out by the work of Storm and Gibson. Storm and Gibson focus on each other, giving Issacs the opening to attack Storm from behind and finally cut the ring in a third on someone, while Gibson has been taken out outside and kept at bay by Kamille.
Wild Card worked on Storm for a bit with quick tags. Issacs got a two count with a Powerslam. Latimer goes for a Piledriver, but Storm blocks and eats about 20 forearms to the back for his troubles, giving Latimer a two count. Gibson is still outside trying to make it back. Storm finally manages a backdrop and tags Drake, but the ref was distracted by Issacs and doesn’t count.
Gibson finally makes it back to the ring, but a fresh Issacs takes him down, but Storm is there for the desperation Cobrebreaker. Latimer and Drake tag in. Drake hits a Russian Leg Sweep and his People’s Elbow for a two count. Drake chases the Gravy Train, but Issacs is there for the distraction and Latimer delivers a Powerbomb.
Gibson gets the tag to Morton, who comes in and takes out Latimer. Kamile distracts Gibson while Morton hits the Canadian Destroyer, but it’s not enough. Drake hits the Gravy Train on Morton and picks up the win to become the new tag team champions along with Storm. Good match.
After the match, RNR, Storm, and Drake all embrace in the ring. Drake and Storm head to the podium and talked about fulfilling the promise to get gold.
We got a recap of Allysin Kay vs Melina, Rosa, and Belle, leading to Kay vs Rosa for the title.
Thunder Rosa defeated NWA Women’s Champion “AK-47” Allysin Kay to become the NEW NWA Women’s Champion!
This match was soo good, best match up until now and one that will be hard to beat. Rosa came out with full face paint on this time around. Crowd is completely behind her.
They went straight for the Frye/Takayama spot, with Kay having the upper hand, took Rosa down and cornered her with strikes. Early Northenlights Suplex by Kay for a two count. Kay started chopping Rosa from corner to corner. Snapmare into the Sleeper by Kay, but Rosa finally kicked herself out. Kay followed with a cutter for a two count.
Rosa walked out of the ring to cut off Kay’s momentum, but was brought back in with a Suplex for yet another two count. They started exchanging strikes and Rosa finally got some offense in hitting a dropkick.
Rosa now in control, worked over Kay with kicks and choking her against the ropes. Rosa stomped on Kay and hit an ugly Snap Suplex, but Kay rolled out before Rosa could pin her. Rosa followed with a Baseball Slide.
Outside the ring, Rose worked over Kay’s arm against the apron and ringpost. Back in the ring, Rosa kept going after the arm and locked in a Crossface for the submission tease. Kay reversed and locked in a Guillotine, but Rosa was there at the ropes. Rosa went back for the arm. Kay went for the leg submission, but Rosa escaped by attacking the arm. Rosa went for the armbreaker and worked the fingers.
Kay tried to make a comeback with strikes, but Rosa kicked her way back into control and another Armbreaker. Kay finally got a desperation German and a two count and got herself an opening. Kay went for kicks this time around, but Rosa quickly found the oepning for a German and a two count for herself.
Rosa went for the top rope, but Kay rolled out of the ring. Rosa follwed with a Rolling Senton, but Kay blocked, caught, and turned it into an Apron-Bomb for a two count. Kay went for the AK-47, but Rosa rolled over for the Yoshi Tonic and Shining Wizard. Rosa went for a Magnum style move and Kay blocked it. Rosa got a huge near fall and followed with an Octopus Hold, but Kay reversed into a Tombstone Piledriver for a 2.99 kickout!
Kay and Rosa battled in the top rope, Rosa hit a huge Dropkick and chased the finish, but Kay blocked. Kay whipped Rosa to the corner and hit the AK-47, but Rosa kicked out again! They exchangeed strikes in the middle of the ring, crowd is going wild! Rosa gets a Guillotine, but Kay pushes her to the corner. Rose hits a top rope Sunset Flip Bomb, but takes took long to cover and only earns a two.
Kay lands a roundhouse kick, but fails to land the spear, going shoulder first into the turnbuckle, only to get welcomed by Rosa’s Armbreaker again. Kay powers through, but Rosa drops her with the Thunder Driver and wins the championship! Awesome match!
After the match, Melina and Marti Belle came out to celebrate with Thunder Rosa.
We got a video package of Aldis jumping Villain Enterprises at Ring of Honor, and the consequent challenge to tonight’s Aldis vs Gordon match.
Joe Galli brought out Marti Scurll for an interview. The man is looking dapper as always. Galli asked about supporting Gordon tonight. Scurll said that he wants his shot for the title, but that Aldis keeps running away from him. Scurll said that he’ll keep bugging Aldis until he gets his title shot. He brought up that Aldis is not putting the title on the line against Flip Gordon, and said that the people tonight deseved to get a title defense.
Aldis walked out to confront Scurll. Aldis got chants of ‘coward’. Aldis said that Scurll had no right to come to his house and throw his weight around. He said that Scurll had no word in the NWA and that ROH was only a hot ticket when he was there headlining. Aldis said that he’ll put the title on the line tonight on the condition that if he retains, the ROH and NWA relationship is now on Aldis’s terms and that Scurll has to leave for tonight. Scurll agrees to the stipulations.
Trevor Murdoch defeated Dan Maff in a NWA TV Championship Tournament Semifinal Match
Big lads wrestling, they go straight for the forarm exchange in the middle of the ring. Stiff chop exchange with Murdoch getting the better of Maff, but the latter hits a Spear out of nowhere and takes down Murdoch. Maff starts going after Murdoch’s upper body with strikes, just taking him down over and over again.
Murdoch started trying to dodge Maff and finally got the opening to land the Top Rope Bulldog and pick the win. Really one-sided match, Maff didn’t take enough offense for the loss, but the people love Murdoch tonight. He’s my dark horse for tonight.
Ricky Starks defeated Tim Storm in a NWA TV Championship Tournament Semifinal Match
Collar and elbow to start, Storm being bigger and fresher, takes the advantage early on, but Starks has the speed advantage to dodge Storm’s moves. Storm and Starks exchange some Knife-edge chops before Storm lands the ugliest Spinebuster, but enough to start working over Starks. He drops Starks with a Powerslam, but only gets a two count.
Starks starts a comeback, but Storm hits a huge Blackhole Slam for a two count. Starks only manages to roll out to the ropes, but Storm is there to stop him. Starks hits a kick and piledriver for a two count. Starks out of nowhere lands a Crucifix Pin and snap pins Storm to advance! Another match that needed more than 6 minutes.
After the match, Storm gave Starks his hand. Starks hugs him instead.
Scott Steiner defeated NWA National Championship Aron Stevens (w/?The Question Mark?) by DQ. Stevens retains the title.
Question Mark is wearing the yellow Bruce Lee suit, he looks ridiculous, but worst is Galli thinking this is a Kill Bill reference. Also, are we sure this is Scott Steiner? he shaved his head and looks exactly like Graham.
Match started with Stevens trying to out-wrestle Steiner, but easily got reversed and manhandled. Steiner chopped around Stevens until Aron ran to the outside. Steiner kept it up with headlocks and shoulder tackles, with Stevens constantly trying to run out. Steiner started suplexing and chasing Stevens around outside the ring, ramming him from post to stairs to post.
Back in the ring, Stevens poked Steiner’s eyes, but to no avail, Steiner came back with a Belly-to-belly and back in control. Another B2B for a two count. Eventually, Stevens for one cheap kick and a two count with his feet on the ropes, but Steiner kicked out and came back with a Flatliner. Steiner locked in the Steiner Recliner, but the Question Mark attacked him for the DQ win.
Steiner locked in the Recliner on Question Mark while Stevens ran away.
NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis defeated Flip Gordon to retain the title
Gordon started strong going after Aldis, using mostly strikes and his speed advantage. Aldies got out of the ring, trying to break the momentum, but Gordon chased after. They teased a suplex on the announcer’s podium, but Aldis blocked.
Back in the ring, Aldis tried to mat wrestle, but Gordon got the better of him, getting a mount and control of the waiste. Aldis managed to get up, but Gordon got him in a headlock quickly after. Gordon kept that headlock masterfully. Aldis escaped, but got hit by an Enzuigi. Aldis walked out and when Gordon went for dive, the ref, being completely biased, stopped Gordon. Flip still hit the Top con Giro on Aldis.
Back in the ring, Gordon went for an armbar, locked it in for some seconds, forcing Aldis to overpower him to escape. Aldis with some control now, suplexed Gordon, followed with a Fallaway Slam, and a second one from the second rope for a two count. Aldis is now the one with the headlock.
Gordon breaks out and goes for a Crossbody, but Aldis blocks and turns it into a Vertical Suplex. Aldis started striking Gordon down to the mat, stalked him and took out Gordob’s knee. Aldis followed with the Figure 4 Leg Lock. Flip managed to roll over and reverse the pressure, but Aldis was there at the ropes.
Flip hits a Sunset Flip into a kick. Follows with a Springbaord Spear, but instead of the cover, goes for punches, European Uppercuts, and a Moonsault for a two count. Flip went for another top rope move, but Flip dropped him in the ropes and went for a second rope German, but Flip landed on his feet, only for Aldis to drop him with a Tombstone and the Top Rope Elbow Drop for a two count.
Flip hit La Mistica into the Crossface for the submission tease until Aldis made the ropes. They got into a punch exchange with Gordon getting the upper hand until Aldis swept Gordon and going for the Sharpshooter, but Gordon got his fingers, hit a couple of Star Spangled Stunners, but Aldis managed to kick out at two.
Aldis blocked a Monkey Flip, but Gordon transitioned into the roll up, only for Aldis to block it midway and pin Gordon. Finish came out of nowhere. Good match, not better than the women’s.
Ricky Starks defeated Trevor Murdoch to become the NEW NWA World’s Television Champion
Collar and elbow to start the match, Murdoch goes for an early German, but Starks lands on his feet. Murdoch was ready with the big boot to drop Starks and start grinding down Starks with some hammers to the back.
Starks came back with a big shoulder tackle and clothesline, but Murdoch was too close to the ropes.
Test of strength, where Murdoch had the advantage, but Starks made a comeback, but got swept down before he could follow up. Murdoch took the fight to the floor, where Starks had the advantage going for the dive, but Murdoch caught him with a punch and rammed him to the apron. Starks built some offense with some strikes, but got tossed into the steel steps for the countout tease.
Back in the ring, Murdoch slapped Starks back to life, but sent him crashing to the floor with the most Murdoch-like backdrop you can imagine. Murdoch got a two count with a suplex. Starks went for a Tornado DDT, but missed the ropes, giving Murdoch the opening for a huge Lariat for another two count.
Murdoch and Starks brawled in the second rope until Starks slid down and Powerbombed Murdoch for a big near fall.
Starks started chasing the Stroke, but Murdoch escaped, only to turn around to a Spear. Starks hit the Stroke, pinned Murdoch, and became the new NWA Worlds Television Champion.
Final Thoughts —
Good show, went by quickly. I really appreciated the 6 minute tournament matches. The women took the match of the night trophy in my opinion, definitely the one with the most passion and drama in it.
Editor’s Note: You can watch tonight’s episode here.
The show opened showing the debut of Scott Steiner on NWA Power from last week, and Nick Aldis’ shocking run-in at Sunday’s Ring of Honor show.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express made their way out to ringside. Ricky Morton wanted the young wrestlers to listen. He said the first thing they have always done was put the fans first, and that they paved the way for all the young guys to make millions of dollars. He said he was like the fans, though, because he had to get up before the sun was up and work hard to pay the bills to take care of his family.
Morton said they have fought the best in the world and they accept NWA World Champion Nick Aldis’ stipulations from last week: if Team Morton wins tonight’s six-man main event, Morton gets a NWA title shot. Robert Gibson said that he wasn’t going to tell yet about who was on the team, letting them wonder.
— The brackets for the NWA Television tournament were announced with two mystery spots open. Ziggy Dice was at ringside and asked, “What has Ricky Starks done to deserve being in this tournament?” Starks replied with several graphic things said about Dice’s mother and that he went toe to toe with Aldis.
NWA World Television Championship Tournament: Zane Dawson defeated Dave Dawson
Dave and Zane tried to overpower each other several times, exchanging shoulder tackles and big splashes. Zane hit a flying shoulder tackle for two. Zane hit the ropes, but Dave hit an impressive flying kick. Dave ran at Zane, but Zane moved and Dave hit the middle turnbuckle face first.
Zane ripped at Dave’s shirt and started chopping him, but Dave went after Zane’s injured hand. The referee pushed Dave away, and as his back was turned, Zane hit a huge right hand with the cast to pin Dave and advance. However, he was yelling in pain and looked like he injured his hand further.
— We got a video package focusing on the recent Colt Cabana/Ken Anderson tag team issues. Cabana said he believed in Anderson, that he believed in their tag team, and he needed to get into Anderson’s headspace so that they could get in the game. Anderson said he wasn’t bitter and believed he was in the right headspace. It seems like we have a feud developing between those two which could be fun.
Melina defeated Ashley Vox
Vox immediately hit a shotgun dropkick, but Melina countered a corner charge and hit a dropkick to Vox’s knee. Melina threw Vox into the corner, but she slipped through the middle rope and hit a head scissors. Melina bumped weird for it and botched flipping over. Vox went for a cannonball in the corner, but Melina dodged and proceeded to stomp on Vox and choke her on the ropes.
Melina ate a headbutt from Vox, but countered with a kick, and then landed another one. Vox rolled her up, but Melina kicked out and hit a few more strikes. Both women exchanged forearms, and Vox slipped behind and went for the Reel Catch, but Melina countered into a standing leg drop while doing the split for the pinfall. Melina was no good at all in this match. Vox is a great worker which helped it a lot, but she was badly exposed in this one.
Melina said her sights are on the title and called out NWA women’s champion Allysin Kay to let her know her plans for next week. Kay came out and said she was ready to fight and was ready now, but Melina said she wanted her to prepare and be ready to compete next week for the title.
— We got video footage of Nick Aldis coming to Ring of Honor, saying that they shouldn’t have come to his territory. On Saturday, he attacked Flip Gordon and targeted Villain Enterprises, calling Marty Scurll out. Aldis claimed that he was the real world’s champion. We then got footage from Sunday’s ROH show when Aldis was doing a promo and Gordon was part of a group who ran him out of the arena. Aldis called out Gordon for a match at NWA Hard Times which is now the main event of the PPV.
— The Pope came out with Eddie Kingston and Homicide, and said he was their advisor, but not manager. He wanted to help them get opportunities, pointing out that Aron Stevens was the NWA National Champion, but refused to defend his title. He had a challenge for Stevens and Question Mark, saying if they wanted to become great, they needed to take them on.
NWA National Champion Aron Stevens & The Question Mark defeated Eddie Kingston & Homicide
Kingston blocked a kick from Stevens and gave him the look of death. Stevens screamed and rolled to the outside. He came back in and Homicide tagged in and landed a chop and then a big running forearm in the corner. Homicide tried to do it again, but Stevens moved, and he crashed shoulder first into the corner, immediately causing him to sell the injury from previous weeks.
Stevens drove Homicide shoulder first into the turnbuckle and started attacking the arm viciously. Stevens continued to work over the arm with submissions and cheap shots with the ropes. Homicide hit a back body drop on Stevens, and Kingston ran in and started biting and attacking Stevens.
Question Mark came in and hit the Mongrovian Spike on Kingston, which drove him to the mat, holding his throat. As Homicide was going for the Cop Killa on Stevens, Homicide’s shoulder went out and Question Mark hit Homicide with the Spike, enabling Stevens to get the pin.
I liked the psychology of this match with the working over Homicide’s arm and him unable to hit his finisher because of it. I also like selling a throat thrust. Getting jabbed in the throat would not be something pleasant, and it makes sense to sell it.
— Aldis came out and welcomed Scott Steiner, saying that he was one of the men that mentored him when no one else would. Steiner said that the first time he saw him, he knew Aldis was going to be a world champion. Steiner said he wakes up in the morning and wants to punch people in the face. He brought out the original NWA World Tag Team Championship and talked about how he and Rick beat everyone up in front of them. He said Ricky and Robert were two people he wanted to beat up, always hated them, and that he was going to kick their asses for thinking they are the greatest of all time.
Team Morton (Robert Gibson, Eli Drake & Tim Storm) defeated Strictly Business (Tom Latimer, Royce Isaacs & Scott Steiner) to earn Ricky Morton an NWA World title shot
Latimer started the match by beating on Drake and whipping him into the corner. Drake managed to tag out to Gibson, and both men hit a double back elbow on Latimer. Gibson threw a few right hands and tagged out to Storm, who worked over Latimer’s arm. Latimer punched Storm in the throat and tagged out, but Storm caught Isaacs in a fallaway slam and a running boot.
Drake hit an elbow drop on Issacs for a two count. Isaacs pulled Drake from the middle rope, and he crashed into the top turnbuckle. Steiner tagged in and hit some chops in the corner on Drake before hitting a belly-to-belly on Drake before tagging out to Latimer. Latimer hit a back elbow for two and tagged out to Isaacs.
Isaacs hit a big back suplex on Drake and tagged out to Steiner. Steiner hit a huge overhead belly-to-belly suplex on Drake and tagged out to Isaacs who continued the assault on Drake. Drake finally managed to tag out to Gibson who hit a sunset flip on Isaacs for a two count and then locked on a sleeper hold. Chaos ensued when Latimer broke it up as everyone ended up on the outside. Drake hit a jawbreaker on Isaacs and Gibson rolled him up for the three count to earn his partner an NWA world title match next week.
This was a very simple tag match, but absolutely worked for the audience, who were into every spot and the heat of the match. Every guy was utilized to shine, and the legends weren’t embarrassed by showing how much they aged. This was very well done.
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I really liked this episode of NWA Power. We got the big match announcement of Gordon vs. Aldis, presumably for the NWA title should Adlis defeat Morton next week. The whole show also set up more of the TV title tournament which leads nicely into next week. This was great stuff.
Nick Aldis will take on a member of Villain Enterprises at the NWA’s next pay-per-view.
The NWA has announced Aldis vs. Flip Gordon for Hard Times. The PPV is being held at GPB Studios in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, January 24 and will be available via Fite TV.
Aldis vs. Gordon is being billed as an inter-promotional match between the NWA and ROH. It wasn’t stated that Aldis would be defending his NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.
After being confronted by Marty Scurll at the NWA’s Into the Fire PPV last month, Aldis appeared at ROH’s Saturday Night at Center Stage and Honor Reigns Supreme shows this past weekend. He attacked Gordon at Saturday Night at Center Stage and then taunted Scurll and Brody King.
Aldis, Kamille, and Thomas Latimer then showed up at Honor Reigns Supreme the next night. Gordon and King tried to get into it with Aldis and Latimer before security broke things up.
The NWA has also revealed the bracket for their Television title tournament. Tim Storm vs. Zane Dawson and Ricky Starks vs. a wrestler who has yet to be revealed are on the left side of the bracket, while Zicky Dice vs. a wrestler to be revealed and The Question Mark vs. either Trevor Murdoch or Thomas Latimer are on the right side.
Those matches and the semifinals and finals of the tournament will all take place at Hard Times.
Murdoch vs. Latimer will air on next week’s episode of NWA Power, with the winner advancing to Hard Times. The wrestlers who will be facing Starks and Dice will also be announced on NWA Power next week. The NWA noted that the wrestlers taking up those two open spots aren’t on their roster.
ROH has officially confirmed Marty Scurll’s match for Final Battle.
It will be Villain Enterprises (Scurll & Flip Gordon) vs. Bandido & Flamita at the December 13 pay-per-view. The match was announced via a video that Scurll posted today. Scurll mentioned that there’s a lot of speculation about his whereabouts, then said he’s agreed to wrestle at Final Battle and gets to choose his own match.
Scurll also said that his match will go on first at the PPV.
Dave Meltzer reported on Scurll’s status with ROH in last Friday’s Daily Update: “Marty Scurll will be on the 12/13 Final Battle show even though his contract expires prior to that date. Scurll had agreed while talks were going on, that no matter what, he would work that show. He has not signed a new deal with ROH so when that match is officially announced, don’t take it as meaning he has.”
Final Battle is taking place at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland. It will be headlined by Rush defending his ROH World Championship against Scurll’s Villain Enterprises stablemate PCO.
Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
ROH World Champion Rush defending against PCO
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defending against Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham
ROH Television Champion Shane Taylor defending against Dragon Lee
Mark Haskins (w/ Vicky Haskins) vs. Bully Ray in a street fight
On the same night as he was revealed as the newest member of Villain Enterprises, Flip Gordon suffered an elbow injury at ROH’s Best in the World pay-per-view.
Dave Meltzer reports that Gordon suffered a dislocated elbow at the PPV, and Bryan Alvarez notes that the elbow was popped back in after and Gordon should be fine. Gordon was hurt when he hit a 450 splash on Tracy Williams from the top rope through a table that was set up on the floor.
Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King) retained their Six-Man Tag Team titles against Mark Haskins, Williams & PJ Black at Best in the World. There was then a post-match angle where the Soldiers of Savagery attacked Haskins and Williams. Bandido made the save but was attacked by Bully Ray.
Bully Ray bailed when Gordon came out with a kendo stick. Haskins, Williams, and Bandido offered Gordon a LifeBlood T-shirt and wanted an answer to their offer to join the group. Gordon put the shirt on, but a video then played where Scurll revealed Gordon as “The Mercenary” of Villain Enterprises.
Villain Enterprises took out LifeBlood, and Gordon hit the 450 through the table on Williams.
Prior to joining Villain Enterprises, Gordon lost to Rush in their match on the Best in the World pre-show.
Rush vs. Flip Gordon will be airing on ROH’s Best in the World pre-show this Friday.
ROH announced the details for the Best in the World pre-show today. It will air for free starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on Friday and will feature Rush vs. Gordon. In addition to the outlets where the pay-per-view is available, the pre-show will stream on ROH’s Facebook Live.
The Best in the World main card will then start at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King has also been made official for the Best in the World PPV. It will be the third and final match in their best-of-three series. Lethal and King each have one win in the series.
Best in the World is taking place at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Here’s the updated card:
ROH World Champion Matt Taven defending against Jeff Cobb
ROH Television Champion Shane Taylor defending against Bandido
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO & Brody King) defending against Mark Haskins, Tracy Williams & PJ Black
Jay Lethal vs. Kenny King (final match in their best-of-three series)
The Briscoes vs. Nick Aldis & Colt Cabana
Dragon Lee vs. Dalton Castle
Kelly Klein & Jenny Rose vs. The Allure (Angelina Love & Mandy Leon w/ Velvet Sky)
Jonathan Gresham vs. Silas Young in a Pure Rules match
Dragon Lee is Rush’s brother, and his match against Castle at Best in the World plays off of Castle’s feud with Rush. Rush defeated Castle in seconds when they faced off at G1 Supercard in April.
Gordon defeated PJ Black, Castle, and Rush in a four corner survival match at this past weekend’s ROH TV tapings. The match aired live on HonorClub, with Gordon pinning Black to get the win. Castle then attacked Gordon and cut a promo on Rush. He challenged Rush to get into the ring with him, then backed off when Rush did. Castle said he’ll face Dragon Lee at Best in the World.
Rush vs. Gordon was also set up for Best in the World after that four corner survival match. Gordon told Rush that he’ll face him if Castle won’t. Gordon said he’ll kick Rush’s ass. He offered Rush a handshake, but Rush struck him instead.
As was previously announced, Matt Taven will defend the ROH World Championship against Jeff Cobb at Best in the World. Bandido will challenge for Shane Taylor’s Television title.
The Allure (Mandy Leon & Angelina Love) w/ Velvet Sky defeated Notorious Nattie & Mazzerati in a dark match
Tracy Williams defeated Bully Ray in a no DQ match
Mazzerati defeated Danika Della Rouge
Mark Briscoe defeated Josh Woods
Jeff Cobb defeated PJ Black
The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas) defeated The Kingdom (Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan), Rush & Dalton Castle, Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Shaheem Ali), Silas Young & Shane Taylor, and the Voros Twins in a tag team gauntlet match
Jay Lethal defeated Jay Briscoe
ROH World Champion Matt Taven defeated Flip Gordon, Mark Haskins, and PCO in a Defy or Deny match
Ring of Honor’s State of the Art mini-tour came to Portland, Oregon on Sunday night, marking the company’s first-ever appearance in the city. I had the privilege of covering the show in person from PSU’s Viking Pavilion.
I was told by event staff that the approximate gate was 600. Viking Pavilion’s max capacity is 3,000.
The Allure (Mandy Leon & Angelina Love) defeated Mazzerati & Notorious Nattie in a dark match
Fine match before the live stream began. Despite there only being a few hundred people in the building, the crowd was loud and sound carried extremely well in the venue.
The Allure had new ring gear tonight. They scored the win after Angelina Love landed a Botox Injection kick (yakuza kick) on Mazzerati after Velvet Sky sprayed perfume in Mazzerati’s face.
– The live broadcast kicked off after this. Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana were on commentary. The crowd was pretty wild for Cabana and chanted his name when he came out. Referee Todd Sinclair also got a surprisingly boisterous reaction. Someone even made a sign of support for him.
– Bully Ray came out before the show could properly kick off. He cut a promo on people in the crowd, said one guy looked homeless and insulted his wife, then explained that he wanted a match now because he wanted to get out of Portland as soon as possible.
Tracy Williams then came out with a trash can filled with wrestling weapons (e.g. a kendo stick, a lid, possibly another kendo stick, etc.). He challenged Ray to a no DQ match to the delight of the crowd. Before he gave Sinclair the go ahead to ring the bell, Ray low blowed Williams.
Tracy Williams defeated Bully Ray in a no DQ match
Ray abused Williams for a few minutes. He bashed Williams with a garbage can, then did a couple of suplexes and screamed “I invented Suplex City, [expletive]!” The crowd loved when Ray said that.
Williams made a comeback and put Bully Ray into a rope-assisted triangle choke/armbar. Ray came back soon, though, and laid into Williams with the kendo stick. Williams turned the tide by locking an iron claw onto Ray’s, uh, crotchal region.
When Ray missed a diving senton from the top rope, Williams slid Ray into a crucifix pin and won. Sinclair counted quickly because earlier on in the match Ray gave Sinclair a hard time for not counting fast enough.
Ray attacked both Williams and Todd Sinclair after the bell. Mark Haskins of Lifeblood came out to make the save but was put through a table for his efforts. The crowd seemed to love Haskins, but also chanted for Bully Ray after he used the table.
There wasn’t much to this. The crowd liked the violence and enjoyed screaming at Bully Ray, and he sure was in full effect. This wasn’t Heatwave ’98 levels of brutality, but the sentiment was harsh and heel-appropriate.
Mazzerati defeated Danika Della Rouge
This was short. Mazzerati was trained by Kenny King and has wrestled in China. Della Rouge has flame-pink hair and has trained at the NJPW Dojo in LA. She also took part in a WWE tryout in Orlando earlier this year and has only been wrestling for a year. Mazzerati won with a hard low roundhouse kick.
The Allure came out after the match and ambushed both wrestlers. They marked Della Rouge’s forehead in lipstick with their Allure logo.
After the match, Mandy Leon and Velvet Sky got into it with a fan in a cutoff shirt in the front row. From my perspective, it looked as though Leon threw a pulled punch or slap to intimidate the fan. A portion of the crowd went “Oooh.” Leon didn’t look happy. Velvet Sky then began pointing in the direction beyond the bleachers while jawjacking with the same fan, challenging him to get in the ring.
The fan went on social media after the show and explained that Leon spit on him. I didn’t see this, though a few other fans who attended have corroborated the aforementioned spitting.
Mark Briscoe defeated Josh Woods
Hard-hitting brawl with lots of stiff strikes. Woods, a BJJ black belt, won ROH’s 2017 Top Prospect Tournament. He was great here. Mark Briscoe was loudly over with the Portland crowd. Instead of shaking hands, Briscoe face-mushed Woods and the match was underway.
Woods used a number of Greco-Roman style suplexes, both in the ring and on the floor. He has a great knack for taking what looks good in real combat — strikes, takedowns, suplexes, functional submissions — and blends it into his in-ring work without it ever feeling forced or unnatural.
Briscoe relished the styles clash and went hard at Woods with equally stiff chops and elbows. The two brawled around the ring for a bit in the middle of this. Briscoe at one point did a diving elbow drop to the floor from the second turnbuckle.
At one point Woods even gave Briscoe a German suplex to the floor from the apron and both landed with a loud thud. The crowd ate that one up.
In the end, Briscoe teased using a chair in the ring. When referee Benjamin Roberts took the chair from Briscoe, he turned his back, which allowed for Briscoe to sneak in a low blow on Woods. Briscoe then landed a Froggy Bow from the top for the win. Good match.
Jeff Cobb defeated PJ Black
Cobb had a solid following in Portland. He’s been wrestling in the Pacific Northwest for a few years now, making appearances for both Seattle’s Defy and Vancouver, Canada’s ECCW.
The match had an even tempo from the bell, lots of chess-wrestling early. Cobb later landed a beautiful dropkick, like almost Okada-level grace without the height, but still, what the hell? It’s amazing to see in person.
At one point when Black sprung off the top rope, Cobb caught him in mid-air, almost fell, then saved the spot, deadlifting Black from a powerslam hold to a vertical suplex hold. Big reaction from the crowd on that one. Black reversed the suplex into an inside cradle for two.
Later, when Cobb went for a standing moonsault, Black switched into a perpendicular position and caught Cobb in a Koji clutch submission. This was a really cool spot. Cobb inched his way to the bottom rope to break the hold.
Black later landed a nice flying double stomp and a springboard quebrada into the ring on Cobb for a count of two. It was here I noticed that the live stream started cutting in and out and it ended up missing good portions of this match. I assure you it was good.
The finish saw Cobb use a super German suplex from the top and followed with a regular German and then the Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam for the win. This was great live, but the streaming issues were disastrous.
The Bouncers won a tag team gauntlet match
The teams involved were: Silas Young & Shane Taylor, the Voros Twins, Rush & Dalton Castle, Coast 2 Coast, and The Kingdom (Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan)
The Voros Twins and Taylor & Young were in first. The Voros Twins are skinny blonde kids from Canada by way of Hungary. The crowd wasn’t familiar with them but were supportive by the end of their time in the match. After Taylor landed his Greetings From 216 fire-thunder driver on one Voros, Young put both of them into an abdominal stretch at the same time and they tapped.
Taylor then brought a cigarette into the ring and lit it for Young, who took a few drags off it while still holding that double-ab stretch. Very nice touch.
There were more issues with the live stream early on in the match.
Next team in was the “wild card” team of Rush and Dalton Castle. Castle was very popular and got a loud reaction when he arrived. Rush’s charisma is somehow even more intense and striking live than it is on television, he and wrestled like there were 10,000 people in the audience.
Rush and Castle argued with each other before they started wrestling. The two worked well together even though I don’t think they’ve ever tagged before. They did quite a bit of smooth double-team work which I don’t think anyone expected. Castle’s suplexes looked great and his new aggressive heel character looks to be working well. The two did a nice knee-strike to German suplex combo at one point. Rush landed a wicked Bull’s Horn basement dropkick to Young to eliminate him and Taylor.
Coast 2 Coast (Shaheem Ali & LSG) were in next and wrestled with a lot of energy. When Rush had another chance to use the Bull’s Horns, Castle tripped Rush. Rush then attacked Castle and they brawled to the floor, then to the stage. Rush choked Castle with some lighting equipment near commentary. The two were then counted out and eliminated.
The Bouncers were in next. Riccaboni referred to Milonas as a “walking strip mall.” Some of the stuff he does, the way he moves, it makes you forget how huge he is. He’s really agile. Bruiser, too. The crowd was pretty into the team and chanted “beer” a lot. The Bouncers hit Closing Time (aka the Sidewinder used by the Smokin’ Guns) on LSG to eliminate C2C.
Before this match, ROH staff carried Vinny Marseglia to the ring covered in what looked to be an old blanket. He waited under the ring and came out when The Kingdom’s music hit when TK O’Ryan walked to the ring. They had a short mini-match together, but the Bouncers won after Milonas hit a second rope superplex and Bruiser did a diving splash.
The Bouncers will get a future shot at the ROH Tag Team titles as a stipulation of winning here.
– Kenny King joined Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana on commentary for the next match.
Jay Lethal defeated Jay Briscoe
This was really good. It was a rematch from Final Battle 2015. Both received loud reactions, but Lethal got a superstar pop. Tons of streamers in the ring for him.
The two shook hands before the bell and the opening sequence saw some smooth and seamless counter-wrestling. Nothing at all felt rehearsed. These two have a unique chemistry together, and it now makes me want a best-of-three series between them instead of Lethal and Kenny King.
Briscoe got frustrated and teased using a chair. Lethal stopped the match and got on the mic to explain that Briscoe had changed since their match in 2015. He talked about the “real revolution” in wrestling and how ROH needed to get back on track and that instead of using a chair he needed to “man-up” and wrestle. The crowd was on board and so was Jay Briscoe after a moment.
Briscoe went back in the ring and they started with the fisticuffs, which I didn’t happen to see on the live stream because it kept cutting in and out again. If I didn’t happen to be in attendance I’d be here writing about the spinning ROH tribal logo.
Things heated up in and outside the ring after a few more minutes. Briscoe was bleeding above his eye but looked to be all right. Towards the end, just before Lethal would attempt a flying elbow drop from the top rope, Kenny King came to ringside to watch the match more closely and talk a bit of trash to Lethal, whom he beat on ROH TV this week in the first match of their best-of-three series.
Lethal was distracted and wasn’t able to land the elbow drop; Briscoe got his boot up, then hit a frankensteiner and a Jay Driller for a very close two. King then slid his folding chair in the ring for Briscoe to use. Briscoe considered using it but didn’t, but this cost him as he was caught with the Lethal Injection and then pinned for three.
King talked a lot of trash, but the sound on the stream cut out so I didn’t hear anything he said. Briscoe and Lethal shook hands after the match and it got a gigantic pop that you couldn’t hear on the live stream because the sound kept cutting out at key points.
ROH World Champion Matt Taven defeated Flip Gordon, Mark Haskins, and PCO in a Defy or Deny match
This was an elimination match. If Taven lost, the winner would receive a future shot at the ROH World Championship. If Taven won, the person he eliminated last would be unable to challenge for the World title for as long as Taven is champion.
ROH showed a Matt Taven promo beforehand. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise announced that due to injury Mark Haskins would not be competing because of an injury earlier in the night.
Everyone loved Gordon. People were stomping and banging the barricades for PCO when he came out. Taven got good heel heat.
After all three were in the ring, Haskins made his way out anyway, his arm in a sling, and grabbed the mic to say that he didn’t care that he wasn’t medically cleared because he desperately wanted Taven’s title. Riccaboni explained that Haskins had “signed a waiver” so that he could compete tonight. Riccaboni has been excellent at ad-libbing logical explanations on broadcasts, threading any of the bookers’ loose ends with a quick fix.
Taven was stellar in this match. He took “chickensh*t heel” to another level here, giving referee Todd Sinclair dozens of excuses on why he thought he didn’t have to get in the ring before the match was underway. Taven’s MO early on was to sneak a pin in on someone and roll out of the ring after a two count. He did this with both Gordon and Haskins. He jawjacked with the crowd a ton and even sat on a guy’s lap in the front row at one point.
PCO, Gordon, and Haskins all decided to triple-team Taven when they got him in the ring. They chopped him in the corner for a few minutes. Things then spilled to the floor and got crazy. Gordon powerbombed PCO to the floor from the apron, then Haskins did a tope suicida, followed by a huge Taven tope. The proverbial cherry on top was PCO moonsaulting himself onto the floor from the top, which garnered a massive reaction.
PCO did a double chokeslam and tombstone to all three wrestlers at one point. The Kingdom came out soon after and threw Taven a chair, but PCO grabbed it and used it on Taven instead, thus eliminating PCO from the match.
Before Taven pinned him a few minutes later, Haskins went on a last-minute tear and used a ton of power moves. He got a great reaction from the crowd.
Taven and Gordon had an exciting back and forth before Taven powerbombed Gordon through the announce table, which elicited a “holy sh*t” chant. Taven was later able to spike Gordon on his head with the Climax for the clean win. This was fantastic despite the sometimes convoluted rules of a Defy or Deny match.
After the broadcast finished, Taven got on the mic and called everyone virgins and said the next time he’s in Portland people can boo or cheer but it didn’t matter because he’s still Matt Taven.
Final thoughts —
This was a solid in-ring show with an enthusiastic crowd despite the embarrassing turnout.
Aside from a TV spot the day before, I saw zero advertisement for this card in town or on PSU’s campus. Some people even asked me what was happening at the venue before the show and had no idea it was happening, not even some of the lower echelon staff. This, plus the supposed menacing of a fan backstage by Bully Ray, could turn out to be the beginning of a very bad professional look for ROH in the coming months.
From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman called the action.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Villain Enterprises (PCO, Marty Scurll & Brody King) defeated Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb & Rush to retain their titles
Lethal and PCO started it off for their respective teams. Lethal nailed PCO with a lot of kicks, but PCO was barely phased. PCO begged Lethal to dive on him, which distracted Lethal long enough for Scurll to cut off Lethal. PCO tagged in Scurll, and Lethal tagged in Rush.
Kenny King and Amy Rose joined the announce team mid-match and Kenny immediately brought up his “eye surgery.” Throughout the match, he kept asking what was happening because he couldn’t see.
In the ring, Rush and Scurll wrestled to a stalemate. Rush tagged in Cobb, and Scurll tagged in King. A quick exchange led to Cobb nailing a dropkick. However, King fired back and landed a running crossbody and then pulled off a hurricanrana on Cobb.
King was sent to the floor by Rush. Lethal dove on him, but King caught him. With a kick assist by Scurll, King suplexed Lethal onto the floor.
After the break, Lethal was in the ring with King attempting to suplex him but instead used a cutter to drop the big man. King tagged in Scurll, and Lethal tagged in Rush. Rush ran wild and decimated his foes until he got arrogant and Scurll cut him off with a superkick to the knee.
Scurll called for the chicken wing, but Rush nailed him with a headbutt and tagged in Cobb, who came in and gave two stalling suplexes to King and PCO. He then launched Scurll and followed it up with a moonsault.
PCO broke up the pin, but Cobb managed to hoist King and Scurll up at the same time for a double suplex. This brought in PCO, who came in and tossed Cobb to the floor. King hit a flipping dive onto Cobb and Lethal, then PCO hit a Scurll-assisted flip dive of his own and took out all three of their opponents.
Back in the ring, Scurll and King combined forces to hit a sunset German suplex on Cobb. They then hit a 619 and cannonball combo on him. Scurll tagged in PCO and grabbed Cobb, but he ate a Cobb superkick. Lethal then came off the top with an elbow, but PCO stood up. Rush then hit him with an overhead belly-to-belly.
Lethal again hit a top rope elbow, but Scurll broke up the pin. In the chaos, Lethal hit a Lethal Injection on Scurll and went for it again on King, but King caught him on his shoulders and landed a crazy spinning powerbomb. PCO followed it up with a moonsault, which got the win for Villain Enterprises.
During the commercial, as Lethal was leaving, Kenny King jumped Lethal from behind and used his cane to choke him out.
ROH World Champion Matt Taven defeated Flip Gordon to retain his title
After an early exchange sent Taven to the floor, Gordon hit a suicide dive. As Gordon was on the ring apron, TK O’Ryan attempted to get involved. That distracted Gordon enough to allow Taven to knock him to the floor. Taven launched Gordon into the ring post and then threw him back into the ring.
Gordon got the advantage and landed a kick and a one-legged moonsault. Taven kicked out at two and bailed to the floor. Taven baited him to the outside and then drilled Gordon in the knee. Taven went to follow that up with a running dropkick to the floor, but Gordon evaded and landed a superkick. Gordon charged after Taven, but Taven hip tossed him into the guardrail.
After the commercial, Taven was attacking Gordon’s injured knee with punches. Gordon fought to his feet and landed a knee to the head of Taven. However, Taven kept going back to the knee with a dragon screw leg whip, which sent Gordon to the floor. As he was out there, Taven distracted the referee. That allowed O’Ryan to attack Gordon.
Taven locked on a half Boston crab back inside the ring, but Gordon got to the ropes. Finally, Gordon managed to hit a springboard spear to buy himself some recovery time. A striking exchange ended with a huge knee by Gordon. He then hit an inverted driver to get a two count.
After the final break, Taven had Gordon perched atop the turnbuckle and landed a superplex, but it was Gordon who hooked the inside cradle. He only got a two count. Gordon fired up and landed a Russian leg sweep from the second rope and a spinning Falcon Arrow, getting a two count.
Taven spit in the face of Gordon and landed a pop-up powerbomb and a Just the Tip knee. He went for a cover, but Gordon kicked out at two.
Gordon fought back up and hit a swinging TKO. He went up top, but as he was on the top rope, the red balloons floated up from ringside, distracting Gordon long enough to allow Taven to hit the Climax DDT off the top to pick up the victory and retain his title.
NJPW has announced two changes to this year’s Best of the Super Juniors field.
El Desperado is out of the tournament due to injury, while Flip Gordon won’t be able to take part in it due to visa issues. It was noted that Desperado suffered a broken jaw during a match against Jun Kasai at TakaTaichi Mania 2.
NJPW’s Ren Narita and Japanese luchadore DOUKI are replacing Gordon and Desperado in the tournament. NJPW posted an in-character statement from Taichi, with Taichi claiming that he chose DOUKI as Desperado’s replacement and that he met DOUKI 10 years ago and taught him everything he knows. DOUKI was called a hired gun for Suzuki-gun.
Both Desperado and Gordon were set to be in the B Block of the Best of the Super Juniors. Narita, DOUKI, Ryusuke Taguchi, Will Ospreay, Rocky Romero, YOH, Bandido, El Phantasmo, Robbie Eagles, and BUSHI are now the B Block participants.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee, Tiger Mask IV, SHO, Titan, Marty Scurll, Jonathan Gresham, Taiji Ishimori, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, TAKA Michinoku, and Shingo Takagi are in the A Block.
This year’s Best of the Super Juniors will begin on Monday (May 13) and conclude on June 5. If Dragon Lee doesn’t win the tournament, the winner will likely challenge for his title at Dominion on June 9.
Narita will face DOUKI in a tournament match on Tuesday (May 14), which is the first night of B Block action.
Though his return to action for ROH had been announced for Road to G1 Supercard: Baltimore, Flip Gordon won’t be able to wrestle at the show.
ROH announced today that Gordon has re-injured his right knee and won’t be appearing at the Road to G1 Supercard show on Sunday (March 31). Gordon tweeted yesterday that his knee was “completely locked up” the morning after wrestling for OTT Wrestling in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was able to fly home and had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for this morning.
ROH wrote that there’s “concern that Gordon may have suffered a ‘bucket handle’ meniscus tear, which would require surgery and keep him out of action for four-to-six months. The extent of the injury will not be known until the results of Gordon’s MRI exam are in.”
Gordon suffered an MCL tear in his right knee while facing Tracy Williams at Honor Reigns Supreme on January 13. Before re-injuring his knee, Gordon announced on March 19 that he had been cleared to return to the ring.
ROH noted that Gordon will be appearing at G1 Supercard Festival of Honor on Friday, April 5, which is the day before G1 Supercard.
