Ring of Honor: Where Superstars Are Born (RW 2018+)

Texasrangers13 · January 30, 2019

Honor Club Exclusive: War of the Worlds Exclusive Bouts and Preview <div style="text-align:center;">Honor Club Exclusive: War of the Worlds Exclusive Bouts</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Tonight's Honor Club Exclusive will feature five bouts including three Future of Honor proving ground bouts that will feature potential ROH stars against current ROH stars. A strong showing in these may earn them future opportunities with Ring of Honor. Tonight we will feature, "Mile High Magnum" Dak Draper, "The Last Incan Warrior" Cesar Casafranca, and "The History of Violence" Ken Dixon. Our opening bout saw the "Workhorseman" Anthony Henry defeat Will Ferrera with a huge spine buster planting him squarely in the middle of the ring. Up next we saw a recap of the Supercard of Honor before kicking it back to the ring for an eight-man tag featuring SoCal Uncensored 3.0 taking on the team of Shiima Xion, Flip Gordon and Coast 2 Coast. Brody King led the team in this one and secured the victory pinning LSG. In our first Future of Honor Proving Ground bout TK O'Ryan defeated "The Mile High Magnum" Dak Draper in a poor match that really didn't showcase either man. In another Future of Honor Proving Ground bout Shiima Xion defeated "The Last Incan Warrior" Cesar Casafranca. Much better bout here that showed promise in Casafranca. Xion is a solid worker and really helped this bout. In our final Future of Honor Proving Ground matchup, Hangman Page defeated "The History of Violence" Ken Dixon in another solid bout. Dixon is an experience wrestler looking for a big break, with showings like this he may get his chance!</div></div></blockquote> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling Present: War of the Worlds Preview</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor World Championship Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay Ring of Honor's top star, Cody, faces 2019's breakout star and the winner of Calle Dorado, Will Ospreay. Ospreay has been on fire since his victory at Manhattan Mayhem, taking on all comers including ROH TV champion, Austin Theory, and CMLL superstar Rush. Cody on the other hand has beaten every single challenge thrown his way in his 15 month reign as champion, and while Ospreay may be on the rise, Cody has promised to cut him down to size and retain his championship. Ring of Honor Television Championship Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis The 2019 Top Prospect, Austin Theory quickly established himself as a true force in Ring of Honor when he aligned with Cody and Marty Scurll under the banner of Royalty. On the other end stands Nick Aldis, he himself once a rising star who found himself crashing out of the limelight. After a brief hiatus, Aldis has reestablished himself and has been tearing up Japan while represent NJPW. This will pose a true challenge to Theory and one that will make an honest man out of the winner. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Zack Sabre Jr {C} vs. Marty Scurll Life-long rivals and occasional allies, Zack Sabre Jr and Marty Scurll have been through the ups and downs together while navigating the global wrestling scene. After last months victory for Scurll at Supercard of Honor, Zack Sabre has returned to Ring of Honor and this time will put up his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title in an effort to get back to even against The Villain. ROH Tag Championship The Briscoes {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi When the Briscoes captured the ROH Tag Titles for the tenth time they immediately announced that they wanted to make their first defense against the best team in Japan the Golden Lovers in a bout that was bound to tear the roof off the building... Unfortunately though Kenny Omega suffered a Torn Trap in a bout for NJPW earlier this week. Omega appeared on ROH TV last night to announce that the bound would still be going on and named Jay Lethal as his replacement. Jay Lethal himself has seen the downside of his partner falling victim to an injury when Low-Ki was hurt prior to Supercard of Honor. ROH Six-Man Championship The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night Dalton Castle, Chuckie T and Beretta conquered the The End and Matt Taven at Supercard of Honor and were immediately challenged by the new trio known as the Kings of the Night, Kenny King, Rhett Titus and Brian Myers. While they may love to party, the Kings of the Night have the experience and expertise to be a real threat to the new champs. Beyond that, The Kings of the Night will have their personal security at ringside and that will certainly throw a wrinkle into this one. The Top Guys vs. The Young Bucks At Supercard of Honor, Jay Lethal brought in a "Top Guy" as his replacement for Low-Ki, and that turned out to be Steven Walters, but what Lethal and certainly the Young Bucks didn't realize was that Walters didn't come alone as KC McKnight came with him and immediately ignited the feud that had been stirring on social media between The Young Bucks and The then "Revival"... Now in this one we will see once and for all who are "Forever the Top Guys"... Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson Jeff Cobb's 2019 has been a bit of a rollercoaster, he remains a destructive force but after two set-backs at Supercard of Honor definitely forced Cobb to refocus and reassess. As the calendar turned to May, Cobb has been challenged by a rising star in Japan, Juice Robinson. And after a vicious post-match attack that saw Cobb come to Robinson and David Finlay Jr's aid and showed them the mutual respect that he feels they've earned while establishing themselves in Japan. This one will be a great bout that will certainly shape the summer for both men.</div></div></blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick Picks for War of the Worlds <ul><li>ROH World: Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay </li><li>ROH TV: Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis </li><li>IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: Zack Sabre Jr {C} vs. Marty Scurll </li><li>ROH Tag: The Briscoes {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi </li><li>ROH 6-Man: The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night </li><li>The Top Guys vs. The Young Bucks </li><li>Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson </li></ul>

BHK1978 · January 30, 2019

ROH World: Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay

ROH TV: Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis

Aldis might still have that TNA popularity and that alone might be enough for him to pick up the win here.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: Zack Sabre Jr {C} vs. Marty Scurll

ROH Tag: The Briscoes {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi

ROH 6-Man: The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night

The Top Guys vs. The Young Bucks

Well I cannot stand the Bucks so I have to go with TTG, even if I think they will probably lose here.

Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson

Really tough call here, I think Jeff is going to be the winner but I can see it going the other way as well.

aya_ · February 2, 2019

ROH World: Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay

ROH TV: Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: Zack Sabre Jr {C} vs. Marty Scurll

ROH Tag: The Briscoes {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi

ROH 6-Man: The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night

The Top Guys vs. The Young Bucks

Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson

Rhyme1234 · February 2, 2019

ROH World: Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay

ROH TV: Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: Zack Sabre Jr {C} vs. Marty Scurll

ROH Tag: The Briscoes {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi

ROH 6-Man: The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night

The Top Guys vs. The Young Bucks

Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson

Omega58 · February 2, 2019

ROH World: Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay

ROH TV: Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: Zack Sabre Jr {C} vs. Marty Scurll

ROH Tag: The Briscoes {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi

ROH 6-Man: The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night

The Top Guys vs. The Young Bucks

Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson

Powerbrock100 · February 4, 2019

Massive cards of as late. Loving this diary so much and think you made the right call regarding AEW

ROH World: Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay

ROH TV: Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: Zack Sabre Jr {C} vs. Marty Scurll

ROH Tag: The Briscoes {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi

ROH 6-Man: The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night

The Top Guys vs. The Young Bucks

Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson

Kijar · February 4, 2019

I'll go with...

Cody

Theory

Villain

Briscoes

Kings of the Night

Top Guys - say YEAH

Cobb

Happy to see you bringing in Haskins and Bandido, they are very talented

Texasrangers13 · February 6, 2019

Ring of Honor Presets: War of the Worlds May 2019

Ring of Honor: War of the Worlds

Live on Pay-Per-View

May Week 2, 2019

Ringside Ian Riccaboni and AJ Kirsch greet us and briefly run us down the card for tonight before sending us to the ring for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Bout between Marty Scurll and the champion Zack Sabre Jr.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Zack Sabre Jr. {C} vs. Marty Scurll

These two met last month at Supercard of Honor and had a very solid bout that saw Scurll take home a victory and put him in the drivers-seat in this long-running global rivalry. This was started slowly and was a very technical and pace-driven bout that harkened back to many classic British wrestling matches of the past. Each man had a quick answer for the other and we saw a brilliant sequence of chain wrestling that really highlighted both mens strength and familiarity with one another. Scurll appeared to have a slight advantage when out of nowhere Sabre dropped Scurll with a quick back-elbow to the skull. He pounced right away and locked in the Hypernormalisation (Double wrist-clutch reverse octopus hold) only for Scurll to manage to swing his weight and roll Sabre up for a quick pinfall...

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Sabre powers out and immediately rolls through and locks a Calf Slicer on, putting pressure onto the back, Sabre reaches forward and grabs Scurll around the neck, contorting his body into a position that forces Scurll to immediately tap... Sabre has defended his title...

Winner and STILL IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Zack Sabre Jr.

Backstage Bobby Cruise catches up with the Bestest Friends who are prepared to defend their Six-Man tag titles for the first time against the fast rising Kings of the Night. Beretta says that he and Chuckie T knew that adding Dalton Castle to this Bromance was exactly what the team needed to move forward and tonight they'll prove they don't have a championship hangover.

Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson

Cobb has been a dominant force in ROH in his first half a year, but standing across the ring from him was Juice Robinson, a man who has seen career take off ever since he moved across the ocean and became a mainstay on the NJPW roster. Last month Cobb had potentially the worst night of his career when Austin Theory and Cody both defeated him at Supercard of Honor and Cobb left that event with nothing around his waist.

In this one Cobb wasted no time going after Robinson, but Robinson was surprisingly game and the announcers mentioned the Juice had recently been competing against the likes of Tenzan and Kojima in NJPW and the strength and size of Jeff Cobb wasn't perhaps as surprising as some thought it would be. Robinson even managed to take Cobb down pretty quickly. Kirsch was quick to mention that though Cobb had the weight advantage, Juice is 6'3" and one of the stronger men in the ring. Juice kept Cobb grounded early and backed him into the corner. He went for a quick palm strike but Cobb caught the hand and delivered a stiff kick into the stomach of Juice and proceeded to squeeze the pulp out of him and deliver a trio of suplexes that sent Robinson from corner to corner. The announcers begin to discuss the fact that Juice defeated Matt Taven last week and of course just like that The End and Matt Taven make their way out to the ringside area. Taven joins Riccaboni and Kirsch on commentary while Odinson and Hammerstone stand behind him.

Back in the ring Jeff Cobb has Juice up and delivers another suplex that sends Juice through the ropes and to the floor. Cobb turns his attention to Matt Taven at ringside and begins to yell at him and tells him that he'll wipe the ring with him any day, any place, any time. Referee Paul Turner seeing this "semi-distraction" immediately ejects The End and Matt Taven from ringside. Shockingly, Taven complies and he and his men start to head to the back... Juice is back in the ring and tries to take advantage of Cobb's lack of focus but Cobb swoops him up and delivers the Tour of the Islands for a 1-2-3.

Winner: Jeff Cobb

As Cobb celebrates and Juice heads up the ramp Matt Taven delivers a Superkick straight to his jaw... The End lift Juice up and prepare to deliver a power bomb on the stage but David Finlay Jr comes running down and makes the save... the numbers quickly get the better of Finlay though and Odinson and Hammerstone both have a man on their shoulders... but before things get messy, Jeff Cobb leaves the ring and makes the save for two men that he appears to respect sending The End and Matt Taven high-tailing it to the back.

The Top Guys (KC McKnight and Steven Walters) vs. The Young Bucks

A match made in Internet-smark heaven is finally taking place as The Top Guys take on The Young Bucks in what will serve as their first official match as a team in Ring of Honor. The two old-school technicians who like to mechanically disassemble their opponents facing off against two of the flashy daredevils in the game. Immediately the fans begin to shower to the ring with streamers which results in The Top Guys leaving the ring and demanding respect from the fans. Naturally this prompts a dual flip over the top from the Bucks and this one is underway as Todd Sinclair calls for the bell to start the bout. Matt and Nick work over both men at ringside before getting the action back into the ring. In the ring the Young Bucks continue the fast-paced assault leaving both Top Guys battered and attempting to regroup. This time Nick Jackson bluffs a suicide dive which throws off the Top Guys and allows Matt Jackson to fly around the ring and clothesline both of them before flexing for the fans.

Sinclair's count reaches eight, but all four men are back in the ring and things begin to turn in the Top Guys favor as McKnight gets a hot tag and comes flying through the ring delivering multiple lariats before landing a hard right square to the jaw of Nick Jackson that leaves him on the mat. Seated Dropkick. McKnight with the cover.

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Nick kicks out but McKnight makes a quick tag to Walters and his partner is in to quickly deliver chop block to the knee of Nick. Nick is down again and Walters begins to beat him down with a Stone Cold sequel ground and pound. In a brief moment of arrogance, Walters taunts Nick and this gets a DX-Crotch chop followed by a Kip-Up and a quick tag to his brother who immediately changes the tide of the bout. Matt lays into Walters backing him into the corner and dropping him with a running dropkick. Hopping up to the top rope, Matt delivers a picture perfect Swanton Bomb.

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McKnight breaks up the pin. He tries to continue the fight but Todd Sinclair forces him back into the corner. Matt tags Nick... More Bang For Your Buck...

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McKnight powers through Matt Jackson and delivers a kick to Nick to break up the pinfall... He turns around and meets a Superkick from Matt that sends him to the floor....

Nick has Walters up... Matt bounces around... MELTZER DRIVER....

Nick makes the cover and Matt goes diving over the top rope to take out McKnight.

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Winners: The Young Bucks

As The Young Bucks celebrate in the ring, KC McKnight and Steven Walters have Todd Sinclair cornered at the top of the ramp as he tries to exit stage left. Cameras catch up as KC McKnight is screaming that the Young Bucks used illegal maneuvers throughout the match and that the Top Guys were contesting the result of this match. Sinclair insisted he saw nothing illegal and continued backstage and this just further pissed The Top Guys off. Steven Walters was heard saying that they were calling Cary Silkin immediately to formally file the protest...

ROH Six Man Championship
The Bestest Friends {C} vs. The Kings of the Night

After the fast-paced and long-awaited clash that proceeded this, this bout was designed to bring the crowd down a bit, but even through that this one was one of the best six-man title bouts we've seen. The chemistry of both teams was on display early as all six men were able to connect with their signature maneuvers. Brian Myers looked strong once again and really has taken to this "Prince of Queens" character as he insulted the crowd and let everyone know that after this match the afterparty was an invite-only affair that none of them were invited too... except for that "Blonde in the front row"... Myers boasting and bragging slowed his teams momentum and as he tagged in Rhett Titus the sands of change fully blew through as Dalton Castle made a quick tag to Chuckie T, who promptly tagged Beretta leading to Beretta delivering a Gobstopper to Titus, and Chuckie T and Castle quickly disposing of King and Myers from the apron...

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The champs have their first defense... and Chuckie T makes sure to invite all the fans to the "Kings of the Night's First Annual Loser Party"...

Winner and Still ROH Six-Man Tag Champions: The Bestest Friends

We get a promo video with a wolf-like creature sitting on top of a cliff... as the camera pans back the creature appears to evolve into a man and it dives off the cliff in a stunning, yet graceful dive... the screen goes black briefly... and then reads... DAREWOLF... It transitions into a highlight package of PJ Black's recent career around the globe. Ian Riccaboni informs us that he's been fed the information that the "Darewolf" PJ Black has signed with Ring of Honor and will be making his debut next week on ROH TV!!!

ROH Television Title
Austin Theory {C} vs. Nick Aldis

The announcers hype this one as a battle of two men with similar meteoric rises to fame in the wrestling industry. Pointing out that Aldis was a mainstay star by the time he was 22, and Theory is currently the 22-year old ROH Television champion with a cocky streak that reminds fans a lot of Aldis. They also mention that Aldis has fully committed to recreating his image and proving that he wasn't a flash in the pan. They mention the success he's had in NJPW and say that if Theory takes this one lightly he'll leave here without his title around his waist. As this one gets underway both men spend some time feeling each other out. Aldis seems to have a very solid scouting report as he deflects each of Theory's early attempts and takes Theory down with a solid dropkick. Theory counters with a leg sweep and this one begins to pick up pace quickly.

The announcers mention that Aldis is one of a number of British wrestlers that Ring of Honor has and that later tonight we will see Will Ospreay face Cody with the ROH World Title on the line. Theory has the advantage now and Aldis is down... Theory goes for the Standing Moonsault but lands stomach first across Aldis' knees. As Theory rolls around in agony. Aldis sits up and waves his finger in Theory's face. Theory spits on him but Aldis doesn't flinch, instead slapping Theory across the chest to a loud WOOOOOOOO from the crowd. Aldis drops Theory with a punch and climbs to the top rope, naturally, Priscilla Kelly begins to climb onto the apron but Mark Haskins sprints down from the back and pulls her down before she can interfere. Aldis nods at Haskins in appreciation and delivers a Flying Elbow squarely into Theory's chest.

We might have a new champion...

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We do, Nick Aldis has won the Ring of Honor Television Championship. The cocky, "Unproven One" Austin Theory has been struck down by Nick Aldis, a fallen star now restored here in Ring of Honor.

Winner and NEW Ring of Honor Television Champion: Nick Aldis

As Aldis celebrates he is greeted in the ring by Mark Haskins and together they head up the ramp where they are joined by Zack Sabre Jr., Ian Riccaboni hypes them up as a unit, and suggests they may be the next "British Revolution" in professional wrestling, while AJ Kirsch says he thinks these guys are just friends showing support for one another...but that what Mark Haskins did proved he was there to support the best wrestlers in the world.

ROH Tag Titles
The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi

This bout was originally scheduled to be the Briscoes vs. The Golden Lovers, but when Omega went down with an injury Jay Lethal was named his hand-picked replacement, and boy did they deliver. This one was a masterpiece from the beginning. Lethal and Ibushi were on the same page from the get-go and despite never having tagged together before seemed like they were a perfect unit. The Ten Time champ Briscoes on the other hand brought their standard rough and rowdy style right at the new team and kept the fans on the edge of their seats with fast strikes and powerful blows. Lethal, Ring of Honor's "Grand Slam Man" had a great sequence with Jay Briscoe where both men exchanged blows before running full speed into one another and falling hard to the mat... Todd Sinclair started the count and made it to a six-count before either man stirred... As both Jay's began to rise Sinclair reached seven.

Lethal is to a knee... as is Briscoe...

Eight...

Ibushi is imploring his teammate to his feet... Mark screaming at his brother.

Nine.... Lethal is standing... Briscoe is as well.... Sinclair halts the count and both men dive for their respective corners. Lethal's hand clips Ibushi's first and Ibushi is in like a ball of fire. He knocks Mark off the apron and immediately begins the assault on Jay Briscoe.

He lifts Briscoe... Golden Star Powerbomb... the cover... this is it...

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Mark Briscoe comes flying through the middle rope and knocks Ibushi off his brother. Jay Lethal is in to stop it but is met by a knee to the gut and tossed from the ring... Mark drags his brothers lifeless body to his corner... props him up and hops the ropes... he then tags his brother... which is a legal tag and brings himself into the match...

To the top rope...

FROGGY BOW... CONNECTS

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Lethal dives back in and tries for Mark...

.....

.....

Three....

Just as Lethal connects with Mark Briscoe so too does Todd Sinclair hand with the mat... he calls for the bell... This one is OVER! The Briscoes retain.

Winners and STILL ROH Tag Team Champions: The Briscoe Brothers

Jay Lethal, exhausted, is seated in the ring as the camera pans back to show the Briscoes on the turnbuckles stirring. It pans further back....

The crowd pops wildly...

LOW-KI is back and he is standing on the stage... He is staring daggers through Jay Briscoe, he transitions his gaze toward Mark Briscoe... and then Jay Lethal.... Without saying a word "The World Warrior," and Jay Lethal's partner in No Gimmicks Needed has sent a message to everyone in the ring.

ROH World Championship
Cody {C} vs. Will Ospreay

After the standard video package and ring introductions Ospreay and Cody dance around the ring and finally adhere to the Code of Honor and shake hands. Cody immediately pulls Ospreay in close but is met by Ospreay's forehead to his skull sending Cody into the corner. Ospreay comes right at him and like a ball of fire has the champ pinned into the corner and taking on damage quickly. Cody tries to cower and cover his face but Ospreay is unrelenting he continues to bring the pain to Cody and isn't slowing down. He tosses Cody back toward the middle of the ring and hops up to the top turnbuckle... The Aerial Assassin takes flight and connects in the middle of the ring... mere minutes in and we have a pinfall...

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Not so fast Mr. Ospreay, the champ powers out and begins to mount a comeback. Slowly but surely he battles his way back to his feet and snatches Ospreay into a headlock in the center of the ring. After the furious start Ospreay appears a little burnt out and Cody is clearly content to hold this rest hold and recover, but Ospreay sweeps the legs out and makes another quick cover.

One

Only a one count this time as Cody again kicks out and works his way back to a standing grapple. Ospreay again goes for the legs but Cody jumps and connects with a Jumping DDT. This first major offensive strike fires the champ up and reenergizes him as he negotiates the ring and delivers strike after strike to the challenger.

Cody bounces off the middle rope looking for the Disaster Kick...

But he's caught by a Cutter out nowhere. Ospreay is impressing everyone, as Brandi Rhodes nervously paces at ringside. Ospreay climbs to the top rope... he's going to risk it all.... 630 Senton...

As he floats through the air time appears to freeze. Flashbulbs pop as he rotates two and half times......

But lands squarely in the middle of the mat without Cody underneath him... the champion moved at the last second and Ospreay is down and out in the middle.

Cody is up to a knee... Now standing, he lifts the nearly lifeless body of Ospreay and has him set-up for the Cross Rhodes... He spins him but Ospreay continues the rotation and somehow lands on his feet... Jumping Knee to the chin of Cody... He's dazed, Ospreay is dazed as well but this is his chance... Springboard to the ropes, Os-Cutter.... CONNECTS. Cody is down. Ospreay is down. Can Ospreay crawl over and make the cover. Cody's wife Brandi is pounding on the mat imploring her husband to wake-up but he's unresponsive. Ospreay is two feet away... now one... he reaches over and drapes his arm over Cody.

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Thr... NOOOO Cody lifted his boot and got a toe onto the ropes. Rope break to save his title!

Ospreay cannot believe it. He needs to muster whatever energy he has left. He lifts Cody up... Springboard... Cody's body collapses at the waist and Ospreay sort of just lands on him in a precarious position. Suddenly, Cody hooks the arms and stands delivering a slightly modified Vertabreaker and drops Ospreay squarely on his head. He crawls towards Ospreay and drapes his arm over him.

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Three!

Once again, Cody has defended the title. Pushed to the absolute limit here, Cody once again proved why he is one of the best.

Winner and STILL Ring of Honor World Champion: Cody

Post-Match, Austin Theory, Brandi Rhodes, Marty Scurll and Priscilla Kelly join Cody in the ring to celebrate. Theory lifts the prone Will Ospreay and delivers an Unproven Cutter to him much to the joy of his Royalty mates. But before things get too far out of hand Zack Sabre Jr, Mark Haskins, and Nick Aldis run down to the ring and begin to clean house to support Ospreay...

The lights go off and when they return...

"That's DAVEY BOY SMITH JR."

We haven't seen him since December and he immediately delivers stereo clotheslines that would make his father blush to Aldis and Haskins. Sabre jumps at him but is batted out of the air. The announcers make mention that Sabre and Smith have a history in NJPW as members of the defunct Suzuki-Gun stable. Smith lifts Sabre and delivers a huge Powerbomb, crashing Sabre down on top of Ospreay and leaving Royalty standing tall in the ring as we go off the air.

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Kijar · February 6, 2019

Woo! Good to see Davey Boy getting the big return from injury spot!

A couple of big surprises as well, very enjoyable show. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Texasrangers13 · February 7, 2019

Honor Club Exclusive: War of the Worlds Recap

<div style="text-align:center;">Honor Club Exclusive: War of the Worlds Recap</div>

The recap show opened up with a pre-show bout featuring "The Workhorseman" Anthony Henry taking on Team Filthy's Josh "The Goods" Woods. This one was a solid back and forth featuring two of our lower midcard workers. Woods has had a solid amount of momentum since turning on his former partner Cheeseburger and aligning with "Filthy" Tom Lawlor and Fred Yehi. As for Anthony Henry, after a solid showing in the Top Prospect Tournament he's proven himself to be a solid worker who brings a hard hitting style to the ring and uses his Father-in-Law, David Young's signature Spinebuster as his finisher. And in this one it was that Spinebuster that did in Woods and gave "The Workhorseman" Anthony Henry a solid victory.

As for the pay-per-view itself, the ratings area in and it was one of our best shows yet. According to Wrestling Observer Radio the matches received rave reviews let's run them down....

<ul><li>Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Marty Scurll via Calf Slicer/Bridge Submission(B-) </li><li>Jeff Cobb defeated Juice Robinson via Tour of Islands © </li><li>The Young Bucks defeated The Top Guys via Meltzer Driver (B-) </li></ul>

... suddenly the Honor Club exclusive show is interrupted by KC McKnight and Steven Walters...

McKnight and Walters immediately say that The Young Bucks victory is invalid and present tell the production truck to play the clips they delivered.

The show plays the opening segment of the match when The Top Guys left the ring due to the streamers and the Young Bucks dove over the top rope and took them out before the bell even rang. Next there is a clip of Nick Jackson leaping from the top rope, and Matt Jackson springboarding from the ropes to the floor. Next there are clips of some tandem moves and "questionable" tags that the Young Bucks made throughout the match. Finally there was the finish with the Meltzer Driver and Matt Jackson finishing the maneuver by leaving the ring to take out McKnight.

Back on set The Top Guys say that they will be making a formal announcement soon, but for the time being their lawyers have advised them to take this week and prepare a plan of action for moving forward with "Honorable" Rules...

Slightly shaken by the surprise guests host Bobby Cruise continues to run down the match ratings.

<ul><li>The Bestest Friends defeated The Kings of the Night via Gobstopper (C+) </li><li>Nick Aldis defeated Austin Theory via Flying Elbow (D) </li><li>The Briscoe Brothers defeated Kota Ibushi and Jay Lethal via Froggy Bow (B) </li><li>Cody defeated Will Ospreay (B-) </li></ul>

Overall Show Rating (B-)

Bobby Cruise then announces that he can confirm that this week on Ring of Honor television we will hear from Royalty, including the newly returned Davey Boy Smith Jr.

He also announces that PJ Black will make his Ring of Honor debut and last but not least, that Low-Ki will be in action for the first time in two months and will be in the main event.

All this and more as we begin down the road to Best in the World.

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Let's go behind the curtain!

Predictions

<ul><li>BHK1978 (5/7) </li><li>aya_ (4/7) </li><li>Rhyme1234 (5/7) </li><li>Omega58 (5/7) </li><li>Powerbrock100 (4/7) </li><li>Kijar (4/7) </li></ul>

Nice tightly bunched group.

Thanks all for the predictions, love the comments and commentary. Think the Top Guys storyline that will come out of this is a good one and will be enjoyed. Ended up going with Aldis as the winner of the TV title because the belt has been dragging ratings down with it and I think Aldis/Theory are a nice dichotomy of where they are at with their careers. They actually have similar ratings in popularity, but that matched bombed. I originally planned for Ospreay to win the title but alas opted to keep Cody with the belt and bring the now (well almost) healthy Davey Boy Smith Jr back into the Royalty group to give them some actual muscle. In turn with Mark Haskins, Nick Aldis and ZSJ being more "regulars" now I saw an opportunity to create an alliance of sorts around British Wrestling/wrestlers. Working on a name for the group (it may be an informal group. Think either British Revolution or the Honor Guard).

Calendar Update:

Q2's Honor Club Exclusive Show was originally going to be the second edition of All In, but we are going to bounce that to Q3. W Honor United in conjunction with RPW but it will likely now be in Q3, but it will likely now be a regular PPV (Probably August). The Rock N Rager at Sea is definitely happening again and it will likely be the standalone Honor Club show for Q3, I may use the MLW diary to tie into that or may make an MLW vs. ROH show. Lots of options. For now I'm just going to keep having fun and enjoying building this diary out!

2019's Remaining PPV Schedule

(Italics are changes)

June: Best In The World

July: Glory by Honor

August: Honor United (In Conjunction with RPW)

September: Death Before Dishonor

October: Global Wars (In Conjunction with NJPW)

November: Survival of the Fittest

December: Final Battle

2019's Honor Club Exclusive Quarterly Show

Q2 (April-June): The Crockett Cup

Q3 (July-September): Chris Jericho's Second Annual Rock-N-Rager At Sea

Q4 (October-December): All In 2: Double or Nothing

Lastly, the next post will have details on both the Crockett Cup and the World Cup that was hinted at and will be featured across four brands and will be featured on ROH TV and Honor Club with the finals taking place a next months Best In The World PPV.

Texasrangers13 · February 8, 2019

Honor Club Exclusive: Details on The World Cup of Wrestling

<div style="text-align:center;">Honor Club Exclusive: Details on The First Annual World Cup of Wrestling</div>

As we roll into the end of May and into June, Ring of Honor and their partners, NJPW, RPW and CMLL are proud to introduce as an associate member of their alliance, SMASH Wrestling in Canada. SMASH is Canada's fastest growing promotion and is positioned to continue that growth out of their home base in Ontario in the future. With this associate membership SMASH will be providing three wrestlers to partake in the World Cup of Wrestling, representing Team Canada, and a Tag Team to represent SMASH in the Crockett Cup.

Without further adieu let's take a look at the teams and the schedule for the First Annual World Cup of Wrestling.

The World Cup of Wrestling will take place over 12 shows across the New Japan World alliance before reaching the finals at Ring of Honor's Best In The World at the end of June. The format will be six teams of three divided into two pools. Those pools are as follows.

Pool A

USA

Mexico

Canada

Pool B

Japan

United Kingdom

World

Each team will have one dedicated Tag Team. We can now confirm those teams are as follows.

Representing the USA, Shiima Xion and Hangman Page

Representing Canada, The Fraternity (Channing Decker and Trent Gibson)

Representing Mexico, Dragon Lee and Rush

Representing Japan, EVIL and SANADA

Representing the UK, CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos)

Representing the World, Angelico and PJ Black

</div>

Each team will also have a singles wrestler.

Representing the USA, Anthony Henry

Representing Canada, Pepper Parks

Representing Mexico, Bandido

Representing Japan, Kota Ibushi

Representing the UK, Mark Haskins

Representing the World, Jay White

</div>

The pool format will see matches take place only within the pool until the finals when the two teams with most points will face off in an elimination championship bout.

In the pool itself we can confirm the schedule is set-up like this.:

Six Singles Bouts (USA vs. Canada, Canada vs. Mexico, USA vs. Mexico)/(Japan vs. UK, UK vs. World, Japan vs. World)

Six Tag Bouts (USA vs. Canada, Canada vs. Mexico, USA vs. Mexico)/(Japan vs. UK, UK vs. World, Japan vs. World)

Two Trios (USA vs Canada vs. Mexico, Japan vs. UK vs. World)

Two Triple Threats (Within the pool)

Each singles and tag victory is worth one point, while a trio and the triple threat victories are worth two points.

The World Cup of Wrestling begins this week on NJPW's Decimation Tour as the first first match from Pool B will take place as we will see the first trios bout as Japan takes on the UK and the World.

The full schedule is below and can be seen exclusively on Honor Club broadcasts as well as on the home promotion!

<ul><li>May Tuesday Week 4 NJPW Decimation Tour Japan vs. World vs. UK Trios </li><li>May Friday Week 4 CMLL Lucha Azteca/Guerreros del Ring Mexico Tag vs. USA Tag </li><li>May Saturday Week 4 ROH TV USA Tag vs. Canada Tag, Mexico Singles vs. USA Singles </li><li>May Saturday Week 4 RPW May PPV Japan vs. UK vs. World Triple Threat </li><li>May Saturday Week 4 SMASH Gold PPV Canada Tag vs. Mexico Tag, USA Singles vs. Canada Singles </li><li>June Tuesday Week 1 NJPW Decimation Tour Japan Tag vs. World Tag </li><li>June Friday Week 1 CMLL Lucha Azteca/Guerreros del Ring Mexico vs. USA vs. Canada Trios </li><li>June Saturday Week 1 ROH TV UK Tag vs. World Tag </li><li>June Sunday Week 1 NJPW Best of Super Juniors, World vs. Japan Singles </li><li>June Saturday Week 2 ROH TV World Singles vs. UK Singles </li><li>June Thursday Week 3 NJPW Decimation Tour Japan vs. UK Singles </li><li>June Saturday Week 3 ROH TV Canada Singles vs. Mexico Singles </li><li>June Sunday Week 3 CMLL June PPV Canada vs. USA vs. Mexico Triple Threat </li><li>Finals Sunday June Week 4: ROH Best in the World, Pool A Winner vs. Pool B Winner, elimination match </li></ul>

Keep your eyes peeled next month (June 2019) for exclusive details on another Honor Club Exclusive Event, The Crockett Cup Eight Tag-Team Tournament.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Note, the World Cup of Wrestling will not receive a full write-up until the championship. Instead there will just a recap type show every two weeks as an Honor Club Exclusive. I just wanted to try out some stuff and thought this was a fun way to engage with the New Japan Alliance as well as use the Honor Club for something new. The Crockett Cup (in June) may receive a full write-up but that's still TBD.

Texasrangers13 · February 19, 2019

ROH TV May Week 3, 4 and June Week 1, 2019 <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV May 2019, Week 3</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">Fresh off the War of the Worlds Pay-Per-View we are in action and live on your television screen with another week of ROH Wrestling. The show kicks off with Royalty in the ring and bragging about having their enforcer and muscle, Davey Boy Smith Jr. Back in the fold. Though they lost the ROH Television title, Royalty still holds the ROH World Title and they feel like they are stronger than ever. Cody stands tall in the ring surrounded by his lieutenants, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Marty Scurll and Austin Theory. Back from our first break we have the first match of the evening as Jeff Cobb defeats Matt Taven in a bout that spilled over from War of the Worlds when Taven and The End attacked Cobb's opponent, Juice Robinson. Post-match, The End entered the ring and stalked Cobb into a corner before beating him down three on one. No one came to Cobb's aide and the announcers wondered if Cobb had already alienated the entire locker room. In his debut PJ Black defeated TK O'Ryan in a high-flying bout. The announcers hyped the upcoming World Cup that would feature wrestlers working across the entire alliance and that would see PJ Black representing "the World". Next we get a pre-taped promo with Low-Ki going scorched earth on how he felt left behind. He felt like he laid it all out on the line and when he took an injury the business wasn't there for him. He mentions how he's always been the underdog and how no one has ever looked out for him... but that it didn't matter, the World Warrior was here to prove he is the best in the world and you can either stand by him or get out of the way. The announcers speculated that it might have been a shot at his partner Jay Lethal, but we shall see. Up next we saw Flip Gordon defeat Bandido in a bout that showcased two of the best "rising stars" ROH has to offer. Though Gordon took home the win the announcers featured Bandido heavily and mentioned that he'd be representing Mexico in the upcoming World Cup. We return from break to Flip Gordon being laid out backstage. Kenny King leads the charge as his Kings of the Night security lay the boots to Flip... We notice that Shane Taylor appears to have joined the security detail as he is wearing a Kings of The Night Security shirt and beating down Gordon. In the television main event Low-Ki returns to the ring and defeats Frankie Kazarian in a very solid Main Event. Low-Ki hit the Ki Krusher for the victory and stared the hard cam down to finish the show...</div></div></blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV, May Week 4, 2019</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">We kick the show off with The Top Guys in the ring protesting their "illegal" loss to the Young Bucks at War of the Worlds. McKnight and Walters state that they were clearly violated by a lack of respect and a lack of following the "Pure Wrestling" rules. They announce that they've filed a formal inquisition into the tactics of the Young Bucks and would be announcing their findings at a future date, but for now they wanted the fans to know that "Pure. Honorable, Wrestling" was returning to Ring of Honor. In the first televised bout of the evening, Odinson and Hammerstone laid waste to Grizzly Redwood and Cheeseburger in a squash that set-up the return of David Finlay Jr and Juice Robinson who ran out to save the victims, and fight off The End until Taven made it a three on two... which naturally led to Jeff Cobb running out and evening the score. The six men brawled to the back as we went to break. Jay Lethal defeated Christopher Daniels in the next bout and did it in impressive fashion, delivering the Lethal Combination for the victory. As the match ends Low-Ki comes down to the ring and stares Lethal down... before anything else happens, positive or negative, The Briscoe Brothers arrive on the scene and announce that they will give Low-Ki and Jay Lethal their rightful title rematch... at Best In The World. Low-Ki and Lethal stare at each other and shake hands as the scene ends... In the television main event Will Ospreay defeated Austin Theory in a bout that highlighted the ongoing feud between Ospreay and Royalty. The announcers hyped that Ospreay's loose alliance with some of the other Brits makes him a folk hero and Theory's arrogance makes him a true villain in the narrative. In the end, Ospreay delivered an Os-Cutter to Theory and walked out victorious.</div></div></blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV, Week 1, June 2019</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;">The show opens with The Top Guys defeating Coast 2 Coast. McKnight and Walters never climbed the ropes and did nothing "aerial" throughout the bout. The announcers speculated this was a "Pure and Honorable" bout. Post-bout The Top Guys grabbed a mic and announced that they have been granted a rematch at Best In The World, but that there is still discussions about if it will be contested under "Pure, Honorable, Rules" they highlighted three aspects of the rules for the Young Bucks to begin understanding... <ul><li>1) No Flips, Just Fists </li><li>2) No Fighting Outside of the Ring </li><li>3) Tags Are Only Legal If The Official Fully Acknowledges It </li></ul> ... The announcers state that three weeks from now these two teams will do battle again, and they are sure that the stipulations will be...unique. Team Filithy's Fred Yehi defeated one-third of the ROH 6-Man Tag Champions, Chuckie T in a singles bout that will likely set-up a future title shot for Team Filthy. Yehi forced Chuckie to tap squarely in the middle of the ring to the Koji Clutch. We get a conflict video package highlighting the loose alliance of British wrestlers, Will Ospreay, Nick Aldis, Zack Sabre Jr and Mark Haskins taking on the bully group known as Royalty. The announcers hype that Haskins has set out to further his cause by representing the United Kingdom in the World Cup that is taking place right now... Backstage the seven-man Kings of the Night "posse" antagonizes Flip Gordon as he tries to enter the building. Eventually, Flip gives up and returns to his car stating that he'll be back and he's going to bring some friends...... In the television Main Event, Low-Ki, with Jay Lethal in his corner, defeated Mark Briscoe with his brother Jay in his corner. Low-Ki delivered the Ki-Krusher 99 in the middle of the ring to secure the victory, but left the ring without Lethal post-match leading the announcers to speculate that No Gimmicks Needed were fighting more for themselves than as a unit as we inch closer to their tag title rematch... </div></div></blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OOC: The World Cup in underway, with two bout taking place during these tapings above, the next post will feature the World Cup with matches taking place at ROH, CMLL, RPW, SMASH, and NJPW shows!

Texasrangers13 · August 22, 2019

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Exclusive <div style="text-align:center;">Wrestling Observer Newsletter, June 2019</div> <div style="text-align:center;">Exclusive: Ring of Honor Loses Sinclair Broadcasting Backing, on Financial Thin-Ice <img alt="WDgbg6w.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/WDgbg6w.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div style="text-align:center;"><div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">In an exclusive to WOR, our sources have informed us that </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">Ring of Honor</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> and </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">Sinclair Broadcasting Group</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> have had a falling out over a contract that was signed with </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">WGN TV</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> while Sinclair was in the process of purchasing the network last summer. As you may have heard the FCC objected to the sale and by the fall Sinclair had pulled out of the deal. However, during this time Ring of Honor was scheduled to begin airing on WGN stations across America. Naturally, Sinclair Broadcasting did not allow this and ultimately this led to a lawsuit which was reportedly settled out of court in April 2019. As a direct result of this Sinclair Broadcasting Group has opted to no longer directly invest in Ring of Honor but will retain the right to first refusal for cable television. Former COO, </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">Joe Koff</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">, who led the acquisition of Ring of Honor by Sinclair in 2011 has been removed from his post with Ring of Honor.</div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> As a result of these changes Ring of Honor no longer has the financials they previously had and sources say they’ve been actively looking for investors to help keep them on the right track. Internal sources tell us that the company has not been profitable for the last ten months, losing large amounts of money, frequently in the six figures monthly, while attempting to secure their biggest talents, host and produce a weekly live show and of course put on their monthly pay-per-view events. The company is reportedly exploring a number of options and has reportedly had interest from outside parties. Many of ROH’s stars have well-established personalities outside of the ring including </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">Cody, Marty Scurll, and The Young Bucks</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> who are frequently seen on their YouTube shows. Perhaps Ring of Honor could take advantage of that, though in order to do that they’ve need to acknowledge kayfabe directly. As Ring of Honor heads into the Summer it feels like change is in the air, but it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">Ring of Honor</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> has not formally commented on this story, but did confirm that </div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;">Cary Silkin</div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"><div style="margin-left:25px;"> remains as the CEO and will have full responsibility for the companies direction moving forward.</div></div></div></div></div></div><div></div></blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As I dove back into the game some things occurred (breach of contract lawsuit) that sparked some ideas. Then I let the real world develop a bit, and I came up with a storyline that I am really looking forward to diving into. The passion to tell that story is what pushes this forward! I think we have a really exciting story to move forward with some twists and turns that are a bit fun too. I may tinker a bit with the format to get this back on track, but I'll keep telling the story the way I enjoy.

Texasrangers13 · August 25, 2019

June 2019 Recap

As we begin to catch back-up and get this diary updated we are going to look at this through a different lens... what has occurred, where are we at...

June Television Recaps and Storyline Progressions (Weeks 2, 3, 4)

The World Cup of Wrestling

The World Cup of Wrestling was a really a solid idea, but the execution was a bit sloppy and as Ring of Honor prepares for a new-ish direction, it was a cross platform thing with matches taking place on ROH TV as well as NJPW, SMASH, RPW and CMLL. In Week Two we showcased the English team of Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes taking on the World team on Adam Bridle and PJ Black, and in week 3 on ROH TV, Mexico's Bandido faced Canada's Pepper Parks in a match that was a nice showcase for two upstarts. While these matches were interesting and a good showcase of the talent ROH brings in from around the world, it was ultimately used to shill the Honor Club and highlight the availability of the other matches on the network. If you watched those matches you would know that the finals will be Japan vs. Mexico at Best In The World, as EVIL and SANADA will take on Dragon Lee II and Bandido.

Young Bucks and The Top Guys, Throwing It Back

As seen in June, The Young Bucks and The Top Guys (KC McKnight and Steven Walters) have been furthering their feud that started over the internet and ultimately spilled to Ring of Honor when The Top Guys (FKA The Revival) left the WWE and immediately made an impact. Over this series of tapings, The Top Guys laid out the challenge for Best in the World for a "Watts Rules" bout where the rules follow the laws laid out in the 70's and 80's, the rules are pretty simple and frankly traditional to Ring of Honor. No Flips, Just Fists. No moves can come off the turnbuckles and outside the ring is a "safe-space". This severely limits the Young Bucks and favors the Top Guys, but the Bucks willingly took the challenge to prove they are more than just spot monkey's. In the final episode prior to Best In The World, Matt Jackson proved his mettle as he beat KC McKnight one-on-one and never once left the ground for more than a basic dropkick...

Team Filthy and The Bestest Friends

In early 2018 "Filthy" Tom Lawlor made his Ring of Honor debut during the Top Prospect Tournament ultimately won by now ROH mainstay, Odinson. During that first stint "Filthy" had a direct issue with the officials of Ring of Honor. When he returned in April 2019, it was as a trio with Fred Yehi and Josh Woods involved. The egotistically named, "Team Filthy" took direct umbrage with the Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Champions The Bestest Friends (The Best Friends and Dalton Castle). After Yehi secured a victory via Koji Clutch to start the month over Chuck Taylor, he proceeded to beat Dalton Castle in week 3 with the same maneuver. This led to the formal challenge in Week 4, and set-up the ROH Six-Man Title bout at Best In The World as Team Filthy challenges the Bestest Friends.

The Kings of the Night and Flip Gordon

Kenny King, a long-time ROH fixture, formed the Kings of the Night, a group that loves to have fun and throw parties in April 2019 when "The King of Queens" Brian Myers joined forces with King and they required some "Bouncers" to protect them. Those bouncers, Beer City Bruiser, Brian Milonas, and Shane Taylor provide 900 pounds of security and over the last month have been antagonizing and bullying Flip Gordon so much that Flip has vowed to get revenge on the group at Best In The World. In Week 3 Flip was assaulted once again only for the Workhorseman, Anthony Henry and BJ Whitmer to run in wielding chairs and chase off the Kings of the Night. In between the weeks Flip Gordon announced on Honor Club that he'd recruited Coast 2 Coast as his allies and at Best In The World they would take on the Kings of the Night in a 5 on 5 bout. In Week 4 though The Kings of the Night reigned supreme as Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser defeated Coast 2 Coast, and Kenny King and Brian Myers defeated The Workhorseman. Can Flip exact his revenge at Best In The World?

The End is only the Beginning?

Jeff Cobb stormed onto the scene in Ring of Honor destroying everything in sight and ultimately capturing the TV Title and challenging for the World Title in his first few months with the company, even having a Match of the Year contender with Cody. But in April at Supercard of Honor he was cut down to size as he lost to both Austin Theory (losing his TV title in the process) and Cody (failing to capture the World title), while also suffering a massive amount of blood-loss. He was then knocked down the pedestal a bit when Will Ospreay took the next shot at Cody. Cobb then set-out to prove he was still the man in Ring of Honor and challenged NJPW to send their best to face him at War of the Worlds. There he defeated David Finlay Jr, and was called out by Juice Robinson afterwards. He faced Juice at the PPV and took him down but after the bout Matt Taven and his psychopathic associates "The End" (Hammerstone and Odinson) brutally assaulted Juice, which led to Cobb making the save, and ultimately set Cobb on the path he is on now. In Week 2, The End defeated Juice and Finlay when Odinson delivered the huge F10 to Finlay, and as the match ended we panned to the back where the cameras found Jeff Cobb out-cold with Matt Taven lounging in a chair next to his body. The next week, The End easily defeated ROH Dojo graduates Ryan Nova and Eli Isom, but post-match Jeff Cobb dragging a lifeless Matt Taven to ringside... before The End could save their leader, Finlay and Juice snuck in from the crowd and took The End down. This led to Week 4 where the show opened with Jeff Cobb and Odinson doing battle in a bout that saw Cobb take the win, but Odinson hold his own... at Best In The World it'll be The End and Matt Taven vs. Jeff Cobb, Juice, and David Finlay.

ROH Originals Do Battle

In 2018, ROH's first ever champion, Low-Ki returned to the company and did battle with one of its most prolific champions, Jay Lethal. During this time the two men formed a friendship that led to them teaming up as the no-nonsense team "No Gimmicks Needed". They captured the Tag Titles as a team and held them until an unfortunate injury to Low-Ki led Lethal to team with another partner and ultimately lose the titles to the now 10 time ROH Tag Champion, Briscoe Brothers. At War of the Worlds last month Low-Ki returned from injury after the Briscoes defended the title against the makeshift team of Lethal and Kota Ibushi. Low-Ki stormed the ring but merely stared the four men down before leaving. He and Lethal then had a number of awkward run-ins with each other that reminded fans of when they saw their ex-girl in a supermarket, but ultimately led to Week 2 in June when Jay Briscoe defeated Jay Lethal in the main event, and The Briscoes proceeded to boots the boots to Lethal. This led to Low-Ki making the save, clearing the ring but ultimately not helping Lethal back his feet. Then in Week 4, Jay Lethal and Low-Ki agreed to team-up once again and challenge for the Tag Titles they felt they never truly lost. So at Best In The World it'll be The Briscoes vs. No Gimmicks Needed for the Tag Titles

Royalty Reigns Supreme? Or Will The Honor Guard Restore Honor?

Cody has held the ROH title for 16 months now. He's defeated all comers from Kenny Omega to Jay Briscoe to Jeff Cobb. Tetsuya Naito, Alex Shelley, and even Cheeseburger... ok well maybe Cheeseburger wasn't a threat. Over that time his ego has only grown and in October of 2018 he formed one of the most dominant factions Ring of Honor has ever seen known as Royalty. The group as it stands presently features Cody, Austin Theory, Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr. Davey Boy made his debut in December but was promptly felled by a Torn ACL. He is only recently returning the ring and provides the group with true muscle...for the last two months though the group has had an actual threat in the form of The Honor Guard, a group collectively led by Will Ospreay and new ROH Television Champion, Nick Aldis, that set out to restore Honor to Ring of Honor and rid the company of the parasite that is Royalty. At War of the Worlds in May, Cody and his group tried to take advantage of Osprey, which led to Nick Aldis, Zack Sabre Jr and Mark Haskins making the save, only to see Davey Boy return to the ring and clear house. This naturally should have led to a four on four elimination bout between the two factions... but as we would find out Royalty had more tricks up their sleeves. During week 3 the Main Event saw Marty Scurll defeat Mark Haskins cleanly, and the announcers put over that these two units would face each other, but during the 4th weeks show something was amiss. During your standard face to face conflict, the Honor Guard was missing Zack Sabre Jr... the announcers had speculation as to what was going on but Cody insisted that at Best In The World it'll now be Four on Three... and when Royalty wins, The "Honor Guard" must leave Ring of Honor, for good.

So folks, that catches you up on the June storylines, so without further adieu, let's preview Best In The World

Ring of Honor Presents: Best In The World

June Week Four, 2019

Pay-Per-View Preview

ROH Six Man Tag Titles

The Bestest Friends {C} (Berreta, Chuckie T and Dalton Castle) vs. Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Fred Yehi and Josh Woods)

Five on Five, First Fall Wins

The Kings of the Night (Kenny King, Brian Myers, Brian Milonas, Shane Taylor and the Beer City Bruiser) vs. Flip and Friends (Flip Gordon, Anthony Henry, BJ Whitmer and Coast 2 Coast)

Watts Rules

The Top Guys (KC McKnight and Steven Walters) vs. The Young Bucks

Six-Man Tag

Jeff Cobb, David Finlay Jr, and Juice Robinson vs. The End (Hammerstone and Odinson) and Matt Taven

World Cup of Wrestling Finals (Japan vs. Mexico)

EVIL and SANADA vs. Bandido and Dragon Lee II

Four vs. Three Handicapped Match, If Honor Guard Loses They Must LEAVE ROH

Royalty (Cody, Austin Theory, Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr) vs. Honor Guard (Will Ospreay, Nick Aldis and Mark Haskins)

ROH Tag Titles

The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. No Gimmicks Needed (Low-Ki and Jay Lethal)

After a six-month hiatus I'm not exactly expecting the same crowd we had in the past, but I am hoping that this Summer 2019 storyline will draw in new fans... so here are the quick picks for Best In The World; I'm honestly really exciting about this storyline that will begin to reveal itself at this event. I think it'll make for a fun reboot of this diary and fun new direction for this. After-all, for those who have followed this since it launched (December 2017), this is a slow-moving, cult-following diary... just like the real ROH. I think the new storyline the game threw at me (as hinted at in the last post) really revives this, and I think that paired with some real world advances will draw some interest...

ROH Six Man Tag Titles: The Bestest Friends {C} (Berreta, Chuckie T and Dalton Castle) vs. Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Fred Yehi and Josh Woods)
Five on Five, First Fall Wins: The Kings of the Night (Kenny King, Brian Myers, Brian Milonas, Shane Taylor and the Beer City Bruiser) vs. Flip and Friends (Flip Gordon, Anthony Henry, BJ Whitmer and Coast 2 Coast)
Watts Rules: The Top Guys (KC McKnight and Steven Walters) vs. The Young Bucks
Six-Man Tag: Jeff Cobb, David Finlay Jr, and Juice Robinson vs. The End (Hammerstone and Odinson) and Matt Taven
World Cup of Wrestling Finals (Japan vs. Mexico): EVIL and SANADA vs. Bandido and Dragon Lee II
Four vs. Three Handicapped Match, If Honor Guard Loses They Must LEAVE ROH:Royalty (Cody, Austin Theory, Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr) vs. Honor Guard (Will Ospreay, Nick Aldis and Mark Haskins)
ROH Tag Titles:The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. No Gimmicks Needed (Low-Ki and Jay Lethal)

BHK1978 · August 25, 2019

ROH Six Man Tag Titles: The Bestest Friends {C} (Berreta, Chuckie T and Dalton Castle) vs. Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Fred Yehi and Josh Woods)

Five on Five, First Fall Wins: The Kings of the Night (Kenny King, Brian Myers, Brian Milonas, Shane Taylor and the Beer City Bruiser) vs. Flip and Friends (Flip Gordon, Anthony Henry, BJ Whitmer and Coast 2 Coast)

One team has the Beer City Bruiser, the other doesn't. Enough said...

Watts Rules: The Top Guys (KC McKnight and Steven Walters) vs. The Young Bucks

You have no idea how much this pains me to do this because I hate the Bucks.

Six-Man Tag: Jeff Cobb, David Finlay Jr, and Juice Robinson vs. The End (Hammerstone and Odinson) and Matt Taven

World Cup of Wrestling Finals (Japan vs. Mexico): EVIL and SANADA vs. Bandido and Dragon Lee II

Four vs. Three Handicapped Match, If Honor Guard Loses They Must LEAVE ROH:Royalty (Cody, Austin Theory, Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr) vs. Honor Guard (Will Ospreay, Nick Aldis and Mark Haskins)

ROH Tag Titles:The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. No Gimmicks Needed (Low-Ki and Jay Lethal)

Texasrangers13 · August 28, 2019

Ring of Honor Presents: Best In The World

Ring of Honor Presents: Best In The World

Live on Pay-Per-View

Jaw-Dropping Surprise To Start The Show
The show started with a startling revelation as Kenny Omega made his way out to to the ring and immediately began to break the fourth wall, he said that for months and months he's been discussing with his friends The Young Bucks and a couple others what Independence meant to them, and what it meant to the wrestling world as a whole. He mentioned that months ago Ring of Honor announced it was going to broadcast a live "Independent Wrestling" showcase card exclusively on Honor Club, allowing some of the biggest names from around the world a platform to fight each other for one-night only. But Kenny said that change was in the air and now he can formally announce that that show will be known as "Independents Day" and will air live, not only on Honor Club, but through many other platforms allowing as many people as possible to experience the best the world has to offer... and while he's here and has our attention he knows that many fans have been watching "Being The Elite" on YouTube and it's time to stop the song and dance that is known as Kayfabe for a second. He mentions that while in the ring they may be rivals, he views "The cast and crew of Being the Elite, The Young Bucks, Cody, Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky and Hangman Page are my best friends in this world and I am honored to be hosting a show with them"... He mentions that "Meltzer recently mentioned that this very promotion, whose ring I am standing in now, has been having some financial issues, and well I thought that making this appearance might help the bottom-line once the Twitter-verse starts tweeting", "And so while I'm here I might as well plug the show and plug the matches that we will be revealing everyday for the next week as we lead into the show" "I can promise you that the main event will be, Nick and Matt Jackson, The Young Bucks, taking on Pentagon Jr and Rey Fenix, The Lucha Bros...Stay tuned to our social media for more announcements in the coming days"... Though it had been long rumored and frankly confirmed in the press months ago, this was the first direct mention of "Independents Day" and the fact that "The Elite" were really still friends and working together to host a show that Ring of Honor was openly allowing its workers to be a part of, and clearly acknowledging its exist to start a Pay-Per-View was a jaw-dropping way about it. We aren't quite sure where this will go, but for now, let's say we are intrigued. We've mentioned the financial trouble Ring of Honor has stumbled upon recently and that they reportedly had received some outside funding, perhaps this is the beginning of that story arc...

Team Filthy Captures Gold In Opening Bout
In our opening bout the two month reign of the Bestest Friends as Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag champions came to a crashing halt as Tom Lawlor, Fred Yehi and Josh Woods shocked the audience and claimed the belts. Lawlor's been a good promo since his return, and Yehi has been carrying the load in-ring for the group and in this one all three men really clicked. The highlights of the bout included Lawlor and Woods clearing the ring with a series of low kicks and quick jabs, and Yehi locking in a Kimura on Chuckie T in the middle of the ring. This one was easily better than expected, (***, Team Filthy Defeated The Bestest Friends to become new ROH Six-Man Tag Champions)

Zack Sabre's Visa Problem
Royalty's first appearance of the night featured the four members in the ring discussing how the Honor Guard clearly forgot the simple task of making sure everyone had secured the right paperwork to be here in Atlanta for the show. Clearly Zack Sabre Jr wasn't and Cody mockingly mentioned that he made some calls and made sure that Sabre couldn't get a visa in-time... He also mentioned that this was now a handicapped match and reiterated that when Royalty wins, the Honor Guard is all fired... The Honor Guard comes out with ROH TV Champion Nick Aldis holding a microphone, Aldis tells Cody he may have pulled Sabre's visa, but their fourth man, and newest member didn't need a Visa.... Alex Shelley made a shocking return to fill out the team, and the Main Event was now once again a Four on Four elimination bout. If Honor Club loses, they are all fired, if Honor Club wins any surviving member will receive an ROH World Title shot.

Bullies Be-Gone
Our second bout of the night was a 10-man tag featuring the Kings of the Night taking on Flip Gordon and friends. While this match had a bit of everything, nothing really stood out. Some brief highlights included The Beer City Bruiser lighting a cigar and taking some time out of the match to enjoy it ringside. Kenny King hitting LSG with the Royal Flush only to be deadlifted into a Spinebuster by Anthony Henry. Brian Milonas missing a splash in the corner and toppling straight to the floor leaving Brian Myers alone in the ring with BJ Whitmer, Flip Gordon and Shaheem Ali, leading to a great 3-on-1 sequence. In the end the size of the security detail wasn't a benefit as the three big men were worn out and unable to mount much of a comeback. In fact, Milonas, still reeling from the splash to the corner was the fall-man for the group as Flip Gordon delivered a picture perfect Missle Dropkick to his chin, sending him reeling into a school-boy by Anthony Henry who scored the win. (**, Flip Gordon, Anthony Henry, BJ Whitmer, LSG and Shaheem Ali defeated The Kings of the Night when Henry rolled-up Brian Milonas)

The Watts Rules Giveth and They Taketh
In following with the classic rules of wrestling, the years long online "beef" between the Young Bucks and the Top Guys came to a head here with KC McKnight and Steven Walters formally challenging the Bucks to a match that would be contested under "Watts Rules" prior to the match the rules were outlined as follows.

Use of the ring barricades and the ringpost is forbidden and will also be cause for an automatic disqualification

Wrestling outside the ring is discouraged

Absolutely no low blows.

Lewd hand gestures are prohibited, as is any cursing loud enough for the audience to hear

No moves off the top rope

All tags must be clean and between two hands, no other body parts constitutes a tag

After a tag, the non-legal partner has three seconds to leave the ring.

The bout itself was a fun showcase of the Young Bucks ability to purely wrestle in the ring and without the aid of things that would give Jim Cornette cardiac arrest. Both Matt and Nick were crisp early and surprisingly controlled the pace of the bout early. The Top Guys however were clearly the more familiar team with the style of the match and used that to their advantage, frequently hitting hard-strikes and quickly tagging out to maximize the three-second maximum double-team rule. Throughout the match referee in charge Todd Sinclair strictly enforced the rules, including a controversial moment where Matt tagged Nick on the arm and wasn't allowed into the ring, this "missed" tag wound up costing the Bucks as KC McKnight was able to recover enough to tag the fresh Steven Walters who sprinted across the ring and leveled Matt to the floor before planting Nick with a strong strike across the chin... he lifted Nick's prone body, walked him to the corner where he cleanly tagged McKnight, and the two of them hit a quick spinning neck breaker combo with Walters exiting the ring and McKnight making the cover for the victory. (***1/2, The Top Guys defeated The Young Bucks via Spinning Neckbreaker Combo)

The End May Be Near
In the six-man tag between The End and their self-professed leader, Matt Taven and Jeff Cobb, David Finlay and Juice Robinson, we saw the first signs of fracture between the martyrs that are Hammerstone and Odinson and their mouth-piece Matt Taven. Odinson and Hammerstone controlled much of the physicality throughout the match, though Jeff Cobb was able to hold his own with them. Finlay and Juice were weakened quickly and Taven frequently tagged himself in to take advantage. Unfortunately he lost control of the bout when Juice made a hot-tag to Jeff Cobb and Cobb cleaned house. Taven looked to the corners but Juice and Finlay pulled The End off the apron and were doing battle with them on the floor... Taven, with no partners in sight, was dead to rights as Cobb took him on a Tour of the Islands for the victory. (**1/2, Jeff Cobb, David Finlay Jr, and Juice Robinson defeated The End and Matt Taven when Cobb pinned Taven)

Independents Day Hype With SCU
Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Rocky Romero and Brody King were in the back when the cameraman found them and asked for their comments on Independents Day. Daniels took control and much like Omega earlier, he immediately made mention of this "thing" some of the legends of the "indy wrestling" scene were building. They mentioned that Independent Wrestling's resurgence started here in Ring of Honor 15+ years ago, and spread like wildfire to SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA where Pro Wrestling Guerrilla runs the show. They mentioned that Brody King is one of the stars who has recently popped up out there! Daniels then mentioned that he was going to announce that he was going to announce his own match for Independents Day. He will be facing a legend of Japanese Independent Wrestling and the leader of STRONGHEARTS, CIMA.

The World Cup of Wrestling
Speaking of Japan up next was the World Cup finals between Japan and Mexico. This tournament, frankly, was a bit of a cluster from the beginning with the alliance promoting matches all over the world and hoping that you'd tune in to follow it. In the end it was loosely executed and this felt like more of a showcase match than a true finals. The match itself between Japan and Mexico featured SANADA and EVIL tagging against Bandido and Dragon Lee II, SANADA and EVIL representing New Japan Pro Wrestling, Dragon Lee representing CMLL and Bandido representing the new wave of Ring of Honor stars. The bout itself was a really impressive one, that frankly was like one we will see if we tune into Independents Day in a couple weeks. The story itself was relatively non-descript but the bout was really solid. In the end the King of Darkness, EVIL, and the Cold Skull, SANADA delivered the victory with a booming double-team on Dragon Lee. (***, Japan, represented by EVIL and SANADA, defeated Mexico, represented by Bandido and Dragon Lee II to capture the World Cup of Wrestling 2019).

The Honor Guard Stands Tall
February 23rd, 2002, as the Winter Olympics of Salt Lake City came to a close, Ring of Honor launched, now 17 years later the promotion is still home to The Briscoes, Low-Ki and Christopher Daniels, all of whom were on the initial show. But now with the rumored financial issues and power that is Royalty raging over the brand, things have changed, and perhaps not for the best. In this, the semi-main event, we saw Royalty do battle with the Honor Guard, represented by three Brits (Aldis, Ospreay, Haskins) and a returning star (Alex Shelley). Royalty stepped out with the ROH World Champion, Cody, the "Top Prospect" Austin Theory, "The Villain" Marty Scurll, and "The Muscle" Davey Boy Smith Jr. This elimination bout started off with a quick elimination as Davey Boy Smith destroyed and eliminated Mark Haskins. The advantage firmly in Royalty's hands things almost got worse for the Honor Guard when Austin Theory nailed the Unproven Cutter on Alex Shelley, but Nick Aldis made the save and things began to circle back towards the Honor Guard as Alex Shelley hit the Sliced Bread on Marty Scurll and eliminated him, balancing this brawl out. As things progressed we reeled off three quick eliminations as Davey Boy eliminated the TV Champ Nick Aldis, only for Will Ospreay to eliminate Austin Theory. With Cody and Davey Boy squaring off with Alex Shelley and Will Ospreay in the ring things got serious. Davey Boy's strength quickly overmatched Ospreay's speed, but at the same time Shelley managed to chase Cody from the ring and actually nearly stole a pinfall, but Davey Boy managed to fight him off and ultimately delivered a massive lariat that nearly took Ospreay's head off. Cody and Shelley began to throw fists on the floor and that allowed Davey Boy the chance to eliminate his third member of the Honor Guard as he pinned Will Ospreay. Now with a firm advantage, Cody and Davey Boy Smith Jr surrounded Alex Shelley. Things weren't moving in the right direction for the Honor Guard until suddenly Zack Sabre's music hit, this distraction allowed Shelley the opportunity to toss Cody from the ring, hit a chop block on Davey Boy's bad knee and roll him up 1-2-3 to even the match out again... Cody realizing that the theme song was a red herring immediately began to attack Shelley, and Davey Boy had to be restrained from joining in by security officials at ringside. Shelley and Cody began the typical song and dance, with Shelley losing blood from his forehead. Cody went for the Disaster Kick but Shelley rolled through it and caught Cody with a Sliced Bread #2 for the perhaps shocking victory and keeping he and the Honor Guard employed... The group returns to the ring and celebrates as the ring crew goes to work changing the mat from the stains that occurred in this bout. (***1/2, Honor Guard defeats Royalty, Alex Shelley is the last man standing, eliminating Cody with the final pinfall).

The Original Stars of Ring of Honor
Prior to the main event here at Best in the World, Ring of Honor played a highlight video highlighting the fact that three of these four competitors were ROH originals, including Low-Ki who was the first ever champion. It even flashed a never before seen, fan recorded video of Jay Lethal facing Homicide in a dark match to close 2002 at the first ever Final Battle. They mention that Lethal was only 17 at the time and that Ring of Honor was his first major home and is his "home" for life. The video package was excellent and really felt top of the line. I would give it 4.75 stars if highlight videos could receive stars, as for the bout itself... well... wow. This was easily the best bout Ring of Honor has put on in the last 18 months. Though this was a tag team title bout, these four men really represent the best wrestlers in the company and boy did they ever show out here. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal's lingering tension didn't really interfere with their teamwork early as they were crisp and the duo was virtually untouchable, but The Briscoes nearly 20 years of tag team experience was also a major factor here as they were able to weather the storm and keep their heads above water until the dam burst and Low-Ki and Lethal began to butt heads. Lethal had a near pinfall but didn't hook the leg which allowed Mark Briscoe to roll out at 2.75 and led Low-Ki to loudly yell for Lethal to tag him in... Lethal rather opted to go for the Lethal Consequences, and well, fell victim to the name of the move as Mark countered it and managed to tag his brother in. Jay Briscoe, now fresh, cleared the deck and nailed Lethal with the Jay Driller firmly in the center of the ring and covered him. Low-Ki, visibly frustrated made no effort to break the pin up and the Briscoes secured the title defense and a major victory. (****3/4, The Briscoes retain the ROH Tag Titles in a classic bout against No Gimmicks Needed, Jay Briscoe pins Jay Lethal for the victory.)

Final Thoughts
Overall: ***3/4 out of *****
For the second straight month, Ring of Honor delivered a wonderful and complex pay-per-view. For a company that may be struggling behind the scenes they are still absolutely delivering in the ring. That said, this one started with a shocker as Kenny Omega absolutely broke Kayfabe and truly pandered to the smarks who think they are better than the business. In a few weeks time, Independents Day will feature some of the biggest stars not currently wrestling full-time for one company and will be featured on Honor Club and many other streaming platforms. The main event has been laid out and will feature the always popular, Young Bucks facing the Lucha Brothers in an explosive Tag Team bout... And as Kenny Omega hinted, there is much much more to come, including we hear, and explosive bout featuring the ROH World Champion, Cody. Rumor has it, tomorrow the Being The Elite Vlog will announce his bout and we've heard that it is one that diehard fans have been clamoring for for years. All we can say here in this report is that we are loving the start to this path that Ring of Honor is taking and we are very very curious to see how the company will navigate the troubles they've reportedly ran into financially with the divestiture made by Sinclair Broadcasting and the return to power by Cary Silkin. We've heard they've received some external investment, but we don't know from who. Hopefully that will be revealed soon! Stay Tuned!

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OOC

As I work to catch-up with this story, and fill in the blanks on the summer plans, I wanted to try a different style "report" of the show using the Wrestling Observer style that blended a bit of character-play with a bunch of impartial "fan" reporting. I will likely bounce between styles, but I liked the way this one came out... let me know what you think if you so desire!

We roll into July 2019 next where this new storyline will begin to further reveal itself...

BHK1978: Big thanks for the continued loyalty, and support. Though the Beer City Bruiser couldn't secure a victory, I hope you'll appreciate the fact that he took a cigar break mid-match... I do have some thoughts for the Bouncers/Kings of the Night that will be positive for their fans, so stayed tuned.

3/7 overall, which frankly, shouldn't be disappointing... I think this show was slightly unpredictable... this new path the game dealt me, paired with the vision I've had for this makes this "summer" kind of new and fun... I suspect the direction we are going is semi-obvious, but I think the route we take will be unique and fun... Thanks Sinclair for suing me...

Probably will edit this post to add the wrestler images and some quick results, but I'm really happy with this "return" show.

!!!!

Leohunter · August 28, 2019

Awesome diary you have here. Really love the details and care. Enjoying it thoroughly.

Texasrangers13 · August 29, 2019

Ring of Honor July 2019 Television Recap

Ring of Honor July Television Recap

Ring of Honor's July 2019 Television consisted of four episodes leading into the Glory by Honor Pay-Per-View, there were a number of storylines progressed here, and these are the highlights of the shows...

Alex Shelley Calls Out Cody; Asks Him Who His Friends Really Are?!

Following the major announcement that Cody would be in one of the Co-Main Events at the independently promoted Independents Day event facing his brother, Dustin Rhodes, Alex Shelley made a point to come out and immediately calls out Cody for no representing the Ring of Honor brand as its champion and always putting his own interests ahead of the companies. Shelley says that in a time of need, he has always been there for Ring of Honor, and that Cody was here as more of a personal project. Shelley says he knows he has failed before, and knows that he has let Ring of Honor down before, but now in the face of immense adversity, he would be here to take home the Ring of Honor World Championship and would show Ring of Honor what a real champion looks like.

The next week Cody and Royalty made their appearance, fresh off a hugely successful Independents Day event, that was available to Honor Club subscribers, where he defeated his older brother Dustin Rhodes in a brutal, and bloody bout, Cody came out to say that he's been here nearly two years and the whole time he's always said that he's a Free Agent and a man who will travel the world to face the best and beat the best. He said that Independents Day was merely a statement that only the elite of us are bigger than this business and that here in Ring of Honor, Royalty reigns supreme...and that is because of HIM. He said that Alex Shelley felt like making a surprise appearance (which you can read about in our recap below) at Independents Day in an effort to insult Cody and ruin a moment, so much so that at Glory by Honor he will not only dismantle Alex Shelley, he will pick him limb from limb, and once again prove he is the Best WORLD Champion.

The next week, two weeks away from the PPV, Alex Shelley was out to challenge any member of Royalty to face him in the television main event. His open challenge was answered by Davey Boy Smith Jr. and he and Shelley had a pay-per-view worth bout to close out this episode. Smith beat Shelley down for much of the match, but the #1 Contender took home the victory with a solid comeback sequence and the Sliced Bread #2. With Glory by Honor looming, Shelley showed he could withstand a beating and still win.

In the final episode, Cody once again had words for Shelley... He pointed out that he had faced Shelley one on one twice in 2018, and beat him both times. He played highlights from both victories. He said that now, Cody was bigger, better, stronger and Shelley was on his last legs. He said he felt like this was Shelley's last shot to prove he wasn't a has-been.

So at Glory by Honor the Ring of Honor World Championship will be defended by Cody against Alex Shelley. This is a bitter rivalry and now with Ring of Honor heading into a new era it's a challenging time. Cody clearly has bigger plans and his recent performance at Independents Day further proves that idea. In fact, many of us have heard the murmurs that he and the rest of the Being the Elite crew have been actively soliciting offers...

The Top Guys and The Briscoe Brothers Tag Titles

Fresh off the victory over the Young Bucks in the Watts Rules bout at Best in the World, The Top Guys were in the main event against The Best Friends, after delivering another strong victory, KC McKnight and Steven Walters called out the Briscoe Brothers and laid out the challenge for what would be a dream-match for many.

The next week it was the Briscoe Brothers turn in the main event as Jay and Mark demolished the fun-loving Fraternity (Channing Decker and Trent Gibson). After the bout The Briscoes immediately accepted the challenge and stated they wanted to tear the house down and prove who the real "Top Guys" in Tag Team Wrestling are.

We saw some video highlights to hype the bout over the next two weeks, but both teams were held off the air to help build the rivalry. At Glory By Honor arguably the two best teams in all tag team wrestling The Top Guys and The Briscoe Brothers will lock horns for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles.

The King of the Television Title

Kenny King is a multiple-time Ring of Honor Television champion, not to mention a bonafide reality TV star. During week three, the Honor Guard (minus Shelley, who was prepping for the main event) was assaulted in the back by the Kings of the Night. Nick Aldis was left bloodied by Kenny King and with that in mind Kenny King earned himself a Television title shot when in the Main Event of Week Four he and his teammates (Shane Taylor and Brian Milonas) secured a victory over Mark Haskins, Will Ospreay and Nick Aldis. King pinned Haskins, but made it very clear he had his eyes on Aldis and the TV title. To make matters worse, as the Honor Guard was leaving, Brian Myers, Shane Taylor, The Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas laid waste to the three-men, while King yelled at his charges. He proudly announced that at Glory By Honor not only would he face Nick Aldis for the Television Title, but The Bouncers (Milonas and Beer City Bruiser) would face Will Ospreay and Mark Haskins... Honestly this felt a bit forced, but the TV Title bout should be good, and the tag match feels like a way to showcase some potential new partnerships...

The End and Workhorsemen Square Off

Fresh off a defeat at Best In The World, Matt Taven and his mercenaries, The End, looked to pick a new fight as Matt Taven defeated Juice Robinson during week one of the television tapings. Immediately post-match The End laid waste to Juice, prompting David Finlay to attempt to make the save, only to meet the same demise. This was the end of this stint for Finlay and Juice and was a nice way to write them off for now... The next week Taven continued his winning ways defeating BJ Whitmer with a bit of help from Odinson and Hammerstone. As the post-match 3-on-1 started, Anthony Henry tried to save his mentor/partner but was met with the same fate as both men were left down and out. This led into week three, where Anthony Henry managed to even the score securing a victory over Matt Taven. In week four we saw Matt Taven in the back telling The End that at Glory By Honor he would see to it that his men, ended the careers of "That Melvin" BJ Whitmer, and that "skinny freak-show" Anthony Henry. Live on PPV it'll be The End vs. The Workhorsemen.

Team Filthy Takes On All Comers

Team Filthy's reign as six-man tag champions began with an Honor Club Web Exclusive bout filmed during the pre-show of Week 1 TV. As they defeated the aptly named Shinobi Submission Squad of Cheeseburger, Ryan Nova and Eli Isom. This was clearly a showcase for Lawlor, Yehi and Woods and all three men looked really good here. This led to Week Two with Jeff Cobb coming out with a big rant specifically targeting SoCal Uncensored, and how he perceives them as lazy and more interesting in promoting their web series and online life. He mentions that Christopher Daniels hasn't been able to even show up for the majority of Ring of Honor's shows, rather sending in online promos from his couch. He says that in this new era of Ring of Honor, Christopher Daniels was more interested in booking "a dream match" against CIMA at Independents Day. He says that all of SCU can get lost. He then turns his attention to Team Filthy, he says they've shown up here and just felt like they could run the trios division. But as Cobb points out, he's established that he runs "EVERYTHING" and while he may not have the current opportunities he wants, he's going to set out to destroy anyone that gets in his way...

The next week we get a "in-person promo" from SCU 3.0 where Daniels and Kazarian say that had no interest in being in the "Worst Town Ever, Philadelphia" but since Jeff Cobb feels like he can openly call them out, he can face their muscle, Brody King, this week. As such Jeff Cobb went one on one with Brody in a solid bout. Both men impress with their size and aptitude, but it was Cobb who scored the win... clearly having struck a chord last week, Team Filthy comes out and says Jeff Cobb better find some partners, because Team Filthy never backs down from a fight, in fact they've requested that these "Six-Man" titles be defended in a "Nine-Man" bout, as it'll be a three-team title defense at Glory By Honor... they want to face Cobb and two partners of his choosing... and the SoCal Uncensored 3.0 team of Daniels, Kazarian and Rocky Romero.

To finish this out, in Week Four Coast 2 Coast defeated The Best Friends in an uninspired bout, with Jeff Cobb on commentary. Post-match Cobb announced that he'd been "scouting" for partners and decided that he was going to help "elevate" Coast 2 Coast by making them his partners for the title shot.

Jay Lethal and Low-Ki, A Tenuous Alliance

For the last few months the alliance of Low-Ki and Jay Lethal has felt tenuous at best. After the loss at Best In The World to the Briscoe Brothers, Lethal felt like Low-Ki could have made the save or have helped in another way. Backstage in Week 1's tapings the two men crossed paths, but Low-Ki wouldn't look at Lethal, walking right past him and out the door. The next week in a one on one bout Low-Ki defeated Hangman Page in a very solid bout. Lethal provided commentary on the bout but walked off before the finish, very clearly in the eyesight of Low-Ki. In the fourth week, Jay Lethal also faced Hangman Page to open the show, also defeating him in a bout that was even better than Low-Ki's match-up... after the match The Young Bucks made their first appearance in four weeks (since Best In The World) and challenged Jay Lethal and "Whoever he wants"... before he could answer, Low-Ki appeared and said we accept.. So at Glory By Honor, The Young Bucks will be facing No Gimmicks Needed!

Other Action From The Tapings

In a one-on-one bout, Dragon Lee defeated Flip Gordon in a bout that actual disappointed given the nature. It was sloppy with numerous botches and really didn't sell either man. This was the end of Dragon Lee's latest stint with ROH as he'll return to CMLL.

Silas Young made his return to Ring of Honor with a more narcissistic character than we've seen before. He dismantled company punching bag Cheeseburger during a week two bout, and beat Jonathan Gresham in a Week Three Honor Club Exclusive. His new character is being developed as a narcissist and will likely be on TV more in August and moving forward.

In the opening bout of Week Three, The Best Friends secured a victory in a tag bout against local talents, this was a way just to keep the Best Friends relevant and make their week four loss to Coast 2 Coast have more impact.

So with that let's look at the Glory By Honor card,

Ring of Honor World Championship: Cody {c} vs. Alex Shelley
Ring of Honor Tag Championship: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. The Top Guys
ROH TV: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Kenny King
Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Titles (Trios Bout): Team Filthy {C} vs. SoCal Uncensored 3.0 (Kaz, Daniels, Romero) vs. Jeff Cobb and Coast 2 Coast
Tag Grudge Matches:
No Gimmicks Needed vs. The Young Bucks
The End vs. The Workhorsemen
The Bouncers (Brian Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser) vs. Mark Haskins and Will Ospreay

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Being The Elite Present: Independents Day, A Quick Review

Meanwhile we've been getting a lot of requests for a quick review of Independents Day, which was streamed live at the end of July Week 1. This show, while promoted/aired on the Honor Club and other streaming networks, was not produced by Ring of Honor, rather Cody, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega self-funded this show and used it to "promote" the best wrestling in the world. Many wonder if their was an ulterior motive, but for now it appears these long-time friends were just proving they could really produce and sell a show. In front of a packed, Sell Out crowd in Lowell, MA, Independents Day was a major success...

Here's a look at the event itself

Pre-Show: Sonny Kiss defeated "The Librarian" Peter Avalon (DUD)

Kenny Omega kicked off the show announcing that he wanted to showcase some of the best women's wrestling in the world! Hikaru Shida defeated Riho (**) in a bout that showcased some of the best Joshi-Stars in the world.

Joey Janela was out next and he made the statement that this proves that wrestling doesn't need to be based on "promotions" and that this is for the fans... so he's not afraid to step on some toes and announce that we will be doing this again next month, and next month it'll be a hardcore classic between himself, Jimmy Havoc and Darby Allin.

Up next we were scheduled to have a triple-threat women's bout, but Brandi Rhodes made an appearance and said that the only way you can see the best in the world is if this woman is in the match... and with that Awesome Kong made a shocking return to professional wrestling. She defeated Britt Baker, Nyla Rose and Kylie Rae in another (**) women's bout.

Backstage we got a Cody promo saying that this show is about what Pro Wrestling should be... This is by wrestlers, for the fans. He mentions how their isn't any corporate "BS" getting in the way and says that this bout against his brother is truly what wrestling should be about.

The Best Friends defeated Angelico and Jack Evans in a bout that showcased what all four men can do, this was a solid (***) but not amazing bout, however it did showcase that the Best Friends can do more than just be a comedy team. Post-match though a surprise occurred when The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) along with a group of masked henchmen attacked all four men. Evil Uno spoke while sitting on a throne of bodies and said that when "we do this again, it'll be the Dark Order sitting on top of the world"

In a bout showcasing some of the young talent in the wrestling world, Sammy Guevara defeated Kip Sabian (**1/2). Guevara has recently been paired with Konnan in Major League Wrestling and has been really clicking with audiences. He has a very popular online blog, and fits the brand that the "Elite" seem to be promoting. After the bout Hangman Page made an appearance stating that, "Next month, you and I are gonna tear the roof down"

In the match-up of the Brotherhood, Cody defeated Dustin Rhodes in a long, slow-build, with a traditional wrestling elements including blood, distractions and long-drawn out sequences. Dustin is basically retired, and this match suffered a bit from that, but overall this was a great story, (**3/4). Post-match the brothers cut a promo stating that their father always told them to change the world, and they wanted the fans here and the hundreds of thousands streaming this around the world to know that their is a change brewing in professional wrestling. And this kind of interaction and accessibility is part of the reason why. Cody formally announced what had been mentioned multiple times before on this show... that next month, they'd be heading to Chicago and once again promoting a show that will tear the roof off... it'll be called... DOUBLE OR NOTHING.

In the penultimate match, Christopher Daniels and CIMA had a match that frankly didn't fit with the rest of the show, it seemed to be more of a showcase for the two older wrestlers and really didn't connect (*3/4) Daniels stated that he and his friends Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian would be heading to China to help CIMA train a group of new wrestlers and he hoped that one-day those wrestlers would change the world!

In the main event The Young Bucks defeated The Lucha Brothers in a fun, high-paced bout (***), both teams have skills and both teams have huge fanbases, this one left a bit to the imagination, but more than anything it cemented the Young Bucks as the real face of this "revolution", after the match they called Kenny Omega, Hangman Page and Cody to the ring. With those five in the ring they said this was because of the fans, and the millions who have watched their home-produced YouTube show, Being the Elite. They said they know some fans might not like the way they do things, but they know that most fans now are more in-tune with wrestling than every before... They said they felt like the traditional model was changing and they wanted to be at the forefront of that change... So next month, let's do it again, DOUBLE OR NOTHING!... Before we went off the air though, Alex Shelley to make a shocking, unannounced, appearance. Shelley called out Cody for his two-faced lies to the fans and the audience. He called out the Bucks saying they've been robbing from companies for years as they built this enterprise for themselves. He said that he knows they were a playing characters, but to him this is real and to him this is treason. This promo felt raw and really promoted the upcoming Glory By Honor main event, while also giving the Elite something to promote on their series!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A lot to unpack here, but Independents Day was a great show, and I love that their are wrestlers who are taking things into their own hands. We've recently heard that Ring of Honor has been struggling financially but that they've recently taken a big investment from an unknown source. On that token, we've heard that Cody, Omega and The Young Bucks fully-funded this first show, but are reportedly open to investment for the second show, Double or Nothing. Some in the business feel like the same investor who is propping Ring of Honor up, may make an investment into "The Elite"... keep an eye on that.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Continuing to rush through the Summer months to prepare to build to the major storyline, which I think is starting to become a bit more clear... The next few posts will wrap up Glory by Honor and introduce the investor, as well as further flesh out this "side-project" of the Elite.

The Lariat · August 30, 2019

Extremely curious to see what ends up happening as the summer ends. It’s looking as though AEW might come to fruition, which leads to me wondering who might join them and if there’s a partnership in place or a “us or them” situation. I’m not sure if Omega namedropping everyone but Scurll was a small mistake or on purpose, but that has me thinking Scurll stays with ROH if the split does occur.

It does feel as though you wouldn’t really need The Elite/SCU, as most can easily phase out. Hangman hasn’t really been a factor, Young Bucks put over the Top Guys, SCU are primarily in the trios division. Cody is the only one that would be a genuine loss, though I’m confident that you could recover. Not saying I want them gone, as I’m guessing they bring in strong ratings, but I think you’ve done a good enough job that it wouldn’t be a devastating loss like it’s been in real life.

Curious about Double or Nothing, the implications of it, and the end of summer. Glad to see you back on top form.

EDIT: Forgot my picks

Ring of Honor World Championship: Cody {c} vs. Alex Shelley

Ring of Honor Tag Championship: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. The Top Guys

ROH TV: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Kenny King

Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Titles (Trios Bout): Team Filthy {C} vs. SoCal Uncensored 3.0 (Kaz, Daniels, Romero) vs. Jeff Cobb and Coast 2 Coast

Tag Grudge Matches:

No Gimmicks Needed vs. The Young Bucks

The End vs. The Workhorsemen

The Bouncers (Brian Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser) vs. Mark Haskins and Will Ospreay

How’s the women’s division doing?

BHK1978 · August 30, 2019

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Texasrangers13" data-cite="Texasrangers13" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>BHK1978: Big thanks for the continued loyalty, and support. Though the Beer City Bruiser couldn't secure a victory, I hope you'll appreciate the fact that he took a cigar break mid-match... I do have some thoughts for the Bouncers/Kings of the Night that will be positive for their fans, so stayed tuned. 3/7 overall, which frankly, shouldn't be disappointing... I think this show was slightly unpredictable... this new path the game dealt me, paired with the vision I've had for this makes this "summer" kind of new and fun... I suspect the direction we are going is semi-obvious, but I think the route we take will be unique and fun... Thanks Sinclair for suing me...</div></blockquote> Yeah, having BCB take a cigar break got a laugh from me. Also, me being 3/7 is more due to me picking who I like over who I think will win. I did pick the Bucks to win and I despise them, but I just thought they were too over to lose. Ring of Honor World Championship: Cody {c} vs. Alex Shelley This could be interesting as if AEW does become a reality and Cody becomes exclusive to them, does that mean the title changes here? I am banking on the answer being yes, so I am going to go with Alex for the win. Ring of Honor Tag Championship: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. The Top Guys ROH TV: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Kenny King Could honestly see this match going either way. Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Titles (Trios Bout): Team Filthy {C} vs. SoCal Uncensored 3.0 (Kaz, Daniels, Romero) vs. Jeff Cobb and Coast 2 Coast Tag Grudge Matches: No Gimmicks Needed vs. The Young Bucks The End vs. The Workhorsemen The Bouncers (Brian Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser) vs. Mark Haskins and Will Ospreay As much as I want to see BCB pick up the win here, I highly doubt it will happen.

Kijar · August 30, 2019

Ring of Honor World Championship: Cody {c} vs. Alex Shelley

Ring of Honor Tag Championship: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. The Top Guys

ROH TV: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Kenny King

Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Titles (Trios Bout): Team Filthy {C} vs. SoCal Uncensored 3.0 (Kaz, Daniels, Romero) vs. Jeff Cobb and Coast 2 Coast

Tag Grudge Matches:

No Gimmicks Needed vs. The Young Bucks

The End vs. The Workhorsemen

The Bouncers (Brian Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser) vs. Mark Haskins and Will Ospreay

Texasrangers13 · September 4, 2019

Ring of Honor Presents: Glory By Honor

Ring of Honor Presents: Glory By Honor

Live on Pay-Per-View

There's A New Top Dog In The Ring of Honor Tag Division
If there is one-way to start the midsummers pay-per-view its the a dream-match and collision between the 10x Ring of Honor Tag Champions, The Briscoe Brothers and the brash, classic, Top Guys who in their first three months have proved they live up to their name. This bout was exactly what we expected from both teams and yet still left more to be desired for a potential future collision between them. With that said that this one really showed that Jay Briscoe may be the BEST worker in the world. He was all over the place and delivered on everything he promised, unfortunately for him, his brother was isolated by the Top Guys and ultimately they shocked the Ring of Honor faithful and delivered the Shatter Machine and covered Mark for the 1-2-3 just before Jay could break the pinfall up. Post-match the Briscoes sat in the ring in utter-shock while McKnight and Walters celebrated on the ramp with their newly captured belts. The Top Guys defeated The Briscoe Brothers to become the NEW RING OF HONOR WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS when KC McKnight covered Mark Briscoe, (***1/2).

Reality Meets... Reality...
Up next we had the Television Title on the line with Kenny King looking to become the first-ever three time Television champion! As this one went back and forth both men did more than most have seen them do in the past. Both men are naturally charismatic and that played through here. King's Security detail was ejected from ringside, which seemed to please The Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas as they merely climbed over the barrier and were seen wandering to the bar set-up in the stands for the fans. Throughout the match we saw clips of them enjoying their "forced" night off. Shane Taylor and Brian Myers though left the ringside area with more of an argument. With them unwilling to budge, Mark Haskins and Will Ospreay made their way down and chased them to the back... later tonight Haskins and Ospreay will face the currently drinking Bouncers, so that'll be interesting... As for the match, Nick Aldis scored the title defense with a Knee Trembler on Kenny King. Post-match Kenny King was furious, just screaming at everyone in sight and saying he was better than that, Brian Myers came down and managed to calm him as Aldis celebrated... Nick Aldis defeated Kenny King to retain the ROH World Television Title (**3/4).

Team Filthy Does The Six-Man Rules Filthy
Inherently the Six-Man titles are a bit of a strange concept... The titles are for a trio, but the titles name claims that they are Six-Man titles... well new champs Team Filthy immediately changed those rules by challenging not just Jeff Cobb but also SoCal Uncensored in a nine-man trios bout for Team Filthy's title. Perhaps this will lead to some changes for this division in the future, which would be nice. The bout itself was a bit of a drag, Team Filthy has been showcased as a rising team with true fight skills, and Jeff Cobb is clearly one of the top contenders in the company but is currently looking for a consistent story. SoCal Uncensored is a main focal point of the Being The Elite show and were part of Independents Day, they've also been rumored to be a main focus of the next independently showcased card, Double or Nothing. With all that said, Coast 2 Coast seemed to be here to eat the pin as LSG was locked in the Koji Clutch by Fred Yehi and Shaheem Ali was trapped in a Heel Hook by Lawlor. Jeff Cobb looked strong, but frustrated with his teammates and post-match we saw signs of what might be his next brief feud as he went nose-to-nose with Tom Lawlor and said he'd be seeing him soon. SoCal Uncensored's Daniels, Kazarian and Romero provided solid ring skills, but ultimately were more name-brand filler to promote Filthy as a legit trio. Team Filthy retains the ROH Six-Man Titles when Fred Yehi forced LSG to tap-out, (**1/4).

The End Is Here
The End's Odinson and Hammerstone are true rising powerhouses of the tag division and the face/voice of the revolution, Matt Taven is a consistent irritant. Recently The End has shown some frustration with Taven and that felt like it was about to boil over from the get-go when Odinson and Hammerstone cut Taven off on the way to the ring. Their opponents, Anthony Henry and BJ Whitmer (The Workhorsemen) have been consistent, though lacking charisma, in their time as a team. This was more about story-development but the match was actually pretty solid across the board. The finish saw Matt Taven try to get involved and strike BJ Whitmer with Brass Knuckles, but Whitmer rolled out of the way and Taven clocked Hammerstone, allowing Henry to quickly roll him up and steal the victory... Post-match Odinson and Hammerstone cornered Matt Taven but Taven convinced them to give him another chance... they began to walk up the ramp together and reached the top of the ramp before Hammerstone and Odinson suddenly turned on Taven and beat him down on the ramp... as security ran out to stop the carnage, Odinson lifted Taven up and tossed him off the ramp and through some tables that were set-up at ringside...The End walked off as Taven was strapped to a backboard and led away by paramedics... Frankly it was about time, Taven needs a new direction and if some of the rumors we are hearing from the WWE are true that may be coming. This will take him off the air for a bit and will give The End a well-needed reset. The Workhorsemen defeated The End after Matt Taven's interference backfired (**3/4).

No Gimmicks Needed Somehow Makes It Work
For a few months now fans have been sniffing out a break between ROH Originals Low-Ki and Jay Lethal, both men made their debut with the company in 2002, and both have held the ROH World title, in late 2018 and early 2019 the two men formed an unlikely alliance and really shined. After an unfortunate injury to the mercenary for hire, Low-Ki, Jay Lethal was forced to team with someone and this led to No Gimmicks Needed losing the Tag Titles. Low-Ki meanwhile returned and seemed, well, distant from Lethal. Things appeared to come to a head last month when they failed to regain the titles in an excellent bout with the Briscoe Brothers. Over the last month Lethal and Low-Ki haven't spoke face to face, but when The Young Bucks challenged Lethal, Low-Ki answered for him and the two men are once again together... As for the bout, Lethal and Low-Ki made separate entrances, while the Independents Day rockstars, The Young Bucks showed the family love. This bout once-again was a top 10 bout that Ring of Honor has put on, Low-Ki and Lethal didn't want to work together, but they clearly wanted to win and put their differences aside. The Young Bucks meanwhile were flying around and the commentary put over their willingness to always face the best all over the world. The end of the bout saw Lethal hit the Lethal Injection, and when he hit the ropes, Low-Ki tagged himself in and hit the top-rope Double Stomp straight through Matt Jackson's chest. Lethal didn't looked thrilled with the blind tag, but he cleared the ring of Nick Jackson and Low-Ki made the cover for the victory. Post-Match Low-Ki and Lethal stared each other down and celebrated separately. No Gimmicks Needed defeated The Young Bucks via Double Stomp from Low-Ki to Matt Jackson, (****).

Honor Guard Secures Quick Win Over Bouncers
Prior to the match the Honor Guard was hyped, highlights were played showing the loosely formed groups major victories from the last few months. The Bouncers made their entrance directly from the bar in the stands, and this one was a quick-one. Haskins and Ospreay's speed quickly overwhelmed The Bouncers and Ospreay secured the win on Milonas in what was really just a quick showcase of two of the great lightweight stars Ring of Honor has. Will Ospreay and Mark Haskins defeated Brian Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser (**3/4).

Royalty Reigns
The main event storyline was tinged with the drama that has surrounded Ring of Honor for the last few months and that is where the money was coming from and how the company was staying alive. Beyond that, it was also important to note that their champion, Cody, was recently one of the stars of the largest Independently promoted show in recent wrestling history, Independents Day, when he faced his brother, Dustin Rhodes in a bout that was a dream come true for many fans. Back in the ring here he was challenged once again by Alex Shelley, who was hellbent on proving to Cody that he needed to solely focus on Ring of Honor. Cody was accompanied by his wife Brandi, as well as the three male members of Royalty, Austin Theory, Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr. Shelley meanwhile made his way down to the ring alone. Paul Turner, the referee in charge of this bout requested everyone to the back as this one got going and surprisingly everyone obeyed. The bout itself continued the strong run of recent main events put on by Ring of Honor, though the company is struggling financially after a mishap with Sinclair Broadcasting, the performers are absolutely tearing it up and this was another example of that. Early on in this bout Cody controlled the pace and was able to take Shelley down with a series of strikes to his weaker right-knee (multiple ACL injuries there in his career). But Cody's dominance led to an inevitable comeback from Shelley as he was able to corner and beatdown Cody. This one spilled to the ringside area where both men exchanged crushing blows and Shelley was even sent into the ring post, leaving a gash across his forehead. Back in the ring, the momentum continued to favor Cody, when suddenly Shelley hit a DDT out of nowhere and made a quick cover for a two count. This sent Cody reeling and looked like Shelley might actually capture the title and cement the fact that Cody appears destined to continue to promote these "Being The Elite" independent shows. With that said though Shelley went for the Sliced Bread #2 only to be caught out of midair with an uppercut and sent straight into the Crossrhodes... Cody made the cover and sucked the air out of the building as he once again defended his Ring of Honor World Championship. Cody defeated Alex Shelley to retain the Ring of Honor World Championship, (***3/4).

We Are All Elite
In another absolute shocker at a Ring of Honor promoted pay-per-view, after Cody secures the win, the lights go out... the stay out for seemingly 30 seconds and as they return Cody, Brandi Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Hangman Page are standing in the ring wearing matching black t-shirts with this logo on it...

... Cody has a microphone, "Well folks, it is time to get on-board... We Are ALL ELITE WRESTLING... and for those of you who have been wondering who it was who propped up Ring of Honor it is us and our private investor. For two years now we have had a vision and a dream that we shared with Ring of Honor, we captured gold, we tore the roof off of buildings and we've been the stars that Ring of Honor needed... But when those number-crunchers in the back couldn't keep things straight, we saw an opportunity and we stepped in and made an investment to keep this thing viable. Call it breaking the fourth wall, oh well, I'm proud of what we have all accomplished with Ring of Honor... and well now it's time that we branch out and show our faces to all of you. So you better get on the train, because it's leaving the station...

Final Thoughts
Ok, so obviously the biggest thought here is what just happened. For a year now Cody has led the violent and successful faction Royalty here in Ring of Honor, yet after his defense he's standing in the ring with two men (Matt and Nick Jackson) who have been portrayed as his rival. Obviously the hardcore fans are aware that Cody and The Young Bucks have been keeping a very popular, online video series called Being The Elite, and they've even helped to promote a show together, but seeing it in the flesh, with some of those secondary characters (Kazarian, Daniels and Page) in the ring with them, all wearing matching shirts with a logo proclaiming All Elite Wrestling leaves me to really wonder, is this a new company or is this an NWO-style takeover. Cody also mentioned a private investor and we've been working the phones hard to try to figure out who that is. Here is what we know so far, tomorrow, there is a Press Conference scheduled by Ring of Honor, we aren't sure what it is about or what will be announced but we will be there and we will cover it for you. As for the PPV, Glory By Honor continued the trend of top shows that Ring of Honor has put on. If your a wrestling fan, there is hardly a better product out there right now and as the fall starts, it really looks like there is a change coming and this company is finding its footing. Overall, I loved this show, and will give it ***3/4 out of *****.

Texasrangers13 · September 6, 2019

Ring of Honor Issues Statement On All Elite Wrestling

<div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Issues Statement on All Elite Wrestling</div>

From The Desk of ROH CEO Cary Silkin

In 2002 we were founded as the young, punchy, upstart that faced an uphill climb. 17 years later we are still punchy, and still willing to prove to the fans that we have what it takes to continue to earn their eyeballs. Earlier this year, as many of you have heard, we made a poor financial decision and that required us to take on investment from outside sources... and well, that is true. We needed an investment to stay afloat through the summer and fortunately, with many thanks to Cody, and the Young Bucks, we found that investor really quickly. We will keep the financial details private, but we took on the investment and feel confident that we received enough to stay afloat and once again reach the pinnacle. As part of that deal we agreed to broadcast and produce the Independents Day show that "The Elite" put on, that show was a massive success and congratulations is due to all involved. Fortunately for us, it also demonstrated that there is a global demand for more and more wrestling.

We have always prided ourselves on developing the next wave of superstars and we will continue to do that. We believe that performers should all have the ability to control their own destinies, but honestly we never imagined any of them taking it to the level that we saw at Glory By Honor. Cody, Matt and Nick Jackson, Hangman Page, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian have all been critical to our recent growth and we are optimistic that they will continue to perform at their peak levels for us while we work to figure out the current contract situation, but their defiant act of introducing a new company on our airwaves was one that truly struck a chord with many in the back. As many die-hards know, historically Ring of Honor has never issued "Written" contracts as we believe that workers should and will build their brand, but we've also never faced such a threat as seeing our current Ring of Honor World Champion announce that he is part of another group that will potentially be promoting cards against our own. Inherently, while we wish All Elite Wrestling well, we are hereby announcing that we will no longer be promoting cards with them and will not be working directly with them. And with that said, we'd are proud to announce that the day after "Double or Nothing", Cody will be in a Defy or Deny match with three of Ring of Honor's finest. If Cody wins, all three men can not challenge for the title as long as Cody remains champion. If one of the other three men win, they receive a title shot of their choosing, and whomever they pin will not be able to challenge for any title until that title changes hands... The other three competitors, I can now announce, for our first television taping after Glory By Honor will be Jeff Cobb, Alex Shelley and Jay Briscoe. We are also willing to state that thanks to a previous agreement with Chris Jericho, we will still be promoting the second annual Chris Jericho's Rock and Rager at Sea "Sea of Honor" tournament with the winner receiving a World Title shot on our September Pay-Per-View, DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR. So with that, "All Elite" we say, bring it on!

BHK1978 · September 6, 2019

The Brian Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser going to the bar cracked me up.

I have to say, I normally do not read match write-ups, I tend to skim them. I did not do that with this show and I am glad I did not because from top to bottom this show was very well written and I loved how you went into details about stuff that went on previously. Great show!

Texasrangers13 · September 10, 2019

Build-Up To The Sea of Honor and the Path Beyond

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Mid-August 2019

Ring of Honor and The Elite's Questionable "Partnership"

WON Staff

Immediately following the tumultuous finish to Ring of Honor's Glory By Honor looming largely over the fans of the company, All Elite Wrestling officially promoted their second card the next week. This card was coming one month off the heels of the very successful Independents Day promoted by The Elite and partially assisted by Ring of Honor, this card, known as Double or Nothing was set to capture the eyeballs of the country as it promised to be the first show truly promoted by this crew and without help from an established company. Let's take a quick look at that event especially at how it impacted Ring of Honor.

WON Quick Review of AEW's Double or Nothing Event

To kick-off their second official "show" they aired two bouts on YouTube for free prior to the official start off the card, this started with a comedy bout featuring Orange Cassidy defeating Michael Nakazawa and then a women's battle royal that was won by Awesome Kong. That victory we were told, guaranteed her something big that would be announced on the main card...

As we transitioned to the main card, we were greeted by The Young Bucks, Cody and a surprise guest, Dustin Rhodes. They mentioned that tonight they would do battle, but this match wasn't just a "match" it was the start of something much bigger. It was the start of an eight-team Tag Tournament that would lead to the first All Elite Wrestling Tag Team Champions being crowned at a future show. This began the cementing that this group wasn't going anywhere... Brandi Rhodes immediately doubled down saying that Awesome Kong has secured her place in the Women's Title match, and her opponent will be determined next month at the next official event... ALL OUT.

The first official bout of the night was a bout without rules, promoted as the "Cracker Barrel Clash" as Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc and Joey Janela went at it for a solid 15 minutes, all three took a large amount of damage, with Allin taking a psychotic bump off the top rope, through a barrel filled with thumbtacks on the ground. Janela wound up pinning Allin and winning the bout.

We got a promo announcing "Perfect10n" Shawn Spears was All Elite, it ended with a quick shot of the former Tye Dillinger wearing the same AEW t-shirt we saw Cody and crew put on at the end of Glory by Honor. Further confirming this was a real company and would be going straight for the jugular.

In the next bout we saw two of the brightest young stars in the company do battle as Sammy Guevara, who recently has been pushed as Konnan's disciple and potential main event superstar in MLW, defeating Hangman Page. I'll be honest, this match wowed me, these guys are both destined to be stars in this industry, and while Page hasn't been used phenomenally well in Ring of Honor, it seems his friendship with "The Elite" is really going to help him.

Backstage we see MJF antagonizing the "Fun Size" Marko Stunt... Stunt looks rattled and it rolls into his awful bout with "The Librarian" Peter Avalon. Avalon wins after "The Librarian" Leva Bates, distracts Stunt by reading a book to the childish star... DUD. Who thought The Librarian was a gimmick we needed... though it is unique.

Up next we see SoCal Uncensored, Christopher Daniels mentions that some have been saying father-time has gotten the best of him, but he wholeheartedly disagrees. With that said though, in the tag tournament it'll be Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky representing SCU!

In the first tag tournament bout, A Boy and His Dinosaur (Luke Perry's son Jungle Boy and the utterly bizarre Luchasaurus) defeated Private Party (a team that appears to be a take on the short-lived NXT Street Profits that popped the crowd for a bit until Angelo Dawkins took off for the main roster).

Perhaps the whole reason this write-up is necessary for Ring of Honor fans occurred next as Alex Shelley made a shocking appearance at this event. Shelley walked out in a Ring of Honor shirt with a live microphone and called Cody out for treason. He said a champion should also represent the company that gave him the opportunity to be a "WORLD CHAMPION" and not promote his own interests... He produced a contract from his pocket signed by ROH's CEO Cary Silkin, he told Cody that tomorrow night, on Ring of Honor Television, Cody would be in a Fatal-4-Way known as "Defy or Deny". If Cody won, all three other competitors would not be able to challenge for the title for as long as Cody held it. But if he didn't win... then the winner would receive any title shot he wanted, at any time! He also added that if Cody was pinned, then whoever pinned him would immediately become the new Ring of Honor Champion, and if Cody wasn't pinned, then whoever was would also be unable to challenge for the World Title until it changed hands... And this bout will feature Cody, Shelley, and two of Ring of Honor's finest, Jay Briscoe and Jeff Cobb.

This led to the next tag tournament bout, which featured the Lucha Bros, and the Best Friends. The former Ring of Honor six-man champions, Chuckie T and Trent surprised the audience when the walked out wearing matching AEW shirts, signifying they had joined the group committed to AEW. The bout itself was another great one, and saw Rey Fenix hit a huge Destroyer on Chuckie T for the victory. Let's just say this, the in-ring product here has a shot to be the best on the air.

Post-match, The Dark Order, most famously known as the Super Smash Bros, laid waste to The Best Friends and left them in a wreckage of bodies just like they did at Independents Day. The Dark Order has made a point here, they aren't just here to be lip-service to the "bigger name" teams.

In the third tag tournament bout we saw the victims of The Dark Order's first attack, Jack Evans and Angelico (Los Gueros del Cielo) surprise everyone when they defeated Kazarian and Scorpio Sky in an average bout.

Up next we got another surprise AEW addition as PAC was announced as being "Elite".

In the main event The Young Bucks defeated The Brotherhood (Cody and Dustin Rhodes) in a wonderful bout that showed a depth of story-telling we haven't seen in a long while. Post-match all four men embraced and donned AEW shirts. Kenny Omega made his entrance and joined them and they all headed to the back, celebrating the success of the show... As the fans were leaving, Omega stepped back out from behind the curtain and made a curtain call of sorts... only to be interrupted by....

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"Judas" by Fozzy plays

Chris Jericho came out to a huge and shocked reaction. Omega called for an AEW shirt, but Jericho stopped him and did his usual spiel about how he's the world's best and no "company" can be launched without a "BIT OF THE BUBBLY" he called for some champagne, and of-course some "Non-Alcoholic" Cider for Omega but instead of champagne....

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Jon Moxley came out and immediately began brawling with both Jericho and Omega... all three men were separated by Atlas Security, but Moxley had a microphone and he dropped this bomb....

"Well, well, well... Kenny Omega, you may think your the best in the world.... and Chris Jericho.... you may think it is you.... but last week I received a call from the man with the money... and well... Next Month, at All Out... We are going to crown our first-ever champion and it's going to be us three doing battle until we are all nearly dead, and I am standing on-top of the mountain."

Oh my... All Elite Wrestling is for real and well... they aren't to be messed with... But I am very curious to see how this will change the next few months for Ring of Honor. We've already seen nine of their performers don AEW t-shirts, but will they still perform for ROH? We shall see... We have confirmed that All Out is booked for the final day of September, meaning we have eight TV episodes of ROH and two pay-per-views prior to that event... Could this be the end for some of the critical stars of ROH? Well... let's take a look at how they handled it.

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Ring of Honor Television August 2019 Week 1 and 2 review

With a quick transition from Glory By Honor, into two weeks of television then straight to the cruiseship for the second annual Chris Jericho Rock and Rager at Sea we were bound to see some forced storylines, but this year's Rager took a new tone when Chris Jericho not only debuted at All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothing, but was named to their Main Event for their biggest show yet in eight weeks... until then though, he was still booked to promote the Sea of Honor event on his private cruise...

Television kicked off with one-third of the ROH Six-Man tag champions, Fred Yehi defeating Bandido in a solid, but unspectacular bout. Bandido is a solid wrestler, but it's more flash than anything right now. As for Yehi, he's really found a foothold, and really looks like the star behind the mouthpiece that is "Filthy" Tom Lawlor and his fight team.

Up next we see a highlight from Glory By Honor with The End "crippling" Matt Taven and ending their relationship with him. This led into a quick neutering by The End of The Dawgs. The End really looks like a team that might be able to make the jump from lackeys to the forefront in the future.

Up next we see a highlight from last night's Double or Nothing and go over the Defy or Deny announcement. All four competitors are interviewed with only Cody truly objecting. Cody said he has put this company on his back for two years and this is how they repay him. He says that it is ludicrous to think he'll lose, but that he shouldn't even be in this scenario.

Up next PJ Black scored a win over Kenny King after Silas Young was seen making some "deal" with the Kings of the Night security at ringside. This clearly impacted King, and allowed Black to secure the win. Post-Match, Brian Myers had to walk King to the back and promise him that there was still a party awaiting them in this s***-hole town.

Austin Theory and Davey Boy Smith Jr., make a rare "solo" appearance, representing Royalty, but without Cody. They call out the Honor Guard and target ROH Television champ Nick Aldis. Theory says he wants his revenge and his title back and he and Davey Boy will be seeing to it... Aldis comes out but he isn't alone as Mark Haskins and Will Ospreay join him... this prompts "The Villain" Marty Scurll to come out and even things up, all three men have a stare-down before Marty speaks he says next week, he wants to face Haskins, one on one... and if he wins... then Davey Boy Smith and Austin Theory will face Nick Aldis and Will Ospreay, and WHEN, not if, they win, then both Smith and Theory will get a television title shot. Scurll called himself the "Dealbroker" of Royalty and said this deal was done...

Back from the break, we ran down the details of the Defy or Deny bout and then saw all four men make their entrance. Cody played it safe throughout this one and really avoided much of the battle. It was clear he was content with not losing his title and just watching three of the best ROH has to offer do battle. He did try to a steal a pinfall when Cobb was laid out, but was unceremoniously tossed from the ring by Jay Briscoe. This was one of the best televised bouts ROH has put on in a bit and the finish really shocked me... Jeff Cobb delivered a Tour of the Islands to Alex Shelley, but Jay Briscoe snuck-up from behind Cobb and managed to hit him with the Jay-Driller. With both Cobb and Shelley out, Cody could have chosen to battle Briscoe, but he instead high-tailed it up the ramp, leaving Briscoe to pick a fallen body to cover... he chose Alex Shelley and made the cover for the win. Jay Briscoe won the Defy or Deny bout, and the announcers immediately mentioned that Jay and Mark have both discussed wanting to recapture the ROH Tag Titles, that is their primary focus and as such, they speculated that this victory was two-fold for Cody as well as Jay Briscoe. First, Alex Shelley can no longer challenge for Cody's title and two, Jay Briscoe will likely use his Defy or Deny contract to challenge "The Top Guys" with his brother, rather than Cody.

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August Week 2, 2019 Television Recap

Two Honor Club Exclusives were taped pre-show. TK O'Ryan defeated Eli Isom in a bout that actually showcased that Isom may have a shot at being a star in the future, and Coast 2 Coast defeated The Fraternity in a bout that showcased both teams.

Television kicked off with Marty Scurll defeating Mark Haskins in a solid bout that proved Scurll self-appointed nickname the "Dealbroker" as his victory secured his Royalty mates Davey Boy Smith Jr and Austin Theory would be able to challenge Will Ospreay and Nick Aldis in the main event.

Up next we get a video hyping the upcoming debut of "A Real Man's Man", "The Prestigious One" Joe Hendry. Hendry has recently been on Impact! Wrestling and has been a fan favorite in the North American market with his extremely charismatic personality. This promo highlighted that a bit, and really was a solid promotion of a soon-to-debut star. Something we haven't seen a ton of from Ring of Honor.

In the next bout, PJ Black defeated Silas Young, last week it seemed like "The Last Real Man" Silas Young was making a deal with the Kings of the Night Security, but they weren't anywhere to be see... in fact, after the bout, King, and his Security Detail ran to the ring and beat down both competitors... well, King and Shane Taylor did. Brian Myers joined in but was there more for star-power. Beer City Bruiser and the newly renamed Mauler Milonas seemed more interested in some beer that a fan in the front row shared with them... needless to say, this bout clearly was building to a bigger conflict between Kenny King, Silas Young and PJ Black, while also continuing to promote "The Bouncers" Milonas and Bruiser as fun-loving drunks and Shane Taylor as the true muscle... should be interesting to see this develop.

Up next we get a video formally announcing the eight competitors for the Sea of Honor tournament that will be held during the Rock and Rager at Sea. This felt rushed, but Ring of Honor clearly wanted to make sure Chris Jericho still wanted them before promoting something only to be hi-jacked by The Elite. We were first told that the winner of the tournament would get to face the Ring of Honor World Champion, Cody, at Death Before Dishonor, in September. The eight competitors were announced with a snazzy video. Six were handpicked by Ring of Honor officials as they felt they represented the best interests of "the brand moving forward"...

1) Low-Ki (The Original Ring of Honor champion)

2) Jay Lethal (The Ring of Honor Grand-Slam Man)

3) Nick Aldis (The current ROH Television Champ)

4) Will Ospreay (One of the proud members of the Honor Guard and a true threat)

5) Fred Yehi (The strongest member of the ROH Six-Man Champs, a true submission magician)

6) Jeff Cobb (The lone survivor, a man that has wrecked havoc in ROH but hasn't quite reached the top).

They also announced that the contract they had gave Chris Jericho one wildcard as part of their contract with him... with that he selected a man he was familiar with from the WWE....

7) Brian Myers (Part of the Kings of the Night, and widely seen as a poor pick)

They also granted their partners CMLL/NJPW/RPW the right to name one wildcard... that man... was selected, and will represent CMLL....

8) RUSH (El Toro Blanco, one of the best wrestlers in the world will represent the strength of the ROH alliance of partners that is still strong!)

We also got a first glance at the bracket...

Fred Yehi vs. Low-Ki
Brian Myers vs. Rush
Jay Lethal vs Nick Aldis
Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay

As we processed this it became clear... there was a chance Low-Ki and Jay Lethal's questionable alliance could be put to the test in the finals if both made it that far!!! But also that there was a legitimate chance that the next Ring of Honor World Champion was in this group...

In the main event, Will Ospreay and Nick Aldis defeated Austin Theory and Davey Boy Smith Jr., Smith appeared frustrated with Theory's arrogance, perhaps the first crack in Royalty's armor during this whole AEW debacle... and with the victory, Aldis and Ospreay prevent Theory and Smith from getting a crack at the TV title.

Overall, solid two episodes that moved forward a couple storylines and promoted the rushed Sea of Honor tournament... Which speaking of... in our next release we'll have an exclusive quick preview of... We've been told that Chris Jericho is honoring his pre-existing contract with Ring of Honor, but will be using the show to also promote two All Elite Wrestling showcases. All told there will be nine bouts, and we will have those details in our next Wrestling Observer update.

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The Brian Milonas and The Beer City Bruiser going to the bar cracked me up.

I have to say, I normally do not read match write-ups, I tend to skim them. I did not do that with this show and I am glad I did not because from top to bottom this show was very well written and I loved how you went into details about stuff that went on previously. Great show!

Thank you! This is the exact reason I write. It is fun to tell stories, and throw in random details about the lower mid-card. In fact as this story we are currently telling progresses through the next set of TV tapings (from the Sea of Honor until Death Before Dishonor) I'm planning to fully detail the roster and where we are at as we head into October 2019... It is funny to think, I started this in December 2017, but thanks to some delays (both intentional and unintentional) we are on virtually the same-timeline. That has allowed me to take from reality and mix it with the game into what I think is a really unique/semi-different story. I like to add details and build off both reality and what I want to tell and I think the BCB/Milonas stuff highlights that in a very minor way. Glad you caught it! Funny enough I glanced at ROH this week for their real shows and they had Bruiser and Milonas enter from the bar. Not sure if they've been doing this, but it's a perfect entrance.

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Ring of Honor: Where Superstars Are Born (RW 2018+)

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