Tag: jonathan gresham

ROH Supercard of Honor live results: Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

A new era for Ring of Honor begins as Supercard of Honor takes place at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas tonight.

Supercard of Honor will be the first ROH event since Tony Khan purchased the promotion. The show is being headlined by Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido in a match to determine an undisputed ROH World Champion. Both Gresham and Bandido have staked a claim to being the rightful title holder.

The Briscoes and FTR will finally collide as they face off for the ROH Tag Team titles. An interim ROH Women’s World Championship match will also take place, with Mercedes Martinez facing Willow Nightingale. Impact Wrestling’s Deonna Purrazzo is the current ROH Women’s World Champion.

Josh Woods vs. Wheeler Yuta for the ROH Pure title, Rhett Titus vs. Minoru Suzuki for the ROH Television title, Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty, and Shane Strickland vs. Alex Zayne are also set for tonight’s main card. Plus, a new client managed by Tully Blanchard will debut in a match against Ninja Mack.

The four-match Supercard of Honor pre-show will air for free on YouTube starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The main card will then begin on HonorClub, Fite TV, and pay-per-view at 8 p.m. Eastern.

**********

Preshow

ROH Supercard of Honor opened with a video highlighting the main event between Jonathan Gresham and Bandido to determine who the true ROH World Champion is. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman opened the show, running down the card.

Colt Cabana defeated Blake Christian

This was a really good opening match with Cabana giving some light comedy and Christian getting a showcase of some of his more spectacular moves.

Cabana hugged Riccaboni and Caprice and told him he loved them as he entered the ring, which was nice.

This was a really fun match to start the preshow, with Cabana and Christian exchanging some World of Sport style exchanges that ended with Christian hitting a huge kick to Cabana’s face and a standing frog splash for a 2-count. Blake Christian went for a Fosbury Flop, but Cabana moved and Christian landed on his feet.

Cabana blocked an armdrag and went back into the ring, hitting a chop and a splash for a 2-count. Cabana went for a pinfall repeatedly so much that he faked the referee out, who dropped to his knees and Colt pointed at him and laughed. That was great. Cabana turned Christian inside out with a clothesline.

Blake Christian hit a handspring kick, a dropkick, then an enziguri before going for the Fosbury Flop again, landing on Cabana and then transitioning into an inverted DDT. That was awesome. Christian hit a 450 splash for a 2-count, but missed a second 450 and ate a Bionic Elbow from Cabana who followed up with a Chicago Skyline on Christian for the 3-count. The Code of Honor was upheld at the end of the match.

–A fantastic promo with Jonathan Gresham aired where he talked about how he was carrying the legacy of ROH forward by holding the original ROH World Championship, and despite Bandido’s skill he was going to win and be the undisputed ROH World Champion.

AQA defeated Miranda Alize

AQA is very green, as seen in several spots in this match where she was out of place or botching, but she does have potential. Alize is great, and did what she could to make AQA look good, and the finish was spectacular.

Alize worked heel in this match, despite the early exchanges being clean. Alize took the advantage with a hair pull and bit the hand of AQA. Alize hit a huge boot scrape in the corner and then a dropkick and a butterfly suplex for a 2-count. AQA charged at Alize, but Alize tried to hit a low rana.

AQA hit a DDT on Alize for a 2-count. AQA’s cheek was bleeding a little bit, presumably from the boots in the corner earlier. AQA fired up with a few forearms and hit a dropkick and a sling blade for a 2-count. Alize pulled AQA off the top rope and then hit a ripcord cutter and transitioned into a crossface. AQA rolled out into a two count, and went for an enziguri and missed, but Alize sold it. AQA picked her up and hit it again before going for a shooting star press and getting the 3.

–WON/F4W’s own Denise Salcedo interviewed The Foundation, who all introduced themselves and talked about their upcoming title matches.

The Gates of Agony (Kaun & Toa Liona) w/ Tully Blanchard defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Eli Isom & Cheeseburger)

This was a basic squash, with Liona being a little reckless, but it introduced the Gates of Agony well.

Tully Blanchard came out to introduce his new tag team, The Gates of Agony. Kaun is a former ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champion, so he is familiar to the ROH audience. Kaun refused the Code of Honor with Cheeseburger, slapping him. Kaun and Liona threw Cheeseburger around before taking out Isom.

Blanchard taunted Cheeseburger from the outside, and Cheeseburger superkicked Kaun before Isom blind tagged in. Liona hit a pounce on Cheeseburger before hitting a Samoan Spike on Isom, leading Kaun to the victory.

Blanchard grabbed a mic and said that he was going to introduce the 3rd member of Tully Blanchard Enterprises.

–Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Martinez talked about their interm ROH Women’s Championship match, and both of them spoke about wanting to fight Deonna Purrazzo.

Dalton Castle defeated Joe Hendry

This was a solid match. Joe Hendry’s entrance video is ridiculous and awesome, but had far more charisma than his actual in ring character. If he could translate the charisma in that video to the camera, he’d be nearly as charismatic as Dalton Castle, which is saying something.

Hendry and Castle exchanged some technical wrestling to open this one, with Hendry using superior speed to send Castle to the outside. Castle did a lap around the ring with his chickens then did an ankle pick on Hendry. Castle hit a DDT on Hendry and then a splash for a 2-count. Castle did a gator roll, but Hendry grabbed the ropes.

Hendry scooped up Castle and dumped him over the top rope and Castle hit the floor hard. Hendry threw Castle into the barricade and continued to work over the back of Castle. Hendry hit a lariat for a 2-count, an then a vertical suplex. Hendry tried to pull Castle onto the top rope, but Castle fought out and hit a running knee from the apron onto Hendry who was on the top rope.

Hendry hit a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam for a 2-count. Castle went for another knee in the corner, but Hendry dodged and Castle crashed to the floor again, but managed to get up and hit a rana on the floor. Castle hit a corner knee and a bulldog for a 2-count. Hendry caught Castle and hit a huge one handed bomb type move for a 2-count. Castle countered and hit a bang-a-rang for the 3-count.

–Denise Salcedo was with Bandido and Chavo Guerrero Jr. Chavo claimed that Bandido was the true ROH World Champion, and that he was going to do anything to win his title back. Bandido made it clear he wanted no cheating, but was glad Guerrero was in his corner.

Main Card

The show wasted no time hitting Swerve Strickland’s music, as he walked out to a good reaction from the crowd who chanted his name.

Swerve Strickland defeated Alex Zayne

This was an awesome opening match for the main card. Strickland is awesome, and Alex Zayne is right there with him. Fantastic match from both guys here.

Swerve and Zayne started this match with a fast pace, countering each other several times. Zayne caught Swerve with a dropdown and hit a senton for a 2-count. Zayne went for a flipping hurricanrana on Swerve who was on the top rope. Swerve caught him and hit a TKO off the top rope, necking Zayne on the ropes.

Zayne threw Swerve onto the top rope and hit the rana this time before hitting a flipping kick to the back of Swerve’s neck. Swerve hit a knee of Zayne before hitting a stomp to the back of Zayne’s knee. Swerve then hit a dropkick the knee and locked on a half crab. Zayne dodged a basement dropkick and flipped into the ring off the apron, but his knee went out.

Swerve cut him off when he went for a dive, but Zayne countered and did a poisonrana off the apron to the floor. That was an absolutely insane spot. Zayne hit the Crunch Wrap Supreme on Swerve for a 2-count. Swerve went back to the knee to stop Zayne before hitting the flatliner and then the Swerve Stomp for a 2-count.

Zayne hit a popup knee and then went for his sideslam, but Swerve rolled through and hit a double stomp right onto Zayne’s knee. Swerve hit the JML Driver for the pinfall.

Brian Cage w/ Tully Blanchard defeated Ninja Mack

Brian Cage moving to ROH was a good call from Tony Khan, as Cage would fit in very well there and help establish the roster. It also gives him more screentime, which he wanted in AEW, but now he can get in ROH, especially being higher on the card. This was a quick squash and exactly what it needed to be.

Ninja Mack tried to hit a Space Flying Tiger Drop on Tully Blanchard’s new client, but Cage caught him and powerbombed him on the apron to start the match. Cage hit several lariats in the corner on Ninja Mack before continuing to beat him down. Cage hit several German suplexes on Mack. Mack went for a spinning kick and Cage just caught him and then hit the Drillclaw for the pinfall. 

–A video aired of Jay Lethal and Lee Moriarty’s history in ROH, with Moriarty promising that he is not the same wrestler he was when he lost to him the last time they fought in ROH.

Jay Lethal defeated Lee Moriarty w/ Matt Sydal

Jay Lethal’s heel turn was perfect here, with him getting increasingly frustrated as Moriarty was countering everything he did. Perfectly timed and well done.This was a fantastic match with an even better heel turn.

Both men upheld the Code of Honor to start the match. Moriarty and Lethal exchanged some fantastic technical wrestling to open the match, with Moriarty able to match and frustrate all of Lethal’s efforts. Lethal went for the Lethal Injection, but Moriarty was waiting for it and rolled him up with a school boy.

This frustrated Lethal again, and he showed a little edge shoving Moriarty before hitting some hard forearms after a lockup. Every attempt to get the advantage over Moriarty was countered, further frustrating Lethal. Moriarty was doing all the little things right, including stepping on Lethal’s fingers as he tried to stand up.

Lethal finally found something that worked, attacking the knee of Moriarty, hitting a knee crusher and then a dragon screw leg whip. Lethal was vicious in his attack, finally finding an opening. Lethal hit a springboard dropkick and then hit 2 dives to the floor, but got cut off on the 3. Moriarty tried for a dive, but his knee wouldn’t let him run. That didn’t stop him from an attack, as both men spilled to the floor.

Lethal continued to kick and attack the knee back in the ring, stopping Moriarty short several times, but Moriarty finally hit a forearm that rocked lethal before hit a hammerlock clothesline for a 2-count. Lethal went for a superplex but Moriarty shoved him off. Lethal was not deterred and pulled Moriarty from the ropes before hitting the Lethal Combination for a 2-count.

Lethal went for the figure four, but Moriarty fought out and ate a superkick and a cutter. Lethal hit Hail to the King, but Moriarty caught him and cradled Lethal for a 2-count. Moriarty countered everything Lethal tried with pinfall attempts, including a figure four and Lethal Injection. Moriarty pulled the apron into the ring when he countered the figure four, and as the referee was putting it back, Lethal low blowed Moriarty and hit the Lethal Injection for the pinfall.

Matt Sydal came in and protested the cheating of Lethal, so Lethal kicked his crutch out from under him, causing Sydal to fall to the mat. Lethal then started beating on Sydal. Sonjay Dutt ran in, one of Lethal’s best friends, to try and talk sense in to him, and Lethal yelled at him and left the area to a chorus of boos. This was an excellent heel turn.

Mercedes Martinez defeated Willow Nightingale for the Interim ROH Women’s World Championship

This was a fine match, though Martinez and Nightingale had some trouble getting on the same page throughout the match. That said, it was a good match overall, with both women working very hard. The crowd popped for the finish as well, meaning they were paying attention, though they were not too loud in the early portions due to the miscommunications.

Nightingale and Martinez exchanged some technical wrestling at first, but Martinez was able to hit two butterfly suplexes and an inverted full nelson submission. Martinez locked on a dragon sleeper, but Nightingale managed to get out and hit two short arm lariats before Martinez hit a code breaker and a flying knee for a 2-count.

Martinez went for a fisherman’s buster, but Nightingale hit a superkick and both women fell to the mat. Both women exchanged kicks on the ground, and then exchanged forearms standing, with Nightingale firing up. Nightingale managed to hit a pounce and hit a cannonball in the corner. Martinez seemed a bit out of position on the pinfall attempt, but got back up to try and hit the OG Drop on Nightingale in the middle of the ring but Nightingale kicked out and the crowd woke up here.

Nightingale hit a charge while Martinez was in the tree of woe and then followed up with a moonsault, but Martinez kicked out. I think something went wrong there, as Martinez was holding her shoulder like it was hurt. Martinez might have been winded from it, but recovered fast and locked on the Brass City Sleeper for the submission victory.

FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defeated The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) for the ROH World Tag Team Championship

Oh my goodness, this match was fantastic. What a great tag team match, with the Briscoes and FTR easily stealing the show. This was everyone wanted to see, and it did not disappoint. Go out of your way to watch this match.

The crowd was going insane before the match started, popping huge for both teams. This turned to boos for FTR when they refused the Code of Honor. FTR had their logo stylized like the old ROH logo on their tights.

Mark Briscoe started the match with Cash Wheeler, and the pitch in the arena got even louder with the crowd chanting and cheering both teams wildly. Harwood hopped off the apron to high five fans as Wheeler and Mark Briscoe locked up to a huge pop. They clearly see this as a dream match based on how crazy they are going.

The fans cheered the exchanges here and then chanted a very vulgar chant about WrestleMania. Mark Briscoe hit a throat thrust and locked Wheeler up with a headlock. The fans chanted “Tag Team Wrestling.” Harwood and Jay Briscoe came in and they didn’t’ have to do anything to have the fans going nuts again.

Harwood spit into the face of Jay, and the crowd erupted into boos for FTR. Jay Briscoe hit two shoulder tackles, but Harwood hit a hard forearm that dropped Briscoe. Harwood hit a chop but ate a rana and a kick before Briscoe sent Harwood to the floor. Dax Harwood tried to throw a chair into the ring, but the referee caught it effortlessly which popped the crowd.

Harwood and Wheeler were able to isolate Jay Briscoe after considerable effort and work him over a bit, but Jay Briscoe is never down for long, hitting a big back elbow on Wheeler and tagging out to Mark. Mark Briscoe killed Wheeler with several chops in the corner before hitting a vertical brainbuster for a 2-count.

Wheeler hit a European uppercut on Mark and was able to drag him back to his corner as Harwood hit some hard strikes in the corner. Harwood and Mark Briscoe exchanged some chops, with Briscoe getting the best of it, but Harwood closed his fist and punched him right in the face. Jay and Mark again picked up the pace, hitting a running kick on Wheeler after he tagged in.

I noted this in my recap of the Crockett Cup, but the Briscoes maintain such a crazy pace in their matches that can only really be matched by the Young Bucks. The action spilled to the outside with Wheeler slingshoting Jay Briscoe into the timekeeper’s table, flipping the entire table over, and Jay came up bleeding.

Harwood went right after Briscoe’s bleeding head, punching to open the cut more. Jay Briscoe shoved Harwood off the top rope, but as he went for a dive off the ropes, Harwood recovered and cutting him off on the top rope before hitting a superplex off the top rope. Wheeler tagged in and continued to beat on Jay Briscoe. Harwood flipped Briscoe off and Wheeler hit him with a back suplex.

Mark Briscoe came in and ran wild, hitting suplexes on Harwood and sending Wheeler to the floor. Mark hit an Iconoclasm for a 2-count. Harwood staggered Mark Briscoe with a right hand, but Mark sent him into the ring post and then hit Redneck Boogie on Wheeler for a 2-count. FTR hit a combo powerbomb and splash for a 2-count. Harwood was busted open at some point, but I’m not sure when.

The Briscoes hit the Big Rig on Harwood for a 2-count. Wheeler hit a tornado DDT on Mark Briscoe on the floor, but Jay Briscoe came in and hit a Death Valley Driver on Wheeler on the floor. Harwood and Jay Briscoe fought over a suplex on the apron ending with Jay Briscoe hitting a vertical suplex to the floor on Dax Harwood. That was brutal.

Mark and Jay Briscoe were both bleeding now, and all four men came to the middle of the ring and started exchanging forearms. Mark Briscoe dumped Wheeler to the floor and then hit a corkscrew senton to Wheeler on the floor. Harwood and Jay Briscoe were left facing off, both covered in blood, exchanging forearms.

Jay Briscoe hit a neckbreaker on Harwood and Mark Briscoe hit a Froggy Bow for a 2-count. The Briscoes called for the Doomsday Device, but Harwood fought out and they dumped Jay Briscoe to the floor before hitting the Big Rig on Mark Briscoe for the pinfall! FTR and the Briscoes shook hands after the match as the fans chanted ROH.

As FTR went to the back the fans chanted “Thank you, Briscoes!” and the Young Bucks ran in and attacked the Briscoes to a massive reaction from the crowd. FTR ran back to the ring to make the save, and they chased them away. Dax Harwood grabbed a mic and challenged The Young Bucks to a match right there and then.

The Young Bucks then refused the match, with Matt Jackson saying that the ROH fans could watch them on Wednesday night, and not here tonight, because they left ROH and then bought it. FTR shook their head and then promised to fight and beat them on Wednesday.

Minoru Suzuki defeated Rhett Titus for the ROH World Television Championship

This was a quick one, with Minoru Suzuki putting Titus away early, and left with the fans singing Kaze Ni Nare. It makes me wonder if Titus was injured at some point in the match, as I expected it to go a few minutes longer.

Minoru Suzuki, who wrestled Tomohiro Ishii earlier, is now here to wrestle Rhett Titus, which is insane. Suzuki and Titus wasted no time, grappling and striking. Suzuki trapped the arm of Titus with an armbar over the top rope, and the action spilled to the outside. Suzuki didn’t do much there, but went back to torturing Titus in the ring with joy on his face. Suzuki had chop marks all over his chest, presumably from Tomohiro Ishii earlier. Titus hit a belly-to-belly on Suzuki and then hit a pump kick and a corner kick. Titus hit a back suplex for a 2-count.

Suzuki laughed as he kicked out of Rhett Titus’ dropkick, smiled at Titus tried to hit him with several forearms to no effect, hit the ropes, and Suzuki ducked behind right into the rear naked choke and hit the Gotch Style Piledriver for the pinfall. Minoru Suzuki has won his first title on North American shores to the delight of the fans.

Wheeler Yuta defeated Josh Woods to win the ROH Pure Championship

Good technical match. While it didn’t get a great crowd reaction in the match, the crowd paid attention and applauded everything, but then again, it wasn’t the kind of match designed to pop the crowd.

Yuta was forced into a rope break within the first few seconds of the match, leaving him with 2 breaks left. Yuta went for a trip, but Woods just took Yuta’s back. Yuta ended up reversing it after a shuffle, and then grapevine the leg, but Woods slipped out. Yuta slipped out of Woods going for a cradle with a grapevine, to applause from the crowd.

Both men continued to exchange basic holds for the next few minutes, as Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman called it like a golf match in soft spoken voices except for when the action picked up, which I actually really liked. Yuta leaned back in a deathlock on the knee of Woods, which forced Woods to grab the ropes and lose his first rope break.

Woods worked over the arm of Yuta, wrenching the wrist and hitting Scott Hall shoulder blocks to Yuta’s shoulder. Yuta hit forearms to Woods, and Woods hit uppercuts right to Yuta’s injured arm. Woods ended the exchange with an open hand strike to Yuta, which dropped him. Woods and Yuta exchanged forearms again, but Yuta picked up the pace with an enziguri and then a huge flying forearm on Woods, who rolled to the floor.

Yuta hit a dive to the floor and dropped Woods again. Yuta went for a dive off the top rope onto Woods, who countered with a flying knee to Yuta for a 2-count. Woods hit a German suplex on Yuta and went for a TKO, but Yuta blocked it. Woods kicked Yuta, but Yuta rebounded off the ropes into a German suplex of his own.

Woods hit a spiral suplex into the turnbuckle but Yuta got his foot on the ropes, which was his final ropebreak. After an exchange of pinfall attempts, Yuta was able to counter woods and score the pinfall. Both men shook hands after the match, and Yuta got a big win here, furthering his ascent.

Jonathan Gresham defeated Bandido w/ Chavo Guerrero Jr. to become the undisputed ROH World Champion

This was a fantastic match to close the show, with Gresham and Bandido going long, but keeping the crowd interested. It wasn’t as good as the Briscoes and FTR, but this was still a very great main event match,

Both men adhered to the Code of Honor as the bell rang. The commentators played up how Chavo Guerrero Jr. was not getting along with Tony Khan, so they questioned his motivation for being in the corner of Bandido. The fans chanted “Eddie” as Bandido did the Latino Heat shuffle, which Guerrero did the same on the outside.

Gresham was able to take down Bandido at will, but Bandido was able to get up every single time, and after an exchange both men faced off again. Gresham went for a kimura, but Bandido shoved Gresham to the ropes to escape. Gresham did a lucha armdrag on Bandido, psyched him out and stomped on his foot before hitting dropkick.

Bandido hit a knee strike, a rana, and a dropkick before faking out Gresham himself. Gresham dropkicked Bandido off the apron and sent him to the floor. Gresham worked over the arm of Bandido, transitioning into a crossfacec, but Bandido made it to the ropes. Bandido did a surfboard stretch on Gresham, but Gresham used his leg muscles to sit back into a pinfall attempt before transitioning into an ankle lock.

Bandido made the ropes to escape while Gresham tried to transition to an octopus stretch. Gresham was able to lock on a brutal looking hammerlock. Bandido managed to fight out and hit a corkscrew body press and then a deadlift vertical suplex. Bandido stalled the suplex to a count of 60, holding him up for a full minute, which got the crowd cheering.

Gresham and Bandido exchanged a series of running chops until Gresham hit a lariat that dropped Bandido. Gresham hit a straight jacket suplex on Bandido for a 2-count. Gresham hit an enziguri and a snap German suplex for a 2-count. Gresham started hitting hammer fists on Bandido before transitioning into a crossface again, but Bandido didn’t get the change to make the ropes as Gresham pulled him back and locked on the Octopus stretch.

Bandido tried to fight out, but Gresham crucifixed the arms and hit more hammer fists which made Bandido collapse into the ropes. Gresham went for a dive to the floor on Bandido, but Chavo Guerrero Jr. shoved him out of the way, which Bandido protested. Bandido hit a vertical suplex in the ring and bridged into a 2-count, then followed up with a shining wizard for another 2-count.

Both men started to exchange a series of pinfalls so fast it was hard to keep up with. Gresham and Bandido exchanged strikes, but Gresham accidentally hit the referee when he fell backwards. Chavo Guerrero hit Gresham with the ROH World Championship, but Bandido go upset at it and asked the referee to eject his own manager. Bandido hit a pop up cutter on Gresham for a 2-count.

Gresham countered the 21-plex and went for a bridge pinfall, but Bandido kicked out, hit a superkick and a Fosbury Flop before hitting the 21-plex but Gresham kicked out! Bandido superkicked Gresham twice and hit a third, but Gresham countered with a springboard moonsault and then a counter into a cradle for the pinfall.

Jonathan Gresham grabbed the mic as he celebrated with both ROH World Championships. Jay Lethal interrupted him and walked out saying that Gresham wanted to send everyone home happy. Lethal said he would help and challenged Gresham for the ROH World Championship. Gresham said that Lethal had changed, and he acted without honor.

Lethal said that no one would know who Gresham was if it wasn’t for him, and Sonjay Dutt ran out to try and break them apart. Dutt then turned around and attacked Gresham. Dutt and Lethal beat on Gresham and cut of Lee Moriarty, who tried to make the save. Lethal then grabbed the ROH World Championships and posed with them.

Then the Godzilla music hit and Samoa Joe entered the arena! Samoa Joe has returned to ROH! Jay Lethal was the mentor to Jonathan Gresham, and Joe was the mentor to Jay Lethal. Samoa Joe then choked out Sonjay Dutt and faced off with Lethal, who looked shocked on the outside of the ring.

Final Thoughts

The first ROH show under the direction of Tony Khan felt like an ROH show in all the right ways. While the AEW contracted talent were a significant part of the show, this still did not feel like an AEW show. The debut of Samoa Joe at the end of the show was a fantastic way to fade out, with the greatest ROH Champion returning to the company. I don’t know what the future of ROH holds, but I do hope it continues to run, and we continue to get great shows like this.

Josh Alexander replacing Jonathan Gresham at WrestleCon SuperShow

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WrestleCon has announced a change to the lineup for Thursday’s Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow.

Josh Alexander is replacing Jonathan Gresham in a six-man tag team match at the WrestleCon SuperShow. It will now be Alexander, Black Taurus & Ace Austin vs. Michael Oku, Rey Horus & Laredo Kid.

Gresham is no longer on the WrestleCon SuperShow card. This Friday, Gresham will face Bandido in the main event of ROH Supercard of Honor to determine an undisputed ROH World Champion.

The WrestleCon SuperShow is taking place at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas on Thursday night. The show will air live on Fite TV, with Ian Riccaboni and Veda Scott serving as the commentary team.

Here’s the updated SuperShow card:

  • Minoru Suzuki vs. Biff Busick
  • The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. The Rottweilers (Low Ki & Homicide)
  • Bandido vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Timothy Thatcher
  • Mia Yim vs. Athena (formerly known as Ember Moon in WWE)
  • Josh Alexander, Black Taurus & Ace Austin vs. Michael Oku, Rey Horus & Laredo Kid
  • Team Atsushi Onita vs. Team PCO 10-man tag match (other participants in the match have yet to be revealed)

The best match at the SuperShow will receive a $5,000 bonus. The fans in attendance at the show will vote to determine what the best match was.

Daily Update: AEW-DDT, Jonathan Gresham, UFC

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest News:

Latest Audio:

Latest Free YouTube Video:

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Scott Hall

  • The main story is a bio on the life of Scott Hall covering his entire career and post-wrestling life. It goes into detail on:
  • The last two years of his life
  • The birth of Razor Ramon
  • His intellect regarding pro wrestling and squash matches
  • The difference between losing and putting someone over
  • His match with Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • Which MMA star copied Scott Hall for his promos
  • His alcohol issues
  • His near-death experiences
  • The American Starship tag team
  • The AWA run
  • Where he got over like a top star and why it didn’t happen
  • His time in Japan
  • His second WCW run
  • The ladder matches with Shawn Michaels
  • His leaving WWF for WCW
  • Life after WCW
  • Also in the issue:
  • Updates on WrestleMania, Hall of Fame, Stand & Deliver and business notes
  • AEW does the largest live gate outside of WWE in North American history
  • AEW’s success for its first two California shows
  • Hiroshi Hase elected Governor
  • Rundown of New Japan Cup matches
  • WWE’s response to lawsuit filed by MLW
  • Popularity and public interest in WWE Royal Rumble, WWE Elimination Chamber and AEW Revolution including updates PPV numbers
  • Full coverage of last weekend’s UFC show
  • Gable Steveson and this weekend’s NCAA tournament
  • Television ratings plus segment-by-segment numbers from the major shows
  • CMLL’s biggest show so far this year
  • FTR goes to Mexico to defend tag titles
  • Stardom Cinderella tournament
  • All Japan Champion Carnival news
  • 60th anniversary of pro wrestling at Korakuen Hall
  • International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame class for 2022
  • Streaming and international PPV numbers
  • Jake Paul and Dana White
  • New WWE PPV show
  • Updates on WWE & AEW ticket sales

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter: February 7, 2005 Observer Newsletter: Royal Rumble review, business year in review

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Sunday News Update

  • Bryan and I will be back tonight talking weekend news, New Japan Cup, Smackdown, Rampage, UFC and other notes.
  • As noted, Christopher Daniels, the AEW Vice President of Talent Relations had a video play at the DDT 25th anniversary show today at Sumo Hall announcing talent trading with the two promotions. The deal will also include more back-and-forth with Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. This does not in any way impact the New Japan/AEW relationship and a number of AEW wrestlers will be appearing on tonight’s New Japan show in Tampa.
  • Jonathan Gresham won the Progress title over Cara Noir today in London. Noir had been champion for 26 months. Gresham is the first American to win the Progress title. It’s also notable since Gresham is essentially AEW talent if he’s ROH champion, and Progress’ shows stream on Peacock.
  • This week’s ROH TV show aired highlights of Jonathan Gresham ROH title matches. They aired the match he won the title from Jay Lethal, as well as defenses against AJ Gray from Los Angeles, Adam Priest from Alabama, Chris Sabin from Impact, 2 Cold Scorpio from GCW and Josh Alexander from Terminus. Next week’s TV show will air more Gresham matches from around the world.
  • As far as things that made the top 20 most searched items this week, the list was longer than usual: 
  • For today, Gable Steveson had 20,000 searches this morning so he was in the top 20 as of earlier in the day, not sure if he will end up top 20.
  • Yesterday, the UFC show was No. 10 with 200,000 searches, with the most searched character being Paddy Pimblett.
  • Scott Hall’s name was searched for 4 million times during the week. It was No. 2 on Sunday and No. 1 on Monday. For a comparison, the deaths of Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage and Roddy Piper were all about 500,000. There has been nothing pro wrestling related in recent memory to hit that number.
  • Last night’s UFC show in London was being talked of as the show of the year. Dana White announced that they were giving nine $50,000 bonuses, for everyone who won via finish last night.
  • White also said the promotion will likely introduce yet another UFC interim heavyweight championship because Francis Ngannou will be out until the end of the year due to knee surgery.
  • We’re looking for reports from the WWE shows tonight in Huntsville, AL and Moline, IL, as well as any dark matches from Charlotte on Friday night and the New Japan show in Tampa to [email protected]
  • Ronald Cadman, better known as Caveman Broda, a longtime independent wrestler out of Winnipeg, passed away. The CWE promotion announced the death. Chris Jericho told the story that Broda, who was named after the late Bruiser Brody, was the first guy ever to give him a kneedrop off the top rope. Cadman was 68.
  • WWE results from Springfield, IL last night: Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens won three-way over Street Profits and Chad Gable & Otis, Liv Morgan b Doudrop, Miz b Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor b Damian Priest-DQ in a U.S. title match, Omos b R-Truth, A.J. Styles b Austin Theory, Becky Lynch b Rhea Ripley
  • Ripley replaced Bianca Belair based on Monday’s storyline over Belair going to the hospital. Jeff Jarrett appeared on Miz TV. Jarrett is a co-owner of the minor league baseball team in the city (thanks to the Mad Conservative Crimefighter and Robert F).
  • WWE results from last night in Johnson City, TN: Sasha Banks b Natalya-DQ when Shayna Baszler interfered, Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs b Los Lotharios, Sasha Banks & Naomi b Shayna Baszler & Natalya, Aliyah b Sonya Deville, Usos retained the tag titles over Viking Raiders, Sheamus & Ridge Holland and Happy Corbin & Madcap Moss, Roman Reigns b Drew McIntyre to keep Universal title (thanks to Joshua Hooven).
  • In the New Japan Cup, Tetsuya Naito beat Jeff Cobb and Kazuchika Okada beat CIMA, so there will be an Okada vs. Naito semifinal this coming Saturday in Osaka. The other semifinal will be decided tomorrow (the show starts 2 a.m. Eastern and 11 p.m. Pacific) will be the winners of Shingo Takagi vs. Hiromu Takahashi and Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Bron Breakker vs. Robert Roode has been added to Tuesday’s NXT show.
  • Luke Hawx suffered a legit concussion at the Crockett Cup tournament in Nashville in the match with Odinson & Parrow in the first round. His son P.J. Hawx worked in the next round of the tournament. Hawx has been working at the wrestling coordinator for the show “Heels” and Starz which is filming season two right now. C.M. Punk was filming season two this past week.
  • Tom Lawlor retained his Strong title today in Tampa over Clark Connors.

WWE

  • Miz and Dolph Ziggler will be on an episode of FOX’s Master Chef Junior this season.
  • Rey Mysterio was at the Indy Car race at the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. He went for a ride in the two-seater car with legendary race car driver Mario Andretti (thanks to Barry Werner).
  • A horse named Rated R Superstar won the sixth race at the G3 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Race Park.

Other Notes

  • PFL results from Friday night’s Challengers Series show:
  • Bruno Miranda b Carson Frei TKO 1:20 round three
  • Damir Ferhatbegovic b BJ Bland via KO in 2:19 of round one
  • Michael Dufort b Arut Pogosjan via second round submission
  • Yanal Ashmourz b Dennis Hughes via straight 30-27 scores
  • Wrestle Pro from last night in Rahway,NJ: Grim Reefer won three-way over Matt MacIntosh and Action Andretti, CAQ Unshackled b Colton Charles, Vegas b CPA, Freya the “Slaya b Ashley D’Amboise, Tony Vicinta b Shawn Donavan, Bear Country b Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson, Fallah Bahh six-way over Traxx, GKM, Lukas Finnegan, Justin Corino and Aaron Rourke to win the Silver title, Jay Lethal b Kevin Matthews, Tony Nese b Bobby Wayward, Barry Horowitz b Joey Janela in a street fight.
  • There were a few wrestling mentions on “Billions” on Showtime this pas week. One line was a character saying, “So you’re putting me in a Ken Patera full nelson,” and another said, “I feel like I’m in They Live and I’m about to go Rowdy Roddy Piper on someone’s ass.”
  • Horror Slam Wrestling from Friday night in Brownstown, MI: Malcolm Monroe III b Remington Rohr, Chuck Stein b Mad Man Pondo, Hoodfoot Mo Atlas b DBA, Jimmy Lloyd b Joe Bateman, Jimmy Lloyd won over Malcolm Monroe III, Hoodfoot Mo Atlas & Chuck Stein to win tournament, Mickie Knuckles b Randi West to win Divine title, Sea Lawhorn b Hello Hardbody (thanks to Leonard Brand).
  • Cinta de Oro, who was Hunico and later the second Sin Cara in WWE, wont he vacant Crash world heavyweight title in a tree-way over Lince Dorado and Penta on Friday night in Tijuana. El Hijo del Vikingo was champion, but had to vacate it when AAA and Crash broke up their relationship. Announced the next show are Marty Scurll, Travis Banks, Erick Redbeard and Jonah.
  • Saladine Parnasse retained his KSW featherweight title yesterday beating Daniel Rutkowski via fourth round submission at 1:07 of the round. The show also featured Richard Prasel, a former goalkeeper for Chelsea, beating Michael Kita via TKO at 2:00 of the second round and former Olympic wrestling medalist Damian Janikowski won over Tomasz Jakubiec via knockout from a punch at 3:42 of the first round.

PWG announces two replacements for Battle of Los Angeles

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two replacements have been announced prior to Saturday’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament.

The company announced tonight that both Jonathan Gresham and Davey Richards are out. Wheeler Yuta and Blake Christian have taken their place, and will face each other in the first round.

Gresham had tweeted earlier Friday that he would be unable to compete in the tournament due to COVID-19.

“Unfortunately, I will not be making it to LA tomorrow for BOLA. I recently caught covid, and as a result, I had to miss GCW at the Hammerstein Ballroom,” Gresham wrote. “I am still testing positive as of today and don’t want to put any colleagues/fans in harms way.”

Other first round matches that will take place on Saturday include Bandido vs. Speedball Mike Bailey, JONAH vs. Buddy Matthews, JD Drake vs. Black Taurus, Lee Moriarty vs. Alex Shelley, Jack Cartwheel vs. Lio Rush, Kevin Blackwood vs. Daniel Garcia, and Aramis vs. Rey Horus.

Lio Rush replaces Jonathan Gresham at The Wrld on GCW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Jonathan Gresham was replaced by Lio Rush on tonight’s The Wrld on GCW event.

Prior to the match, Christian said that things happen, and as a result Gresham wasn’t at tonight’s show. After saying he still wanted his ROH title shot in the future, he said that someone else was in the back that he had great matches with in GCW. This brought out Rush. Christian was eventually able to pick up the win with a 450 splash.

Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported prior to the match that Gresham was unable to make it to the show due to medical protocols. 

Rush originally was scheduled to be in a Grab the Brass ring ladder match that kicked off the show. However, he was replaced by G-Raver.

Gresham has defended the ROH World title across various promotions in the last month, including in his own Terminus promotion, the independent scene, and Impact Wrestling, where he successfully defended the title against Chris Sabin at Impact’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view event earlier this month.

Impact Wrestling live results: Jonathan Gresham vs. Steve Maclin ROH title match

Posted on by Antonio Garza

The Ring of Honor World title will be on the line once again in an Impact Wrestling ring as Jonathan Gresham defends the gold against Steve Maclin on Thursday’s AXS show.

The bout was made last week after Maclin confronted Gresham about the ROH invaders. Gresham didn’t like his honor being questioned and issued the challenge under the unique Pure rules ROH revived last year. Gresham was the first Pure champion after the title was revived.

The show will also have former WWE star Charlie Haas making his Impact in-ring debut as he takes on Josh Alexander. Haas made a surprise appearance last week to challenge Alexander as the former World and X-Division champion was demanding another shot at Moose.

The rest of the card includes future World title challenger W. Morrissey against VSK and Zicky Dice in a handicap match; women’s Ultimate-X match winner Tasha Steelz against Chelsea Green; future Knockouts tag title challengers The Influence against former champions Decay and Heath & Rhino vs. Joe Doering and Doc Gallows.

The BTI pre-show will feature Digital Media Champion Jordynne Grace against Lady Frost in a title defense.

* * * * * * * * * *

Impact Digital Media Champion Jordynne Grace defeated Lady Frost to retain the title

After the match, Matt Cardona challenged Grace for the DM Championship.

* * * * * * * * * *

Opening video recapped the ongoing rivalry that has come about between Impact World Champion Moose and W. Morrissey. Also, Deonna Purrazzo defeated Rok-C to win the ROH Women’s Championship last week, which ended with the group of rogue ROH wrestlers invading.

Mickie James joined commentary for the upcoming match. D’lo Brown is still out after being attacked last week by the ROH rogue group.

Tasha Steelz (with Savannah Evans) defeated Chelsea Green

Green challenged Steelz to a match last week after Steelz had interrupted Green’s interview, only to talk trash to Green and Cardona.

Green caught Steelz by surprise at the start and had some offense, but Steelz quickly cut her off. The rest of the match was mostly back and forth, Green came back with some roll ups and followed with a strike exchange. Steelz hit a cutter for a two count, but took forever to follow up, so Green recovered and got a near fall herself.

Steelz hit a crucifix bomb for the win. The action wasn’t bad, but this match felt like it took place in slow motion.

Steelz and James had a couple of stare downs, as Steelz is currently the number one contender to James’ title after winning the Hard To Kill Ultimate X match.

After the match, Steelz took the mic to talk trash about Green. She turned her focus on James and told her she was happy she was done playing with the Barbie dolls, because now she’s walking on the wrong side of the street, where Steelz is lurking. She told James that whenever they get their date, she’s gonna send James back to her husband and son as a failure. James got in the ring and brawled with Steelz. James had the upper hand until Evans got involved, but Green was there to help James clear the ring.

– Gia Miller interviewed Cardona about his challenge to Grace for the Digital Media title. Cardona said that his goal is to capture gold on Impact, and since he lost his opportunity against Moose, he was going after one of the other world titles in the promotion.

– We got a video package for Charlie Haas from his ROH run.

The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne) (with Kaleb) vs Decay (Rosemary & Havok) never started

Dashwood and Rayne are scheduled to challenge for the Knockouts tag team titles next week against The IInspiration, but since Lee and McKay are taking time off, Decay jumped in to challenge the Influence to a match.

Influence took out both Rosemary and Havok before the bell rang after Kaleb distracted them and allowed Dashwood and Rayne to kick them. Rosemary was sent shoulder first into the ring post and the referee called for medics after it seemed her shoulder had been dislocated.

Rosemary was sent to the back, but Havok stayed behind to go two-on-one.

The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne) (with Kaleb) defeated Havok in a handicap match

Havok started the match with some offense on Rayne, but it didn’t take long for Dashwood to jump in and take down Havok.

Influence worked over Havok, but the latter managed to power herself into a comeback, kicking down both Rayne and Dashwood. Havok went for a two-handed chokehold and caught a crossbody from Rayne, but Dashwood took her down with a top rope splash.

Havok took a cutter and the Spotlight kick, followed by the double facebuster for the win.

– The IInspiration cut a promo via satellite saying that they know The Influence well enough to be able to counter all their offense. They said they know Dashwood way more than Rayne does, and teased that Dashwood will turn on her. They also brought up that Dashwood shouldn’t trust a wrestler that retires yearly. 

– We got a vignette for The Quintessential Diva. No idea who it is.

– Ace Austin and Madman Fulton approached Mike Bailey backstage. Austin tried to recruit Bailey to join him and Fulton, with the implication that he’s the boss around the locker room. Austin gave Bailey his card.

W. Morrissey defeated The Learning Tree (VSK & Zicky Dice) (with Brian Myers) in a handicap match

Last week, Morrissey took out both VSK and Dice when they got in the way of him and Moose. Myers got them this match to get revenge, likely knowing that this wasn’t going to end well.

Total squash, Morrissey caught them with a double clothesline, some running boots, chokeslammed Dice, and the BQE powerslam on VSK.

After the match, Morrissey addressed Moose and told him that he’s going to go find him until Moose gives him a title match. Total babyface.

Backstage, D’Amore tried to stop Morrissey and told him Moose wasn’t in the arena, so he gave him a match against Moose at No Surrender. D’Amore was then interrupted because there was some issue happening outside.

Outside the arena, the invading ROH group had tickets, but security was not allowing them to come in. They said they only wanted to support Jonathan Gresham in the title match. D’Amore told them they didn’t need tickets, but they were being sent to the skybox, far away from the ring, escorted by security, and they had to leave as soon as the match was over.

ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham defeated Steve Maclin in a Pure rules match to retain the title

Gresham challenged Maclin to a match with the title on the line after Maclin questioned Gresham’s honor last week, claiming that Gresham was part of the group that had been invading.

Maclin did not adhere to the code of honor.

Gresham got Maclin to use his first rope break in less than five seconds. Maclin retaliated by straight up pushing Gresham into the ropes and taking away one of Gresham’s rope breaks. Gresham paid him in kind, so Maclin used a closed fist punch, which earned him a warning, but it definitely hurt Gresham.

Gresham got a bit more serious and started going after Maclin’s leg, but Maclin, having the power advantage, kept blocking him. Maclin hit a backbreaker and then carried Gresham into the ropes to use another of Gresham’s rope breaks.

Maclin hit a big Olympic slam for a near fall, followed by a Boston crab, forcing Gresham to use his final rope break. Maclin followed with some stomps and a camel clutch, which Gresham had to reverse out of.

Gresham tried to strike down Maclin, but didn’t do much damage, so instead Maclin retaliated with slam after slam for a near fall.

Gresham caught Maclin with a desperation moonsault to get some space, got a dropkick, countered the crab into a Magistral for a two count. Maclin hit crosshairs for a two count.

Maclin used his final rope break after Gresham got his ankle. They traded near falls after a series of back and forth clotheslines.

Maclin went for mayhem for all, but his knee buckled, so Gresham got him in a figure 4. Maclin and Gresham exchanged strikes, but in the end, even after trying to roll out, Maclin ended up taking a pin when Gresham pulled himself up from the ropes. Great match.

Maclin rejected the closing code of honor.

We got a visual of the ROH invaders being led out of the arena as soon as the match ended. 

Doc Gallows & Joe Doering (with Karl Anderson, Eric Young & Deaner) defeated Rhino & Heath

Along with Swann, Mack, and Eddie Edwards, Heath and Rhino have feuded with the Good Brothers and VBD for some time now. Heath got a pin over Anderson at Hard To Kill, but as of now, the Good Brothers and VBD are still in a working agreement in order to try and take out their competition.

Match started with Rhino and Gallows going back and forth. When Doering tried to jump in, Heath took him out with a jumping knee, sending him to the floor.

Back from commercial, Heath and Rhino were still in control over Gallows, but Deaner finally decided to jump on the apron and distract Rhino enough for Gallows to cut him off and tag in Doering.

Gallows and Doering worked over Rhino, keeping him down with strikes and chokes, but after colliding with Rhino in a double shoulder tackle, Rhino managed to tag in Heath.

Heath took out Doering for a bit, but quickly came back and clotheslined Heath. Referee tried to remove Doering from the ring since he wasn’t legal, and that allowed EY to hit Heath with his flag and serve him up for a double chokeslam from Doering and Gallows for the win. Ok match, Gallows reopened his Hard To Kill wound. 

Tom Hannifan announced that Morrissey vs Moose is official for No Surrender, but for next week, we have a speech by Micke James, talking about the state of the Knockouts.

Chris Sabin joined commentary for the main event.

Josh Alexander defeated Charlie Haas

Haas made his Impact debut last week, challenging Alexander to a fight. Alexander accepted after both men came to blows.

Match started with both men chain wrestling, trading momentum, sneaking in pins here and there. Alexander at the end managed to boot Haas out of the ring.

Back in the ring, Alexander started to dominate with a mix of strikes and slams, but suddenly, Alexander had a bad landing, his knee buckled when he jumped over Haas, who immediately targeted the knee, slamming it against the ring post.

Haas continued working on the knee, also mixing strikes and submission attempts. Alexander would attempt to counter with a backroll and a couple of Germans, but Haas even countered the Germans into a series of slams. Alexander would come back with another set of Germans, but his knee couldn’t hold the bridge for the pin.

Haas looked a bit groggy here, but hit a belly-to-belly and followed with a single leg crab. Alexander reversed into an ankle lock. Haas tried to reverse, but Alexander kept control until Haas tapped out. The match fell through after Haas got groggy, but they managed to finish it.

After the match, Haas and Alexander embraced before Taven, Vincent, Bennet, and PCO jumped them. Sabin tried to make the save, but the numbers game was too much for the three men. Swann, Mack, Heath, and Rhino ran down and finally evened things out, but only slightly, it was until Eddie Edwards ran down with a kendo stick that the ROH group ran away.

Maria cut a promo from the skybox, saying they all used to believe in honor and rules and doing things the right way, but all that had changed and they were bringing change, and this was ‘Honor No More’. 

Gresham vs. Bandido winner-take-all title match set for ROH Supercard of Honor

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Jonathan Gresham and Bandido are set to face off in a winner-take-all match for the ROH World Championship.

Gresham vs. Bandido to determine the true ROH World Champion has been announced for Supercard of Honor on Friday, April 1. The show will be ROH’s first event since going on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 to “reimagine” the company. It’s taking place at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.

Bandido was supposed to defend the ROH World Championship against Gresham at last month’s Final Battle pay-per-view. But with Bandido having to be pulled from the show due to testing positive for COVID-19, Gresham instead defeated Jay Lethal in a match where the winner was awarded the original ROH World Championship belt. Gresham and Bandido have each claimed to be the rightful ROH World Champion since then.

Gresham and Bandido went face-to-face at the end of Terminus’ debut event this past Sunday. Gresham told Bandido that the time would come for them to face off.

Gresham is defending his version of the ROH World Championship against Blake Christian at The Wrld on GCW this Sunday. Gresham is also set to put his title on the line against AEW’s Santana at Terminus’ next show on Thursday, February 24.

Bryan Alvarez reported earlier this month that ROH’s relaunch will focus on the ROH World Championship, the ROH Women’s World Championship, and the ROH Tag Team titles. Those champions will continue to defend their titles in outside promotions, with Sinclair having the rights to air the matches on ROH television.

AEW’s Santana to challenge for ROH World title at Terminus

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A member of the AEW roster is set to challenge for Jonathan Gresham’s ROH World Championship at Terminus.

Gresham and Baron Black’s new Terminus promotion has announced that its second event will be held in Atlanta on Thursday, February 24. AEW’s Santana will challenge for Gresham’s version of the ROH World title at the show.

The match was set up by a challenge that Santana issued to Gresham at Terminus’ debut event on Sunday.

Gresham and Bandido are each staking a claim to being the true ROH World Champion. Bandido was supposed to defend the title against Gresham at Final Battle last month, but the match didn’t happen due to Bandido testing positive for COVID-19. Gresham instead defeated Jay Lethal to win the original ROH World Championship belt.

In the main event of Terminus’ first show, Gresham put his title on the line against Josh Alexander. The match ended in a draw when there was a double pin.

Bandido, who retained his version of the ROH World title against Black earlier in the night, then made his way out to confront Gresham. The two were about to shake hands, but Santana’s music hit and he made his way down to the ring.

Santana spoke about challenging himself this year and proposed an ROH World title match against Gresham for February 24. Gresham accepted Santana’s challenge and also told Bandido that the time for them to face off will come.

Before the next Terminus show, Gresham will defend his ROH World title against Blake Christian at Game Changer Wrestling’s The Wrld on GCW. That show is taking place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City this Sunday (January 23).

Terminus’ first show aired live on Fite TV. Lenny Leonard and Dave Prazak were the commentary team.

ROH World title match, Josh Alexander vs. Charlie Haas set for Impact Wrestling

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the second time in January, the Ring of Honor World title will be on the line inside an Impact Wrestling ring as Jonathan Gresham will defend against Steve Maclin next Thursday in a Pure rules match.

Maclin made the challenge Thursday as Gresham was being asked about the ROH contingent that attacked Impact wrestlers during the show. Gresham said he wouldn’t have his honor questioned and that he would ask ROH management to make the match Pure rules with his title on the line. Gresham was a past ROH Pure Champion.

Next Thursday will also see former WWE star Charlie Haas make his Impact in-ring debut as he faces Josh Alexander.

Haas interrupted an Alexander promo Thursday where he was threatening to leave if he didn’t get a World title match. Alexander accepted his challenge and while the two were respectful, things broke down and they needed to be separated.

Also announced for next week: Chelsea Green vs. Tasha Steelz, and Doc Gallows & Joe Doering vs. Heath & Rhino in a continuation of their recent rivalry.

Here’s the announced lineup:

– ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Steve Maclin in a Pure rules title match
– Tasha Steelz vs. Chelsea Green
– Joe Doering & Doc Gallows vs. Heath & Rhino
– Josh Alexander vs. Charlie Haas

Ian Riccaboni, Bobby Cruise to appear at Impact Hard to Kill

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Ian Riccaboni and Bobby Cruise are both set to be at tonight’s Impact Hard to Kill event.

Impact announced on social media today that Riccaboni will call the ROH World title match between champion Jonathan Gresham and Chris Sabin. Cruise, the long time ring announcer for Ring of Honor, will be the ring announcer for the match.

“Hello @IMPACTWRESTLING! Thrilled to announce the @ringofhonor World Title Bout Tonight! #HardToKill,” Riccaboni wrote on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/IanRiccaboni/status/1479894157162426373

Ring of Honor has gone under a hiatus since the Final Battle event that took place on December 11, with the company saying they will be back by April. Gresham, who won the ROH World title at Final Battle, has defended it against the likes of AJ Gray and Adam Priest in the last month. He is scheduled to defend the title against Blake Christian at GCW’s event at the Hammerstein Ballroom on January 23.

Impact Hard to Kill will take place live tonight at The Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas.

Jonathan Gresham-Josh Alexander ROH title match set for Terminus

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: ROH

Jonathan Gresham will put his ROH World Championship on the line at the debut show for his Terminus promotion.

Terminus has announced that Gresham will defend his ROH World Championship against Josh Alexander in a Pure Rules match at their debut show on Sunday, January 16. The event is taking place at the Kroc Center in Atlanta.

With Gresham and Bandido each staking a claim to being the true ROH World Champion, this is the second ROH World title match that’s set for Terminus. Bandido will defend his version of the title against Baron Black at the January 16 show.

Gresham was scheduled to challenge Bandido for the ROH World Championship at Final Battle earlier this month, but Bandido had to be pulled from the show due to testing positive for COVID-19. Gresham instead defeated Jay Lethal in an ROH World Championship match in the main event of the pay-per-view. Gresham was awarded the original ROH World title belt.

ROH is currently on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022.

Before the Terminus event, Gresham will defend his ROH World title against Chris Sabin at Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill PPV on Saturday, January 8. He’s also set to defend the title against Blake Christian at The Wrld on GCW on Sunday, January 23.

Here’s the updated card for Terminus’ debut show:

  • ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Josh Alexander
  • ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Baron Black
  • Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty
  • Impact Digital Media Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Kiera Hogan
  • Moose vs. Alex Coughlin
  • Liiza Hall vs. Janai Kai
  • Terminal eliminator match: JDX vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Invictus Khash vs. Adam Priest
  • Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi vs. Dante Caballero & Joe Keys

Gresham vs. 2 Cold Scorpio ROH title match set for GCW Say You Will

Posted on by Ethan Renner

An ROH World Championship match has been announced for GCW Say You Will. 

Jonathan Gresham will defend the ROH title against 2 Cold Scorpio in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Saturday, January 15. The show will stream live on FITE TV. 

Scorpio, 56, has worked a number of dates for GCW this year, most recently in September. He defeated Effy at Highest In The Room on September 17, and also defeated Stallion Rogers at a joint GCW-BLP show on September 3. Scorpio was in action last weekend at a JCW show, losing to Joey Janela.

Already announced for Say You Will, Allie Katch will take on Kylie Rae, plus AJ Gray will be in action against PCO. Other talent announced for the show at this point include Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe, Ricky Morton, Bandido, Blake Christian and Dark Sheik. 

Say You Will is GCW’s last stop before their The Wrld On GCW at a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Sunday, January 23. 

Bandido to defend his version of ROH World title at Terminus

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Jonathan Gresham and Bandido appear to each be staking a claim to being the true ROH World Champion.

It was announced on Friday that Bandido will defend his version of the ROH World Championship against Baron Black at Terminus’ debut show on Sunday, January 16. Terminus is Gresham and Black’s promotion. Its theme is “Modern Age Grappling.”

Gresham was supposed to challenge Bandido for the ROH World title in the main event of ROH’s “End of an Era” Final Battle pay-per-view earlier this month. But with Bandido having to be pulled from the show due to testing positive for COVID-19, Gresham instead faced Jay Lethal in a match for the original ROH World title belt. Gresham defeated Lethal to become champion.

Gresham’s first defense of his title belt took place in GCW last Friday. He retained against AJ Gray in a Pure Rules match. Gresham will put his title on the line against Chris Sabin at Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view on Saturday, January 8. Gresham is also set to defend his title against Blake Christian at The Wrld on GCW at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Sunday, January 23.

After Bandido posted a picture with his ROH World Championship yesterday, Gresham responded by tweeting a picture with his own title belt. Gresham called himself the “ROH World Pure Champion” and said he’d see Bandido at Terminus.

ROH will be on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 to “reimagine” the promotion.

Terminus’ debut show is being held at the Kroc Center in Atlanta. Gresham will be in action at the event, but his match has yet to be announced. Here’s the updated card:

  • ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Baron Black
  • Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty
  • Impact Digital Media Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Kiera Hogan
  • Moose vs. Alex Coughlin
  • Liiza Hall vs. Janai Kai
  • Terminal eliminator match: JDX vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Invictus Khash vs. Adam Priest
  • Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi vs. Dante Caballero & Joe Keys

Jonathan Gresham to defend ROH World title at Impact Hard to Kill

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Ring of Honor World Championship is set to be defended in Impact Wrestling for the first time ever.

It was announced today that ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham will put his title on the line against Chris Sabin at next month’s Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill pay-per-view. The PPV is being held at The Factory in Deep Ellum in Dallas on Saturday, January 8.

Earlier this month, Gresham became ROH World Champion by defeating Jay Lethal at ROH’s “End of an Era” Final Battle PPV. Gresham was originally supposed to challenge Bandido for the title at the show, but Bandido was pulled from the card due to testing positive for COVID-19. The ROH World title was declared vacant with Bandido unable to wrestle at Final Battle.

Gresham’s first title defense took place at GCW’s Blood on the Hills last Friday. He defeated AJ Gray in a Pure Rules match.

Gresham is also scheduled to defend the ROH World Championship against Blake Christian at The Wrld on GCW in New York City on Sunday, January 23. That show is GCW’s Hammerstein Ballroom debut.

With ROH going on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022, Final Battle and the post-Final Battle edition of ROH Week By Week featured tribute videos from members of the AEW and Impact Wrestling rosters who used to wrestle for ROH. Impact’s Moose, Eddie Edwards, and Jimmy Jacobs were among those who sent videos. Moose will defend his Impact World Championship against Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey in a triple threat match at Hard to Kill.

It’s also been announced that Knockouts Tag Team Champions The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay) will defend their titles against The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood) at Hard to Kill. The updated card for the PPV is listed below:

  • Impact World Champion Moose defends against Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey in a triple threat match
  • Texas Death Match: Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Deonna Purrazzo
  • Ultimate X match for a future Knockouts Championship shot: Lady Frost vs. Rosemary vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Chelsea Green vs. Rachael Ellering
  • Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay) defend against The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood)
  • ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Chris Sabin
  • Josh Alexander vs. Jonah
  • Hardcore War 10-man tag match: Violent By Design (Eric Young, Joe Doering & Deaner) & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. Eddie Edwards, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Heath & Rhino 

Jonathan Gresham announced for PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2022

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Photo: Jonathan Gresham on Twitter

The ROH World Champion is heading to Los Angeles. 

PWG announced tonight that Jonathan Gresham will be part of the 2022 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. BOLA will be held on Saturday, January 29 and Sunday, January 30 at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California. 

Gresham joins PWG World Champion Bandido, AEW’s Lio Rush, Daniel Garcia and Lee Moriarty, JONAH, Alex Shelley, Kevin Blackwood, Black Taurus, Jack Cartwheel, Aramis, plus Davey Richards in the BOLA field. 

Gresham won the ROH World title by defeating Jay Lethal in the main event of the Final Battle pay-per-view on December 11. The title was vacated after Bandido tested positive for COVID-19 the week of the event. He has since defended the ROH title at GCW Blood on the Hills, and is also set to defend the title against Blake Christian at The Wrld on GCW on January 23 at a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.