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

Texasrangers13 · August 15, 2018

ROH TV Week 2 and Week 3, December 2018 ***Well well well... I'm not leaving this story unfinished... after all the season finale is Final Battle and I was booked up to it anyhow. Tonight I'll post the final two shows leading into Final Battle. In the next week, I'll have a recap/preview post up for Final Battle. I'm sure things have changed in the last five months, but hey, this is all about fun and story-telling. These two recaps are no frills, no graphics. I'll potentially clean them up tomorrow when I post the preview for 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> <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV Week 2, December 2018</div> The show kicks off with a pre-taped promo from Royalty announcing the injury to the enforcer, Davey Boy Smith Jr.; Cody says this was a blow, but at Final Battle he has a trick up his sleeve and the bout between Chris Sabin and a partner against the Young Bucks is still on. In-ring, "Switchblade" Jay White took down the human wrecking ball Shane Taylor. Taylor hasn't found his footing, and Jay White has struggled to connect in America but NJPW fans recognize him as the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Nice showcase for him here. As the match ended Kenny King came out and continued to pester White. White heard enough and bolted after King, unable to catch-up with him as King fled through the crowd, White formally told King that he will bleed him out at Final Battle. In Women's tag action Nattie Neidhart and Madison Rayne defeated Tenille Dashwood and Kelly Klein. Tenille walked out on Klein allowing Neidhart to make her tap in the middle of the ring. Neidhart, the Women of Honor champion, told Dashwood that real champions never back down from a fight, and at Final Battle, Dashwood will learn that a fighting champion always comes out on top. More tag action as War Machine easily annihilated The Dawgs. As the bell rang red balloons with the words "Horror Kings" fell from the ceiling slowly. Rowe and Hanson batted them aside as we went to break. Mid-break we cut back to the backstage area where Alex Shelley is being jumped by a lean, slender figure wearing a leather jacket. We can't see his face but you can tell he has short, potentially close-cropped hair... he flees the scene as Will Ospreay and The Young Bucks show up. Is this Royalty's newest member?!? Will Shelley be 100% for Final Battle?! In the main event, Odinson and Hammerstone (The End) take home a potentially shocking victory defeating Kazarian and Daniels cleanly in the middle of the ring. At Final Battle, Matt Taven and The End will take on SoCal Uncensored 2.0 with those belts on the line! </div></blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------ <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV Week 3, December 2018</div> Mere days away from Final Battle we are back live! The show opens with the Tag Champs, The Briscoe Brothers backstage. As Jay and Mark chat, Cody, Marty Scurll and Chris Sabin walk in... Cody says he knows that they haven't exactly seen eye to eye but tonight they have mutual enemies. The announce team hypes an explosive eight-man tag main event between The Briscoes, Marty Scurll, and Chris Sabin taking on The Young Bucks, Jay Lethal and Low-Ki. In the opening bout Kenny King took down Shaheem Ali in a quick contest. King is prancing about the ring celebrating when Jay White slides in from behind and hits the Switchblade leaving King out-cold in the middle of the ring. Backstage, War Machine cut a promo demanding to know who it is playing these tricks on them with the red balloons. They say they aren't afraid of "IT", they aren't afraid of monsters under their bed... so whoever these cowards are better step-out at Final Battle because War Machine has a bone to pick. Austin Aries made a surprise return last month during the Honor Rumble and tonight he was seen in his first singles bout (he faced The Boys in a handicapped match a few weeks back). Taking on Leon St. Giovanni, Austin Aries made quick work of the young LSG. Post-match, Aries immediately took to harassing Dalton Castle saying that at this time last year Castle was winning the World Title whereas this year he's merely fighting to be on the card. Aries says at Final Battle, he'll gladly make Castle a main attraction once again... but this time it'll be for all the wrong reasons... In the main event, Marty Scurll, Chris Sabin and The Briscoes went to a double count-out with The Young Bucks, Low-Ki and Jay Lethal, but not before all eight men hit some signature spots and got the fans electric. In the end it was an all-out brawl that left the ring and forced the official to call for the bell. Cody joined in making it a five on four but only for a few moments as Alex Shelley ran down to even the score... it appears the new member from last week didn't make it here tonight...will he show at Final Battle!?... These teams didn't stop brawling as Ian Riccaboni sent us off the air with a classic WCW call of "Tapes are rolling we'll see you at Final Battle 2018" </div></blockquote>

Texasrangers13 · August 26, 2018

Final Battle 2018 Preview

Ring of Honor Final Battle 2018 Preview

Honor Club Exclusive Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends
Rhett Titus and Will Ferrara have been a thorn in the side of Colt Cabana for the last six weeks. Ferrara even scored a singles victory over Cabana before Cabana evened the score in tag action. The Best Friends have been hot in Asia, but struggling to find their footing in ROH, this is once again a chance for them to shine on the biggest stage.

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood
At Global Wars, Nattie defeated Tenille cleanly but that didn't stop Tenille from insinuating that she's still better than Nattie. Nattie never afraid to fight, agreed to this rematch.

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"
War Machine has been on a constant warpath during their time in Ring of Honor as both a team and singles competitors. Recently though they been the target of the mystery "Horror Kings". Speculation is that Damien "Punishment" Martinez may be part of the group, especially after he walked out on his "Father" BJ Whitmer, merely three weeks ago after a loss to this very War Machine. The questions that persist, who is behind the creepy red balloons.

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White
Always cocky, and never short on words Kenny King may have bitten off more than he can chew in challenging "Switchblade" Jay White to a bout at Final Battle. White on the other hand, tends to be a silent assassin but he's heard enough from King and has promised to draw blood.

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay
In October when Cody formally unveiled Royalty, the ROH Television champion, "The Villain" Marty Scurll was right by his side. Always one to stir up trouble Scurll seems to have a bone to pick with fellow Brit, Will Ospreay. As for the Aerial Assassin, Ospreay is coming off a shining showing during the Survival of Fittest and now has an opportunity to atone for his loss to Scurll six months ago at Best in the World. This is a rivalry that has its roots back on the UK scene and has even stretched into NJPW. Here at Final Battle, Scurll and Ospreay will once again do battle.

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle
Austin Aries returned to Ring of Honor during the Honor Rumble and immediately took exception to Dalton Castle's rise and subsequent fall in Ring of Honor. For Castle, this bout is a chance to right the ship after a year of absolute highs and the lowest of lows. Aries is insistent that he is the God of Ring of Honor and Castle will bow down to him... Castle on the other hand is ready to prove he's going to climb the mountain again in 2019.

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)
The Six-Man Tag Titles have been passed around a bit, with SoCal Uncensored 2.0 holding them for the majority of 2018 in various stints. Matt Taven, was a member of the first-ever Six Man Tag Champions, two years ago with TK O'Ryan and Vinny Marseglia, since then he's found himself in a new faction, aligning with Odinson and Hammerstone to form the powerhouse team known as The End. This bout is a chance for the upstart team, The End to claim the belts, and for the wily vets, SoCal Uncensored 2.0, to prove they still have it.

Tag Match: Chris Sabin and Royalty's Newest Member vs. The Young Bucks
Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin
Our originally scheduled bout took a hit when Davey Boy Smith Jr was injured in NJPW... mere days later Nick Jackson also sustained an injury and will miss Final Battle as well. With that in mind, Royalty's Chris Sabin will now face Matt Jackson one on one. Royalty's mystery man still hasn't been revealed and from what we are hearing may... or may not... make a play here at Final Battle.

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal
Over the summer Lethal and Low-Ki engaged in an epic Best of Five Honor Series. Through that series Low-Ki and Jay Lethal established an alliance and bond and quickly became one of the top teams in Ring of Honor. As for the Briscoes, they've held the ROH Tag Titles nine times, including for the last ten months. Despite various injuries, and a singles run, Jay and Mark are ready to once again prove they are Ring of Honor's best team.

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley
In June of 2017, Cody captured the Ring of Honor World Championship. At Final Battle 2017, the arrogant Cody was conquered by Dalton Castle. This unleashed a new focus and fury in Cody we've never seen before. In February, Cody reclaimed his title and has now defended it successfully for the last nine months. In the fall, Cody formally broke from Bullet Club and created his own group, Royalty. With Television Champion Marty Scurll by his side, Cody already had a strong ally, but when Chris Sabin turned on his long-time partner Alex Shelley, Royalty became the strongest team in the game. Now it is Shelley's turn to get revenge, after winning Survival of the Fittest, Shelley earned the right to face Cody for the title and now there is no looking back.

THIS IS FINAL BATTLE
.

If anyone is still around from March this is the conclusion of the Year-Long Prediction Contest. If not, and this receives some level (say five or more) of participation I have a creative prize in mind involving the future of the roster... With that said, I'm simplifying this a bit (maybe less graphics, potentially graphics only for the major PPVs... who knows, just enjoying telling the story more than anything and with my time more limited I don't want to be hindered by some of the more fun elements... yes, I totally acknowledge this may cause a loss of interest... but if five months didn't kill interest then... hey).

I've just rolled into January 2019 in game and have the Top Prospect Tournament up next... The game also dealt me a couple surprises and I dealt myself a couple as well to keep the game-world fresh... :-)

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends
Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood
Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"
Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White
ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay
Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle
Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin
Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)
Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal
Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

BHK1978 · August 26, 2018

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle

Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

Greggyb · August 26, 2018

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle

Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

Powerbrock100 · August 26, 2018

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle

Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

Blodyxe · August 27, 2018

Huge props for pushing on!

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle

Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

The Lariat · August 27, 2018

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle

Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

Destiny · August 27, 2018

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle

Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

Forrest01 · August 28, 2018

Pre-Show Opener: The Dawgs vs. Colt Cabana/Flip Gordon vs. Best Friends

Women of Honor Title: Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tag Action: War Machine vs. "Horror Kings"

Singles Action: Kenny King vs. Jay White

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay

Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle

Singles Bout: Matt Jackson vs. Chris Sabin

Six-Man Tag Titles: SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End (Matt Taven, Odinson, Hammerstone)

Tag Titles: The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal

Main Event, for the ROH World Championship: Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley

Texasrangers13 · August 29, 2018

Ring of Honor: Final Battle 2018 <div style="text-align:center;">Honor Club Exclusive Kickoff Match: Colt Cabana and Flip Gordon vs. The Dawgs vs. The Best Friends The Best Friends have been a bit of an afterthought in the tag division despite strong performances overseas. Flip Gordon and Colt Cabana are a makeshift team, but one with designs on ending 2018 on a high note. And of course, the always annoying Will Ferrara and Rhett Titus, The Dawgs are here as well to serve as spoilers. The bout which wrapped the Honor Club coverage up was a fun three-team bout that saw a surprising amount of athleticism displayed by 5 of the six combatants. The ending sequence was a really fun back and forth that saw Rhett Titus, throw his partner Ferrara like a lawn dart into the chest of Barreta, causing him to stumble back and knock Chuckie T off the apron. While Barreta and Ferrara were tied up in the corner post-collision, Cabana hit a running bulldog onto Titus, leaving him prone in the middle of the ring, and allowing Flip Gordon to hit a beautiful shooting star press onto Titus for the 1-2-3. Winners: Flip Gordon and Colt Cabana</div> -------------------------------------------------- <div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="RESEM56858finalbattle2016.jpg" data-src="https://www.solowrestling.com/uploads/RESEM56858finalbattle2016.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Ring of Honor Final Battle 2018 LIVE from New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom Announcers: Ian Riccaboni and AJ Kirsch The show opens with a video montage of the 2018 year. Some of the highlights</div> <ul><li>The Briscoe Brothers capturing the tag titles for the ninth time. </li><li>Low-Ki and Jay Lethal engaging in a brutal five-match Honor Series </li><li>Odinson winning the Top Prospect Tournament </li><li>Marty Scurll's villainous reign as TV Champ </li><li>The charisma and exuberance of SoCal Uncensored 2.0 </li><li>Cody recapturing the World Title </li><li>Cody defeating all comers from around the world including Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega </li><li>Cody formally leaving the Bullet Club and launching Royalty, leading to Chirs Sabin turning on his long-time partner Alex Shelley </li><li>Alex Shelley getting redemption and a shot at the World Title tonight by winning Survival of the Fittest </li></ul> <div style="text-align:center;"> The video ended with an image of both Shelley and Cody standing tall, the belt dividing them and a simple voiceover. "Through all the trials and tribulations 2018 has brought, one man will stand tall tonight. One man will prove that 2018 is his year. Will it be Royalty? Or will it be the respected vet?" This. Is. Final. Battle. With that Ian Riccaboni and AJ Kirsch welcome us and we head straight to the ring for the ROH Tag Titles bout... </div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Tag Titles The Briscoe Brothers {C} vs. Low-Ki and Jay Lethal <img alt="QLxbVjg.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QLxbVjg.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="l8MTPbW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/l8MTPbW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="xj4swgH.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xj4swgH.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="JNvytgY.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/JNvytgY.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Our first bout sees the most decorated tag team in the history of Ring of Honor taking on two long-time rivals who have recently found common ground. Prior to the bout starting we get a brief cut-away video with Lethal and Low-Ki discussing their mutual respect and how as a team they have their eyes set on the gold. The cameraman asks if they have a team name, and Low-Ki snarls, No Gimmicks Needed, we just want the belts... Well it seems he's named the team as Riccaboni immediately begins referring to them as No Gimmicks Needed. This one was hard-hitting and right from the start got the crowd popping. There was no love-lost here and all four men went at it with no regards for their bodies. We saw several near-falls including Jay Briscoe nailing the J-Driller on Lethal, only for Low-Ki to land a huge Ghetto Stomp from the top to break-up the pin... and subsequently crush both Jay's. This gave Mark Briscoe an opening, but Low-Ki slid out of a gut-wrench attempt and countered it with a Ki-Krusher 99. Rather than going for the cover though, Ki turned around and tossed Jay Briscoe out of the ring. Lethal, now up to his feet saw the prone Mark Briscoe slowly getting to his knees and nailed a flying knee to the back of his skull... he rolled Mark over and Low-Ki piled on top of Jay Lethal as the former rivals became the new Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions. For Jay Lethal thus completing the Grand Slam of Ring of Honor titles. Winners, And NEW Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions: No Gimmicks Needed, Jay Lethal and Low-Ki Post-Match, The Briscoe Brothers slid into the ring, but there was no nefarious meaning to it, they offered their hands and abided by the Code of Honor. Streamers rained down as the show was off to an incredible start.</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Television Title Marty Scurll {C} vs. Will Ospreay <img alt="NXdcx8x.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/NXdcx8x.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="OkoebUA.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/OkoebUA.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Royalty's resident Villain doing battle with long-time rival, and the runner-up at Survival of the Fittest, Will Ospreay was another banger of a match to start the show. These two rivals have done battle for the TV title before, with both men claiming victories and holding the title at various points. This bout may have been their best encounter yet. The already hot crowd was in for another treat as both Scurll and Ospreay delivered. This one went nearly ten minutes before we even saw the first pinfall attempt. Scurll and Ospreay also surprised the crowd with a technical bout for the first-half before Ospreay began to take flight and use his speed to his advantage. Scurll though sought to counter the speed advantage by keeping Ospreay grounded and going for the knees at all opportunities. In the end he was able to clip Ospreay's wings and lock him into the Crossface Chicken-Wing for the submission victory and successful title defense. Winner and STILL Ring of Honor Television Champ: "The Villain" Marty Scurll</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Backstage we see Matt and Nick Jackson, Matt mentions that tonight was originally scheduled to be a tag bout, but Nick has been taken out of commission and will be out of action for at least a month. So tonight he wants to throw the book out the window and go one on one with Chris Sabin... But to keep it fair, he says let's do this man vs man, no one allowed ringside.</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Women of Honor Title Nattie Neidhart {C} vs. Tenille Dashwood <img alt="XLrx1xE.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/XLrx1xE.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="8G0Deji.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/8G0Deji.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> The Women of Honor title debuted last year and has been an inconsistent feature of ROH programming since then. Dashwood and Neidhart increased the profile of the title, and had a great bout at Global Wars. This rematch underwhelmed a bit, but it set the foundation for the potential growth of the division in 2019. During the bout Ian Riccaboni mentioned that Ring of Honor officials have recently been in contact with some of the best women's wrestlers in the world and that Ring of Honor expects the WoH division to continue to flourish in 2019. In the ring Nattie Neidhart defended her title, forcing Dashwood to once again submit to the Sharpshooter. Winner, AND STILL Women of Honor Champion: Nattie Neidhart</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">We then got an Alex Shelley video package that highlighted his year and his climb to earn this opportunity at winning the Ring of Honor World title for the first time. In the video he talked about what Ring of Honor has meant to him and what winning this title will mean to him. It was one of the stronger video packages we have seen here in Ring of Honor and really did a great job of highlighting why Shelley has earned this opportunity.</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Titles SoCal Uncensored 2.0 {C} vs. The End and Matt Taven <img alt="tpqum4A.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/tpqum4A.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Cbw2583.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Cbw2583.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="IiF2KXD.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IiF2KXD.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="5wIQJMM.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5wIQJMM.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="Nlkd3lW.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/Nlkd3lW.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="85QSprR.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/85QSprR.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Our fourth bout on pay-per-view was our fourth title bout of the night. Daniels, Kazarian and Romero certainly held the experience edge with a combined 66 years of in-ring experience. In fact all three men were wrestling for ten plus years before Matt Taven started and Daniels had two years of experience before Odinson was even born... Despite this experience gap, Odinson and Hammerstone's strength was apparent from the start as they bullied Kazarian and Daniels around the ring. This forced SCU 2.0 to regroup and rethink their attack. Logically they got dirty, but Matt Taven seemed game and quickly this match devolved into a six-man all-out brawl. Official Paul Turner finally reestablished control and threatened to vacate the titles if SoCal Uncensored intentionally threw the bout. Daniels tagged in and went straight after Taven, but Taven ducked, hit a drop-kick and tagged in Odinson... Odinson lifted Daniels up to his shoulders and swung him wildly, tossing him to the outside. As he passed through the air Kazarian gamely made a tag and charged at Odinson, but Odinson tossed him over his shoulder. Romero entered without being tagged and met the same fate, landing on-top of Kazarian. Odinson lifted Romero and tossed him from the ring before lifting Kazarian, tagging in Hammerstone and hitting the Doubleteam maneuver known as The End. For the 1-2-3, we have new champions and they looked absolutely dominant. Winners, and NEW Ring of Honor World Six-Man Tag Champions: The End and Matt Taven As Taven and The End proudly celebrated in the ring, SoCal Uncensored 2.0 looked on, both confused and dismayed. Cameras captured Daniels asking Romero what happened and Kazarian just blankly staring into the void. Daniels says "I hate this town, let's go home" as SoCal Uncensored 2.0 walked behind the curtains.</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Chris Sabin vs. Matt Jackson <img alt="odACYrQ.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/odACYrQ.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="NEHdvLg.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/NEHdvLg.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Our first non-title bout of the night saw two of the most popular wrestlers in Ring of Honor going one on one without any of their cohorts at ringside. This allowed both mens true talents to shine through, and while both are better known as Tag specialists these men put on quite the show in this singles bout, combining incredible aerial maneuvers with skilled chain wrestling to impress even the smarks. Kirsch on commentary kept wondering if the Royalty mystery man would make his mark, but true to the roots of Ring of Honor, this was a clean bout with great in-ring action. The finish saw Matt Jackson land a super kick to knock down Sabin, then climb to the top-rope and hit a massive corkscrew moonsault for the victory. Winner: Matt Jackson </div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Backstage we got a typical Austin Aries rant promo. He went on and on about how he put Ring of Honor on the map. How as champion he was the most productive this company has ever seen and how has held major championships in bigger places but he still felt the need to come back to Ring of Honor and teach Dalton Castle a lesson. He called Castle the worst champion this company has ever seen and said that tonight would be Castle's FINAL BATTLE because the Greatest That Ever Lived would end him.</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Jay White vs. Kenny King <img alt="BLyFA4f.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/BLyFA4f.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="3cvhWUO.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/3cvhWUO.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Though primarily a worker for NJPW, Jay White has been featured on ROH TV throughout the year, including vying for the Television title at Global Wars. Kenny King took exception to what he felt was White's arrogance and entitlement and also set out to prove to Ring of Honor officials that the King's Back. This was honestly more of a filler than anything. We had some plans for to move forward, but prior to show learned some of those pieces were leaving... oh well. In the end this ended up being a showcase for the Full-Timer as King hit the Royal Flush and got the win over Switchblade. Winner: Kenny King Post-Match, "Filthy" Tom Lawlor ran down and jumped "Switchblade", he appeared to be aligning with Kenny King, but then laid him out as well. He grabbed a microphone and announced that he was leaving Ring of Honor to return to the Octagon officially. (Bookers Note: Original plan was for Lawlor and King to team-up and form a version of Team Filthy on ROH TV... but prior to the show I got a notice that Lawlor was leaving the company... so I wrote him out this way...Oops.)</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Austin Aries vs. Dalton Castle <img alt="p5yRVXd.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/p5yRVXd.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="DJeshS8.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/DJeshS8.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> The Greatest That Ever Lived vs. The Worst Champion in ROH History, at least that's how Aries titled this bout. That seemed to piss Castle off, as he went right after Aries and actually blooded him early in this bout. Aries seemed caught off guard by this version of Castle and started to walk out, only for The Boys to chase him back to the ring. Back in the ring Aries managed to regain some composure and took over for a good portion of the bout. Aries berated the fans for supporting someone like Castle, and arrogantly made a pinfall after a brainbuster but Castle kicked out at 2.75. Castle gathered momentum and swung the match in his favor, ultimately hitting the Bang-A-Rang for the semi-upset over Aries. Winner: Dalton Castle After the match Castle taunted Aries and told him he WAS "The Greatest That Ever Lived" past-tense but that his career was soon to be over. Aries was lived and demanded retribution but Castle told him he had bigger and better things to do "Come On, Let's Party" Castle yelled as he and The Boys walked out, leaving Aries furious in the ring.</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">The Horror Kings vs. War Machine <img alt="CQvreaf.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/CQvreaf.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="IJqAdoA.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/IJqAdoA.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="TPXMrhF.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/TPXMrhF.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="P5BbpIx.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/P5BbpIx.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Hanson and Rowe made their way down first... A maniacal laugh was heard and then suddenly red balloons began to float down from the rafters. The lights went out and when they returned Vinny Marseglia and Damien "Pushiment" Martinez stood in the ring holding some of the balloons. Rowe and Hanson charged but Marseglia and Martinez were ready and the bout was underway. The announcers did their best to push why Marseglia and Martinez made sense as a team, and early on they showed surprising chemistry. Hanson and Rowe though held the advantage in experience and it showed as they managed to get the upper-hand for much of the match. Suddenly the tide turned when the screen lit up red and the words "HORROR KINGS" effectively bled through, causing a bit of confusion and allowing Damien Martinez to take flight. The big-man soaring through the air took Hanson and Rowe by surprise and swung the momentum to the Horror Kings side, and ultimately gave them the upset victory when Martinez hit the Straight to Hell Chokeslam on Rowe and made the cover. Winners: Horror Kings, Damien "Punishment" Martinez and Vinny Marseglia Post-Match: Marseglia and Martinez looked to continue the assault but Hanson and Rowe got the upper-hand, tossing them into retreat. Hanson and Rowe stood together in the ring and bowed to the crowd, thanking them for their support. The fans, especially those who follow the Dirt Sheets, chanted "Thank You War Machine" as Hanson and Rowe left the ring.</div> </div></blockquote> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Prior to our Main Event we got a phenomenal video package on the foundation and the success of Royalty. The video highlighted Cody's climb to the top, his constant success, and his conniving ways. It ended with a beautiful shot of Cody completing the Moonsault from the top of the cage onto Kenny Omega to win the Survival of the Fittest cage match... Main Event Ring of Honor World Title Cody {C} vs. Alex Shelley <img alt="vHbt8iT.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vHbt8iT.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="kTDXWu3.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/kTDXWu3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="xudhQ89.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/xudhQ89.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Bobby Cruise is our ring announcer and he led us into the main event with our introductions... Cruise: Introducing first, fighting out of Detroit, Michigan. Standing 5 feet 11 inches tall... He is the Survivor, our challenger, "The Motor City Machine Gun" ALEX SHELLEY Shelley enters to a huge pop and streamers. "Wrestling's True Royal Family" Cruise: His opponent, he is the Ring of Honor World Champion. Being accompanied to the ring by his wife Brandi Rhodes, and his associates, the Ring of Honor Television Champion, Marty Scurll, and the "Motor City Madman" Chris Sabin, he stands six feet, two inches tall and weighs in tonight at 216 pounds... This is ROYALTY... This is CODY! Cody and Royalty enter to a smattering of boos and cheers. The fans clearly respect him, but don't particularly like him. With the formal introductions out of the way this bout gets underway. Cody and Shelley tie-up to begin with Cody stepping on the backside of the knee and forcing Shelley to "bow" before him. Shelley is quickly back to his feet and begins to strike Cody, forcing him back into the corner. With him in the corner Chris Sabin hops onto the apron, but Shelley spits into his face, sending him off the apron. Brandi and Marty rush over to calm Sabin, and clean his face... as this is happening, Will Ospreay and Matt Jackson head down the aisle to keep the score even at ringside. Meanwhile back in the ring, Shelley is taking it to the champion, keeping him off his feet and grounded him with a variety of kicks and punches. Shelley goes for broke and rushes at Cody, but misses with a running knee. Cody takes advantage hitting a bulldog and working his way back to his feet. Riccaboni comments that Cody looks a bit out of sorts and Shelley clearly had him scouted well and thus Cody is needing to think on the fly... with that Cody snaps off a picture perfect Final Cut suplex. Lifted from the pages of Goldust. Shelley is down and Cody tosses him into the corner, he drapes his legs over the ropes....... Is he setting him up for the SHATTERED DREAMS!?! He backs away and Will Ospreay gamely throws Shelley's leg down... this prompts Scurll to run after him, but he's cut off by Matt Jackson, Chris Sabin comes into the picture and there is now mayhem at ringside. Cody orders that the referee throw everyone, including his partners out... but this is merely a distraction, as Cody sets Shelley up again and Brandi slides into the ring... SHATTERED DREAMS! Brandi Rhodes just nailed the Shattered Dreams on Alex Shelley... She slides out and heads up the ramp with the other members of Royalty as the ref seems to have control of the bout again. Shelley is now a rag-doll in the middle of the ring and Cody climbs the ropes... he goes for a top rope "Bionic" Elbow... but Shelley moves in the nick of time. Both men are down and fighting to get back to their fight... on their knees Shelley and Cody begin exchanging punches... Shelley is back up first and he hits a dropkick to floor Cody, who rolls out of the ring... High-risk, Shelley goes flying over the top and catches Cody, but now both men are out. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 This can't be it, neither man is to his feet but both are stirring... 8 9 Referee Paul Turner suddenly just stops counting... to massive applause... and allows both men to regain their feet and get back into the ring... Riccaboni comments that Turner has great feel and there is no way 2018 is ending in a double count-out. Back in the Ring, Shelley has Cody locked up and goes for the Shell Shock...but Cody counters it into his similar, Cross Rhodes... He nails it... and climbs on top of Shelley... 1 2 3 The bell rings, Cody has retained. Alex Shelley gave it everything he had, and it wasn't enough... Cody is still the champion. Brandi, Marty Scurll, and Chris Sabin return to the ring as officials help Alex Shelley to the back. Royalty celebrates in the ring together as we go off the air. Winner AND STILL Ring of Honor World Champion: CODY</div> </div></blockquote> -------------------------------------------------------------

Blodyxe · August 30, 2018

Dalton couldn't be the worst champ in ROH, as there was Xavier. Interested to see the ratings for the show, good stuff

Edit: I once again turn the page for this awesome diary, sorry

Texasrangers13 · August 30, 2018

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Blodyxe" data-cite="Blodyxe" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Dalton couldn't be the worst champ in ROH, as there was Xavier. Interested to see the ratings for the show, good stuff Edit: I once again turn the page for this awesome diary, sorry</div></blockquote> Aries, like myself, clearly has blacked out the Xavier memory. I wanted that guy to be a star... ... Wait. Hahaha! Ratings and such coming with the end of month Honor Club update, which I'm writing currently.

Texasrangers13 · August 30, 2018

Ring of Honor Television December Week 4, 2018 <div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Television, December Week 4, 2018</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Hot on the heels of Final Battle, our final episode of ROH TV for 2018 was aired. In this episode we saw primarily things that wrapped up the 2018 year and prepared us to turn the calendar and head into the year of 2019...and the Top Prospect Tournament! The show opened with Royalty cutting a promo about how 2018 was their year and how 2019 will be no different. Before Cody can continue to spew his non-sense, The Young Bucks arrive on the scene. Nick is still on crutches, but Matt is his usual perky self. Matt said that he'd heard enough of the Royalty's election speech and that 2018 should end with Matt Jackson, and the returning Hangman Page, defeating the ROH World and ROH Television champions in the middle of the ring... In our first bout, Odinson and Hammerstone, The End, our new Six-Man Tag Champions, not only took on, but defeated War Machine in a solid opening bout between two teams that tip the scales. Post-Match, Matt Taven joined in as the The End officially ended War Machine's time with Ring of Honor... More on that in the next installment of Honor Club monthly. Backstage, Austin Aries grabs a passing by assistant and demands she ask him questions... the assistant looks confused, so Aries just begins to spew a promo at the nearby camera. He says that Ring of Honor has been nothing but disrespectful to him since his return. He says that Dalton Castle got lucky and that tonight he'll prove that by beating... just then Alex Shelley walks into the frame and says, how about me... Beat me. Shelley vs. Aries is signed for the Main Event to send 2018 off the air. Before the next bout gets underway, Cody comes out to the ring in a full suit. He says he has some business to attend to, so he regrets to inform Matt Jackson and Hangman Page that he won't be able to participate, but that Chris Sabin will happily take his place... with that Sabin and Scurll enter the ring... Back from break Chris Sabin and Marty Scurll faced off against Matt Jackson and Hangman Page. Page is returning from an injury suffered at Survival of the Fittest and looks to be a bit hesitant, this ultimately costs him as Sabin catches him off guard and hits the Cradle Shock in what wound up being the Match of the Night. Prior to the Main Event we get a promo for a debuting star....... "A New Force Is Coming to Ring of Honor... Im 2019, gale-force winds promise to destroy anyone in his path. This man is a world-class wrestler. This man has dominated the globe. In 2019, Honor over Everything... In 2019, He'll Conquer Ring of Honor." The faint sound of drums are heard as flames lightly flicker in the background of the video as the promo cuts out and we head to the ring for the main event. Our main event saw Alex Shelley defeat Austin Aries. Both men lost at Final Battle and this was a chance to end 2018 on a high note. For Shelley this meant taking advantage of the visibly distracted Aries. This match actually disappointed considering who was in it. Aries has been frustrated during his recent stint, and thus Shelley getting the win, via Border City Stretch, made the most sense...</div> </div></blockquote> ----------------------------------------------------- Thank you to the seven predictors during Final Battle... No one managed to get the pre-show match correct... and in fairness I wouldn't have either... I forgot to book the winner.... Oh well... This actually fits into the story better. Overall I'm happy to see there are still surprises here! The results are below, congrats to Powerbrock100 for the clear victory here. I'll PM you a prize tomorrow: <ul><li>Forrest01: 4/10 </li><li>Destiny: 5/10 </li><li>The Lariat: 5/10 </li><li>Blodyxe: 5/10 </li><li>Powerbrock100: 7/10 </li><li>GreggyB: 4/10 </li><li>BHK1978: 5/10 </li></ul> Overall for 2018 here is the final result of the prediction contest (I may have screwed this up, so feel free to check my work if your so inclined...... Special Thanks to BHK1978 for making the most predictions...And good thing you did as you inched out DGenerationMC by 1 for the outright title, you as well will receive a PM with a prize notification that should help shape some of 2019. Finally, thanks to all 16 users who took the time to make at least one prediction... AMAZING. You all help motivate the direction of the diary. OVERALL PREDICTION STANDINGS, 2018 (And Beyond): KnowYourEnemy OVERALL: 11/19 *DGenerationMC (Session 1: 22/33) (Session 2: 21/39) (Session 3: 36/45) (Session 4: 12/15) OVERALL: 91/132 *BHK1978 (Session 1: 20/33) (Session 2: 24/39) (Session 3: 31/45) (Session 4: 17/25, OVERALL: 92/142 *Warhawk8492 (Session 1 10/21) (Session 2: 16/23) (Session 3: 9/16) (Session 4: 5/7) OVERALL: 40/67 Uncrewed (Session 1: 2/7) OVERALL: 2/7 Wolfman84 (Session 1: 4/7) OVERALL 4/7 *Blodyxe (Session 1: 8/13) (Session 2: 18/25) (Session 3: 32/37) (Session 4: 5/10) OVERALL: 63/85 Kijar (Session 1: 12/22) (Session 2: 27/39) (Session 3: 28/45) (Session 4: 10/15) OVERALL: 77/123 *Martel123 (Session 1: 7/14)(Session 4: 1 Point Bonus) OVERALL: 8/14 *Powerbrock100: (Session 2: 20/31) (Session 3: 21/27) (Session 4: 17/25) OVERALL: 58/83 TheFinalCountdown: (Session 2: 24/31) (Session 3: 37/45) OVERALL: 61/76 *The Lariat: (Session 2: 7/8) (Session 3: 7/10) (Session 4: 10/17) OVERALL: 24/35 DREAM~!: (Session 3: 6/8) *CobheadJake: (Session 3: 5/8) (Session 4: 9/15) OVERALL: 14/23 *Forrest01 :(Session 4: 4/10) *Destiny: (Session 4: 9/18) *GreggyB: (Session 4: 4/10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TOMORROW: 2018's wrap-up with a special HONOR CLUB EXCLUSIVE POST. It'll feature a couple matches, Final Battle's Match Ratings (some were good... some not so much), PWI Top 500 (relevant wrestlers) reveal, the Top Prospect Tournament Preview and a couple exclusive news items as we head into the 2019! I did a bit of housekeeping to keep the game fresh, and the game threw some turns at me I didn't expect... Love it! Thanks for reading.

Texasrangers13 · September 1, 2018

Honor Club: December 2018 Edition

<div style="text-align:center;">Honor Club: December 2018 Wrap-Up and 2019 Preview</div>

With the end of 2018 comes the yearly Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 list. This year's Power 500 was headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada rounded out the top three. We at Ring of Honor are proud that all three men have graced our ring and look forward to seeing them return in 2019. Our top ranked performer was Jay Briscoe who landed at #9 on the list.

Among the other regulars in the Top 100,

<ul><li>#16 Matt Jackson </li><li>#17 Mark Briscoe </li><li>#18 Nick Jackson </li><li>#35 Cody </li><li>#51 Marty Scurll </li><li>#72 Low Ki </li><li>#77 Jay Lethal </li><li>#79 Alex Shelley </li><li>#83 Will Ospreay </li><li>#91 Hanson </li></ul>

Among the other awards, The Briscoe Brothers were named the top tag team in world! This is their second time winning the honor, but first since 2007. It also ended a four-year streak where the Young Bucks took home the honors! Congrats to Mark and Jay on a sterling year.

In the rest of the world NJPW, WWE and the revitalized (and winner of comeback promotion of the year) Impact! are the strongest companies in the world. As 2019 rolls around we will continue to try to make a dent, and continue to develop the next stars in the world of wrestling... After all if you tuned in this week you saw a brief promo of a debuting star... perhaps he'll be the breakout star of 2019!

_________________________________________________________

Honor Club Exclusive: War Machine signs with WWE

We at Ring of Honor are always proud when our superstars are approached by the big boys, with that we are honored to announce that Hanson and Rowe, War Machine, have officially agreed to long-term contracts with the WWE and will be debuting in early 2019. You may have caught the hints as they dropped their last two bouts with us and hopefully helped elevate their opponents. Both Hanson and Rowe had a phenomenal year and we wish both of them the best!

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On this episode of Honor Club month in review we have two bouts for you, the first of which was a six-woman tag. In that bout Priscilla Kelly, Kelly Klein and Madison Rayne took home a victory defeating Deonna Purrazzo, Mandy Leon and Scarlett Bordeaux. This bout wasn't great but it was a good showcase for three women who will be around in 2019. Exclusive to Honor Club we can tell you that all three women on the losing end of this bout have departed Ring of Honor. Purrazzo has joined the WWE's developmental brand NXT, Bordeaux heads to Impact! and Mandy Leon wasn't renewed. We wish all three the best of luck in 2019.

__________________________________________________________

2018's final PPV, Final Battle was a solid show, taking home a C+ rating according to the dirt sheets and ranking as our sixth best show on the year. Before we get to the match rankings lets look at the top five shows of the year...

<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li> ROH War of the Worlds XIV, August 2018, this show was headlined by our match of the year, Jay Lethal vs. Cody. </li><li> ROH Global Wars 14, October 2018, this show was highlighted by Cody vs. Tetsuya Naito. </li><li> ROH Death Before Dishonor, September 2018, this show was highlighted by Cody vs. Jay Briscoe, but interestingly enough none of the matches on this show placed in the Top 25 for the year! Talk about a well-rounded event. </li><li> ROH Rager at Sea, July 2018, our fun collaboration with Chris Jericho, Rager at Sea was was highlighted by The Briscoes taking down Best Friends. But beyond that it saw numerous legends and stars from around the wrestling world! We look forward to 2019's edition which is bound to have a couple surprises! </li><li> ROH Best In The World, June 2018, The Briscoes defeating The Young Bucks was the highlight of this show, another solid card that showed why ROH is the Best Place To Watch The Stars! </li></ol>

Our 66th show of the year, Final Battle was a solid show overall... below are the dirt sheet ratings for the show.

<ul><li>Lethal/Low-Ki defeating Briscoes (B-) (This was the match of the night, and our second best match of the year!) </li><li>Marty Scurll defeating Will Ospreay (B-) (This was the tenth best match of the year!) </li><li>Nattie Neidhart defeating Tenille Dashwood (D+) </li><li>The End defeating SoCal Uncensored 2.0 (D+) </li><li>Matt Jackson defeating Chris Sabin (C+) </li><li>Kenny King defeating Jay White (C-) </li><li>Dalton Castle defeating Austin Aries (D+) </li><li>Horror Kings defeating War Machine © </li><li>Cody defending against Alex Shelley (C+) </li></ul>

__________________________________________________________

Our second Honor Club exclusive bout saw newly crowned tag team of the year, The Briscoe Brothers dust Good Burger in a quick but effective bout. Mark and Jay had a phenomenal year and this was a great cap for them!

__________________________________________________________

The start of 2019 brings the Top Prospect Tournament back to Ring of Honor. 2018's winner Odinson has been on a warpath over the last year, and captured his first gold during Final Battle. This year's edition will feature 16 combatants for the first-time ever. The first two rounds will be exclusively aired on Honor Club. With that, let's take a look at the 16 fighters participating for the right to a guaranteed Ring of Honor contract as well as a shot at the Television Title.

1) Brody King

The 6'9" 270 pound Brody King is a tattooed monster with shocking agility and grace to go with extreme power. Over the last year he's made his mark on the indy scene as well as in the SoCal scene, winning 2016's SoCalUncensored.com Rookie of the Year (same award Samoa Joe and TJ Perkins won in the past) award, and with Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. Wanting to make an impression on ROH officials, King walked out on CWH stating that the Unholy God of Rock was bigger and better than anything CWH could offer.

2) Timmy Lou Retton

The Gym Nasty Boy, Timmy Lou Retton is a rotund 5'8" 235 pounds, but don't let his size fool you. Retton is capable of Shooting Star Press' and other extremely gymnastic maneuvers. Retton has been tearing the house down in his native Carolina's and now is ready to springboard his way into your heart at the Top Prospect Tournament.

3) Black Spirit

The son of former WCW Star, La Parka, Black Spirit has wrestled all over Mexico as El Hijo de L.A. Park. Fans will instantly recognize the outfit, similar to his father's, the skull adorned outfit is sure to stand out. With his entry into the US market, Black Spirit is determined to prove to his father and the fans that he will achieve greatness on his own and not on the back of his father's legacy.

4) Kriss Stark

One of the more mysterious competitors in the Top Prospect Tournament, Stark calls himself the "The Alpha Breed". Stark impressed ROH officials during a tryout camp in September and held his own as a local competitor during the same time. After debuting in 2013, the now 25 year old Stark left the business for nearly four years before returning this past summer. While raw, the "Alpha Breed" shows surprisingly in-ring ability given his lack of experience.

5) Ray Rosas

Often imitated, never duplicated, Ray Rosas is one of the legends of the SoCal independent scene. The nine year vet, Rosas is out to prove that he is more than a tag star, and he is ready show that his early success in California will more than carry over to the ring with Ring of Honor.

6) Douglas James

The 2015 SoCal Uncensored Rookie of the Year, Douglas James is cocky, arrogant and willing to do whatever it takes to win the match. He also wrestles as he were he were significantly larger than his 5'6" frame would suggest. James is proud to proclaim he is Pound for Pound, the Best Around.

7) Peter Avalon

The third former SoCal Uncensored Rookie of the Year in the tournament (2009), Avalon has had cups of coffee with Impact! Wrestling, and has had big success in the SoCal scene with fellow participant Ray Rosas. Avalon comes to the tournament with a huge chip on his shoulder and is out to prove that Pretty Peter Avalon is more than a pretty face.

8) Shane Mercer

The Iron Horse, Shane Mercer, earned his opportunity after a strong showing during a July workout. Mercer is a definite wild card here as despite his 11 years of experience he has very little track record outside of his home region of Kentucky. He's recently been on the radar of some of the bigger Indy's and this will be a good chance to see if he can hang with the best.

9) Myron Reed

Only 21 years old, Myron Reed is the youngest in the tournament. Part of the fabled Ohio circuit, where he made his name alongside indy darlings, Trey Miguel, Zachary Wentz and Desmond Xavier, Reed is ready for his chance to shine. The Sky Walker, Reed, looks as if he's walking on water as he flies through the air and is bound to drop some jaws in the tournament. He's participated in a number of ROH workouts and has held his own during a couple pre-show matches. This could be his big break.

10) John Silver

5'7" 180 pounds, John Silver is known as the "Little Ball of Hate" for a reason. Silver has been making waves with Beyond! Wrestling in the northeast. Trained by Mikey Whipwreck, Silver is an unbelievable worker and is one of those guys who will leave you wanting more. More of a tag team specialist (including holding the PWG Tag Titles in 2015), Silver is ready to prove he's more than a tag team star.

11) Kyle The Beast

KTB stands 6'1" but weighs in at 275 pounds of muscle. He's known as the Beast for a reason and he tends to ragdoll opponents around. He broke out in 2013 as a deathmatch wrestler working for both GCW and CZW over the next five years. In 2017 KTB made his debut with Evolve and has been making a name for himself on the undercard throughout America.

12) Fred Yehi

Georgia born and bred, Fred Yehi, is a ground and pound specialist with superior technical skills that can ground any wrestler. Well established in the Southeast with both FIP and Evolve, Yehi made his name as a member of Catch Point. Since leaving the stable, Yehi has recaptured the FIP World Heavyweight title just this week, mere days before the Top Prospect Tournament. Will this prove a costly distraction? Or will this merely fuel the fire for the Yehi.

13) Austin Theory

The second youngest, and least experienced, wrestler in the tournament is also one of the favorites. Theory has the look and skills to be a future star in the making. Despite never holding a title at any level, Theory has the cockiness of a five-time champion. He's already promised to win the tournament, saying nothing will stand between him and glory. He's also called Ring of Honor merely a stepping stone on the road to greatness. Over the last year he's given us some great bouts with Beyond! and Evolve, now it is his turn to try his hand at ROH.

14) Barrington Hughes

The Caramel Colossus, Barrington Hughes loves two things more than most... eating fried foods and crushing his opponents. The Pride of Paisley Park, Hughes tips the scales at nearly 500 pounds and is bound to be a load for anyone in this tournament. There are definite questions about his stamina, but his size and strength will be unmatched by all the competitors in this tournament and that might be his Trump Card.

15) Jesse Sorensen

Destined for greatness, Sorensen joined the TNA X-Division in 2011 and had a breakout time with the company over two years. A freak injury nearly ended his career but he returned to the ring in 2013 and even took a shot at ROH in 2013 at Glory by Honor when he lost to Tommaso Ciampa. In 2015 and 2016 he made some enhancement appearances with the WWE while working out of Orlando. In May of 2017 he wrestled his final bout announcing a hiatus that lasted for over a year. In October of 2018 he returned to the ring, nearly 25 pounds heavier than we last saw him, Sorensen seeks to return to glory and wants to do it as a middleweight.

16) Anthony Henry

In 2002, Anthony Henry made his professional wrestling debut, wrestling alongside some of the biggest names in wrestling today with Georgia based NWA: Wildside. Less than two years later, Henry left the business to pursue a career as a mixed martial artist. He pursued that path for five years before returning to ring. They say persistence pays off and Anthony Henry signed with Evolve in late 2016 and began to make waves. A bit of a throwback, Henry uses any means necessary to win a bout, and after a long and winding road, may be ready for his close-up in 2019.

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2019 Schedule Announcement

With 2019 here we are proud to announce the Pay-Per-View schedule for 2019

<ul><li>January: Top Prospect Tournament </li><li>February: Manhattan Mayhem </li><li>March: Anniversary </li><li>April: Supercard of Honor (In Conjunction with NJPW) </li><li>May: War of the Worlds (In Conjunction with NJPW) </li><li>June: Best In The World </li><li>July: Glory by Honor </li><li>August: War of the Worlds (In Conjunction with NJPW, CMLL, RPW) </li><li>September: Death Before Dishonor </li><li>October: Global Wars (In Conjunction with NJPW) </li><li>November: Survival of the Fittest </li><li>December: Final Battle </li></ul>

We are also announcing four NEW quarterly events that will highlight the schedule with dates TBD and air exclusively on Honor Club!

<ul><li>Q1 (January-March): Calle De Dorado (In Conjunction with CMLL) </li><li>Q2 (April-June): All-In (Independent Wrestling Supershow) </li><li>Q3 (July-September): Chris Jericho's Rock-N-Rager At Sea </li><li>Q4 (October-December): Honor United (In Conjunction with RPW) </li></ul>

In addition to these: Ring of Honor and it's partners in Japan, Mexico and the UK are proud to announce the World Cup of Wrestling. During the second quarter of 2019, April through June, Honor Club will be the exclusive home to matches from around the world taking place during the World Cup of Wrestling. All we can confirm for now is that there will be Six Teams of Four competing from April through June, those countries are: USA, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, and the "World". From what we have gathered there will be matches held on all four companies shows with the grand finale coming at June's Ring of Honor "Best In The World" Pay-Per-View.

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{OOC} That ends 2018! We roll into 2019 with the Top Prospect Tournament! I wanted to have a couple exclusive events with just CMLL and RPW and that got me thinking, so I created the Calle De Dorado (Road of Gold, sort of), and the Honor United events. In addition to that I've always loved the concept of the World Cup of Wrestling... Using our partners we will have a USA, UK, Mexico and Japan team, that leaves Canada and "the Rest of the World" to be filled out. I wanted to create some content to fill my "Honor Club" recaps. ...

2019 brings some immediate challenges. I wanted to make this a bit realistic so I took control of the WWE for a couple of days and had them sign some of the names they've added this year, that included War Machine, Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, EC3. Before handing it back over to the CPU ... And then the game decided that wasn't enough and immediately had a couple top card guys decide to leave ROH (no spoilers... you'll see shortly)... So that was fun! 2019 definitely brings a new challenge and it'll be fun!

Texasrangers13 · September 2, 2018

Ring of Honor Television January Week 1, 2019 <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV, January Week 1, 2019</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><div style="text-align:center;"> It's a new year and Ian Riccaboni and AJ Kirsch ring in the New Year to kick the show off! The show kicked off with a pre-taped promo from out on the farm with Dem Boys, the Briscoe Brothers. Jay and Mark discussed how 2018 was perhaps their best year yet, they conquered the globe and had a ton of success. Sure they had some injuries, and sure they lost the belts at Final Battle, but in 2019 they ensure us that they'll become the 10 time ROH Tag Champions... With that said though, they announce that in the last 12 months they've fallen behind on some things back home in Sandy Fork and have decided to take some time away from the ring to get things straight... They say, Low-Ki and Lethal better keep those belts warm because when they return they are coming straight for the gold... We opened 2019 with a title match as Marty Scurll defended his belt against Flip Gordon. Scurll and Gordon seemed to have a bit of a New Year's hangover, but the bout worked fine as an opener to the year. Scurll caught Gordon in the Crossface Chickenwing and secured the title defense... as the match ended the lights dimmed and a physically imposing man ran down the aisle, he slid in the ring and immediately annihilated Flip, sending him flying... Marty looked like he'd seen a ghost, but before he could escape was caught in a sit-out side suplex... The man in the ring demanded a microphone as Riccaboni pointed out that it was "JEFF COBB, One of the most athletic men in professional wrestling has just launched Ring of Honor in a new direction to start 2019!" Cobb cut a promo saying that he was here for gold and glory. He is a former olympian, he is a world-traveled fighter, and he isn't afraid of any challenge. He said this attack is to put Ring of Honor on notice... Jeff Cobb is here. Back from break the Horror Kings polished off Coast 2 Coast in a quick bout. After they hit their finish and celebrate the victory, the new Tag Team champs, No Gimmicks Needed, Low-Ki and Jay Lethal came down the ramp to confront the Horror Kings. They said that they are always looking for a fight and with the Briscoes recent announcement and War Machine's departure it looked like the Horror Kings were the new kids on the block... Lethal and Ki stated that next week they'll give one of the Horror Kings a one on one shot to impress them... next week it'll be Damien vs. Lethal. To the backstage area we went where Chuckie T and Beretta were hanging out discussing the highs and lows of the year. Suddenly Chuckie gets a big grin on his face when he hears a knock on the door... He tells Beretta, our new Bestest Friend is here... Dalton Castle walks in, "It's Party Time Boys, Let's go Break Some Hearts!"... They all embrace and Riccaboni informs us that the main event will feature a 5 on 5 tag between Royalty's Cody and Chris Sabin, teaming up with the new 6-man tag champs, The End to take on Alex Shelley, Will Ospreay and the newly formed, Bestest Friends. The main event was a bit of a cluster, but it was also a fun bout. Cody, Sabin and The End took home the victory. That said, everyone got some signature moves in and Cody for the most part avoided confrontation with anyone, not wanting to get hurt before his NEVER Openweight title shot at Wrestle Kingdom this coming weekend. The finish saw Chuckie T get caught by Odinson in the F-10 and the heels walk out victorious. </div> </div></blockquote> ------------------------------------------------------------- OOC: {Only one TV recap this time because of the Top Prospect Tournament taking place. The First and Second rounds are Honor Club Exclusives, so the next post will feature the First Round, and an exclusive look at Wrestle Kingdom 14. The perks of a subscription!} {I also have a couple big breaking news stories to break in a next post or two...so stay tuned} {I'm debating running a prediction for the whole tournament, but I suspect the first round, with 16 guys, many of whom of basically unknowns, wouldn't be that interesting.}{The Briscoes I've given a TBD amount of time off, it's a storyline, unlike some of the other moves. They'll be back in the next couple months.}

The Lariat · September 3, 2018

Super hyped for Brody King, Douglas James, and PPRay being in the tournament. Gotta support So Cal!

SCU!

Powerbrock100 · September 3, 2018

Love this diary and this Top Prospect looks hype as hell alot of fan favorites and obviously harder to call then last years

Texasrangers13 · September 3, 2018

Honor Club: January 2019, Exclusive Coverage of the First Round of the TPT <div style="text-align:center;">Honor Club Exclusive: First Round of the Top Prospect Tournament, 2019</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> Coverage kicks off immediately with Ian Riccaboni and AJ Kirsch reminding us that this is the biggest Top Prospect Tournament ever to ever take place in Ring of Honor. This being the eighth edition of the Top Prospect Tournament we get a brief video looking back at the previous winners. <ul><li>2011: Mike Bennett </li><li>2013: Matt Taven </li><li>2014: Hanson </li><li>2015: Donovan Dijak </li><li>2016: Lio Rush </li><li>2017: Josh Woods </li><li>2018: Odinson </li><li>2019: ??????? </li></ul> We then get a brief look at the first round draw... And with that out of the way, let's kick it to the ring for our first bout... <div style="text-align:center;"> Top Prospect Tournament First Round Brody King defeated Timmy Lou Retton Brody King, the surprisingly agile big man from SoCal, took down the Gym Nasty Boy with relative ease in the First Round. King's strength and size just proved to be too much for Retton to handle. And though the fans liked the gimmick Retton presents (an athletic, albeit heavy, gymnast), they got behind Brody King early as the tattooed big man impressed with a huge Top Con Hilo over the top and onto Retton to open the bout. King will be one to watch as he progresses. Top Prospect Tournament First Round Kriss Stark defeated Black Spirit Disappointing bout here. Stark gets the win in relatively short fashion. Spirit just didn't do it for the fans and his in-ring work needs big work before he'll shine. Kriss Stark took the win home with a Top Rope Solo Frankensteiner sending La Parka's son, Black Spirit, back to Mexico without much of a showing. Top Prospect Tournament First Round Ray Rosas defeated Douglas James Two of SoCal's finest took on each-other in a solid, high-paced, opening bout. Both men were trained by Santino Brothers Academy in CA and had a ton of familiarity with each other but it was Ray Rosas who came away victorious here when he nailed a gorgeous Tornado DDT from the top rope to spike James square into the middle of mat. James was impressive as well, and Ring of Honor officials will certainly keep a close eye on him in the future. Top Prospect Tournament First Round Peter Avalon defeated Shane Mercer Shane Mercer might be a freak in the gym, prior to the match we saw a clip of him benching 500 pounds, but Peter Avalon's wit, speed, and athleticism was far too much for Mercer to catch. The finish came when Mercer went to toss Avalon over his shoulder, only for Avalon to slide off and hit a modified Codebreaker stealing a pinfall and securing a second round match with his partner from the SoCal scene, Ray Rosas. Top Prospect Tournament First Round Myron Reed defeated John Silver Two smaller guys, Reed and Silver did battle in a bout that was a bit of a let-down, especially after seeing some of Reed's work in preshow bouts. Reed took home the win, hitting a gorgeous maneuver he calls the "Sky Walker" for the 1-2-3. Top Prospect Tournament First Round Fred Yehi defeated Kyle The Beast In easily the best bout of the first round, Fred Yehi defeated Kyle The Beast. The match itself would be able to stand on its own on a full tv broadcast and the fans in attendance really engaged with both workers. Yehi's technical striking ability paired well with KTB's grappling attack. And while Yehi got the win, managing to lock the Koji Clutch in on the bigger KTB, he may have come out of the bout worse for wear as he left the ring massaging his neck after a long-sequence that saw KTB lock him in a prolonged sleeper hold during the match. We will have to see how the neck injury effects him as the tournament goes on. Top Prospect Tournament First Round Austin Theory defeated Barrington Hughes Theory is the total package, he has the skills, the look and the strength to be the real deal, the one thing he is missing is the experience and therefore loves to call himself "The Unproven One". Barrington Hughes on the other hand is called the Caramel Colossus for a reason... he is a MASSIVE human-being. Unfortunately for Hughes his size limits his mobility and Theory hit the Unproven Cutter to ground him followed by a big standing Shooting Star for the victory. Top Prospect Tournament First Round Anthony Henry defeated Jesse Sorensen A bout that surprised us all as Henry and Sorensen went right at it, both determined to prove they weren't a fluke. For Henry it was a chance to prove that he will make a name for himself, 16 years after debuting in NWA: Wildside. For Sorensen though this was yet another set-back on a road that has been up and down. Henry capitalized on his MMA background and locked in a Triangle choke to force Sorensen to tap and give Henry a chance at the second round. With that, let's take a look at the bracket for the second round! <img alt="gHSMwQ9.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/gHSMwQ9.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> (Original blank bracket by Deviantartist: WWEPHOTOSHOPERFAN) </div> </div></blockquote>

Texasrangers13 · September 4, 2018

ROHWrestling.com Breaking News: Major Departure From Ring of Honor Roster

<div style="text-align:center;">ROHWrestling.com Breaking News: Chris Sabin Departs</div>

January Week 2, Monday.

Baltimore, MD

ROH Offices

Ring of Honor officials received a phone call early Monday morning from Chris Sabin informing them of his decision to leave the ROH/NJPW family and sign an exclusive contract with All-Japan Pro Wrestling. This move was unexpected, and Ring of Honor officials confirm that they recently had offered Sabin a long-term extension. Sabin had recently played a major part in the Royalty storyline, turning on long-time partner Alex Shelley in the process. It is expected that Sabin's deal with AJPW included heavy incentives and he is likely to be the featured star in the upcoming Junior Battle for Glory. Sabin previously ruffled some feathers internationally when he left NJPW to perform with Dragon Gate.

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<div style="text-align:center;">HONOR CLUB Exclusive Wrestle Kingdom 13 Recap</div>

Yesterday was also the 13th edition of Wrestle Kingdom, Honor Club subscribers will receive an exclusive look at the three matches that featured regular ROH performers on the the show with English Commentary provided by Kevin Kelly and Don Callis!

The Honor Club exclusive coverage of Wrestle Kingdom kicked off with a Triple-Threat, Three-man tag for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles. Reigning champions David Finlay Jr and The Best Friends defended their belts in a phenomenal opener defeating EVIL, SANADA and YOSHI-Hashi and then defeating Rey Fenix, Rey Mystery Jr, and Ricochet.

In the second bout fans saw Mark Briscoe's final bout before taking his hiatus as he dropped the IWGP JR Heavyweight Title to Zack Sabre Jr in a very solid, and highly technical bout.

The next bit of our exclusive recap featured the NEVER Openweight Title as Bad Luck Fale faced off against ROH World Champion, and the leader of Royalty, Cody. This bout was a solid back and forth contest between two former Bullet Club allies, Cody resorted to every trick in the book, but Fale seemed to have an answer for nearly every tactic, that was until Cody used an old Dusty Rhodes special and tossed some rosin into the face of Fale. Cody then hit the CrossRhodes, made the cover and became the new NEVER Openweight champion. He stood proudly in the ring with both the ROH World and NEVER Openweight titles draped over his shoulders. We suspect this won't be the last you've heard from Bad Luck Fale and his Guerrillas of Destiny though...stay tuned.

Full Card:

<ul><li>Pre-Show: Jay Briscoe, Kota Ibushi, Yoshitatsu, Matt Jackson and Yuji Nagata defeated Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii, Manabu Nakamura, Takashi Iizuki (C+) </li><li>Pre-Show: Taka Michinoku won the New Japan Rumble (C-) </li><li>Finlay Jr and The Best Friends defeated EVIL/SANADA/YOSHIHASHI and Mysterio/Fenix/Ricochet (C+) to retain the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Titles </li><li>Zack Sabre Jr defeated Mark Briscoe to win the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title (C+) </li><li>Roppongi 3K defeated Guerrillas of Destiny, The World Class Tag Team and Time Splitters (C-) </li><li>TenKoji defeated Liger & Tiger for the IWGP Tag Titles © </li><li>Cody defeated Bad Luck Fale for the NEVER Openweight Title (C-) </li><li>Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Title (B+) </li><li>Tetsuya Naito defeated Kenny Omega to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Title (B+) </li><li>Overall: B </li></ul>

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{Just wanted to give a bit of background on what happened at our partner, NJPW's biggest show. Cody winning the NEVER belt is likely going to play into an upcoming storyline (April and May's major PPV are both co-branded with NJPW as a reminder). I also wanted to highlight the Sabin news... OUCH didn't expect that... and it's not the last major hit I take this week... part two of that story is coming tomorrow!)

Texasrangers13 · September 5, 2018

ROH TV January 2019, Week 2 <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV January 2019, Week 2</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;"> The show opens with Dalton Castle, Beretta and Chuckie T, The Bestest Friends, heading down to the ring. Dalton has a microphone and he immediately orders the music cut. He says that he's heard that he's been a disappointment but oddly enough that didn't keep him from making friends! Best Friends in fact... and he's not talking about his Boys... though The Boys are still present and fanning all three members of the Bestest Friends. Dalton says in order to prove their worth as a trio they want to face The End for the Six-Man titles and they want to do it at the Top Prospect Tournament Pay-Per-View... Matt Taven and The End walk out and say there is no way The Bestest Friends can just demand a title shot... so next week... Dalton Castle can face Hammerstone, one on one... if Castle wins, they can have their shot... The first match of the night was a pay-per-view quality singles bout between Jay Lethal and Damien "Punishment" Martinez. Both men's partners accompanied them to the ring but actually manage to stay uninvolved in the match. The finish sees Lethal capitalize on a Martinez mistake and land the Lethal Injection for the victory... Post-match Lethal and Low-Ki seem unimpressed with the Horror Kings challenge. We go to a video that says "Earlier This Week", we see a bunch of gorgeous women and what appears to be bottle service... the camera pans back and sees Kenny King sitting with a couple of the ladies... as the camera approaches King says "Man this DJ sucks... he gets up and walks to the DJ booth, the DJ is clearly former IMPACT! Wrestling star Zema Ion, King laughs and calls him a bootleg DJ with no talent... similar to his career in the ring. King tosses his drink at Ion and the two men begin to brawl, knocking over the DJ booth before security pulls them apart... The promo ends with the announcers putting over that Shiima Xion, better known as DJ Z has challenged Kenny King to a Proving Ground bout and it'll take place later tonight! We return to the ring where Austin Aries and Cheeseburger have made their entrances... The bell rings, Aries whips Cheeseburger into the ropes, catching him on the rebound and lifting him into a Brainbuster for the 1-2-3... Aries immediately demands a microphone and says "See, that's what I am capable of, but here, I'm treated like absolute garbage. I'm disrespected and no one HONORS me like the superstar that I am... Last month, I let that get to me and I lost to Dalton, FREAKING, CASTLE!... Well The Greatest That Ever Lived IS REFOCUSED and ready to take on all comers... Back from commercial break Kenny King makes his entrance, he cuts a quick promo on how awful DJ Zema Ion is and how he should probably pick a new day job...He adds that he cannot believe Ring of Honor officials are even giving him an opportunity. DJ Z comes out to the standard DJ horn and dance music and the fans seem to enjoy the gig. The match itself though was a bit of a flop, the two guys just didn't connect. In the end, Kenny King rolled up Zema with a fistful of tights and escaped victorious. Despite this Ion gave it a good showing and will definitely have a shot at a roster spot here in Ring of Honor. Before break we see a video recapping what happened last week after the Television Title bout between Flip Gordon and Marty Scurll, culminating in the vicious debut of Jeff Cobb. Back to the ring we go as Jeff Cobb is set for his first bout here in Ring of Honor as he'll take on Flip Gordon, a man he assaulted last week after his bout. Flip managed to get some of his signature spots in but Jeff Cobb's pure strength was far too much for Gordon to handle as he caught him mid high spot, whipped him around and hit the Tour of the Islands for the victory. Post-Match, Cobb delivered an extra powerbomb to Gordon leaving him limp and called out Marty Scurll, saying Marty has something that he wants... the gold of the Television Title and he won't stop until he has it, and once he has that... CODY You better watch out because I'm coming for yours next...... We went off the air as Cobb lifted Gordon again and delivered another Sit-Out Powerbomb as backstage officials attempted to get him out of the ring. </div> </div></blockquote> {False note last post, still have another couple posts before the next big Breaking News item} {Up next is Round 2 of the Top Prospect Tournament and Week 3 of Ring of Honor TV leading into the PPV}

Texasrangers13 · September 5, 2018

Honor Club Exclusive: Second Round of the Top Prospect Tournament <div style="text-align:center;">Honor Club Exclusive: Second Round of the Top Prospect Tournament</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;"> <img alt="gHSMwQ9.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/gHSMwQ9.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> The tournament's second round kicks off with the bracket being shown to remind the fans what is in store. With that let's head to the ring for the first bout... Top Prospect Tournament Second Round Kriss Stark Defeated Brody King No one was quite sure what to expect in this one, but what we got was a high-paced, athletic contest that pitted two combatants with completely different styles against each other. King dominated much of the match, but after a near pinfall, let's call it a 2.9 lost composure and allowed Stark to get back in it. As the match worked its way back into the middle of the ring King lifted Stark for a monstrous powerbomb only to see Stark slide over, roll King up and snatch a quick 1-2-3 for victory and the ticket punch to the Semi-Finals. Top Prospect Tournament Second Round Ray Rosas defeated Peter Avalon One of the top tag-teams on the SoCal Indy Scene, Rosas and Avalon were pitted against each other here in the quarter finals. They started off very hesitant to hit each other, but then realized that they needed to go all out to earn their shot at Ring of Honor glory. The bumping mad-man Avalon did a nice job of putting his partner and friend Rosas over and Rosas looked good in the victory. Post-match the two men embraced. Top Prospect Tournament Second Round Austin Theory defeated Myron Reed Austin Theory, Wrestling's Unproven One, showed the ROH crowd what he was made of here. Reed gave it his all, but Theory's strength, speed and agility proved far too much to overcome. In the end it was Theory hitting the Unproven Cutter square in the middle of the ring that gave him the victory. Post-match Theory cut a brief promo saying that he was born "Greatness" and while he is Unproven... it is only a matter of time before everyone is screaming his name. Top Prospect Tournament Second Round Fred Yehi defeated Anthony Henry Easily the best match of the night and a showcase for both Georgia boys. Henry, the son-in-law of former Impact! Wrestling, and GA Wrestling legend David Young. Controlled the early part of the match, targeting Yehi's injured neck throughout. But Yehi battled back and swung momentum his way in the middle of the bout. Both men have a solid mat game and this turned into a chain wrestling showcase. Suddenly Henry took advantage again and whipped Yehi off the ropes, connecting with a huge Spinebuster in the middle of the ring. Yehi's head bounced off the mat and it looked like he was out, but he managed to kick out at two and fought his way back into the contest. Henry went for another Irish Whip, but Yehi countered, knocking Henry down with a shoulder block and then locking in the Koji Clutch and forcing Henry to tap. The bitter defeat left the 16-year vet in tears on the mat, but the fans show their respect and Fred Yehi raised him arm in a sign of respect. As for the winner, Yehi, it was clear that the injury to his neck was taking a toll on him, but he proved his worth tonight and showed us why he's one of the hottest names on the scene today. <img alt="vyCYx6W.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/vyCYx6W.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div> </div></blockquote>

Texasrangers13 · September 5, 2018

ROH TV: January Week 3, 2019 <div style="text-align:center;">ROH TV, January Week 3, 2019</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;"> With the Top Prospect Tournament mere days away we are back on ROH Television. With the first two round exclusively broadcast on the Honor Club, ROH officials made the decision that tonight the semi-finalists would be in action against each other in a tag-team bout. Thus giving the cable audience their first look at the semi-finalists and giving them a chance to showcase their stuff. Backstage, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page are seen, all three men appear healthy and Matt Jackson says that The Hung Bucks are back and they are issuing a challenge to SoCal Uncensored 2.0 for the Top Prospect Tournament PPV. Speaking of Top Prospects, our semi-finalists are out next, Ray Rosas and Austin Theory making up one team and Fred Yehi and Kriss Stark making up the other. Teammates tonight, opponents tomorrow. This one was a disappointing showcase for them but it did progress the various storylines developed on the Honor Club broadcasts. Austin Theory looked solid early, but tagged out as he was building momentum. Fred Yehi and Kriss Stark actually worked well together for most of the bout but Yehi was slowed a bit by the neck injury and performed with KT tape wrapping his upper body. As Ray Rosas was building his comeback he went for a hot tag, only for Austin Theory to jump off the apron and walk out to a massive round of boos. Stark caught Rosas in the Tijuana Sunrise and took home the victory for his team. On PPV we will see the Semi's and The Finals! Austin Aries is out for another rant about being disrespected and how he's out to shut everyone up. He's sick and tired of hearing that he's washed up and that he's a sell out He's.... <img alt="hBvgtM7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/hBvgtM7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ...Jeff Cobb's music hit and Cobb is out telling Aries to put up or shut up. Back from break Austin Aries and Jeff Cobb have a solid match-up that sees Aries build some momentum only for the 5'10", 263 pound Olympian to lay into him and leave the ring with his most impressive victory yet, hitting the Tour of the Islands on Aries for the 1-2-3. As he disposes of Aries, Cobb grabs a microphone and calls out Royalty. He says he's read the news, he knows that Sabin has fled, he knows that Davey Boy is out injured and he knows that Cody is scared of him and hiding out in Japan. He then turns his attention to the Top Prospect Tournament saying that Ring of Honor officials knew he wasn't just a Top Prospect, they knew he was already a bonafide star. He knows he'd beat any of those men... so at Top Prospect Tournament he's challenging Marty Scurll for the television title so that the winner of the tournament can face a real challenge as their prize...and Scurll has no choice, because if he ducks Cobb, he will find him and he will pry the gold from his limp, dead, fingers. Back in the ring after the break the Horror Kings made relatively easy work of Coast 2 Coast with No Gimmicks Needed (Low-Ki and Jay Lethal) joining Riccaboni on commentary... as the match is nearing it's conclusion Lethal says that at the Top Prospect Tournament they are going to face the Horror Kings... but that they don't worry or impress them... with that they walked out just as Martinez hit the Straight to Hell Chokeslam. In the main event, Dalton Castle earned his new Best Friends a 6-man Title shot defeating Hammerstone in one on one action. Castle showed his sneaky strength with the deadlift suplex popping the fans. The show went off the air with The Bestest Friends staring down The End and Ian Riccaboni plugging the first pay-per-view of the year. </div> </div></blockquote> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <div style="text-align:center;">Ring of Honor Top Prospect Tournament Pay-Per-View Preview</div> <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="44489" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div> <div style="text-align:center;">Semi-Finals: Fred Yehi vs. Kriss Stark</div> Fred Yehi has been the star of the tournament, with Stark serving as the inspirational story having made a recent comeback after nearly four years off. In the first semi-final bout we'll see these two men go one on one for the first time. The questions here are will Yehi's neck hold up and if it does will Stark be able to take down the hottest name in the Southeast. <div style="text-align:center;">Semi-Finals: Austin Theory vs. Ray Rosas</div> The Unproven One, Austin Theory, has that certain arrogance that reeks of him being a future superstar. Taking that a step-further he's already had a tryout with the WWE. He's openly stated that Ring of Honor is the launching pad that will put him into orbit. On the other end of the spectrum, Ray Rosas is one of the favorite names of the SoCal scene and has proved himself a worthy singles competitor in this tournament. Just last night during ROH TV these two had a clear falling out as Theory walked out on Rosas and cost his team the tag match against the other semi-finalists... now they can settle their differences with a ticket to the finals on the line. <div style="text-align:center;">Six-Man Tag Grudge Match: The Hung Bucks vs. SoCal Uncensored 2.0</div> Two teams with illustrious pedigrees, both looking to get 2019 on track before the train leaves the station. The Hung Bucks are back at full strength after various ailments has kept a member out (first Hangman Page, then Nick Jackson) for the last two months. As for SoCal Uncensored 2.0, the wily vets lost their 6-Man titles in December at Final Battle and are trying to get back on track. They are reluctantly leaving the beach to come to the East Coast for this one, and a win will certainly put them back in the picture for a title shot. <div style="text-align:center;">Austin Aries Open Challenge: Austin Aries vs. ???</div> Austin Aries has been a thorn in the side of Ring of Honor officials since making his return at the Honor Rumble in the late fall. After a recent rough patch, including a bone-crushing loss to Jeff Cobb last night, Austin Aries has issued an open challenge and he's sure to have more to say about it at PPV. Will this be Aries breaking point? Or will he dominate the competition and prove he's still the Greatest That Ever Lived. <div style="text-align:center;">ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Jeff Cobb</div> Wasting no time Jeff Cobb burst onto the scene to start 2019 roughhousing Flip Gordon, Marty Scurll and Austin Aries. Cobb states that he's out for gold and his first target is Marty and the Television Title that he's held for nearly a year. For Marty's worth he's proven to be a fighting champion and one who has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, but in this brief feud all he's done is be assaulted by Cobb, but let's be honest the last month for Royalty has been a bit of a hectic time. From bouncing back to Japan to losing Chris Sabin, Cody and Marty's focus may not fully be on Ring of Honor and that may cost them one of their precious belts. As for Cobb, he's also stated that when he wins the Television Title he's coming straight for Cody, so their is a vested interest in Cody paying close attention to this one. <div style="text-align:center;">ROH Tag Titles: No Gimmicks Needed {C} vs. Horror Kings</div> The Horror Kings sent War Machine packing after harassing them in December and started 2019 with the same games targeting the ROH Tag Champions, but Jay Lethal and Low-Ki were completely unfazed, as their name states, this team is about fighting and they've stated that this bout is to shut the Horror Kings up and show Ring of Honor what fighting champions look like. <div style="text-align:center;">Top Prospect Tournament Finals: Fred Yehi/Kriss Stark vs. Austin Theory/Ray Rosas</div> The winners of the semi-final bouts earlier in the show will do battle here with a guaranteed one-year Ring of Honor contract and a shot at the Television Title as their prize. <div style="text-align:center;">ROH Six-Man Tag Titles: The End {C} vs. The Bestest Friends</div> A year ago Matt Taven was still a member of the Kingdom and was claiming a conspiracy was holding him back. Hammerstone had just finished participating in the Top Prospect Tournament and Odinson was on his way to victory in the same tournament. Dalton Castle was the ROH World Champion and the Best Friends had been riding a wave of momentum... My how things change in a year. Taven paired with the destructive force known as The End and has ridden their strength to the top, once again capturing the ROH Six-Man Titles. Dalton Castle's year-long trek back to relevance seemed to be back on track with a strong performance in the Rager at Sea, but it was capped with a victory over Austin Aries and a new alliance with the Bestest Friends. In this one we will see who will start 2019 off with a bang. </div></blockquote> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top Prospect Tournament Quick Picks (2019 Prediction Contest, Session One) <ul><li>Semi-Finals: Fred Yehi vs. Kriss Stark </li><li>Semi-Finals: Austin Theory vs. Ray Rosas </li><li>Six-Man Tag Grudge Match: The Hung Bucks vs. SoCal Uncensored 2.0 </li><li>Austin Aries Open Challenge: Austin Aries vs. ??? </li><li>ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Jeff Cobb </li><li>ROH Tag Titles: No Gimmicks Needed {C} vs. Horror Kings </li><li>Top Prospect Tournament Finals: Fred Yehi/Kriss Stark vs. Austin Theory/Ray Rosas </li><li>ROH Six-Man Tag Titles: The End {C} vs. The Bestest Friends </li></ul>

Powerbrock100 · September 6, 2018

Semi-Finals: Fred Yehi vs. Kriss Stark

Semi-Finals: Austin Theory vs. Ray Rosas

Six-Man Tag Grudge Match: The Hung Bucks vs. SoCal Uncensored 2.0

Austin Aries Open Challenge: Austin Aries vs. ???

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Jeff Cobb

ROH Tag Titles: No Gimmicks Needed {C} vs. Horror Kings

Top Prospect Tournament Finals: Fred Yehi/Kriss Stark vs. Austin Theory/Ray Rosas

ROH Six-Man Tag Titles: The End {C} vs. The Bestest Friends

BHK1978 · September 6, 2018

Semi-Finals: Fred Yehi vs. Kriss Stark

Semi-Finals: Austin Theory vs. Ray Rosas

Six-Man Tag Grudge Match: The Hung Bucks vs. SoCal Uncensored 2.0

Austin Aries Open Challenge: Austin Aries vs. ???

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Jeff Cobb

ROH Tag Titles: No Gimmicks Needed {C} vs. Horror Kings

Top Prospect Tournament Finals: Fred Yehi vs. Austin Theory-Yehi just won the FIP HW Championship which to me means he is probably over in terms of popularity.

ROH Six-Man Tag Titles: The End {C} vs. The Bestest Friends

The Lariat · September 6, 2018

Semi-Finals: Fred Yehi vs. Kriss Stark

Semi-Finals: Austin Theory vs. Ray Rosas

Six-Man Tag Grudge Match: The Hung Bucks vs. SoCal Uncensored 2.0

Austin Aries Open Challenge: Austin Aries vs. ???

ROH Television Title: Marty Scurll {C} vs. Jeff Cobb

ROH Tag Titles: No Gimmicks Needed {C} vs. Horror Kings

Top Prospect Tournament Finals: Fred Yehi/Kriss Stark vs. Austin Theory/Ray Rosas

ROH Six-Man Tag Titles: The End {C} vs. The Bestest Friends

Pains me not to pick Rosas, but Theory has more upside in this one. Hoping we haven't seen the last of some of the Top Prospect wrestlers.

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