A double title match is set to take place at MLW One-Shot.
On the latest edition of CMLL Informa, it was announced that Rocky Romero will face Mascara Dorada 2.0 at MLW One-Shot in New York City on Thursday, December 7. Romero’s MLW Middleweight Championship and his CMLL World Historic Welterweight Championship will both be on the line in the match.
MLW entered into a strategic alliance with CMLL and NJPW this September.
In October, Romero won the MLW Middleweight title by defeating AKIRA at MLW Slaughterhouse. Romero has held the World Historic Welterweight Championship since defeating Volador Jr. in January 2023.
Dorada made his MLW debut at Fightland earlier this month. He teamed with Ichiban in a victory over Romero & Barbaro Cavernario.
MLW One-Shot is taking place from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens and will air live on Fite+. There have now been five matches announced for the show:
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane defends against Matt Cardona
Satoshi Kojima vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion Janai Kai defends against Maki Itoh
TJPW Princess of Princess Champion Miyu Yamashita defends against Delmi Exo
MLW Middleweight Champion & CMLL World Historic Welterweight Champion Rocky Romero defends both titles against Mascara Dorada 2.0
Rocky Romero believes NJPW could benefit from bringing in CM Punk.
Romero was interviewed by Fightful recently and was asked about the possibility of Punk working with NJPW. He responded that the promotion could benefit from the “fresh eyes” he would bring to the product.
“I think that, obviously, we didn’t really get to do many crossovers when Punk was with AEW,” Romero said. “There was supposed to be that Tanahashi Punk match that never happened. So, I think Punk coming and doing a Wrestle Kingdom or a big show like that could be, I think, great for our product. Obviously, getting fresh eyes and everything that he brings to it, merchandise and everything else. So, I wouldn’t be opposed to it at all.”
Romero was also asked if he feels NJPW would hurt their relationship with AEW by bringing Punk in considering how things ended between Punk and AEW.
“I know Tony (Khan) pretty well. I feel like I would probably give him the heads up, like, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on’ but I don’t think he would have much to say about it. I mean, obviously, it’s another company. He doesn’t own New Japan.”
“I think it’s fine, I think he would be cool with it, I think AEW would be cool with it,” Romero continued.
Punk’s only match under a NJPW banner was at Forbidden Door II in June. He defeated Satoshi Kojima on the show.
ROH has announced the lineup for tonight’s show on HonorClub.
Eddie Kingston will defend his ROH World Championship against Angelico on the show. The title match was set up last month after Angelico confronted the champion following Kingston’s victory over Serpentico in a Proving Ground match.
Other matches scheduled to air on Thursday include Athena vs. Heidi Howitzer, Billie Starkz vs. Rachael Ellering, and the Iron Savages vs. Cole Karter & Griff Garrison.
This week’s episode was taped on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Spoilers for the show are available here.
Ring of Honor TV November 9 lineup:
ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Angelico
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena vs. Heidi Howitzer in a Proving Ground match
Billie Starkz w/Athena vs. Rachael Ellering
Tony Nese w/Mark Sterling vs. Serpentico
Leyla Hirsch vs. Charlette Renegade
Kyle Fletcher vs. Lee Johnson
The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) w/Jacked Jameson vs. Cole Karter & Griff Garrison w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett
NJPW’s Rocky Romero hopes that he’ll be speaking with Mercedes Mone and her agent soon.
During an interview with WrestlePurists, Romero was asked if he has any update on Mone and her NJPW status. Romero said he doesn’t have any update right now, but he hopes that he’ll be talking to her and her agent “maybe soon-ish.” Romero said the last thing he heard was that Mone was recovering well from her ankle injury.
I honestly don’t have any update right now. I hope that I’ll be talking to her agent and her maybe soon-ish, but I honestly don’t have any update yet about anything. The last thing I had heard was that she was recovering well and basically they were going to let me know, reach out when she was getting close to a comeback. So, yeah. So I’m not really sure where we’re at.
Romero confirmed that there’s still communication between NJPW and Mone, but he doesn’t know for sure what Mone will want to do when she’s able to return from her injury. Romero said it would be unfair to speak for her.
There’s definitely still communication. And I mean obviously though, I don’t know what she’s going to want to do when she comes back for sure. Especially coming back from a serious injury, you know? And like that maybe messed up her timeframe of what she wanted to do and how she wanted to do it. So I really couldn’t say or speak for her, you know? I don’t think it would be fair.
Romero said he thinks Mone thoroughly enjoyed the time she’s spent in NJPW. Romero noted that NJPW would obviously love to continue working with her.
No [there’s no heat between the two sides]. No, no, no. I think that she thoroughly enjoyed her time in New Japan and New Japan loved working with her and obviously would love to continue to work with her. But yeah, I think everybody’s pretty happy with the work that we’ve done obviously, you know?
Romero works for NJPW both behind the scenes and as a wrestler.
Mone has been out of action since injuring her ankle at NJPW Strong Resurgence this May. That night, Mone was supposed to be crowned the inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s Champion. But an audible was called during the match after the injury Mone suffered. Willow Nightingale instead defeated her to win the title.
This week was a special edition of Fusion as Salina de la Renta was in charge. The matches were taped in October at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, plus a special showing of Volador Jr. vs. Rocky Romero from CMLL NJPW Fantastica Mania from June this year. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.
Jesus Rodriguez, the master of ceremonies for the night, introduced Salina but she was quickly interrupted by Ichiban and his interpreter looking for a shot at Romero and the MLW Middleweight title. Instead of Romero, Ichiban was forced to face Rodriguez immediately.
Ichiban defeated Jesus Rodriguez w/Salina de la Renta
Ichiban continued his quest for the heavily hinted Middleweight title shot by extending his undefeated streak to four wins. He previously put away Tracy Williams, Nolo Kitano and Love Doug, and took little time to put away Rodriguez here.
To give him credit, Jesus did keep Ichiban floored initially by using his size advantage to slow the pace. Salina also got her shots in from ringside when she could. She distracted Ichiban with powder and then choked him on the ropes behind the referee’s back.
Ichiban made a brief comeback with a jawbreaker and missile dropkick but Rodriguez floored him again. Rodriguez missed a middle rope moonsault, which let Ichiban come back again with a bulldog and his face-first finisher to pick up the pinfall win.
– After the match Romero and Janai Kai jumped Ichiban and Romero dropped him back first onto a seated chair.
– Salina had some big news about the upcoming MLW Fightland show. She announced that Romero would team with CMLL Light Heavyweight champion Barbaro Cavernario to take on Mascarada Dorada 2.0 and Ichiban. Plus she later announced that Jacob Fatu would challenge Alex Kane for the MLW World title at Fightland.
Highlights of Rocky Romero defeating Volador Jr to retain the CMLL World Historic Welterweight title (taped in Arena Mexico in June 2023 at CMLL NJPW Fantastica Mania).
– Salina introduced the new MLW Featherweight champion “Kick Demon” Janai Kai, fresh from defeating Delmi Exo for the title at MLW Slaughterhouse. We saw a highlight video of Kai’s array of kicks and strikes.
– Delmi Exo then confronted Salina backstage and said she will get her rematch. The cameras followed Salina where she then met Mister Saint Laurent as they brokered a deal: Salina got exclusive documents from when MSL was MLW Vice President, and MSL got a guaranteed title shot for a member of his World Titan Federation whenever he wanted.
– Mance Warner and 1 Called Manders were drinking beers in the parking lot and talking about their title shot next week. Salina interrupted but she was then interrupted by Jacob Fatu who ended up getting a future dream match in Mexico against Mistico.
– MLW World Heavyweight champion Alex Kane met with Salina for the big Fightland announcement. Salina brought out Kane’s next challenger, Jacob Fatu. The two went face-to-face as the crowd chanted “Holy Sh*t” and Fusion went off the air.
Next week:
– The Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) will challenge The Calling (AKIRA and Ricky Shane Page) for the MLW Tag Team Titles in a tag team tables match.
While appearing as a guest on Wrestling Observer Live on Wednesday, Rocky Romero explained the parameters of AEW and CMLL’s new working relationship.
That relationship began with Mistico vs. Romero taking place on last Friday’s episode of AEW Rampage. Romero said bringing CMLL and AEW together wasn’t the easiest task at first, but it all went “really, really smooth without a hitch” for his match against Mistico.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what happens between both companies,” Romero said. “It seems like both companies are pretty willing to go ahead and take the next step forward. So whatever that means, I’m excited for.”
Romero was asked how things will work given that AEW also works with CMLL’s rival Lucha Libre AAA.
“The parameters are things like, you know, maybe no AAA talent on the same show as CMLL talent. Obviously not in the same matches as well,” Romero said. “But yeah, I think I’m pretty much responsible for at least getting the conversation started and bringing the idea of CMLL working with AEW. And in this case, primarily Mistico. I think that over the last couple weeks, we’ve heard quite a bit that Tony Khan was a big fan of Mistico and having him was a big deal. So just to be able to open that door for CMLL, AEW, and New Japan to hopefully do some more work together next year, I’m stoked for it. I think it’s really, really cool. That’s another forbidden door opened.”
Romero is the current NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion in CMLL. In addition to wrestling, he works behind the scenes for NJPW.
The match on Rampage last Friday was Mistico’s AEW debut. After the match was filmed, CMLL issued a statement thanking AEW for the treatment they received. Tony Khan said it was an honor to host CMLL and he’s excited about the two promotions working together.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including full results from night one of Halloween Havoc, Dynamite preview for tonight, the news and more, plus Rocky Romero joins us to discuss New Japan Fighting Spirit Unleashed in Las Vegas and on FITE.tv this weekend! A fun show as always so check it out~!
FILTHY FOUR DAILY with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including our usual weekly Smackdown TV report, plus thoughts on Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey, Mistico vs. Rocky Romero on Rampage, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
The legendary luchador Mistico will face Rocky Romero in a battle of CMLL champions from different weight classes in what is billed as a battle for the pound-for-pound crown of Mexico. No titles are officially on the line in the contest. Mistico is CMLL World Historic Middleweight Champion, while Romero holds the World Historic Welterweight Championship.
John Silver of Dark Order will face Kip Sabian & Brother Zay in a triple threat match for a shot at Orange Cassidy’s International Championship at Saturday’s Battle of the Belts VIII special.
The Outcasts’ Ruby Soho will face Skye Blue in a women’s division contest.
Also set for the show, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta of Blackpool Combat Club will be in tag team action on the show. Yuta & Castagnoli will challenge for the AEW World Tag Team titles on Saturday’s Collision episode.
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Taped in Rosenberg, Texas.
Excalibur and Tony Schiavone were on commentary.
Mistico defeated Rocky “Azucar” Romero in a two out of three falls match (14:24 aired)
Romero is the CMLL World Historic Welterweight Champion, which “dates back to 1946” according to Excalibur. Mistico is World Histroic Middleweight Champion, which dates to 1933, the year CMLL was founded. Neither championship is on the line, and Excalibur was in his glory going into the details about CMLL and the history of the company.
First Fall: After a few minutes of back and forth action, Mistico hit a back handspring elbow to send Romero to the floor, and followed up with a twisting tope. The crowd was solidly behind Mistico. Back in the ring, Mistico tied up Romero on the mat in a surfboard and got a surprisingly quick tap out at 2:38. Mistico up 1-0.
Second Fall: Romero attacked Mistico from behind and sent him into the ring stairs. Back in the ring, Romero tore at Mistico’s mask. Romero dominated through the split-screen break. Romero hit the forever clotheslines in the corner. Mistico fought out of a cravat and took Romero down with a tijeras. Mistico sent Romero to the floor with an arm drag. Romero suplexed Mistico on the ring apron, then hit a tope suicida that sent Mistico halfway up the ramp.
Back in the ring, Romero hit a superplex for a near fall. Romero caught Mistico with a kick, then locked in a camel clutch. Mistico escaped the clutch, but Romero hit Sliced Bread for the pinfall at 9:49 (total time).
Third Fall: This fall was joined in progress after a long commercial break, which killed my enthusiasm for the match. Mistico came off the top rope with a crossbody onto Romero on the floor. Back in the ring, Mistico hit a springboard bodypress for a near fall. After a slam, Mistico went for a moonsault, but Romero got his feet up and kicked Mistico in the mush. Mistico hit a spinning powerslam for a near fall. Mistico tried for a German suplex off the middle rope, but Romero countered with a Sliced Bread off the top rope for a near fall.
Romero slowly climbed to the top, and Mistico ran up the ropes and took Romero to the mat with a Spanish Fly for another near fall. Mistico planted Romero with a Canadian Destroyer, then took Romero down with a spinning tijeras into a Fujiarwa armbar, and Romero tapped out.
The multiple commercial breaks really hurt this one for me.
– From Dynamite Wednesday, Stokely Hathaway made a match between Eddie Kingston and Jeff Jarrett for Collision. If Jarrett wins, Lethal gets a shot at the ROH World Title. I sure hope this isn’t the dream match we were promised earlier today.
John Silver (w/ Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds) defeated Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford, The Butcher & The Blade) and Brother Zay for a shot at the AEW International Title (7:03 aired)
Less than two minutes into the match, the show went into another split-screen break. The commercials feel really poorly timed and have been killing the show.
After the long break, Zay hit a springboard cutter for a near fall. He went for the Twist of Fate, but Sabian shrugged him off. Silver pressed Sabian into Zay for a low blow. Silver hit a German suplex for a near fall. Sabian hit an Arabian Press on Silver on the floor. All the hangers on got into it on the floor, so Zay came off the top with a dive on everybody. Back in the ring, Zay hit the swanton bomb on Sabian, but Silver ran in with a punt and got the pinfall.
None of these three should be near a singles title match. This was a mess, and the cheap finish didn’t help.
– Santana and Ortiz will fight next week in Philadelphia. Is this the dream match?
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta defeated “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith & Exodus Prime (1:41)
Yuta catapulted Prime into a gorilla press from Castagnoli. A giant swing into a dropkick from Yura and the Fastball Special ended the match.
– Renee Paquette interviewed Matt Menard and Daniel Garcia (along with the rest of that group, and they desprately need a new name), who immediately started arguing. Jake Hager didn’t give up the hat for this! Anna Jay told them it was time to squash it, and even though Menard hates the dance, he loves Garcia and the beef is squashed. It’s unclear how this affects the status of Hager and his hat.
– The Young Bucks and Hangman Page offered an open challenge for their ROH Six Man titles on Dynamite Wednesday.
– New on Collision Saturday: FTR returns, and the Dream Match is Official! Bryan Danielson will take on Andrade El Idolo. That’s it?!?!?
–New on Dynamite Wednesday: Tony Khan has a gift for Sting (there’s like a 50% change with Sting’s history that Khan is turning on him) and The Hardys & Brother Zay accepted the open challenge for the ROH Six Man Titles.
– New on Rampage Friday: Santana v. Ortiz, which makes sense since the entire feud has been happening through Rampage segments.
Ruby Soho (w/ Saraya) defeated Skye Blue (9:59)
Soho hit a series of short-arm lariats, and Blue came back with a superkick. They fought to the apron and Blue planted Soho face first into the apron. Soho caught Blue with a kick to take control on the floor.
Both women exchanged forearms after a split-screen break. Blue caught Soho with a running knee and a chop block. Blue is noticeably more aggressive, fish-hooking Soho and generally playing dirty. Saraya tripped up Blue, and Soho dropped Blue with a Saito suplex for a near fall. Blue powerbombed Soho out of the corner for another near fall. Saraya interfered again, and Soho hit the No Future for another near fall.
Blue countered an attempt at Destination Unknown with a backslide. Behind the ref’s back, Saraya hit Blue with the can of spray paint, and Soho rolled up Blue for the victory.
Soho and Saraya beat on Blue after the match, but Kris Statlander ran out to chase the heels away. Statlander tried to help Blue back to her feet, but Blue shoved Statlander away and left on her own.
Final Thoughts:
This show felt like kind of a mess tonight. They probably would have been better off just announcing Danielson v. Andrade without hyping up “announcing a dream match.”
CMLL is thankful for AEW following the start of a working relationship between the two companies.
On Thursday, CMLL issued an official statement expressing its gratitude to Tony Khan and AEW for how its wrestlers and director Salvador Lutteroth III were treated on Wednesday night. A match between Mistico and Rocky Romero was taped following Wednesday’s Dynamite in Rosenberg, Texas. It will air on AEW Rampage this Friday.
CMLL stated that this can be the beginning of a solid alliance between the promotions that is beneficial for both parties. CMLL said it was an honor and a privilege to be showcased on an international stage like AEW.
CMLL also thanked the AEW fans for the warm welcome that Mistico and Romero received.
Mistico made his AEW debut in the match against Romero. Spoilers from the tapings can be found here.
Dave Meltzer wrote yesterday about the ticket sales for Wednesday’s show: “As of this morning, AEW’s show tonight has moved well over 2,100 tickets since the announcement of Mistico. Some of this is lowering prices but every company lowers prices if not sold out at the end. This is a noteworthy number but also notable Mistico’s first AEW appearance and being in Houston is a one time thing.”
Romero is the current NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion in CMLL.
Both AEW and CMLL have released statements sharing their excitement ahead of next week’s collaboration.
On Friday, CMLL posted an official announcement confirming the upcoming match between Mistico and Rocky Romero that will be taped Wednesday for next Friday’s Rampage. In the statement, they said that it was the beginning of a new era for both companies, and are excited for future opportunities to work together.
In a series of posts on X Friday, Tony Khan confirmed he had met with CMLL officials on Friday, saying he hoped it was just the beginning.
“This is so cool,” Khan wrote on X. “Thank you for working with @AEW, we’re all very excited about teaming with @CMLL_OFICIAL next week on #AEWRampage!
“It was a great honor to meet today with @CMLL_OFICIAL today,” he wrote in a previous tweet. “I hope that next week’s match is just the beginning! CMLL Champion vs. Champion MISTICO @caristicomx vs Rocky Romero @azucarRoc Next Friday on #AEWRampage On @TNTdrama! Follow @AEWonTV for more info on this rivalry!”
Mistico currently holds the NWA World Historic Middleweight title, while Rocky Romero won the NWA World Historic Welterweight title earlier this year.
Tony Khan revealed on Thursday that the legendary luchador will wrestle Rocky Romero on the October 20 edition of AEW Rampage. The match will be taped on Wednesday’s show from the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas.
Next Friday, 10/20 Houston Friday Night #AEWRampage On @TNTdrama at 10pm ET/9pm CT
MISTICO debuts in a grudge match vs Rocky Romero, 10/20 on Rampage! Stay tuned to @AEWonTV to learn the history between these CMLL icons! pic.twitter.com/o9NoNYHSAU
Mistico and Romero were on opposing sides of a tag match on CMLL’s 90th Anniversary show in Arena Mexico on September 16. Mistico teamed with Atlantis Jr. & Mascara Sagrado and defeated Romero, TJP, and Kevin Knight. After the match, Romero’s team attacked the winners and unmasked them, with Romero taking Mistico’s mask. Romero and Soberano Jr attacked Mistico after a match on September 22 as well.
Another Forbidden Door 🚪 opened!
Get your tickets now!
Se abrió otra Puerta Prohibida 🚪 Por la primera vez, los mejores luchadores de CMLL lucharán en un ring de AEW. https://t.co/VO2VYP37lO
— ROCKY ROMERO🇵🇷 🇲🇽 🇺🇸 🇯🇵“Chico El Luchador” (@azucarRoc) October 12, 2023
Mistico is one of the biggest draws of all time. He won the Best Box Office Draw award in the Wrestling Observer Decade Awards covering the period from 2000-09.
Mistico was also voted Wrestler of the Year, Best Box Office Draw, and Best Flying Wrestler in the 2006 WON awards. He was voted Best Flying Wrestler the following year as well. In 2022, Mistico was voted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Mistico currently holds the NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship in CMLL. Romero is the current NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion in CMLL as well. Their match is advertised as being for Mexico’s Pound for Pound Crown.
The Ring of Honor World title will be on the line as part of tonight’s ROH TV on HonorClub.
Reigning titleholder Claudio Castagnoli will defend against Rocky Romero in hopes of gaining his 10th defense of the gold.
Ethan Page will make his first ROH appearance since 2014 as he takes on Griff Garrison.
Former NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale will face off with Lady Frost.
After failing to defeat AEW International Champion Jon Moxley recently, AR Fox will go one-on-one with Tony Nese. In a similar situation, Shane Taylor will look to rebound from his loss to ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe at All Out when he wrestles Lee Johnson.
The Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) will be in tag team action against GCW regular Cole Radrick & Matt Brannigan.
Former ROH Women’s Champion Mercedes Martinez will be in action as will former ROH Pure Champion Josh Woods.
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ROH World Title Match – Claudio Castagnoli (c) defeated Rocky Romero
This was Castagnoli’s tenth title defense.
The announcers talked about how Romero could throw a spanner in both Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston’s plans, as Romero would defend the title against Kingston at Dynamite: Grand Slam if he won here. Romero sent Castagnoli to the floor with a headscissors. Romero hit a pair of dives before Castagnoli cut off a third dive with an uppercut. Castagnoli sent Romero into the top turnbuckle with a Gorilla Press before dropping him with a big boot for a nearfall.
Romero tried fighting back with a rewind kick, but Castagnoli caught him in the Giant Swing for ten revolutions. Romero sent Castagnoli to the floor with another headscissors before sending Castagnoli over the vacant Collision announce desk with a dive. Romero hit a dropkick to Castagnoli while he was tied up in the ropes. Romero hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall.
Romero hit the rewind kick before landing a 619 and a Standing Sliced Bread for a nearfall. Romero went to the top rope, but Castagnoli cut him off with an uppercut. Romero knocked Castagnoli down and went for a crossbody, but Castagnoli caught him and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a nearfall. Castagnoli clubbered Romero in the corner before hitting a short-arm lariat for a nearfall. Romero caught Castagnoli with a couple of flash pins, but Castagnoli cut off a Tornado DDT. He hit Swiss Death before landing another heavy European Uppercut for the win.
The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) & Willie Mack defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) & Kevin Ku
The Infantry and Mack held firm control, with Dean hitting a dive onto all three of his opponents. The Outrunners cut him off while he was getting in the ring, allowing their team to take control of him. The Outrunners and Ku took time to pose, allowing Bravo to tag in and run wild. Mack tagged in and traded elbows with Ku. Ku landed a heavy kick, but Mack came back with a pop-up forearm and a Stunner before the Infantry hit their move for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Ethan Page. Page said that he’s let his ego take control of his career, chasing the money and losing his competitive edge. He doesn’t know who he is anymore, but he knows who he wants to be. He’s here in Ring of Honor to prove it to the people and to himself.
Mercedes Martinez defeated Zoey Lynn
This match was dominated by Martinez. Lynn made a short comeback that got cut off with a main event spinebuster. Martinez had the win but pulled Lynn up to hit a rabbit forearm. Martinez locked on the Brass City Stretch to win by submission.
Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Cole Radrick & Matt Brannigan
Kaun quickly hammered Brannigan before menacing Radrick off of the apron. Radrick tried running away, but Liona pounced him into the barricade. Liona and Kaun quickly ended things after flapjacking Radrick into Brannigan.
We got a video package recapping the history between Athena & Billie Starkz. After that, we got Lexy Nair in the back with Starkz. Nair gave Starkz a to-do list from Athena to be done before Athena came back in two weeks. Starkz initially balked, but after Nair reminded her that Athena would take it out on the both of them, Starkz decided to get it done. This story is very silly.
Darius Martin defeated Christopher Daniels
The two went back and forth to start before Daniels dumped Martin on his head with a back suplex. Daniels cut off a Martin springboard before leg dropping him off of the ropes for a nearfall. Daniels spun Martin around with a lariat. Daniels went for the uranage, but Martin turned it into an armdrag.
Martin fired up, but Daniels cut him off again, catching him in a Koji Clutch. Martin backdropped his way free of the Angel’s Wings, and after a pinning predicament, Martin held Daniels for a three count for the win.
Shane Taylor defeated Lee Johnson
Johnson tried bouncing around to gain advantage on Taylor before Taylor dropped him with a punch. Taylor flung Johnson across the ring multiple times before sending him into the barricade. Taylor hit an apron legdrop for a one count, then leveled Johnson with a lariat for a nearfall. Johnson tried fighting back, but Taylor headbutted him. A pull-up uranage followed by a splash only got a two count for Taylor.
Johnson came back, dropping Taylor to a knee after a pop-up dropkick. Taylor hit a pendulum DDT for a nearfall. Johnson went to the top rope before Lee Moriarty appeared at ringside to distract him. Taylor hit the Marcus Garvey Driver for the hometown win. Taylor shook hands with Moriarty before they left together.
Willow Nightingale defeated Lady Frost
Nightingale held serve until Frost ducked an enzuigiri. Frost cartwheeled off of Nightingale’s back before hitting a big kick for a nearfall. Frost kept control before running into a Pounce from Nightingale. Nightingale rocked Frost with short-arm lariats before landing an enzuigiri for a nearfall. Frost hit a hurricane kick before going for the Frostbite moonsault for a nearfall. Nightingale cut off Frost with a main event spinebuster before hitting the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty. Taylor said that he and Shane Taylor Promotions have carried Ring of Honor for years, and now it’s time for him to start making history. He officially introduced Moriarty as the newest member of Shane Taylor Promotions. I’m interested in this pairing.
Josh Woods (w/Mark Sterling) defeated Dominic Garrini
This wasn’t a Pure Rules match, but this still had a technical flair to it with both men having similar styles. They traded gutwrenches and wristlocks before Woods sent Garrini flying with suplexes. Woods hit the Anarchist Suplex for the quick win.
Ethan Page defeated Griff Garrison
Garrison hit a big splash in the corner while Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Cole Karter watched from the stage. Page hit a stalling suplex for a nearfall. Garrison hit a big boot and a knee drop to take control. Page cut off Garrison on the top rope and hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Garrison slipped out of the Ego’s Edge and hit a rolling elbow for a nearfall. Page came back with an outside-in cutter to score the win.
The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) defeated The Boys (Brandon & Brent)
The Workhorsemen got a jump start on the match, but the Boys were able to evade corner attacks and isolate Henry for a moment. Drake got a blind tag in before Henry baited Brandon into a forearm. Drake hit a twisting Vader Bomb for a nearfall.
Henry and Drake worked over Brandon for a while before Brent eventually tagged in. They teamed up to take down Henry, but Drake proved to be too much to handle. A strike combination took out Brandon before a Henry double stomp took out Brent for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Griff Garrison. He was quickly interrupted by Maria Kanellis-Bennett & Cole Karter. Bennett told Garrison that he had potential but needed to surround himself with like-minded people. There was then some humor about Maria’s pearl necklace.
AR Fox defeated Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling)
You’ll never guess, but Tony Nese wanted to do group training. AR Fox interrupted, thus giving us our match. A quick back-and-forth exchange ended with Nese almost scoring the win with a roll-up with the tights for a nearfall. Fox caught Nese with a series of kicks before mockingly jumping jacks. Sterling tried to cut off Fox, but Fox kept control and hit a skin the cat dropkick in the corner for a nearfall.
Nese choked Fox in the ropes before hooking him over the top rope. Sterling got a few shots in while Nese distracted the referee. Nese brought Fox to the top rope and hit a rolling uppercut. Fox held onto the ropes on a hurricanrana attempt, but Nese came back with the spinning heel kick for a nearfall. Fox came back with a pendulum DDT in the ropes.
Fox fired up, hitting his walkthrough cutter for a nearfall. Nese countered another cutter with a German suplex for a nearfall. Nese went for the Running Nese, but Fox moved. Fox got Nese to the top rope and hit Lo Mein Pain for the win.
Two pre-show matches have been added to this Sunday’s Impact x NJPW Multiverse United 2 pay-per-view — one of which is a title defense.
Impact Digital Media Champion Kenny King will defend against Yoshinobu Kanemaru in their first-ever meeting. King will be looking for the second defense of the title he won at July’s Slammiversary while Kanemaru will be making his Multiverse series debut.
The other will see Joe Hendry, the man King defeated for the title, team with Yuya Uemura & Heath against Rocky Romero, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi. The latter have teamed several times before in multi-man matches in NJPW.
The FITE.tv PPV will take place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Here’s the current card:
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
Lio Rush & Trey Miguel vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Mike Bailey
DOUKI vs. Sami Callihan
Zack Sabre Jr. & Shane Haste vs. Moose & Eddie Edwards
Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Rich Swann vs. Kevin Knight vs. BUSHI vs. Mao vs. El Desperado in a seven-way scramble
Bullet Club (David Finlay, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin, KENTA, Chris Bey & Ace Austin) vs. The World (Josh Alexander, PCO, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, El Phantasmo & The DKC)
Pre-show: Impact Digital Media Champion Kenny King defends against Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Pre-show: Joe Hendry, Yuya Uemura & Heath vs. Rocky Romero, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Smackdown, the Rampage street fight, the top SummerSlam matches, Rocky Romero vs. Mascara Dorada 2.0, plus some other fun stuff Tom checked out this weekend. A fun show as always so check it out~!
