On ROH TV this week, Danielson and ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta issued a challenge to FTR and Briscoe. It does not appear Yuta will be in the match, however.
In issuing the challenge, Danielson noted that his only singles match against Jay Briscoe took place at Final Battle 2003. He also mentioned Jay Briscoe’s last match in ROH was at Final Battle 2022 when he and his brother wrestled FTR in a dog collar match.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. TBD
Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor
I Quit match: Ethan Page vs. Tony Nese
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Bryan Danielson vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) & Mark Briscoe
Bryan Danielson has issued a special challenge to FTR & Mark Briscoe for Final Battle.
Appearing on Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode, Danielson & Wheeler Yuta of the Blackpool Combat Club laid out a challenge to FTR & Briscoe for a trios match at the Friday, December 15 event.
In issuing the challenge, Danielson spoke about facing the late Jay Briscoe for the only time at Final Battle 2023, and how Jay had his final ROH match at last year’s event in a dog collar bout with Mark against FTR. Danielson said that in honor of Jay, he was laying out the challenge for Final Battle for three members of the BCC to face FTR’s Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler, and Mark on next Friday’s show.
ROH has yet to officially announce the bout, or which of BCC’s four members (Danielson, Yuta, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli) will take part in the contest.
Here is the current official lineup for Final Battle which airs at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, December 15 on Honor Club:
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. TBD
Mark Briscoe says he’s feeling great ahead of his match against Jay White on AEW Dynamite.
Briscoe returned to the ring on Saturday at AEW Collision. It was his first match since having knee surgery in July. He recently told Sports Illustrated that he had been dealing with the injury for five years.
“I was changing one of our baby’s diapers, and that knee went out on me,” said Briscoe. “The pain was so sharp, it dropped me.”
“This has been ongoing since 2018,” he continued. “Me and my brother were going over for the CMLL Grand Prix. We’d gone over the previous year, and this was the second year in a row we were going. Before we left, I remember a match against Jay Lethal, it may have been a six-man, and I tweaked it.”
“I didn’t make it to the CMLL Grand Prix, but I was back within about a month–I got a cortisone and a knee brace, and I kept rolling,” Briscoe added. “This June, I had the Concession Stand Match with Jarrett, and it was about the time they announced it was me vs. Claudio at the summer pay-per-view.”
“I get home, had the sharp pain when I was changing the diaper, and then that started happening multiple times a day and my knee kept locking up.”
Briscoe would eventually be diagnosed with a torn MCL, torn PCL, and torn meniscus. He was pulled from his scheduled match with Claudio Castagnoli at ROH Death Before Dishonor. Castagnoli ended up successfully defending his title against PAC on the show.
“I apologized to Tony Khan, but he wasn’t mad,” Briscoe said. “Tony hooked me up with the Jaguars’ team doctor. I had arthroscopic knee surgery to clean it up, and that’s when they found a floating piece of cartilage that was causing the problem. Now I’m feeling great.”
Mark’s brother Jay was killed in a car accident on January 17, 2023. He says there are reminders of him everywhere, especially when he drives to the airport alone after having always done so with his brother.
“There are reminders of him everywhere, but it’s the random ones that hit me hardest,” said Briscoe. “You know what’s been the toughest? The drive to the airport.”
“At first I didn’t think about it,” he continued. “Then 45 minutes into the drive, I’d be balling.”
“I’m getting used to it. It’s like our new normal. But when something catches me off guard, that’s when it hits me.”
“It feels like he’s still with us in spirit and in our hearts,” Briscoe added. “We’ve all bonded together. In a strange way, tragedy comes with beauty. I pick up his kids for school every morning. When we’re all together, it makes my heart feel so good.”
Briscoe and his wife also recently found out they are expecting their eighth child.
“That’s right, we have baby number eight on the way,” said Briscoe. “It’s almost a whole baseball team.”
“For the first seven, it was like a World Series that went down to Game 7,” he continued. “It went girl, girl, girl, and I thought it was going to be a four-game sweep. Then we had boy, boy, boy. So it came down to a Game 7, and it was a boy. The boys took it. My wife is amazing. We have a gaggle of kids.”
A Ring of Honor TV title match between Samoa Joe and Keith Lee is official for this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite along with several other new additions.
Lee issued the challenge on Saturday’s AEW Collision in a backstage segment where Joe was recognized for being the longest-reigning ROH TV Champion ever. Joe said he had beaten everyone to which Lee retorted that he hadn’t beat him.
This will be the first time the two have squared off. They have shared the ring only once, that being in 2020 WWE Royal Rumble match.
After nine months on the injured list, Red Velvet will make her return to action as she faces Julia Hart. Velvet’s last match was in February when she lost to then-TBS Champion Jade Cargill while Hart’s recent long winning streak came to an end against current champion Kris Statlander at last month’s WrestleDream.
Also made Saturday was Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe. White is looking to continue his undefeated streak in AEW on his path to a shot at AEW World Champion MJF at this month’s Full Gear. Briscoe returned to action on Collision in a tag team match — his first in-ring action since late-June when took time off with a knee injury.
Swerve Strickland will go one-on-one with Penta El Zero Miedo after a backstage confrontation on Collision with Strickland, Prince Nana and Alex Abrahantes. The two have shared the ring several times dating back as far as 2015 in Lucha Underground. This will be their first-ever singles match in AEW and their first since a December 2018 indie.
After a win over AR Fox on Collision, Strickland is preparing for a rematch with Hangman Page at Full Gear while Penta is coming off a three-way victory over El Hijo del Vikingo and Komander on Friday’s Rampage.
The four new additions join the previously announced World title match between champion MJF and Daniel Garcia.
Here’s the current lineup for Portland, Oregon:
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Daniel Garcia
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Keith Lee
Mark Briscoe made his return to AEW TV on Rampage.
Kip Sabian was in the ring running down Philadelphia sports teams on Friday when Briscoe made his return to AEW. Sabian confronted Briscoe, but was quickly taken out.
Briscoe had been out of action since July with a knee injury that required surgery. He was previously set to challenge Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Championship at that month’s ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. However, just days prior to the match it was announced that Briscoe was out. Castagnoli instead successfully defended the title against PAC.
After his brother Jay Briscoe’s death in January of this year, Mark Briscoe has continued to wrestle for both ROH and AEW. Originally, the Briscoes were banned from AEW television by Warner Bros. Discovery due to homophobic comments Jay Briscoe had made years prior. That ban was lifted following Jay’s death.
At ROH Supercard of Honor in April, Briscoe unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the ROH Television title.
Mark Briscoe has been pulled from his challenge of Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli at next Friday’s Death Before Dishonor.
ROH head Tony Khan tweeted Thursday that Briscoe “cannot be cleared” for the match. Fightful later reported Briscoe suffered “a serious knee injury that will likely require surgery.”
According to Khan, they “will address Claudio’s ppv title challenger next week, following the highly anticipated Blood and Guts event on TBS.”
Briscoe last appeared in a late-June ROH on HonorClub three-way, picking up a win over JD Drake and Tony Nese in three-way from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He had won seven straight heading into next Friday.
The pay-per-view is set for Trenton, New Jersey, at the CURE Insurance Arena. As of this writing, no other matches were officially announced for the PPV other than a Samoa Joe TV title defense that was revealed during their Thursday HonorClub show.
Castagnoli will be looking for his ninth successful defense.
A concession stand match, as well as a TBS title defense, are set for this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
During Saturday’s debut of AEW Collision, Jeff Jarrett challenged Mark Briscoe to a concession stand brawl. Jarrett, his wife Karen, and Jay Lethal faced Mark Briscoe, Papa Briscoe, and Aubrey Edwards in a mixed tag match on Rampage. In his promo, Jarrett brought up the Tupelo concession stand brawl back in the Memphis territory and said there would be no Karen or Dutt this Wednesday, but only himself and Briscoe.
A match for the TBS Championship was also set with champion Kris Statlander defending against Taya Valkyrie. The two exchanged words on Rampage with Valkyrie accusing Statlander of stealing her thunder when Statlander defeated Jade Cargill for the title at Double or Nothing.
The company also announced a “blind eliminator tournament” for Wednesday, where the winners will get a shot at the AEW Tag Team titles. Neither participants in the tournament, nor the format, were announced.
Minoru Suzuki will also make his return to AEW, teaming with Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara against Action Andretti, Darius Martin & AR Fox. On Dynamite this past week, Jericho suggested he and Guevara team with one another after tensions started to flare between the two.
Here is the updated lineup for Wednesday’s Dynamite:
TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Taya Valkyrie
Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe in a concession stand brawl
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki vs. Action Andretti, Darius Martin & AR Fox
Blind Eliminator tournament for an AEW Tag Team title shot
The Hardys vs. The Gunns
Orange Cassidy & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Daniel Garcia
Two title matches will headline this Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub.
In one, ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Matt Sydal after Sydal called out Joe on last week’s show. Joe has been champion for more than 400 days and is looking for his 11th title defense.
In the other, ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) will defend against AR Fox, Darius Martin & Action Andretti in hopes of getting their third defense.
In a Proving Ground match, ROH Women’s Champion Athena will face Trish Adora and look to continue her long winning streak that dates back to late last year.
Stu Grayson will continue his run with The Righteous’ Dutch and Vincent as they face former Six-Man Tag Team Champions Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brandon & Brent Tate).
Here’s the full lineup taped recently in Orlando, Florida:
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Matt Sydal
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) defends against AR Fox, Darius Martin & Action Andretti
ROH Women’s Champion Athena vs. Trish Adora in a non-title match
The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) and Stu Grayson vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brandon & Brent Tate)
Iron Savages (Bronson & Bear) vs. Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
The respective TV Champions from Ring of Honor and NJPW will team up on this week’s ROH on HonorClub TV.
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe and NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will face Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal where if Daniels and Sydal win, they earn TV title shots of their own.
Thursday will feature two Proving Ground matches as ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will face Serpentico while ROH Women’s Champion Athena takes on Promise Braxton. If either challenger wins or survives the time limit, they will earn a future title shot.
Ahead of his special referee gig at Sunday’s Double or Nothing, Mark Briscoe will face JD Drake while new NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale will take on Hyan.
The 19-match lineup will also feature former ROH Women’s Champion Mercedes Martinez against Dream Girl Ellie, and ROH Tag Team Champion Penta El Zero Miedo going one-on-one with Slim J.
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Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, and Nigel McGuinness are on the call for this supersized edition of ROH on Honor Club, coming from the set at Universal Studios.
Mark Briscoe defeated JD Drake (w/Anthony Henry)
The WorkHorsemen continue to impress in singles matches. They have made themselves highlights of these Honor Club shows. This was a great singles match to start off this week’s show.
Briscoe started the match by opening himself up for a chop, which started a chop battle that Briscoe won before booting Drake into the corner. The announcers talk about Briscoe’s role as guest referee for the AEW Tag Team Title match at Double or Nothing as Drake threw Briscoe across the ring. Briscoe came back and sent Drake to the floor. Briscoe booted Drake off the apron before hitting a corkscrew senton to both Workhorsemen on the floor to a big reaction.
Back in the ring, both men traded slaps. A technical error shortly killed my feed here, but it came back quickly to Drake clubbering on Briscoe in the corner while talking trash to the crowd. Drake hit a Bossman Slam for a nearfall, following it with a bottom rope Vader Bomb for another nearfall. Drake brought Briscoe to the top rope, but Briscoe fought him down with chops before hitting a missile dropkick.
Briscoe chopped Drake into the corner before bringing him to the top rope. Drake blocked the Iconoclasm but ran into the Uranage from Briscoe for a nearfall. Briscoe called for the Jay Driller, but Henry interrupted him from the apron. Briscoe took Henry down with a baseball slide, but Drake took Briscoe down with a rebound forearm. Drake hit a moonsault in the ring, but Briscoe kicked out at two.
Drake went for the Jay Driller, but Briscoe fought out and hit a rolling DVD. Briscoe followed it with the Froggy Bow for the win. After shaking hands with Drake, Briscoe made sure to call out Samoa Joe to the camera.
– Backstage, Dasha was with Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal. Daniels says that while Samoa Joe and Zack Sabre Jr. think they’ve thrown a curveball, they’ve put themselves on the back foot against former World Tag Team Champions. Sydal said that he felt the titles pulling him closer, and he would get to one of them before long.
ROH World Title Proving Ground Match: Claudio Castagnoli defeated Serpentico
Castagnoli toyed with Serpentico in a test of strength, but Serpentico scored with a pair of headscissors. Castagnoli rolled to the floor, where Serpentico followed him with a dive. Serpentico hit a high crossbody in the ring for a nearfall. Castagnoli dumped Serpentico to the floor, where he sent Serpentico hard into the steps.
After gutwrenching Serpentico back into the ring, Castagnoli hammered Serpentico with short-arm clotheslines. Serpentico gave him the middle finger, so Castagnoli continued with the clotheslines before hitting a measured final clothesline for the win.
Kiera Hogan defeated Vertvixen
Vertvixen looked solid here. She’s got a good look, good offense, and the crowd took to her. Hope to see more of her. Hogan as Athena’s next victim is fine enough.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena made her way to the stage to watch this one. Vertvixen took Hogan down with a dropkick, but Hogan dropped her into the ropes and hit a hip attack. Hogan hit a step-up legdrop for a nearfall before noticing Athena on the ramp. Vertvixen hit a flatliner and transitioned into a Koji Clutch, with Hogan quickly reaching the ropes.
Vertvixen hit a springboard kick for a nearfall. Hogan came back with a running forearm and a sliding kick in the corner for a nearfall. Vertvixen sent Hogan into the corner and hit a Yakuza kick before hitting the Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Hogan fought out of a hold and hit a Saito suplex for the win. She made sure to stare down Athena during the cover.
Athena and Hogan shared words before Athena piefaced Hogan over the fallen Vertvixen and exited stage left.
Kyle Fletcher (w/ Mark Davis) defeated AR Fox
Kyle Fletcher is going to be a big deal, and after the news of Aussie Open signing with AEW, his time may be imminent. This was a great match.
Fletcher and Davis came out with the IWGP Tag Team Titles that they had vacated this past Sunday. Ian Riccaboni explained that New Japan officials allowed Aussie Open to come out with the titles one last time before the new champions are crowned at Dominion.
Fox got the upper hand with an offensive flurry, ending with a clothesline in the corner and a skin-the-cat dropkick. Fletcher booted Fox from the apron before pulling him to the apron as well. Fletcher hit a side suplex on the apron, then followed it up with a bodyslam on the floor. Fletcher continued with the bodyslams in the ring, but Fox caught him with a spinning suplex.
Fox fired up, hitting the rolling cutter for a nearfall. Fox went to the top rope, but Fletcher moved out of the way and countered another cutter with a half-and-half suplex. Fletcher hit a Mafia Kick and a brainbuster for a nearfall. As the crowd chanted This Is Awesome, Fox caught Fletcher with an enzuigiri before booting him to the floor. Fox went to the top rope and hit a senton to Fletcher on the floor.
Back in the ring, Fox went to the top rope and hit the 450 for a nearfall. Fox brought Fletcher to the top rope, but Fletcher brought Fox down with a top rope bodyslam for a nearfall. Fletcher hit a running kick in the ropes before hitting a spinning Tombstone for the win.
Willow Nightingale defeated Hyan
The announcers put over Nightingale’s NJPW Strong Women’s Title win, noting that she beat Mercedes Mone to do it. Ian Riccaboni noted that Nightingale didn’t have the title with her as New Japan was getting the nameplate set on the title. I appreciate Riccaboni’s attempts to cover these continuity errors.
Nightingale was in firm control early on. Hyan ducked a body block in the corner before hitting elbows in the corner. Nightingale fought back, hitting an enzuigiri and the body block she intended earlier. Nightingale followed with a shotgun dropkick and a cannonball. Nightingale dropped the straps and hit the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett) defeated Mack Attack (Ninja Mack & Willie Mack)
Mack Attack is the kind of experimental team I want to see on ROH. Two guys not doing much on their own coming together to make a fun little team. They made a good pair here against the veterans in the Kingdom.
Willie started out with Taven, hitting several armdrags to start. Bennett and Taven took control with quick tags and fast offense. Willie fought out of a double team and powered his way to a tag. Ninja ran wild with offense on both Kingdom members. Ninja went for a Sasuke Special, but Bennett caught him and hit a German suplex.
The Kingdom blitzed Ninja with tandem offense, but Willie made sure to break up the pin after a Taven frog splash. Ninja fought his way free and made a tag to Willie, who took both Kingdom members down with a double clothesline. Willie hit corner clotheslines and a cannonball to Bennett before dropping Taven with a Samoan Drop and standing moonsault. Ninja tagged in and hit a double handspring moonsault over the ropes to both Bennett and Taven.
Ninja and Willie hit a 3D but had some miscommunication on the legal man. The Kingdom was able to take advantage, as Bennett hit a rebound forearm to Willie on the floor. The Kingdom hit the Proton Pack to Ninja to score the win.
Mercedes Martinez defeated Dream Girl Ellie
Martinez took down Ellie with a boot after some trash talk. She stomped on Ellie before hitting a side suplex. Martinez hit Ellie with short-range knees before putting her away with the Brass City Stretch.
– Dasha was backstage with Mack Attack. They hyped themselves up, saying that despite the loss, they were here to stay.
Ashley D’Amboise defeated Danielle Kamela
Kamela took control, dumping D’Amboise into the corner and hitting boots to the gut. She hit a squisher before tying D’Amboise in the ropes and kicking her repeatedly. D’Amboise traded forearms with Kamela before hitting a neckbreaker. D’Amboise hit a powerslam for a nearfall.
Kamela slipped out of D’Amboise’s grasp and hit a facebuster for a nearfall. Kamela hit another neckbreaker for a nearfall. D’Amboise fought off Kamela and hit a Burning Hammer for a nearfall. Not exactly as effective as Kenta Kobashi. D’Amboise followed up with a Uranage for the win.
Rocky Romero defeated Titus Alexander
Titus Alexander has gotten a lot of buzz on the west coast independent scene, so I made sure to watch him closely. His offense was impressive, and his selling was very good as well. He’s one to keep an eye on.
Alexander mocked Romero after a basement dropkick, then cut off the Forever clotheslines with a standing dropkick. Romero got the upper hand with a tornado DDT off the ropes. Romero landed kicks to the arm, then baited Alexander to the floor before hitting a dive. Romero hit the running Sliced Bread for a nearfall.
Alexander avoided a corner charge and hit a set of evasive kicks before landing a brainbuster for a nearfall. Alexander avoided another corner charge, but Romero caught Alexander with an enzuigiri. Romero pulled Alexander off the top rope and locked on the Diablo Armbar for the win.
Stu Grayson & The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated LSG, Marcus Kross & Vary Morales
A bit of a surprising turn here as Grayson worked well with the Righteous. This is a neat little undercard feud here with the Dark Order.
Grayson started quickly with Morales, hitting an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Morales made a quick tag to Kross, but Grayson got control of him. Dutch and Grayson hit a successful tag team combination to Grayson’s surprise. Vincent and Grayson hit another combo to Vincent’s delight.
LSG tagged in and got some offense in, but Grayson took down both LSG and Kross. Dark Order made their way to the stage as Dutch hit a Bossman Slam on Morales. Dutch and Vincent hit Autumn Sunshine on Kross before Vincent tagged in Grayson to finish the job. Grayson hit Nightfall for the win.
– Dasha was backstage with Zack Sabre Jr. & Samoa Joe. They were tense toward each other, with Sabre noting that he came to ROH to make his NJPW World TV Title the premier TV Title in wrestling. Samoa Joe said that like all of his other partners, he would have Sabre’s back tonight. I think that was sarcasm.
Shane Taylor (w/Anthony Henry & JD Drake) defeated Tracy Williams (w/Rhett Titus)
Williams and Taylor traded blows, with Taylor winning the exchange. Williams caught Taylor in an armbar over the ropes, but Taylor responded with a barge attack in the ring before dropping him with a forearm. Williams tried to catch Taylor with an armbar in the ring, but Taylor hit a side suplex out of it. Williams hit a set of strikes before dropping Taylor with a jumping DDT off the ropes for a nearfall.
Williams went to the top rope, and after fighting off an intervening Taylor, hit a frog splash for a nearfall. Williams almost had Taylor up for a piledriver, but Taylor hit a back body drop. Taylor hit a headbutt and a uranage before hitting a standing splash for a nearfall. Taylor dropped Williams with a heavy forearm before hitting the Package Piledriver for the win.
ROH Women’s World Title Proving Ground Match: Athena defeated Promise Braxton
Braxton kept up with Athena early on, but after a stalemate, Athena caught Braxton with a high kick. Athena hit a big forearm. Braxton caught Athena in an octopus hold, but Athena got out. Athena hit a gourdbuster and a superkick for a nearfall that came after some bragging.
Braxton ducked a corner charge and fired up, hitting double knees to the back of Athena for a nearfall. Athena caught Braxton with a rana into the turnbuckles, then hit a corkscrew splash over the ropes for a nearfall. Braxton hit a pair of forearms, but Athena caught her with a big shot that knocked Braxton silly. Athena locked on a Cobra Clutch for the submission win.
After the match, Athena went to do more damage to Braxton before Kiera Hogan made the save. She dropped Athena face-first on the title as was Athena’s trademark before standing tall with the title.
Dralistico (w/Jose The Assistant) defeated Tony Deppen
I’ve been hard on Dralistico ever since he came into the AEW system, but this was his best performance to date.
Deppen literally kick-started this match, booting Dralistico to the floor and hitting a dive. Dralistico sent Deppen into the post before taking Deppen around ringside and doing damage with the barricade and the steps. Dralistico hit a springboard senton but pulled Deppen up on the cover. Dralistico booted Deppen in the corner before hitting a running superkick.
Dralistico went for a powerbomb, but Deppen slid out and hit a pump kick. Deppen avoided Dralistico on a charge and hit a twisting springboard gainer to the floor. Deppen hit a double stomp back in the ring for a nearfall. They traded chops before transitioning to palm strikes and forearms. Dralistico caught Deppen with a hurricane kick, but Deppen came back with a pair of German suplexes. Dralistico hit a German of his own before hitting a superkick and a poisonrana.
Deppen got some offense in, but Dralistico tied him up on the ropes and hit a hurricanrana. Dralistico hit La Mistica and got the submission win.
– Dasha was backstage with Nick Comoroto. He didn’t understand the hype around Blake Christian, calling him All Generic. He said that no one looked like him, and that would be the difference tonight in their match. He told ROH fans not to “simp for these wimps.”
Skye Blue defeated Miranda Alize
After a ringside chase, Alize cut off Blue with a low dropkick and a DDT for a nearfall. Alize hit a facewash and a corner dropkick before hitting a butterfly suplex for a nearfall. Blue cut off Alize with an elbow before scoring a nearfall with a kick to the head. Alize hit a throwing suplex for a nearfall. Alize locked on the Miranda Rights crossface, but Blue turned it into a pinfall to get out of it. Blue avoided a corner charge and rolled Alize up for the win.
– Lexy Nair was backstage with Athena, asking her how it felt to get a taste of her own medicine. Athena said that Kiera Hogan would get her title match next week before freaking out on some nearby barricades.
Darius Martin & Action Andretti defeated Cole Karter & Zack Clayton
Clayton and Andretti started off, with Andretti using his speed to take Clayton down. He hit a corkscrew splash for a nearfall before tagging Martin. Clayton cut off Martin with a clothesline before tagging in Karter. Martin got back in control with a dropkick. Martin and Andretti pinballed Karter before Andretti hit a tornado splash for a nearfall.
Andretti lost his footing on a springboard, allowing Karter to shove him to the floor. Clayton brought him back in with an outside-in suplex. Andretti dropped Clayton with a superkick before tagging in Martin who ran wild on both men. Martin hit a facebuster for a nearfall before running into a Clayton powerslam. Karter hit a frog splash for a nearfall that Andretti cut off. Martin helped Andretti hit a tornado DDT on Clayton. Martin and Andretti then hit a pendulum slam on Karter for the win.
Blake Christian defeated Nick Comoroto
While I’m not a huge fan of Comoroto’s new character, he looked good here as the big foil to Christian’s speed offense.
Comoroto flung his sucker at Christian to start, baiting Christian into a charge. Christian avoided a corner charge by backflipping to the floor. Christian led a chase on the floor that led to Comoroto running into the stairs. Christian hit a dive to the floor and followed it with a senton in the ring. Christian went for another dive, but Comoroto caught him and threw him into the post.
Comoroto flung Christian across the ring with a suplex for a nearfall. Comoroto controlled Christian, chopping Christian down as he tried to fight back. Christian hit an enzuigiri before ducking a corner charge to get things level. Christian low-bridged Comoroto to the floor before following him with a dive. Christian hit a double stomp to Comoroto’s back before hitting a frog splash for a nearfall.
Comoroto hit Christian with a spinebuster, but Christian caught Comoroto in an inside cradle for a nearfall. Comoroto hit Christian with a reverse Attitude Adjustment for a nearfall. Christian pulled a steel chair out from under the ring. Comoroto grabbed him, but Christian threw the chair into the ring. Comoroto went for the chair, but Christian caught him with a flash pin for the win.
Diamante defeated Trish Adora
Adora caught Diamante trying to cheap-shot her on a rope break and tied her up in a submission. Diamante fought out and sent her to the apron before hitting a neckbreaker in the ropes. Diamante hit a dropkick to Adora sending her to the floor. The women traded chops before Diamante hit an overhead throw, sending Adora to the corner. She hit a basement dropkick for a nearfall.
More forearm trading before Adora threw Diamante to the mat with an arm wringer. Adora hit a spinning fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Adora went for the Lariat Tubman, but Diamante hit a neckbreaker. Diamante locked Adora in a Cobra Clutch style submission for the win.
Penta El Zero Miedo (w/Alex Abrahantes) defeated Slim J (w/Ari Daivari, Jeeves Kay & Sonny Kiss)
These jokers think they’re slick, saving the Trustbusters for the semi-main event of this extra-long show just for me. Jokes aside, Slim J is a quality wrestler, and he had a solid match with Penta here.
Penta cut off Slim J on a transition, booting him while he was upside down. Penta went for a dive, but Slim J cut him off with a forearm. Slim J dumped Penta to the floor, allowing the rest of the Trustbusters to lay the boots in while he took the referee. Slim J hit the springboard reverse DDT for a nearfall.
Penta hit a pair of superkicks and a pair of Slingblades for a nearfall. Slim J fought out of the Fear Factor and hit the running Dudley Dog for a nearfall. Slim J went for punches in the corner, but Penta kicked his leg out and hit a double stomp to the chest for a nearfall. Slim J took advantage of a slight Trustbuster distraction to hit a wheelbarrow flatliner and a leaping reverse DDT for a nearfall. Penta cut off another Slim J springboard and hit the Fear Factor for the win.
Samoa Joe & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal
This wasn’t much until the hot tag, after which this became a very fun flurry of a main event. It’s a shame that Daniels and Sydal lost because this match made me desperately want to see Sydal vs. Sabre.
Sabre started off with Sydal, who was able to match Sabre’s technical ability and hit a leg lariat. Daniels and Joe tagged in, with Joe’s tagging coming to his partner’s surprise. Daniels caught Joe with a flash pin for a nearfall, leading to Daniels and Sydal hitting a tag team combo. Joe quickly tagged back out to Sabre, but Daniels and Sydal hit him with a combination to keep control.
Sabre caught Daniels with a pair of boots before Joe booted Daniels in the ropes. Joe hammered Daniels with punches before hitting the corner enzuigiri. Sabre tagged in and stretched Daniels for a minute before tagging Joe back in. The two television champs showed off to each other, beating on Daniels in different ways. Daniels dumped Sabre into Joe and got a flash pin, but Sabre kicked out and tagged Joe in calmly. Joe hit a powerslam for a nearfall.
More quick tags, and more beating on Daniels. Daniels finally fought out, hitting an STO on Joe before tagging Sydal. Sydal ran wild with kicks on Joe, hitting a meteora for a nearfall that Sabre broke up with a neck crank. Sabre tagged in and went to work with uppercuts. Sydal turned a running uppercut into a backslide for a nearfall, then got another flash pin for a nearfall. Sydal hit La Mistica on Sabre, with Daniels catching Joe in a Koji Clutch, but Sabre got to the ropes.
Sabre met Sydal on the top rope and put him in a double wristlock. Daniels pulled Sabre out and they hit a Doomsday-style Meteora for a nearfall. Sabre countered a Daniels move and tagged out to Joe, who laid out Daniels with a lariat. Sydal took Joe out with a jumping knee, but Sabre caught Sydal and neck cranked him. Daniels hit Angel’s Wings on Sabre, but Joe hit the uranage in the corner and locked on the Coquina Clutch for the win. After the match, everyone shook hands, including the TV champions.
Two title defenses will be featured on tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub.
In one, ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe will defend against Blake Christian while in the other, ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Skye Blue.
Ahead of what could be a future ROH Tag Team title challenge, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta will face Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, Toa Liona) will face Adam Priest, Lucky Ali & Victor Benjamin.
Ahead of his challenge of AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy Wednesday, Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open will face former ROH TV Champion Tony Deppen.
Mark Briscoe, who was laid out by an accidental Dax Harwood piledriver Wednesday on Dynamite, will take on Shane Taylor.
The show will also feature Ninja Mack vs. Willie Mack, The Righteous in tag team action, Dark Order vs. The Trustbusters, and more.
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Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, & Nigel McGuinness were on the call for this week’s ROH television. This week saw Ring of Honor return to Universal Studios in Orlando, FL.
Mark Briscoe defeated Shane Taylor
Taylor threatened to beat on Briscoe like he used to do to Mark’s brother, which fired Briscoe up. Taylor cut him off before hooking Briscoe on the ropes and hitting a hanging stunner. Briscoe sent Taylor to the floor and hit a running blockbuster. Briscoe went for the chair-assisted dive, but Taylor slid into the ring and cut him off with a comebacker lariat.
Taylor kept control, using his heavy elbows to cut off Briscoe’s comeback attempts. Briscoe finally got a useful offensive combination in, laying Taylor out with a running boot. Briscoe clubbered on Taylor in the corner before hitting a Pele kick that sent Taylor to the floor. Briscoe got the chair-assisted dive the second time around.
Briscoe hit a missile dropkick off the middle rope in the ring. Taylor cut off Briscoe and went to the second rope, but Briscoe picked him up and hit a Spicolli Driver. Briscoe followed it up with a Froggy Bow attempt, but Taylor moved out of the way and hit Welcome To The Land for a close nearfall. Taylor went to the second rope, but Briscoe moved out of the way of a splash. Briscoe came back with big strikes before landing a big uranage for a nearfall.
Taylor answered with a uranage of his own for a nearfall. Briscoe escaped a package piledriver before starting a strike battle, ending with a Briscoe lariat that took Taylor down. Briscoe muscled Taylor up for the Jay Driller to get the win.
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta defeated Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams
The announcers made it clear that due to winning the Double Jeopardy match against Rey Fenix on Dynamite, Castagnoli could challenge for the titles with any partner of his choosing. The way they talked about it made it seem possible that Castagnoli could choose someone outside of the Blackpool Combat Club.
Williams and Yuta started off, with Williams catching Yuta in a Shoelace Roll submission that Castagnoli broke up. Castagnoli tagged in and took Williams down, but Williams caught Castagnoli in a quick rollup before tagging in Titus. Castagnoli stuffed an armdrag attempt and tagged out to Yuta, but Titus and Williams got a tag team combination in to isolate Yuta. Williams got Yuta in another submission. He cut Castagnoli off when he tried to break up the submission, but Yuta chop blocked his knee to take control.
The BCC worked over Williams, with Castagnoli scoring a nearfall with an uppercut and a leg drop. Williams dodged a charging Castagnoli, but Yuta tagged in and cut off an attempted tag. Yuta brought Williams to the ropes, but Williams hit the DDT onto the top turnbuckle before tagging out to Titus. Titus ran wild on Yuta, hitting the Belly-to-Belly suplex for a nearfall. Castagnoli came in to run interference, but Titus hit the big dropkick to send him out of the ring. Titus and Williams hit a dropkick/lariat combination for a nearfall.
Castagnoli sent Titus to the floor and ran through him with a running Uppercut. Back in the ring, Yuta sent Williams into the referee before poking him in the eyes. Castagnoli dropped Williams with a running European Uppercut before sending Yuta off the top rope with a Rocket Launcher to score the win.
ROH World Television Title Match: Samoa Joe defeated Blake Christian to retain
A competitive, smartly-wrestled squash match. Christian had a plan, Joe fought it off, and at the first sign of real danger, Joe shut Christian down with the Muscle Buster. I enjoyed this for what it was.
Christian evaded Joe early, catching him with a handspring kick. Christian tied up Joe’s leg and hit a 619 to the knee to take Joe down. Christian hit a Knee-DT before locking on a Figure Four that Joe quickly reached the ropes to break. Joe avoided a low dropkick before hitting a senton to cut Christian off. Joe stomped on Christian before hitting a big elbow for a nearfall.
Christian escaped a powerbomb and dropkicked Joe’s knee, but he ran right into the powerslam for a nearfall. Joe tried to lock on the Coquina Clutch, but Christian dropped down into a stunner. Christian rolled through a corner uranage attempt, but Joe cut Christian off on the top rope and hit a Muscle Buster to score the win. This was Joe’s 11th successful defense of the title, and Riccaboni said that this defense would almost assuredly put him over the 400-day mark as ROH TV Champion.
– Dasha was backstage with the Varsity Athletes and the Trustbusters. Yes, those are two different groups, with Ari Daivari as the connective member. Mark Sterling said that the in-fighting of the Dark Order was disruptive to his group, with Ari Daivari adding that the Dark Order could fight them instead of each other.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean)
Vincent and Dean started off, with the Infantry hitting an offensive combination on Vincent. Stu Grayson came to the stage, presumably to watch the Righteous. Maybe he has issues with Captain Shawn Dean, though.
Dutch cut off Dean with a clothesline from the apron. Dutch & Vincent worked Dean over until Dean avoided the Autumn Sunshine and tagged out to Bravo. Bravo fired up but got shoved into a Bossman Slam from Dutch. Vincent hit the Autumn Sunshine on the legal man Dean for the win. Dutch and Vincent walked up to Grayson on the stage and told him that he was one of them.
– We got a video package for next week’s The Kingdom vs. Action Andretti & Darius Martin match, which will be a Fight Without Honor.
Vertvixen started off quickly, taking Renegade down with a facebuster for a quick nearfall. Charlette Renegade got involved while the referee was distracted, allowing Robyn Renegade to hit a shotgun dropkick. Vertvixen came back, hitting a rolling stunner and a big boot. Vertvixen hit a flatliner for a nearfall. Renegade fought out of a Fireman’s Carry before locking Vertvixen in a Ground Cobra for the submission win.
– Dasha was backstage with Prince Nana and the Gates of Agony, who have a match with The Boys tonight. Dalton Castle entered frame, accusing them of attacking one of the Boys. Prince Nana claimed innocence until Castle left, then pulled out the mask of the fallen Boy.
Willie Mack defeated Ninja Mack
The crowd chanted “Let’s Go Mack,” making fun of the name clash. Willie used his power to take down Ninja before taking Ninja down with an armdrag. Ninja tried using his speed to his advantage, but Willie took down Ninja with a headscissors before hitting a dive to the floor. Ninja threw some strikes before Willie hit a big palm strike to take Ninja down.
Ninja moved out of the way of a Willie moonsault before hitting some heavy kicks. Ninja avoided a corner charge before hitting a twisting uppercut. Ninja hit a twisting tornado splash for a nearfall. Ninja and Willie traded superkicks before Ninja walked into a Samoan Drop from Willie. Willie kipped up and hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
Ninja and Willie got into a pinning predicament, trading multiple flash pin attempts before Willie caught Ninja with a powerbomb for the win. This was a lot harder to review than I thought it would be because of the name thing, but I got through it.
The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Adam Priest, Lucky Ali & Victor Benjamin
The Embassy ran through each of these guys. Kaun rocked Priest with a lariat. Cage sent Ali flying with a German suplex. Benjamin got a few impressive strikes in on Liona before getting drilled with a lariat. All three Embassy members came in, laying out all three of their opponents. Kaun and Liona finished this one off by sending Priest into Benjamin with a reverse bodyslam, with Kaun getting the pin.
Kyle Fletcher (w/Mark Davis) defeated Tony Deppen
Fletcher is usually a tag team guy, but he stood out on his own here. He’s got a real physical presence, which was highlighted working against the smaller Deppen. Solid match here.
The announcers talked about Fletcher’s heavy recent schedule and his injured ribs. Fletcher overpowered Deppen to start, dropping him with a shoulder block. Deppen came back, eventually getting Fletcher down to a knee. Deppen called for the best suplex ever seen on TV, but Fletcher reversed it into a suplex of his own.
Fletcher hit a half-and-half suplex and a mafia kick for a nearfall. Deppen caught Fletcher with a stunner over the ropes before following with a dive to the floor. Deppen hit the Bayonet elbow for a nearfall. Deppen laid in the elbows before catching Fletcher in a flash pin for a nearfall. Deppen hit a jumping knee and followed it with running knees into the corner. Deppen hit a double stomp off the top rope for a nearfall.
Deppen caught Fletcher with another knee but ran right into a Michinoku Driver for the three count and the win.
AR Fox defeated Anthony Henry (w/JD Drake)
It was a bit comical the amount of damage Fox fought through to win, but Henry looked impressive and aggressive on offense.
Henry took Fox’s back, but Fox sent him to the floor and hit a pair of no-touch planchas. Henry rolled to the other side of the ring to confer with Drake, but Fox hit a dive onto both of them. Fox evaded a clothesline before hitting an Anarchist suplex for a nearfall. Henry sent Fox into the post and hit a piledriver on the apron that sent Fox to the floor.
Fox barely beat the 20 count into the ring, where Henry immediately cranked his neck. Henry hit another piledriver in the ring for a nearfall. Fox got a few weak strikes in, but Henry kicked Fox in the head and hit a brainbuster. Henry hit another brainbuster, but Fox powered Henry up for a brainbuster of his own. Fox hit a corner boot before hitting a springboard stunner for a nearfall. Fox hit a squisher before following it with a senton for a nearfall.
Henry came back with a neckbreaker and a top rope neckbreaker for another nearfall. Fox vaulted over on a Dragon Sleeper attempt and hit a running boot into the corner. Fox brought Henry up for the Lo Mein Pain, but Henry caught him in a choke. Fox fought out and pulled Henry into a cutter. Drake caught a boot from Fox when he tried to interfere. Fox ducked a Henry charge and dived onto Drake on the floor but ran back into a DDT in the ring for a nearfall. Fox caught Henry with a Lo Mein Pain before hitting the 450 Splash for the win.
After the match, the Workhorsemen jumped Fox. Shane Taylor joined the fray, beating up on Fox before FTR made the save. FTR and Fox fought off the Workhorsemen and set Henry up for a Shatter Machine before he bailed. Eddie Kingston came out and ran him back into the ring, leading to FTR hitting the Shatter Machine anyway.
The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, John Silver & Stu Grayson) defeated Josh Woods & The Trustbusters (Jeeves Kay, Slim J & Sonny Kiss) (w/Ari Daivari & Mark Sterling)
Woods started out with Evil Uno, although Uno quickly tagged out to Reynolds and Grayson. Sterling took the referee, allowing Woods to take down Silver and isolate him. Silver hit a suplex on Jeeves Kay and fought to make a tag to Grayson. Grayson ran wild with suplexes before hitting a dive to Kiss and Woods on the floor. Grayson hit a reverse F-5 on Slim J and a springboard moonsault for a nearfall.
Miscommunication between Uno and Grayson led to a Trustbusters run of offense, but the Dark Order got back involved and ran wild on them. Grayson took a kick meant for Reynolds, leading to the Dark Order hitting their big offense. Grayson and Uno hit the Fatality before Reynolds, the legal man, pushed Grayson out of the way to score the pin. Grayson looked annoyed on the outside.
ROH Women’s World Title Match: Athena defeated Skye Blue to retain
This was the most competitive match of Skye Blue’s TV wrestling career, and probably the best match of her career as well. The crowd didn’t really buy Blue as a challenger despite ROH’s best attempts to heat her up over the past few months.
Athena feigned a lockup before drilling Blue with a forearm. Blue came back with strikes before cartwheeling out of a headscissors. Athena drilled Blue with a boot before sending her into the corner. Athena menaced the referee, leading to Blue scoring a rollup for a nearfall. Athena dropkicked Blue into the corner before chucking her to the floor. Athena set the ring steps up on their side, but Blue reversed Athena’s throw and sent her into the stairs.
Athena yanked Blue off of the apron to the floor before drilling her with a forearm. Athena dragged Blue up the ramp, but Blue caught Athena with an armdrag. They fought near the edge of the stage before Athena hit Blue with a superkick that sent her off the stage. Athena dragged Blue back to the ring and tied her up in a bow and arrow hold. Blue fought out before going for flash pins, leading to a pinning predicament that almost scored the win for Blue.
Blue hit a rising knee and an upkick from the apron. She followed with a high crossbody for a nearfall. Athena vaulted back to her feet and hit a heavy forearm for a nearfall. Athena went to the top rope, but Blue cut her off. Blue hit a flurry of forearms before hitting a hurricanrana off the top rope. Blue hit a superkick and a standing sliced bread for a nearfall. Blue locked Athena up for Skyfall, but Athena pushed her off and got Blue up for the Wasteland slam. Athena hit another Wasteland over the knee.
Athena talked trash to Blue, slapping her in the face before Blue slapped her back. They traded forearms before Athena hit Blue with the Skyfall – Blue’s own move – for a nearfall. Blue caught Athena with a boot before hitting the O-Face for a nearfall. Blue hit the Skyfall, but Athena kicked out. They rolled to the apron before Blue dropped Athena face-first onto the apron. Blue laid Athena on the steps and went to the ropes, but Athena caught her and powerbombed her onto the steps.
Athena hit the facebuster on the knees, but Blue kicked out at one. Blue caught Athena with a small package, but Athena kicked out and locked on the crossface. Blue rolled towards the ropes, but Athena rolled her back to the middle and transitioned into the Camel Clutch for the tapout and the win. Athena succeeded in her 9th defense of the title. After the match, Athena adhered to the Code of Honor before clotheslining Blue down and throwing her face-first into the title belt.
Mark Briscoe believes his current run on AEW programming is a gift from his late brother, Jay.
The Briscoes had been banned from AEW television due to offensive Tweets Jay posted in 2011 & 2013, as well as having previously worn the confederate flag on their ring gear.
Mark appeared on Talk is Jericho on Wednesday and said Jay felt guilty over the brothers not being on national television.
Briscoe said:
Jay had such, whether it was warranted or whatever the word is I’m looking here for, he had such guilt that we never did make it to TV. He felt it was his fault.
The ban on the Briscoes appearing on AEW television was lifted a week after Jay’s death. Mark Briscoe was then booked to wrestle Jay Lethal on the January 25th edition of Dynamite, which would have been Jay’s 39th birthday.
Briscoe continued:
That first night being his birthday, it was almost like wow, this is his gift to me, his gift to us. For one, I just know how strong he was in his faith, and his perspective and his thoughts on God and eternity and stuff. So, I know that he was not afraid to die. He didn’t want to leave any of us, especially his kids, his family, of course, he would never want to leave them without him but I know that he did not fear death.
Here we are on his birthday, a week after he passed, and he’s like, ‘There you go, go ahead baby, go ahead, do what we do.’
If I went and balled up in a corner and cried and was sad and just couldn’t function, Jamin would do whatever he could do in his afterlife powers to haunt my ass into the ring.
For that to happen in the timing that it happened, just the timing of it, it’s like, ‘Well, this is the next step.’ I’m carrying on. I’m carrying on for me and him. Let’s just roll with it, you know? Until there is an obvious sign or an obvious indication that this isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing, let’s keep on rockin and rollin’. So, it was great, especially to be against Lethal, that was great.
AEW was in Baltimore last week, which is a couple hours’ drive from the Briscoes’ home in Laurel, Delaware. Mark defeated Preston Vance on Rampage and then spoke about his brother after the match. Several members of the Pugh family joined him in the ring as well.
It’s another early edition of AEW Rampage Friday due to the NHL playoffs on TNT.
Tonight’s show will feature a cinematic match of sorts in The Firm Deletion which should be the end of the feud between Matt Hardy and Stokely Hathaway’s faction. Matt & Jeff Hardy, Hook and Isiah Kassidy will face Ethan Page, Hathaway, Big Bill and Lee Moriarty at the Hardy compound.
In trios action, Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) & El Hijo del Vikingo will unite to take on Powerhouse Hobbs, QT Marshall & Aaron Solo. This was made after the events of Wednesday’s trios battle royal.
TBS Champion Jade Cargill will be in non-title action against Gia Scott. Cargill is looking to keep her career-long undefeated streak alive as she awaits her next real challenge.
Mark Briscoe will compete close to his home of Laurel, Delaware, against Preston Vance of LFI.
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Taped in Baltimore, Maryland. Jim Ross, Excalibur & Tony Schiavone were on commentary.
Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) & El Hijo del Vikingo (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated Powerhouse Hobbs, QT Marshall & Aaron Solo (w/ Harley Cameron) (12:23)
This match stemmed from the Trios Battle Royal from Dynamite Wednesday. Nice to see something set up on Dynamite and followed through on Rampage. Marshall started with Vikingo and got schooled. Vikingo hit an implosion hurricanrana and a Phoenix Splash for a near fall. Tags were made to Rey Fenix and Aaron Solo. Solo couldn’t keep up with Fenix and tagged in Powerhouse Hobbs. Penta got the tag and matched power for a bit with Hobbs, but cut off with a clothesline. Vikingo dove onto Hobbs and right into a powerbomb. Hobbs with a delayed vertical suplex on Penta, then tossed him to the floor.
Marshall dropped to the floor and sent Penta into the steel ringpost. Marshall pulled a table out from under the ring and the show went to a split-screen break.
Back from break, Penta hit slingblades on Marshall and Solo. Fenix hit Hobbs with a rope-running punt kick. Vikingo and the Lucha Bros took out Marshall’s crew with triple topes to the floor.
Back in the ring, Vikingo hit a shooting star press on Solo, and the Lucha Bros followed up with the wheelbarrow double team into a splash for a near fall. Solo tried a comeback, but Vikingo took him down with a uranage. Penta hit a springboard Canadian Destroyer on Marshall and Fenix took out Hobbs with a cutter.
Marshall caught Fenix with a pop-up forearm, and Solo came off the top with a double stomp for a near fall. Fenix caught Solo with a superkick, but Marshall cut off Vikingo on the top rope. Vikingo hit him with a Canadian Destroyer on the ring apron. Vikingo then gave Solo a German suplex out of an electric chair. On the floor, Hobbs started choking out Alex Abrahantes. The Lucha Bros finished off Solo with the Fear Factor.
Hobbs went from something special to just another guy thanks to getting paired with Marshall’s group. They are less than the sum of their parts.
– There was a tease of controversial comments from MJF after his loss on Wednesday, but it was just him angry backstage and demanding his belt. That’s still the closest he’s come to working Rampage.
– Lexi Nair interviewed Chris Jericho at his locker room. Jericho will not work Rampage tonight because he needs some “insurances” that he will be safe from another attack from Adam Cole. Jericho doesn’t want to work in the same building as Cole which sounds a lot like the actual problems AEW’s having with some other performers.
TBS Champion Jade Cargill (w/ Leila Grey) defeated Gia Scott (0:35)
Pump kick and Jaded and it’s over. Jade is 57-0.
– Lexi Nair’s interview with Mark Briscoe is interrupted by Jeff Jarrett’s crew, looking for more insights on FTR from Briscoe. FTR will respond to Jarrett’s challenge this Wednesday on Dynamite.
Mark Briscoe vs. Preston Vance (w/ Jose the Assistant)
Mark Briscoe’s kids were at ringside. Vance grabbed their signs and tore them up. Briscoe brawled with Vance around the ring and sent him headfirst into the ringpost. Briscoe went for a moonsault onto the floor, but Vance dodged it and Briscoe hit the floor. Vance tossed Briscoes into the barricades around ringside.
After a split-screen break, Vance locked Briscoe in the full nelson. Briscoe kicked off the turnbuckles into a pin for a near fall. Brisco and Vance exchanged forearms. Briscoe floored Vance with a clothesline. Briscoe countered Vance’s discus lariat with an ugly flatliner for a near fall. Briscoe went for the Jay Driller, but Vance escaped and hit the discus clothesline. Vance dropped to the floor for a chair, but opted not to use it. Vance hit a spear for a near fall. Jose tried to slide Vance the chair, which distracted the ref and allowed Vance to hit a low blow.
Briscoe backdropped Vance to the floor, then used the chair as a springboard for a tope. Back in the ring, Vance countered the discus lariat and hit the Jay Driller for the pin. I love Mark, but this was just a match.
After the match, Briscoe’s family came into the ring to celebrate with Mark.
– Lexi Nair’s interview with Dustin Rhodes was interrupted when the Mogul Embassy blindsided him. Keith Lee ran them off. Seems like this feud is building to the Dynamite in Austin, Texas on May 17th.
New for Dynamite Wednesday:
Anna Jay v. Julia Hart in a No Holds Barred match.
ROH Tag Champion Rey Fenix v. ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli in a match where the winner will get a shot at the other man’s championship.
The House of Black v. The Best Friends & Bandido in a House Rules Trios Title match.
The Hardy Boys, Hook & Isiah Kassidy defeated Ethan Page, Big Bill, Stokley Hathaway and Lee Moriarty in The Firm Deletion Match
The Firm showed up at the Hardy Compound and busted up Hardy’s mailbox. They were greeted by Hardy’s drone, who deemed them “rude AF.” It went from daylight to night (via time travel?), and Hardy’s team shot fireworks at the Firm. Then the brawl started in the dark. Kassidy and Jeff Hardy double-teamed Big Bill. Bill chokeslammed Isiah Kassidy into a tree. This took Kassidy out of the match for a bit.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Hardy gave Page a vertical suplex, but Page countered a Twist of Fate with a double leg takedown, then broke a tree branch over Matt’s back for a near fall. Back to Jeff and Big Bill, and Jeff choked Bill out with a stick. Bill’s eyes rolled into the back of his head.
In another part of the compound, Matt Hardy’s kids tried to run over Stokely Hathaway with a motorized big wheel. Hardy and Page made their way into the warehouse with the ring, and the show went to a split screen break.
Most of Hook’s involvment in the match came during the slip-screen break, when he suplexed Hathaway in the ring, then caught a leg lariat from Lee Moriarty.
In the ring, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate for the near fall. Caprice Coleman was one of the referees for the match, but this wasn’t acknowledged by the commentators. Stokley Hathaway found what looked like Matt Hardy’s screening room in the house. Before he could settle in to watch “Coming to America,” he was jumped by Matt Hardy’s kids. Back outside, Bill had doused the Hardys with gasoline and threatened to set them on fire. Isaiah Kassidy reemerged as “Brother Zay” on the top of the warehouse, and dove onto everybody.
Back in the warehouse, Reby Hardy hit a Twist of Fate on Hathaway. Maxel hit the swanton bomb before Reby put the kids to bed. Back outside, “Brother Zay” put Bill through a table on the outside.
Back in the warehouse, Ethan Page was left to fend for himself in a 4-on-1. Hook hit an exploder on Page, Hardy gave him the Twist of Fate, and Jeff came off the top with a swanton bomb. Referee Caprice Coleman counted the pinfall. After the match, Jeff Hardy walked off into the night. The Hardy team celebrated by lighting a giant Hardy cross symbol on fire.
Final Thoughts:
There might have been a lot of inside jokes I missed in the Firm Deletion match because I’m not totally immeresed in the Hardyverse. It was just goofy enough to be fun, but I don’t know if it’s worth going out of your way to see.
The Lucha Brothers and El Hijo del Vikingo will be in trios action on this Friday’s early edition of AEW Rampage.
The three stars will take on Powerhouse Hobbs, QT Marshall and Aaron Solo after the events of Wednesday’s trios battle royale where Hobbs eliminated Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo and Vikingo after Fenix and Penta eliminated Marshall and Solo.
Fenix and Penta have had their issues with Marshall and Hobbs over the last month with the then-TNT Champion defeating both in singles action with Marshall attacking their manager Alex Abrahantes afterward.
After defending against Taya Valkyrie last Wednesday, TBS Champion Jade Cargill will be in action against an opponent to be named as she looks to keep her undefeated record alive.
The new additions join the previously announced Firm Deletion cinematic match at the Hardy Compound that will see The Hardys, Hook and Isiah Kassidy take on Stokely Hathaway, Ethan Page, Big Bill and Lee Moriarty.
Mark Briscoe will return to singles action against Preston Vance.
The show will air at 6:30 PM Eastern due to the NHL playoffs.
Here’s the full card:
The Firm Deletion: Matt & Jeff Hardy, Hook, Isiah Kassidy vs. Ethan Page, Stokely Hathaway Big Bill & Lee Moriarty
Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) & El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, QT Marshall & Aaron Solo
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will look to keep things rolling after Supercard of Honor as he defends against Metalik.
Castagnoli defended his title against Eddie Kingston at the pay-per-view, but things didn’t appear to be resolved between those two in addition to Wheeler Yuta and ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata.
Speaking of Shibata, he and the returning Alex Coughlin will face The WorkHorsemen. Yuta, conversely, will battle ROH veteran Tracy Williams.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will take on Ashley D’Amboise in a non-title Proving Ground match.
Mark Briscoe will look to rebound from his loss to Samoa Joe when he faces Ari Daivari.
Dark Order’s Stu Grayson will face Tony Nese while The Kingdom’s Mike Bennett takes on Darius Martin who continues to embark on his singles career due to Dante Martin’s injury.
Willow Nightingale vs. Little Mean Kathleen and Skye Blue vs. Kelly Madan rounds out the card.
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This week’s edition of Ring of Honor TV was taped before and after last week’s Rampage taping on Friday in Rhode Island. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call.
Mark Briscoe defeated Ari Daivari (w/cJosh Woods, Mark Sterling & Tony Nese)
Briscoe controlled Daivari early on, forcing Daivari to roll to the floor after an offensive flurry. Briscoe went to follow Daivari with a dive before Nese cut him off and sent him into the barricade. Daivari took control, dropping Briscoe with a Hammerlock DDT for a nearfall. Daivari sent Briscoe to the floor, allowing Woods and Nese to lay the shots into Briscoe while the referee was distracted.
Daivari hit a high crossbody for a nearfall. Briscoe avoided another crossbody, allowing Briscoe to fire up with redneck kung fu. Briscoe went on offense, hitting the machine gun neckbreaker for a nearfall. Sterling cut off a Jay Driller attempt, allowing more interference from Woods and Nese. The referee saw that interference and promptly ejected all seconds from ringside. That allowed Briscoe to hit the Jay Driller to score the win.
After the match, everyone laid the boots to Briscoe before FTR made their way to the ring to even the odds and make the save.
– Eddie Kingston spoke for the first time since Supercard of Honor. He revealed that he had been dealing with a hernia injury since September that may require surgery but did not use it as an excuse for losing. He had a strategy and abandoned it, resorting to his fighting the same way Arturo Gatti would in his fights.
Kingston admitted that Castagnoli was the better man, having beat Kingston so badly that he couldn’t sleep that night. Kingston admitted that he wanted to quit, like Castagnoli said he would before Supercard of Honor. However, Kingston said that he had to learn from his loss and move forward.
Skye Blue defeated Kelly Madan
The announcers hyped Madan, noting that her trainer Damian Adams trained former ROH alumni Deonna Purrazzo. This was a quick bout that saw Blue win in a matter of minutes with the Skyfall.
Darius Martin defeated Mike Bennett (w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Matt Taven) by disqualification
During the entrances, Riccaboni noted that Dante Martin’s recovery should be faster than originally expected. Definitely good to hear that news. Martin caught Bennett on an attempt to jumpstart the match and laid in the shots to Bennett. They traded chops in the corner before Martin sent Bennett to the floor with a dropkick. Bennett ducked a baseball slide, but Martin came off of the barricade with a crossbody. Taven distracted Martin as he went to the top rope, allowing Bennett to cut him off.
On the apron, Bennett won a forearm exchange and hit a Death Valley Driver. Martin avoided the rebound lariat and hit a quick tope before sending Bennett back into the ring. A short back-and-forth led to Martin hitting a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Martin set up another move, but Taven came into the ring and attacked Martin to cause a disqualification. The Kingdom went after Martin’s ankle before Action Andretti ran them both off.
Wheeler Yuta defeated Tracy Williams
The announcers noted that Williams served as a mentor for Yuta as he came up on the independent scene, and that came through in the action as Williams got the better of Yuta early on. Yuta took control by booting Williams in the face to break a submission. Yuta got Williams with a German suplex before hitting the hammer-and-anvil elbows to boos from the Rhode Island crowd.
Yuta caught Williams in a deathlock and taunted him before bridging back on the hold. Williams grabbed the ropes, with the announcers noting that this wasn’t a Pure Rules match. Williams fired up with strikes, hitting a DDT onto the top turnbuckle before following with a lariat. A brainbuster scored a nearfall, which Williams immediately transitioned into a crossface. Yuta escaped and cut off a forearm exchange by biting Williams in the forehead. Yuta hit the Right Angle Slam and the hammer-and-anvil elbows before scoring the win with a seated Dragon Sleeper.
– Darius Martin and Action Andretti were in the back. Martin noted that he wasn’t going to let the Kingdom keep outnumbering him, so he recruited Andretti to help him out. They challenged the Kingdom to a future tag team match.
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata & Alex Coughlin defeated The WorkHorsemen
It’s still surreal to see Shibata as a regular member of a pro wrestling roster after such a long injury layoff. Shibata and Anthony Henry started off grappling to a stalemate. Shibata and Henry traded unsuccessful Penalty Kick attempts, leading to Shibata locking on a figure four. JD Drake dropped a headbutt on Shibata to break the hold, leading to tags on both sides. Coughlin and Drake engaged in a chop battle, ending with the WorkHorsemen hitting a double team Russian Leg Sweep for a nearfall.
The WorkHorsemen isolated Coughlin, finding time to hit Shibata’s cross-legged pose out of mockery. Drake laid in heavy kicks to Coughlin, as Shane Taylor watched on from the back. Drake drilled Coughlin with a rebound forearm, leading to a Henry double stomp for a nearfall. Drake locked Coughlin in a deathlock, but Shibata stomped Henry to break it up. Shibata then stomped on Coughlin to fire him up. Henry went for another seated submission, but Coughlin lifted Henry from that seated position into an impressive vertical suplex.
Shibata got the tag and ran wild, hitting the hesitation dropkick to Henry for a nearfall. Drake cut off a sleeper hold on Henry with a chop, but a Shibata forearm knocked him down. The WorkHorsemen hit a tandem facebuster for a nearfall on Shibata. Coughlin took out Drake with a deadlift gutwrench suplex on the floor, and Shibata took Henry down with the Sleeper Hold and a Penalty Kick for the win. After the match, Coughlin made a challenge to Shibata for his Pure Championship.
Willow Nightingale defeated Little Mean Kathleen
Kathleen bit Nightingale on the hand, forcing Nightingale to hit a bodyslam. Kathleen fought out of a powerslam position and hit bicycle kicks, but Nightingale got her knees up on a splash. Nightingale hit a running splash in the corner before following with the Oklahoma Stampede for the quick victory.
Stu Grayson (w/ Evil Uno) defeated Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling)
Grayson was in control early on, finishing an opening flurry with an over-the-ropes senton to Nese on the apron. Grayson hit a tope over the top rope to Nese on the floor. Grayson went for a springboard to Nese, but Nese shoved him off the top rope into the barricades on the floor.
Nese took control in the ring, but Grayson pushed him to the mat on a superplex attempt. Grayson went for a sunset flip, but Nese rolled through and hit a spinning heel kick for a nearfall. Nese hit a spin kick to the breadbasket, but Grayson fired up and dropped Nese with a uranage. Grayson hit a corkscrew senton to Nese for a nearfall. Nese used the ropes to escape a Grayson fireman’s carry, but Grayson hit an F-5 style move for another nearfall.
Grayson pulled Nese over the ropes with a suplex, but Nese escaped and hung Grayson’s neck on the ropes. Grayson avoided the Running Nese, but Nese got a roll-up with the tights for a nearfall. Grayson hit a pele kick and followed it with a running knee. Grayson dropped Nese from a fireman’s carry to a backbreaker to score the win.
After the match, The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) came to the stage and stared down the Dark Order, although the announcers made it clear that their focus was solely on Grayson.
– The Righteous were backstage. They insinuate that the Dark Order left Stu Grayson behind during his hiatus from AEW, and that they want to help him out.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Ashley D’Amboise in a Proving Ground match
If D’Amboise wins or survives the time limit, she will earn a future title match.
D’Amboise got the better of Athena on an early exchange, but Athena immediately cut her off with a high kick and a flurry of strikes. Athena dropped D’Amboise with a superkick for a nearfall. Athena fish hooked D’Amboise on a submission, but D’Amboise rolled her up for a quick one count. D’Amboise avoided a corner charge and took Athena down with a leg lariat. D’Amboise fired up and hit a Samoan Drop for a nearfall.
D’Amboise went for something off the top rope, but Athena threw her from the top to the apron before dropkicking her to the floor. Athena threw D’Amboise around the ring before hitting the running knees against the steps. Athena went to the top rope and hit the O-Face for the win.
– Lexy Nair was backstage with D’Amboise who was hoping for more honor in ROH before getting attacked by Athena. She welcomed D’Amboise to ROH by throwing her headfirst into the title belt.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defeated Metalik to retain
This was a fine main event, but it’s far from a must-see affair. This is Castagnoli’s sixth defense of the title.
Metalik played a lot of defense early on, using his lucha proficiency to escape Castagnoli’s attempts at offense. Metalik was able to send Castagnoli to the floor, but Castagnoli caught Metalik on a cannonball attempt and hit an Alley-Oop onto the apron. Back in the ring, Castagnoli dropped an elbow for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for another nearfall. A running European uppercut scored Castagnoli another nearfall.
Metalik fought out of a top wristlock and caught Castagnoli with a small package for a nearfall, but Castagnoli cut him off with a big boot. Metalik cut off a corner charge before landing an enzuigiri and a springboard hurricanrana. Castagnoli got hold of Metalik’s hands, but Metalik popped up with a sling blade for a nearfall. Castagnoli rolled to the floor, but Metalik followed him outside with a step-up dive to the floor. Metalik hit a springboard splash back inside the ring for a nearfall.
Castagnoli hit a headbutt but missed another corner charge. Metalik went for a ropewalk rana, but Castagnoli caught him. Metalik rolled up and over with a sunset flip for a nearfall. Metalik went for a moonsault, but Castagnoli kicked him in the face and hit a big lariat for a nearfall. Castagnoli put Metalik on the top rope and went for a superplex, but Metalik fought out. Castagnoli was stood on the ropes, and Metalik hit the old Elix Skipper ropewalk rana for a nearfall.
Metalik went for a ropewalk elbow drop, but Castagnoli got his knees up and transitioned into a crossface. Metalik rolled it into a crucifix pin, but Castagnoli kicked out and hit a big European Uppercut for a nearfall. Castagnoli followed it with the hammer-and-anvil elbows and the Neutralizer to win and retain the World title.
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed one of the bigger surprises of the weekend so far on Wrestling Observer Radio.
Mark Briscoe failed to defeat Samoa Joe, with Joe putting Briscoe in the coquina clutch. Briscoe passed out of the hold, allowing Joe to retain the ROH Television Championship.
“If you’ve ever seen a Tony Khan show, and we’ve seen a lot of them, this was unusual,” Alvarez said on Friday’s show.
Alvarez also noted that after the match, the announcers pushed that this may not be the end to the story of Briscoe looking to capture the ROH Television title.
“They’re trying to tell a longer story,” Meltzer said.
“The announcers were telling the story that he wanted this title,” Alvarez said, referring to the Television title. “This is the belt that he wants and he didn’t get it here…he’s winning this title, and instead of just making it a thing that everyone expects, there’s going to be these roadblocks he has to get to so when he wins it, it’s going to be even bigger.”
