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

Texasrangers13 · September 13, 2019

Chris Jericho's Rock N Rager at Sea!

Chris Jericho's Rock N Rager at Sea! Volume Deux: Second Wave

Live from somewhere near Hawaii, aboard the Jericholic Bubbly...

Hey, hey fans, back again with a quick recap of the Sea of Honor tournament and the Chris Jericho Rock N Rager at Sea that just took place. Coming to you live from the ship, so apologies for any errors...

Live from the Pacific Ocean, somewhere near Hawaii on a cruise ship packed with Jericholics and general wrestling fans. This here is the second edition of the cruise, and this time the waters rough for Ring of Honor, especially after the recent revelation that Chris Jericho would be joining All Elite Wrestling and would headline their major pay-per-view next month against Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega. Jericho though honored his contract to host the Sea of Honor tournament, and here on the cruise fans would be treated to seven bouts to determine the new #1 Contender for the ROH World Title. Days before the show though, Jericho threw a wrench in the plans of ROH having an "uncontested" night when he announced that the show would also feature two All Elite Wrestling showcase bout featuring some of the stars of All Elite Wrestling! This once again felt like a slap in the face of Ring of Honor, who had agreed to an exclusive broadcasting deal with Jericho for the cruise, but also stated that all "production decisions" were up to Jericho.

The tournament itself kicked off with CMLL's "El Toro Blanco" RUSH defeating Chris Jericho's wildcard, Brian Myers. This bout was really solid given that Myers hasn't had a great run in ROH yet. This really did showcase Myers ability as a wrestler, but ultimately RUSH was too much for him to handle...

We then went to one of the live podcast segments, where the hosts were talking to Royalty. During the conversation Cody was asked about what it means to be World Champion, but before he could answer Austin Theory interrupted him and talked about what it will mean when they capture all the belts and rule the world of wrestling. Davey Boy Smith was next and gave a bit of a run-on speech about how Royalty is conquering everything. Cody ultimately bid adieu to the group during this segment to go "prepare" for his next big interview. Strange segment, but it did show that there might be some turmoil bubbling in Royalty.

In the second bout of the night Low-Ki defeated Fred Yehi in a really solid bout between two undersized grapplers. Low-Ki's Stomp proved too much for Yehi, but both men seemed to have mutual respect for each other and this was a bout I'd love to see again when the company is on stable ground.

Up next was scheduled to be a live "Talk is Jericho" segment, but before it could begin, Kenny Omega made an appearance and interrupted Jericho. They talked about their history and how they have a strange mutual respect and hatred for one another. Omega said that when he and "the boys" were talking about starting "All Elite Wrestling" they knew they needed more star-power... Jericho took over at this point and mentioned that he wasn't just "star-power" he was the STAR. The segment ended with both men in a staredown and Atlas Security forcing them apart.

In the third first round bout we got a bit of storytelling, and a nearly **** bout out of Jay Lethal and Nick Aldis. Lethal defeated the television champion with the Lethal Injection and the announcers speculated that he was likely now first in line for a TV Title shot back in Ring of Honor. They also pointed out that with one more win each, Low-Ki and Lethal would have to face each other in the finals of the event.

This brought the "The Elite" crew of Kenny Omega, Cody, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page for a quick little Q&A. Obviously, much of this was focused on All Elite Wrestling and what it meant for their respective careers as "independent" wrestlers. Cody took the lead here and said that "While we are starting a brand-new company, with a brand-new focus, we are still driven to be the best in the world. I, for example, will be in Japan for Pro Wrestling ZERO1 next week as I will do battle with Ryoji Sai for the ZERO1 World Heavyweight title, which I will capture and bring to All Out along with the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight championship." ... Ultimately Chris Jericho came out again and had this to say... "As most of you know, I've promised you fine folks two All Elite Wrestling showcase bouts... well... Hangman Page, you and I are going to be doing battle right here in this very ring after the next bout... so you better go get your gear on buddy..."

Back in the ring the first round wrapped up with Jeff Cobb defeating Will Ospreay in another near **** bout. This tournament may feel a bit rushed, but it is certainly proving that Ring of Honor still has top of the barrel level wrestling and that is great to see. Cobb moves on and will face Jay Lethal in the second round...

We get a promo for the soon to be debuting "Prestigious One" Joe Hendry. This same promo aired on ROH TV last week and just seems to be reminding fans that new faces are on the way.

Back in the ring the first AEW Showcase bout took place as Chris Jericho defeated Hangman Page in a bout that was used to showcase that Jericho can still go, and has a legitimate chance to capture the AEW World title at their All Out show in just three weeks time.

Backstage again Cody walks into the Royalty suite proudly wearing his AEW shirt. Marty Scurll approaches him and says that "Royalty is a family, and we are all such a close-knit group... we are all ready to commit to..." but before he can finish Cody stops him and tells him that he may be an EVP of AEW and while Royalty is "family" he can't just be giving out AEW shirts without consulting the rest of the crew... This seems to chap Scurll who just walks out muttering something about "all my friends are dead but I am fine"...

The second round of the Sea of Honor kicks off with Jeff Cobb inching closer to the title shot as he defeated Jay Lethal in a true **** classic. Both men looked like they had a shot to win, but ultimately Cobb's strength and perhaps the view of the Hawaiian islands propelled him to victory with a Tour of the Islands suplex.

On the way out of the ring, Jay Lethal passes the entering Low-Ki, Low-Ki smirks and says, he's going to get this done... We then pan to another podcast segment with The Top Guys on the Top Deck. The Top Guys cut a promo about being the best team in the world and how they proved it to the Young Bucks so much so that Matt and Nick felt like they needed to create their own promotion to avoid continuing to lose to them.

In the other Semi-Final bout, CMLL's RUSH scored the upset over Low-Ki in another **** bout. RUSH's victory came as a surprise to most seeing as he is a member of the CMLL roster. This also further cemented the fact that neither Low-Ki or Jay Lethal could reach the finals as a solo act.

Up next we saw a gritty, training camp style promo with the Briscoe Brothers live from "The Farm". Jay stares into the lens and mentions how the Defy or Deny match gives him the right to claim any title shot he wants... he says he and his brother are officially putting all of Ring of Honor on notice. Dem Boyz are coming for gold.

The second AEW showcase bout featured two teams that are very familiar to Ring of Honor fans as SoCal Uncensored's Daniels and Kazarian defeated The Best Friends. Fun *** match here, but nothing special. Nice tag-team showcase...

Post-match, The Elite (Omega, Cody, Young Bucks, Page) comes out to the ring carrying AEW shirts, they are joined in the ring by Scorpio Sky and they pass out the shirts to the guys signifying they are formally part of the "roster"...

In the finals of the Sea of Honor tournament Jeff Cobb defeated RUSH in a sloppy bout that honestly disappointed. Cobb looked a bit gassed and RUSH and he just didn't connect. That said, this meant that next month at Death Before Dishonor, Jeff Cobb officially had secured his title shot against Cody.

As the match ended Jeff Cobb called for a microphone but instead was greeted by the AEW crew, led by Kenny Omega, who congratulated him on a great bout and offered him a spot on the All Out Pay-Per-View! Jeff Cobb nodded his head to seemingly approve and then spoke....

"Boys... that's quite an honor coming from you.... Especially immediately I won the right to take the big gold belt off of Cody's waist at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR... And I'd like to think that name is apropos... Ring of Honor gave me life... This means, I'll take DEATH... BEFORE DISHONOR... He then immediately laid into Cody but was instantly overwhelmed by the much larger AEW contingency. The Ring of Honor crew that participated in the Sea of Honor tournament and some of the others who just happened to be on the cruise (like the Top Guys) all rushed the ring and we had 20+ men throwing punches as security rushed the ring to try and separate the groups....................

Recap: Well, this show in the traditional sense wasn't a "Ring of Honor" show. While it aired on Honor Club and will be promoted on the website, it was designed more to find the #1 contender for Death Before Dishonor and further push this developing AEW vs ROH angle that has been brewing since the private investor who helped launch AEW, helped prop up Ring of Honor after their financial short-comings early this summer. Jeff Cobb's refusal to join the AEW crew and Cody telling Royalty they weren't automatically in AEW are the first signs that ROH may be fighting back and helping to push this story to the media. Long-term I think it is becoming obvious that AEW and ROH will be going separate directions, but for now we haven't heard if any of the contracts that either company has issued are "Written" or if they are willing to work together for the betterment of pro wrestling.... With All Out now just three weeks away, and Death Before Dishonor looming in six weeks were are bound to see this continue to shake out...

That's all we have today, next-up we will recap the next few weeks of ROH Television and likely have an update on AEW All Out, stay tuned!

Texasrangers13 · September 17, 2019

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Exclusive Review of All Out, and Ring of Honor TV

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Exclusive Review of All Out, and Ring of Honor TV Leading Into Death Before Dishonor

With All Out landing right in the the middle of the six episode sequence leading into Death Before Dishonor this review is a bit tricky... but I think we've handled it well! So let's take a look at the major storylines leading into Death Before Dishonor!

August Week 3, 2019

The show opened up with Bobby Cruise trying to get a hold of ROH World Champion, Cody, as he and his wife, Brandi, walked into the location of the show. Cody looks at Cruise and simply says I have nothing to say to you as they walked away.

The first bout of the night saw one-third of the Six-Man champs, Fred Yehi defeat Tracy Williams in a technical bout. Post-Match, Team Filthy showed Williams respect and shook his hand.

The next bout saw The End quickly demolish Ryan Nova and Eli Isom. The End have been on a role since kicking Matt Taven to the curb at Glory By Honor and this furthered that along nicely.

Backstage, Jeff Cobb issues a challenge to "The Elite". He said this goes beyond Ring of Honor, he'll put together a team and they'll take down The Elite and begin to restore honor to Ring of Honor. Next weeks main event will be Jeff Cobb and three teammates taking on Cody, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page.

One of Cody's Royalty mates, Marty Scurll defeated Jonathan Gresham in another technical bout.

We got another promo for "The Prestigious One" and his impending debut!

In the main event, we had a triple threat bout featuring PJ Black, Silas Young and Kenny King. Black secured the victory when he hit Deep Black on Young.

ROH TV August Week 4, 2019

This episode kicked off with Low-Ki and Jay Lethal sharing an icy stare... things appeared to be getting a bit hot but suddenly Joe Hendry walked into the frame making his formal debut... he said that he's heard that Ring of Honor was about prestige, and so tonight, he believes that he should join Low-Ki, Jay Lethal and Jeff Cobb in the main event....

The first bout featured Brody King defeating Bandido, post-match, SCU tried to celebrate with Brody, but he just walked straight past them and headed to the back, leading to some speculation that Brody King resents Daniels and Kazarian for showing off AEW.

The Top Guys made quick work of The Fraternity to defend their ROH Tag Titles, which led to McKnight and Walters announcing that they were in search of new contenders so they've talked to Ring of Honor officials and they are reinstating the Crockett Cup, with details to come!

The eight-man tag was the main event and this one was a doozy for television as the team of Jeff Cobb, Low-Ki, Jay Lethal and the debuting Joe Hendry defeated Cody, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Hangman Page when Jeff Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands on Hangman Page. Solid showing for all involved.

ROH TV, September Week 1, 2019

The show opened with Jeff Cobb calling Cody out, he says that Cody is a climber and has been using Ring of Honor to launch the next step in his career. He says that Cody's time with the title and in the company are about to come to an end and it'll be Jeff Cobb standing on top of the mountain...

The opening bout saw BJ Whitmer and Anthony Henry (The Workhorsemen) defeat The Dawgs when Henry hit Will Ferrara with the Spinebuster.

Backstage we see Marty Scurll wandering aimlessly, seeming to talk to himself muttering something about "All my friends are dead, but I'm ok" as he murmurs to himself, Brody King walks by on his way to the ring.

That bout saw Brody King quickly demolish Channing Decker of the Fraternity.

Backstage, Bobby Cruise catches up with The Workhorsemen, who announce they will be in the Crockett Cup tournament. Whitmer says that he's knows what it means to be a Ring of Honor Tag champion and The Workhorsemen will not only prove they are the best and will capture the cup and the titles.

Tom Lawlor defeated Tracy Williams in a solid back and forth bout. Williams had Lawlor trapped in a submission, but Lawlor's MMA skills came in handy and he reversed it into a triangle choke hold for the victory. Post-match, Lawlor again mentions that he and his crew have been impressed with Tracy Williams, so he tells Williams to find two partners and at Death Before Dishonor, Team Filthy will grant them a title shot...

We get a video from the farm with the Briscoes. Mark and Jay mention that Jay holds the Defy or Deny contract and whenever they want they can cash it in and capture those titles they always covet...

In the main event, Jay Lethal defeated Mark Haskins in a really fun bout. The announcers made mention that Lethal has now defeated both Nick Aldis (at Sea of Honor), and Mark Haskins here.

ROH TV September, Week 2, 2019

Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, this episode kicked off with PJ Black securing another victory by defeating one-third of the ROH Six-Man champs, Josh Woods. Post-bout, Tracy Williams comes down and shakes hands with PJ Black, announcers state that Williams has the title shot at Death Before Dishonor and will need two partners, and that after tonight it was clear that PJ Black would be a solid one.

Back in the ring, The Bouncers (Mauler Milonas and Beer City Bruiser) defeated Ryan Nova and Eli Isom. Post-bout The Bouncers announce they will be participating in the Crockett Cup, which prompts the rest of the Kings of the Night to celebrate with champagne and cigars.

Back to the ring for the third bout, Fred Yehi defeats Bandido in fun bout that matched Bandido's natural aerial skill with Yehi's ground and pound.

Backstage, Joe Hendry walks past Marty Scurll who is talking to himself. Hendry tries to say hi to his "Ol' Chap" but Scurll freaks out and goes into a diatribe about how "All his friends are dead, but I'm ok" even Hendry looks weirded out as we head back to the ring.

No Gimmicks Needed put their differences aside for a couple minutes and defeat Rhett Titus and Will Ferrara when Lethal hits Ferrara with the Lethal Injection. Post-match, Lethal has a microphone and calls out Aldis saying he's earned the title shot at Death Before Dishonor, Low-Ki is in the ring during this, but he walks out of the ring as Lethal is challenging Aldis which the announcers bring up.

ROH TV, September Week 3

A mere day away from AEW's All Out Pay-Per-View, there was a clear nervous energy among the stars of Ring of Honor. The show opened with Dalton Castle defeating Jonathan Gresham in a bout that really disappointed, these two just didn't click and while Castle looked good, Gresham looked rusty.

Post-match, Dalton Castle grabbed a microphone and cut an impassioned promo about how a couple months ago he thought he found his "Bestest" Friends and after the loss of his "Boys" he needed a group like Chuckie T and Beretta, but when he saw them proudly wearing AEW shirts he knew they were frauds, just like the ROH World Champion, Cody! He laid out a challenge for Death Before Dishonor... ROH vs. AEW, you are either with us or you are against us... and he said that he'd already recruited four "champions" of Ring of Honor for his team but that we'll have to wait to find out who they are.

Up next The End destroyed the "Shinobi Submission Squad" of Eli Isom, Ryan Nova and Cheeseburger in a 2 on 3 handicapped match. Odinson and Hammerstone made quick work of them despite the numbers disadvantage, further solidifying their growth in the tag division. Post-match Hammerstone announces that The End was not only entering The Crockett Cup, but that they would win the Crockett Cup... and then single handily dismantle the Top Guys.

Speaking of the Crockett Cup, we go backstage to BJ Whitmer and Anthony Henry... Whitmer says that when he returned to Ring of Honor he did so to help boost talent like Anthony Henry and with the Crockett Cup looming he realized that his heart wasn't 100% in the ring, but rather 100% with supporting the next wave... so while The Workhorsemen would still be in the Crockett Cup it would not be Whitmer wrestling, it would be Whitmer managing, the "TRUE" Workhorsemen of professional wrestling as Anthony Henry would team with a man he knew well from their time together in EVOLVE, and a man who had the "traditional" values that would make him an instant fan favorite here in Ring of Honor, J.D. Drake... Drake walks into the frame and embraces Henry... the two of them then shake hands with Whitmer and head to the ring...

Back from break the new "Workhorsemen" of JD Drake and Anthony Henry defeated Brody King and Rocky Romero when Brody King refused to tag in and walked out on Romero... Daniels and Kazarian tried to reason with Brody but he just continued up the ramp and left the scene.

Backstage, Jeff Cobb is approached by Cody and Davey Boy Smith... Cody says that next week Cobb will face Smith... and then turns to face Smith and says "When you win, I'll give you one of these..." the announcers mention that Cody appears to be holding a black shirt and that it is likely an AEW shirt...

In the main event, Royalty's Austin Theory seems a bit distracted as he shockingly loses to Flip Gordon. Post-match, Theory flips out and destroys Gordon, sending him through the announce table as we go off the air... We get word immediately that Austin Theory has challenged Flip Gordon to a rematch at Death Before Dishonor and that we've heard rumors that Theory wants it to be a Loser Leaves Town bout......but for more on that we will need to tune in next week.....

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And now with those five episodes out of the way, let's take a look at what happened during the third Pay-Per-View of All Elite Wrestling, All Out!

Prior to the pay-per-view beginning, we had a very, very mediocre bout between Kip Sabian and Sonny Kiss. Sabian won, but man this was a dud.

The show kicked off with the Semi-Finals of the Tag Tournament. The Young Bucks defeated Los Gueros Del Cielo in a great bout, Jack Evans and Angelico are great workers, but don't exactly have that "it factor" when it comes to facial expressions. The bout was really fun and moved The Young Bucks into the finals...

As that bout wrapped up, we saw a mystery man head to the ring... he revealed himself to be the son of a billionaire and was named "Tony Khan". Khan said that he was the man behind the propping up of Ring of Honor and when he did that, he was approached by "The Elite" with the idea to start their own promotion. Tony said he thought it over and after watching "Independents Day" realized it wasn't just a good idea, it was a great idea and so he started making some calls... well today he has loads of great news...

1) All Elite Wrestling will begin live television on Wednesday October Week 1, on the same network that once broadcast the Monday Night Wars, TNT!!!

and

2) The only way to create a company that changes it the world is to make sure you have the best talents in the world and have them secured on WRITTEN deals... so with that... he pulls a stack of contracts out of his briefcase... here are the official contracts for the TOP talents in All Elite Wrestling....

Fresh off that earth-shaking announcement from Tony Khan, The Lucha Brothers defeated A Boy and His Dinosaur to ensure that they will do battle with The Young Bucks once again, with the the AEW Tag Titles on the line in the debut episode of AEW on TNT.

Backstage, PAC is standing by and discusses his reasons for choosing AEW and what he is here to accomplish.

Back in the ring, Leva Bates defeated Nyla Rose and Penelope Ford to clinch her spot in the AEW Women's Title bout during one of the upcoming AEW on TNT episodes. We see a cut-scene with Brandi and her monster, Awesome Kong, watching this bout in the back and the announcers hype that Kong and Bates will do battle soon.

Cody and PAC head to battle next with both men nearly securing the victory, in the end, Cody captured the victory with the Cross Rhodes and proved why he is one of the best in the world at the moment.

We get a hype piece announcing that Joey Janela will face Sammy Guevara in the debut episode of AEW on TNT.

Up next, we got another DUD as MJF defeated Marko Stunt.

Backstage we see Tony Khan sitting with Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky, he brandishes contracts and the three of them gleefully sign their written deals...

Back in the ring, Shawn Spears made his AEW debut but was defeated by Adam Page in a bout that didn't live up to the hype.

Backstage we see The Best Friends chatting when suddenly The Dark Order attacks them from behind. Evil Uno stares through the camera and proclaims that The Dark Order will not be left behind, and they will be heard...

In our main event, Jon Moxley became the first ever AEW World Champion defeating Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega in a great bout. Moxley pinned Omega, leading to Jericho and Moxley having a long "WWE-Esque" staredown as we went off the air with the announcers hyping "WE WILL SEE YOU ON TNT!!!!"

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So... with the reveal of Tony Khan as the investor who both propped up Ring of Honor and now has funded All Elite Wrestling, we head into the final television episode of ROH TV prior to Death Before Dishonor...

ROH TV Sept 2019, Week 4

... One day before Death Before Dishonor...

The final episode before Death Before Dishonor saw No Gimmicks Needed working together to defeat ROH Television champion, Nick Aldis and Mark Haskins (both members of the Honor Guard) in a 4-star opening bout. Lethal hit the Lethal Injection, but Low-Ki actually tagged himself in when Lethal hit the ropes and this led to Low-Ki pinning Aldis and securing the win for his "team"...post-match, Lethal and Low-Ki have their icy stare down but both seem "happy" with a victory and now both men have pinned the ROH TV champ...

Cody is out next carrying a black bag over his shoulder, he is completely alone, no Brandi, no Royalty. He calls out Jeff Cobb and says that he knows Cobb was watching AEW last night and knows that Cobb is jealous but Cody says that "contracts" don't matter to me... these do... he drops the bag and pulls out the titles he currently holds from around the World... He says when he left the WWE he set-out to prove he's the best in the world and that doesn't end with Death Before Dishonor. ...

Backstage, Flip Gordon comes across Austin Theory and Priscilla Kelly. Gordon tells Theory that last week was no fluke... and that at Death Before Dishonor, he will end Theory's career... in other words he gladly accepts the challenge for a Loser Leaves Town bout...

As we return to ringside the announcers state that Marty Scurll and Joe Hendry, who have a long history in England, has been booked for Death Before Dishonor!

Back in the ring, Dalton Castle's crusade against "AEW" continued with a defeat of Hangman Page... post-match Castle reiterates that he has four ROH Champions ready to stand beside him at Death Before Dishonor and two of them are here now... The Top Guys step out and cut a quick promo about how they are always willing to fight the Young Bucks and this seems like as good of a reason as they are going to find...

We get another promo from "The Farm" with the Briscoes training outside, Mark and Jay mention the Crockett Cup and say that as 10-time Ring of Honor champions it only seems logical that they continue to prove they are the best in the world... The announcers speculate this was their way of announcing they were entering the Crockett Cup, but this was unconfirmed.

Backstage, PJ Black and Tracy Williams are standing by, they say that they've found a third member who "hasn't had a ton of success here in Ring of Honor, but has found it all over the world, and while Ring of Honor seems to be in need of a fresh talent injection, this guy needs to be showcased..." Bandido joins them and PJ Black formally names the group "Lifeblood". They'll face Team Filthy at Death Before Dishonor!

In the main event, Jeff Cobb defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr in a solid, three star bout. Cody was on the announce table during this one and seemed slightly perturbed that his "Royalty" enforcer couldn't further weaken his Death Before Dishonor opponent...

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Death Before Dishonor IX Preview

Death Before Dishonor World Championship

Cody, the second longest reigning Ring of Honor World Champion, behind only Samoa Joe's 21 month reign, is set to put his title on the line once again against Jeff Cobb in what many are speculating will be Cody's final appearance for Ring of Honor. Jeff Cobb won last months Sea of Honor tournament to earn this shot and this will be his third opportunity one on one against Cody this year. He failed to capture the title at both Manhattan Mayhem and Supercard of Honor, but now seems poised to cash-in on Cody's recent distractions. Cody meanwhile has been bouncing around the world, featuring heavily on AEW's push towards television and even capturing the ZERO1 World Title during a recent stint in Japan. He's said that Titles are all that matter to him, but many fans point out that he is listed as an EVP for AEW and many speculate he's received one of those Written Contracts Tony Khan flaunted at All Out...

Loser Leaves Town

The 2019 Top Prospect, Austin Theory made an instant impact on Ring of Honor when he not only won the tournament, but promptly captured the Television title and aligned with Cody in joining his Royalty faction. Recently Austin Theory has stumbled a bit but the 22-year old remains one of the brightest future stars on this roster. His shocking loss to 24-year old Flip Gordon last week served as a reminder that not everything is easy when it comes to climbing to the top... Theory though doesn't seem to like other "Young Guns" aiming for him and has challenge Flip Gordon to a rematch with their ROH contracts on the line. With all that we've seen about AEW, one has to expect that one of these guys may be jumping ship and this is a nice way to write them off, but our sources don't give us any leads and neither man has featured at all on Being The Elite or at any AEW shows... So this is a wild card bout.

ROH "Champions" vs. AEW Defectors

Dalton Castle openly stated that he felt betrayed when he saw his "Bestest Friends" Beretta and Chuckie T don AEW shirts last month. Dalton Castle, one of ROH's homegrown stars, has issued a challenge to take on The Best Friends, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page, all five of whom have held ROH titles, but have pledged themselves to AEW. For his own partners, Dalton Castle has promised that he'll bring his own ROH Champions, and introduced current Tag Champions, The Top Guys as his first two partners... Who will he find for his final two "Champions" and will they be able to defeat their opponents?

British Scrappers Do Battle

"The Villain" Marty Scurll has found himself as the fourth member of Royalty for many months now and that seems to have shaken him. Recently we've seen Scurll wandering around mumbling about how all "his friends are dead, but I'm ok"... this led to a run-in with a man who he is all to familiar with from his time in England, "The Prestigious One" Joe Hendry. Hendry debuted in ring a few weeks back, helping his team to victory over a team comprised of "The Elite". Last week Hendry and Scurll had a slight run-in and that leads to this match. With Scurll seemingly listless, and Hendry on the rise, who will capture the bout...

SoCal... Uncensored.

A few months back, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Rocky Romero, known as SoCal Uncensored 2.0, recruited one of the recent breakout stars of Cali Independent wrestling as their heavy metal Bodyguard, and that is exactly what Brody King has been up until recently... As Kazarian and Daniels began their dalliance with AEW and Romero has turned his focus back to NJPW and their expansion, Brody was left behind to fend for himself. He's blossomed without them and when the crew tried to take credit, Brody took exception. Ignoring the group and frequently going about it without them led to Christopher Daniels stripping Brody King of his SoCal Uncensored jacket and challenging him to a one on one bout at Death Before Dishonor.

Team Filthy Takes On Lifeblood

The Six-Man tag titles have been held by a ton of different units during their relatively short existence, but Team Filthy may be one of the strong technical units we've seen. Over the last six weeks they've picked out Tracy Williams as a man they both had interest in and respect for. That led to Tom Lawlor telling Williams to pick two partners and do battle for the titles... During this time, Williams recruited PJ Black and Bandido and formed a unit they are calling "Lifeblood". This unit will challenge Team Filthy for the belts in what will be their official debut as a team... will they capture them? Tune-in...

Dreams of Television Gold Thaw Friendships

For months now, Low-Ki and Jay Lethal's tenuous friendship has seemed to be on the verge of destruction, but everytime the two ROH originals seem to find themselves together again. Now with Nick Aldis defending his ROH Television title against both men in a triple-threat we are bound to see them come to blows! This originally seemed like it would just be Lethal vs. Aldis, but Low-Ki secured a pinfall over Aldis yesterday as we wrapped television and now he's been added. On the surface it seems like the champion is actually the underdog, but as we've learned, The National Treasure, Nick Aldis should NEVER be counted out, and Lethal and Low-Ki are bound to destroy eachother before they destroy him... This one will be fun!

Quick Picks:
ROH World Title: Cody {C} vs. Jeff Cobb
Loser Leaves Town: Austin Theory vs. Flip Gordon
ROH "Champions" vs. AEW (Former ROH Champions): Dalton Castle, The Top Guys, ???, ??? vs. The Hung Bucks and The Best Friends
British Grudge Match: Joe Hendry vs. Marty Scurll
Grudge Match: Brody King vs. Christopher Daniels
ROH Six-Man Tag: Team Filthy {C} (Fred Yehi, Tom Lawlor, and Josh Woods) vs. Lifeblood (Bandido, PJ Black and Tracy Williams)
ROH Television: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki

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And with that we are almost all caught up. I'll write-up Death Before Dishonor similar to the last two PPV's and then we will have a Ring of Honor STATE OF THE UNION as we kick off October 2019. This state of the union will help reset the whole story and allow anyone to jump in at this point. There will be a roster post, champions update, Honor Club details, an update on the seemingly MIA women's division, a schedule update, and more... One thing I will say, I feel like I have a couple too many "tournament" style events (Calle Del Dorado, Survival of the Fittest, Sea of Honor etc) so the Crockett Cup will actually be formatted a bit more like a "World Tag League", eight teams, in two pools, winners of each pool face off.

Kijar · September 17, 2019

ROH World Title: Cody {C} vs. Jeff Cobb

Shame about him and Rush.

Loser Leaves Town: Austin Theory vs. Flip Gordon

Preference, by a hair

ROH "Champions" vs. AEW (Former ROH Champions): Dalton Castle, The Top Guys, ???, ??? vs. The Hung Bucks and The Best Friends

Likely the Briscoes?

British Grudge Match: Joe Hendry vs. Marty Scurll

Could be wrong.

Grudge Match: Brody King vs. Christopher Daniels

ROH Six-Man Tag: Team Filthy {C} (Fred Yehi, Tom Lawlor, and Josh Woods) vs. Lifeblood (Bandido, PJ Black and Tracy Williams)

ROH Television: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki

Are the Dawgs still just ETs for you?

BHK1978 · September 18, 2019

ROH World Title: Cody {C} vs. Jeff Cobb

Loser Leaves Town: Austin Theory vs. Flip Gordon

ROH "Champions" vs. AEW (Former ROH Champions): Dalton Castle, The Top Guys, ???, ??? vs. The Hung Bucks and The Best Friends

Am I going to pick a team with the Young Bucks on it to lose? Why yes, yes I am because that is what I always do.

British Grudge Match: Joe Hendry vs. Marty Scurll

Grudge Match: Brody King vs. Christopher Daniels

I hate doing this, but it looks like Daniels is out the door so it would not make sense for him to win here.

ROH Six-Man Tag: Team Filthy {C} (Fred Yehi, Tom Lawlor, and Josh Woods) vs. Lifeblood (Bandido, PJ Black and Tracy Williams)

ROH Television: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki

Texasrangers13 · September 19, 2019

ROH Death Before Dishonor IX

Ring of Honor: Death Before Dishonor IX

Prior to the show going live we had two Honor Club exclusives that showcased some of ROH's talent.

In the opening bout Jonathan Gresham defeated former ROH Pure Champion John Walters.

ROH Insiders Note: Before we secured another former champion for the five on five bout we offered Walters a tryout to see what he had and if needed he could be the final participant... By using him here, he'll obviously not be on the PPV.

In the second Honor Club exclusive bout, Coast 2 Coast defeated Cheeseburger and Will Ferrera. Post-match Coast 2 Coast announced they were entering the Crockett Cup and were ready to boost their stock to the moon...

3...

2...

1...

We are live on Pay-Per-View from Atlanta, Georgia, and this is DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR IX!

ROH Television Title Stays Around Aldis' Waist
The opening bout was bound to be a show stealer from the get-go and it did that! Jay Lethal earned his title shot when he pinned Nick Aldis during last months Sea of Honor tournament during the Rock N Rager At Sea, but instead of a one on one opportunity, he was forced into a triple threat when his partner, and sort of rival, Low-Ki pinned Nick Aldis last night during the final ROH TV taping of September. Nick Aldis has been a steady champion for Ring of Honor during these turbulent times, but initially he was overmatched by the former ROH World Champions. Low-Ki and Lethal seemed to initially put their differences aside and worked the champion over, but then Low-Ki turned his attention to Lethal and delivered a wicked chop... clearly remembering that anyone could win the title all three men exchanged blows and things really got going. We had a number of near falls, with the closest being broken up by Aldis at the last second... He was rudely ejected from the ring by Lethal who then hit the Lethal Injection on Low-Ki and made the cover... as the referee, Steve Dumeng, made the count, Aldis sprung to the top rope and delivered a Flying Elbow to the back of Lethal, breaking up the count and leaving a heap of three men on the mat... the referee made a count 1-2-3 and determined that both Lethal and Low-Ki had their shoulders down and Aldis, though also out, was on top of them... he retains. Post-match Lethal and Low-Ki stare at each other in disbelief and then immediately begin to argue and have to be separated by the officials before things come to a head. Nick Aldis retains the ROH Television Title pinning both Low-Ki and Lethal, (****), great show to the show...

Team Filthy Too Much For Upstart Lifeblood Trio
The Ring of Honor Six-Man Titles have been a bit of a controversy as they require Trios to have success. This bout wasn't great, but it was a good chance to showcase six-men who will have a big impact on the future of Ring of Honor. Josh Woods, Tom Lawlor and Fred Yehi work well together and their chemistry was on display here and they took advantage of the fact that this was the first time Tracy Williams, PJ Black and Bandido worked together as a team. The Lifeblood squad did a nice job, but ultimately Lawlor caught Bandido in a Koji Clutch and forced him to submit to retain the titles. Team Filthy retains over Lifeblood (**1/2) to remain the ROH Six-Man Champs.

Heavy Lies The Crown, Brody King is Thrown Out of SCU...
Backstage, Christopher Daniels is talking with Frankie Kazarian and Rocky Romero about the way Brody King has been acting recently. Romero stands up for him briefly, saying he's a troubled soul who needs a mentor... Daniels says he is the mentor, and now Brody King will learn to not cross his founding fathers. The bout itself wasn't good. Daniels is well past his prime and it's really been showing in the ring. Brody meanwhile struggled to sync up with Daniels but made a statement when he entered the ring wearing a black ski mask, and his heavy metal jacket instead of his SCU gear. In the end Brody King delivered a huge boot across the skull of Daniels for the victory. Though it served its purpose, this one could have gone better. Brody King defeats Christopher Daniels with a Big Boot (*3/4).
ROH Insiders Note: If it weren't for AEW this likely would have been the end of SCU regardless. Daniels has gotten so bad in the ring with his age that he's moving into more of a manager style role. We wanted Brody to do more, but we will take what we get.

ROH "Champions" Introduce Fourth Member
With the impending 10-man tag between, the AEW group and the ROH group, all of whom have held titles in Ring of Honor it was time to meet the fourth member... Dalton Castle said that this man was the top of the class, and is a former tag champion. He's a man who has stayed loyal to Ring of Honor despite some questionable gimmicks, and devisions... and now he's here to prove he's much more than a Romantic Touch... the fourth member of the team is Rhett Titus. A dark horse for sure, but should have something to prove here.

Royalty's Splintering Reaches The Apex
Backstage we see the Royalty locker room. Marty Scurll, Davey Boy Smith, Austin Theory and Cody are seen around a table discussing plans. Cody immediately mentions that tonight he wants backup to ensure that Theory stays in Ring of Honor and that Cody holds on to the Ring of Honor title… Marty Scurll hearing that he isn’t being offered protection for his bout, which is next, stands up and storms out saying "All My Friends are dead, but I'm Ok"... Davey Boy Smith Jr stands as well and walks out saying he'll do what's best for business... Marty Scurll headed to the ring and his bout against "The Prestigious One" Joe Hendry delivered on the promise of being a solid bout without being more than that. Scurll was solo and he and Hendry exchanged a number of strikes and kicks that impressed the crowd. Scurll hit a number of his signature spots, all while seemingly stalking to himself and muttering non-sense. Hendry tried to mount a comeback but Scurll ducked a lariat and locked in the Crossface Chicken Wing for the submission victory... Marty Scurll submitted Joe Hendry via Crossface Chicken Wing (***1/2).

The Fifth Member is Revealed and Ring of Honor Restores Temporary Honor to the Ring
The AEW defectors were out first with the Best Friends joining the Hung Bucks in the ring, all wearing matching AEW shirts. Out next is The Top Guys, Rhett Titus and Dalton Castle... The AEW crew reaches out for handshake, but Dalton Castle stops them and says we have one last surprise......

BOOM BOOM... Colt Cabana!

Cabana returns to Ring of Honor for the first time in seven months to a huge pop. He slides into the ring and this one is on. The announcers immediately make mention that the five men in the ring representing AEW all have recently posted on their twitters their official, signed, AEW contracts. They also mention that all five men on the other side have held titles in Ring of Honor in the last 18 months. The bout itself delivered on fun and helped usher out the five defectors and hopefully helped push forward the men on the Ring of Honor side. For The Top Guys this was a way for them to formally bury their rivalry with The Young Bucks, and they did so, delivering a Shatter Machine to both Jackson's. For Rhett Titus this was a chance to show that he's more than a lower card jobber and can still really go in the ring. He's always had the physique, but here he showcased that he can go one on one and may be a midcard title contender in the future. As for Colt Cabana, this was a nice way for him to show his loyalty to ROH. Not sure what his future role here may be, but he's a fun act and can always wrestle in the ring... Lastly, Dalton Castle, we've tried a couple different reboots with him, but this one made him look like the same guy who held the ROH World Championship in late 2017 and early 2018. Castle scored the victory for his team when he hit his former partner, Beretta with the Bang-A-Rang and made the cover while his teammates secured the opponents. Ring of Honor "Champions" defeated The AEW Defectors when Dalton Castle hit Bang-A-Rang on Beretta (***1/4).
ROH Insiders Note: "We honestly bounced around bringing "The Boys" back, after all they were Trios champs with Castle, but in the end, they didn't want to return, so Cabana and Titus made sense here."

Loser Leaves Town
Prior to the Loser Leaves Town match we see Davey Boy Smith seemingly making a deal with Austin Theory. Theory's smug smile tells it all. In the ring this one just didn't deliver. Despite these two facing off two weeks in a better match, this one was a mess from the start and things never seemed to get on track. With that said there was clearly a story to be told here and it was told well despite the action in the ring being poor. Flip appeared to have it won but then Royalty's music hit and out came Davey Boy Smith... The announcers reminded us that a Loser Leaves Town match is naturally a "Fight Without Honor" and their would be a looser interpretation of the rules. Gordon gets up and is screaming at Smith, which allows Theory to recover and make a quick cover. Gordon kicks out and now Smith is ringside... Theory looks at Smith, smiles and calls to him, he lifts Gordon and hits the Unproven Cutter, but before be covers, Smith signals the back and the music hits again... But it is not the Royalty theme... instead...

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The lights go off briefly and when the return, "The Villain" Marty Scurll is in the ring with a long trench coat, plague doctor mask and an umbrella... Davey Boy meanwhile grabs hold of Priscilla Kelly at ringside and Scurll delivers an umbrella shot directly to the skull of Theory... He drags Flip over Theory and Todd Sinclair makes the count. Post-match Marty screams "All My Friends Are Dead, BUT I AM OK! LONG LIVE THE VILLAIN" he raises Davey Boy's arm and they walk out together... Flip Gordon defeated Austin Theory, when Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr turned on Austin Theory, (* 3/4).
ROH Insiders Note: Went back and forth with this one, finally settled on this as a way to keep Smith and Scurll relevant without Royalty. Austin Theory I thought about building with, but ultimately decided he was heading to NXT, where he'd be saying he'd be going one day ever since the Top Prospect Tournament...continuity.

Ring Of Honor World Championship
The main event was built off the collapse of Royalty, and it showed on Cody's face as he entered the ring. The announcers mentioned that Cody is the ROH World Champion, but also has been conquering promotions all over the world. They made a point to mention that while Cody is an integral part of the AEW movement, he's made a point to say that he's more interested in titles that anything. Jeff Cobb has been close twice to defeating Cody and after a strong showing at Sea of Honor he looks poised to truly push Cody to the limit and early in this one he definitely did. Cody needed to leave the ring multiple times and regroup. This seemed to fire Cobb up as he went right after Cody, and even chased Brandi around the ring a few times. In the ring again the action picked-up and Cobb very nearly secured the victory after a huge suplex combo. Cody's fighting spirit pushed through and he kicked out. The fans could sense a title change as Cobb lifted the nearly lifeless body of Cody and delivered a huge Tour of the Islands which caused Cody to bounce all the way to the corner of the ring. Cobb stands and heads to make the cover but Brandi pulls Cody from the ring. Cobb looks furious but tells official Paul Turner not to dare calling for a DQ. Cobb, steps out of the ring and backs Brandi into the ringside corner... He grabs her by the hair, but somehow, someway Cody is able to chop block Cobb's knee out from under him. Cobb roars in pain and he and Cody are both down outside the ring. Turner begins the ten count and gets to eight before pausing briefly, to a huge applause. Cody is to his feet, he rolls into the ring and starts screaming at Turner to continue the count. ... Turner obliges and gets to nine out, but before he gets to ten, Cobb rolls back in. Cody looks shocked, but he immediately tries for the Disaster Kick, only to be swatted out of the sky. Cobb lifts Cody, but Cobb's knee went out and he was downed. He and Cody exchanged fists while seated and ultimately Cody took the upper-hand. Cody's third-wind allowed him to lift Cobb, and deliver the Crossrhodes DDT and to the shock of the audience, cover Cobb, and retain the title. Cody retains the ROH World Championship over Jeff Cobb (***3/4).

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As Cody celebrated, and the announcers were preparing to send us off the air, Jay Briscoe walked onto the stage, with him was ROH Head Official Todd Sinclair. Jay cut an impassioned speech about how he and his brother were the faces of Ring of Honor from day one and how they've been observing what has been going on here and they are sick and tired of it... Jay mentions that he's noticed that Paul Turner, the official in the ring, has been referring bouts for AEW and how conveniently he had this bout tonight. He also mentions that he won Defy or Deny, and that meant he could challenge for any title he wanted, at any point... "Well, boy, that time is now..." He hands a crumpled up contract to Todd Sinclair and he and Sinclair head to the ring.

Cody looks shocked, but the few minute interlude seems to have rejuvenated him. Jay and Cody go at it from the bell and this one has a totally different pace than the original main event. In fact, this one is operating at a breakneck pace. Despite the earlier bout, Cody seems to be on point here and looking to retain his title, which would both be a shock and a fun story. This one built into a full-length match, meaning Cody worked roughly 40 minutes in the ring in an effort to defend his title. Cody hit the Disaster Kick, but that seemed to fire Jay Briscoe up further instead of weaken him. Jay was quickly back to his feet and delivering fists to Cody. He had him backed into the corner when Cody wisely shoved him back, causing Todd Sinclair to take a ref bump... Paul Turner who had remained at ringside leapt to his feet and slid into the ring...but before he could assist Cody, Mark Briscoe was down and tossed Turner from the ring to the floor. Cody and Mark had a minor confrontation, but before it came to blows, Todd Sinclair was back-up. He saw this and ordered Mark to the back... which Mark did willingly, grabbing Turner on his way out and dragging him to the back with him. Back in the ring, Cody and Jay squared off. Cody tried to cover up, but fatigue was clearly starting to kick in and Briscoe took advantage. Then out of nowhere Jay hit the Jay Driller and made the cover, we have a new champion! The 19 month reign of Cody is over. Jay Briscoe is the new Ring of Honor World Champion as we head into the new era of ROH Wrestling! Jay Briscoe cashed he his Defy or Deny title shot and defeated Cody to become the new Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion (****).
ROH Insiders Note: The segment and match here were two of the best ever produced, the segment prior to the match was rated an A, the first in ROH history. Jay Briscoe is a true star! And is our top rated performer across the board, hence why we went this direction.

Final Thoughts
Wow! Ring of Honor delivered! With All Elite Wrestling launching their television show on Wednesday we knew there would be some changes in the structure of Ring of Honor, but they did a great job of showcasing both new and old. This show had a couple dull matches (King/Daniels, Theory/Gordon) but the overall picture was amazing. Jay Briscoe's cash-in and capture of the title after Jeff Cobb failed was a perfect end the Cody reign. Cody really did bring prominence to the Ring of Honor title, and we can formally confirm his departure from Ring of Honor. Post-show Cody, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Austin Theory, Paul Turner, Brandi Rhodes, Beretta and Chuckie T all came out and thanked the fans, their time with Ring of Honor is over. Cody spoke, and didn't promote AEW, rather he thanks Ring of Honor for the platform that allows Superstars to be born. He says that while this is bye for now, it is not bye forever, and that they will always be fans of Ring of Honor. Great show all around, and with CEO Cary Silkin's State of the Union speech being published Tomorrow, we should have a much better idea of the future direction of Ring of Honor! (***3/4 out of Five, overall).

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The State of the Union post (up next) will highlight the current roster, the upcoming schedule. Some changes to the company, brand and style. It will answer the question, Where are the Women of Honor? It will hopefully lay out what is next!

As for The Dawgs, I think we've seen the last of them as a team. Hoping to relaunch Rhett Titus as a mid card type that could even contend for a future TV title shot. If that fails... well who knows.

These were tough decisions, and this gets us through the summer of AEW. I originally wasn't going to launch AEW, but I think this brings a totally new story direction and I really liked the way this went in my head... This new-ish review style will likely stay with various tweaks as it makes match reporting quick/easy while still telling the whole story. I'll also likely keep the ROH Insider Notes as a bonus to the reader telling my thoughts here and there. We will likely also peek in at other brands, companies and things around the world. If anyone wants to know how someone is doing, let me know... remember this game started in December of 2019, so a lot has changed... in fact... Lucha Underground is one of the top promotions in the world... which is annoying.

slicknick3822 · September 19, 2019

Jay (Briscoe) back on top of ROH! I love it!

Texasrangers13 · September 21, 2019

Ring of Honor State of the Union

Ring of Honor: State of the Union

Following months of speculation and innuendo, Ring of Honor's CEO Cary Silkin has agreed to speak to the media about the state of the company, and the future direction of the company. Prior to starting he has provided the media with a current "Ring of Honor Roster" broken down by Champions, Upper and Lower Card.

Champions

ROH World Champion: Jay Briscoe
ROH Tag Champions: KC McKnight and Steven Walters (The Top Guys)
ROH Television Champion: Nick Aldis
ROH Six-Man Champions: Fred Yehi, Josh Woods, and Tom Lawlor (Team Filthy)

Upper Card

Alex Shelley

Colt Cabana

Dalton Castle

Davey Boy Smith Jr

Hammerstone

Jay Lethal

Jeff Cobb

Low-Ki

Mark Haskins

"The Villain" Marty Scurll

Odinson

Will Ospreay

Midcard

Anthony Henry

Brian Myers

Brody King

Flip Gordon

JD Drake

Joe Hendry

Kenny King

LSG

PJ Black

Shaheem Ali

Tracy Williams

Lower Card

Bandido

Cheeseburger

Eli Isom

Jonathan Gresham

Mauler Milonas

Rhett Titus

Ryan Nova

Shane Taylor

Silas Young

The Beer City Bruiser

TK O'Ryan

Will Ferrara

Hiatus (Injury/Story Change/Etc)

Matt Taven (Out since July 2019)

Impending Debuts

??? (Former ROH Champion)

??? (Manager)

On Loan From Partners For Crockett Cup

Channing Decker (SMASH)

Gran Guerrero (CMLL)

Guerrero Maya Jr (CMLL)

Jax Dane (NWA)

Royce Isaacs (NWA)

Thomas Latimer (NWA)

Tommy Mercer (NWA)

Trent Gibson (SMASH)

Crockett Cup

Speaking of the Crockett Cup, in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance, it will launch this week and will feature bouts all the way until the championship is crowned at Survival of the Fittest in November. We have assembled eight teams, four representing Ring of Honor and four representing various partners. There are two pools of four, and in the pool each team will face each other. The team with the best record will earn the pool bid. In the result of a tie, there will be tie-breaker. The team that wins will receive a Tag Title shot against The Top Guys at Ring of Honor Final Battle!

Pool A:

The End (Odinson and Hammerstone)

Workhorseman (JD Drake and Anthony Henry)

The Fraternity (Channing Decker and Trent Gibson)

Los Guerreros (Gran Guerrero and Guerrero Maya Jr)

Pool B:

Gods of War (Jax Dane and Tommy Mercer)

Royce Isaacs + Thomas Latimer

Coast 2 Coast (LSG and Shaheem Ali)

The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Mauler Milonas)

Upcoming PPV Events:

October 2019: Honor United, Live From The UK in conjunction with RPW.

November 2019: Survival of the Fittest

December 2019: Final Battle

There has been some speculation that Ring of Honor will switch the style of their schedule (currently four TV episodes and one PPV per month) in the future. We can confirm that this will be evaluated at the end of Q4. Until then, expect the same schedule. With that said, there has been a slight change to the PPV schedule. In the past, October has been a Global Wars event on American soil. This year, Ring of Honor will return to England for the first time in two plus years as we will present Honor United, live from England in conjunction with our partners, Revolution Pro Wrestling. We know that our product has been difficult for our fans in England to see of late, but with Honor Club becoming available in the UK we are ready to take a chance and promote a show on UK Soil once against. And with that said, we've secured what we believe to be a stellar card for that event and we've lined it up for you below.

Ring of Honor Presents: Honor United

Card Subject To Change

ROH Champion vs. RPW Champion: Jay Briscoe {C} vs. Ryan Smile

ROH Tag Titles: Top Guys {C} vs. Aussie Open

ROH Six-Man Titles: Team Filthy {C} vs. NJPW LA Dojo Young Lions

Crockett Cup: Royce Isaacs/Thomas Latimer vs. Coast 2 Coast

PJ Black vs. "The Prestigious One" Joe Hendry

Mark Haskins/Nick Aldis vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr./Marty Scurll

Will Ospreay vs. Jeff Cobb

Women of Honor

We've heard from many fans regarding the status of the Women of Honor division. After Tony Khan's investment over the summer, we were able to shore up our expenses. We were approached by two former ROH alumni, Dave Prazak and Allison Danger about the opportunity to support their SHIMMER promotion. As we look to expand our catalog with the Honor Club. SHIMMER runs a once monthly showcase of the best women wrestling and we are honored to support that. With that in mind, we've reassigned the entire division to SHIMMER, while also hiring a couple new names, Maria Manic, Kamilla Kaine and Victoria Crawford. They will join existing WOH, Mandy Leon, Kelly Klein, and Priscilla Kelly. Nattie Neidhart, our most recent WOH champion, along with Allison Danger will lead the training and development of future stars in the women's division. Every months event will be available via the Honor Club!

BHK1978 · September 22, 2019

That was a hell of a card. I think I said this prior, but it should be repeated...your match write-ups are fantastic. They give just enough information for us as the readers to know what is going on but you also do not get too wordy.

I liked the ending. It was the smart move. When I was making my picks I remember thinking, if Jeff Cobb was really worthy of holding the title. I did not think he was ready but he was the only option available so I went with it. Jay Briscoe winning the title was fantastic!

I noticed on the roster list you have Bram (Thomas Latimer) listed as being on loan from the NWA. If you could get him to sign a contract with you I think it would be good. There are a lot of things you could do with him in ROH.

Texasrangers13 · September 23, 2019

That was a hell of a card. I think I said this prior, but it should be repeated...your match write-ups are fantastic. They give just enough information for us as the readers to know what is going on but you also do not get too wordy.

I liked the ending. It was the smart move. When I was making my picks I remember thinking, if Jeff Cobb was really worthy of holding the title. I did not think he was ready but he was the only option available so I went with it. Jay Briscoe winning the title was fantastic!

I noticed on the roster list you have Bram (Thomas Latimer) listed as being on loan from the NWA. If you could get him to sign a contract with you I think it would be good. There are a lot of things you could do with him in ROH.

Appreciate that. Really wanted to wrap up the AEW summer storyline with a bang and maybe a bit of a twist. Sounds like it came across well, and that I love. Really appreciate the notes on the write-ups too. I tend to try to convey what is necessary and let the reader decipher the rest as they please. I also aim to fill in the story for readers who are just jumping in, or may follow here and there, because frankly, that helps me keep track of stories.

Technically the NWA doesn't exist in-game (at least yet), but they are promoting the Crockett Cup since it is their "thing" and frankly it fits the classic wrestling style that The Top Guys bring. I wanted to bring some names people may know (Tommy Mercer AKA Crimson + Thomas Latimer AKA Bram) and pair them with their actual current partners who some may not know (Jax Dane, fun fact was Ray Rowe of War Machines original partner, and Royce Isaacs, a up and coming classical style wrestler from the South West that I find solid). This also gives me a 3-4 match window to test these guys out in front of my audience and see how it goes. I will say, I've always really liked Latimer. Thought his original Ascension promos (pre-Viktor/Konnor edition) really made him as a visceral star. I know their are some demons in the past that led to the release from WWE, but ultimately, really solid act and character... agree he's perfect for ROH... and after the Crockett Cup we may see more of him... but... that's still TBD!

Currently debating a couple routes with the NWA. For hardcore fans of the real world they are aware that Billy Corgan is relaunching the NWA as a 1980's style studio show this coming week. But in this game Corgan owns Beyond Wrestling, so I may opt to just go the route of NWA existing in a neutral state popping up here and there in various states. This would also allow me to use James Storm, who happens to be one of my favorites. In this game he was a big star with AroLucha until their closure in June 2019 and is now bouncing around the indies...

With all that said, TV and Honor United is booked and will be the next post. These were just two quick TV tapings and a quick UK PPV so it'll be an easy/semi-vanilla write-up as we launch the path to Survival of the Fittest, and more importantly, Final Battle.

Beyond that, I've started scouted for 2020 Top Prospect Tournament (generally involves me watching Youtube matches or reading about guys that have an "indy" name in reality and also checking in on the various small promotions in the game that might have guys that are popping up as stars. It is always one of my favorite parts of the year and thus far our version has produced some decent names for this: Fred Yehi, Austin Theory, Tom Lawlor and Odinson for example. For 2020 I've already got a shortlist of six names, and one of them is a lock (hint, Pacific Northwest). Part of me wants to expand the TPT to 12 or 16, but for now it is going to be eight like it has been in reality.

Really excited about the new direction; and think it'll be fun to share it.

The Lariat · September 23, 2019

The TPT is always a favorite, as it can introduce new talent that some might not be aware of.

Hoping for SoCal talent to really shine this year, as Brody did great so far. Jake Atlas is my personal choice since he’s been blowing up as of late.

Texasrangers13 · September 29, 2019

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Lariat" data-cite="The Lariat" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>The TPT is always a favorite, as it can introduce new talent that some might not be aware of. Hoping for SoCal talent to really shine this year, as Brody did great so far. Jake Atlas is my personal choice since he’s been blowing up as of late.</div></blockquote> Had a chance to see some of the SoCal/Vegas talent in person recently and I'm really in on some of them. The scene is great across the country/globe and I love using the TPT to highlight them. Trying to line it up now, as it is only three game months away. Leaning towards expanding the tournament to 12 this year. 6 locked in spots and then 6 guys battling to two three-ways for the final two slots. Thinking i'm going to line it up like this: Locked-In (Our Six Strongest Regions, likely will highlight a guy from indy places in each region): Southwest Southeast Mid-Atlantic Tri-State Northeast Midsouth Wildcards (Six regions/areas that are the next six in our path/size/partners): Northwest Canada Mexico UK Japan Australia

Texasrangers13 · September 29, 2019

ROH TV and Honor United Recap

<div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV and Honor United Recap</div>

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With only two weeks separating Death Before Dishonor and Ring of Honor's return to the UK with Honor United we had an abbreviated tv session with only two episodes.

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<div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV, Week 1, October 2019</div>

The first episode kicked off with Cary Silkin's State of the Union speech that was published here earlier. Immediately following that we kicked off the Crockett Cup with The End annihilating The Fraternity in a quick bout. The End looks strong, and now, without Matt Taven, appear free to destroy as they please.

We then got a promo backstage of No Gimmicks Needed rewatching the Death Before Dishonor Television Title bout. Lethal and Low-Ki both blamed each other and the tension between them continued to boil but ultimately seemed to be just another crack in the road.

Back in the ring, Lifeblood (PJ Black, Bandido, and Tracy Williams) got back on track with a win against Kenny King, Brian Myers and Shane Taylor.

Backstage Flip Gordon encounters Davey Boy Smith Jr and seems to be discussing with him what happened at Death Before Dishonor and why Scurll and Smith seemingly helped him to win the bout... Smith merely chuckles and walks away.

Colt Cabana is out for the main event with an open challenge. He calls out anyone in the back and is surprised when Fred Yehi answers. The bout itself was unspectacular but helped showcase Yehi and his technical ability. He caught Cabana in a Koji Clutch and secured the victory to end the first episode.

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<div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV, Week 2, October 2019</div>

The second episode started with two Crockett Cup bouts. In the opener The Workhorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry, with BJ Whitmer ringside) defeated the team representing CMLL of Gran Guerrero and Guerrero Maya Jr. Drake and Henry controlled the bout physically, but the Guerreros displayed impressive technical skills and shouldn't be forgotten in this tournament.

We got a preview for the Honor United event with multiple matches being announced! This exclusive pay-per-view marks Ring of Honor's long anticipated return to the UK and will be one to watch even if it doesn't necessarily fit any of the long-term story-telling taking place!

In the second Crockett Cup bout we had a hoss fight that saw The Bouncers defeat the Gods of War in a really bad bout. Beer City Bruiser and Mauler Milonas are rarely in the ring with two men that can almost match them in size, but this one was close.

We get a sit-down interview with The Top Guys, they discuss why they brought back the Crockett Cup and what Pure, Old-School, 'rasslin means to them. They bring up the old NWA and say that while the territory days may be over it doesn't mean that old school battles are and that this Crockett Cup will bring them a contender truly worth fighting at Survival of the Fittest in November. They finish the sit-down by informing the audience that they will make a title defense at Honor United against a team that is taking the UK by storm, Aussie Open.

In the penultimate bout, Bandido scored an upset victory over Joe Hendry. Bandido has been on a nice little run of late, and this win was frankly pretty surprising, especially since Hendry will be facing Bandido's Lifeblood mate, PJ Black at Honor United!

Up next we go to the Sussex County Farm home of the Briscoes for a pretaped Championship coronation with Jay Briscoe. Jay tells the audience that he's a fighting champion, and a World champion, so that means at Honor United he'll take on the RevPro Champion, Ryan Smile. He also says that as Honor Rises again, he'll be the one to lead the company into the new era.

In the main event, Davey Boy Smith Jr defeated Mark Haskins in a hard-fought bout that set-up what will serve as the opener at Honor United. We know that at Honor United, Smith and Scurll will take on Haskins and Aldis in a tag bout.

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<div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor and Revolution Pro Wrestling present: Honor United</div>

Live from the United Kingdom, Ring of Honor is making it's first stop outside of the USA in two years. The Garage a small 600-seat venue in North London is sold-out and packed with wrestling fans as we head to the ring for the opener!

Nick Aldis and Mark Haskins make their triumphant return to the UK to take on fellow brit, Marty Scurll and the son of the British Bulldog, Davey Boy Smith Jr in what promised to be a brutally hard-hitting bout. This one definitely delivery as the ROH Television champ, Aldis led his team to victory when he hit the Tormentum on Smith for the victory in a bout that really opened this show well. All four men impressed and the crowd was hot for these four favorites, Aldis keeping the TV title picture strong with the victory makes sense here. Mark Haskins and Nick Aldis defeated Davey Boy Smith and Marty Scurll (***1/2).

Backstage we see the Briscoe Brothers arriving in London.

Back in the ring, Low-Ki and Jay Lethal work together for long-enough to secure a victory over the NJPW excursion squad of Hikuleo and The Great O'Kharn. Everything Lethal and Low-Ki touch turn to gold and they pulled a really, really solid bout out of these two. No Gimmicks Needed defeat The Great O'Kharn and Hikuleo (*** 1/2).

Backstage, Rocky Romero makes his first non SoCal Uncensored 2.0 appearance and immediately finds Team Filthy backstage. Romero tells Lawlor that he's brought the NJPW LA Dojo Young Lions, Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks with him to the UK and they'll be challenging for the Six-Man belts tonight. He also mentions that they'll be making a couple additional ROH appearances stateside, and that NJPW will be running two shows in the US next week that they'll be featured on as well...

In the bout itself, the ROH Six-Man champs, Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Fred Yehi and Josh Woods) easily retained against the LA Dojo Young Lions (Alex Coughlin, Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors) when Lawlor submitted Connors. Team Filthy retains the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles over LA Dojo Young Lions (**).

We get a repeats of the sit-down interview with the Top Guys that aired on television this week. This leads into the title defense against Aussie Open. Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher have been on the rise out here in the UK, but they have limited familiarity in the USA. This didn't stop the Top Guys from defeating them easily in a bout that should have been better. As the Top Guys wait for their next ROH challenger, this was a nice tune-up. The Top Guys defeated Aussie Open to retain the ROH Tag Titles, (** 1/2).

Backstage, Dalton Castle is cutting a promo about being loyal to ROH and taking advantage of the opportunities created by the departures... Rhett Titus interrupts him and says that while they were "teammates" last month, it's time for Titus to remind the fans that he is still a star, so next week on ROH TV, he wants Castle.

We then get a promo with the Kings of the Night out enjoying the London nightlife. Kenny King taunts all things "Britain" and says that this cities nightlife "sucks" in comparison to Vegas... this naturally leads to him getting bounced from a bar...which results in the expected brawl to close out the segment.

Back in the ring, Will Ospreay took on Jeff Cobb in a bout between two main eventers who will certainly feature prominently in the Survival of the Fittest. Ospreay's homecourt advantage came into play here as he surprised Cobb with a flurry of kicks and strikes that led to an OsCutter for the victory in a really fun bout! Will Ospreay defeated Jeff Cobb via OsCutter (***1/2).

Colt Cabana made a big entrance as he joined the announce table for the Crockett Cup bout up next.

With the Crockett Cup kicking off the last two week this was a bout featuring the final two teams in the competition. Ring of Honor's Coast 2 Coast and the National Wrestling Alliance's Thomas Latimer (FKA Bram) and Royce Isaacs. Latimer is extremely well known in London, "The Chesterfield Plague" drew a big pop. His partner, Royce Isaacs is an unknown from the western half of the USA. He's only 24 and has a Cowboy-ish/old school look to him. His traditional gear is festooned with frills and he carries a no nonsense attitude with him to the ring. He's a regular in the Pacific Northwest and works as a Main Eventer for companies like DEFY in Seattle. Here in London the crowd didn't know him at all, but thanks to his partner they were the clear favorites. The announcers referred to their team as Genesis, but this may be a work in progress name. In the end, the crowd went home happy as Latimer delivered the deathblow to LSG for the victory. Thomas Latimer and Royce Issacs defeated Coast 2 Coast (**).

Prior to the next bout, we get a replay of Bandido defeating Joe Hendry on ROH TV. "The Prestigious One" interrupts the replay to challenge PJ Black and state that he's going to redeem himself.

The bout itself was sloppy as neither man vibed. Despite both having a strong UK following, the fans seemed turned off by the story told here. In the end, PJ Black defeated Joe Hendry (**).

Backstage Jeff Cobb is talking to the cameraman about what Survival of the Fittest means to him and how he can redeem his loss tonight and earn another shot at the ROH World Championship... No Gimmicks Needed show up next, semi-arguing, but they cut Cobb off and say they will be winning the title shot and the belt. This brings Will Ospreay into the scene. He kindly reminds all three men that the last time he's faced each of them, he's defeated all three of them and so at Survival of the Fittest... he'll defeat everyone and then at Final Battle, capture the title...

Speaking of the title, Jay Briscoe's first ROH World Championship defense was the main event as he took on the RPW Champion, Ryan Smile. I think this bout was likely to try to help RPW legitimize their world champion and further push this partnership, but Briscoe stood head and shoulders above Smile and really wasn't challenged here. He delivered a Jay Driller and then made the cover to make his first defense. Jay Briscoe secured a quick victory against Ryan Smile to retain the ROH World Championship (***).

Overall Rating: (**3/4). Glad they returned to the UK, but this was a one-off show with little build-up. With five television shows prior the Survival of the Fittest, I think we are about to see the final storylines of 2019 begin to take place, so this show served as a nice bridge between the departures of nine key names in Ring of Honor and the new way of superstars to come! We will continue to recap TV, and before we hit Survival of the Fittest, we will have a full preview and then the full card review like we did with Death Before Dishonor! Stay Tuned!

Texasrangers13 · October 5, 2019

ROH Television Lead-Up to Survival of the Fittest <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV Recaps, Build-Up to Survival of the Fittest</div> With five episodes of build-up leading into Survival of the Fittest, Ring of Honor looked to get off on the right foot by continuing the Crockett Cup and hosting numerous Survival of the Fittest qualifier bouts. <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="N99ns65.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/N99ns65.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ROH TV, October, Week 3, 2019</div> This episode kicked off with a Crockett Cup bout between the CMLL team of Gran Guerrero and Guerrero Maya Jr., (0-1) facing The Fraternity (0-1). The Fraternity took a loss in their first bout two weeks ago against The End, and the Guerreros lost to the Workhorsemen last week, so both were looking to head to 1-1. The Fraternity were the ones to take the fall as the Guerreros secured the victory in a fun opener. We next saw that in two weeks, Flip Gordon would face Alex Shelley in a Survival of the Fittest qualifier. Back in the ring, the Crockett Cup continued with Coast 2 Coast (0-1) defeating the listless Gods of War (0-1). Coast 2 Coast took a loss in England during the Honor United, but they rebounded here in a poor match. Gods of War, while physically imposing, are really not good in the ring and they clearly serve as the jobbers of this group. Backstage, ROH Television champ Nick Aldis says that he felt disrespected by the things that he saw Kenny King doing in London during Honor United and we wanted to teach King respect. Next weeks main event will be King vs. Aldis for the TV title. In a quick bout Brody King booted the head off of NJPW Young Lion, Karl Fredericks. Fredericks, along with Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin were brought to ROH for a brief excursion by Rocky Romero. Romero didn't join Kazarian and Daniels when they left for AEW, instead reprising his role in Talent Relations for NJPW. As such, he'll remain a part of the ROH story and in this case, his former muscle (Brody King) from SCU 3.0, is ready to make him pay. We got another promo for two weeks from now, as the first four confirmed Survival of the Fittest participants (out of twelve), will do battle in a tag match. It'll be No Gimmicks Needed taking on Will Ospreay and Jeff Cobb. Next we saw a recorded Briscoes promo, talking about how they were not scared of anything and how next week Jay Briscoe will be making an announcement in regards to the Survival of the Fittest... In the main event, Dalton Castle defeated Rhett Titus in a bout that was built-up during Honor United. Castle is looking to get back on the right track, and this victory was a nice step! <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="N99ns65.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/N99ns65.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ROH TV, Week Four, October 2019</div> We kicked off the episode with another Crockett Cup bout as Genesis (Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer) (1-0) defeated The Bouncers (0-1). Latimer looked like a real star here and would make a nice member of the full-time roster. The young Isaacs is still a bit green, but he has the look that could make him a solid addition as well. Jay Briscoe is out next with a huge announcement about this years Survival of the Fittest. This year the event will feature 12 combatants, with the first four announced last week (Jeff Cobb, Low-Ki, Jay Lethal, and Will Ospreay). Their will be six singles bouts with each winner earning an opportunity to do battle in the Main Event in a six-man elimination, mayhem. He turns and looks at his brother... and my brother Mark... is the fifth entrant. The first qualifier bout followed this announcement with Joe Hendry defeating Tracy Williams. This bout was actually pretty bad, but it got the point across as Hendry punched his ticket to the Survival of the Fittest. We got a recap of the last few weeks on video and that led us into the next bout which was a Crockett Cup bout between two 1-0 teams... The Workhorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry) accompanied by BJ Whitmer, took on The End. The End's multi-month pain streak came to an abrupt halt here when in the middle of the bout, Truth Martini made his shocking return to Ring of Honor. Truth stood on the ramp and called out to The End saying that "The Truth will set them free" this brief distraction allowed Anthony Henry to roll-up Hammerstone and steal a win...putting the Workhorsemen in the drivers seat moving forward. Post-Match, Truth enters the ring and reminds The End of his successes with the "Book of Truth" and "The House of Truth"... he leaves the ring as Odinson and Hammerstone look frustrated with the shocking loss. In the main event, Nick Aldis defended his TV Title in a solid television main event against Kenny King. Aldis and King went back and forth multiple times, but Aldis controlled the pace and scored the win with the King's Lynn Cloverleaf. <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="N99ns65.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/N99ns65.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ROH TV, November Week 1, 2019</div> The show opened with another Survival of the Fittest qualifier as Flip Gordon scored a shocking upset against Alex Shelley. Shelley really looked good here and helped make Gordon look like a future star. Gordon's victory made him look strong and like a real threat in the future. Backstage we see Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr., talking. Scurll turns and looks at the camera and says they've cut a deal with the devil, but the Villain has bought his way into the Survival of the Fittest and he will win it... The Crockett Cup continued with Coast 2 Coast (1-1) defeating The Bouncers (0-2). Coast 2 Coast moved to 2-1, but will need some help as Genesis (Latimer and Isaacs) are 2-0 and will be facing the Gods of War later tonight. We get a promo for another Survival of the Fittest qualifier next week that will see Fred Yehi take on Silas Young. As was foreshadowed earlier Genesis (2-0) defeated the Gods of War (0-2) to punch their ticket to Survival of the Fittest and the finals of the Crockett Cup. Once again Thomas Latimer looked good here. The Top Guys were out to congratulate Latimer and Isaacs and told them they'd be watching closely at Survival of the Fittest. In the main event, No Gimmicks Needed continued to seem to be back on track as Lethal and Low-Ki scored the win of Will Ospreay and Jeff Cobb in an amazing television main event. This one will be seen on the year-end DVD for sure. What a bout. All four men look like legit threats to win the Survival of the Fittest. <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="N99ns65.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/N99ns65.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ROH TV, November Week 2, 2019</div> The opening bout saw The End (1-1) defeat The Guerreros (1-1) and finish the preliminaries at 2-1 and now they'll have to wait a week to see if The Fraternity can defeat The Workhorsemen and push this into sudden death. Post-Match, The End called out Truth Martini for costing them the match last week. Truth comes out onto the stage and says, "Sorry boys, you had your chance to join my House"... Two masked men slide into the ring with a black bat and a pair of brass knuckles and delivered a beat down to the The End before joining Truth Martini on the stage, still masked. In the next Survival of the Fittest qualifier, Fred Yehi dispatched of Silas Young in a solid technical bout. Yehi continues to shine in the ring and as one-third of the Six-Man champs, he's been looking like a breakout star for 2020. Backstage, Dalton Castle got into it with Kenny King and Brian Myers. Shane Taylor stepped up to separate them but Castle said that tonight, he'll beat Myers and punch his ticket to Survival of the Fittest... We get another look at the current qualifiers for Survival of the Fittest: Low-Ki, Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Mark Briscoe, Fred Yehi, Joe Hendry, Flip Gordon and Nick Aldis. With two spots remaining, we heard that the 11th spot will be filled tonight, and next week, there will be a six-man wildcard bout to fill the final slot! That 11th ticket was punched when Dalton Castle Bang-A-Rang'ed Brian Myers into oblivion. Castle's hot streak continues and he's been looking good as the former champion inches closer to a chance at the title again. As the show went off the air, Jay and Mark Briscoe discussed the wildcard bout and announced the six-men who would be participating next week in the main event..., Brody King, Rocky Romero, PJ Black, Bandido, Mark Haskins and Colt Cabana. <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="N99ns65.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/N99ns65.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ROH TV, November 2019, Week 3</div> Backstage, Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr are discussing "Villain Stuff" and ask the cameraman to leave the room before they make something bad happen... The Crockett Cup rolled on with The Workhorsemen (2-0) punching their ticket to Survival of the Fittest as they defeated The Fraternity (0-2). With BJ Whitmer by their side, Anthony Henry and JD Drake have looked like a modern wrasslin' team with a solid mix of size, physical in-ring style, and speed. They'll face Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer at Survival of the Fittest for the right to face the Top Guys at Final Battle. Post-match, Whitmer speaks for the group but is interrupted by Latimer and Isaacs who say that at Survival of the Fittest they will rip the "Workhorsemen" from limb to limb... this prompts the Top Guys out to the ring who say they are throughly impressed by this and cannot wait to see classic wrasslin' take the drivers seat once again... so at Survival of the Fittest, this bout will be a true barnburner and the winners will face the Top Guys for the ROH Tag Titles at Final Battle. In a bout that was designed to showcase the CMLL representatives The Guerreros dispatched the Gods of War quickly. Gran Guerrero and Guerrero Maya Jr., are both great wrestlers and really did the promotion proud. They'll likely be seen again here as we cross promote with CMLL more. We head to a church-looking building where Truth Martini is proselytizing to a group of followers. He says that The End has crossed "The Truth" and now the house will make them pay... He says that "The End is truly coming...and once you cross the House... You'll meet the the makers... His two masked henchmen are standing with the same weapons they used to take down The End last week. They laugh sinisterly, but don't unmask as the scene ends. In the main event Six-Man Wildcard bout, Brody King secured the final spot in the Survival of the Fittest as he knocked the head off of Rocky Romero and cleared the ring of the other four (Mark Haskins, Bandido, PJ Black, Colt Cabana). Brody has looked strong over the last month and half now that he's been on his own... We went off the air with a full preview of the Survival of the Fittest event that will take place next! <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="N99ns65.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/N99ns65.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Ring of Honor: Survival of the Fittest Preview</div> The 2019 edition of the Survival of the Fittest will feature eight pay-per-view bouts. The first six will all be singles bouts with the winners heading to the main event in a Six-Man mayhem, total elimination bout. After those six, we will see the finals of the Crockett Cup with the Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry and JD Drake) taking on Genesis (Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer). Now exclusively here we can share the full card as we build into the 2019 finale at Final Battle. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Survival of the Fittest Preliminary Bouts Fred Yehi vs. Marty Scurll Flip Gordon vs. Nick Aldis Brody King vs. Joe Hendry Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal Low Ki vs. Will Ospreay Jeff Cobb vs. Mark Briscoe Crockett Cup Finals Representing the NWA; Genesis (Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer) vs. The Workhorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry) The Main Event Six-Man Mayhem Total Elimination Survival of the Fittest; Winner Receives a ROH World Title Shot at Final Battle vs. Jay Briscoe</div></blockquote>

BHK1978 · October 6, 2019

Fred Yehi vs. Marty Scurll

This and the Brody vs. Joe are the only two that I am certain of the outcome. Now watch me be completely wrong.

Flip Gordon vs. Nick Aldis

I like Nick better but Flip is someone on the rise. I think this and the Ki/Ospreay match are the two tough ones to pick.

Brody King vs. Joe Hendry

Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal

Low Ki vs. Will Ospreay

Normally I would go with Ospreay here, but I could see you having Leathal and Ki continuing to have tension in the main event and thus one of them screwing the other out of title match.

Jeff Cobb vs. Mark Briscoe

Crockett Cup Finals

Representing the NWA; Genesis (Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer) vs. The Workhorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry)

You can't have outsiders win, well maybe you can because I am assuming Bram is the most over of the four. But I will stick to my pick.

The Main Event

Jeff Cobb is my pick to win the Main Event

Kijar · October 7, 2019

Fred Yehi vs. Marty Scurll

Flip Gordon vs. Nick Aldis

Brody King vs. Joe Hendry

Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal

Low Ki vs. Will Ospreay

Jeff Cobb vs. Mark Briscoe

Crockett Cup Finals

Representing the NWA; Genesis (Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer) vs. The Workhorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry)

The Main Event

Jay Lethal seems right for this upcoming match, with Cobb on the horizon.

Saw me the SOTF that Elgin won most recently. Crowd was not very nice to him, despite him being face, and they hadn't previously been that way to him.

Texasrangers13 · October 14, 2019

Honor Club November 2019 Exclusives

Mere hours away from 2019's Survival of the Fittest, Ring of Honor released a number of exclusive bouts on the Honor Club platform. These bouts are primarily designed to highlight the lower card and give them a chance to develop. The bouts selected this month were as follows:

Honor Club Exclusive Bouts:

Jonathan Gresham vs. John Walters

Eli Isom and Ryan Nova vs. TK O'Ryan and Rhett Titus

Mark Briscoe vs. Alex Shelley

Brian Myers and Shane Taylor vs. Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin

Silas Young vs. Cheeseburger

Mark Haskins vs. Bandido

Colt Cabana vs. Rocky Romero

They also released the first three episodes of Shimmer (Volumes 117-119) since the acquisition of the promotion. These episodes featured the following bouts...

Volume 117

The Convicts (Jessika Havok and Mercedes Martinez) vs. Samantha Heights and Vanessa Kraven

Maria Manic and Nicole Savoy vs. LuFisto and Solo Darling (Shimmer Tag Titles)

Kay Lee Ray and Ryo Mizunami vs Totally Tubular Tag Team (Delilah Doom and Leva Bates)

KC Spinelli vs. Madison Eagles

Volume 118

Maria Manic vs. Kamilla Kaine

Kay Lee Ray vs. Mandy Leon (Heart of Shimmer Title)

Taylor Made vs. Rhia O'Reilly

KC Spinelli vs. Nattie Neidhart

Volume 119

Samantha Heights vs. Nicole Savoy

Kay Lee Ray vs. Arisa Nakajima vs. Maria Manic vs. Yumi Ohka (Heart of Shimmer Title)

The Convicts vs. LuFisto and Solo Darling

KC Spinelli vs. Madison Eagles (Shimmer Title)

With these nineteen matches added this week, this should hold you over until Survival of the Fittest!

(Writing up Survival of the Fittest now, should be up tonight or tomorrow AM)

Texasrangers13 · October 14, 2019

Ring of Honor Presents: Survival of the Fittest

<div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Presents: Survival of the Fittest</div>

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Ring of Honor comes to us live from Sam's Town in Las Vegas, Nevada as they present Survival of the Fittest, an action packed card that will see the new #1 Contender crowned as well as the winner of the Crockett Cup determined. </div>

<div style="text-align:center;">The Villain Rises</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">In the opening bout, Marty Scurll continued his hot streak as he defeated Fred Yehi in a really fun, back and forth opener. Keeping in mind that Fred Yehi is currently one-third of the Six-Man champions, along with Tom Lawlor and Josh Woods, this was a big victory for Marty Scurll. And while the victory moved Marty into the six-man elimination finals, he seemed to have other things on his mind as he immediately cut a promo on Team Filthy stating that he and Davey Boy Smith Jr., have been doing a lot of thinking recently, and they've acknowledged that it is time for the villains to unite... so win or lose tonight, Marty Scurll as the head of "Villain Enterprises" is challenging Team Filthy for the ROH Six-Man titles... the announcer speculate who the third member of their team would be, but in the end we are left in the dark for now. Marty Scurll defeated Fred Yehi via Crossface Chicken-Wing to advance to the Survival of the Fittest Finals (***1/2).</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">TV Champ Stays Hot</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Nick Aldis, the current ROH TV champion, took down Flip Gordon in a bout that helped to show how much Flip has grown in the last year but that ultimately he isn't at the championship level. Aldis delivered the Tormentum in the middle of the ring and grounded Gordon for a relatively quick victory. The true story here though was the icy staredown that occurred on the ramp when Aldis hadn't left quick enough for Brody King's standards as King made his way down to the ring for his bout... Nick Aldis defeated Flip Gordon via Tormentum to advance to the Survival of the Fittest Finals (***).</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Death Metal Destroys Pop</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">The Death Metal Rockstar, Brody King, demolished Joe Hendry in their first-round bout. Hendry is a fun character with a ton of charisma, but Brody King's strength and shocking athleticism was far too much for him to handle. In the end, Brody choked Joe Hendry out and made his mark on the tournament in easily the worst bout of the night. Brody King defeated Joe Hendry (**) to advance to the finals of the Survival of the Fittest.

</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Dalton Castle, Fake? So Says Kenny King</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">As Dalton Castle and Jay Lethal did battle in the next bout, Kenny King joined the three-man announce booth and called out Dalton Castle for being a false representative of ROH who never truly earned anything. King played a bit of a race angle here, saying that guys like him and Jay Lethal have been around for years and years and truly clawed their way to the top... When the announcers pointed out that Jay Lethal has proven in the ring, while Kenny King has merely proved it in a the club scene, King too offense and stormed out. In the ring itself, Jay Lethal and Dalton Castle had a hard-hitting bout, but in the end it was Jay Lethal who secured the victory and the spot in the finals... Jay Lethal defeated Dalton Castle to advance to the final phase of the Survival of the Fittest (***).</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">The House of Truth</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">With Truth Martini and his masked men making a recent impact and targeting The End over the last few weeks, it was no surprise to see Truth Martini here on PPV cutting a promo with his masked men standing behind him. Truth mentioned that under his leadership he led Jay Lethal to the World Title, and he led others to the promised land that is beyond. He says that The End are self-centered and misguided, but that the Truth will set them free. And at Final Battle... The End will see "THE TRUTH"...</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">No Gimmicks, Just Feet of Fury</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">In a bout that stole the show, Low-Ki and Will Ospreay tore the roof off the building with an epic 20-minute encounter that saw numerous near falls and numerous nail biting moments for fans of both men. Will Ospreay, the modern-day aerial assassin went to extreme lengths to ground Low-Ki, but Low-Ki proved that his fists and feet were weapons of mass destruction as both men laid into eachother at a breakneck pace. The end of the bout saw Will Ospreay look to hit the Os-Cutter only to be met by a kick squarely across the jaw and promptly lifted into a Ki-Krusher 99 that planted him in the middle of the ring. Low-Ki crawled over Ospreay and made the cover for the victory meaning that both members of the semi-feuding No Gimmicks Needed team moved into the finals. Low-Ki defeated Will Ospreay to punch his ticket to the finals of the Survival of the Fittest (****).</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Lifeblood Promo</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">We get a video promo hyping PJ Black, Bandido and Mark Haskins as a world touring, barnstorming group known as Lifeblood. The group itself is billed as more of a loosely affiliated partnership and featured highlights of the individual members in bouts all across the globe.</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">There Isn't Just One Briscoe Brother</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">In the final first round bout Mark Briscoe and Jeff Cobb did battle in way promised to be a hard-hitting, violent affair, and it was exactly that. Mark, who really has never stood out as a singles competitor, held his own against the much heavier Cobb and both men really delivered in this bout. Most of the marks in the crowd and media seemed to think this was a sure-fire victory for Cobb, but they were shocked when Mark Briscoe hit not one, but two Froggy Bow's and secured the biggest "upset" victory of the first round, putting him a mere match away from a title shot against his own brother. Mark Briscoe defeated Jeff Cobb to advance to the finals of the Survival of the Fittest (***1/2).</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Crockett Cup Recap and Finals</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Prior to getting into the finals of the Crockett Cup, we got a recap summarizing the last month of bouts between the eight participating teams. Highlights were shown of all eight teams and we saw the final standings, which shook out with Pool A being won by the BJ Whitmer managed Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry and JD Drake) and Pool B being won by the NWA represented by Genesis (Thomas Latimer and Royce Isaacs). In the highlight package we also saw Truth Martini and the masked men distract and attack The End, costing them what would have been a likely spot in the finals. On the other side of the bracket, Coast 2 Coast couldn't climb the mountain and lost to a team that many knew only one-half of the partnership known as Genesis.

Prior to the bout itself, KC McKnight and Steven Walters made their way down to the ringside area with the Crockett Cup trophy and a contract stating that the winners would face them at Final Battle. The bout itself had a vintage feel as both teams were interviewed by Bobby Cruise ringside prior to the bout. The Workhorsemen mentioned that this is their mountaintop and they will both capture the Crockett Cup and then the Ring of Honor Tag Titles. As for Genesis, Thomas Latimer mentioned that ten years ago he made the voyage to the USA from England to win titles but do a serious of setbacks he'd never captured a tag title. He said that he was approached by the National Wrestling Alliance to represent them in this bout and allowed him to hand-pick his own partner which led him to find "The Wildcard" Royce Isaacs. He said he and Isaacs may not be the best of friends, but you don't have to be friends to be partners and tonight they'll prove that.

In the bout, Genesis and The Workhorsemen put on a mediocre match for what was the final of a month long "showcase" event. JD Drake is a big, classic looking, brawler and he was hand-picked by BJ Whitmer to partner with Anthony Henry two months ago. Drake and Henry have strong chemistry and have worked together throughout the Southeast. Their chemistry played here as they were able to make crisp tags and keep the fresher man in the ring throughout. Latimer continued to show why he'd be a great full-time addition to Ring of Honor as he held his own, but when he tagged in his partner, the much younger and less-experienced, Royce Isaacs things went downhill as Isaacs was isolated and beaten down allowing The Workhorsemen to capture the victory and the Crockett Cup. Post-bout, The Top Guys slid into the ring and presented the winners with the contract to face them at Final Battle. McKnight and Walters said they respected the style of the Workhorsemen and promised to bring back classic wrestling to Ring of Honor. The Workhorsemen defeated Genesis to win the Crockett Cup and capture the contract to face The Top Guys for the ROH Tag Titles at Final Battle, (**1/4).</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Who Will Survive? The Survival of the Fittest</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Prior to the Survival of the Fittest starting, the six competitors made their way to the ring. This bout would be an elimination bout and the last man standing would be named the Lone Survivor and winner of the Survival of the Fittest.

Mark Briscoe

Low-Ki

Jay Lethal

Marty Scurll

Brody King

Nick Aldis

Stood in the ring and listed to chief official Todd Sinclair as he described the rules of the bout. As the bell rang, all six men began to beat each other down. Naturally Low-Ki and Jay Lethal actually began to work together to take down the largest man, Brody King but King sent them both from the ring. King turned his attention to Nick Aldis and out of nowhere locked him into the same chokehold that he tapped Joe Hendry out with earlier tonight. As Aldis fell out of consciousness, Low-Ki dove back into and actually broke the hold as he caught Brody in the Dragon Sleeper and forced King to tap out...

Brody King has been eliminated

Nick Aldis was out cold from King choking him out, and Jay Lethal looked to take advantage and made the cover, but as he slid in and let his guard down, his partner/rival Low-Ki caught him in the same hold that just eliminated Brody King, the Dragon Sleeper and Jay Lethal shockingly tapped out.

Jay Lethal has been eliminated

Low-Ki and Lethal had a staredown in the ring after the elimination and this proved to be enough of a distraction for Marty Scurll to catch Low-Ki in the Crossface Chickenwing and mere seconds after Low-Ki tapped Jay Lethal out, Low-Ki found himself tapping out to The Villain...

Low-Ki has been eliminated

After the flurry of eliminations, Marty Scurll, Mark Briscoe and Nick Aldis remained in the ring as the final three. Aldis had stirred and was back up in the corner, but Scurll and Briscoe took it out on eachother as they began beating each other senseless. Aldis used this time to fully-recover and looked to score an elimination but instead the Television champ was met by Brody King, who had returned to the ring area and delivered a big boot across the face of Aldis. Scurll made the cover as Brody walked to the back. The announcers speculated that Brody King was the third member of Marty Scurll's group, but Scurll and Brody never actually acknowledged eachother...

Nick Aldis has been eliminated

This left Mark Briscoe and Marty Scurll in the ring as the two finalists in the bout. The bout reset and both men went at it, hitting all their signature spots and really making things seem like an even bout. Mark Briscoe went up top for the Froggy Bow, but Scurll moved and caught Briscoe in the Crossface Chickenwing he had Briscoe dead to rights, but Briscoe fought through it and made it to the ropes for a break. As they reset Mark Briscoe delivered doubleknees to the face out of nowhere to Scurll and covered him for a surprise and shocking three count and a victory in the Survival of the Fittest...

Marty Scurll has been eliminated

Mark Briscoe has won the Survival of the Fittest... (***3/4). He will face his older brother the Ring of Honor World Champion, Jay Briscoe at Final Battle.

The Ring of Honor Champion, and older brother of Mark Briscoe, made his way out as the streamers were thrown and hugged his younger brother in the ring... he patted his belt and said that Mark had earned this shot and these brothers have always been both best friends and best opponents. He promised that at Final Battle, they will tear the house down...

Final Thoughts

The makeover of Ring of Honor has been taking place for two months now and the Survival of the Fittest was a wonderful way to establish some new contenders and stories as we head into the end of year Final Battle. Many of our biggest fans never saw that Mark Briscoe would challenge his brother at Final Battle but frankly it makes a ton of sense as the siblings work so well together as a team, but as anyone with a sibling knows, the best of friends also make your biggest rival and challenge. Beyond this bout we saw that Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr will add a third partner to the newly named Villain Enterprises and challenge Team Filthy for the Six-Man Tag Titles. Beyond that, The Workhorsemen captured the Crockett Cup and will face The Top Guys and what promises to be a hard-hitting ROH Tag bout. We also now know that Truth Martini will be presenting his two masked men to take on The End. Judging by the finals, Low-Ki and Jay Lethal will likely face each other at Final Battle, but that should all shake out over the next four weeks.</div>

<div style="text-align:center;">Overall Rating (***3/4 out of *****)</div>

20LEgend · October 14, 2019

Enjoyed the show, had a feeling Mark would get the win when he got the upset over Cobb and it should be a great match for Final Battle!

BHK1978 · October 15, 2019

I honestly was not expecting Mark to pick up the victory. But I am not upset by it because brother vs. brother is very interesting. I love to see how this one is going to play out.

I really have enjoyed how you have put together the Ki/Lethal feud. The build has been great and I am anticipating their eventual match.

Great job on the show!

Texasrangers13 · December 30, 2019

Ring of Honor Build-Up To Final Battle 2019

Like a Phoenix from the ashes, we are back for more. With only four television episodes separating us from Final Battle let's get right into it.

Ring of Honor Television November Week 4 2019

The first episode fresh off an explosive Survival of the Fittest started with the formal contract signing for Jay and Mark Briscoe to do battle, one-on-one, at Final Battle for the Ring of Honor World Championship. As we close the decade, two of Ring of Honor's originals sat side-by-side and put pen to paper.

The matches kicked off with Dalton Castle defeating Kenny King's personal security guard Shane Taylor. Post-match, Kenny King got in Dalton Castle's face and said he'd never be as cool as King.

The next bout saw Brody King continue his climb without SCU by his side as he defeated Mark Haskins and then continued to beat him down until TV champion Nick Aldis came out and made the save for his compatriot.

In the main event, Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr, the former Royalty members, now named Villain Enterprises defeated 2/3's of the Six-Man champions pinning Tom Lawlor and Josh Woods in a solid enough bout. Post-match, Fred Yehi joined his partners and they questioned what Villain Enterprises would do, but Scurll merely said he had a contingency plan and Team Filthy would soon see the errors of their ways.

Ring of Honor Television Week 1, December 2019

The show opened with Thomas Latimer, fresh off a solid showing representing the NWA during the Crockett Cup easily dismantling TK O'Ryan. Post-match Marty Scurll and Davey Boy Smith Jr made their way out where they embraced Latimer and introduced him as "The Brighter Side of Suffering" and the third member of Villain Enterprises.

Backstage we are see "Swipe Right" Joe Keys cutting a promo to a selfie-stick. Keys is the first one of the competitors we will see in the 2020 Top Prospect Tournament and he's trying to make a name for himself here. Dalton Castle walks in and offers to hold the camera for him and "make him a star" but Keys seems to blow him off saying "The ladies know they need to swipe right to unlock me..." whatever that means.

Low-Ki defeated Bandido in an incredible bout that really highlighted Bandido's growth in the last few months. Naturally post-match, Jay Lethal came down to the ring and had a staredown with Low-Ki. The animosity continuing to build, but the respect still very present.

Up next, The Top Guys easily defended their titles defeating Ryan Nova and Eli Isom. Post-match, The Top Guys cut a quick promo saying they were ready for a rough and tumble brawl with the Crockett Cup winners The Workhorsemen.

Backstage, Truth Martini is back and has some words for the "The End". He tells them that The House always wins and soon The End will see what cards he has up his sleeve.

In the main event Will Ospreay defeated Brian Myers in a bit of a sloppy match.

Ring of Honor Television Week 2, December 2019

The show opens with Alex Shelley making an early return from injury that occurred early in November while overseas with Dragon Gate, but still on crutches. He says he wasn't about to see this decade of Ring of Honor end without him standing in the ring and thanking the fans for all they've given. He says the last few months have been a challenge but he's found that the best way to heal is to surround yourself with those who make you whole...

"HAIL"

Chris Sabin walks out from the back and makes a shocking return to Ring of Honor following his departure a year ago. Sabin embraces Shelley and says that in 2020 The Motor City Machine Guns are coming for the Tag Titles... and until then, Chris Sabin is checking off boxes on his to-do list...

And with that, Chris Sabin took on and took down Rocky Romero.

We see a canned promo with both Jay and Mark Briscoe talking about growing up together and what a true sibling rivalry looks like. They talk about spilling the same blood they share and that neither man will back down from the other. They promise that at Final Battle, they will blow the roof off the arena.

In a quick bout, The End defeated Isom and Nova... suddenly the lights went off and a spotlight highlighted Truth Martini on the stage. Odinson and Hammerstone stared him down but were facing the wrong way as two hooded figures jumped them from behind... with The End out cold. Truth stepped into the ring. Matt Taven was the obvious one, but the other man was a shock to all as Mike Bennett made a return to Ring of Honor after a couple year run with the WWE. Bennett and Taven placed their hands on the "Book of Truth" as Truth Martini cackled and declared this "The Kingdom of Truth"

With the combatants cleared, Brody King defeated a local talent, Cesar Casafranca in mere seconds. He immediately grabbed a microphone and demanded a TV Title shot against Aldis at Final Battle.

In the main event: Dalton Castle teamed with The Workhorsemen to defeated Kenny King, Brian Myers and Shane Taylor in a match that shouldn't have been the main event in retrospect. Post-bout, Castle told King he wasn't done with him and that at Final Battle they'd go one on one and the Workhorsemen told The Top Guys they were ready for the biggest opportunity of their careers.

Ring of Honor Television, December Week 3, 2019

The new Kingdom of Truth kicked off this episode defeating Coast 2 Coast in a solid bout.

We got a pre-taped promo from Will Ospreay announcing the first event of 2020 would be titled SMASH The Halls, and would be produced in conjunction with SMASH Wrestling of Canada. It would also mark the return to Canada for ROH after a two-year hiatus. Ospreay also announced that at that event he would be facing "Speedball" Mike Bailey!

Nick Aldis defended his television title against Bandido in a great bout. Post-match, Aldis put Bandido over and said he was a definite star... Brody King made his way down to the ring with a chair and absolutely cold-clocked Bandido as he made his way up the ramp. Bandido was seen to by medics, while King demanded an answer from Aldis, which Aldis said yes to.

Villain Entreprises cut a cool promo saying they'd capture the titles at Final Battle. It highlighted the strengths of each member with Scurll being the conniving leader, Smith being the muscle, and Latimer bringing the raw pain.

Flip Gordon defeated Tracy Williams in a nice filler match. Flip is still looking like a potential breakout star.

Jay Lethal and Low-Ki's history and partnership was highlighted. The piece was excellent and at the end announced that at Final Battle these two rivals/friends would bury the hatchet in a Last Man Standing bout.

In the main event Jeff Cobb quickly defeated TK O'Ryan and grabbed a microphone saying he was tired of being disrespected... this prompted Chris Sabin to come out and say if you want respect you better earn it... They'll face off at Final Battle. We cut to black as Riccaboni and Kirsch promised that Final Battle would be the best way to end your 2019!

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Ring of Honor Final Battle 2019 Preview

Final Battle is historical the end of the year for Ring of Honor, it is also the most important event on the calendar. Every superstar in Ring of Honor wants to be featured on the main card. This year the main card features eight bouts all of which we've seen solid builds for on Ring of Honor television.

Last Man Standing: Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki

Chris Sabin vs. Jeff Cobb
Dalton Castle vs. Kenny King
Tag Titles: The Top Guys {C} vs. The Workhorsemen
TV Title: Brody King vs. Nick Aldis {C}
The End (Odinson and Hammerstone) vs. The Kingdom of Truth (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett)
Six-Man Titles: Team Filthy (Lawlor, Yehi, Woods) {C} vs. Villain Enterprises (Scurll, Davey Boy Smith, Thomas Latimer)
World Title: Jay Briscoe {C} vs. Mark Briscoe

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OOC: Truth be told I taught about launching a 2020 Ring of Honor "Restoring Honor" Diary that would run until TEW 2020 comes out with the intention of rebuilding ROH from the shambles it is in right now. But as I started to set it up, I realized I really enjoyed this diary too much to just abruptly end it. I wanted to make sure Final Battle was posted and I've always enjoyed the Top Prospect Tournament as a way to introduce new blood to a game. As I've kept my diary up with some of the real happenings (I created and launched both MLW and AEW in game) and feel like I've kept ROH to its core focus, I think this is a great way to continue and keep building through 2020. While the ebbs and flows of a diary can be tedious, I also think it is great that this has last both two real years, and two game years... This all started after I attended Final Battle Fallout at the 2300 Arena in December of 2017, and this will all continue... I may not love the real direction of ROH, but I'm having fun taking the pieces I enjoy... In 2020 I am introducing a couple specials (starting with SMASH: The Halls) to showcase some talents and create some fun one-offs. In February we will have Unauthorized, where anything can happen and anything goes. March will see the return of the Calle Del Dorado with CMLL. I also have imported some wrestlers into the game who have become bigger names over the last two years, and I'm also open for adding more. I don't want to spoil too many future plans, but I will say that Ring of Honorhausen will continue to bring some stars in, even if for only a night.

BHK1978 · December 30, 2019

Last Man Standing: Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki

Chris Sabin vs. Jeff Cobb

This is a tough call, because I really cannot see Chris beating Jeff here. But this is Sabin's return match to the promotion and it would be odd for him to get the loss here.

Dalton Castle vs. Kenny King

Tag Titles: The Top Guys {C} vs. The Workhorsemen

TV Title: Brody King vs. Nick Aldis {C}

The End (Odinson and Hammerstone) vs. The Kingdom of Truth (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett)

Not a fan of either Mike or Matt, but this is them reforming the Kingdom so I think they should get the win here.

Six-Man Titles: Team Filthy (Lawlor, Yehi, Woods) {C} vs. Villain Enterprises (Scurll, Davey Boy Smith, Thomas Latimer)

World Title: Jay Briscoe {C} vs. Mark Briscoe

joshbrady91 · December 30, 2019

Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki

Chris Sabin vs. Jeff Cobb

Dalton Castle vs. Kenny King

Tag Titles: The Top Guys {C} vs. The Workhorsemen

TV Title: Brody King vs. Nick Aldis {C}

The End (Odinson and Hammerstone) vs. The Kingdom of Truth (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett)

Six-Man Titles: Team Filthy (Lawlor, Yehi, Woods) {C} vs. Villain Enterprises (Scurll, Davey Boy Smith, Thomas Latimer)

World Title: Jay Briscoe {C} vs. Mark Briscoe

Texasrangers13 · January 1, 2020

Ring of Honor Final Battle 2019

Ring of Honor Presents Final Battle 2019

Live on HonorClub

We are live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and this is Final Battle 2019. Ian Riccaboni and AJ Kirsch ringside, and without further adieu let's get to the first bout...

Last Man Standing

Jay Lethal vs. Low-Ki

Both legends in Ring of Honor, the true Grand Slam man, Jay Lethal and the Renaissance man, the hired gun, Low-Ki make their way to the ring. Head official Todd Sinclair asks that both men adhere to the Code of Honor and both agree, shaking hands. He then walks both men through the rules. This bout can and will only end when one man does not answer the ten-count. There will be no stoppages by any other method. The bell rings and this one was underway. There is the requisite feeling eachother out phase and then some solid chain wrestling from both men. Both men break and retreat to their corners before once again engaging. The first ten minutes of this bout is as you would expect from two phenomenal competitors closing out a rivalry/alliance for the decade a back and forth, engage or be engaged battle that saw both men counter eachother. Finally it was Jay Lethal to strike the first real blow when he hit a running knee to the face of Low-Ki, sending him stumbling through the ropes and to the floor. He immediately followed this by hurling his life to the wind and flying from the ring into Low-Ki on the outside, the force of the collision sending both men into the guard rail. With Lethal grabbing some semblance of control in this one Low-Ki had to get creative and he did, dummying Lethal into throwing a punch towards him only for Low-Ki to duck and Lethal to connect with the ring post.

The action continued and made its way back to the ring where Low-Ki began his first stint with control. The strength of his kicks and punches struck Lethal firmly in the chest and thighs, connecting with explosive force. Lethal was on the ropes and Low-Ki came charging through him, nearly snapping Lethal in half against the turnbuckle. Lethal's lifeless body crumbled to the ground and we got our first real high spot as Low-Ki pushed Lethal to the floor, and then climbed the turnbuckle and connected with a Ghetto Stomp across Lethal's chest from more than 10 feet above him.

Todd Sinclair began his count once Low-Ki was to his feet (in order to prevent a draw the rules of this bout stated that the count would only begin once one man was standing)...

"One"

"Two"

"Three"

"Four"

"Five"

"Six"

The audience began imploring Lethal to get back to his feet but he still seemed lifeless... Low-Ki back in the ring wanted to make sure he stayed that way and again climbed the turnbuckle as Sinclair reached...

"Seven"

Low-Ki leapt from the top, looking to put any chance Lethal would recover in time to bed, but at the last second Lethal rolled out of the way... He had baited Low-Ki just like he'd been baited earlier...

"Eight"

As Sinclair yelled eight, Lethal got to a knee and Sinclair stopped as Lethal and Low-Ki were now face-to-face, both on one knee on the floor... They exchanged knife-edge chops to the WOOOing delight of the Philadelphia crowd. This seemed to empower both men and they worked their way back into the ring.

As the match crept beyond twenty-five minutes, Lethal and Low-Ki were both showing that they had a second-wind. Lethal, with visible contusions on his chest from the earlier stomp and kicks, managed to get some level of revenge as he drilled Low-Ki with a low kick and then followed up with a huge slap to the chest, which nearly caved Low-Ki's chest-in and left an immediate welt. Rage glowed through both mens eyes as Lethal lifted Low-Ki and dropped him over his knee. Low-Ki's head landing hard on the mat... Lethal went up top and delivered a picture perfect Elbow Drop and then implored Sinclair to begin the count...

"One"

"Two"

"Three"

"Four"

"Five"

Low-Ki stirred and got up relatively quickly, laughing and smirking at Lethal who looked truly bewildered that Low-Ki could recover so quickly. Lethal charged, but Low-Ki stepped out of the way and hit a drop toe-hold sending Lethal face-first into the lower turnbuckle. With Lethal facing the wrong direction, Low-Ki stomped down and forced Lethal's head to the mat. He began working away at the neck and head area of Lethal and really had him on the ropes but Lethal managed to rake the eyes and stumbled back to his feet...

Now thirty minutes into the bout, both men were showing signs of pure exhaustion. Jay Lethal backed Low-Ki into the corner but Low-Ki grabbed hold of Lethal delivered a modified uranage to Lethal, Lethal bounced off the mat and woozily stood in the middle of the ring. Low-Ki came charging and delivered the running Warriors Way dropkick to Lethal sending him flying back into the corner. Low-Ki lifted Lethal and set him on the top rope... he slowly climbed up to the second rope him and lifted him onto his shoulders... with great balance he tried to climb to the top, but Lethal managed to slide off his shoulders and push Low-Ki over the ropes. Low-Ki was on a knee on the apron as Lethal reacted as quickly as he could and using what energy he had left came running. He leapt over the top but Low-Ki caught him on his shoulders... they stumbled back with Low-Ki holding onto the ropes for balance... and then suddenly...

Low-Ki delivered a Ki Krusher 99 right onto the ring steps, Lethal's skull bounced off the steps, Low-Ki's legs absorbed much of the blow for him but still left him in agony. Low-Ki rolled off the steps and managed to lift himself to a knee leaving Lethal's corpse draped over the second and third step...

"One"

"Two"

"Three"

"Four"

"Five"

A stunned silence fell over the crowd...

"Six"

"Seven"

Lethal's body shook slightly...

"Eight"

"Nine"

But it wouldn't be nearly enough to recover in time as Todd Sinclair reached the zenith of his count....

"Ten"

The bell rang as Lethal managed to roll off the stairs but was now face-first on the floor mat. Next to Low-Ki who was still on a knee...

Medics rushed to the ring and immediately began to check both men out... Low-Ki refused the help and actually pushed the medics away from Lethal, who had managed to sit-up against the ring steps, so that both men could stare at eachother... Low-Ki crawled over to Lethal... As referees and medics tried to separate them, Low-Ki put his arm around Lethal, and Lethal managed to do the same... Respect was shown... No gimmicks needed... and Honorable in victory and defeat... These two men are RING OF HONOR

Low-Ki defeated Jay Lethal in an instant classic after delivering a Modified Ki Krusher 99 onto the ring steps, leaving Lethal unable to answer the bell.

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Hail! .................. Cobb!

Our second bout saw the returning Chris Sabin attempting to check the next box on his checklist as he took on Jeff Cobb in a bout that promised to showcase both mens contrasting styles. This one was solid, with Sabin making his PPV return to ROH, after a year away and Cobb trying to continue to establish himself as a top star in Ring of Honor. Both men work eachother over with the strength of Cobb countering the speed of Sabin nicely. As you'd expect there were a number of near falls and Sabin took control, but then suddenly Cobb caught Sabin and delivered the Tour of the Islands for the 1-2-3 and the semi-shocking victory. This win further established Cobb as a singles star in ROH and furthered the story that Sabin needs Shelley to really prove himself in ROH.

Jeff Cobb defeated Chris Sabin via Tour of the Islands (***1/2)

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The Platinum Hunnies Make Their "Impact" in Ring of Honor

We jumped backstage where Dalton Castle, replete in his prototypical neon-esque jumpsuit, was talking to two long-hair blond women who were not facing the camera. Suddenly Kenny King walked in and immediately interrupted Castle and said that Castle would never have that kind of "luck" with the ladies... King headed to the ring, and Castle followed next. The bout itself was a solid one with both men hitting a number of signature maneuvers. King's associates, Shane Taylor and Brian Myers made their way out to ringside with a bottle of champagne and sat down on a large couch at ringside. Next the two blond girls made their way out, still unidentified wandered out and made their way towards the couch as well... Both combatants seemed semi-distracted by the on-goings at ringside. But the tide really turned with the two "platinum"... Hunnies?! grabbed a bottle of champagne from the couch "area" and began to walk back up the ramp. This provided enough distraction for Kenny King to lose focus, and Dalton Castle to hit him with the Bang-A-Rang and score the victory.

Dalton Castle defeated Kenny King via Bang-A-Rang (***)

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Crockett Cup Classic

Prior to the Ring of Honor Tag Titles being defended, we got an absolutely stellar video package highlighting the Crockett Cup that took place in November. In particular in showcased how JD Drake and Anthony Henry came together and worked as a unit under the guidance of BJ Whitmer to overcome the seven other teams and ultimately secure the opportunity to face The Top Guys in this bout for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles. The bout itself started with JD Drake and KC McKnight staring eachother down and then exchanging in a 1980's classic NWA style exchange in the ring. Both men hit a number of power moves and both men managed to fight through everything that came at them... ultimately both retreating to their respective corners for a tag. Walters and Henry brought a more modernist style to the ring as the pace picked up. This one was fun throughout and it showcased all four men's strengths while helping to smooth out any rough spots. Ultimately though the finish did not see a changing of hands of the belt as KC McKnight and Steven Walters managed to hit the "Shatter Machine" on Anthony Henry in the center of ring for the 1-2-3. The Crockett Cup winners put up a valiant effort, but ultimately fell short. The Top Guys stand tall again as we move into the new decade.

The Top Guys defeated The Workhorsemen via Shatter Machine to retain the ROH Tag Championship (***1/2)

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The Television Title Has Some New Contenders

Prior the ROH Television title being defended, Nick Aldis was accosted backstage by "Son of a Gunn" Austin Gunn and "Mile High Magnum" Dak Draper, they both introduced themselves as contenders in the 2020 Top Prospect Tournament and Aldis seemed relatively unimpressed, but not as unimpressed as the fourth man who entered the scene, a man we met last week on ROH TV, "Swipe Right" Joe Keys, who entered with his phone in his face and seemed completely unimpressed with both his fellow competitors and the Television champion... Aldis grabbed the phone and tossed it out of the frame, prompting Keys to storm out... As we headed to the ring Brody King was ready for a fight and it seemed like Aldis was a bit perturbed as we made his way to the ring. This allowed Brody to control the first half of the bout and seemed to have the champ really on the ropes throughout the bout. Ultimately, Nick Aldis swung things back his way with a quick elbow between the eyes and took full advantage and ultimately defended his Television title with the King's Lane Cloverleaf. With this victory, Nick Aldis will now face the Top Prospect Tournament winner in 2020.

Nick Aldis defeated Brody King vis King's Lane Cloverleaf (***) to retain the ROH Television Title

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Sit-Down Interview with Mark Briscoe

We got an excellently produced piece with Bobby Cruise sitting down with Mark Briscoe. Mark talked about how he'd been recognized as one of the best wrestlers in the world. He mentioned that he was just named #10 wrestler in the world according to the upcoming Pro Wrestling Illustrated Power 500. But that numbers didn't mean sh**. He mentioned that for two straight years he and his brother were named the best tag team in the world. He mentioned that he'd captured titles all over the world, but they'd always been with his brother next to him....But that no matter what he did, he was always second-fiddle to his brother. His brother Jay has been a BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion, he'd captured the NJPW Best of Super Juniors, Jay has captured the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Title... and he's now an ROH World Champion three times over... So tonight... begins the little brothers reign, tonight marks the beginning of the reign of Mark Briscoe....

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The Kingdom Ends The Decade Strong

Our next bout saw the newly reminted "Kingdom of Truth" taking on The End. This rivalry started when Matt Taven's personal bodyguards, The End, turned on him and threw him off the stage. This naturally led to the return of Truth Martini who immediately saw himself as the savor of Matt Taven and brought on Taven's previous partner, Mike Bennett. As Taven and Bennett returned to the ring as a team they squared off against 500 pounds of muscle in The End and this one was immediately a brawl. All four men started in the ring and this one was punches flying all over the place. Ultimately Frank Dumeng, the official, got control and sent Odinson and Matt Taven to their corners. This one continued as a back and forth bout with a number of a near-falls. Odinson and Hammerstone's strength was an asset, but the experience of The Kingdom and the assistance of Truth Martini proved too much to handle as The Kingdom stole a victory with a little bit of assistance from the Book of Truth.

The Kingdom of Truth defeated The End after a distraction from Truth Martini, and Matt Taven rolling up Hammerstone. (**1/2).

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Rocky Romero Announces He'll Be Consulting Two Top Prospect Tournament Contenders representing NJPW and Australia

Rocky Romero sat down with Bobby Cruise and discussed the upcoming Top Prospect Tournament. He mentioned that he has spent the last few years helping NJPW book talent and now he wants to return the favor for Ring of Honor. With the new format for the Top Prospect Tournament, officials have granted him two spots. And with those spots he's bringing over an American talent who was trained at the NJPW LA Dojo but is now competing in Japan, Karl Fredericks, and an Australian heart-throb who reminds him a lot of the Heartbreak Kid... "Loverboy" Lochy Hendricks.

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Team Filthy Does Villain Enterprises Filthy

The Six-Man titles were on the line as Team Filthy took on Scurll, Latimer and Smith in a bout that we knew would be hard-hitting and physical. Scurll and Lawlor started it off with a good sequence and some jawing with the leaders of both factions. Scurll tagged out to the muscle of the group Smith Jr who took some control for his team. This was clearly the toughest challenge Team Filthy had faced in their reign. The smallest member of Team Filthy, Fred Yehi swung the momentum back their way using his speed and technical acumen to ground the Villain squad one by one. Thomas Latimer once again regained control of the bout, and looked like he was about to win the bout as he lifted Yehi for the Brighter Side of Suffering DDT, but Yehi rolled through and locked in an ankle lock, rolling through and forcing Latimer into a nearly immediate tap-out and allowing Team Filthy to defend.

Team Filthy defeated Villain Enterprises to defend the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles (***1/4)

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Global Challengers for Will Ospreay in 2020

Will Ospreay was talking backstage about touring the globe and facing the best in the world in all continents. He mentioned that he's wrestled virtually everywhere and he's looking forward to continuing to make his mark around the world in 2020... Suddenly PJ Black entered the frame and told Ospreay that while they are in the United States of America, Black is the best wrestler from Africa in the world and he wants to face Ospreay one-on-one.

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Sit-Down Interview with Jay Briscoe

We got an another excellently produced piece with Bobby Cruise sitting down with Jay Briscoe. Jay talked about how he and his brother have both been recognized as one of the best wrestlers in the world. He mentioned that he was just named the #6 wrestler in the world according to the upcoming Pro Wrestling Illustrated Power 500, and with his brother at #10, they are the first two brothers to ever both be in the Top 10 at the same time. He mentioned that for two straight years he and his brother were named the best tag team in the world and that they've held the ROH Tag Titles together and they've bled and fought together since birth. He said that no matter what, he and his brother will always be brothers, but tonight he'll beat him so silly that their parents will need to drag Mark's body from the ring.

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The Brothers Who Have Defined Ring of Honor End The Decade With A Bloodbath

The Ring of Honor World Championship has been one of the most valuable belts in the world over the last 17 years. It has been held by some of the biggest names in wrestling today, including Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, Tyler Black, Kevin Steen, Jerry Lynn and even Bryan Danielson, CM Punk and Samoa Joe but only Adam Cole and Jay Briscoe have held the title three times. Now as we end the decade, Jay Briscoe is defending his title against his younger brother. Both men made their entrance and we saw a large crowd of family members at ringside as the introductions were made. Both brothers hugged in the ring prior to the bout starting and then proceeded to get into each others face prompting Senior Official Todd Sinclair to pull them apart and ring the bell. Both men went straight at it, exchanging rapid blows with no end in sight, the exchange lasted minutes as both men were breathing heavily when Mark Briscoe hit a basement dropkick sending his brother to the floor. Mark took to the air and cleared the turnbuckle as he ran into Jay, the force driving both of them back into the guardrail. Both men struggled to their feet but it miraculously it was Jay who recovered first and sent the bout back into the ring. Jay took control and beat down his little brother in the ring, dragging his face along the middle rope for added insult to injury. Mark wound up biting the rope and screaming at his brother for more as Jay delivered kicks to the stomach leading to his brother spitting some blood onto the mat. Jay backed off for a second and Mark got up and asked for more. Jay swung, but Mark ducked and sent his brother to the mat where he delivered a series of mudhole stomps to his brothers chest. Mark lifted Jay and went for a scoop slam but wound up with Jay sliding off and shoving Mark to the corner, where he hit a splash and sent Mark to the mat, Jay leapt to the top rope and went for a quick splash off the top but Mark moved. Mark rolled his brother up and got quick two count.

Both men retreated to the corner and regrouped. Mark, with blood on his face, smiling through his semi-toothless grin and Jay looking a little shell shocked in the opposite corner. Mark made the first move and it seemed that Jay baited him in as Jay immediately swung the control back in his direction. Jay's momentum swing turned the entire tide as Jay took full control and lifted his brother over his shoulders where he hit a rolling driver, and then bounced to the top rope and delivered a vintage Briscoe aerial assault to his brother... He targeted Mark's previously injured knee and locked in a Figure Four Leg Lock that appeared to have it won, but Mark managed to slide his way to the ropes and break the hold... Mark hopped up and tried to regain his balance but his knee didn't hold, and Jay lifted his brother for the Jay Driller, which he planted firmly in the center of the ring for the 1-2-3 and the successful title defense. The streamers flew into the ring and the Briscoe family joined the boys in the ring as Jay lifted his brother and hugged him amidst the streamers.

Jay Briscoe defeated Mark Briscoe to defend the ROH World Championship (****)

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Overall Show Rating: **** (Best Show in the last two years)

Excellent opener and main event surrounded by some great midcard bouts

Texasrangers13 · January 12, 2020

2019 Ring of Honor Review

As 2019 effectively came to an end with a killer Final Battle, ROH Television had a quick end of 2019 episode.

ROH TV December Week 4, 2019

This show was more of an end of the year filler episode with a couple building points for the 2020 Special that will open the year up in Canada with our partners SMASH! Wrestling, SMASH The Halls.

The show opened with Marty Scurll defeating and submitting Mark Haskins in a solid three star opener. Haskins will be looking for a new start in 2020 and we've heard murmurs that he has a newer, meaner side that will be on display in 2020. But in order to unlock that, we saw Villain Enterprises hit the ring post-bout and absolutely annihilate Haskins until The Briscoe Brothers, fresh off their insane battle with each other, rushed the ring and cleared it. Jay grabbed a microphone and announced that at SMASH The Halls, The Briscoes will team with Mark Haskins, and take on and take out Villain Enterprises.

Dalton Castle, fresh off his little tiff with Kenny King, defeated King's security guard, Shane Taylor in a surprising bout. Dalton was once again accompanied to the ring by the two "Platinum Hunnies" who still haven't been identified other than being attractive.

Backstage Jeff Cobb is seen talking about how he knew that he would easily defeat Chris Sabin... and he did... Alex Shelley walked up and interrupted him saying that Cobb may have won the battle, but the Motor City Machine Guns respect him and respect what he's done... They said this battle may be over for now... but it's not over for ever.

We get a slow interview and recap video of the Last Man Standing bout from Final Battle, allowing the fans to relive the glory.

In the main event, Will Ospreay's world tour began early as he defeated PJ Black in a great ***1/2 star bout. Ospreay announced that he'd be facing "Speedball" Mike Bailey at SMASH! The Halls as the world tour begins!

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ROH 2019 in Review

Best Shows of 2019
1) Final Battle 2019 (****)
2) Death Before Dishonor IX (***3/4)
3) War of the Worlds (NJPW, May 2019) (***3/4)

Best Matches of 2019
1) Low-Ki vs. Will Ospreay (****1/2) Survival of the Fittest 2019
2) Low-Ki vs. Jay Lethal (****1/2) Final Battle 2019
3) The Briscoe Brothers vs. No Gimmicks Needed (****) Best in the World 2019

Biggest Stars
1) Jay Briscoe
2) Jay Lethal
3) Low-Ki
4) Mark Briscoe
5) Marty Scurll

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OOC: As I wrote the opener to Final Battle on New Years Eve, I knew it would take a bit to finish the show... so I posted the opener only... This is effectively more of a bump post so those who missed it can see the whole PPV which is now posted!

Texasrangers13 · January 16, 2020

ROH Presents SMASH The Halls and 2020 Top Prospect Tournament Previews Welcome to 2020 as Ring of Honor turns the page and moves into its year 18! The new year will kick off north of the border with a special event in partnership with SMASH! Wrestling. Following that event we will have three weeks of television that will build into the Top Prospect Tournament 2020. This year's top prospect tournament features 12 competitors from around the world, representing some of the best independent stars in America, as well as through our partners from across the globe! <div style="text-align:center;">SMASH! The Halls 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>"Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Will Ospreay Top Prospect Tournament Qualifier: Artemis Spencer vs. Brent Banks vs. RJ City ROH Television Title: Nick Aldis {C} vs. Tyson Dux Fatal-Four-Way: Flamita vs. Gabriel Fuerza vs. Idris Abraham vs. PJ Black Flip Gordon vs. Rocky Romero Brian Myers vs. Dalton Castle ROH Tag Titles: The Fraternity vs. The Top Guys {C} Main Event: The Briscoe Brothers and Mark Haskins vs. Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Thomas Latimer)</div></blockquote> <div style="text-align:center;">2020 Top Prospect Tournament Preview</div> 1) "Mile High Magnum" Dak Draper A former WWE Development wrestler, the 6'5" 245 pound Draper hails from Denver, Colorado and proudly calls himself Magnum to represent the size, speed and force he brings when he steps in the ring... 2) "Son of a Gunn" Austin Gunn The son of famed superstar Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn is new to the ring, with fewer than 15 professional bouts under his belt, the 25 year-old Gunn doesn't have the size of his father, but he's shown flashes of the skills and charisma that made his father world famous. 3) "Show Stealer" Nathan Cruz A British high-flyer with a reputation for impressing in the UK, including matches with the WWE and Impact when they visited, will make his US debut after 11 years professionally. The Show Stealer won this spot last month in an Honor Club exclusive bout that took place at our partners RevPro's show in December. 4) "Swipe Right" Joe Keys Arrogant, cocky, and a man who things that well... everyone "including the fatties" will always be swiping right.. Keys made his name in CHIKARA as a bit of a comedy character but ever since he's debuted his true persona, Joe Keys has truly blossomed. 5) "Retrosexual" Anthony Greene Speaking of Sexual... think 1980's pornstar with Zubaz on and you'll have a decent idea what Anthony Greene brings to the table. This is sleaze personified in a different way. He's frequently seen with multiple women by his side. 6) "Loverboy" Lochy Hendricks By way of Australia and sponsored by Rocky Romero, "Lover Boy" Lochy Hendricks exudes a lot of the same characteristics that made HBK famous nearly three decades ago. Now, as he makes his American debut, we will see if "Lover Boy" can live up to his southern hemisphere reputation. 7) "Double Platinum" Chris Bey Young, brash, and living up to the hype. Chris Bey loves to say that every girl loves the Ultimate Finesser. At only 24 years old, Bey has the look and skills to be a huge breakout star, but he'll need to put it together in the ring to earn the ROH Television Title shot. 8) "Bad Dude" Tito Escondido A 29-year old Panamanian had a breakout year in 2019 in Championship Wrestling from Hollywood where he defeated Rocky Romero, Alberto El Patron and Joey Ryan. While he may not be that well known outside of Hollywood, the Bad Dude is ready to take this home. 9) Cody Hall The son of Cody Hall has carved out his own niche in Japan as an enforcer for various stables. Having worked for NJPW, Dragon Gate, Zero-1, and NOAH. Cody Hall debuted stateside with Lucha Underground earlier this year. The 6'8" monster will be a force in this tournament. 10) Karl Fredericks Rocky Romero's handpicked representative from the NJPW LA Dojo, The Reno, Nevada native, Karl Fredericks, hasn't done much "winning" in his career, but he has been labeled as one of 2020's ones to watch by PWI. Having debuted with the other NJPW LA Young Lions at Honor United in the UK, Fredericks has some familiarity to the ROH ring, but this will be his first shot to really shine. 11) Flyer Representing our partner CMLL, Flyer is one of the better young, well, fliers to be wrestling the Lucha Libre style in CMLL. Fans say his speed will wow, but his aerials will awe. 12) Qualifier from SMASH! The Halls Last but not least, our friends at SMASH! will have a representative that will be determined at SMASH! The Halls.

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