Last week: Bandido won the 2021 Survival of the Fittest tournament by surviving the onslaught of Eli Isom, Chris Dickinson, Demonic Flamita, Rhett Titus, and Brian Johnson.
ROH TV Episode 511
July 3, 2021
Baltimore, MD
– Quinn McKay welcomed everyone to the show before talking about the result of the Survival of the Fittest finale that saw Bandido tap out Eli Isom. Bandido joined McKay for an interview where the exuberant Bandido declared he will not waste his opportunity come “Best in the World” where he challenges for the ROH World Championship. Bandido gave Quinn a big hug in celebration of what happened and what is to come.
Also at “Best in the World” it will be Mike Bennett facing the Pure champion at “Best in the World” after winning the most recent Pure Rules Gauntlet. Tonight it will be Fred Yehi facing the champ Jonathan Gresham for the Pure Championship.
– Fred Yehi spoke about his ROH tenure thus far being like a roller coaster. After starting off with a big win over Silas Young, he fell to several opponents before winning the first Pure Rules Gauntlet. Yehi’s first victory in months allowed for him to start a winning streak that put him at this moment – a moment where he will face someone who has sat under the same learning tree during their early days to become a Pure champion.
Pure Championship: Jonathan Gresham (c) vs. Fred Yehi
The early grappling exchange saw the challenger looking to hook a leg for submission attempts. Jonathan Gresham was right there the entire time, countering everything his opposition had in mind while setting up hammerlocks, top wrist locks, and pinning combinations. Yehi’s focus shifted to the champion’s left arm after they tied up again. Both men were looking for hip tosses when they got up, resulting in both careening over the top where a headlock-head scissors exchange broke out; leading to a stalemate and the commercial break.
When they reentered the ring it was Yehi landing the first hip toss. When Yehi went for another hip toss they ended up falling into the ropes. The break wasn’t so clean with Gresham showing the aggression by shoving “The Savageweight” away. Yehi paid Gresham back by pushing him into the corner for a shove when the referee demanded a clean break. Things were definitely getting tense as they tussled in the collar & elbow until both started using their free forearm to grinding the appendage in their opponent’s face. Open-hand strikes started flying and both were looking for flash pins. Missing a dropkick almost put Gresham in the Koji Clutch.
Gresham stopped the submission, but nearly put himself in a rear naked choke. After turning the submission into a failed pin attempt against Yehi, “The Octopus” wanted to test strength. Yehi’s weight & strength advantage saw him press the champion to the canvas. But Gresham knew his positioning, rolling through the knuckle lock to wrench his challenger’s fingers. Yehi went to stomping after his hands got mangled. Yehi made the big mistake of reaching down to grab Gresham when the champ snatched him into a crucifix for the rather surprising pin fall.
Code of Honor was followed as it became official that it will be Gresham versus Bennett at “BitW”.
– Quinn McKay caught up with the Pure champion who made sure he emphasized that Yehi is worthy of being a part of his division, but must drop back to the back of the line. When McKay asked about his “BitW” opponent Mike Bennett, Gresham explained that he doesn’t see anything pure about Mike; promising to end Bennett’s stay in the Pure division in record time.
Fight on the Farm: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
Papa Briscoe opened up the barn door to reveal a wrestling ring ready for war. Asking his sons to keep it clean and fight like men, Papa Briscoe stepped aside to let his sons go at it. Mark landed the first big blow, stomping a mudhole into his brother afterward. Jay left the ring, grabbing a shovel to stop a tope by Mark. Papa demanded they reenter the ring to which Mark shoved Jay in for a big series of punches in the corner after splashing the former World champion. Mark called for a moonsault when Jay got up & shoved him off the top through a table on the outside! Jay had finally taken control, bringing the fight out of the barn where they battled up the driveway toward a truck where Jay grabbed a trashcan lid to bash his brother on the top of his head. Mark took a metal tub to the head not once, but twice. Placing a wooden board across the truck bed & the tub, Jay walked into a low blow that Papa didn’t appreciate. Jay didn’t appreciate taking a suplex through the wooden board before the commercial break.
Mark was climbing a ladder placed beside an RV when Jay got up to question what his brother was doing. Mark nonchalantly exclaimed, “I’m about to jump on yo’ ass!”
Jay opted to follow his brother to the top of the RV, only to get caught in a sleeper. Mark pulled his big brother to the RV’s front, setting up for a Death Valley Driver off the vehicle. Jay elbowed his way out of the precarious predicament, pitching Mark off the RV onto a pile of stuff covered in a black tarp. Jay took his time retrieving his brother to put him on the truck bed. Jay demanded the cameraman ride along as Jay declared, “I’m gonna compost his ass!”
The short trip resulted in Mark recovering and jumping out of the woods on an unsuspecting Jay when the eldest Briscoe brother parked. Using a rope, Mark choked Jay until his face started turning colors. Pulling a table off the truck bed, Mark set up the wood after bashing his brother on the head with a metal sign. Mark climbed the nearby car port via a tree after placing Jay on the table. With reckless abandon, Mark jumped off the car port to drive his brother through the table prior to the commercial break!
The show returned with Papa Briscoe asking if his boys are done fighting while they lay in the rubble of broken table. Helping his boys to their feet, Papa carried Jay & Mark back to the ring so they could finish what they started in their journey to become the baddest tag team on the planet again. When Dem Boys finally got up they started swinging for the fences. Mark seemed to be winning the fisticuffs battle when he ran into a big rolling elbow. Big boot from Mark reset the fistfight until they were on their knees slugging it out. Jay suddenly said he was good to his dad when Mark almost took his brother’s head off with a clothesline. With his sons on their backs and apparently okay with each other again, Papa Briscoe told them to, “Clean this s*** up,” to conclude the “Fight on the Farm”.
Overall: With ROH’s next big pay-per-view a week away, ROH added some depth to the card while presenting a glimpse into the future of its tag team division. While some may be disappointed with the “Fight on the Farm’s” outcome, it did the job it needed to do by providing a wild fight between two men who love beating the tar out of each other as much as they like beating the tar out of their opponents. The “Fight on the Farm” was simplistic in the best way possible made better with the natural Briscoe flair & charm including the pseudo-commentary & reactions from Papa Briscoe. “Fight on the Farm” wasn’t really about supremacy and more about just getting their aggressions out; hopefully resulting in The Briscoes riding again.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was the definitive Pure Championship match. Like so many of Gresham’s Pure title matches, the majority was rooted in catch-as-catch-can wrestling where Yehi proved he’s just as good as anyone in regards to grappling. But it was Gresham’s continued ingenuity that allowed him to win yet again with a different path to victory than his other Pure matches; making him the most unpredictable wrestler in all of ROH. Really fun episode with the best of both ROH worlds displayed in fine fashion; though some may not care for the outcome of “Fight on the Farm”.
