The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Happy Friday! Join on-camera personality Denise Salcedo as she recaps both WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage!
Topics include Andrade vs. Rey Fenix with the AEW formation of La Faccion Ingobernable, more matches added to Forbidden Door, and the continued build towards Money in the Bank!
This podcast is sponsored by Wrestle Rumble.
Rush has not signed a full-time contract with AEW.
The 33-year-old debuted for the promotion at Double or Nothing in a segment with Andrade El Idolo, reuniting the Los Ingobernables stablemates. They had both been original members of the faction when it formed in 2014.
During a recent interview with Lucha Libre Online, Rush revealed that he is currently on a per appearance deal with AEW. The two sides are still in negotiations, however.
“I am grateful to Tony Khan for giving me the opportunity,” Rush said. “We are still under talks and negotiations. For now, there are just dates (not a full-time contract). I already did the first jump (step), which is being in the PPV, and not just a segment, but they gave it the value that both Rush and Andrade have. They left that promo for the end. Nobody expected it, not even my own family.”
Rush continued to talk about who in AEW he’s most interested in wrestling.
“For now, my objective is AEW,” he continued. “I am now in AEW and I want to face the biggest names. I want everything! I am not going for the minimum. You name it! CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, (Jon) Moxley, Samoa Joe, the best they have (to offer).”
“Imagine Rush vs Samoa Joe. There’s a lot of material. Bryan Danielson vs Toro Blanco Rush, two ex ROH World Champions against each other. There’s Moxley, which they state is the most extreme one. They need to see a real Mexican badass. A lot of people have requested this match… Rush vs. Kenny Omega. We can finally have that match.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions.
AAA star and former ROH World Champion Rush made his AEW debut in a taped segment at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on Sunday night.
Rush was introduced as Andrade El Idolo’s new business partner in a promo video shot in a conference room. Andrade said that he was tired of losing in AEW, tired of the Andrade Family Office, and he wanted a new ally. Jose the Assistant then produced a contract and Rush walked into the room, then did the Los Ingobernables pose with Andrade, a callback to their time together in the Los Ingobernables faction in CMLL.
Rush wrestled for CMLL from 2009 to 2019. He appeared in the United States for MLW in 2018 and 2019, and in ROH from 2018 to 2021, capturing that promotion’s World title twice. Rush joined AAA in 2019 at Triplemania Regia.
Andrade joined AEW in 2021 following a six year run in NXT and WWE. He and WWE wrestler Charlotte Flair were married on Friday in a ceremony in Mexico.
Rush’s AEW debut can be seen below.
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Image: ROH
After undergoing surgery, former ROH World Champion Rush will be out of action for the remainder of the year.
ROH announced on Wednesday that, due to undergoing knee surgery, Rush will be out of action for the rest of 2021. Rush suffered the injury while teaming with Dragon Lee against Bandido & Rey Horus at Glory By Honor night two on August 21.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio over the weekend that Rush’s contract with ROH is set to expire at the end of this year.
A message posted on Rush’s social media accounts yesterday confirmed that he had undergone surgery. It was stated that further details will be revealed at a press conference next Thursday.
Rush lost the ROH World Championship to Bandido at Best in the World this July.
La Faccion Ingobernable’s Rush, Dragon Lee & Kenny King were set to challenge Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles at Death Before Dishonor on Sunday, September 12. Rush’s father Bestia del Ring will be replacing him in the match.
Rush, Dragon Lee, King & Bestia del Ring vs. Taylor, Moses, Kaun & O’Shay Edwards will still air on the ROH TV episode that premieres this Saturday. The eight-man tag match was taped prior to Rush’s injury.
Image: ROH
Former ROH World Champion Rush is out of action after undergoing surgery.
In a message posted on his social media accounts on Tuesday, it was announced that Rush has undergone surgery. It was noted that further details will be provided at a press conference next Thursday.
ROH announced last week that Rush had suffered a knee injury while teaming with Dragon Lee against Bandido & Rey Horus at Glory By Honor night two. It was stated that the exact nature of the injury was unknown and his recovery time was to be determined.
La Faccion Ingobernable’s Rush, Dragon Lee & Kenny King challenging Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles had been set for ROH’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. A graphic that aired on the latest episode of ROH TV listed that Bestia del Ring will be replacing Rush in the match.
Death Before Dishonor is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Sunday, September 12.
Rush lost the ROH World Championship to Bandido at ROH Best in the World this July. It was Rush’s second reign with the title.
An eight-man tag match with Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring facing Shane Taylor, Moses, Kaun & O’Shay Edwards will air on the ROH TV episode that premieres this Saturday.
The Big Takeaway: Matt Taven and Vincent met in the main event, while various ROH Champions competed throughout a very fun card.
Dalton Castle defeated Danhausen
Dak Draper joined commentary for this bout.
Castle started off with his usual antics, taunting Danhausen with his “boys” at ringside. After Danhausen was distracted by the “boys”, Draper jumped off commentary and helped orchestrate a sneak attack with Castle.
Both guys eventually found their way back in the ring where Danhausen was able to hit a few German suplexes. Castle was losing steam and confidence when he resorted to pouring a bottle of Danhausen’s teeth onto the ring canvas. Castle would follow it up with his signature Bang-A-Rang onto the teeth for the win.
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LSG defeated World Famous CB in a pure rules match
The offense between both men was immediately taken to the mat and it led to some fun exchanges. CB targeted the arm of LSG and nearly every form of attack that CB performed was based on the arm.
CB was clearly overwhelming LSG because he used all three of his rope breaks within the first seven minutes of the match. LSG got his offense in when he could and hit a surprise “Rocket By Baby” butterfly suplex, followed by a surprise pinning combination which was able to muster a three count.
CB refused to shake LSG’s hand afterwards.
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Rok-C and Miranda Alize defeated Willow & Chelsea Green
Willow and Alize started out the match. Alize threw some strong strikes at Willow but couldn’t seem to match the power or intensity that her opponent was giving out, so she tagged out to Rok-C.
Rok-C came in and had a fantastic exchange with Willow, one that included a top rope arm drag. Willow was shaken up so she tagged out to Chelsea Green. Green and Rok-C had a fun exchange that saw Green tag back out to Willow pretty quickly.
Willow came back in and missed a moonsault on Rok-C, which allowed the latter to hit a massive code red and pin Willow for the three count.
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Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses, and Kaun) defeated Incoherence (Delirious, Hallowicked, and Frightmare) to retain the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championships
Incoherence was joined by Ultra Mantis Black, who joined commentary after their entrance.
Delirious and Kaun started off the match and while Delirious went for a few takedowns, none of them manifested. Frightmare and Taylor came in after which got a massive reaction from the crowd.
Frightmare slapped Taylor, which prompted Taylor to clock him with a forearm strike. The match broke down for a minute and all of Incoherence sent STP reeling to the outside, which allowed Incoherence to regroup. This would end up favoring STP, who took over the match shortly after.
Moses had Delirious down and out when Hallowicked came in. Hallowicked slammed down Moses, and hit a great standing knee-based moonsault. When Hallowicked went for the pin, Taylor came running out of nowhere and bulldozed him.
Taylor and Delirious became the legal men. Taylor went to the second rope and was going to dive onto Delirious, but Frightmare pulled Taylor off the top rope with a cutter. This was the result of a very close near fall, but when Frightmare became legal, Taylor bulldozed him with a knee strike and followed it up with a package piledriver for the win.
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Brian Johnson & Mark Briscoe defeated Demonic Flamita and Flip Gordon
Johnson and Flamita started out and Flamita absolutely handled him easily. Gordon came in and Johnson had better luck with him, having a fun slug fest. Flamita and Briscoe came in and had a really fast paced exchange that slowed down Briscoe’s energy significantly.
Flamita and Gordon took turns tagging in and out and beating down Briscoe in their corner. Briscoe eventually made a massive hot tag to Johnson, who got a great reaction.
After the hot tag, Johnson and Briscoe miscommunicated and crashed into one another. This led to Johnson telling Briscoe to kick rocks and he walked out of the match to a chorus of boos.
Flamita perched on the top rope for a 450 on Briscoe, but flipped off the crowd and jumped down instead. Flamita went to grab a chair but when Gordon encouraged him to use it, Flamita flipped off Gordon and tagged himself out. Gordon started to yell at his partner which allowed Briscoe to pick him up and piledrive him into the chair for the win.
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The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams) defeated VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Chris Dickinson, Tony Deppen and Homicide)
Kenny King joined commentary for this bout.
Deppen and Titus started off the match. Both guys exchanged a headlock or two and once Deppen got cocky, he backed away from Titus and tagged out to King. King called for Gresham, but once Gresham came in, Lethal tagged himself in. Homicide came in afterwards, leading to Lethal and Homicide being legal.
Lethal’s chops had Homicide reeling quickly and made him tag out to Dickinson. Williams came in and exchanged a few shoulder tackles with Dickinson. Williams perched Dickinson on the top rope and hit a masterful butterfly suplex that warranted a near fall.
Dickinson was able to eventually tag out to Deppen, who became a target for The Foundation. They all took turns tagging in and out and targeting Deppen’s knee. Deppen would see an opening and fight off a double team from Lethal and Gresham, but it led to Gresham hitting a fantastic jumping cutter.
The Foundation had full control of their opponents until King eventually got the hot tag. King went absolutely insane and started throwing people into other people and diving onto others. Eventually King and Gresham went face to face and had a great striking exchange, but when distracted, Dickinson would pick Gresham and drive him through a table with a falcon arrow.
The final stages of the match saw Lethal and Deppen as the legal men. Deppen would try to fend off Lethal’s offense but couldn’t and eventually ate a Lethal Injection, which allowed Lethal to win.
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La Facción Ingobernable (Dragon Lee & Rush) defeated Mexisquad (Bandido & Rey Horus)
Rush attacked Bandido with a chair as he was making his entrance.
With Bandido being hurt and out, Rush and Dragon Lee resorted to double teaming Horus. Horus wouldn’t lay down and take a beating though and valiantly fought back until Bandido was able to help him.
LFI would still be in full control when Bandido returned. A ton of double team moves ensued and the crowd eventually willed Bandido back into the match. Bandido had a fantastic exchange with Dragon Lee where he countered a pop up DDT into a Canadian Destroyer.
Rush showed weakness and favored his knee in the late stages in the match, but eventually was able to hit his signature running dropkick in the corner on Horus for the win.
**********
Vincent defeated Matt Taven in a Steel Cage match
When Taven was trying to enter the cage, Vincent smacked him with the cage door and the match spilled to the outside.
Vincent and Taven fought all over the 2300 arena before eventually making their way into the cage, where the match officially began. Taven wasted no time and went to the top rope with Vincent, where Taven was able to hit a swing neckbreaker. Taven followed that up with multiple running knees into Vincent’s face.
Taven would lift Vincent up for a suplex but Vincent would counter with a erungai submission. Taven escaped quickly and began an assault on Vincent again. Bateman would come down to the ring with barbed wire and slide it into the ring, but Mike Bennett would run in from commentary and try to eliminate the problem.
Vincent took the barbed wire and weaved it throughout the cage walls, which allowed him to rub Taven’s forehead straight into it and cause him to bleed profusely. Taven would fight through the blood and start to wrap barbed wire around Vincent’s head like a crown.
Once Vincent started bleeding, Taven pulled out a purple hatchet and rubbed it on Vincent’s head. Taven followed it up with multiple running knee strikes but he refused to go for a pin.
Vita VonStarr would come to the ring with a bag of thumbtacks. VonStarr would climb to the top of the cage and attempt to dive onto Taven, but missed completely and hit Vincent instead. Taven would follow up by back body dropping VonStarr onto a pile of thumbtacks, and then hit a “Climax ” DDT on Vincent onto the pile of thumbtacks as well.
Dutch, the final member of The Righteous, came down to the ring afterwards. Dutch climbed to the top of the cage and Taven pushed him off into two tables. Vincent took advantage of a distracted Taven and hit a cutter off the top of the cage. Vincent hesitated for a moment before pinning Taven for the three count.
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Final Thoughts: I enjoyed Glory By Honor Night Two a lot more than I enjoyed night one. The show featured a great variety of matches that all told a different story and had different variations to it. My favorite bout was the LFI vs Mexisquad tag team match followed closely by the Six Man Tag Team Championship match, although I don’t think there was necessarily a bad match on the card.
Also, sign Tony Deppen. Please.
Bandido defeated Rush to win the ROH World Championship at tonight’s Best in the World pay-per-view event.
The finish of the match had Rush kicking out of the 23-plex and going after Bandido, ripping off the top of his mask. Rush and the referee, Todd Sinclair, started to argue. Bandido took advantage of Rush being distracted and rolled him up to win the championship for the first time. This ends Rush’s second reign with the title which lasted nearly 500 days, dating back to Gateway of Honor back in February of 2020 when he defeated PCO.
After the match, Rush and the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable (Bestia del Ring, Dragon Lee, Kenny King) came out and attacked Bandido. Rush laid him out with the title and dropped it on Bandido’s chest. The show closed with Rush placing his foot on top of Bandido and the title.
Other title changes on the show had Chris Dickinson and Homicide defeating Jonathan Gresham (subbing for Tracy Williams) and Rhett Titus to win the ROH World Tag Team titles and Dragon Lee defeating Tony Deppen to regain the ROH TV title.
Preview by Josh Nason
For the first time since February 2020, Ring of Honor will host a show in front of live fans with tonight’s Best in the World pay-per-view from Baltimore, Maryland.
The eleven-match card is headlined by World Champion Rush vs. Bandido. This will be Rush’s first title defense since March and the first time they have clashed in a singles match since March 2019. Bandido earned the shot by winning the Survival of the Fittest tournament.
The show will also feature four other title matches: Tag Team Champions Rhett Titus and Tracy Williams vs. Chris Dickinson and Homicide in a fight without honor; Six Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor, Kaun and Moses vs.. Dak Draper, Dalton Castle and Eli Isom; Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bennett; and TV Champion Tony Deppen vs. Dragon Lee.
Best in the World will also feature Brody King vs. Jay Lethal; Josh Woods vs. Silas Young in a last man standing match, Danhausen and PCO vs. Brian Milonas and Beer City Bruiser; Rey Horus vs. Demonic Flamita; EC3 vs. Flip Gordon and The Briscoes vs. Brian Johnson and PJ Black.
Our live coverage kicks off at 7 PM Eastern.
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The show started with an announcement concerning Tracy Williams. The Maryland State Athletic commission will not allow Williams to compete in his Tag Team Title match tonight. Jay Lethal will take Williams’ spot and join Rhett Titus to take on Homicide and Chris Dickinson. Lethal will be pulling double duty as he also has a bout with Brody King.
Rey Horus defeated Flamita
Horus blasted Flamita off the apron right as the bell rang, and took it to his former MexiSquad partner at ringside. Flamita was able to recover rather quickly and toss Horus back in the ring, and began a slow pace afterwards.
Flamita shrugged a lot of Horus’ offense off but eventually paid for it when Horus’ hit a great tope suicida. Horus would follow it up with a satellite DDT that absolutely drilled Flamita into the mat.
At this point in the match, the intensity turned up a notch. Both luchadors exchanged some stiff strikes and both guys eventually ended up on the top turnbuckle. Flamita lifted up Horus for the musclebuster/lungblower combination and was successful in hitting it, but Horus powered out at two.
Flamita went to attempt a powerbomb afterwards, but Horus flipped through and was able to roll up Flamita for the three count and the win.
**************
Kenny King came out and cut an OK promo. He told the crowd to be loud and that the people in the back are eager to perform in front of a crowd. King then took a dig at the local Baltimore Ravens, and guaranteed Dragon Lee would regain the ROH TV Title tonight.
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Trending With Taven with Vincent
Matt Taven is out and he has A LOT of hair. Taven recalls his successes and failures in the past number of years and The Righteous interrupt. Taven offers Vincent a contract that entails that him and Vincent have one more match. Vincent said he would only agree if Taven puts up his World Title shot on the line.
Vincent had a metaphor about a cage which led to Taven proposing a Steel Cage match. Vincent agreed and both men brawled, but The Righteous had Taven outnumbered. Bateman and Dutch threw Taven headfirst into his neon sign to end the segment.
**************
PCO and Danhausen defeated The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Brawler Milonas) (w/ Ken Dixon)
Milonas shoved PCO off the apron and started throwing around Danhausen. Bruiser and Milonas tagged in and out, both taking turns at working down Danhausen. Danhausen eventually hit a release German Suplex on Bruiser, which was impressive on its own, but then made the tag to PCO.
PCO had a great hot tag that saw a swanton on Bruiser who was laying on the apron, followed by a dive on the outside to Milonas. Sledge emerged from backstage and stood at ringside. Bruiser hit a springboard elbow drop on PCO, but was met by Danhausen when he got back in the ring. Danhausen slammed Bruiser on a spilled pile of teeth, followed by a PCOsault from PCO for the win.
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The Briscoes defeated PJ Black and Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson ran down the Baltimore crowd, who actually cheered back at him. Johnson also said Black has been to more countries than The Briscoes can count to, which I popped for.
The Briscoes cleared house quickly and took the fight to ringside. Jay held Brian Johnson in place as Mark hit a topè off of a steel chair. The high intensity continued from the Briscoes as they pounced on Black after rolling Johnson in the ring.
Johnson and Jay ended up having a really intense forearm exchange, to which Johnson held his own. Mark tried to lift Johnson up for the redneck boogie but Black broke it up.
The Briscoes just continued their onslaught of momentum as Jay would hit the Jay-Driller piledriver on Black, followed by a Froggy Bow from Mark for the win.
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EC3 defeated Flip Gordon
This bout started off quite slow to my suprise. Gordon targeted the knee of EC3 with a few chop blocks, but it didn’t seem to affect the “Essential Character”. Gordon continued a limb-targeting based offense, which fits his heel character a lot more than what previous work did.
EC3 got very little offense up to this point but despite his knee injury, he was able to muster enough power to hit a butterfly facebuster. EC3 followed it up with a crossface and made Gordon submit quickly.
*************
Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses and Kaun) defeated Dak Draper, Dalton Castle and Eli Isom to retain the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles
Kaun and Draper began the bout. The two weren’t in for even a minute before Isom and Moses came in. Moses overpowered Isom with ease, causing Isom to tag out to Castle.
Castle did his usual showboating shtick, to which the crowd played up. Moses tagged out to Taylor, who mowed him over with a forearm. Isom came in and Taylor planted him into the canvas with a one-handed spinebuster.
Castle recovered and hit a few moves on Kaun, but refused to go for a cover and continued to showboat. Isom shoved Castle down, but then Moses shoved Isom into Draper. Chaos kept erupting while Isom had a few nearfalls on Taylor.
Isom went to the top rope in an attempt to jump on Taylor, but Castle tried to do the same. Isom shoved Castle off the top rope which allowed for enough of a distraction for Kaun to suplex Isom off the top rope. Taylor planted Draper with a “Welcome To The Land” piledriver for the win.
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Josh Woods defeated Silas Young in a Last Man Standing match
Woods jumped Young from behind during his entrance. Both guys wasted no time and almost instantly introduced a chair, a table and a ladder to the match. Woods took it to Young by throwing him groin first into the steel turnbuckle. A few short minutes after, Young speared Woods into a table set up in the corner of the ring.
Woods would eventually apply a gorilla lock to Young who tapped quite fast, but it didn’t matter due to stipulation. Woods set up two tables on the outside of the ring and tried to lure Young to that area, but the “Last Real Man” kicked him in the groin. Young sat Woods in a chair and tried to charge at him, but Woods caught him and powerbombed him into the ladder.
Both guys eventually made their way on the apron, dangling over the set-up tables. They teased a German Suplex spot a few times before actually doing it. A “Holy Sh*t” chant emerged from the building as the referee began his count. Woods emerged at a ten count to win the match.
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Brody King defeated Jay Lethal (w/ Tracy Williams)
Lethal and King have a stare down before the bell. There’s a lot of tension here so both guys wasted no time going right after each other. Lethal hit a Lethal Injection almost immediately, but King kicked out at one. King went to recover on the outside, but Lethal hit four (!) dives in a row. None of the dives kept King down as he just climbed back in the ring.
King laid in a few “frying pan chops” as Ian Riccaboni called it and slowed down the pace. Commentary played this up as a giant downfall for Lethal as King continued to dominate him. King set up Lethal in a chair against the barricade and hit a running crossbody, crushing Lethal. Lethal tried to show some fight, but King kept hammering him with chops and brutal forearms.
King planted Lethal with not one, but two gonzo piledrivers for the win. A really good display of strength for King.
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Jonathan Gresham defeated Mike Bennett to retain the ROH Pure Championship
Gresham and Bennett grappled and exchanged a few waist and wrist locks for the first two minutes. Bennett caught Gresham in a hold that forced Gresham to use his first rope break. Gresham would then target the arm of Bennett and begin showboating, even starting a few clap-alongs while smacking Bennett’s arm.
Gresham would get a bit cocky and afforded Bennett a opportunity to swing at him, but the Champion rolled to the outside. Bennett followed and Gresham would jump back in the ring and spring onto Bennett. Bennett caught him but Gresham transitioned it into a standing kiruma on the outside. Bennett tapped multiple times but since it was on the outside of the ring, it didn’t count.
Bennett and Gresham both eventually made their way back into the ring and the match picked up speed. Bennett would try a few different moves but his arm gave out multiple times. Gresham would keep picking on the same arm and eventually made Bennett use his final rope break. Both men would engage in a war of forearms and it would allow Bennett to get an adrenaline rush at a key point in the match.
Bennett planted Gresham with a great powerbomb followed by a piledriver which almost resulted in a new champion, but Gresham’s foot was underneath the rope during the pin attempt. Bennett celebrated thinking he won the title, but Gresham would sneak up behind him and apply a leglock and make Bennett tap for the win.
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Dragon Lee defeated Tony Deppen to win the ROH Television Championship
Lee and Deppen went right after each other, exchanging super stiff forearms and slaps. Deppen sent Lee to the outside and hit a wonderful cannonball candian destroyer. Lee recovered rather quickly and both guys went to war inside the ring.
Multiple german suplexes, knees, and stomps were exchanged between Lee and Deppen before Lee hit a piledriver for a near fall. Lee was able to eventually nail Deppen with a Dragon’s Breath knee for the win.
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VLNCE UNLTD (Chris Dickinson and Homicide) defeated The Foundation (Jonathan Gresham & Rhett Titus) in a Fight Without Honor to win the ROH Tag Team Championships
When Dickinson and Homicide rushed to the ring to check on Tony Deppen, Gresham and Titus followed behind quickly. The bell rang and everything fell apart quickly. Dickinson tossed Titus off the top rope spine-first into a chair, and only moments later Titus put Homicide through a table with a Falcon’s Arrow.
Dickinson worked on Gresham in the ring while Homicide and Titus brawled on the outside. All four guys eventually made their way back in the ring and while Gresham was out of breath, he kept his fight alive. Dickinson and Homicide took a dominant position at this point in the match. Dickinson had Gresham in a STF and when Homicide was about to stab him with a fork, Titus sprung back to life and suplexed him. Dickinson would waste no time and powerbomb Titus off the top rope into a table, while Homicide would hit the Cop Killer on Gresham for the win.
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Maria Kanellis Bennett revealed the ROH Women’s Tournament bracket
Bennett introduced Lenny Leonard to the crowd and revealed the bracket for the upcoming ROH Women’s Tournament. With one spot left, Bennett introduced Chelsea Green. Green said she is ready to prove herself worthy after spending two years being deemed not worthy. Green made it known that she is entering the upcoming tournament that starts on July 31st.
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Bandido defeated RUSH to win the Ring Of Honor World Championship
Rush blasted Bandido as soon as the bell rang and hit his signature running corner stomp immediately. Rush stood over Bandido’s body and covered him with his foot, but released the pinfall at a one count. Bandido rolled out of the ring to try and recover, but Rush followed him out and started hitting him with cables.
Bandido was completely lifeless at this point as he rolled to the outside, to where Rush followed him. Bandido would gain a burst of energy and toss Rush back in the ring, and follow it up with a stunning shooting star press. Bandido would continue to gain momentum slowly, but when he attempted his X-Knee finisher Rush reversed it easily.
Rush introduced a table to the bout shortly after and set it up at ringside. When he went to climb back in the ring, Bandido launched himself over the top rope and took Rush with him in the process as both men crashed into the table. As a twenty count from the referee approached, both men made it back in the ring.
Bandido and Rush kept finding more and more momentum to continue the bout. Bandido hit a moonsault slam for a near fall, followed by a 23-Plex for another near fall. Rush got very frustrated at this point and ripped the top of Bandido’s mask off, and also shoved referee Todd Sinclair down. Bandido would take advantage of Rush’s distraction and roll him up for the win. Bandido is the new Ring Of Honor World Champion.
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Final Thoughts:
Despite the whole Pay-Per-View feeling rushed at times, I enjoyed ROH’s return back to live crowds. Almost every match made itself different from another, which is what I look for in a 12 match card like this one. I wasn’t a fan of the Baltimore crowd at all, but it could have just been mic-ing issues. Or again, the fact that there were TWELVE matches.
Besides a fun Flamita/Horus opener, the first few matches lacked a PPV-type feeling. I don’t think the “Get everybody On The Card” strategy has ever paid off for any company, but I understood it for ticket-moving logistics. If I was cutting the proverbial fat off of the PPV, I would shave off the first two tag matches between PCO/Danhausen/The Bouncers and The Briscoes/Brian Johnson/PJ Black.
I don’t know if something happened early in their match, but EC3/Gordon was quite terrible. Definitely expected a better match from those two. Shane Taylor Promotions getting a great reaction is the stuff i love to see, as they were one of my favorite acts throughout the pandemic tapings.
The Josh Woods/Silas Young match is where the show got really, really good. Young and Woods had a good last man standing bout that had a satisfying finish. Brody King absolutely mauled Jay Lethal and it was a sight to behold to say the least. Following up the near-murder was a fantastic Mike Bennett and Jonathan Gresham Pure Title match that had a heart-breaking near fall at the end. This match only furthered my belief that Gresham is a Top 10 wrestler on the entire planet.
After that bout was a Dragon Lee and Tony Deppen match that despite going under ten minutes, was my match of the night. It’s hard to put it into words, but I’d highly recommend watching it if you haven’t already.
After a great 15+ minute match with Bennett, Gresham had to defend the ROH Tag Titles with stablemate Rhett Titus against Dickinson and Homicide in a very fun match. It was a Fight Without Honor, so there were a lot of cool weapon related spots. Homicide even threatened to stab Gresham with a fork, to which Ian Riccaboni pointed out that this wasn’t a CZW event.
Chelsea Green showed up! It gets more eyeballs on the product, so I’m cool with it.
The main event saw Bandido and Rush add onto the slate of great matches. Bandido winning the title was a really cool moment and genuinely unexpected on my part. I hope he’s around a lot more than RUSH was.
Overall, a really great effort put forward by the whole ROH roster. They continue to trend in the right direction and gain some fans back from the past.
The following contains spoilers for this weekend’s ROH TV.
Ring of Honor World Champion Rush will defend the title against Bandido in the main event of the Best in the World pay-per-view on July 11th.
Bandido earned the shot by winning the Survival of the Fittest elimination tournament six-way final this weekend on ROH TV. The match also involved Demonic Flamita, Eli Isom, Brian Johnson, Chris Dickinson, and Rhett Titus.
Rush (seen above) won the title in February 2020 in a three-way at Gateway of Honor and has title defenses against Brody King, Shane Taylor and Jay Lethal to his credit. This will be his first title match since March.
The two have clashed before in ROH with Rush picking up a win at the March 2019 17th Anniversary PPV.
Best in the World will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, and will be their first show with fans since February 2020.
Here’s the full PPV lineup as currently announced:
Federacion Wrestling has postponed their debut pay-per-view event after Andrade El Idolo, Rush, and the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable pulled out of the show.
The promotion sent out a press release confirming the show will no longer take place on Saturday, June 19, providing information on refunds. The promotion later released another statement claiming that the show will be rescheduled due to logistical issues.
Andrade was the first to pull from the event, then Rush and the rest of La Faccion de Ingobernable pulled out soon after. Rush cited logistical problems as the reason he was pulling from the event. Andrade said that he “did not reach a good agreement” with the company.
The main event for the show was to feature Andrade, Bestia del Ring, Rush and a mystery partner facing The Briscoes, Matt Taven & PJ Black. Elsewhere on the card, Dragon Lee was scheduled to team with Bandido against Fenix & Penta El Zero M. Kenny King was scheduled to compete in the Torneo Copa Federacion tournament.
The main event of Ring of Honor’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view is now official.
ROH World Champion Rush will defend his title against Jay Lethal at ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV on Friday, March 26. On the latest episode of ROH TV, Lethal won a four corner survival match to be confirmed as Rush’s challenger for the Anniversary event.
Lethal pinned Matt Taven to win the four corner survival match. Taven, who is feuding with The Righteous’ Vincent Marseglia, was distracted by Righteous member Vita VonStarr leading into the finish. Jay Briscoe and EC3 were also involved in the match but fought to the back near the finish after EC3 tried to get away from Briscoe.
Rush is a two-time ROH World Champion, while Lethal has also held the ROH World Championship twice during his career. Rush regained the title by defeating PCO and Mark Haskins in a three-way match in February 2020.
On the ROH TV episode that premiered on February 27, Rush retained the ROH World Championship against Shane Taylor. Rush’s La Faccion Ingobernable stablemate Kenny King acted like he was going to stop Rush from using a chair during the match — but King instead hit Taylor with the chair himself.
King & Dragon Lee also defeated Lethal & Jonathan Gresham for the ROH Tag Team titles on that February 27 episode of ROH TV.
The 19th Anniversary event will be ROH’s second PPV since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Last year’s scheduled 18th Anniversary PPV didn’t take place due to the pandemic.
The Big Takeaways:
In a big “Championship Edition” of ROH, Kenny King and Dragon Lee captured the ROH Tag Team titlesin a tainted win while Rush retained his ROH World title — also in a tainted victory.
The broadcast started with La Faccion Ingobernable backstage. Rush said that no matter who they put in front of him, the result will be the same every time. Bestia slapped a chair and repeated Rush’s sermon. Kenny King then approached and told Rush he didn’t need a chair to beat Shane Taylor. Rush argued and told King that LFI is all about pure humiliation.
Dragon Lee and Kenny King (w/ Amy Rose) defeated Jon Gresham and Jay Lethal to win the ROH Tag Team titles (14:11)
The commentary team noted that if somebody breaks up a pinfall, it counts against their team as a rope break use.
Lee and Gresham began with a very fluid exchange of takedowns that ended in a stalemate. After their partners tagged in, Lethal quickly locked in a figure four and King used a rope break. King tagged out to Lee who used a closed fist on Lethal and the referee issued him a warning. Lee took advantage and shoved Lethal out of the ring, following it up with a suicide dive that took us into a commercial break.
The match heated up after Lethal and King got hot tags. Gresham and Lee exchanged forearms for a good 20 seconds, followed up by a waist lock exchange that Gresham won. Gresham and Lethal tried their rolling cutter combination but Lee caught Gresham and planted him with a piledriver. King got in and nailed Gresham with a rolling brainbuster followed by a knee to the skull from Lee. Lethal broke up the pin, using one of their rope breaks.
Lethal went for a dive on King on the outside, but crashed into Rose instead. With the referee distracted, Lee used a closed fist and nailed Gresham in the jaw, picking up the pin afterward.
— Shane Taylor cut a promo, saying that people like him aren’t supposed to win the ROH World title. He wasn’t speaking about race, but rather the truth he speaks. Taylor said the way he carries himself and speaks up on social issues scares people and that’s okay. He’s grateful that the ROH fans voted him to become no. 1 contender and that he wants to become the champion that Nigel McGuinness and Samoa Joe were.
ROH World Champion Rush defeated Shane Taylor (18:14)
Kenny King joined the commentary booth for this bout.
Rush ran the ropes and Taylor bulldozed him with a shoulder tackle. Rush popped right back up, but Taylor put him right back down with a spinebuster. Taylor took the fight to the outside and threw Rush into the barricade multiple times. Taylor positioned him on the apron, planting him with a DDT to the floor to head into the break.
After the break, Rush was in control on the outside, slamming Taylor’s head into the barricade. He introduced extension cords into the match and whipped Taylor twice, transitioning into a choke using the cords. Rush rolled Taylor back in the ring and continued his dominance into another commercial break.
After the break, Rush remained in control. He hit a double stomp from the second rope, but Taylor powered out of a pin attempt at two. Taylor and Rush then exchanged forearms and headbutts with Taylor hitting a piledriver as well. Rush popped up, catching the flying Taylor and throwing him into the turnbuckle. Taylor threw Rush off of him, causing him to knock down the referee.
Bestia ran in and handed a chair to Rush. King ran in off commentary and stopped Rush in a show of respect for Taylor. But, King then swung the chair and nailed Taylor, shouting his loyalty for LFI. Rush connected with The Horns afterward for the win.
Final Thoughts:
The Championship Edition this week was a great watch. LFI now holds three of four championships in ROH, which I believe won’t last for long. While it does, it’s great. Faction-focused wrestling is something a lot of companies do nowadays, but ROH does it very well.
Dragon Lee is a top ten wrestler in the world and 100% deserves to hold two titles. With Kenny King hitting Taylor with a chair, it truly cements his place and belonging in LFI. While Taylor deserved to win the belt, I still think his time is coming.
ROH has set a date for Rush and Shane Taylor’s ROH World Championship match.
On the latest edition of ROH Week By Week, it was announced that Rush vs. Taylor for the ROH World Championship will air on the ROH television episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, February 27. Jonathan Gresham & Jay Lethal will also defend their ROH Tag Team titles on that episode. Gresham & Lethal’s challengers haven’t been announced.
Taylor won a fan poll on ROH’s The Experience Facebook group to get the World title shot.
Rush is a two-time ROH World Champion. He regained the title by defeating PCO and Mark Haskins in a three-way match in February 2020. Rush’s most recent title defense was against Brody King in the main event of December’s Final Battle pay-per-view.
Taylor defeated Jay Briscoe at Final Battle. Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery) were originally supposed to challenge Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus for the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles at that PPV, but Bandido and Flamita were removed from the show following pre-travel COVID-19 testing. Taylor did an interview at Final Battle where he declined to win the SIx-Man Tag Team titles by forfeit. Taylor said they want to win the titles the right way.
Shane Taylor Promotions defeated The Foundation (Lethal, Gresham & Tracy Williams) in a six-man tag match on an episode of ROH TV last month. Taylor pinned Lethal to win the match.
ROH also announced on Tuesday that Rush and ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee have re-signed with the company. Their father La Bestia del Ring has also signed a contract with ROH. The latest episode of ROH TV was headlined by Rush, Dragon Lee, Bestia del Ring & Flip Gordon going to a no contest with King, PCO & The Briscoes.
ROH World Champion Rush and ROH Television Champion Dragon Lee have both re-signed with Ring of Honor.
ROH announced on Tuesday that Rush and Dragon Lee have signed new contracts with the company. Their father La Bestia del Ring, who made his ROH debut at December’s Final Battle pay-per-view, has also signed a contract with ROH.
Rush is a two-time ROH World Champion, with his current reign with the title beginning when he defeated PCO and Mark Haskins in a three-way match in February 2020. Rush retained the ROH World Championship against Brody King at Final Battle this past December due to interference by Dragon Lee and Bestia del Ring.
Dragon Lee has been ROH Television Champion since winning the title from Shane Taylor at Final Battle 2019. Lee retained the title against Tony Deppen at Final Battle 2020 and against Rey Horus on an episode of ROH television last month.
Rush, Dragon Lee, and Bestia del Ring are part of La Faccion Ingobernable with Kenny King and Amy Rose.
This week’s episode of ROH TV was headlined by Rush, Dragon Lee, Bestia del Ring & Flip Gordon going to a no contest with King, PCO & The Briscoes.
Amy Rose, Mark Haskins, Bandido, Bateman, Brian Johnson, Sumie Sakai, Tracy Williams, The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas), Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, and ROH Dojo trainee Sledge have also recently signed new contracts with ROH.
