Ian Riccaboni will commentate the ROH World Championship match next month at GCW’s debut in the Hammerstein Ballroom.
GCW announced tonight that Riccaboni will call Jonathan Gresham defending the ROH World Championship against Blake Christian at GCW’s The Wrld on GCW on January 23. Riccaboni has been the lead commentator of Ring of Honor in recent years. Ring of Honor is currently going under hiatus through April of next year after holding Final Battle on December 11.
The company released a video on Monday that had Christian saying that this was not about the ROH title, it’s about being accepted as one of the best in the world. And when he wins the championship from Gresham, everyone will have no choice but to accept him as among the best in the world.
Riccaboni is also set to be at NJPW New Beginning USA on January 15, where he will call the action as Kevin Kelly will be in Japan.
The ROH World Championship will be defended at The Wrld on GCW.
In a video released by GCW tonight, it was confirmed that Blake Christian will challenge Jonathan Gresham for the ROH World Championship at GCW’s first event at the Hammerstein Ballroom on January 23rd. It’s the first match to be announced for the show.
The video had Christian saying that this was not about the ROH title, it’s about being accepted as one of the best in the world. And when he wins the championship from Gresham, everyone will have no choice but to accept him as among the best in the world.
Gresham won the championship at ROH’s Final Battle event on December 11. With the company taking a hiatus until at least April, Gresham has defended the championship in independent promotions under ROH Pure title rules. His first title defense was at GCW Blood on the Hills on December 17th, where he successfully retained against AJ Gray.
Jonathan Gresham’s first Ring of Honor World Championship defense will take place in Game Changer Wrestling.
GCW has announced that Gresham vs. AJ Gray at their Blood on the Hills event will now be for Gresham’s ROH World Championship. Gresham vs. Gray is also now a Pure Rules match.
Blood on the Hills is taking place at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles this Friday and will be available live via Fite TV.
Gresham became ROH World Champion by defeating Jay Lethal in the main event of Final Battle last Saturday. The title was declared vacant going into that match after Bandido had to be pulled from Final Battle due to testing positive for COVID-19. AEW allowed Lethal to return to ROH and replace Bandido as Gresham’s opponent at the pay-per-view.
Final Battle was the last ROH live event before the promotion goes on hiatus.
The Briscoes will defend their GCW Tag Team titles against Brody King & PCO at Blood on the Hills. The Briscoes currently hold both the GCW and ROH Tag Team titles.
Atticus Cogar vs. Jordan Oliver in a no ropes barbed wire match, Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green vs. Effy & Allie Katch, and Blake Christian vs. Alex Zayne are among the other matches that will be taking place at Blood on the Hills.
Tonight’s episode of NJPW Strong was taped in Riverside, CA at the New Japan Detonation show.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Gabriel Kidd
Kidd shook announcer Kevin Kelly’s hand and told him he loved him before the match. Kelly told him the same. This was Kidd’s first match in six months after what’s reported to have been a tumultuous year for him.
They shook hands before the match. When it kicked off, the two went into a fluid mat exchange that lasted a few minutes. Gresham had an arguable edge over the younger Kidd, but even still, it was hard for either to gain the upper hand. Neither threw strikes or resorted to dirty technique.
Not being able to take Kidd down or get a real advantage frustrated and annoyed Gresham midway through the bout. He’d later “accidentally” poked Kidd in the eye. This was disputable, albeit in a kayfabe kind of way. Gresham apologized and offered his hand. A lot of the crowd booed this, but some sounded delighted.
Gresham teased throwing a punch or elbow over the course of this. He got a lot of mileage out of this and was able to get the crowd to react without having to do all that much. It was a good sub-story within the match.
At around ten minutes in, Kidd bodyslammed Gresham. He later went to put Gresham away with the Billy Robinson-style single-arm suplex he’s known to use, but Gresham escaped. After a series of reversals, Gresham picked up the win with a headscissors pin combination.
United Empire (WIll Ospreay, Jeff Cobb & TJP) defeated LA Dojo (Ren Narita, Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors)
This turned out to be a pretty exciting tag match. Both teams jaw-jacked with each other and it quickly turned into a brawl. The bell rang. Fredericks landed a crazy tope con giro to the floor in the first minute. The LA Dojo team was fired up for this one.
After the Dojo babyfaces worked TJP over for a few minutes, Cobb got involved to even the score when he launched Narita into a guardrail on the floor behind the ref’s back. It got a good reaction from the crowd. He’d later ragdoll Narita around the ring, impressing the crowd with a squatting deadlift vertical suplex, again propelling him comically far.
Ospreay used a spinning backbreaker on Narita. He chopped Narita and the sound rang out like a pistol firing. Connors eventually caught the hot tag after Narita threw Ospreay coming off the ropes with a front suplex. Connors cleaned house.
Before the ten-minute announcement sounded, Connors caught TJP with an insane snap powerslam, then speared Ospreay on the apron.
TJP later took Narita out with a cradle back suplex. Fredericks and Cobb were in the ring together next when Fredericks caught Cobb with a big spinebuster. He earned a two-count after a jumping elbow drop.
Connors went to spear TJP towards the end of the match but he couldn’t because his knee gave out. Earlier on, TJP had hyper-extended Connors’ knee, so it’d already been tenderized. He locked in a modified scorpion deathlock. This gave Cobb a chance to stamp Fredericks out completely after a Spin-Cycle suplex. Connors broke up the pin. Cobb then put Fredericks down with a Tour of the Islands for a decisive-looking pin.
Despite the match being over, TJP kept hold on his submission lock, ripping on Connors’ knee. Narita tried attacking the group but staff held him back. Narita escaped and tried taking the three heels out, but he’d get stomped out again. United Abominations posed with their belts in the ring. The crowd showered them with boos. The group messed with Kevin Kelly at the announcers’ table before they’d exit to the back.
NEVER Openweight Championship match: Tomohiro Ishii (c) defeated Brody King to retain
What a match.
They didn’t waste any time getting into the violence. In terms of style, this was the total opposite of Gresham vs. Kidd. They exchanged elbows and shoulder blocks. Neither would go down, neither wanted to give an inch. The bigger King was able to take Ishii down a few times, though, once laying him out after a senton.
Ishii went for a vertical suplex but King shut it down quickly. He blasted Ishii with chops. The first two were so loud. Ishii took a number of them and insisted King throw more at him until he collapsed in the corner. Ishii’s chest was bright red.
It looked like they’d been through actual war by the five minute mark. Ishii somehow was able to spike King with a brainbuster and later chop and elbow him hard in the opposite corner. King was barely able to survive Ishii’s offensive and flattened him with a lariat.
King crushed Ishii in the corner with a cannonball. Ishii reacted like he’d gotten into a car accident, just pure agony. King used a piledriver for two.
They traded nasty elbows. The crowd seemed half in support of King, half in support of Ishii. Ishii threw King with a release German suplex off the ropes. He tried taking King out with a number of lariats of his own, but King wouldn’t go down. King went down after a headbutt, then Ishii went for a Sliding D. King caught Ishii. They were up on their feet and eventually Ishii laid King out with a lariat.
King shouted his tag team partner Chris Dickinson out before dropping Ishii on his head with a Death Valley Bomb for two.
King went for the Gonzo Bomb but Ishii slipped out. They played cat-and-mouse some more until King blasted Ishii with another huge lariat. King went for the Gonzo Bomb but again Ishii escaped, then dazed the giant King with an enzuigiri kick. In the end, Ishii lifted King into the air, then drilled him into the mat with a picture-perfect vertical-drop brainbuster for the win.
Final thoughts:
This was one of the best episodes of NJPW Strong front-to-back. This one has to go in the top five, at least. The six-man tag match sounded like a blast for the crowd. Kidd and Gresham told such a great and physical story. The main event between King and Ishii is as good as one would expect. As a fan, all I can ask for is a lot more of this. Hope there’s a rematch planned for next year.
One era ended and another began at tonight’s ROH Final Battle event, where four titles changed hands, including the ROH World Championship.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Jay Lethal to win the title after submitting Lethal with the octopus stretch. The entire locker room had emptied out prior to the finish. Jordynne Grace, Gresham’s wife, entered the ring as Gresham was presented with the old ROH World Championship and had his hand raised by former ROH owner Cary Silkin. The show closed with Gresham celebrating his first title win.
The main event for tonight’s pay-per-view was originally set to be ROH World Champion Bandido facing Gresham. However, the company announced two days prior to the show that Bandido had to pull out due to testing positive for COVID-19. As a result, Lethal, who is now signed to All Elite Wrestling, took Bandido’s place. It was announced during the first hour of Final Battle that the winner would be awarded the ROH World Championship.
The ROH Six-Man, Tag Team, and Television titles also changed hands.
Vincent, Bateman, and Dutch defeated Shane Taylor Promotions (Moses, Kaun, and O’Shay Edwards) to win the ROH Six-Man titles after Vincent hit Orange Sunshine on Edwards for the win. This marks the end of Shane Taylor Promotion’s run with the titles, having won them on the episode of Ring of Honor television that aired on February 10 of this year.
Rhett Titus won the ROH Television Championship, defeating Champion Dalton Castle, Silas Young, and Joe Hendry in a four-way match, pinning Young with a dropkick after he dodged a springboard splash. Castle had only won the title recently, defeating Dragon Lee on the episode of ROH TV that aired on November 21.
The Briscoes won their twelfth ROH World Tag Team Championship tonight, defeating OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett). After the match, the team cut a promo, saying they would take on any challengers. This led to the lights going out, and when they came on, AEW’s FTR appeared on the apron. Both teams soon engaged in a pull-apart brawl, eventually having to be separated.
Tonight marks the end of an era for Ring of Honor.
Final Battle 2021 will be held at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore tonight. It’s the final live ROH event before the promotion goes on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022. ROH will be taking that time to “reimagine” the company, and talent won’t have their contracts renewed.
Bandido was scheduled to defend his ROH World Championship against Jonathan Gresham in the main event of the pay-per-view, but that won’t be happening due to Bandido testing positive for COVID-19. AEW’s Jay Lethal will now make his return to ROH for a match against Gresham.
The situation with the ROH World Championship will be addressed on Final Battle Hour One. That Hour One broadcast airs for free on HonorClub, YouTube, and Facebook at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The main card then begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Five title matches have been made official for tonight. As part of a double main event with Gresham vs. Lethal, The OGK will put their ROH Tag Team titles on the line against The Briscoes.
Rok-C will defend her ROH Women’s Championship against Willow Nightingale, Josh Woods puts his Pure title up for grabs against Brian Johnson, Dalton Castle defends his TV title against Rhett Titus, Silas Young, and Joe Hendry in a four-way match, and Shane Taylor Promotions (Moses, Kaun & O’Shay Edwards) defend their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman & Dutch).
Also set for the show are: Shane Taylor vs. Kenny King in a Fight Without Honor, Brody King, Homicide & Tony Deppen vs. Tracy Williams, Taylor Rust & Eli Isom, Dragon Lee vs. Rey Horus, Chelsea Green, Allysin Kay & Marti Belle vs. Angelina Love, Mandy Leon & Miranda Alize, and a wildcard 10-man tag match.
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Hour One —
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championships: The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman, & Dutch) (w/ Vita Von Starr) defeated Shane Taylor Promotions (Moses, Kaun, & O’Shay Edwards) (c) [10:57]
This was okay, but the botched bell put a dent in the match’s momentum.
Dutch and Moses started things, showing off some nice athleticism for their size. It quickly broke down into a six-way with Vincent and Kaun tagging in and meeting each other with simultaneous crossbodies. Kaun took down Vincent with a running back elbow and a gutbuster for two. Moses tagged back in, and he and Kaun landed a double team for another two. Vincent came back with a Side Effect for two of his own.
Bateman tagged in for his first action of the evening. Moses hit a Samoan drop for two, then tagged in Edwards., who hit a German and a Liger bomb for a near fall. Vincent sent Edwards to the floor and landed a tope but took a dive from Kaun. Bateman then came off the top with a big springboard onto the pile. Von Starr tried to get involved but was easily dispatched by Moses, then Dutch flew over the top with a flip dive onto everyone. Von Starr landed an Asai moonsault for good measure.
A powerbomb from Dutch followed by a Redrum from Vincent got a near fall. Edwards hit a top-rope moonsault on Bateman for two, but the bell rang in what looked to be some unfortunate miscommunication. We got a parade of big moves in the ring, then Vincent hit Orange Sunshine for the win.
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Jay Lethal was interviewed by Quinn McKay. He said it was a privilege and an honor to wrestle in the main event of Final Battle.
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It was made official that Gresham vs. Lethal would be for the original Ring of Honor World Championship.
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Rocky Romero was backstage with Quinn McKay. He said he was here representing New Japan Pro Wrestling and that he would be on commentary. VLNCE UNLTD walked up and Brody King recommended that Rocky get in the ring.
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The Allure (Angelina Love & Mandy Leon) & Miranda Alize defeated Chelsea Green & The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) [6:39]
This was pretty rough, but I thought Alize was by far the most impressive member of the match.
Kay and Belle are the NWA and SHINE women’s tag team champions. Alize and Belle had a quick exchange before Kay and Leon tagged in. Green quickly entered the match but was taken down by Leon and the latter’s team isolated her in the corner. Alize landed a nice running knee into the corner and then a suplex for two. Love hit a Complete Shot on Green for two more.
Green eventually used evasive maneuvers to tag in Kay, who hit a sidewalk slam on Love. She and Belle hit Hex Marks The Spot on Leon for two, but Alize broke up the pin. We got a parade of big moves, concluded with Green landing a dive on all three opponents. Love cut off a dive from Belle, then Leon hit a pumphandle slam for the win.
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The Briscoes discussed their history in Ring of Honor.
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EC3 tried to cut a promo backstage, but then the Pure team from later on tonight walked up and said they were down a man, asking EC3 to fight with them. He accepted.
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Danhausen joined commentary for this match.
Flip Gordon, PJ Black, World Famous CB, & The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas) defeated Max The Impaler, Sledge, Will Ferrara, Demonic Flamita, & LSG (w/ Amy Rose) [10:24]
This was all crowd-pleasing high spots to get everyone on the card.
Ferrara and CB started off with an extended technical exchange. Flamita and Flip tagged in with a display of acrobatics. They looked like they would shake hands, but Flamita flipped Flip the bird. LSG and Black tagged in, and LSG cradled Black for two. Max tagged themselves in and called for Milonas, who obliged, but Bruiser took out Max with a cheap shot. They traded strikes in the ring until Sledge tagged in to face off with Bruiser.
Sledge hit Bruiser with a Blue Thunder bomb, but then Black came in and took down Sledge with a thrust kick. We got our third parade of big moves in as many matches. Max and Milonas were the final two standing. Max cornered Milonas with a Vader-style forearm flurry and a corner spear. They hit another spear in the center of the ring, but then Bruiser pulled Max out of the ring and sent them into the barricade.
Milonas landed a crossbody on Black on the floor, then Flip landed a tope con giro. Bruiser climbed to the top but was taken out by Sledge, who hit a big-time Orihara moonsault onto the pile. CB wanted a dive but was cut off by Max, who suplexed him onto the pile. Flamita cut off a Black dive and looked to land a dive of his own, but he flipped off the crowd instead.
Bruiser picked up Flamita for a powerbomb, but the smaller man fought out. Flamita then landed a tornillo dive. Flip cut off an LSG springboard with a cutter, then he and Black hit a doomsday destroyer for the win.
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I normally wouldn’t include this on the report, but Riccaboni and Caprice gave an incredible impassioned speech imploring fans to buy the show that just has to be seen.
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ROH Final Battle Report —
A great, simple video package opened the show.
Dragon Lee defeated Rey Horus [11:21]
This was a great match from two of ROH’s most consistently excellent post-pandemic performers.
They performed a nice choreographed sequence early on until Lee surprised Horus with a tope out of nowhere. He dumped Horus over the barricade and drove Horus spine-first into the ring post before slamming him on the floor. Back in the ring, Horus got a flurry of offense but was immediately cut off with a spinebuster. Lee then locked on a half-crab, forcing Horus to fight to the ropes.
Lee went for the corner dropkick, but Horus landed a diving cazadora takeover and dropkicked Lee to the floor. Lee avoided a dive, but Horus kept the momentum up and re-directed with a great tope con giro onto Lee. Horus sent Lee into the turnbuckle with an overhead throw, then a single-leg dropkick got two.
Horus tried to keep up the attack but was cut off by Lee, who continued to target Horus’ back. They had a fighting spirit spot trading forearms in the center of the ring. Lee hit a snap German but ran into a discus forearm. He came back with a pump kick, but Horus won the exchange with a Spanish Fly.
Lee climbed the ropes, but Horus cut him off before he could attack. Horus hit the top-rope cazadora driver for a good near fall. Lee got the knees up on a twisting splash, but Horus countered again into a DDT for two. Lee powered Horus up into a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. He then hit the Incinerator for another close near fall.
A ripcord pump knee followed by an Incinerator to the back of Horus’ head was enough for Lee to win.
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Current IMPACT talent Eddie Edwards shared a video where he thanked Ring of Honor for giving him the chance to show what he could do inside the wrestling ring.
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Dak Draper joined commentary for this match.
ROH Television Championship four-way: Rhett Titus defeated Dalton Castle (c), Silas Young, and Joe Hendry [8:30]
This had some good action and a nice finish, but it was very much a two-in, two-out four-way style and the ref bump was contrived.
Castle immediately ran out to the crowd and celebrated. The remaining three fought it out before Castle and Young faced off in the ring. The former took Young down and then hit a nice overhead suplex and celebrated, allowing Titus to cover him for two. Titus avoided a dive from Young, but the latter redirected and took Titus out with a cannonball senton. He then hit the FYB and then the FYF on Castle, but Titus broke up the pin.
Hendry entered the fray and landed a big lariat. Titus caught a slingshot from Young and turned it into a bridging suplex for two. Castle went for the Bangarang, but Titus turned it into a roll-up for two. Castle was sent crashing to the floor, as was Young, as Titus and Hendry were the last two in the ring. Hendry caught a dive and hit a press slam on Titus. He then picked up both Titus and Young and hit a fallaway slam, but Castle stole the cover for a near fall.
Titus ran into a powerbomb from Hendry for two. Castle hit Bangarang, but there was a contrived ref bump spot where the official didn’t make contact at all — that looked terrible. Hendry hit Castle with the belt, then Draper ran down from commentary to take down Hendry. Young rolled Titus up for a near fall, then they traded forearms. Titus avoided a springboard splash from Young, then hit a straight dropkick on Young to win the championship.
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Current AEW World Champion Hangman Page sent his well wishes to Ring of Honor, saying it allowed him to travel the world for the first time.
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Johnson cut a promo before the match saying everyone who made this event possible could “get bent.”
Brian Zane joined commentary for this match.
ROH Pure Championship: Josh Woods (c) defeated Brian Johnson [12:59]
It was not a mat classic, but I enjoyed the “no amount of cheating can overcome pure wrestling” story.
Woods immediately forced Johnson to burn two rope breaks. He dominated with hard strikes and locked on a sleeper over the ropes, so Johnson dropped Woods across the ropes. He followed it up with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Woods went for another rear naked choke, but Johnson fought out and hit a springboard shoulder tackle. A rebound lariat followed for two.
Johnson hit a spike cutter with Woods draped off the apron to the floor. He climbed the ropes, but Woods popped up and tossed him to the mat and cut him off with a spear. They battled for a suplex, with Woods suplexing Johnson over the ropes, sending both crashing to the floor. They traded forearms on the outside but had to re-enter the ring to break the count.
Woods overpowered Johnson, who responded with an open hand slap. Woods came back with one of his own and locked on a standing head-and-arm choke, forcing Johnson to use his third rope break. With the official’s back turned, Johnson poked Woods’ eye and hit The Process for a good near fall.
Johnson picked up the belt and the official wrestled it away. He tried to take off the top turnbuckle pad, but Woods popped up and hit a German suplex bridge for a near fall. Johnson then grabbed brass knuckles and whacked Woods with them, but Woods kicked out again.
They fought on the top rope, but Woods locked on a front sleeper and Johnson passed out for the stoppage.
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The next legend video was from Jimmy Jacobs. He discussed how he used to room with guys like the Young Bucks, Tyler Black, and El Generico. All of them have loads of success, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Ring of Honor.
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Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor defeated Kenny King [17:47]
The “music between the notes” wasn’t really there, but the high spots were so impressive that it was impossible not to get into this.
King spat in Taylor’s face right away, so Taylor sent him to the floor and into the barricades. Taylor swung with a chair, but King avoided it. King was sent crashing to the floor with a back body drop. Taylor set up tables, but King used the time to recover and baited Taylor into a fight in the ring. Taylor overpowered King.
They fought on the top rope, where King hit an insane blockbuster through two tables to the floor. King was the first to get back to his feet, and he whacked Taylor with kendo stick shots. He forced Taylor into the corner and smacked him over the head with a trash can. Taylor caught a corner attack and slammed King onto the can.
Taylor got a measure of revenge with kendo stick shots of his own. He propped King onto a table on the floor and put him through it with a running splash. Taylor then brought out another table, propping this one up in the ring. He tried to lawn-dart King into it, but King escaped and put Taylor through it with a rolling Death Valley driver for a near fall.
Out on the floor, King bridged a ladder between the ring and the barricade. They both brought more ladders into the ring until King hit Taylor with more kendo stick shots, then Taylor did the same to King. They bridged a ladder between to propped-up ladders in the ring, and King placed Taylor onto it. He then dove off a ladder, sending Taylor through a ladder for another near fall.
Taylor caught a boot and laid in a strike combination followed by Welcome to the Land for two. They both moved to the outside and fought on top of the bridged ladder, where Taylor put King through the ladder to the floor with a package piledriver in an absurd spot. In the ring, King kicked out at two for a great false finish.
It appeared as if Taylor was hesitant in using a chair, so King implored him to “f*cking do it,” and Taylor obliged. The Marcus Garvey driver onto the chair followed for the win.
– After the match, all of ROH’s Black talent stood together in the ring.
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AEW superstar CM Punk was the next alumni video. He said ROH felt like lightning in the bottle, and told people to not be sad it’s over, but happy it happened. The business today would be drastically different if ROH didn’t exist.
The crowd had a tough time getting into it after the wild previous match, but I thought these women were great here. The crowd loved Willow.
Willow out-wrestled Rok-C early on as she had the champ scouted. Rok-C came back with moonsault knees, but Willow reversed them and tried to catapult Rok-C into the ropes. Rok-C blocked it and went for an escalera but was smashed with a corner splash from the challenger. Willow followed it up with a cannonball.
Rok-C countered the third of the Three Amigos, but Willow kept the arm clutched into an Olympic slam for two. The champion laid in forearms and followed it up with an escalera hurricanrana. A Thesz press followed by a Russian legsweep got two for Rok-C. She locked on a crossface, but Willow turned it into a cradle for two.
Willow sent Rok-C flying with a pounce. They traded stiff strikes to each other’s chests. Willow countered the Code Rok into a belly-to-back piledriver for a near fall. Willow climbed the ropes, but Rok-C cut her off and turned it into a powerbomb for two. Rok-C then climbed the ropes, but Willow popped up and turned it into a superplex. She then hit a top-rope moonsault for a good near fall.
Rok-C escaped the Babe Bomb and caught a kick, returning fire with a rising knee and a spin kick. The Code Rok followed for the win.
– After the match, Deonna Purrazzo came out with the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship. She said that if she beats Mickie James for the Knockouts championship, she will challenge Rok-C in a “winner takes all” match.
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Adam Cole was the next alumni to send in a video. He said that ROH changed the landscape of the industry, and he became the wrestler he is today thanks to ROH.
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VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Homicide, Tony Deppen) & Rocky Romero defeated EC3 & The Foundation (Tracy Williams, Taylor Rust, & Eli Isom) [13:32]
This was ROH Appreciation: The Match. The post-match angle was cool but also fairly baffling.
Rocky and Williams started things off, with the former quickly going for the forever clotheslines and then the cross armbreaker. Next in was Deppen and Rust, who performed a technical exchange with some nice cradles. Deppen hit both Williams and Rust with a double hurricanrana, then tagged in Homicide, who immediately ran into a crossface. EC3 tagged in, and he and Homicide traded strikes. King tagged in and he and Homicide worked together to take down EC3.
The last man to enter the match was Isom. He went for a sleeper by hopping on King’s back, but King powered out of it and hit a big running senton for two. Homicide tagged in and it was noted that he was wearing the exact same jumpsuit he wore on the very first ROH event. Isom tried to escape out for a tag and eventually did reach EC3. Deppen tried to take out EC3 with a dive, but EC3 caught him with a suplex. Homicide then took out EC3 with a tope.
Isom landed an Orihara moonsault onto Deppen and Homicide. Rust and Williams cut off a King dive and hit Total Elimination, but King popped right back up and sent them to the floor. He then hit a tope suicida on everyone. Back in the ring, King hit a big lariat on EC3 followed by a piledriver for two. Rust and Rocky had an exchange where Rust powerbombed Rocky onto chairs.
Back in the ring, Homicide attacked EC3 with a fork. Isom and King tagged in, and the latter hit a muscle buster EC3 then hit a piledriver. We got a parade of big moves that all had references to finishers from ROH legends like CM Punk, Jerry Lynn, Homicide himself, Brian Kendrick, Nigel McGuinness, El Generico, KENTA, and Bryan Danielson. They were too fast to list, but that was an awesome sequence.
Isom and Homicide faced off in the center of the ring, and Homicide hit the Cop Killa for a great near fall. Isom hit Homicide with a superkick, but King tagged in. King went for a big lariat, but Isom collapsed. King caught a lariat attempt and hit Isom with the Gonzo Bomb for the win.
– EC3 and Isom were the only two left in the ring. EC3 cut a rather obtuse promo, saying they paid homage to the past, and told Isom to stand. He then said that there is no honor in this ring, as it’s just corporate wrestling. They give everything to the ring, and they get nothing. Brian Johnson and Dak Draper came out and were heated. EC3 said this was a call to arms, saying they could take back this industry block by block. He told them all to use their power and said they could use their freedom.
Two wrestlers (one of whom was Wesley Blake) appeared on the ramp, then EC3 said “Free the Titan,” and Adam Scherr (the former Braun Strowman) stormed out. EC3, Scherr, and the two goons sent Isom, Johnson, and Draper packing.
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The Young Bucks reminisced on their time in Ring of Honor.
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Cary Silkin joined commentary for this match.
ROH World Tag Team Championships: The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) defeated The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett) (c) [15:56]
This was an absolutely stellar tag team match and unquestionably the best match of the night thus far. I’d be shocked if there’s a better Matt Taven or Mike Bennett match out there. The Briscoes winning was the only possible ending here.
Jay and Taven started off, then Mark and Bennett tagged in. Bennett cut Mark off and tagged in Taven, who dropkicked Jay to the floor and then followed it up with a tope suicida. He then went for a wild dive over the top rope, but the Briscoes moved out of the way and Taven was sent crashing into his partner. Mark set up a chair in the ring and used it to hit a step-up flip dive onto the OGK.
The Briscoes isolated Taven in their corner until Taven tagged in and the OGK hit a combination for two. Mark fought off both of the OGK and hit exploder suplexes on both opponents. The Briscoes hit a quick Redneck Boogie for two. Jay was busted open. He went for the Jay Driller, but Taven cradled him for two and reached Bennett for the tag.
Bennett laid in machine gun chops and a brainbuster. He hung Jay off the apron over the floor, and Taven hit a splash all the way to the floor. Taven hit the Climax in the ring after a parade of big moves, leading to everyone being down. Mark landed a pescado to the floor and then Jay landed a tope suicida. Mark kept up the offense with a blockbuster to the floor.
Mark climbed the ropes and hit a top-rope elbow drop, but Maria pulled the official out of the ring to stop the count. Bennett accidentally speared Maria. The Briscoes wanted a Doomsday Device on the floor, but Bennett escaped and hit a piledriver on Jay. The OGK then hit an unbelievable suicide Doomsday Device for a great near fall.
The OGK hit the Hail Mary, but Jay broke up the pinfall at the last second. Jay hit Bennett with the Jay Driller, Taven hit a spinning heel kick on Jay and a running knee on Mark. Taven went for a frog splash, but Mark got the knees up and Jay hit the Jay Driller for an awesome near fall.
The Briscoes then hit the Doomsday Device for yet another close near fall. A third Jay Driller followed by the Froggy Bow gave the Briscoes the win and the championships.
– After the match, Jay said that this might be the end of an era, but it’s not the end of the Briscoes. He said any tag team could come and challenge them.
The lights went out and current AEW wrestlers and AAA tag team champions FTR showed up. They brawled with the Briscoes and security had to come out and break it up.
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Bryan Danielson was the final video message. He talked about being on the very first ROH show and said that without ROH, he wouldn’t be where he is today. He thanked ROH and its fans.
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ROH World Championship: Jonathan Gresham defeated Jay Lethal [15:11]
This was perfectly worked. Both men are ring generals, but I fear they were short on time as they had to finish by 11pm eastern. The ROH locker room coming out to watch was lovely.
Neither man could establish an advantage early on. Gresham was eventually able to dropkick Lethal to the floor and maintain control upon re-entry to the ring. They had a nice technical exchange until Lethal began to lay in chops. Lethal hit an enziguiri, sending Gresham to the floor, and followed it up with a tope suicida.
Back in the ring, Lethal caught a crossbody and hit a fallaway slam. He slapped Gresham across the face and followed it up with a leg-trap facebuster. Gresham countered Lethal Injection into an O’Connor roll, but Lethal stopped a missile dropkick. Gresham reversed a figure four into a cradle before cradling Lethal multiple other times for close two-counts.
They traded chops for a long time until Lethal hit a snap powerslam. He climbed the ropes, but Gresham rolled out of the way. They kept countering each other’s moves and we got another extended cradle exchange. Lethal got Gresham in the torture rack and rolled through with a senton. Hail to the King was next.
Lethal wanted the Lethal Injection, but his injured arm gave out. Gresham capitalized with a moonsault and went for a chickenwing, locking it on with a body scissors. As Lethal was about to escape, Gresham turned it into a cutter.
The full ROH locker room ran out to watch the match at ringside. Gresham and Lethal traded strikes in the center of the ring. Gresham popped up with an enziguiri and a snap German for two, followed by the Bayonet for two. He hit a second one for another near fall. Lethal cut him off with a superkick, but he couldn’t hit the powerbomb, and Gresham hit a third Bayonet for another near fall.
Gresham went for a fourth Bayonet but was cut off with a lariat. Gresham countered the Lethal Injection into a backslide for a near fall, then locked on the octopus stretch for the win.
– After the match, Gresham celebrated with his wife, fellow professional wrestler Jordynne Grace.
A recent addition to the AEW roster is returning to Ring of Honor to take part in Final Battle: End of an Era.
ROH has announced that Jonathan Gresham vs. AEW’s Jay Lethal will take place at Final Battle this Saturday night. Bandido was originally scheduled to defend his ROH World Championship against Gresham in the main event of the pay-per-view, but Bandido had to be pulled from the show due to testing positive for COVID-19.
The situation with the ROH World Championship will be addressed during Final Battle Hour One, which airs for free on HonorClub, YouTube, and Facebook at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday. The main card will then begin on PPV and HonorClub at 8 p.m. Eastern.
“ROH would like to publicly thank AEW for allowing Lethal to wrestle at Final Battle: End of an Era,” ROH wrote. Lethal departed ROH when he signed with AEW last month.
“This match is about more than winning or losing, more than who’s the best or what championship we hold,” Lethal said. “This match is about showing the world what this era of Ring of Honor is and I can’t wait to get back into the ring with one of the best wrestlers I know tomorrow night, Jonathan Gresham.”
Gresham and Lethal formerly held the ROH Tag Team titles with each other and have been stablemates in The Foundation. They were recently involved in a storyline where Vincent Marseglia created dissension between Lethal and The Foundation by playing a video where Lethal said that he doesn’t even like The Foundation. Lethal claimed Vincent had taken what he said out of context.
ROH is promoting that Gresham vs. Lethal will be part of a double main event at Final Battle. The other main event is The OGK’s Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. The Briscoes for the ROH Tag Team titles.
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore is hosting Final Battle. It will be the final ROH live event before the promotion goes on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022. ROH talent won’t have their contracts renewed after the PPV.
Here’s the updated card for the show.
Jonathan Gresham vs. Jay Lethal
ROH Tag Team Champions The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defend against The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
Brody King, Homicide & Tony Deppen vs. Tracy Williams, Taylor Rust & Eli Isom
ROH Women’s World Champion Rok-C defends against Willow Nightingale
ROH Pure Champion Josh Woods defends against Brian Johnson
ROH Television Champion Dalton Castle defends against Rhett Titus, Silas Young, and Joe Hendry in a four-way match
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs. Kenny King
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Moses, Kaun & O’Shay Edwards) defend against The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman & Dutch)
Dragon Lee vs. Rey Horus
Chelsea Green & The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) vs. The Allure (Angelina Love & Mandy Leon) & Miranda Alize
A new match has been added to GCW’s Blood on the Hills event in Los Angeles, California on December 17, as Jonathan Gresham will take on AJ Gray.
Gresham vs. Gray joins a lineup that also includes the GCW debut of Negro Casas, the return of PCO to the company, Bandido vs. Blake Christian, Brody King’s GCW return, plus Jigsaw’s promotional debut vs. Tony Deppen.
Gresham is currently set to challenge Bandido for the ROH World Championship at Final Battle on December 11.
Blood on the Hills will take place at the Ukrainian Culture Center in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, December 17. The show will also air on FITE TV.
Here is the lineup:
GCW Blood on the Hills, Friday, December 17, 8 p.m. Pacific time, Ukrainian Culture Center in Los Angeles and on FITE TV —
Two championship matches have been made official for ROH’s end of an era Final Battle pay-per-view.
The ROH World Championship will be on the line as Bandido defends against Jonathan Gresham at Final Battle on Saturday, December 11. An ROH Tag Team title match has also been confirmed for the PPV, with Matt Taven & Mike Bennett defending against The Briscoes.
Gresham announced last month that he was leaving ROH’s Pure division and entering the World title division. He was set up as Bandido’s challenger for Final Battle by defeating Brody King at Honor for All on Sunday.
Bandido won the ROH World Championship from Rush at Best in the World this July.
Taven & Bennett defeated Kenny King & Dragon Lee to win the ROH Tag Team titles at Honor for All. On ROH Week By Week, Taven called The Briscoes the greatest tag team in ROH history and said that, if this is the end, there would be no greater honor than facing them at Final Battle.
ROH is going on hiatus after Final Battle and taking the first quarter of 2022 to reimagine the company. Talent won’t have their contracts renewed after Final Battle and are able to work wherever they want immediately.
Final Battle is taking place at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Jonathan Gresham
ROH Tag Team Champions The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defend against The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
One of ROH’s top wrestlers has their sights set on the World title.
On Monday morning, ROH uploaded a video with Jonathan Gresham announcing that he’s entering the ROH World Championship division. Gresham had been part of the Pure title division.
Gresham lost the ROH Pure Championship to Josh Woods at last month’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. In the video where Gresham announced that he’s switching to the World title division, Gresham told Woods that he’s happy and proud that Woods was the one who dethroned him. Gresham said he feels confident that Woods will do things in the Pure division the same way that he did.
Gresham said The Foundation still needs numbers and still needs more Pure wrestlers. Woods shook Gresham’s hand and echoed Gresham in saying “I am The Foundation,” indicating that he’s joining the group. Jay Lethal, Tracy Williams, and Rhett Titus are also part of The Foundation.
Bandido is the current ROH World Champion. He defeated Rush to win the title at Best in the World this July.
Gresham’s announcement is available to watch below:
Jake Atlas, Alex Zayne, Jonathan Gresham, and Chris Bey have been added to next month’s New Japan Showdown tapings in Philadelphia. The tapings are being held at the 2300 Arena on Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17.
Atlas and Zayne were both released by WWE during last month’s NXT roster cuts. Zayne used the name Ari Sterling in WWE.
Atlas will be making his NJPW debut at the New Japan Showdown tapings, while Zayne had been part of NJPW Strong prior to signing with WWE.
Gresham is the current ROH Pure Champion. Bey is part of the Impact Wrestling roster and is a former X-Division Champion. Bey will also be appearing at this month’s NJPW Strong tapings in Garland, Texas.
Here are the wrestlers that have been announced for the October tapings in Philadelphia:
Minoru Suzuki’s upcoming tour of the United States is set to feature a match against Jonathan Gresham.
Game Changer Wrestling has announced that Suzuki vs. Gresham will take place at their “Highest in the Room” event at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Friday, September 17. The show will air live on Fite TV.
This will be the first-ever one-on-one meeting between Suzuki and Gresham.
Gresham is the current ROH Pure Champion.
In another first-time matchup, Suzuki will face Homicide at GCW’s “Get Lost Alot” at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York on Friday, September 24.
Suzuki has also been announced for GCW shows at The Showboat Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sunday, October 10 and the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 23. The names of those events have yet to be announced.
In addition to his tour of indie matches, Suzuki is coming to the United States for September and October’s New Japan Strong tapings. The September tapings are taking place at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26. The October tapings are being held at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17.
Night one of the Texas tapings will feature Suzuki vs. Fred Rosser. Suzuki & Lance Archer will then face Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs in a tag team match the next night.
Two stablemates will face off for the ROH Pure Championship at Glory By Honor night one.
ROH has announced that Jonathan Gresham will defend his Pure title against Rhett Titus at Glory By Honor night one. The show is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, August 20.
Gresham and Titus are part of The Foundation with Jay Lethal and Tracy Williams.
Titus & Williams formerly held the ROH Tag Team titles together. With Williams injured, Gresham filled in for him at ROH’s Best in the World pay-per-view earlier this month. Titus & Gresham lost the titles to Violence Unlimited’s Homicide & Chris Dickinson in a Fight Without Honor.
The Tag Team title match was Gresham’s second match of the night at Best in the World. He also retained his Pure Championship against Mike Bennett at the PPV.
Gresham became Pure Champion by winning a tournament for the title when it was reintroduced last year.
An eight-man tag match with Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Dickinson) facing La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring) has also been added to Glory By Honor night one.
Glory By Honor nights one and two are both being held at the 2300 Arena and will air live on HonorClub. Here are the updated lineups for both shows:
Glory By Honor night one (Friday, August 20) —
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Flip Gordon
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham (w/ Jay Lethal) defends against Rhett Titus (w/ Tracy Williams)
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring)
Glory By Honor night two (Saturday, August 21) —
Steel cage match: Matt Taven vs. Vincent Marseglia (Taven’s future ROH World title shot is on the line)
Chris Dickinson and Homicide captured the ROH World Tag Team titles on tonight’s Best in the World pay-per-view event.
Dickinson and Homicide defeated Jonathan Gresham and Rhett Titus in a Fight Without Honor match, with many weapons being used throughout the match. Homicide picked up the win for his team after pinning Gresham, who had already wrestled once on the show, following the cop killer vertebreaker.
The match was originally supposed to be Tracy Williams and Titus defending the titles. However, the storyline was that Williams was unable to be cleared by the Maryland State Athletic Commission. Jay Lethal was named as Williams’ replacement, but was taken out of the match by the state athletic commission after taking two Ganso bombs from Brody King earlier in the night.
The ROH TV title also changed hands on tonight’s show, with Dragon Lee defeating Tony Deppen to regain the title. Jonathan Gresham successfully defended the Pure title earlier in the show against Mike Bennett.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland and Sandy Fork, Delaware
The Big Takeaway —
Jonathan Gresham continued his domination of the Pure division by retaining his title against Fred Yehi. In the main event, the Briscoe brothers fought out their differences on their family farm.
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Quinn McKay welcomed us to the broadcast and ran down the card. Tonight’s episode features Jonathan Gresham defending his ROH Pure Championship against Fred Yehi. Also, The Briscoe brothers will face off in the “Fight on the Farm.”
McKay recapped last week’s episode and officially announced that Bandido will challenge for Rush’s ROH World Championship at Sunday’s Best in the World pay-per-view.
McKay also announced that Mike Bennett will challenge for the Pure Championship at the PPV. But Jonathan Gresham and Fred Yehi will first have to battle it out for the title on tonight’s episode.
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ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defeated Fred Yehi to retain his title (12:16)
Mike Bennett was on commentary for this match.
Yehi seemed to overwhelm Gresham in the beginning with his aggressiveness. Both men had an arm drag contest that spilled to the outside and continued on the arena floor, but it led to a stalemate. This led into a commercial break.
Back from the break and Yehi continued to frustrate Gresham with his aggressiveness. The match got really grimy at this point, with Yehi rubbing his wristband in Gresham’s face. The bout also picked up some speed, with multiple moves being countered and both guys duking it out at high speed.
Yehi’s frustration began to get the best of him, allowing Gresham to capitalize on his mistakes. Yehi missed a few key stomps, which allowed Gresham to pick his ankle and roll him into a schoolboy pin for a three count.
Gresham held the Pure title in Yehi’s face after the match, teasing a bit of a more heel-like side.
Gresham’s post-match interview featured him telling Yehi to go back to wrestling school, and telling Mike Bennett that he doesn’t have a lick of respect for him.
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Fight on the Farm: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
Both brothers started out in a ring that stands in a warehouse on their farm. Papa Briscoe seemed to be the referee for this fight.
Mark went for a dive onto Jay on the outside but was clocked with a frying pan instead. Jay then swung a shovel at Mark, but Mark moved out of the way. Papa informed them to get back in the ring, to which they did.
Mark went to the top rope and was looking for a frog splash, but Jay shoved him off the top and he went crashing into a table.
The fight took itself out of the warehouse at this point, with both guys kicking and punching each other while walking. Jay smacked Mark with a giant metal water bowl and then set up a plank of wood on the bed of his truck. Jay was looking to put Mark through this, but Mark low blowed Jay and put him through it instead.
The brothers then climbed to the top of a RV. They traded a few forearms before Jay threw Mark off the RV onto a tarped structure. Jay climbed down and tossed Mark in the bed of his truck and commanded that the cameraman ride with him.
Jay had some pop music playing in the truck, which only added to the humor. Jay drove to the other side of the farm where he said he was going to compost his brother.
Mark attacked Jay the second he got out of the truck, then clocked him with a real estate sign. Mark then set Jay on a table beneath a roofed structure before climbing the structure and hitting a splash onto his brother through the table.
Papa Briscoe helped both brothers up and walked them back to the ring. Both Briscoes eventually made it back to their feet and started slugging it out, all while Papa repeatedly screamed “You good yet?” multiple times. This was really stiff and hard hitting.
Eventually, Mark clotheslined Jay and it sent both brothers crashing to the mat. Papa Briscoe asked them one more time if they were “good yet,” to which both brothers replied yes.
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Final Thoughts —
This was a very fun episode of ROH TV leading into the Best in the World PPV, which is taking place this Sunday.
Jonathan Gresham and Fred Yehi had a fun match that I think the company will revisit in the future. While being a good match, I think they definitely left some stuff out for a potential bigger rematch down the line. I hope Yehi is a mainstay in the Pure division — he’s really entertaining.
The Fight on the Farm was just a load of fun. I know that cinematic matches are quite controversial in the wrestling world, but I personally enjoy the hell out of them. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Matt Taven/Vincent cinematic match back at the 19th Anniversary PPV, this was really fun and had some great spots involved. Adding Papa Briscoe to the equation only made for a more enjoyable time.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of TV is worth your while. The scale is as follows:
Must-Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommended Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Go Out Of Your Way
