Tag: ROH Final Battle 2021

December 20, 2021 Observer Newsletter: ROH Final Battle, NJPW Super Juniors/Tag League finals reviews

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

On October 26 and 27, 2001, about 300 fans each night, which included notable wrestling legends like Dick “Destroyer” Beyer, Red Bastien, Kinji Shibuya, and Nick Bockwinkel, were present for a two-day tournament in Vallejo, CA, a city in Northern California about 32 miles from San Francisco and 69 miles from Oakland.

The tournament, an idea of Roland Alexander, was to bring in independent talent which had an underground buzz on them for an idea called King of the Indies. Like most events of this type, it was a financial flop. It also changed the future of pro wrestling.

Among the names in the tournament were Doug Williams, A.J. Styles, Super Dragon, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Spanky (Brian Kendrick), Adam Pearce, Samoa Joe, Bison Smith, and Vinnie Massaro. A wrestler on the undercard both nights was Chico Alvarez, better known now as Bryan Alvarez. The finals, which was not the original plan, came down to a former masked wrestler called The American Dragon (Bryan Danielson) and Low Ki.

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AEW’s Tony Khan to ‘lend some support’ to ROH for Final Battle PPV

Posted on by Josh Nason

AEW head Tony Khan said that he will be helping out Ring of Honor for their Saturday Final Battle pay-per-view.

Khan revealed the news during his weekly appearance on Busted Open Radio to promote Friday’s episode of Rampage.

He said he wishes the company the best and that “I’ll be doing some things to support them in their last show to make it a good show for them.” He didn’t clarify, nor was he asked, what that entailed but it’s assumed to be talent.

In a last-minute blow to the card, ROH lost World Champion Bandido Thursday after a positive COVID-19 test. He was set to defend against Jonathan Gresham and no replacement match has yet to be announced.

“…Over the weekend, I am going to lend some support to them and try and help them out because it’s the right thing to do,” Khan said.

While purely speculative, that support could be former ROH World Champion and longtime roster member Jay Lethal, who AEW signed in November. Any AEW talent added to the show would likely be announced ahead of time to drive additional buys or HonorClub subscriptions.

ROH announced they will go dark in the first quarter of 2022 as they internally reassess what the future of the company will be, one that will rely on primarily non-contracted talent assuming they return in April as intended.

Bandido off ROH Final Battle due to positive COVID-19 test

Posted on by Ethan Renner

ROH World Champion Bandido will miss Saturday’s Final Battle after testing positive for COVID-19.

The company announced today that Bandido tested positive and will not be at the Baltimore-area event this Saturday, December 11. Bandido had been scheduled to defend the ROH World title against Jonathan Gresham on the show. No replacement match has been announced. 

ROH released a statement on Twitter regarding the news: 

“#FinalBattle update. Get well soon @bandidowrestler! Match updates will be released as soon as possible.”

“Unfortunately, ROH World Champion Bandido returned a positive result on his most recent Covid Testing and will not be present at Final Battle this Saturday, December 11th in Baltimore. 

Thank you for continuously supporting Ring of Honor through it all and we appreciate your understanding that safety and health of our talents, staff and fans are our top priorities. 

Stay tuned for match updates regarding Final Battle 2021 as we commemorate the history-making era that is coming to an end.”

ROH will go on hiatus following Final Battle, with a relaunch planned for Spring 2022, although no future dates have been announced, and no talent will be under contract after March 31, 2022. 

ROH notes: Final Battle location, Jake Atlas, Alex Zayne, Taylor Rust

Posted on by Josh Nason

This story was updated at 9 PM Eastern.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson shared several notes after Sunday’s ROH Death Before Dishonor including why it might be their last one in front of fans this year.

  • Johnson reported DBD was the last scheduled one with fans this year and that several house shows were scrapped due to concerns over COVID-19.
  • They are taking a week-to-week approach to running in front of fans again which includes Final Battle, tentatively scheduled for December in Baltimore, Maryland. Dave Meltzer said later that ROH said that report was not correct and that Final Battle will indeed be taking place in front of fans in that city in that month.
  • They will tape their next round of TV both today and Tuesday in Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena with no fans with another round scheduled for November in Baltimore.
  • Jay Lethal, Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams are only injured in storyline and will work the TV tapings along with Jake Atlas, Alex Zayne and Taylor Rust.
  • Atlas was banged up after his match with Rust Sunday, but is fine.
  • Chris Hero was once again backstage working as a producer.
  • Lenny Leonard is not scheduled to announce on this week’s tapings and was just brought in for last night’s Women’s title match.