Tag: tracy williams

MLW Fusion results: Alex Kane vs. Jacob Fatu contract signing

Posted on by Iain Oliver

This week’s matches were taped in October at the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker announced the matches.

– Dombrowski and Striker announced that The Calling (Ricky Shane Page & AKIRA) will defend the tag titles against The Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) in a tag team ladder match at Fightland. These two teams ended last week’s episode brawling all over ringside, a brawl that led to this rematch being announced.

Griffin McCoy defeated Tracy Williams

McCoy got his MLW career off to a winning start against the 2023 Opera Cup competitor. Williams started strong keeping McCoy on the mat and hitting a variety of suplexes, but the debutant eased his way into the mat with some kicks and strikes.

McCoy hit one strike too many as it inspired Williams’ comeback, which consisted of a hard slap, suplex, a face-first drop onto the top turnbuckle, and an STF.

McCoy fought back and went for his Sunset Kick (springboard kick) but Williams caught it into an ankle lock. Williams went for a piledriver but McCoy accidentally kicked the referee.

With the official down, McCoy hit Williams with a low blow, a half-and-half suplex, and his Sunset Kick to pick up the shock win.

– Last week Jacob Fatu stole Matt Cardona’s new car while Alex Kane was confronting him, a car gifted to him by the World Titan Federation leader Mister Saint Laurent. This week Saint Laurent delivered a “State of the Fed” address where he unveiled the new WTF logo and gave his vision of sports entertainment.

MLW Featherweight Champion Janai Kai w/Salina de la Renta defeated Riley Krowe

Another debutee Riley Krowe came up against a tough challenge in Janai Kai. Kai recently defeated Delmi Exo at Slaughterhouse and took no time to take out Krowe here. Straight from the bell Kai ran and hit a strong big boot to knock her out and win via KO.

After the match, Salina took the mic from Sam Laterna and hyped up Kai on the stage while the champion simply stared at the camera and said…“Kick Demon”.

– We then heard from The Calling where they again teased some tension between Ricky Shane Page and AKIRA. Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker suggested the same which brought out Page to confront the commentary duo, but that brought out Manders and Justice from SGC for an impromptu brawl.

– We heard that if Cardona loses his Loser Leaves MLW match with Mance Warner at Fightland on November 18 then another “superstar” from the World Titan Federation will get the guaranteed title shot at One Shot in December.

– Sam Laterna then interviewed Rocky Romero who talked about his Fightland opponents Mascarada Dorada and Ichiban, calling Dorada a credible challenger but playing down the skills of Ichiban.

– Don King then quickly hyped up the Kane vs. Fatu title fight saying that Bomaye is for the people.

– Ricky Shane Page vs. Jimmy Lloyd for the National Openweight title was signed for One Shot in New York City on December 7.

– “Filthy” Tom Lawlor then announced that he and Cardona will take on Kane and Mr. Thomas in two weeks on Thanksgiving Night Fusion.

The Bomaye Fight Club (Mr. Thomas & O’Shay Edwards) defeated The Mane Events (Jay Lyon & Midas Black)

This was quick and was used to give Thomas and Edwards a strong win on their way up the tag team ranks.

Edwards and Lyon started by taking turns with running shoulder blocks. This developed into a taunt exchange followed by Lyon leaping through his circus hoop with a swift rolling senton to the floor.

The Mane Event’s upperhand did not last long. Edwards tagged in Thomas who hit a big Bossman slam on Lyon and put Black away with a powerbomb.

– Backstage we saw Mance Warner and 1 Called Manders talking tactics ahead of the Second Gear Crew’s ladder match with The Calling. Warner called for gold and violence followed by busting AKIRA open and hitting the pay window for the tag titles. Their tactic talk was interrupted by AKIRA and Ricky Shane Page for another backstage brawl.

Alex Kane vs. Jacob Fatu contract signing for Fightland

Court Bauer attempted to host the contract signing but as soon as both appeared the insults started and they had to be pulled apart. Saint Laurent and Cardona appeared and got in between the pair which only escalated the tension in the room. Fatu and Kane began swinging at each other and again had to be pulled apart. Fatu broke free and got a few more shots in as officials and Bomaye Fight Club members were only semi-successful in keeping them apart. The camera caught Saint Laurent laughing from the side of the room as his plan worked out perfectly.

MLW Fusion results: Opera Cup finals, Jacob Fatu Openweight title defense

Posted on by Iain Oliver

This week’s MLW Fusion was taped in Philadelphia as part of April’s Battle Riot tapings with Rich Bocchini and Matt Striker on the call.

We opened with a recap of how we got to tonight’s main event for the Opera Cup with highlights from Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeating Calvin Tankman and Tracy Williams defeating Tony Deppen in the tournament semifinals.

MLW National Openweight Champion Jacob Fatu vs. Rickey Shane Page went to a double disqualification

In recent weeks, Page and The Calling have taken out Fatu’s bloodline of Juicy Finau and Lance Anoa’i in backstage attacks. This week, Fatu was out for revenge but also to keep his National Openweight title.

Fatu wasn’t waiting and opened this bloody fistfight with a dive through the ropes as Page was circling the ring for his entrance. A top rope senton bomb from the champion followed, as well as a triple jump springboard Arabian moonsault. Page came back with a running crossbody and, after a break, slammed Fatu onto a chair.

The brutality and gruesomeness were turned up a few notches as Page used a screwdriver to repeatedly jab into the sole of Fatu’s foot, followed by him piercing Fatu’s cheek with it and then biting Fatu’s toes. The final act broke the Philadelphia crowd into a “You sick f*ck” chant.

But the champion was not down for long. In true Samoan fashion, he no-sold a drop-toe hold onto a chair in a nice callback to the old ECW days. Fatu took out Page with another dive to the floor and came off the top again with a crossbody. Fatu’s handspring moonsault followed to continue the high flying and aerial display from the champion.

Raven distracted Fatu, which allowed Page to throw a chair at his head, but his sick idea of dropping Fatu on a sideways chair backfired as Fatu reversed and hit Page with a pop-up Samoan drop onto it instead. That looked brutal.

An “ECW” chant broke out at the sight of a table being set up in the ring. More chairs were used to set up Fatu on the table. Page then climbed to the top rope and hit a huge jumping senton, squashing both Fatu and the table, but that only got a two count.

In a match where weapons were allowed, we got a double DQ after both Page and Fatu shoved down the referee — a sensible finish for setting up their next weapons match but a confusing one given that the match had no disqualifications.

The two will square off in a Weapons of Mass Destruction match at September’s Fury Road streaming special.

– The teases we have seen in recent weeks will come to a head next week. We will see what worlds will collide, we will enter the realm and see kingdoms collide. This could be connected to a special announcement that will also take place next week.

– Matt Cardona cut a poolside promo on his Fury Road opponent Mance Warner. Cardona said he is not coming to take anyone’s spot because he already has his own at the top and the rest of the locker room can jump on his back.

MLW Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo defeated Paris Van Dale to retain

B3CCA has been desperate to get a title match against Exo. This week, she interrupted Exo’s pre-match interview with Sam Leterna but the champion shot her down, saying she needs to earn her shot and not continue this delusional dream.

This was quite short, but displayed what Exo can do in a short space of time. She hit some machine gun chops, a fisherman’s suplex and, after a short comeback from Van Dale, her Delmi Driver to retain her title.

B3CCA continued her campaign, but took it to a different level as she attacked Exo with a guitar as she was leaving the ringside area.

– We saw another tease for KUSHIDA coming in. This time the dates set on the Delorean were August 17 (for this episode of Fusion), September 3 (Fury Road) and May 12, 1983 (KUSHIDA’s birthday). 

– Ahead of their MLW heavyweight title match at Fury Road on September 3rd, Alex Kane accused Willie Mack of not taking his match seriously by mocking his weight. Kane then teased a warm-up match against someone in Mexico. Kane already wrestled Delirious from the Mexico tapings two weeks ago, so will there be another warmup match for the champion before Mack gets his shot?

Davey Boy Smith Jr. (w/ Mister Saint Laurent) defeated Tracy Williams to win the 2023 Opera Cup tournament

The crowd booed Smith and taunted him with “Microman” chants as we started. Smith turned heel recently and aligned himself with MSL by attacking Microman.

Williams initially used some speed to out-wrestle Smith as well as focusing on Smith’s bandaged knee that he injured during his first round match against Tankman.

Striker’s tongue once again made him sound like a fool saying Smith’s new look of denim jeans was a tribute to Brian Pillman and Bret Hart… to which Bocchini corrected him saying it’s actually a homage to his dad, the British Bulldog.

If you ignore Striker trying to take away the focus from what is in the ring, the action was very good. It picked up with a forearm battle but the larger Smith eventually got the advantage, hitting a suplex and then an impressive top rope leg drop for a close two count.

Smith hit his Bulldog powerslam but couldn’t fully take advantage as he landed on his injured knee. Williams got a foot on the ropes to break the pinfall followed by a tilt-a-whirl Fujiwara armbar but quickly transitioned to an ankle lock. Smith powered out and snapped back into control with a quick power slam.

Smith then hit the power bomb he couldn’t land earlier. The referee counted to two and it looked like Williams just raised his shoulder off in time but it wasn’t clear. Smith quickly transitioned to a crossface and Williams tapped out. There was potentially a miscommunication at the finish, but they quickly recovered.

This was good but threatened to be ruined by Striker on commentary.

Leterna interviewed MSL and Smith on the stage as the crowd booed them both. MSL called Philadelphia a sh*thole and insulted the women of the city. They want to hold next year’s tournament in Canada but more importantly, they sent out a challenge saying they want the MLW heavyweight title

Next Week:

  • A special announcement
  • Willie Mack will take on Ken Broadway, Love Doug, Nolo Kitano and O’Shay Edwards in a scramble match

Two matches set for NJPW Collision in Philadelphia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW has made its first two match announcements for next month’s Collision event in Philadelphia.

Eddie Kingston will be in action in a singles match at the show, taking on Gabriel Kidd. An ROH Pure Rules match between Alex Coughlin and Tracy Williams has also been announced for the Sunday, April 16 event.

This will be the second time Kingston and Kidd have faced each other. Kingston defeated Kidd in a match for NJPW Strong that took place in December 2021 and aired in January 2022.

Last month, Kingston defeated Jay White in a Loser Leaves NJPW match at Battle in the Valley.

NJPW wrote about Coughlin vs. Williams: “The rule set in itself implies that this match’s winner could instantly shoot up the rankings for the ROH Pure Championship currently held by Wheeler Yuta; might a new contender emerge from this matchup?”

Collision in Philadelphia is being held at the 2300 Arena. NJPW also has a Capital Collision event taking place in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 15. Both shows will air as live pay-per-views and then be used for content for future episodes of Strong On Demand.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiromu Takahashi, KENTA, SANADA, and Lance Archer are among the other wrestlers who will be in action at Collision in Philadelphia. Their matches have yet to be announced.

AEW, ROH wrestlers pulled from Beyond Wrestling event

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Update —

After initially stating that Willow Nightingale would no longer be appearing, Beyond Wrestling has announced that Nightingale will still be in action at Perfection or Vanity.

**********

Due to an apparent conflict with ROH television tapings, three wrestlers have been pulled from an upcoming Beyond Wrestling event.

Beyond Wrestling announced today that Wheeler Yuta, Tracy Williams, and Trish Adora will no longer be appearing at their Perfection or Vanity show in Worcester, Massachusetts on Sunday, February 26. Voices of Wrestling and Fightful have reported that ROH is scheduled to hold TV tapings that weekend.

“Wheeler YUTA, Tracy Williams, and Trish Adora will no longer be appearing or competing at ‘Perfection Or Vanity’ on Sunday, 2/26 at White Eagle in Worcester,” Beyond Wrestling tweeted. “Email [email protected] if you’d like a refund.”

Yuta is signed to AEW and is part of the Blackpool Combat Club with Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and Claudio Castagnoli. Williams and Adora, who were both part of the ROH roster prior to the promotion being purchased by Tony Khan, have made appearances for AEW as well.

Adora was also in action at ROH Final Battle this past December, losing to Nightingale on the pre-show.

Yuta currently holds the ROH Pure Championship. He regained the title by defeating Daniel Garcia at Final Battle.

It was announced in December that a weekly ROH TV series would be coming to HonorClub, though no start date was given. These tapings at the end of February would be the first for the weekly series.

ROH’s next pay-per-view is Supercard of Honor 2023, which is taking place in Los Angeles on Friday, March 31.

Two title matches added to ROH Death Before Dishonor

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: ROH

ROH has added two title matches to the card for its next pay-per-view.

The ROH World Championship will be on the line in a four-way elimination match at Death Before Dishonor on Sunday, September 12. Bandido will defend his title against Brody King, EC3, and Demonic Flamita.

ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defending their titles against La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee & Kenny King) has also been confirmed for Death Before Dishonor.

Bandido won the ROH World Championship from Rush at ROH’s Best in the World PPV last month. At Glory By Honor night one last Friday, Bandido retained the title against Flip Gordon.

Shane Taylor Promotions defeated Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus this February to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles. Taylor, Moses & Kaun retained the titles against Incoherence (Delirious, Hallowicked & Frightmare) at Glory By Honor night two on Saturday.

Death Before Dishonor is taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:

  • ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Brody King, EC3, and Demonic Flamita in a four-way elimination match
  • The finals of ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament
  • ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Josh Woods
  • ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defend against La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee & Kenny King)
  • Two “top free agents” who were recently released from another promotion will face off

New ROH Tag Team Champions crowned at Best in the World

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Chris Dickinson and Homicide captured the ROH World Tag Team titles on tonight’s Best in the World pay-per-view event.

Dickinson and Homicide defeated Jonathan Gresham and Rhett Titus in a Fight Without Honor match, with many weapons being used throughout the match. Homicide picked up the win for his team after pinning Gresham, who had already wrestled once on the show, following the cop killer vertebreaker.

The match was originally supposed to be Tracy Williams and Titus defending the titles. However, the storyline was that Williams was unable to be cleared by the Maryland State Athletic Commission. Jay Lethal was named as Williams’ replacement, but was taken out of the match by the state athletic commission after taking two Ganso bombs from Brody King earlier in the night.

The ROH TV title also changed hands on tonight’s show, with Dragon Lee defeating Tony Deppen to regain the title. Jonathan Gresham successfully defended the Pure title earlier in the show against Mike Bennett.

Tracy Williams off ROH Best in the World, replaced by Jay Lethal

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tracy Williams is off tonight’s ROH Best in the World pay-per-view event.

It was announced during the Best in the World pre-show that Williams would be off of his scheduled match, where he was to team with Rhett Titus to defend the ROH World Tag Team titles against Violence Unlimited (Chris Dickinson and Homicide) in a Fight Without Honor match. Jay Lethal, who is already scheduled to fight Brody King on the show, will pull double duty and team with Titus instead.

Williams has not wrestled since being involved in a hit and run car accident back in June. He wrote at the time: 

Firstly, I’ll be okay. I got full on hit by a car yesterday x-ing the street. Guy blew a red going ~25mph. I flew for what felt like a full second, landed high on my back. Just so unbelievably lucky & grateful that my dog who was walking with me was somehow not hit & she’s okay. I’d take the hit for her any day & it could’ve been so much worse. There are a lot of things about it that were lucky in that weird way. Like, it’s lucky this asshole idiot driver hit a 32 y/o pro wrestler & not the old couple that was crossing from the other side in front of me.

ROH Best in the World will be the first show back with fans for the company since February of 2020. The show is headlined by an ROH World title match between champion Rush and Bandido.

Tag Team title Fight Without Honor added to ROH Best in the World

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The ROH Tag Team titles will be on the line in a “Fight Without Honor” at Best in the World.

ROH Tag Team Champions The Foundation (Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus) will defend their titles against Violence Unlimited (Homicide & Chris Dickinson) at Best in the World. The pay-per-view is taking place at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland this Sunday.

The announcement of the Tag Team title match was made on Tuesday’s edition of ROH Week By Week. A Fight Without Honor is an anything goes match that must have a winner.

The Foundation’s Jay Lethal is also facing Violence Unlimited’s Brody King in a singles match at Best in the World.

ROH has also announced that The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) will be in action against PJ Black & Brian Johnson at Best in the World. Plus, there will be a new edition of Matt Taven’s “Trending With Taven” interview show on the PPV. Taven is feuding with Vincent Marseglia and Vincent’s The Righteous stable.

Best in the World will be the first ROH event with fans in attendance since February 2020. Here’s the updated card for the show:

  • ROH World Champion Rush defends against Bandido
  • ROH Television Champion Tony Deppen defends against Dragon Lee
  • ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Mike Bennett
  • Fight Without Honor: ROH Tag Team Champions The Foundation (Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus) defend against Violence Unlimited (Homicide & Chris Dickinson)
  • Brody King vs. Jay Lethal
  • EC3 vs. Flip Gordon
  • Last Man Standing match: Josh Woods vs. Silas Young
  • ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses & Kaun) defend against Dalton Castle, Eli Isom & Dak Draper
  • The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. PJ Black & Brian Johnson
  • Demonic Flamita vs. Rey Horus (Best in the World Hour One)
  • PCO & Danhausen vs. The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas) (Best in the World Hour One)

Best in the World Hour One will air for free starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. It will be available on platforms including HonorClub, YouTube, and PPV channels carrying Best in the World. The Best in the World main card will then begin on HonorClub and PPV starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

ROH TV results: Deppen vs. Williams vs. Lee TV title match

Posted on by Skylar Russell

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

The Big Takeaway —

The Survival of the Fittest tournament continued with Bandido advancing to the six-way elimination match finals, while Tony Deppen made his first defense of the Television title.

**********

Quinn McKay joined us in the studio. McKay recapped the Survival of the Fittest tournament to date and promoted the Bandido vs. Bateman match that’s taking place on this episode.

McKay also announced that Tony Deppen will defend his ROH Television Championship against Dragon Lee and Tracy Williams in a triple threat match in this week’s main event. McKay made sure it was recognized that Lee never lost the TV title, but rather that his fellow La Faccion Ingobernable stablemate Kenny King lost it for him at the 19th Anniversary PPV.

**********

Survival of the Fittest first-round match: Bandido defeated Bateman (13:23)

Bateman had a really good promo beforehand about the sacrifices he’s made to get to where he’s at today.

Bateman is a really smart wrestler, and this match proved that. Bandido tried to accelerate the match to his pace in the early stages, but Bateman always seemed to have him scouted.

At around the three-minute mark, Bateman cleaned Bandido’s clock with a forearm that genuinely seemed to catch him off guard. Bateman hits so hard and so stiff and is a top tier striker in North America in my opinion.

The story here was that Bandido kept trying to turn the jets on, but Bateman would stop him almost every time. But Bandido eventually found a way to start his own engine and get the big moves in — including a phenomenal top rope twisting dive. Bandido even picked up Bateman and hit a great Michinoku Driver at one point.

The finish saw Bateman leaning over the middle rope and trying to catch his breath when Bandido sprung off his back and hit a catapult German suplex for the win.

After the match, Vincent appeared at ringside with Dutch and Vita VonStarr. Vincent said that his journey of self-clarity made him realize his one goal is the ROH World Championship. Vincent shamed Bateman for failing him, and then Bateman offered himself for sacrifice. VonStarr and Dutch attacked Bateman, who was willing to take the beatdown.

**********

Triple threat match: Tony Deppen defeated Tracy Williams and Dragon Lee to retain the ROH Television Championship (11:27)

This was a really, really fun match. Dragon Lee tried to stay out of the action early and let Williams and Deppen wear themselves down, but both guys recognized Lee’s gameplan.

All three guys have different styles, but they all have one thing in common: they all hit really hard. Williams and Lee had a great 20-second exchange of straight forearms in the middle portion of the match.

Deppen has really good intensity attached to his style of wrestling and it makes it to where his matches don’t have a dull moment. There was a really good spot in the latter half of the match where Lee started a German suplex chain that saw all three men hit a few suplexes.

The final sequence saw Lee hit a low blow on Williams, but Deppen stole the pinfall to retain the TV title. Lee had a chance to break it up but chose not to.

After the match, The Foundation, Violence Unlimited, and La Faccion Ingobernable all made their way out. Kenny King claimed that the strategy for Dragon Lee was simply to not be pinned, allowing him to slide into the number one contenders spot. King challenged Deppen to defend the TV title against Lee at next month’s Best in the World pay-per-view.

**********

Final Thoughts —

Two great matches made for a very easy to digest episode of ROH TV. Bateman is extremely underrated in the ring in my opinion. He had a great showing here. Bandido was the right man to win. I’m iffy about the post-match antics, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

Deppen vs. Williams vs. Lee was really fun. I can’t put into words just how great Dragon Lee is, and the fact that he’s only 26 years old makes it almost unbelievable. I really didn’t like the finish of this match at first, but after letting it simmer for a minute I can understand the want of having Deppen vs. Lee in front of a crowd at Best in the World.

In closing, this week’s episode of ROH TV is: Recommended Viewing.

ROH TV results: The Foundation vs. LFI Tag Team title match

Posted on by Skylar Russell

The Big Takeaway —

Two great matches carried us closer and closer to the highly anticipated Best in the World PPV on July 11.

**********

Host Quinn McKay welcomed viewers to the broadcast. She discussed the Survival of the Fittest bracket and the upcoming qualifying match on today’s edition of ROH TV: Eli Isom vs. Dak Draper. 

This is a rematch of Isom and Draper’s first encounter that took place a few weeks ago that went to a time limit draw.

McKay also revealed that Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus will defend their ROH Tag Team titles against Kenny King and the returning Dragon Lee. 

**********

Survival of the Fittest first round match: Eli Isom defeated Dak Draper (11:17)

Draper’s pre-match promo was simple but great. He’s very well-spoken and has grown on me a lot.

Right before the bell rang, Dalton Castle appeared on the stage. He danced his way to ringside with four “boys” and said he was just here to watch the match.

Draper booted Isom right before the match began, which gave Draper a clear advantage throughout the first portion of the match. Both guys got distracted at different times due to Castle and his Boys’ clapping profusely and walking around the ring. Draper nailed Isom with a big clothesline that led into a commercial break. 

Draper is so athletic. Coming back from the break, he casually ran up the turnbuckle and hit a twisting springboard ax handle like it was nothing. Draper then took another risk and hit a crossbody that saw him and Isom tumbling over the top rope and onto the floor.

The story of this match was that Draper is performing a high-risk style in order to beat Isom, something he couldn’t do in their first encounter. 

Draper continued with his big move offense throughout. Eventually, Isom sprung back to life with a stunning sidewinder powerbomb. 

In the final moments of the match, Draper had a chance to put away Isom with the Magnum but instead perched him on the top turnbuckle. At this point, Castle and his boys walked out on the match, citing that Castle was “late for a meeting\.” Isom took advantage of Draper’s distraction and hit his signature Promise Brainbuster for the win. 

**********

ROH Tag Team title match: The Foundation (Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams) defeated La Faccion Ingobernable (Kenny King & Dragon Lee) by disqualification (16:09)

This match was contested under Pure Rules.

Titus and King began the match, but Williams quickly made himself the legal man. Almost immediately after being put in a cloverleaf, King used his team’s first rope break. 

Lee and Williams had a chopping exchange later on in the match that was great. Lee went for a top rope suicida but when Williams moved, Lee hand planted on the apron and landed on his feet. 

King and Lee exchanged tags over the middle portion of the match, working on the shoulder of Williams. Williams sold the shoulder pain very well. Williams was eventually able to tag Titus in for the hot tag. 

Titus came in and went crazy on King, his former tag partner. Titus hit a big powerslam on King and then went for a cover, but King used his team’s second rope break. 

Williams eventually got a hot tag and locked King in a crossface, but King used his team’s third and final rope break. King showed visible frustration and looked to tag out to Lee.

All hell broke loose in the final stages of the match. Titus hit King with a hydraulic dropkick that seemed to take him out of the match. Lee was setting up for an incinerator knee strike but Williams caught him. Williams perched Lee on the top rope and was able to hit a super piledriver. Williams seemed to have the match in the bag, but King broke up the pin. 

Referee Todd Sinclair rang the bell and called for a DQ. Since pinfall breakups count as rope breaks in Pure Rules tag matches and Lee/King were out of them, Williams and Titus won by DQ. 

After the match, Bestia Del Ring rushed the ring and attacked Williams and Titus. Lethal and Gresham came to assist their stablemates while Violence Unlimited stood on the stage and watched. 

**********

Final Thoughts —

The reason I enjoy ROH so much is just because it’s simple but sweet. The storytelling both inside and out of the ring is easy to understand. The wrestling is outstanding and they have arguably two of the top 15 wrestlers in the world on their roster in Dragon Lee and Jonathan Gresham. I’m really excited for fans to come back and hopefully, more eyes will be on the product then.

Isom vs. Draper was good, but I’m ready for the payoff with Castle’s new direction. He’s always been one of the better characters in the company.

The Tag Team title match was great as well, and I’m intrigued to see where they go next with the titles. It does seem like King will get booted from the group sooner rather than later, as he has cost LFI a lot of opportunities.

ROH announces triple threat TV title match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A triple threat Television title match will be taking place on ROH TV later this month.

Tony Deppen will defend his ROH Television title against Tracy Williams and Dragon Lee in a triple threat match on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, June 19. The announcement of the title match was made on the latest edition of ROH Week By Week.

This will be Deppen’s first title defense since becoming ROH TV Champion. Williams and Lee were the two most recent champions prior to Deppen.

Lee was ROH TV Champion heading into March’s ROH 19th Anniversary pay-per-view but had to miss the tapings for the show due to a ruptured eardrum. Lee’s La Faccion Ingobernable stablemate Kenny King defended the title on behalf of Lee at the PPV but lost it to Williams. Deppen then defeated Williams for the TV title last month.

Lee & King were also the ROH Tag Team Champions heading into 19th Anniversary. Lee’s father Bestia del Ring filled in for him at the PPV, but Williams & Rhett Titus defeated King & Bestia del Ring to win the titles. Lee & King will challenge for Williams & Titus’ Tag Team titles in a Pure Rules match on the episode of ROH TV that premieres this coming weekend.

ROH’s Tracy Williams recovering at home after being hit by car

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tracy Williams is recovering after being hit by a car.

Williams wrote on Twitter that he was crossing the street with his dog when he was “full on hit by a car”.

“Firstly, I’ll be okay,” he wrote. “I got full on hit by a car yesterday x-ing the street. Guy blew a red going ~25mph. I flew for what felt like a full second, landed high on my back. Just so unbelievably lucky & grateful that my dog who was walking with me was somehow not hit & she’s okay. I’d take the hit for her any day & it could’ve been so much worse.”

Williams later wrote that he was recovering at home.

“Pls look where you’re driving, not everyone out there chose to spend their life getting their body accustomed to being flung through the air,” he added.

Williams is part of Ring of Honor, where he is one half of the Ring of Honor World Tag Team champions. He also held the Television title earlier this year before losing it to Tony Deppen in a match that aired last month on ROH TV.

The OGK to challenge for ROH Tag Team titles

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A Tag Team title match will take place on ROH television later this month.

ROH has announced that The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) will challenge The Foundation’s Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus for the ROH Tag Team titles on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, May 22. This will be Williams & Titus’ first title defense since defeating La Faccion Ingobernable’s Kenny King & Bestia del Ring at March’s ROH 19th Anniversary pay-per-view to become Tag Team Champions.

Bestia del Ring was replacing Dragon Lee in the Tag Team title match at ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV. Dragon Lee suffered a ruptured eardrum and had to be pulled from the PPV.

The OGK are 3-0 in tag team action since Bennett made his return to ROH last November. Their most recent win was against Beer City Bruiser & Ken Dixon.

Taven & Bennett formerly held the ROH Tag Team titles for three months in 2015. They also held the IWGP Tag Team titles together in 2015.

Tony Deppen wins ROH Television title

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tony Deppen is the new Ring of Honor Television Champion.

Deppen defeated Tracy Williams to capture the title for the first time on Ring of Honor television, which aired this weekend in syndication. Williams had been champion since March 26, when he defeated Kenny King (subbing for Dragon Lee) to win the title.

Deppen confirmed the title win on Twitter, noting that despite winning the TV title, he currently isn’t signed to Ring of Honor.

“For everyone that told me I’d never get anywhere: f*** off,” he wrote. “To all the people that Always put their neck out for me to help me get in front of new eyes: im gonna continue to bust my ass because y’all Always believed in me. Oh. Still not signed. This belt is mine now.”

At Ring of Honor’s 19th Anniversary show back in March, Deppen joined forces with Brodie King, Homicide, and Chris Dickinson. Together, they are known as Violence Unlimited.

Tony Deppen to challenge for ROH TV title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

New Ring of Honor Television Champion Tracy Williams’ first title defense is set.

ROH has announced that Williams will defend his Television title against Tony Deppen on the ROH TV episode that premieres this weekend. The episode will premiere on local affiliates starting on Saturday, May 1. It will be uploaded to ROH’s website on Monday, May 3.

Williams won the Television title by defeating Kenny King at ROH’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view last month. King was defending the title on behalf of Dragon Lee, who had to miss the PPV due to a ruptured eardrum.

The Foundation’s Williams & Rhett Titus also defeated La Faccion Ingobernable’s Kenny King & Bestia del Ring to win the ROH Tag Team titles at the 19th Anniversary PPV. Bestia del Ring was replacing Dragon Lee in that match.

Deppen unsuccessfully challenged Dragon Lee for the ROH TV title at Final Battle last December. Deppen won a four-way match earlier in the night and then advanced to face Dragon Lee.

ROH’s 19th Anniversary PPV ended with the debut of new faction Violence Unlimited. The group consists of Brody King, Deppen, Homicide, and Chris Dickinson. They beat down La Faccion Ingobernable and laid out The Foundation’s Jay Lethal in the show-closing angle of the 19th Anniversary PPV.

In the main event of the latest ROH TV episode, Brody King, Homicide & Dickinson faced Rush, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring in a six-man tag match. The match ended in a disqualification after Brody King hit Bestia del Ring with a chair. A brawl between Violence Unlimited, La Faccion Ingobernable, and The Foundation then closed the show.

The episode of ROH TV that premieres this weekend will also feature The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. Beer City Bruiser & Ken Dixon.