Quinn McKay joined us from the ROH studio and revealed that this week’s episode of TV is themed as a bonus prior to the Death Before Dishonor show, as the main event features a World Tag Team Championship match with the current champions Chris Dickinson and Homicide defending against Kenny King and Dragon Lee.
McKay revealed that The Briscoes vs. ROH World Champion Bandido & Rey Horus and Josh Woods vs. Will Fererra are also scheduled for the show.
**********
The Briscoes defeated ROH World Champion Bandido & Rey Horus (12:10)
Bandido and Jay started off the match. Jay tried to wrestle Bandido to the mat, but the “Most Wanted” would respond with a handspring arm drag. They would trade some more moves but eventually came to a stalemate that led into a commercial break.
When the broadcast returned from the break, Jay and Mark were isolating Rey Horus in their corner. The match would spill to the outside where both luchadors were thrown into the barricade. Mark would toss Bandido back in the ring and began draining the stamina of the world champion.
The match broke down eventually and everybody got to hit their big move, but it left all four men on their backs in the middle of the ring. Bandido was the first man up and he immediately caught fire, hitting a fosbury flop on Jay Briscoe on the outside. Bandido was down on the outside which allowed Mark to scoop up Horus and give time for Jay to climb to the top rope and hit a doomsday device for the win.
**********
Josh Woods defeated Will Ferrara (w/ Eric Martin) in a Pure Rules match (6:18)
Jonathan Gresham joined commentary for this bout.
Woods virtually had control of Ferrara for the entire duration of this match. Ferrara had a couple spots here and there, but it never amounted to anything tide-shifting.
This was a showcase for Woods headed into his Pure Title match at tomorrow’s Death Before Dishonor. He played all of his “greatest hits” and made Ferrara exhaust all of his rope breaks within the first five minutes of the match.
There was a cool spot in the match where Woods had Ferrara in a waist lock, hoisting him in the air while staring dead into Jonathan Gresham’s eyes. Woods would eventually win with a bridging German suplex.
**********
La Faccion Ingobernable (Dragon Lee & Kenny King) defeated Violence Unlimited (Chris Dickinson & Homicide) to win the ROH Tag Team titles (14:08)
King and Homicide started off the bout. King had Homicide in an arm lock headed into a commercial break.
When the show returned, Lee and Dickinson tagged themselves in. They had a great, counter-based exchange that led to Dickinson getting the upper hand. The match broke down shortly after. Lee and Homicide would be the legal men after the smoke cleared.
King and Lee hit a few double team maneuvers after they took Dickinson off the apron. LFI had a stranglehold on Homicide and it seemed like the match would cease, but Dickinson would come in with freight train-like speed and clear the ring.
Dickinson would have another great exchange with Lee, but Lee would win the battle again. Lee tagged out to King, who hit a Royal Flush on Dickinson for a very close near fall.
The final stages of the match saw Lee and Dickinson yet again facing off. Lee would pull his knee pad down and attempt an Incinerator strike, but Dickinson blocked it and twisted his knee into a heap. Lee would recover quickly and deliver not one, but two Incinerator knee strikes, which allowed him to pin Dickinson for the win.
**********
Final Thoughts —
This was a fantastic go-home episode of Ring Of Honor television that reminded me of one thing: One hour wrestling shows are the best.
All three matches felt very different from one another, and all three matches did exactly what they were supposed to do.
I didn’t expect King and Lee to win the Tag Team titles, but the element of surprise was really nice to see. The few exchanges that Dickinson and Lee had were fantastic and I hope they face off in a singles match sooner rather than later.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of TV is worth your while. The scale is as followed:
Must-Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommended Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Go Out Of Your Way
ROH has set a date for Violence Unlimited’s first Tag Team title defense.
Homicide & Chris Dickinson will defend their ROH Tag Team titles against La Faccion Ingobernable’s Dragon Lee & Kenny King on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, September 11. Homicide & Dickinson won the titles by defeating The Foundation’s Rhett Titus & Jonathan Gresham (filling in for the injured Tracy Williams) in a Fight Without Honor at July’s Best in the World pay-per-view.
Dragon Lee & King formerly held the ROH Tag Team titles together. They were champions going into ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV this March, but Dragon Lee had to miss the show due to injury. La Bestia del Ring replaced Dragon Lee at the PPV, and he and King lost the titles to Titus & Williams.
For ROH’s Death Before Dishonor PPV, Homicide, Dickinson & Tony Deppen have issued a challenge for three Pure wrestlers to face them in a six-man tag match. The challenge has been accepted by a team consisting of one Pure wrestler from the past, one from the present, and one who is considered part of the future. The identities of Violence Unlimited’s opponents will be revealed on ROH Week By Week next Tuesday.
Death Before Dishonor is taking place on Sunday, September 12.
Two great matches carried us closer and closer to the highly anticipated Best in the World PPV on July 11.
**********
Host Quinn McKay welcomed viewers to the broadcast. She discussed the Survival of the Fittest bracket and the upcoming qualifying match on today’s edition of ROH TV: Eli Isom vs. Dak Draper.
This is a rematch of Isom and Draper’s first encounter that took place a few weeks ago that went to a time limit draw.
McKay also revealed that Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus will defend their ROH Tag Team titles against Kenny King and the returning Dragon Lee.
**********
Survival of the Fittest first round match: Eli Isom defeated Dak Draper (11:17)
Draper’s pre-match promo was simple but great. He’s very well-spoken and has grown on me a lot.
Right before the bell rang, Dalton Castle appeared on the stage. He danced his way to ringside with four “boys” and said he was just here to watch the match.
Draper booted Isom right before the match began, which gave Draper a clear advantage throughout the first portion of the match. Both guys got distracted at different times due to Castle and his Boys’ clapping profusely and walking around the ring. Draper nailed Isom with a big clothesline that led into a commercial break.
Draper is so athletic. Coming back from the break, he casually ran up the turnbuckle and hit a twisting springboard ax handle like it was nothing. Draper then took another risk and hit a crossbody that saw him and Isom tumbling over the top rope and onto the floor.
The story of this match was that Draper is performing a high-risk style in order to beat Isom, something he couldn’t do in their first encounter.
Draper continued with his big move offense throughout. Eventually, Isom sprung back to life with a stunning sidewinder powerbomb.
In the final moments of the match, Draper had a chance to put away Isom with the Magnum but instead perched him on the top turnbuckle. At this point, Castle and his boys walked out on the match, citing that Castle was “late for a meeting\.” Isom took advantage of Draper’s distraction and hit his signature Promise Brainbuster for the win.
**********
ROH Tag Team title match: The Foundation (Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams) defeated La Faccion Ingobernable (Kenny King & Dragon Lee) by disqualification (16:09)
This match was contested under Pure Rules.
Titus and King began the match, but Williams quickly made himself the legal man. Almost immediately after being put in a cloverleaf, King used his team’s first rope break.
Lee and Williams had a chopping exchange later on in the match that was great. Lee went for a top rope suicida but when Williams moved, Lee hand planted on the apron and landed on his feet.
King and Lee exchanged tags over the middle portion of the match, working on the shoulder of Williams. Williams sold the shoulder pain very well. Williams was eventually able to tag Titus in for the hot tag.
Titus came in and went crazy on King, his former tag partner. Titus hit a big powerslam on King and then went for a cover, but King used his team’s second rope break.
Williams eventually got a hot tag and locked King in a crossface, but King used his team’s third and final rope break. King showed visible frustration and looked to tag out to Lee.
All hell broke loose in the final stages of the match. Titus hit King with a hydraulic dropkick that seemed to take him out of the match. Lee was setting up for an incinerator knee strike but Williams caught him. Williams perched Lee on the top rope and was able to hit a super piledriver. Williams seemed to have the match in the bag, but King broke up the pin.
Referee Todd Sinclair rang the bell and called for a DQ. Since pinfall breakups count as rope breaks in Pure Rules tag matches and Lee/King were out of them, Williams and Titus won by DQ.
After the match, Bestia Del Ring rushed the ring and attacked Williams and Titus. Lethal and Gresham came to assist their stablemates while Violence Unlimited stood on the stage and watched.
**********
Final Thoughts —
The reason I enjoy ROH so much is just because it’s simple but sweet. The storytelling both inside and out of the ring is easy to understand. The wrestling is outstanding and they have arguably two of the top 15 wrestlers in the world on their roster in Dragon Lee and Jonathan Gresham. I’m really excited for fans to come back and hopefully, more eyes will be on the product then.
Isom vs. Draper was good, but I’m ready for the payoff with Castle’s new direction. He’s always been one of the better characters in the company.
The Tag Team title match was great as well, and I’m intrigued to see where they go next with the titles. It does seem like King will get booted from the group sooner rather than later, as he has cost LFI a lot of opportunities.
Two championships changed hands during tonight’s ROH 19th Anniversary show.
Tracy Williams walked out of tonight’s show a double champion. He defeated Kenny King to win the Television championship for the first time. King was defending the title for Dragon Lee, who was unable to compete following minor surgery for a broken eardrum. This ends Lee’s run after over 470 days with the title, winning it at Final Battle 2019.
The ROH World Tag Team titles also changed hands, with Williams and Rhett Titus defeating Bestia del Ring and Kenny King. Bestia replaced Dragon Lee, who was also one half of the Tag Team champions. Titus submitted Bestia with a full nelson to win the match and the titles.
After the match, Bestia and King confronted manager Amy Rose, blaming her for the loss after the referee took away a steel chair she tried to introduce into the match. She gave the middle finger to King and started to leave, but King grabbed her and told her that she was done, allowing Bestia to spear her.
The Big Takeaway: Dak Draper defeated Fred Yehi, Tony Deppen upset ROH World Tag Team Champion Kenny King, and Flamita defeated Flip Gordon.
The broadcast began with Quinn McKay checking in from the studio. She previewed the three matches that are set to take place tonight and played a clip of Jay Lethal’s comments after winning the number one contendership to the ROH World Championship.
Lethal said despite losing the ROH Tag Team titles, he has a chance to redeem himself at the upcoming 19th Anniversary PPV. Lethal also hinted at the rest of The Foundation being involved in championship matches at the PPV, citing that they have a chance for a “gold sweep”.
McKay revealed later that Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams will challenge Kenny King and Dragon Lee for the ROH World Tag Team titles at the PPV.
*****
Dak Draper had pre-match comments. Draper said he respects Yehi for not letting his success get to his head, but can’t say the same for himself. Draper laughed about letting it go to his own head and called it a good thing. He finished off the promo by saying he eats success for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Fred Yehi reflected on his losses in ROH. Yehi said that if he doesn’t win, he doesn’t “eat”. Yehi then acknowledged that Dak Draper is on a bit of a tear, but asked if he was ready for a hungry savageweight.
Dak Draper defeated Fred Yehi in a Pure Rules match (11:15)
Yehi and Draper adhered to the Code Of Honor.
Both men jockeyed for a position for a good minute before coming to a stalemate. Draper eventually picked Yehi’s leg and tried to keep him grounded but it didn’t work. Yehi had a moment of offense with a few chops that took Draper off his feet. Yehi remained in control as a commercial break ensued.
Over the break, Draper retained control. Draper hit Yehi with a beautiful tilt-a-world power slam. Draper tried to capitalize but Yehi answered with a series of strikes that brought him to the ground yet again. Yehi attempted a Koji Clutch, but Draper denied it. The two men made it back to their feet and Draper nailed Yehi with a closed fist strike (which is illegal in Pure matches). Draper was issued a warning from the referee. Draper took advantage of a weary Yehi and hit a sloppy-looking Magnum K.O for the win.
******
Quinn McKay had a pre-match interview with Tony Deppen. Deppen said that one match stands between him and being the #1 Contender for the ROH Television Championship. Deppen said he knows La Faccion Ingobernable will be lurking around the ring, but he’s ready for anything.
Kenny King also had pre-match comments. King taunted Deppen for being an “Internet” favorite and dared him to step in the ring with him. King’s work in recent months has been a delight to watch.
Tony Deppen defeated Kenny King (9:26)
King offered the Code Of Honor to Deppen but then hit Deppen with a forearm instead. King took control of the match early and dominated Deppen in the corner and on the ground into a commercial break.
Back from the break and Deppen tried to roll up King but failed. King retaliated and hit a great pop-up spinebuster for a two count. Deppen made his way back to his feet and flushed King in the jaw with a forearm, followed by a series of chops and slaps. Deppen kept the momentum going with a knee to the face that sent King reeling to the outside.
Deppen followed King to the outside and nailed him with a tornado DDT on the floor. Deppen rolled King back in and attempted a springboard dropkick, but he slipped. King then tried to hit Royal Flush, but Deppen countered and rolled him up for the 3 count.
Immediately after the bell, LFI immediately rushed the ring and attacked Deppen. Brody King hit the ring to save Deppen but Rush showed up as well, making the odds stacked against King. LFI introduced a table to the ring and put King on it. La Bestia flew off the top rope and crashed into King through the table. The segment ended with LFI standing over King
******
Flamita def Flip Gordon (10:02)
Gordon and Flamita traded open palm strikes to start the contest. They took the match to the outside quickly, with Flamita connecting with a moonsault off the second turnbuckle onto Gordon. Gordon rolled back in the ring and Flamita tried to dive onto him again, but Gordon caught him with a dropkick.
Gordon maintained control for a few more minutes, eventually powerbombing Flamita off the top rope. Gordon picked up Flamita by his mask and started to taunt, but Flamita responded by spiking Gordon with a poison rana instead. Flamita went to the top rope and hit a magnificent frog splash on Gordon, but that didn’t put away The Mercenary.
In the closing sequences of the match, Mark Briscoe appeared from under the ring and slid a chair in the ring. With the referee distracted Briscoe pulled out another chair and nailed Gordon with it, allowing Flamita to roll him up for the win.
After the match, Gordon began beating up Flamita and ripped his mask off. Gordon taunted Flamita with the mask until Bandido and Rey Horus hit the ring, standing beside an unmasked Flamita to end the broadcast.
*******
Final Thoughts:
This week’s episode of ROH TV was exactly what it seems like on paper: filler. The three singles contests were average or good, but didn’t really contribute to any storyline or hype for the PPV. Tony Deppen seemed a bit slow and as if his timing was off during his match. Kenny King has always been very hit or miss for me, but his recent reintroduction to LFI is good and works well for him. King has also teased being annoyed with LFI, so a break-up could be coming soon.
Not a big fan of Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus challenging for the ROH Tag Team Titles given the ranking system, but it fits the whole “Foundation vs LFI” vibe they’re giving off for the PPV.
ROH has announced a new contract for another member of their roster.
It was announced on Wednesday that Kenny King has re-signed with ROH. King’s La Faccion Ingobernable stablemates ROH World Champion Rush, ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee,, and Amy Rose have also re-signed with ROH, while La Faccion Ingobernable’s La Bestia del Ring has signed his first contract with the company.
King is a two-time former ROH Television Champion and a former ROH Tag Team Champion.
Ahead of December’s Final Battle pay-per-view, ROH announced that King wouldn’t be appearing on the show due to pre-travel COVID-19 testing.
Here’s ROH’s full announcement regarding King’s new contract:
Ring of Honor is pleased to announce that Kenny King has re-signed with the company.
The announcement comes on the heels of King’s fellow La Faccion Ingobernable members — RUSH, Dragon Lee and Bestia del Ring — signing new ROH contracts.
Smooth in the ring and on the microphone, King has long been one of ROH’s most complete competitors.
King is a two-time former ROH World Television Champion and former ROH World Tag Team Champion. He won the Honor Rumble at G1 Supercard in 2019 before a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.
King’s first stint in ROH was from 2007 to 2012. He returned in 2015 and has been with the company ever since.
Mark Haskins, Bandido, Bateman, Brian Johnson, Sumie Sakai, Tracy Williams, The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas), Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, and ROH Dojo trainee Sledge have also recently signed new contracts with ROH.
Changes are coming to the ROH Final Battle card due to four wrestlers being off the show.
Ring of Honor announced today that — as a result of pre-travel COVID-19 testing — Bandido, EC3, Flamita, and Kenny King will not be appearing at Final Battle. Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus were supposed to defend their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery at Final Battle. EC3 was set to face Jay Briscoe in a grudge match. King didn’t have a match announced for the pay-per-view.
ROH stated that all four wrestlers are doing well and resting at home. It was noted that all other ROH performers and staff are safely in the ROH bubble after passing their second round of tests.
Final Battle will air on PPV and HonorClub starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time next Friday (December 18). Prior to the main card starting, Final Battle Hour One will air for free on several platforms at 8 p.m. Eastern. The changes to the Final Battle card will be announced during Final Battle Hour One.
ROH’s full announcement regarding Bandido, EC3, Flamita, and Kenny King being off Final Battle is available below:
With the health and safety of Ring of Honor’s talent, staff and fans the company’s No. 1 priority during the pandemic, ROH enacted stringent COVID-19 protocols in conjunction with the Maryland State Athletic Commission.
As a result of pre-travel testing, the following performers will not appear at the Final Battle pay-per-view on Dec. 18:
Bandido
EC3
Flamita
Kenny King
All four performers are doing well and resting at home. ROH wishes them a speedy recovery and looks forward to their return to action in 2021.
All other ROH performers, production staff and general staff are safely in the ROH bubble after passing their second round of tests.
Changes to the Final Battle card given this development will be announced during Final Battle Hour One, which airs free from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern on Best on the Planet, STIRR City, Facebook, YouTube, FITE, pay-per-view and for HonorClub members on ROHWrestling.com.
The Big Takeaway: Shane Taylor defeated Kenny King in a hard hitting match, while SOS and The Briscoes had a fun, competitive tag team bout.
The show began with an Amy Rose led video package about La Faccion Ingobernable. She stated that while the world has changed, the faction hasn’t and should not be forgotten about. Rose noted that Rush is the ROH Champion and Dragon Lee is the ROH TV Champion. Rose said that ROH will belong to them when they return.
*******
Quinn Mckay checked in from the ROH Studio and ran down tonight’s show. She also showed highlights from last week’s contest between Dalton Castle and Brody King. Post match comments from King included him stating that he’s a new Brody King, and he lives by two words: Just Violence.
We then got a package hyping the upcoming tag team bout between SOS and The Briscoes. SOS told the Briscoes that their lives are in danger when they step into the ring with them.
The Briscoes pinned SOS (Jasper Kaun and Moses Maddox) (9:41)
As SOS were making their entrances, EC3 joined Riccaboni and Coleman on commentary.
Both teams adhered to the Code Of Honor.
Moses and Jay started the match off. Moses sent Jay to the mat with a running shoulder tackle. EC3 questioned whether either team actually had honor, and when Coleman asked him to define his definition of honor, EC3 said it’s undefinable. Jay tagged Mark in, who quickly took down Moses with a Russian Leg sweep. Mark threw Moses towards the ropes. Jay tagged himself in, but ran into a headbutt from Moses. Moses quickly tagged Kaun in, who steamrolled Jay with a clothesline.
Mark came off on the hot tag and back body dropped Kaun for a two count. The Briscoes performed a fluid sequence of double team maneuvers, tagging each other in and out. They positioned Kaun on the top turnbuckle, and hit a thudding double superplex off the top rope. It only warranted Jay a two count. We went to a break.
We return from break and both teams are present in the ring in the middle of a slugfest. Moses and Jay spilled to the outside, while Kaun came off the top rope delivering a frog splash to Mark, but only for a two count. Jay slid a chair to Mark, who set it up for him, which led to Jay using it to hit a diving senton on the outside to Kaun. Mark quickly recovered, went to the top rope and hit the frog splash on Moses for the win.
Both teams adhered to the Code Of Honor after the match. EC3 left the announce desk and stood with a blank face on the stage. Jay questioned why he was standing there, while Mark told him to not worry about it as they headed to the back.
*******
A video package featuring Bateman and Matt Taven aired. Bateman asked Taven what it’s like to live life being a coward. He said Taven went from winning the ROH Title at MSG to living life with a target on his back. Taven made fun of Bateman’s leader Vincent, noting that he says the word “man” obsessively. He said that’s the exact opposite of what Vincent is.
Taven said that vengeance is coming, and revenge is forever. Taven said that if he had to go through “Master Bateman” to get to Vincent then he would. Taven vs. Bateman is on tab for next week.
*******
Quinn McKay caught up with The Briscoes backstage. Mark told Jay to stop worrying about EC3, but Jay couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. Jay issued a challenge to EC3 for next week’s show.
*******
A promo video aired for Kenny King and Shane Taylor. Taylor said that pro wrestling saved his life, because his childhood was troubled with violence and drugs. He also spoke about how Keith Lee helped him tremendously.
King complained about the way he was eliminated from the ROH Pure Title tournament, stating his lawyers had sent a letter to ROH about the incident. He told Taylor that this match was strictly business, not personal.
Shane Taylor pinned Kenny King (10:14)
King offered the Code Of Honor handshake, but Taylor refused. King took early control with a shifty little kick to the head of Taylor. Taylor retaliated with a booming forearm which dropped King to the mat with ease. King brought himself back up in the corner, but Taylor charged him with a clothesline, followed by another rough shot to the head.
King finally regained some momentum, dropping Taylor in the corner following a series of knees. After both men ran the ropes for a second, Taylor took back control with a clothesline. Taylor followed it up with a leg drop to the larynx of King. Taylor backed King into the corner and began to run at him, but King sprung forward with a spinning heel kick. We went to break.
We came back from a break with King landing a massive German Suplex on Taylor, who popped right back up. He followed it up with a dropkick in the corner, only warranting King a two count. King waited for Taylor to return to his feet to attempt a pump kick, which was caught by Taylor. Taylor rolled King backwards and crushed him with a pump knee strike. Taylor followed it up with a package piledriver, but King surprisingly kicked out. Coleman noted that you can count on one hand how many people have kicked out of that. King began to talk trash to Taylor, but Taylor quickly shut him up, hitting “Welcome To The Land” for the three count.
Taylor looked into the camera and told them to get the ROH World title ready for him as the show closed.
Final Thoughts: ROH is a fantastic promotion right now. Their new format, along with just brightening up the broadcast in general, has benefited them tremendously. Shane Taylor is improving weekly, and I fully expect him to challenge RUSH at Final Battle. His friends “SOS” are a really fun team to watch as well.
I’m still not really liking the direction EC3 is going in, he really bugged down commentary for the tag match. The Taven-Vincent stuff is good as well, and I’m excited for their hopeful payoff at Final Battle.
Taylor also wrestled in two matches on NJPW’s Lion’s Break Collision series.
The Pure title tournament will feature 16 participants in total. Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Matt Sydal, David Finlay, Tracy Williams, Josh Woods, Wheeler Yuta, Rocky Romero, PJ Black, Tony Deppen, King, Castle, and Taylor are the wrestlers who have been confirmed for it thus far.
It was announced earlier this month that ROH was returning to television production and that the Pure title tournament would be a focus of the new episodes. On ROH Week By Week, it was said that the tournament will begin airing in a few weeks.
Last week, ROH revealed the rules for Pure matches:
Every match begins and ends with the Code of Honor handshake.
Each wrestler has three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls. After a wrestler exhausts his rope breaks, submission and pin attempts on or under the ropes by his opponent are legal.
Closed-fist punches to the face are not permitted; only open-handed slaps or chops to the face are allowed. Punches to other parts of the body are permitted, excluding low blows. The first use of a closed fist will get a warning; the second will be a disqualification.
As in standard ROH matches, there will be a 20-count when a wrestler is on the floor.
Outside interference will result in automatic termination from the roster for the wrestler that interferes.
There will be two blocks, single-elimination format.
Round 1 matches have a 15-minute time limit.
Block semifinals have a 20-minute time limit.
Block finals have a 30-minute time limit.
The tournament final has a one-hour time limit.
There will be three judges for each match, and time-limit draws will go to a judges’ decision.
The Pure title tournament was originally supposed to begin in April but was put on hold when ROH halted events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to international travel restrictions, originally announced entrants Yuji Nagata, Doug Williams, Mark Haskins, Slex, Joe Hendry, and Ren Narita will no longer be in the tournament.
The Pure title is returning after being out of use since it was unified with the ROH World Championship in 2006.
A future title shot will be on the line in a four-way match at ROH’s 18th Anniversary pay-per-view.
It was announced today that Dan Maff, Kenny King, Shane Taylor, and Tyler Bateman will face off in a Dealer’s Choice match at 18th Anniversary. The stipulation is that the winner will get a title shot of his choice.
Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada is hosting the 18th Anniversary PPV on Friday, March 13.
ROH’s Past vs. Present show is also taking place at Sam’s Town Live the day after the Anniversary PPV. Former ROH Pure Champion John Walters vs. Mark Haskins has been added to that event.
Here are the updated cards for both shows:
18th Anniversary PPV —
ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee defending against Bandido
ROH Tag Team Champions Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham defending against Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon)
The Briscoes vs. Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry
Adam Brooks vs. Slex
Dealer’s Choice match: Dan Maff vs. Kenny King vs. Shane Taylor vs. Bateman
Past vs. Present —
Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
Xavier vs. Jay Lethal
Generation Next (Alex Shelley & Matt Sydal) vs. Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon)
Homicide vs. Brody King
The Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes) vs. Bandido & Flamita
Doug Williams vs. Jonathan Gresham
John Walters vs. Mark Haskins
Delirious & Grizzly Redwood vs. Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry
After the participants were confirmed last week, ROH has now revealed the bracket for their number one contender’s tournament.
The left side of the bracket has PCO vs. Kenny King and Dalton Castle vs. Mark Haskins in the first round. The right side has Colt Cabana vs. Marty Scurll and Bandido vs. Jay Lethal.
The winner of the tournament will challenge for the ROH World Championship at Final Battle this December.
PCO vs. King and Cabana vs. Scurll are set for ROH’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view on Friday, September 27. Castle vs. Haskins and Bandido vs. Lethal will take place at the post-Death Before Dishonor television tapings on Saturday, September 28. Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada is hosting both shows.
ROH World Champion Matt Taven is defending his title against Volador Jr. at ROH & CMLL’s Global Wars Espectacular night two this Saturday. Rush will challenge for the ROH World title at the Death Before Dishonor PPV.
The semifinals and finals of the number one contender’s tournament are taking place at Glory By Honor at the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, October 12.
ROH has confirmed the first four participants for their number one contender’s tournament.
It was announced today that Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, Kenny King, and Marty Scurll will be participating in the eight-man, single-elimination tournament. The other four wrestlers for it will be announced tomorrow.
ROH wrote that the bracket will be revealed on Monday (September 2).
The winner of the tournament will challenge for the ROH World Championship at Final Battle, which is taking place at the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, December 13. Matt Taven currently holds the title.
The first round matches for the tournament will be held at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view on Friday, September 27 and their post-Death Before Dishonor television tapings on Saturday, September 28. Both of those shows are taking place at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas.
The semifinals and finals will then be held at Glory By Honor on Saturday, October 12. The UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana is hosting that show.
ROH was at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday for their Saturday Night at Center Stage tapings, with most of the matches streaming live on HonorClub. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were the announce team for the night. “The Genius” Lanny Poffo joined them for the main event.
Williams came to the ring in a lucha mask. Haskins has a new look and wore long tights here. Early on, PCO “malfunctioned” and did a tope to the wrong side of the ring — opposite where Lifeblood was — and smashed head-first into the floor. Hardway blood but he no-sold it.
This was so hard-hitting at times. No hesitation from anyone during the match. All the guys were pumped throughout, which you could see in there faces. PCO did lots of dives into and out of the ring. Brody King murdered Haskins with a Liger Bomb at one point. Williams was real fired up in this. By the end you could see PCO’s blood stained all over the ring.
The finish saw Flip Gordon run out and crack Williams in the back with a cane as he hit the ropes, which allowed King to spike Williams with a Gonzo Bomb for the win. Awesome match, though I sometimes worry about PCO. He looked like a mess after this.
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express came out and cut a promo pretty much saying thanks to the fans and that they’d become ROH World Tag Team Champions on Sunday in Nashville against The Briscoe Brothers.
They had a great short promo and pull apart together where The Briscoes asked if the Express hadn’t already had enough from their last match at the NWA-ROH Crockett Cup earlier this year.
Ricky Morton said there’s nothing that a good night’s sleep and a hot cup of soup couldn’t cure, and then they were all just riffing on soup until security came out and pulled the four apart.
Angelina Love (w/ Mandy Leon) defeated Sumie Sakai
Kelly Klein came out to do commentary for this match. Love ambushed Sakai before the bell. Leon interfered a bit behind the ref’s back in this. Sakai worked hard. Leon sprayed perfume in Sakai’s face while the ref wasn’t looking and then Love hit an ugly Botox Injection kick for the win.
Love and Klein exchanged words after the match.
Okumura, Felino & Silas Young defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger, Eli Isom & Ryan Nova)
This was good. Josh Woods was out with Young as his new assistant. Felino was great at times in this. Isom even more so towards the end.
They all did a big Tower of Doom spot. They showed Woods drawing stick figures in a notebook in the corner near the post ringside. Nova was impressive in this. When he went for a top rope frankensteiner, Felino countered with a super powerbomb to win the match.
Young got on the mic and called Woods a pain in the ass but said he had potential, then Woods took both the CMLL guys out. He hit a cool T-Bone suplex on Felino, with a mini-deadlift before the overhead toss.
Chase Owens defeated LSG and PJ Black in a triple threat match (winner gets a TV title shot at Honor for All on Sunday)
Lots of fast action in this. Things slowed for a second when Owens put Black in a Sharpshooter. In general, Owens really deserves more credit than he gets.
Black did a quebrada into the ring onto both guys after he’d stacked them. Black put LSG in a Japanese Swing while Owens chopped Black. Later, LSG used a 450 on Owens for two. They did a Tower of Doom spot, not even 20 minutes apart from the six-man just before.
Owens hit the package piledriver on LSG to win the match and a shot at Shane Taylor’s TV title on Sunday in Nashville.
– Dalton Castle came out wearing a wild, shiny, really colorful suit with glittery loafers. He felt ignored in ROH, like a “kiosk at a dying mall,” assuredly a mark of his real-life time spent living in upstate New York. He got a lot of chants for his shoes.
Castle said he is the most entertaining person in ROH and that he’d win the World title soon. Joe Hendry then came out — his debut in ROH. They showed a music video of him fake-playing guitar in the Highlands of Scotland as he sang a scarily catchy but awful version of his own theme song. The lyrics went something like “I believe in Joe Hendry.”
As soon as Hendry started cutting a promo, his microphone cut out. Seriously? The crowd chanted for Castle. They bantered after that and it was good.
These two could complement each other I think. Hendry in his video was waving his arms back and forth and then some of the crowd started doing it too. Hendry then said he’d be the next World Champion and threw Riccaboni a T-shirt that said “World Champ – Joe Hendry.”
Marty Scurll defeated Bandido
I was at night one of the NJPW Super J-Cup in Tacoma this past Thursday and thought this was just as good as any of those matches. At the start of this there were a ton of chants in Spanish at Marty Scurll, expletives in English.
The two had a posedown in the ring early on and the crowd was into it. Once they really started wrestling the crowd was even more into it. Scurll went into the crowd and took one of the fan’s replica belts and held it in the air, implying he wants to be the next ROH World Champion.
Bandido did a springboard tornillo and then a Fosbury Flop to the floor, which Riccaboni topped off with one of my favorite calls of the year: “The Fosburys taste like Fosburys!” — for all the Willy Wonka fans out there.
Later, Bandido did his top rope moonsault powerslam to Scurll and it looked awesome — the crowd chanted “holy sh*t.” It was over after Scurll hit a modified cradle piledriver and the Black Plague on Bandido. Scurll won. Really good match.
– Lanny Poffo came out to do commentary and threw Frisbees into the crowd before he joined Riccaboni. He said the performers of this generation were much better than the ones from his generation. Poffo was critically slammed for his short time on the NJPW English announce team last year.
ROH All-Stars (Rush, Jeff Cobb, Jay Lethal & Kenny King) defeated ROH Champions (The Briscoes, Matt Taven & Shane Taylor) in an elimination match
King and Lethal got into it before the match started. They brawled on the floor until they were split up and settled down. Rush was the most popular guy in this match according to the crowd. There were tons of “Toro Blanco” chants at the beginning of this.
Taylor and Cobb are awesome together. Cobb at one point lifted Taven up in a one-armed suplex for about 30 seconds and then chucked him to the mat. The All-Stars spent a few minutes chopping the hell out of Taven in the corner. The Briscoes were in and out for a while and slowed things down and beat on Lethal for a bit.
I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I seem to enjoy Mr. Poffo on commentary with Riccaboni and Coleman. The stakes didn’t feel so high tonight and the way they started to gel was something I enjoyed. It’s sometimes silly but I connect with their sensibilities and it made the match fun to listen to. I’d understand how some fans may want or prefer a slightly more serious, more sportsman-like presentation.
Jay Briscoe spat at Rush and hell broke loose. Most of the wrestlers hit the floor to brawl around the ring. Jay Briscoe was rolled up by King after Jay had turned his attention to Amy Rose at ringside. Taylor later eliminated King by hitting Greetings from 216 (Bam Bam Bigelow’s old Greetings from Asbury Park).
Mark Briscoe was eliminated after being hit with the Lethal Injection, Taylor eliminated Lethal with Greetings from 216, and Taven got eliminated via DQ when he hit Rush with a chair.
My stream of the broadcast had trouble here, but Rush and Cobb were the survivors of the match after Rush hit his Bull’s Horn dropkick and pinned Taylor. ROH continued to tease Rush challenging for Taven’s World title and that Rush had just pinned the TV Champion.
Cobb offered Rush a handshake, but Rush kicked it away and bumped into Cobb as he walked out of the ring.
Final thoughts —
This was a solid show overall — nothing blow-away but impressive nonetheless. It was a much easier watch than their previous cards, and the Center Stage venue looks good on television. The smaller but more enthusiastic crowd helped a lot, too. And the best match was Scurll vs. Bandido, without a doubt.
ROH was at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Saturday night for their Manhattan Mayhem TV tapings. Six of the matches were broadcast live on the HonorClub streaming service.
Quick results —
Dragon Lee defeated Jonathan Gresham
The Bouncers defeated Soldiers of Savagery and Coast 2 Coast in a three-way match
Rush defeated TK O’Ryan
ROH World Champion Matt Taven defeated Kenny King and Jay Lethal in a three-way match to retain his title
LifeBlood (Bandido, Mark Haskins, Tracy Williams & PJ Black) defeated Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, Flip Gordon, PCO & Brody King)
The Briscoes defeated Guerrillas of Destiny in a New York City street fight to win the ROH Tag Team titles
Dragon Lee defeated Jonathan Gresham
Great opener. They shook hands before the match, but Gresham was hesitant in doing so. He tried to swing himself into an octopus hold, but the two instead went into a really quick exchange of counters and strikes and the crowd began to percolate.
Gresham has been teasing a heel turn since his match with Silas Young at the last PPV. He’s gotten way jacked since seeing him at Best in the World last month. These two had a match in NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors last month and the first few minutes of this were more heated than that one.
These two slapped the hell out of each other both on the chest and in the face until the ref turned his back and Gresham landed a very unsportsmanlike sack-tap that elicited tons of boos.
Gresham slowed things down for a while, bullying Lee and stretching him. It reminded me of Daniel Bryan when he went heel with the Wyatt Family a couple years ago, when he modified his style to make it less flashy and more mean.
Lee made a comeback and hit the Shibata running dropkick in the corner. They started trading tons of high spots and more strikes. They both wrestled on the top rope until Dragon Lee was able to land the tree of woe stomp and later an exposed running knee to Gresham’s temple to grab the win. Really good, and that’s crazy to say considering the quality of the G1 this week.
– Matt Taven came out wearing a Red Sox jersey. He recently threw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game and talked about that. He said it was the greatest moment of his life and people booed. He said tonight the rivalry between him and “that Melvin” Jay Lethal comes to an end. He said he’s going to prove the critics wrong because he’s Matt Taven. It was a good quick promo.
– Kenny King came out and called Taven’s jersey lame. He said he didn’t care who he beat because the last time he was in Manhattan he beat Jushin Liger and Great Muta. He insisted on being in Taven’s match with Jay Lethal. The crowd screamed “Noooooooo” and then started chanting “shut the f**k up” at him.
Taven basically said he was Matt Taven again and King called him more names as he went to the back. King was now in the ROH World Championship match.
Jay Lethal stormed out and got in Taven’s face. They got into it and started punching each other until “security” and referees came out and broke them up. The crowd was lukewarm at first but then started chanting “let them fight.”
The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas) defeated Soldiers of Savagery (Moses Maddox & Jasper Kaun) and Coast 2 Coast (LSG & Shaheem Ali) in a three-way match
The Bouncers drank beer in the crowd and Beer City Bruiser came out with a cigar in his mouth. Is he doing a Crusher parody?
LSG and Bruiser started off. Bruiser did the “I can’t bite — I ain’t got no teeth!” spot and it bombed yet again. You could here one guy chuckling as production zoomed in on Bruiser’s face.
Milonas and Moses from Sons of Savagery were in next. Milonas ironically called Moses “fat boy.” SOS are huge dudes and remind me of guys you’d see in EVOLVE or NXT these days. The big guys hoss’d out and exchanged shoulder blocks and punches.
LSG tagged Milonas as he ran the ropes and Moses then tagged out to Jasper. They later chokeslammed Bruiser through the timekeeper’s table, so referee Brian Hebner ejected them from the match. The crowd booed and started chanting “bullsh*t.” They perked back up when The Bouncers landed the Closing Time (the Smoking Gunns’ Sidewinder) on LSG to win.
Vinny Marseglia and TK O’Ryan attacked The Bouncers with chairs after the match. People booed — but aside from one girl with pink hair in the front row it felt like cold heat.
Marseglia smoked Bruiser’s cigar. The Kingdom sat on the chairs and talked about how they thought they should’ve been the Tag Team Champions long ago and then burned the cigar out on Bruiser’s chest. TK O’Ryan said he liked whiskey better. This segment was borderline embarrassing. No one seemed to care.
Rush defeated TK O’Ryan
O’Ryan stayed in the ring and called out Rush, who then made his entrance. He wrestled at Arena Mexico on Friday night. People were way into Rush but didn’t react much to O’Ryan.
O’Ryan wore new tights tonight so I guess he’s updating his look. The crowd was really quiet when he was on offense unless he cued the audience to boo for him. He did the Eddie Guerrero rolling vertical suplexes and did the Eddie shimmy to the crowd for some reason.
Rush spit on O’Ryan and started no-selling all of O’Ryan’s chops, then did a snap dragon suplex (like his brother Dragon Lee did in the match before). People started going nuts when Rush started whipping O’Ryan into the barricades.
This quickly turned into a disaster when Rush went to do a surprise back kick to O’Ryan, but Rush completely whiffed because O’Ryan was out of place. He sat up before Rush could see him and the camera caught the whole thing. Maybe on the side opposite the hard cam it looked okay because Rush smacked his thigh — but wow, that didn’t look good.
Rush then tried doing a belly-to-belly into the bottom turnbuckle, but it looked atrocious and O’Ryan bumped short and on his side. The crowd barely reacted. Rush obliterated O’Ryan with the Bull’s Horns for the win moments later. It looked crazy. He was extremely over with this crowd, but they really didn’t care about O’Ryan and it was stark.
Rush posed with fans in the front row and did the LIJ pose. One “fan” wearing a glittery Pierroth mask attacked him. It was Dalton Castle and they did the Jericho/Rey Mysterio or Jericho/Naito angle. Castle did his own Bull’s Horns and took the mask off before they cut to a promo package about Jay Lethal.
ROH World Champion Matt Taven defeated Kenny King and Jay Lethal in a three-way match to retain his title
Alex Shelley was on commentary for this match. They played up Lethal’s ties to NYC and how bummed out he was to lose the ROH title at MSG. Half the crowd was for Lethal and just about half were for Taven, but everyone seemed to hate Kenny King.
Once this got going, it was pretty good. It didn’t feel like there were any awkward transitions between any of the guys. King was a little clumsy in how he does some moves. He makes up for what he lacks in the ring as a decent heel and his ability to rile the crowd up.
Taven and Lethal started slapping each other in the corner. King broke things up and then he and Taven got into it. King was trapped in the corner when Lethal put Taven in a tree of woe and dropkicked Taven, then King. Taven and Lethal went pretty hard at each other and it looked real crisp.
King later took both Taven and Lethal out with a double lariat and everyone sold on the mat after that. King then did a capoeira kick to Lethal on the apron and Taven dropkicked king to the floor. Taven did a few dives, then Lethal did a few too. The crowd really heated up here. The rhythm was sort of fractured before but from here it felt like things began to cook.
Taven frog splashed Lethal as he tried locking on a figure four on King. All three traded submissions and about three guys in the crowd chanted “fight forever.”
King landed a double blockbuster for two on both Lethal and then Taven. When Lethal hit the Lethal Injection on Taven, the place actually went nuts. It’s so strange because they weren’t making a sound just a few seconds earlier.
King snuck in and landed his version of the Lethal Injection and a Royal Flush on Lethal, but Taven came from the corner and spiked King with the Climax. He then pinned Lethal to win the match. This was pretty good.
LifeBlood (Bandido, Mark Haskins, Tracy Williams & PJ Black) defeated Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, Flip Gordon, PCO & Brody King)
Good match with an excited crowd, especially towards the end. Villain Enterprises all came out in gear that looked like a steampunk remix of Demolition’s old ring gear. Williams and Scurll were in first. The crowd was hot for Scurll and chanted his name over and over. All four got in the ring and squared off a minute later.
Bandido and Gordon were in next. Ian Riccaboni said these two could be a main event anywhere. I think that might actually be true. Gordon tagged out to King, who did crazy lucha spots on the ropes.
Haskins and Scurll were solid together. Bandido later dove off the top rope and double-stomped Scurll’s left arm.
Later, King did a huge tope con giro to the floor, then Scurll back body dropped PCO onto everyone else outside. The crowd was freaking out. PCO looks huge and was great here. He has the one-strap top, old school style.
Bandido legitimately caught PCO mid-air and powerslammed him. What the hell? Then he did a dive from the top to the floor and Colt Cabana said he didn’t even know that was a move. I didn’t either. It was a crazy twisting delayed moonsault thing. He’s nuts.
PCO did a giant moonsault onto everyone and the place lost it. Bandido did a running Canadian Destroyer, but the timing was botched and PCO landed awkwardly near the edge of the apron.
King went on a tear and almost pinned Haskins when everyone started chanting “This is awesome.” Bandido hit the 21-Plex and Black landed a 450 to win the match. Black celebrated with LifeBlood afterwards.
The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe) defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) in a New York City street fight to win the ROH Tag Team titles
This was relentless. Wow. The crowd chanted “G-O-D” over and over when Tonga and Loa came to the ring. They sounded like the biggest stars on the show so far. People started chanting “New Japan” when they stepped through the ropes. Yikes.
When the bell rang, things got out of control quickly. This all felt like FMW meets Crossfit, if that makes any sense. There were always at least three chairs in the ring at all times.
The Briscoes pulled out a bunch of weapons from under the ring. They got into a rapid-paced brawl and didn’t let their feet off the pedal until the finish. Tonga did a crazy missile dropkick on the floor and landed on his back.
They beat the tar out of each other with chairs and kendo sticks. Mark Briscoe put Loa through a table, or rather down onto it, and onto the floor. Loa later body slammed him through the table and finally split it into pieces.
This just never let up. Loa dropped Mark off the apron onto a pile of chairs on the floor. Loa destroyed him with chair shots. This all had the same vibe as Jon Moxley’s G1 matches this week, raw and violent with none of the guys in the match holding back in the least.
Guerrillas of Destiny super powerbombed Mark onto Jay Briscoe off the apron through a table and the crowd freaked again. As if things couldn’t get more nuts, Mark dragged a ladder out from under the ring. Jay was cut open and was juicing everywhere.
Just as Loa and Mark were atop the ladder, the HonorClub stream cut out. It wouldn’t be a proper HonorClub show without the stream going out. Thankfully it didn’t miss the absolutely most insane finishing spot I’ve seen all year.
Mark and Tonga fought on the top of the ladder and there was a table set up in one corner of the ring. Jay came from underneath Tonga and put him on his shoulders and they did a high-angle Doomsday Device through said table and got the win. It looked crazy. The Briscoe Brothers are now 11-time ROH Tag Team Champions. Well deserved.
We’ll be back tomorrow covering ROH’s next HonorClub show, Mass Hysteria.
From the Odeum in Villa Park, Illinois, Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana called the action.
Flip Gordon defeated Karl Fredericks
Some chain wrestling started the match until Gordon used a handstand to catch Fredericks in a hurricanrana that sent him to the floor. Gordon followed that up with a suicide dive onto Fredericks.
After the commercial, Gordon nailed a Pele kick — but Fredericks then caught Gordon off of a springboard into a spinebuster. Fredericks earned a few near falls. Gordon fired back, but he ate a big dropkick from Fredericks.
Again Gordon fired back and then nailed a springboard dropkick and a springboard neckbreaker. Fredericks ate a big superkick, which allowed Gordon to complete a wheelbarrow roll through into an STF submission. Fredericks tapped out immediately.
– A recap of Matt Taven defeating PCO to retain the ROH World Championship aired. It featured a sunset flip powerbomb from Taven onto PCO on the outside and a railroad spike to the eye of PCO.
– Another recap aired — this one was of Shane Taylor winning the ROH TV title from Jeff Cobb by stealing the pin on Brody King after Cobb had hit the Tour of the Islands.
– A third recap aired of Kenny King winning the Honor Rumble and talking about his suffering eye site from the Great Muta mist. King said he would make Jay Lethal “bend the knee.”
– Jeff Cobb came out for an in-ring promo. He said he wasn’t there to ask for his rematch with Taylor. He said he wanted Taven instead.
This brought Taven out onto the ramp with a microphone. Taven told Cobb to relax. He proclaimed that he is the best ROH World Champion in history and he fears no man. Taven said that he’d be willing to defend the strap anywhere, anytime — but just not tonight. He then chucked his mic at Cobb and walked away.
– Kenny King was backstage singing. He said that his eyes were healed and that he doesn’t care that ROH officials made it a best-of-three series with Jay Lethal. He told Lethal to get out the broom because it was going to be a clean sweep.
– Silas Young came out to the ring with a microphone and Baxter Bellafonte in tow. Young said that he was going to put on a seminar. He asked Bobby Cruise to get in the ring and hold the mic.
Young then applied a wrist lock and an arm lock to Bellafonte while talking about the holds being applied. He then fish hooked and eye gouged him. He showed what it would take to get disqualified using those two moves. Then he said that another move that could get you disqualified would be a low blow. He kicked Bellafonte in the groin. Young left, but not before threatening Cruise.
Kenny King defeated Jay Lethal in the first match of their best-of-three series
This match took a while to get started as King kept stalling. Eventually, King hit a single-leg takedown and a shoulder tackle. King countered a hip toss and cartwheel dropkick into a submission hold. King cut off Lethal and managed to stay one step ahead for the first part of the match.
However, arrogance got the better of King. It allowed Lethal to dropkick King off the apron to the floor. Lethal went for his patented suicide dives, but King caught Lethal on the first attempt, then slammed Lethal’s back into the ring post. From that point, King went to work attacking the back of Lethal.
After the final commercial, King used an eye poke to keep the advantage. Lethal managed to connect with a few chops, but he ate a dropkick and was sent to the floor. King said he was going to do Lethal’s dives but faked out the crowd. Instead, he went out to the floor and Lethal caught him with a DDT.
Both men crawled into the ring. A crazy brawl ensued with Lethal getting the better of the exchange. This time, Lethal managed to use his hip toss dropkick effectively and sent King to the floor. Lethal followed it up with one suicide dive. He tossed King back in and went up top. He then nailed the big elbow from the top turnbuckle, but it only got a two count.
With Lethal in control and looking for the Lethal Injection, King grabbed ahold of Lethal’s tights and connected with his reverse knee and DDT combo. He covered Lethal but only got a two count. He stood Lethal up and hoisted him up for the Royal Flush, but Lethal landed on his feet and hit a pump kick and a spinning wheel kick.
Lethal went for the Lethal Injection again, but King evaded twice. Lethal nearly ran into the referee, which caused the ref to turn his back. This left the opening for King to kick Lethal low and then hit his own version of the Lethal Injection for the victory. King leads the series 1-0.
