Welcome to another edition of The ROHbot Report – the only article you need for all the Ring of Honor news you have to know. The end is near as ROH gets ready for, arguably, the most important event in ROH history as the company uses it as the company’s final hurrah as everyone knows it. Lets find out what will happen during this true end of an era.
Final Battle Preview; December 11th, 2021; Baltimore, MD
ROH World Tag Team Championship: The OGK defend against The Briscoes
2021 prior to the month of October had been pretty rough for all of these men. For The Briscoes, their inability to regain the ROH World Tag Team Championship and Jay Briscoe’s feud with EC3 caused dissension between the brothers that resulted in them recently fighting in two wild matches including a “Fight on the Farm” in front of their father. After brutalizing each other on the same land they grew up on, The Briscoes have found themselves in good standing with each other and began their hopeful journey back to the top of ROH’s Tag Team division. The OGK of Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, also former ROH World Tag Team titleholders, were a little too busy over the past year dealing with The Righteous. With The Righteous actually overcoming Taven in a Steel Cage bout at “Glory By Honor” last month, The OGK attempted to refocus on more professional matters against a tandem they know incredibly well.
When Jay Briscoe was forced to relinquish his first of two ROH World Championships in 2013, it was Adam Cole that won the vacant title and attacked Briscoe when Jay attempted to do the honorable thing. Cole’s one act of dishonor started a domino effect that turned the Jay-Cole feud into a stable war as Cole formed The Kingdom alongside Taven & Bennett. The Briscoes and Bennett & Taven fought numerous times during 2014 including mixed tag action where ODB joined Dem Boys to take on The Kingdom & Maria Kanellis.
But their final war was the most important as Jay & Mark fell to Taven & Bennett in an Armageddon Two Out of Three Falls match where each fall featured a different stipulation. The Briscoes never got a rematch from their then-six-year-old loss to The OGK until “Death Before Dishonor” this past September. “Dem Boys” brought the fight to their old rivals in Philadelphia during the pay-per-view, but that familiarity also cost Jay as Matt Taven countered the Jay Driller with a small package to pin the former two-time ROH World champion.
While The OGK used their win to catapult themselves up the rankings and eventually dethrone Kenny King & Dragon Lee to win their second ROH World Tag Team Championship, The Briscoes went beyond ROH for the first time in over a decade. Jay & Mark suddenly arrived in Game Changer Wrestling, immediately challenging for the company’s Tag Team title. It only took one event for The Briscoes to become the new GCW Tag Team titleholders, triumphantly defending the title last month at ROH’s “Honor For All” against GCW’s EFFY & AJ Gray.
Though this isn’t a title for title encounter, the level of pride involved rivals anything else on the show. With ROH taking a hiatus and the lack of knowledge what the future will bring makes one assume that this may be both team’s last chance to prove their superiority against the other and potentially leave as the final ROH Tag Team champions. With that being stated: twelve times.
ROH World Television Championship (Four Corner Survival): Dalton Castle defends against Joe Hendry vs. Silas Young vs. Rhett Titus
The former ROH World champion Dalton Castle has been very busy as of late. Beyond his in-ring activities, Castle has recently showcased his game show talents on “Celebrity Family Feud”. But his antics alongside former WCW World Heavyweight champion David Arquette didn’t reduce how wacky Castle has been in ROH over the past few months. That wackiness came at the expense of a match between Eli Isom and Dak Draper on ROH TV that resulted in both men getting kicked in the groin by Castle after the former World champion talked about being so impressed by them.
The controversy between the three continued on for weeks and, eventually, months with Draper actually aligning himself with “The Peacock”. But Dalton had bigger goals in mind: regaining a ROH championship. On ROH TV episode 531, Castle found himself taking on two-time Television Championship holder Dragon Lee. In a somewhat shocking turn of events, Castle walked away victorious with the TV title in his possession.
But before Dalton reached champion status again by himself, Castle had hopes of adding another Tag Team Championship to his list of accomplishments. By Castle’s side was another eccentric gent, “The Prestigious One” Joe Hendry. The powerhouse with the golden vocal chords had to sit & watch the thrilling action of Honor while unable to travel abroad.
Using his free time to get in the best shape of his life, Hendry announced his return to ROH for a match against the man who assisted him win his last ROH match before the pandemic hit. Though Hendry was starting to succeed as a tag team competitor in ROH, his accomplishments alone are not to be ignored including wins over former Pure champion Doug Williams, current ROH World Tag Team champion Matt Taven, and, ironically enough, one of his other opponents in this bout, Silas Young.
“The Last Real Man” Silas Young enters “Final Battle” having held the Television Championship on two occasions. A technical brawler with a sour attitude, Young has stood the test of time in ROH having made appearances in the company dating back to 2007 before becoming a staple of Honor in 2012 onward. Just like Castle and Hendry, Young had his eyes on tag team glory before the pandemic, eventually doing what he does best by turning on his most recent ally; in this case, Josh Woods. Before Woods found out the hard way Young can’t be trusted as a long-term partner, Beer City Bruiser felt Silas’ wrath after assisting him in embarrassing Dalton and stealing Castle’s Boys. Castle eventually avenged the pay-per-view loss to Young by overcoming “The Last Real Man” on ROH TV in a crazy Fight Without Honor.
Someone very familiar with battling great odds in ROH is Rhett Titus. Before Titus focused on being a practitioner of pure wrestling, Rhett gladly went to war with the likes of The Briscoes, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team, SCUM of Kevin Steen, Jimmy Jacobs & Steve Corino, and even his old tag team partner Kenny King. While Titus has done well as a tag team wrestler, singles glory eluded him since his debut in ROH over fifteen years ago. “The Professional” has come close time & time again, but fell short when it mattered most. Undeniably feuded by the determination that kept him going for so long in a company that helped shape him as a man, Titus has one final opportunity to make his dream a reality.
The most interesting statistic coming into this title match is the fact Silas Young enters “Final Battle” with an undefeated record since 2013 with two of those matches including a singles and tag team victory over Castle. Also, Young’s first ROH World Television Championship reign came courtesy of a Four Corner Survival Elimination match victory at “Final Battle” – the same “Final Battle” in 2017 where Castle defeated Cody Rhodes to win the ROH World Championship.
Though the numbers may not be on his side, Hendry has worked toward this moment – winning a ROH title – his entire career. And then there’s the long-time ROH fan’s sentimental favorite to finally win the big one. With the odds stacked against him his entire career, Rhett has found a way to both survive and thrive in the harsh waters of Honor. It doesn’t take Steiner math to figure out everyone has a twenty-five percent chance of winning, but the heart of those who haven’t tasted singles gold in ROH yet may take their chances up to thirty-three & a third percent of finally winning a ROH title on their own.
ROH Pure Championship: Josh Woods defends against Brian Johnson
Josh Woods really made a name for himself last year during the Pure Championship tournament where he fought to the semi-finals after defeating Kenny King and PJ Black. In his semi-final bout, Woods faced eventual winner Jonathan Gresham in a match that almost ended in “The Technical Beast’s” favor. Woods didn’t let the loss stop his progress, overcoming Jay Lethal, Dalton Castle, and Silas Young in Pure Rules matches between 2020 and 2021. It was during his match with Young that Woods’ abilities hit a new level as he dropped his old, somewhat goofy persona to embrace the dangerous submission specialist he truly is; winning a Last Man Standing match against “The Last Real Man” at “Best in the World” ’21.
Woods’ eventual date with destiny saw him standing across the ring from the man who dashed his original hope of becoming the Pure champion over a year ago, “The Octopus”. Woods’ return to Philadelphia for “Death Before Dishonor’ in September was the culmination of all his hard work transitioning from a masterful amateur & MMA fighter to skilled pro wrestler when he did what no other man could by overcoming Gresham in a Pure Rules match to become the new Pure champion.
Ironically enough, Brian Johnson has been on a mission to reach his believed potential as well. While Woods has entered every ROH event he’s been on with the intent of his actions doing the talking, “The Mecca” let his mouth precursor his plans for victory against any & every opponent. Seen as nothing more than a loudmouth during his early days of Honor, Johnson transformed both his body & his luck. Throughout 2021, Johnson elevated his game; picking up wins against the likes of Danhausen, Sledge, and even successfully teaming with Mark Briscoe on short notice.
As the temperature turned colder on the east coast, Johnson was getting fired up like never before as he officially entered the Pure Division. Johnson entered a Pure Rules Gauntlet at the very end, taking the overall victory from sentimental favorite LSG. Johnson topped that win by overcoming veteran & mentor PJ Black, and former Pure champion John Walters in Pure Rules encounters. During all of those Pure Rules bouts, “The Mecca” won via questionable methods such as blinding Black with an eye poke behind the referee’s back before executing his “Trust the Process” DDT for the pin fall. Like his fights with Silas Young, Woods will be aware of dastardly tactics, but it doesn’t take long for anyone to get caught in a pinning predicament that they can’t avoid. Johnson’s biggest ROH moment could be his most fortunate, but it’s hard to believe “The Technical Beast” will leave Baltimore without the Pure Championship in his possession.
ROH World Women’s Championship: Rok-C defends against Willow
ROH and women’s wrestling hadn’t been very consistent or groundbreaking from the company’s inception until 2015. In those thirteen years, ROH hosted women’s matches with a variety of competitors or working alongside companies like SHIMMER. When ROH finally took its best foot forward in having its own women’s division it suffered several growing pains greatly associated with ROH in general including the loss of talent due to signings elsewhere and trying to indirectly compete against other promotions who were able to sign & groom said talents to be some of the best wrestlers the world has to offer. A combination of internal issues between talent & ROH management, the Covid-19 pandemic, and Maria Kanellis-Bennett’s return came the end of “Women of Honor” and the birth of ROH’s new Women’s Division.
To crown the first ROH World Women’s champion, fifteen competitors fought in a single-elimination tournament including former two-time Women of Honor champion Angelina Love, the first WOH titleholder Sumie Sakai, and several world-class competitors including the longest-reigning SHIMMER champion to date Nicole Savoy, and former NWA World’s Women’s champion Allysin Kay. The tournament also featured fresh faces in ROH – women who found some success in their home promotions and internationally – looking to make their mark on a larger stage. One of those women was none other than Rok-C.
Unlike many of her opponents including tournament finalist Miranda Alize, Rok-C hadn’t gained the opportunity to travel across the globe and wrestle for multiple heralded promotions due to the simple fact she’s only been wrestling for three years. Though dubbed “The Prodigy” by fans & Booker T. alike, Rok still seemed like an underdog in pretty much every bout she’s competed in thus far including the tournament bouts. Rok’s first opponent was none other than the inaugural Women of Honor champion Sumie Sakai. Rok showcased a knowledge for counter-grappling well beyond her years, catching Sakai with a victory roll. Similarly, Quinn McKay fell to Rok when the prior got caught with a pinning combination – the Code Red/Rok in this instance – to surprise another favorite to make it to the finale. Unlike her first tournament matches was Rok taking advantage of an injured Angelina Love by submitting her via the Fujiwara arm bar. Rok proved herself dangerous all regards of victory just like her future opponent in Alize.
Rok-C’s date with destiny happened in Philadelphia inside a building that saw a bloodied & battered Beulah McGuillicutty show heart unbelievable against the nefarious Bill Alfonso during the heyday of ECW. Stealing the show alongside Alize, “The Prodigy” proved her moniker correct as she walked out the first ROH World Women’s champion. Not resting on her laurels, Rok-C has been traveling around the United States, defending her title. Returning to ROH, the champ proved that even when outmatched in terms of size & power she will find a way to overcome as she did on ROH TV against a very game Gia Scott – and she’ll definitely have to do it again if she plans on beating Willow.
“The Babe With the Power” sports a smile brighter than the sun, a personality more bubbly than champagne, and an in-ring ability worthy of champion status. Like Rok-C, Willow competed in the Women’s Championship Tournament. Willow failed to make it out of the figurative gate, losing in the first round. But Willow’s personality & will to keep moving forward helped her maintain a positive outlook. So when the opportunity arrived for Willow to stake her claim at a title shot in the future, she stepped up immediately. Willow looking for her first crack at ROH gold resulted in her being placed in a Triple Threat bout featuring herself taking on former two-time Women of Honor champion Angelina Love and Miranda Alize.
After a wild encounter, Willow cradled Love to pin her with the intent of facing the winner of a following three-way encounter weeks later. Interestingly enough it was Love’s fellow Allure stablemate and long-time ROH competitor Mandy Leon that Willow would share a ring with to determine the top title contender. In a back & forth battle, Willow was outnumbered and seemingly outmatched until several women came to ringside to stop Love from interfering on Leon’s behalf.
Willow took advantage of the situation people looking to avoid dishonor tainting a match, pinning Mandy after executing her “Babe Bomb” power bomb. This championship encounter featuring two fan favorites with immaculate talents should be the perfect crescendo of ROH’s efforts to build an impressive Women’s Division in 2021. Both have a highly viable chance of walking out with the title similar to many of the bouts on this card. And just like several matches making up “Final Battle” 2021, there’s a great chance it could steal the show with either the crowning of a new, powerful champion or the reinforcing that “The Prodigy” is truly a once-in-a-generation talent
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Shane Taylor Promotions (O’Shay Edwards, Kaun & Moses) defend against The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman & Dutch)
Shane Taylor is determined to be a man who dictates his worth in wrestling. By creating “Shane Taylor Promotions”, Taylor has slowly gained clients, allies and, most importantly, respect from those who always looked at him as the lesser part of the Pretty Boy Killers alongside Keith Lee. By Taylor’s side are three men who too are looking to prove themselves as men who can call their own shots in wrestling: Kaun & Moses (The Soldiers of Savagery) and O’Shay Edwards, “The Big Bad Kaiju”. It was on the February 3rd episode of ROH TV that Shane Taylor Promotions put everything together and did what they claimed they could do for months: become champions if given the same opportunities as other ROH competitors when they defeated MexiSquad to become the new ROH World Six-Man Tag Team champions.
From that night on, STP have been nothing short of unstoppable with Edwards replacing the faction’s figurehead to overcome La Faccion Ingobernable at “Death Before Dishonor” in September. STP has proven that they are more than just a moniker or a pipe dream; they are changing the wrestling landscape and everyone is gunning for what they have including The Righteous. Now adorned in the purest of whites, Vincent & his followers have focused on tearing apart The Foundation by starting with the former “Franchise of ROH” Jay Lethal. By causing dissension in The Foundation’s ranks with a simple video that Lethal has said is edited to depict him denouncing his own faction, The Righteous obliterated Jonathan Gresham, Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams in six-man tag action to earn this title opportunity.
Like the champions, Six-Man gold isn’t foreign to Vincent. In 2016 when ROH instated the World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, Vincent fought alongside Matt Taven & TK O’Ryan under The Kingdom banner. In somewhat surprising fashion, The Kingdom ran through the competition before taking the crowns at, ironically enough, “Final Battle”. History has strange way of repeating itself and the possibility of The Righteous walking out as new champions is possible, if not probable. But to count out STP before the bell sounds, or even after, would be plain foolish.
This trios match has a fifty-fifty chance that either new champions are crowned or STP reigns supreme yet again as the bout will mostly likely come down to who is able to land the biggest blow at the right time when no one else is around to stop a pin or submission.
Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham
Jonathan Gresham’s goal since debuting in ROH has been larger than himself. The golden days of ROH, in Gresham’s opinion, were during a time when Pure Rules matches were the norm and a division housing the best grapplers in the world reigned supreme – men like Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, Doug Williams, and John Walters. For Gresham, pure wrestling was ROH; and so it should be again. Campaigning for the restoration of the Pure Championship and thus the Pure division, Gresham fought tooth & nail to become the first ROH Pure champion in nearly fifteen years; doing so for the world to see on ROH TV last year.
For the next year, “The Octopus” reigned supreme on the top of the Pure division mountain until he was finally dethroned by Josh Woods. Instead of ranting & raving about the loss, Gresham stepped back and accepted defeat while setting his sights on a new goal: become the most powerful man in ROH by winning the World title. As successful as men like Nigel McGuinness were as Pure champion, the ultimate goal for any ROH competitor is to become synonymous with the ROH World Championship – Jay Lethal knows this feeling all too well.
In 2005, Jay Lethal found himself at a crossroads after abandoning his old life as a member of the rocking raver group Special K and adopting the moniker he was known outside of ROH as “Jay Lethal”. It didn’t take long before Lethal’s ROH career really took off and he won the Pure Championship. Though Lethal’s reign didn’t last long, it set a precedent for him that he would spend the next six years attempting to outdo both in ROH and elsewhere including TNA. When Lethal returned to ROH shortly after Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased Ring of Honor in 2011, Jay found himself thrust in the Television title division. Lethal’s first shot proved successful in what would become the first of two TV title reigns; as did Jay’s association with the top of ROH’s cards & events.
A little over ten years after ROH debuted in Manhattan for an event where Lethal would lose his Pure title to Samoa Joe, Jay entered New York as the Television champion with the intent of proving his superiority over another Jay – then-ROH World champion Jay Briscoe – in a title for title bout. Arguably a five-star classic, Lethal and Briscoe waged war like never before until the TV champ executed not one, but two Lethal Injections to pin the World titleholder to become the first & only person to simultaneously hold both ROH’s World & Television Championships.
Lethal’s thirst for gold and Gresham’s need to prove himself formed a bond between the two after several matches where “The Octopus” attempted to wrest the World title from Jay or propel himself up the title rankings with a win over “The Franchise”. Gresham & Lethal eventually became a stellar tag team that would defeat The Briscoes to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship at “Final Battle” two years ago.
Their friendship also gave way to Gresham finding the confidence to turn his dream of reestablishing pure wrestling in ROH by forming The Foundation – a faction of like-minded individuals hoping to showcase a different style of wrestling not seen in the company for almost fifteen years on a consistent basis. Alongside Gresham and Lethal were Rhett Titus – another a long-time ROH competitor – and Tracy Williams – a former member of the LifeBlood faction that too wanted to restore a level of honor lost during a time when The Bullet Club was riding high in the company. But, as with almost all wrestling factions, outside forces cause divisions that sometimes can’t be resolved.
For Jay Lethal, he left ROH on a low note. “The Franchise” was caught essentially denouncing The Foundation, and, thus, the beliefs of his own allies. Moving onto AEW, Lethal seemed to have a new lease on life that almost saw him win the AEW TNT Championship in his first match. Yet, there had to be a nagging feeling in his mind & soul that urged him to settle what seemed unresolvable. With ROH World champion Bandido testing positive for Covid-19 and being unable to defend the title as scheduled against Gresham, Lethal found a way back to ROH for at least one more night. How fitting for Lethal is his return match against the man who has pushed him past his limits more than anyone in the past three years?
This will mark their sixth match against one another in ROH dating back to their first encounter near the start of 2018 where Lethal bested his very tenacious opponent who was just coming out of his figurative shell after spending time as a part of the Search & Destroy faction. But it wasn’t until that summer in 2018 that Gresham really opened the eyes of so many ROH fans when he went into overtime with Lethal for the World title in a thirty-minute Iron Man match during an episode of ROH TV. Though Gresham inevitably lost the Iron Man encounter, it was during that match where he gained he first measure of knowledge in regards to stop Lethal as Jonathan gained the match’s first fall via his Octopus Stretch submission.
It would take another year before Gresham got another crack at Lethal in singles competition; occurring at the seventeenth “Death Before Dishonor” event. And just like in that Iron Man match, the Octopus Stretch was “The Octopus’” key to victory – his first full win over “The Franchise”. After Gresham won the Pure title in a tournament that Lethal make it to the semifinals, the fans clamored for a rematch with the Pure Championship on the line. ROHbots & fans alike got their wish during ROH TV’s 500th episode this past April. Almost relishing in the Pure Rules environment, both men took their time in trying to wear the other down. By the fifteen minute mark, Lethal seemed to be on the verge of dethroning Gresham when the champion caught him in a modified cradle that Jay couldn’t kick out of in time. For the first time in his career, Gresham pinned Lethal in, all places, Baltimore – the same city their potential final ROH clash will occur.
Though the ROH World title may not be on the line (ROH has declared they will address the ROH World Championship situation during “Hour One” of the event), these two will fight like there is a title on the line. As of right now, the momentum is definitely on Gresham’s side as he’s apparently figured out the Jay Lethal riddle that even Kurt Angle couldn’t when he was nearly unstoppable. In the honorable realm, expect nothing more reflective of everything ROH built its foundation upon with this match before and after the bell sounds.
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs. Kenny King
2016 was a turning point in the careers of Kenny King and Shane Taylor. For King, his reunion with Rhett Titus as The All-Night Express didn’t result in regaining the ROH World Tag Team Championship. For Taylor, his losing a tag partner in Keith Lee to potential greener pastures saw him rather aimless in a company featuring a roster & fanbase that seemed beyond his then-talents. Alongside Caprice Coleman & Titus, King and Taylor found a bond under the upside-down ROH banner known as “The Rebellion” – a radical faction focused on opening the eyes of the masses to the corruption & favoritism of ROH management & its fans.
The Rebellion’s mission, however, wasn’t necessarily successful before the group was forced to disband upon losing to Seek & Destroy – their primary rival faction of the Motor City Machine Guns, Jay White & Jonathan Gresham. Though King and Taylor were no longer a part of a stable, they didn’t lose the friendship grown during their time in the trenches together. No better example of that relationship still being strong happened less than a year after their last match as a unit where they fought in a singles bout at “Honor Reigns Supreme”. The hard-fought encounter saw Shane come up short, yet King vocalized his belief that the Taylor’s future was brighter than anyone gave it credit for in ROH. No one expected King’s words to come true in the form of Shane understanding his worth and giving others the confidence & opportunity King & The Rebellion did for him.
Taylor bet on himself & the potential of other men who had all the talent, but needed that helping hand in wading through the waters of Honor when ruthlessness & sheer ungovernable athletes ruled the roost. Known as “Shane Taylor Promotions”, Taylor’s faction blossomed thanks to Moses & Kaun – known as The Soldiers of Savagery – O’Shay Edwards, and Rev Ron Hunt. Picking up victories & championships, Taylor’s belief in himself & the people under the STP flag also cultivated a supportive fan base as Shane approached what many now believe was his destiny: the ROH World Championship.
The 493rd episode of ROH TV witnessed Taylor – who won the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team title alongside The S.O.S only an episode earlier – standing across the ring from then-ROH World champion RUSH. The war seen between champion and challenger scared RUSH’s La Faccion Ingobernable brethren to the point they had to interfere and prevent RUSH from losing it all – Taylor was ready for this. What Shane wasn’t prepared to feel was the figurative knife stabbing him in the back; or, better stated, the chair to Taylor’s face wielded by King.
There were no excuses or reasons for Kenny’s actions other than LFI & championship glory meant more than the friendship that existed longer than LFI has been in ROH. From that moment in February to now, the fellow former Television champions have done battle in tag team and multi-man competition with LFI overcoming STP on ROH TV episode 520 when Kenny used a low blow on Shane to pin him. STP got a measure of revenge without Taylor at “Death Before Dishonor” a few weeks later when Shane returned after a pre-match thrashing courtesy of King & a chair again. Shane stopped King from pinning Moses by cracking him with a chair to face; leaving Kenny prone to a pin fall. But the most interesting stat comes from what happened before their falling out last year.
During ROH TV episode 478, Taylor and King fought for the first time in singles competition since their 2018 encounter almost three years prior. The end result was Taylor avenging his loss from “Honor Reigns Supreme”. It couldn’t be more appropriate that the “Final Battle”-dubbed “End of an Era” will see two old friends-turned-enemies settling their tied series of fights. Though they’ve pushed each other to their limits, both of those one-on-one encounters were rooted in honor; not this time. With the rules out of window other than victory coming from either a pin fall or submission, this match is anyone’s to win with the victor having that last moment to stand tall while waving flag of the faction they proudly represent.
VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Tony Deppen & Homicide) vs. Tracy Williams, Eli Isom & Taylor Rust
ROH’s “19th Anniversary” event shook up the honorable world. After RUSH overcame his latest challenger in none other than the former two-time ROH World titleholder Jay Lethal, Brody King arrived to “congratulate” RUSH – the man who dashed his dreams of winning the ROH World Championship at “Final Battle” three months earlier. But King wasn’t just there to put out another challenge or anything in the like – Brody was ready to bring violence to ROH unlike anything seen since the days of The Carnage Crew, Maff & Whitmer, and Homicide. Ironically enough, the former ROH World champion Homicide would arrive alongside Chris Dickinson – an independent wrestler who has been making waves throughout North America including in New Japan USA – and recent free agent-turned-consistent ROH performer Tony Deppen.
Siding with Brody King, the trio attacked La Faccion Ingobernable before doing the same to The Foundation. VLNCE UNLTD was born in Baltimore that night and they were ready to take over. Under Brody’s watch, Tony Deppen shocked everyone by ending The Foundation’s Tracy Williams’ Television title reign during his first defense. Dickinson & Homicide overcame The Foundation’s Jonathan Gresham & Rhett Titus at “Best in the World” to win the ROH World Tag Team title in a crazy Fight Without Honor.
VLNCE UNLTD has also gone to war in six and eight-man tag team action with the most prominent factions ROH contains on ROH TV and pay-per-view, besting La Faccion Ingobernable and The Foundation in various ways. With VU’s early momentum came year-end shortcomings. Deppen eventually lost his TV title to Dragon Lee, Homicide & Dickson dropped the Tag Championship to LFI’s Lee & Kenny King, and Brody King failed to win the ROH World title in a Four Corner Survival match prior to losing to Gresham in a top contender match at “Honor For All”. Potentially for the final time in ROH, VU keeps it simple in their quest to show honor can be forged through violence as they take on wrestlers who believe in the purity of wrestling ROH represented all those years ago and what the likes of The Foundation wanted to restore.
Of course there’s The Foundation’s Tracy Williams. A former Television & Tag Team champion in ROH since joining the faction, Williams has stepped up like few believed he could when he arrived in ROH as one-fifth of Lifeblood alongside the likes of current ROH World champion Bandido. By Williams’ side for this one will be someone he’s clashed with recently, Taylor Rust. Though Rust has mostly competed in singles competition in ROH, he does have a history of success in tag team bouts elsewhere including in PWG.
Eli Isom, like Williams, went from being just another guy in a group to a standout performer who could wrestle the best & impress greatly. Isom actually has victories over former ROH World champions both still a part of the roster and those who have moved on. Though this ragtag trio seems like fodder for VU to get a big PPV win, don’t expect it to be easy where King, Homicide & Deppen run through their opposition like a hot knife through butter.
Dragon Lee vs. Rey Horus
When Dragon Lee made his ROH debut to continue his budding rivalry with Hiromu “Kamaitachi” Takahashi, he set a standard for himself that had ROH fans clamoring for more. Rey Horus, on the other hand, didn’t enter ROH with as much fanfare. The former Lucha Underground competitor really had to step his game up when he arrived in ROH; resulting in him aligning with Bandido & Flamita to form the championship-winning MexiSquad. While Horus thrived as a tag team competitor, Lee was winning both singles & duos gold while becoming a member of his own faction, La Faccion Ingobernable. Though they’ve clashed in ROH previously, this match feels different than anything involving the two in the honorable ring.
This will mark only their third singles match with the most recent occurring on ROH TV almost a year ago when Horus attempted to wrest the ROH World Television Championship from his fellow luchador. The big difference between that night and this one is Lee has been on a losing streak that resulted in him failing to retain the TV against Dalton Castle and losing to Jonathan Gresham on the “Road to Final Battle”. Though Rey’s win-loss record in ROH, let alone against his opponent isn’t stellar, he has the ability to win at any given moment as seen last year when he overcame the aforementioned Castle in an impromptu match. This should not only be a lucha showcase that is unlike anything else on the card, but it should also produce the biggest upset of the night.
Chelsea Green & The Hex (Allysin Kay & Marti Belle) vs. The Allure (Angelina Love & Mandy Leon) & Miranda Alize
The Allure of former two-time Women of Honor champion Angelina Love & the vanguard of Women of Honor Mandy Leon have been running through ROH’s Women’s division competitors since they united at “G1 Supercard” over two years ago. During that time, The Allure overcame the likes of Kelly Klein & Jenny Rose, Nicole Savoy & Sumie Sakai, and even sent intended roster additions packing – one of those individuals wasn’t Miranda Alize.
“The Lucha Baddie” entered the tournament with the experience of someone ready to win it all thanks to her time in Mexico, SHIMMER and even participating in the second Mae Young Classic, but was still seen as a person who could get bumped by the second round. A true dark horse, Alize overcame fellow Texan Alex Gracia in the opening round, following up by stunning the world when she overcame the highly-favored former SHIMMER champion Nicole Savoy and tapped out Trish Adora via her “Miranda Rights” crossface. Unfortunately, Alize wouldn’t walk out as the first ROH World Women’s champion; though she did get a measure of revenge against eventual tournament winner Rok-C and The Allure’s hated rival McKay on ROH TV by utilizing the services of Max The Impaler in a tag team encounter.
Similar to Alize, Chelsea Green’s hopes of winning the ROH World Women’s Championship has come up short not because a lack of talent, but simply due to time and ROH’s upcoming hiatus. Debuting at “Best in the World” ’21, “The Hot Mess” proclaimed that the title tournament winner would eventually face the former Impact Knockout’s champion. With ROH’s hiatus comes Green opting for another feather to put in her figurative cap by wrestling alongside Allysin Kay & Marti Belle – collectively known as “The Hex” and two people she considers friends outside of the ring.
Belle & Kay proved their ability to win on a big stage when they attained the NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship in August. Even though both trios will be teaming up for the first time, this isn’t the first time The Allure and The Hex have shared a ring. During ROH’s “Women’s Division Wednesday” almost two months ago, The Hex successfully defended their NWA title against Love & Leon. Mandy eventually paid Kay back by defeating her in a ROH World Women’s Championship top contender Triple Threat match on ROH TV.
Without the knowledge of what could occur in the future, The Allure & “The Lucha Baddie” will do whatever it takes to prove their superiority in the honorable realm in, arguably, the most important ROH show in history.
– Also Scheduled: Wildcard 10-Man Tag Team Match
And there you have it. Show that love, or like, for The ROHbot Report on its Facebook page. Here’s to a great week for you and yours; and as always, thanks for reading.
