Tag: Matt Taven

Former tag team champs return to ROH at Supercard of Honor

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

Due to visa issues, the ROH World Tag Team Championships were not defended at Supercard of Honor. But there was still a lot to discuss in the promotion’s tag team division.

Former ROH World Tag Team Champions the Kingdom, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, returned to the promotion on Friday night. They interrupted a promo by Bustah and the Brain, with both teams declaring their pursuit of the current champions, Sammy Guevara & The Beast Mortos. 

Taven and Bennett were last seen in ROH in October, teaming with Matt Menard in a losing effort against SkyFlight. 

The pair are three-time ROH tag champs, having won the titles from Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian in 2015, Dragon Lee & Kenny King in 2021, and from MJF in a two-on-one handicap match in 2023. They have also won the top tag team titles in New Japan Pro Wrestling and TNA/Impact Wrestling. 

In ROH, Taven is a former World Champion, World TV Champion, and World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. Bennett won the Honor Rumble in 2014. Each is a former winner of the Top Prospect tournament, with Bennett winning the inaugural event in 2011 and Taven winning in 2013. 

Three departures from AEW roster

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The beginning of 2026 has seen three names depart the AEW roster.

Matt Taven, Mercedes Martinez, and Alex Abrahantes are no longer listed on the AEW roster page as of today (January 5), and Fightful confirmed that all three have departed the promotion. Martinez had already indicated that she was no longer with AEW while announcing last week that 2026 would be her final year as a full-time active wrestler.

Martinez noted that she would have “no contracts” in 2026 and would be dedicating the year to competing on the indies. She is aiming to give back to the younger generation by passing on everything she’s learned. A veteran wrestler who also has experience in WWE, Martinez signed with AEW in 2021 but has not wrestled for the company in some time.

Taven is a former ROH World Champion and ROH Tag Team Champion. One of the top stars in ROH at the end of the Sinclair Broadcast Group era, he continued to be featured on the ROH brand after signing with AEW in 2022.

As of now, Mike Bennett — Taven’s tag team partner in The Kingdom — is still on the AEW roster page.

A member of the Spanish-language broadcast team while with AEW, Abrahantes was an on-screen character as a manager to The Lucha Bros and Komander.

International Women’s Cup qualifier, Pure title match signed for next week’s ROH TV

Posted on by Josh Nason

A four-way qualifying match that will send the winner to the Tokyo Dome this January is confirmed for next Thursday’s ROH on HonorClub.

ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Billie Starkz, Women’s TV Champion Red Velvet and Leyla Hirsch will compete in the match where the winner advances to a four-way at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5th against women from AEW, CMLL and Stardom.

The AEW challenger will be determined on next Saturday’s Winter is Coming edition of Collision, while the CMLL challenger will emerge from a four-way on December 13th. Stardom has yet to announce how their participant will be determined.

The broadcast will also feature ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty defending against Matt Taven.

This will be the third title defense for Moriarty who has held the title for over 130 days, but hasn’t defended since September. Taven will be looking to add to his extensive ROH trophy case which includes a World title reign, three runs with the Tag Team titles, three runs with the Six-Man titles, and a TV title reign.

Ring of Honor TV live results: The Conglomeration in trios action

Posted on by Jeff Moss

The Conglomeration will be in trios action as part of tonight’s Thanksgiving night edition of Ring of Honor on HonorClub.

Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly & Rocky Romero will unite against the unusual team of the Grizzled Young Veterans & Pat Buck, the AEW vice president of talent development.

After losing to Jamie Hayter in Wednesday’s AEW International Women’s Cup qualifier, Queen Aminata will look to get back on the winning track against Christina Marie.

In a Pure rules match, Matt Taven will go to battle with former Pure Champion Josh Woods.

ROH Women’s World Champion Athena will be on hand with Lexy Nair ahead of Athena’s upcoming “world tour.”

The new team of LeeJ (Lee Johnson & EJ Nduka) will be in action against Anthony Gangone & Goose.

The Righteous match up with JD Drake & Beef while MxM Collection go heads-up against the Iron Savages.

The offensively gifted AR Fox will look to get in the win column against Dark Order’s John Silver.

**********

OK, let’s see here… Thursday? Check. Ring of Honor on HonorClub Episode 92? Check. Tag Teams, Tag Teams and more Tag Teams? Check Check Check!

Things kicked off with the ROH Champion, Chris Jericho addressing the audience. He had a tough time against Ishii on Dynamite, but he persevered! Jericho announced that he will be at Final Battle on December 20th in NYC, defending his title. He declared himself King of New York, and the show began!

LEEJ (EJ Nduka & Lee Johnson) defeated Anthony Gangone & Kubes

Our first tag match of the night featured the potentially unstoppable and definitely poorly named LEEJ. Nduka and Johnson have been teaming for a few months now and have yet to find a team to take them down. Gangone and Kubes were also a team. This was Gangone’s debut, but Kubes apparently hadf a match a few months back.

Johnson and Gangone started things off, but it wasn’t long before the looming figure of Nduka was involved. Kubes jumped in, but Nduka made very short work of him, tossing him to the outside. Johnson jumped in and he and Nduka hit a double team cutter on Gangone to get the quick win.

Queen Aminata defeated Christina Marie

Animata has been running around Dynamite, Collision and Rampage lately, which isn’t to say she’s taken her eyes off the ROH Women’s Prize(s). Her return here against Marie might just be the start of her trip towards the Women’s TV or World Titles. Marie for her part, is still looking of that elusive first win in ROH, having gone 0-4 in various singles and tag matches. 

Marie started things off throwing fists, but the agility and strength of Aminata was able to easily deflect them. Marie landed a dropkick, sending Aminata to the corner. She tried a bulldog, but Aminat athrew her off and hit her with a big hip in the corner.

Aminata dragged Marie to the middle of the ring and locked in a trap submission leaving Marie no alternative other than to tap out.

MxM Collection (Mansoor & Mason Madden) defeated Iron Savages (Beefcake Boulder & Bulk Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson)

The MxM Collection is here and not just to sell shirts this time! They are taking on what could only be described as their polar opposites in the Iron Savages. The only question in this match would be who had the most pose downs and if the Savages would be open to touching tips! Jameson did his usual 1999 Scott Steiner impression on the mic as the Savages entered, but the big pop was reserved for Mansoor and Madden.

Mansoor kicked things off against Bronson and Mansoor’s speed kept him out of the clutches of the bigger man. The even bigger man, Boulder, tagged in next threatening to “Bite [Mansoor’s] tip off” which was all kinds of gross. That brought Madden in to match up against the big man. Madden knocked him out of the ring, allowing the MxM Collection to pose.

Jameson got involved, catching Mansoor’s foot and giving Bronson an opening to isolate the smaller man in the corner. Boulder tried to get Mansoor up for a big slam, but he was able to wriggle free and try for a hot tag, but Boulder dragged him back to the middle of the ring. He went for a second rope moonsault, but it was speculated he pulled his groin dancing.

Mansoor finally got the hot tag to Madden and he cleaned house, but the Savages caught him and tried to send him to (sigh) Titty City. MxM reversed it though and Madden hit a big choke slam. MxM hit a massive Centerfold, and got the pin on Boulder.

Matt Taven defeated Josh Woods (w/Ariya Daivari & Mark Sterling)

The ROH PURE Championship is the only ROH title that’s eluded Taven in his career. His win in a Pure Rules match over Aaron Solo showed that he can hang in that division and caught the attention of current Pure Champion, Lee Moriarty. A win over former Pure Champion Woods would definitely put Taven closer to a shot at the title. 

With all that said, for those just joining us, a Pure Rules Match grants each participant one warning for a closed fist and three rope breaks. If there isn’t a winner by pinfall or submission by the time limit, a panel of judges will award the win based on points. Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels and Nigel McGuinness would serve as judges.

Woods and Taven were pretty evenly matched in terms of size and speed, but Woods’ technical background definitely gave him a leg up. Speaking of which, Taven used his first rope break at 0:47, putting his foot on the bottom rope.

Taven has been doing his homework though and was able to match Woods, hold for hold. Woods wrenched Taven’s arm on the top rope and made it his primary target. Woods worked over Taven’s arm again and again, using the ropes and whatever else he could to render it useless. Woods landed a huge knee to the face that echoed throughout the venue.

Taven fought back with some foot-based offense, but Woods caught him and tried to lock in an Armbar. The tricky Taven though manged to push Woods onto his back and pick up a quick three count. That brought out current ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty who jawed at Taven from the ramp.

-ROH Women’s World Champion Athena joined us with Lexy Nair for an Emergency MEM to discuss her “World Tour.” Athena announced that the World Tour would begin at WrestleDynasty with a 4-way qualifier match (even though she doesn’t think she should have to qualify) for the Women’s International Tournament.

The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated BEEF & JD Drake

The 3rd tag match of the night began with the The Righteous snapping their way to the ring. Dutch and Vincent have been locked in a blood feud with the current ROH Tag Champions, the (sigh) Sons of Texas, aka Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. BEEF and JD Drake have been reluctant partners after BEEF’s cousin and Drake’s tag partner Anthony Henry had to take some injury time off.  The Righteous are anything but an orthodox tag team, and BEEF and Drake seem to be able to find creative ways to win. If the match isn’t interrupted, it should be a good one! 

Dutch started things off against BEEF while Vincent battled Drake on the outside. Then the match started. BEEF was isolated in the Righteous’ corner and Dutch and Vincent double teamed him with absolutely no regard of who was legal. It ended up being Vincent, who hammered BEEF in the center of the ring.

Vincent distracted the Ref while Drake choked BEEF with his Official Dusty Rhodes Cowbell & Rope. Drake paced furiously on the outside of the ring while BEEF took a beating. A hot tag was finally made to Drake who picked up and slammed Dutch. Dutch responded with a side slam and he and Vincent hit Orange Sunshine. Dutch then landed a big Dusty Rhodes-style elbow and got the pin.

After the match, the Righteous taunted Rhodes and Guevara. They appeared at the top of the ramp, Rhodes looking to fight, jumping in the ring with a chair. The Righteous split as the teams yapped at each other.

AR Fox defeated John Silver (w/Alex Reynolds & Evil Uno)

Fox has been getting a lot of opportunities lately, taking on Brian Cage, Nick Wayne and Riccochet just to name a few. He’s still sitting at a 4-13 record in 2024 though, so a win here would be good. Silver spends most of his time with his pals Reynolds and Uno in the Dark Order, playing DnD or designing cool jackets or whatever it is they do in their spare time. In singles matches, Silver is 2-1 this year, so I guess he’s on a roll? Kind of?

Fox had about 10 inches of height on Silver, but Silver makes up for his height in girth and definitely won the strength battle off the top. Fox had the speed though and after sending Silver to the outside nailed him with a big dive over the top rope.

Back in the ring, Silver powered into a massive suplex after Uno was caught trying to interfere on the outside. Fox battled back and hit a big swanton on Silver from the top rope. Silver and Fox threw forearms and traded big kicks until SiFox lver hit a Brainbuster for a two-count.

Fox surprised Silver with a big cutter and managed to scramble to the top rope to hit a 450 and get the win.

-Next, the first official match for Final Battle 2024 was announced: ROH Women’s TV Champion Red Velvet will defend her title against Leyla Hirsch!

ROH Classic Match: Match Without Honor – Chris Hero vs Eddie Kingston (ROH Final Battle 2009)

As you’d expect, this was one hell of a brawl. Hero and Kingston tore each other up in NYC at the Manhattan Center. Chains were the weapons of choice for most of the match. I’ll be honest, I often forget that Hero is very good at what he does, and this was him in his prime. Kingston is, as a certain Texan used to say, one tough SOB. I’m looking forward to when the Mad King returns from injury in AEW.

Six Man Tag Team Match: The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Rocky Romero) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) & Pat Buck

The Main Event of the evening switched up the Tag format but adding more people! this 6-man match was a fun way to bring in some big name ROH Talent in O’Reilly, Briscoe and Romero AKA The Conglomeration. The Veterans were part of a 4-team tag match a few weeks ago that was ultimately won by The Undisputed Kingdom. Pat Buck, who sadly is not the NFL play-by-play guy, hasn’t been seen in ROH since around this time last year when he lost to then Pure Champion Josh Woods.

O’Reilly started things off against Gibson, both men highly decorated in their respective fields. This match kinda had it all. Brawlers, technicians, speed and lots of high-impact moves and sequences. Briscoe knocked Drake from post to post before Romero tagged in and kept Drake off his feet with a headscissor takedown.

Gibson and Drake are the current NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team title holders, so they had a cohesiveness that in spite of the Conglomeration’s closeness, kept them in control. Buck for his part was there, but barely made a difference, spending most of the match on the ring apron waiting for a tag.

Buck finally made it into the match, only to run up against Briscoe who made short work of him. Drake a Gibson jumped in to double team Briscoe and a miscommunication with Buck caused them to get knocked to the outside. Reilly (who apparently was the legal man) put an arm bar on Buck (who apparently was also legal) causing Buck to tap out almost instantly.

Ring of Honor TV live results: Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Taven World title match

Posted on by Jeff Moss

Ring of Honor World Champion Mark Briscoe will defend the title once again as he faces former World Champion Matt Taven on tonight’s HonorClub show.

Briscoe will be looking for the fifth defense of the gold he first won at April’s Supercard of Honor while Taven will be gunning for his second run with the top prize and his first since his 174-day run in 2019.

In an unusual ROH Six-Man Tag Team title Proving Ground match, Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs will face the Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari) and manager Mark Sterling. If the challengers beat or draw the champions, they earn a future title shot.

One of the most popular tag teams in the Khan companies — The Outrunners — will look to pick up a big win as they face The Infantry.

Anthony Henry & Beef will be in tag team action as will be former AEW Women’s World Champion Nyla Rose.

**********

After a brief delay, I mean, “Special Start Time,” Ring of Honor on Honorclub episode 84 slammed onto the air like so many Hogans dropping Andres! The show kicked off with as many people as they could fit into the ring!

ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Proving Ground Match: Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs (Marshall von Erich & Ross von Erich) [c] defeated The Premier Athletes (Ariya Daivari, Mark Sterling & Tony Nese)

ROH made a mistake leaving the Ref’s name out of the “title” of this match. It would definitely put it over the top to win all the “Longest Match Title Including All Participants” awards. Any way, lots of wrestlers notwithstanding, this was a Proving Ground match which meant that the Premier Athletes simply had to pin the champs or last to the 10 minute time limit. If they were successful, they’d get a shot at those six-man belts.

So, for some reason, Mark Sterling was the third member of the Premier Athletes team. Before the match, he claimed that he’d been assured that no one would touch him. So already, it was 3 on 2. Marshall and Daivari started things off with a healthy dose of jawing and technical moves. Sterling entered the match and actually body slammed Ross, but bolted pretty quickly afterwards.

The match was pretty straightforward. The von Erichs did a lot of the heavy lifting and Rhodes played his greatest hits. Sterling for his part injected some dastardly humor to the match, even fninding himself facing off with Rhodes at one point. But no one really explained why he was there instead of Josh Woods. Regardless, everyone in the match worked well.

Sterling tried to pay off Rhodes to avoid a beating with about three minutes left in the match. The Von Erichs weren’t having it though and neutralized Nese and Daivari with dual Claws while Rhodes delivered Shattered Dreams to Sterling. Rhodes got the pin off of that to win the match.

-A graphic showed us that Mark Briscoe will face Chris Jericho for the ROH World Title and it was announced that Brian Cage would face Atlantis Jr for the ROH TV Title at AEW WrestleDream!

Nyla Rose defeated Katie Arquette

Rose’s last televised ROH match was way back in May of this year, but she’s been keeping herself busy on Dynamite and Collision. When she left, there was some unfinished business with ROH Women’s Champion Athena, so there’s a definite possibility that Rose is going to be looking to get involved in that title scene, which hopefully will pit her against Abadon at some point. 

Arquette did her best to survive in this match, but Rose tossed her around like a rag doll. Rose hit her with a big cannonball, followed by a senton and a Beast Bomb. That was it. Rose got the win.

-Backstage Lexy Nair interviewed ROH Women’s World Champion Athena. The Minions are planning a celebration to honor Athena’s status as the longest reigning champion in ROH history. Starkz was cranky though and Athena called her out. Starkz snapped and yelled at Athena, saying she left her high and dry last week. Athena uninvited Starkz to the celebration and she sulked off. Suddenly, Abadon appeared behind Athena. She reached out, but the champ didn’t notice her. I think it was supposed to be creepy.

Anthony Henry & BEEF defeated Anthony Catena and Wes Barkley

Henry is still annoyed by his overly enthusiastic cousin, Beef. Henry’s Workhorsemen partner , JD Drake, might be coming back to their team soon, so it makes one wonder if there will be a clash between Beef and Drake with Henry caught in the middle. 

Barkley and Henry started things off and it was fine, but the crowd really woke up when BEEF entered the ring. He faced off against Catena and no-sold the bigger man, screaming at him while Henry took over and ate a neckbreaker from Catena. Barkley, a local hero, found himself alone with Henry. BEEF jumped in and took on both opponents to “save” his cousin.

BEEF hit a “sloppy steak” (kind of a Suicide 619) and Henry got a big double stomp on the legal man to win the match. BEEF and Henry are still undefeated in ROH.

The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) defeat The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean)

Last week the Iron Savages and Jacked Jameson expressed their displeasure with the Outrunners, calling them “meat riders.” So, do with that what you will. Across the ring, The Infantry, who failed to win the ROH Tag titles back in July, but picked up a win over Spanish Announce Project two weeks ago. These two teams have a common enemy in the Savages and seem to have become friends.

This match was great. Two babyface teams that the crowd loved doing the stuff they do best. The Outrunners posed and mugged for the crowd and the Infantry’s athletic style was awesome to watch against the beefier Outrunners.

Floyd kept up with the speed of the Infantry, rolling Dean into a really cool looking armbar. Bravo and Magnum weren’t to be left out though, with the two countering each other though a good stretch. Bravo started to get a little frustrated and became more aggressive than usual, delivering some deadly chops to Magnum.

A hot tag to Floyd got a big cheer from the crowd as he cleared the ring with Body Slams. He got a little carried away though and the Infantry tried to set up Boot Camp. Magnum grabbed Bravo though, and the Outrunners managed to land Totall Recall to get the win.

After the match, there was a respectful Code of Honor, but the Infantry left a little abruptly, suggesting all might not be well with these two teams.

-BEEF and Anthony Henry cut a promo in the back. BEEF was excited to film a Tag Team Promo, but Henry assured him that they were not a tag team. JD Drake is Henry’s tag team partner, and that’s it. BEEF begged to meet Drake and Henry shut him down.

ROH Classic Match: Kenta Kobashi vs Samoa Joe (Jan 10, 2005. NYC)

Next, something different happened. They showed one of the proclaimed greatest matches in ROH history, Kenta Kobashi vs Samoa Joe from Jan 10th, 2005 in New York City. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman did new commentary over the classic footage which was really fun and made it feel like it was happening live.

I don’t really know how else to recap this match. It’s amazing. It’s a fantastic match that you should go and check out as soon as you can. I won’t even tell you who wins. Just know that Joe is in his prime here and Kobashi is an absolute beast. These two beat the hell out of each other in front of a red hot crowd and it was awesome. I would not hate it if they did this kind of thing more often.

Back in ROH proper though, we still had a main event to get to!

ROH World Title Match: Mark Briscoe (c) defeated Matt Taven (w/Mike Bennett)

This was the fifth defense of the ROH World Title for Briscoe, against one half of the former ROH Tag Champions in Taven. Taven and his partner Bennett lost those titles to Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara in an absolutely brutal Bunkhouse Brawl match on Collision. To be honest, I had no idea WHY this match was happening but I was darn sure glad that it did. 

The Match started off fast with Taven going right for a fistfull of tights right off of the bell. It was only a two count, but it riled up Briscoe something fierce. He rained down with some Redneck Kung Fu and tried to be respectful of his opponent, but Taven took advantage of that niceness every time.

Bennett tried to get involved, distracting the ref to try and give Taven an upper hand. Briscoe had it scouted though and responded with a big Blockbuster off the ring apron (the hardest part of the ring). Briscoe set Taven up for a Froggy Bow, but Taven dodged and took control. Briscoe fought back with more Redneck Kung Fu, but ate a huge superkick from Taven out of the corner.

Taven managed a Just The Tip knee strike, but Briscoe kicked out at two. Briscoe also kicked out of the follow up Aurora Borealis. Taven went up for a second one, but Briscoe got the knees up, knocking the wind out of Taven. From there he tried a Froggy, but Taven got HIS knees up, leaving both men on their backs in the ring.

The two staggered up and after a quick back and forth, Briscoe called for the Jay Driller and executed it perfectly, putting Taven down clean.

AEW promoting lucha libre match prior to Jacksonville Jaguars NFL home opener

Posted on by Josh Nason

Tony Khan is fusing two of his primary jobs — AEW and the NFL — together this Sunday.

Ahead of his Jacksonville Jaguars’ home opener, there will be a two-out-of-three falls lucha libre tag team match held at Flex Field, the NFL team’s indoor practice area that is part of the Khan family’s complex that includes Daily’s Place and EverBank Stadium where the Jaguars play.

The match will be held in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and will feature Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion Sammy Guevara teaming with Hologram against The Beast Mortos and Matt Taven.

It’s unknown if AEW will release the footage of the match on YouTube and their social media channels. The bout is the only one announced as of this time.

It will take place from 11:30 AM to noon Eastern with the kickoff for the actual game starting at 1 PM.

The franchise has been owned by Shad Khan, Tony’s father, since 2012. This will be Tony’s 13th year with the team and his fourth as chief football strategy officer.

AEW Dark results: Matt Taven vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Posted on by Skylar Russell

This week’s four-match AEW Dark lineup was taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Matt Taven defeated Brian Pillman Jr.

Taven and Pillman started off by exchanging wristlocks. Pillman followed one up with a chop to Taven who responded with a dropkick.

After a back-and-forth running sequence, Pillman trapped Taven’s head in the corner and bounced it off the turnbuckle on a few separate occasions before attempting an unsuccessful pin.

Taven took control, trying to work down the shoulders of Pillman. The crowd willed Pillman back into the match, allowing him to take down Taven with a few running strikes and a Northern Lights suplex.

Pillman was seemingly on his way to winning the match, but Taven rolled out of the way of Pillman’s senton attempt from the top rope. Moments later, he drilled Pillman with his signature DDT to win the match.

Lee Johnson defeated Blake Li

Johnson started off in full control, nailing Li with a few different strikes before sending him crashing to the mat with a suplex. Moments later, Johnson hit Li with a fisherman’s neckbreaker to pick up the victory.

– Toni Storm cut a promo about the rampage she’s been on recently against the “homegrown” stars of AEW. Storm finished by saying that every girl in her way is going to get what is coming to them.

Josh Woods defeated Daisy K

Although Daisy K tried to show off his strength on a few different occasions, nearly all of them backfired. Woods eventually blasted him with a knee strike before hitting him with a move that Taz described as the West Palm Beach Oil Rigger, leading to the successful pinfall.

– Lance Archer cut a promo about wanting better opponents, citing that things are going too easy for him at the moment.

Willow Nightingale defeated Diamante

Diamante started out by applying an arm submission attempt on Nightingale who escaped with ease. Nightingale followed up the escape by planting Diamante with a variation of a side slam for a quick near fall.

Diamante gained the upper hand after blasting Nightingale off the apron with a dropkick to the back. Diamante followed up that by stretching Nightingale’s back across the ring post before rolling her back in the ring.

Diamante then positioned Nightingale on the top turnbuckle, allowing “The Babe With Power” to send her across the ring with a shotgun dropkick. Nightingale followed up with a standing spinebuster for another near fall.

Moments later, Nightingale finished off Diamante with a doctor bomb to score the win.

Wardlow vs. Matt Taven TNT title match set for AEW Rampage

Posted on by Josh Nason

Two weeks after making his AEW on-screen debut, Matt Taven will not only have his first match on this Friday’s Rampage but will also have a chance to win a title as he faces TNT Champion Wardlow.

The Kingdom (Taven, Mike Bennett & Maria Kanellis-Bennett) made their surprise debuts on Rampage in Toronto two weeks ago, setting ROH Tag Team Champions FTR in their sights. Wardlow and Samoa Joe helped make the save and now have the new roster additions in their sights.

Wardlow will be looking for the sixth defense of the title and the last since he defeated Brian Cage on the October 5th Dynamite.

After picking up a win over Chris Jericho & Daniel Garcia on Wednesday’s Dynamite, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta will look to keep the good times (and wins) rolling as they face two more Jericho Appreciation Society members in Matt Menard & Angelo Parker.

Tay Melo will take on Madison Rayne as well.

Here’s the current lineup for this Friday’s live show from Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena:

  • TNT Champion Wardlow defends against Matt Taven
  • Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
  • Tay Melo vs. Madison Rayne

Report: The Kingdom sign multi-year AEW contracts

Posted on by Josh Nason

The Kingdom’s Matt Taven, Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett are now under multi-year AEW contracts according to a Fightful report on Wednesday.

The trio, who debuted at the end of the Friday, October 14th Rampage from Toronto, Canada, weren’t officially signed at the time of their appearance. As part of the show-closing angle, they challenged FTR for the ROH Tag Team titles — the date and location for which have yet to be announced.

Of the three, Kanellis-Bennett has a talent-only contract and is not expected to wrestle.

The three, and Vincent, recently wrapped up with Impact Wrestling, losing the Tag Team titles to Heath & Rhino on last week’s TV that was taped following this month’s Bound for Glory. Vincent was recently spotted backstage at a WWE Raw TV show which has led to speculation about his future employment.

Dave Meltzer had reported that WWE had interest in Taven while Fightful reported Bennett and Kanellis-Bennett had conversations with WWE but were unsure of any contract offer coming out of those talks. FTR had reportedly pushed for the team to be signed by AEW.

The Kingdom has yet to appear on AEW TV, Dark or Dark: Elevation since making their debut.

WWE has interest in Matt Taven

Posted on by Josh Nason

WWE has an interest in signing Matt Taven, according to Dave Meltzer.

Talking on Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer talked about several talents that wrapped up with Impact Wrestling after this weekend’s shows — a list includes Mia Yim, Taven, Vincent, Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett. 

He said WWE is interested in the 37-year-old Taven, a former tag team champion in Impact and NJPW, and Ring of Honor Grand Slam champion. It’s unknown if that interest is for the main roster or NXT.

He speculated that NJPW might also have interest in Taven, Bennett and Kanellis-Bennett because of their history there.

Taven, Bennett, Kanellis-Bennett and Vincent will be written off on Impact over the next two weeks based on Saturday’s post-Bound for Glory TV taping. 

The four have been in the company since this past January.

Vincent and Bateman were both backstage at Raw Monday, but it’s unknown if WWE is interested in signing either man.

Tag team match announced for Impact Countdown to Sacrifice

Posted on by Ian Carey

A tag team match is set to take place on the pre-show for Impact Wrestling’s Sacrifice event.

Impact Wrestling has announced that Matt Taven & Mike Bennett will face Rich Swann & Willie Mack on Countdown to Sacrifice this Saturday. The pre-show airs live on Youtube at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card then starting on Impact Plus and Impact’s Ultimate Insiders YouTube service at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Bennett & Taven vs. Swann & Mack will continue the ongoing rivalry between members of Honor No More and many of Impact’s top babyfaces.

Sacrifice is being held at Old Forester’s Paristown Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. Here’s the updated lineup for the show

  • Impact World Champion Moose defends against Heath
  • Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against the winner of Tasha Steelz vs. Chelsea Green from this Thursday’s Impact
  • Impact Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) defend against two members of Violent By Design
  • Knockouts Tag Team Champions The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay) defend against The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne)
  • X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Jake Something
  • Alex Shelley vs. Jay White
  • Jonah vs. PCO
  • Rhino vs. Eddie Edwards
  • Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack (Countdown to Sacrifice)

OGK, Maria Kanellis, PCO, Vincent appear at Impact Hard to Kill

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Four Ring of Honor wrestlers, along with Maria Kanellis, appeared on tonight’s Impact Hard to Kill event, laying out members of the Impact Wrestling roster.

Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Vincent, and PCO appeared following the Hardcore War match and attacked Rhino and Heath. Willie Mack and Rich Swann attempted to help, but were then jumped by PCO and Vincent. The Impact wrestlers were then laid out by the Ring of Honor wrestlers as Bennett brought in Maria Kanellis. All five then posed as the announcers suggested this may be an invasion from Ring of Honor.

Backstage, Gia Miller attempted to interview Scott D’Amore about the situation. D’Amore told Miller that he had to call Baltimore (the location of ROH’s headquarters) to figure out what was going on.

ROH has been on hiatus since December’s Final Battle, with the company planning resuming shows in April. Jonathan Gresham, the ROH World Champion, successfully defended the ROH title against Impact’s Chris Sabin earlier in the show.

Rok-C, the ROH Women’s Champion, appeared at ringside for the main event between Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo.

ROH TV results: Women’s World title match

Posted on by Skylar Russell

Quinn McKay joined the broadcast from the holiday-decorated ROH Studio and wished the viewers Happy Holidays. McKay then ran down the card for the show, which will feature the annual Christmas surprise twelve man tag, as well as an ROH Women’s Championship match between current champion Rok-C and Holidead. 

A special vignette aired showing Josh Woods and Brian Johnson opening special “presents” that featured the names of their respective teammates. Although the names weren’t revealed, Woods was delighted with his team while Johnson was not. 

ROH Women’s World Champion Rok-C defeated Holidead in a title match (13:30)

This was a good title match between two competitors that seemed to match up very well.

Holidead tried to use her size advantage to control the champion throughout the beginning stage of the match, but Rok-C read the room and fended it off well. When Holidead went to the outside, Rok-C attempted a dive but was stopped dead in her tracks when Holidead caught her and slammed her into the turnbuckle.

After a short commercial break, Holidead started to lose her grip on the match. Rok-C hit a knee to the face, and followed it up shortly after with a pair of double knees to the rib area of Holidead. Holidead went on to respond with a swing out flatliner that warranted a near fall, but Rok-C would deliver a running knee shortly after.

In the final stages of the match, both women continued to trade big moves. Holidead hit a backbreaker that resulted in the closest near fall of the match, but Rok-C was able to find that final wind and hit her modified Code Red shortly after for the win. 

Dalton Castle had a backstage vignette celebrating Christmas with Dak Draper and his “boys”. Things went awry quickly and Draper started throwing things around. 

Christmas Wildcard Twelve Man Tag Team Match: Team Woods (Bandido, Jay Briscoe, Josh Woods, Mark Briscoe, Matt Taven & Silas Young) defeated Team Johnson (Brian Johnson, Flip Gordon, Homicide, Kenny King, Rey Horus & Rhett Titus) (20:45)

This was a blast as always.

Homicide and Jay Briscoe locked up as the tags began to roll in. Woods and Titus got a nice sequence in on the mat, with Woods heavily targeting the arm and scoring a few near falls out of it. 

After a commercial break, Flip Gordon and Matt Taven became the legal men. They had a small back and forth before the focus shifted to a face off between Rey Horus and Bandido. 

Everybody else included in the match hopped off the apron and let the two luchadors do their own thing. Bandido was the first to strike, springing off the ropes and jumping over Horus. They traded a few hurricanranas before coming to a stalemate — which was applauded by their respective teammates. 

King and Mark Briscoe began to tee off on one another shortly after, which led to Titus and Jay Briscoe entering the ring. The commentary team sold the “nostalgia” aspect of the showdown, as the history between the two teams dates back to 2009. 

The match fell apart at this point, with everybody in sight hitting a big dive to the outside onto various opponents. Flip Gordon rushed to the commentary booth and began to chat up a storm, before realizing he was still in the match and making a massive dive off the stage. 

The final moments of the match saw Brian Johnson try to roll up Mark Briscoe with a handful of tights. After the fall was unsuccessful, Briscoe scolded Johnson and told him to “be a man”. This led to both men teeing off on each other with forearms, but Jay Briscoe eventually came in and helped his brother. The duo scored the win for their team after a Doomsday Device on Johnson.

Everybody in the match celebrated in the ring as the show went off the air.

Final Thoughts: This was a great sendoff show for this era of Ring Of Honor. 

Thanks to all that have kept up with my weekly ROH recaps for the past 16 months. Although I’m not sure what the future holds for both me and the supposed return of ROH in April, I appreciate anybody that has stuck around along the way.

Matt Taven & Mike Bennett win ROH Tag Team titles at Honor for All

Posted on by Josh Nason

Matt Taven and Mike Bennett won the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles at Sunday’s Honor for All, defeating LFI’s Dragon Lee and Kenny King for the belts.

This is the second reign for Taven and Bennett, known as The OGK, who first won the titles at September 2015’s All-Star Extravaganza in San Antonio, Texas, in a three-way that included Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian, and the Young Bucks.

The end came after all four men hit their finishers, leading to Amy Rose and Max the Impaler coming out to distract both King and Bestia Del Ring who was at ringside with LFI. Taven rolled up King to get the pin and win.

Lee and King held the titles since July, but only defended them once in an October title defense over SOS.

ROH will put on their final show of the year with Final Battle, a pay-per-view set for Saturday, December 11th in Baltimore, Maryland. Following the event, the company will go dark for three months as they figure out what their future holds.

ROH TV results: Bandido & Rey Horus vs. The OGK

Posted on by Skylar Russell

Location: Philadelphia, PA

The Soldiers of Savagery (Moses & Kaun) defeated Dalton Castle & Dak Draper (9:10)

The Briscoes joined commentary for this match.

Dalton Castle and Kaun started off the bout. They exchanged a few moves on the mat as Castle tried to toy with Kaun’s focus. Castle was able to get the upper hand and tag out to Dak Draper. Draper was met by a furious Kaun, who took control of the match back and tagged out to Moses. As the match went into a commercial break, S.O.S had full control of Draper.

The tides turned as the match returned from the break. Castle and Draper hit a few double-team moves as Moses got fired up on the apron for the hot tag.

Once Moses came in, he bulldozed everybody in sight and even scared Castle’s chickens off. Eventually, Moses and Kaun worked together and hit a double-team DDT for the win.

Following the match, Dragon Lee & Kenny King jumped S.O.S. After Lee & King left the ring, S.O.S challenged them to an ROH Tag Team title match. That title match is set for the next episode of ROH TV.

Willow defeated Angelina Love and Miranda Alize in a Women’s Championship Contender’s match (8:32)

Chelsea Green was on commentary here.

Willow was targeted by both Miranda Alize and Angelina Love right off the bat. She tried to fight it off but was met with strong resistance as the match went to commercial.

Willow finally found a way to defend herself against the two other opponents as we returned from the break. Both Alize and Love were hit with a combination of kicks and punches before Willow did a very impressive second rope dropkick on Alize.

Alize and Love stopped teaming together and went to blows with each other. Willow still was firing on all cylinders and kept hitting big move after big move on both women.

Near the end of the match, Love punted Alize off the apron with the Botox Injection kick. Willow capitalized on that by rolling Love up for the three count.

Willow will move on to face the winner of another triple threat match between Trish Adora, Mandy Leon, and Allysin Kay. The winner of that singles encounter will challenge Rok-C for the ROH Women’s World Championship at Final Battle.

The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated ROH World Champion Bandido & Rey Horus (12:07) 

Mike Bennett and Rey Horus started off the match. They exchanged a few maneuvers but came to a stalemate as a commercial break ensued. 

Matt Taven and Bandido squared off but also came to a stalemate, which prompted Bennett to come in and hit some double-team moves with Taven. Taven & Bennett practically played the role of the heels as Horus eventually made a hot tag and cleared the ring.

Taven was overwhelmed by the double team from Bandido and Horus, prompting him to tag out to Bennett. The match broke down here and saw everybody hit big moves. All four wrestlers were eventually down and out at one point.

While Bennett had Horus on his back and in position for a stunner, The OGK hit a double-team move where Taven connected with a kick on Horus and Bennett planted Horus to get the win.

The OGK and Bandido & Horus showed respect to each other and exchanged words after the match.

**********

Final Thoughts —

Despite all three of these matches being good/great, this episode of ROH TV felt uninspired and lacked a feel of importance.

Also, Bandido has lost four matches since winning the ROH World Championship. Even though they were all tag matches in some way or form, any champion just doesn’t need to lose that much.

Rey Horus loses…way too much. He’s 4-11 this year in the company. Horus is a phenom of a talent so I hope this is leading to something down the line.

I’m very happy with Willow picking up the victory, and I’m rooting for her to get the Women’s title match at Final Battle.

I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of ROH TV is worth your while. The scale is as follows:

  • Must-Watch TV
  • Go Out Of Your Way
  • Recommended Viewing
  • Watch YouTube Clips
  • Avoid At All Costs

This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Watch Youtube Clips