Welcome to another edition of The ROHbot Report – the only article you need for all the Ring of Honor news you have to know. A year ago no one had a significant idea where ROH was headed with the announcement of the company’s intended hiatus heading into 2022. Little did anyone expect was Tony Kahn – owner of AEW – would purchase Ring of Honor and begin his own voyage into the realm of Honor. Maintaining tradition, ROH’s biggest show of the year returns to close out the trio of pay-per-views held by ROH in 2022. Lets find out what’s going to happen during ROH’s show of shows.
Final Battle Preview; December 10th, 2022; Arlington, TX
ROH World Championship: Chris Jericho defends against Claudio Castagnoli
Ring of Honor’s initial purpose was to showcase the best of the best on the independent wrestling scene in an environment conducive to a hardcore audience looking for in-ring action mixing new age athleticism with an old school presentation. As the years progressed and those talents who helped forge ROH’s fan following – Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Paul London, Low Ki, Bryan Danielson, Christopher Daniels, Homicide, Amazing Red, and many others – came and went, so did the every-changing necessity of ROH’s existence in wrestling’s general scope. Once the vanguard of innovation on an underground level, ROH evolved into the barometer of wrestling’s future; the foundation for a style that would influence and eventually infiltrate mainstream pro wrestling as we know it today. Yet, the importance of ROH in pro wrestling’s landscape began to wane by the end of the 2000s second decade for a variety of reasons.
This time last year, “uncertainty” was the word best used to describe ROH’s future as Sinclair Broadcast Group opted to put the company on hiatus in an effort to re-evaluate what ROH could provide to wrestling going forward. “Supercard of Honor” during “Wrestlemania 38” weekend was meant to be a new beginning for ROH under the SBG banner. Instead, more questions were raised as Tony Kahn – owner of All Elite Wrestling – announced on AEW’s most important television show, “Dynamite”, that he had purchased ROH prior to the pay-per-view. Two stellar pay-per-views followed Kahn’s announcement, but the future of Honor was still uncertain in a saturated world of televised wrestling. But there was some type of stability that came from ROH’s second PPV during the Kahn era as Claudio Castagnoli finally achieved World champion status when he defeated Jonathan Gresham to win the Ring of Honor World Championship.
The former “Cesaro” went on a tear as ROH World champion by successfully defending the title against some incredible talent including Dax Hardwood, Konosuke Takeshita, and Dustin Rhodes. Between all of his working as an ambassador of Honor, Castagnoli was still in the middle of a feud featuring Claudio’s Blackpool Combat Club and the Jericho Appreciation Society. In a lot of ways, shortly after Castagnoli’s AEW debut when he & the BCC took on the JAS in “Blood & Guts II” where the future ROH World champion won the match for his team ignited Jericho’s want for revenge; and thus his quest for an eighth World championship.
AEW’s return to the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York for the second “Grand Slam” version of “Dynamite” saw “Le Champion” fight for the ROH World title for the first time in his extensive, hall-of-fame-worthy career. As the match progressed, Castagnoli seemed to be on the verge of another night with his hand raised in victory when the champion almost collided with the referee. Jericho took advantage of the ref’s bad positioning and landed a low blow that left Claudio prone to the Judas Effect and subsequent three count. Eight times Jericho walked out as a World champion, but never as the face of Honor.
Yet, the self-proclaimed “Greatest Sports Entertainer Today” embraced dishonor while retaining the title that was once associated with the future stars of wrestling or those who looked to prove themselves at the highest level against a new generation – Jericho didn’t necessarily want the latter either. Instead, Jericho looked to embarrass the history of ROH; the legacy of a promotion that gave way to not only some of the best matches of the last twenty years, but also some of wrestling’s biggest names since the end of the “Attitude Era”. Bandido, Bryan Danielson, Dalton Castle, Colt Cabana, Tomohiro Ishii have all fallen to “The Ocho” even if some of those wins for Jericho were through nefarious means including interference and usage of his infamous baseball bat.
But Jericho’s talents extend beyond being a rule-breaking opportunist as seen during AEW’s most recent pay-per-view as he won a Four Corner Survival match featuring fellow JAS member Sammy Guevara, former ROH World champion Bryan Danielson, and his current arch-rival Claudio Castagnoli. Jericho survived the onslaught of his opponents, even coming to blows with Sammy before knocking out Castagnoli with two Judas Effects. With nothing left to lose but his pride, Claudio challenged Jericho one more time. But the champion would only accept if Castagnoli put the one thing he had to offer on the line: his membership in the BCC. With a loss to Jericho again, Claudio wouldn’t just fail to win the ROH World Championship, but also would be forced to join the JAS. For a chance at the silver & red, Claudio accepted the terms of Jericho’s offer.
Claudio has come within a hair of defeating Jericho not once, but twice when it was for all the honorable marbles. Like many others who left the supposed greener pastures for an elite experience, Claudio has found wrestling freedom in AEW and, subsequently, ROH. For him to lose here would mean that Castagnoli becomes a man subservient to powers that be yet again. If Claudio wins, he becomes only the fourth man to hold the ROH World title on two occasions following RUSH’s second reign Bandido ended in the summer of 2021. No matter if history is made with Claudio winning or not, this “Final Battle” will go down in the honorable annals for the simple fact Chris Jericho – one of wrestling’s biggest names – will headline ROH’s most important event of the year; a fact that would be more impressive if the former “Lionheart” does the believed impossible again and stops Castagnoli from reigning supreme in Ring of Honor.
ROH World Tag Team Championship (Double Dog Collar Match): FTR defend against The Briscoes
“An End of an Era” was how Ring of Honor promoted “Final Battle 2021”. With so many questions floating around about what ROH would become by April 2022, there were few sureties in the honorable realm. One of those sureties was The Briscoes walking out twelve-time ROH World Tag Team champions as they defeated The OGK of Matt Taven & Mike Bennett. The celebratory moment to follow for The Briscoes in Philadelphia was interrupted by a loss of light. When the stadium illuminated again, Dax Hardwood & Cash Wheeler – FTR – stood on the ring apron; staring a hole through “Dem Boys”. What came next was also a surety: a fight between two of the best tag teams in the world today. What started off as a social media feud had now spilled into The Briscoes’ home turf without fear of FTR about entering hostile territory.
While FTR mocked Jay & Mark for not being up to their standard leading up to “Supercard of Honor” in April, The Briscoes went to war throughout the country while reaping the rewards. From headlining GCW’s debut in the Hammerstein Ballroom to winning the 2022 NWA Crockett Cup, the former ROH World Tag Team champions had been nothing short of busy leading up to their date with destiny in Dallas. That night was magical for everyone watching live and at home as “Dem Boys” and “The Top Guys” tore the house down and had, arguably, the best match of the busiest weekend in wrestling every year. Unfortunately for Jay and Mark, FTR did the near-unbelievable by defeating the ROH legends on their home turf. The momentum from that victory catapulted FTR to a different level in both the wrestling world and the fans’ eyes.
The fans wanted a rematch. The Briscoes wanted a rematch. FTR wanted a rematch. At “Death Before Dishonor” in July, there was a rematch where the two teams fought nearly an hour in a Two Out of Three Falls-stipulated affair headlining the event. Somewhat surprisingly due to The Briscoes’ history in Two Out of Three Falls bouts, FTR walked out of Lowell, MA victorious. But during that final, deciding fall, Dem Boys got a visual pin fall while the referee was unconscious. The official fall that concluded the show with FTR’s arms raised in victory at “DBD” put The Briscoes in a do or die position – to lose on their home turf twice in a row to a single team is embarrassing to them no matter how good that duo they fought is.
While The Briscoes were quiet in terms of requesting another rematch, FTR vocalized their want to prove themselves as the best tag team on the planet by winning every tag championship possible. Unfortunately for FTR, they ran into a figurative train known as The Acclaimed that prevented them from winning the AEW World Tag Team title. FTR didn’t have a chance to lick their wounds when their Gunn Club rivals Austin & Colten appeared on the Dynamite Tron to reveal Christmas presents & card from Jay & Mark housing dog collars. Instead of wanting a regular wrestling match to prove their superiority as a tag team, The Briscoes want blood for, in their minds, being disrespected.
The Briscoes have never taken losing well, but to be defeated by one team and looked upon as inferior is on a different level for the history-making duo. This marks the fifth Dog Collar match in ROH history and the first in a tag team environment – The Briscoes making history yet again in ROH. The Briscoes need this win and they need the ROH World Tag Team Championship to essentially stay relevant in this new era of Honor. If The Briscoes can’t win here, one must question if they have what it takes to last in ROH in 2023 and beyond.
ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe defends against Juice Robinson
Before his time in AEW, TNA, or WWE, Samoa Joe was the man in Ring of Honor. “The Samoan Submission Machine” made the ROH Championship a World title. Joe’s matches with the likes of CM Punk, Homicide, and Bryan Danielson marked a time that signified the epitome of ROH’s “golden era”. Joe set a standard not only in terms of match quality, but also accolades in the world of independent wrestling. Beyond winning the ROH World title and holding it a record twenty-one months, Joe became the Pure champion in ROH, won all three of TNA’s major male-oriented titles in 2007, and dominated NXT across two tenures where he set a record of being the only man to win the NXT title three times. Yet, it wasn’t until AEW’s “Full Gear” that Joe added a new moniker to his name: “King of TV”. Having won the ROH World Television Championship from Minoru Suzuki during the spring, Joe set his sights on tag team dominance alongside AEW TNT titleholder Wardlow.
The massive team dubbed “WarJoe” seemed poised to challenge whomever held the AEW World Tag Team Championship when Joe suddenly attacked his ally during a verbal confrontation between Wardlow and Powerhouse Hobbs. The reason for Joe’s sudden betrayal: Wardlow talking down to the veteran as if he wasn’t a threat to Wardlow and “The War Dog’s” AEW TNT Championship. Joe proved Wardlow wrong about his Power Bomb Symphony being the final sound the TV champ would hear if they collided when the former multi-time champion disposed of Wardlow and choked out Hobbs during a triple threat encounter at AEW’s “Full Gear” to dethrone his former tag team partner.
Joe gladly declared he was now “The King of TV” having won two championship associated with non-pay-per-view televised defenses. But like many AEW TNT champions before him, Joe has been upfront about his intentions of proving himself a worthy champion courtesy of successful defense after successful defense in an open challenge format. Out of the clear blue, Juice Robinson appeared on the screen during a recent episode of AEW “Rampage” to challenge not for the AEW TNT title, but the ROH World Television Championship.
Though Robinson is more known for his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling where he’s won a variety of titles including the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team and United States Heavyweight Championships, he’s spent extensive time in other promotions including Ring of Honor. It was during the first TV taping of 2019 that Juice returned to ROH after representing New Japan during their cross-promotional “Global Wars” events the year prior. On that night in Atlanta in 2019, Robinson introduced the wrestling world to Lifeblood – a faction determined to restore ROH to its glory days where honorable competition was the focus. Alongside Bandido, Mark Haskins, Tracy Williams and good friend David Finlay, Robinson led Lifeblood with pride in both ROH and New Japan; splitting his duties between the two promotions until his dedication to NJPW took center stage. Unfortunately for Robinson, his time in ROH didn’t benefit him in terms of additional titles added to his resume.
Robinson, who is now signed with AEW, is looking to overcome the most dominant champion in ROH history in the promotion he helped make famous for the title he defeated one of the toughest men to ever lace up a pair of boots to earn. Robinson’s attitude since joining Bullet Club hasn’t changed just how tough, dangerous, and, most importantly, sporting the ability to win a title. One thing people have struggled against when challenging Samoa Joe is fighting fire with fire. Juice has the hands to outbox the champ and a chin able to take Joe’s stiffest strikes. Just like “Final Battle” 2004 where Austin Aries ended Joe’s historic ROH World title reign, there’s always the chance for an upset. No matter the winner, expect a strong style brawl that is unlike anything else on the card.
ROH Pure Championship: Daniel Garcia defends against Wheeler Yuta
A former CHIKARA Young Lions Cup trophy holder, Wheeler Yuta spent his fundamental years under the learning tree of current WWE Superstar Drew Gulak and a certain lackadaisical AEW standout who once wrestled as “Fire Ant”. Yuta’s time gaining an exceptional base as a great hold-for-hold wrestler gave him the perfect opportunity to show off his skills in any environment including his future home promotion AEW after his time in ROH was cut short upon losing in the opening round of the Pure Championship tournament to eventual tourney winner “The Octopus”. While his talents were greatly noticed after joining AEW, Yuta made a stand by confronting former ROH World champion Bryan Danielson, mega-star Jon Moxley, and one of the best to lace a pair of boots in William Regal.
This interaction between Yuta and Regal’s Blackpool Combat Club lit a fire underneath him that not only helped him become an official member of the BCC, but also saw him defeat Josh Woods for the ROH Pure Championship at “Supercard of Honor” in April. Yuta’s schedule picked up tremendously following that night in Dallas after winning the Pure title, allowing him to not only defend his title on AEW’s Youtube shows and wrestling alongside his other BCC allies, but also have an impressive showing in the 2022 Best of the Super Juniors tournament where he overcame BUSHI, TJP, DOUKI, and Titan.
For all the positives in Yuta’s career leading up to ROH’s “Death Before Dishonor” in July, there was a looming black cloud in the form of sports entertainment. Daniel Garcia prided himself early in his AEW tenure as a technician with a pitbull mentality. With 2Point0 by his side, Garcia talked a big game, but failed to really succeed in backing up his claims of beating any and everyone who crossed him. Like the Pure champion, it wasn’t until Garcia garnered the attention of a star beyond measure in the world of pro wrestling: Chris Jericho.
Alongside the aforementioned 2Point0 and Jake Hager, Garcia accepted his new truth that with Jericho as their leader he is one of the best sports entertainers in the world today. In Garcia’s mind, sports entertainment includes catch-as-catch-can wrestling. Attacking Yuta at various points after successful matches, Garcia staked his claim at being the next in line to face the champ for ROH’s most unique championship. That match – only their second singles encounter to date – occurred at “Death Before Dishonor” with the two going for over fifteen minutes before Yuta snatched Garcia into the CHIKARA Special for the victory.
It seemed Garcia was done with not only the ROH Pure Championship, but Ring of Honor as a whole; giving the ROH logo plastered around the arena as he exited the building a double-middle finger salute. The weeks that followed Garcia’s failure saw him being praised not by Jericho & the JAS, but Bryan Danielson of the BCC. Danielson wanted to remind Garcia of what brought him to the figurative dance and how his style fit better with the BCC than Jericho’s gang. Danielson’s words encouraged Garcia to give it another go at the Pure Championship and, live in his hometown of Buffalo, the challenger became a champion as he made Wheeler tap out courtesy of the sharpshooter.
Garcia’s actions since becoming the Pure champion have seen him not only defend the title successfully, but also reinforce his allegiance to the JAS while making everyone aware that Yuta’s stable is growing more divided and weaker by the day. Yuta proclaimed his lack of care about the bickering between the factions – all Wheeler wants is the ROH Pure Championship back. The challenge has been thrown out and accepted and the rubber match will happen in the same arena that Yuta won the title initially. Considering their previous outings and familiarity with the Pure Rules (thirty-minute time limit with three judges declaring a winner if no fall occurs in the time limit, three rope breaks per competitor, no closed fists or illegal strikes that cause a warning/loss of a rope break/disqualification if no rope breaks remain, no interference) the most superior wrestler between the two will be determined following, what should be, another great match between them that’s anyone’s to win.
ROH Women’s World Championship: Mercedes Martinez defends against Athena
There’s something about loss that changes a competitor. For some, loss is a motivating factor in getting better; learning from one’s mistakes to avoid that same folly when the time potentially comes for success again. For others, loss lights a fire that ignites an inferno of rage. In the case of Athena, her inability to defeat Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship resulted in “The Fallen Goddess” lashing out and abusing her opposition on AEW programming. Instead of using her talents to prove her superiority in the ring as she once did between the rope’s confines, Athena would unceremoniously sling opponents into the guard railings, test the referee’s count when performing illegal attacks like chokes, and even attack her fallen foes after the bell.
Athena’s recent personality change has drawn the ire of someone very familiar with her: ROH Women’s World champion Mercedes Martinez. Considered one of the greatest women’s wrestlers of her generation, Mercedes Martinez has done more than anyone could’ve imagined considering the early portion of her career went hand-in-hand during a time when models were being trained to wrestle instead of major promotions hiring actual wrestlers who happened to be women. Martinez’s first brush with national attention came courtesy of her series of matches with Sara Del Rey.
Though Martinez found success early in the Chicago-based promotion SHIMMER, it wasn’t until she took a hiatus from wrestling before her inevitable return to the business that she loved that she reached a different level. With that return came a new attitude – one that Martinez would carry throughout SHIMMER, NXT, and, now, AEW where she entered the promotion as a hired gun for former AEW World Women’s champion Britt Baker. Martinez’s initial time in AEW and rather inconsistent tenure in WWE didn’t properly highlight what she can do and what she can accomplish when the lights are the brightest.
Martinez comes into any fight with credentials second to none including being one of the few two-time SHIMMER champions. SHIMMER’s sister promotion, SHINE, also has a title lineage associated with Mercedes. Both of the aforementioned companies have seen Mercedes win the Tag Team title. Going back further is a true testament to her abilities in the ring, her endurance, and tenacity to win as she had one of the longest title reigns in the last twenty years working for Women Superstars Uncensored (now Women’s Superstars United). In her 1000-plus days as the WSU champion, Martinez participated in a match that went ninety-three minutes before she was victorious over Alisha “Lexxus” Edwards.
Mercedes is a machine if there ever was one and someone who can grab victory from the jaws of defeat as she showed at “Supercard of Honor” where she overcame Willow Nightingale to win the interim ROH Women’s World Championship. Martinez followed that up by defeating the second ROH World Women’s titleholder Deonna Purrazzo on AEW “Dynamite” to unify the titles and become an undisputed champion. Martinez proved herself the toughest of the tough champions by fighting through an undisclosed injury to successfully defend her championship last summer at ROH’s most recent pay-per-view “Death Before Dishonor” against Serena Deeb. Martinez watched from the sidelines until she was cleared and her first mission was to put Athena in her place; maybe knocking some of her old-self senses back into “The Fallen Goddess” in the process.
This isn’t the first time these two have locked figurative horns. One of Athena’s most prominent feuds during her days wrestling in SHIMMER was against Martinez where she went 2-1-0 against the future two-time SHIMMER champion. Athena topped those SHIMMER wins in NXT where, as “Ember Moon”, she overcame Martinez there as well. Interestingly enough, Athena is actually undefeated in matches with the ROH champ be it in singles or tag team competition. Though Athena came up short in besting Cargill, she has defeated Martinez every time they shared a ring; making her the favorite to walk away with the title especially against someone coming back from an injury. There’s no doubting how tough Martinez is, but to believe Athena isn’t the favorite in a match against an opponent who has never fallen to her in combat would be absurd.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Dalton Castle & The Boys defend against The Embassy (Brian Cage & The Gates Of Agony [Kaun & Toa Liona])
Easily one of the most interesting trios in all of wrestling, Dalton Castle & The Boys are on their second reign as ROH World Six-Man Tag Team champions. The flamboyant trio of “The Peacock of Pro Wrestling” & his loyal supporters didn’t have the longest of tenures as champions in 2017 with the future ROH World champion Dalton being a big reason for their loss to The Bullet Club then-featuring The Young Bucks & Hangman Page as he suffered from a back injury. Castle would come back to action, win singles gold, and even turn on The Boys before coming to his senses during ROH’s hiatus at the beginning of 2022. Reuniting with The Boys, Castle looked to do right by them and himself as they challenged for the Six-Man title at “Death Before Dishonor” five months ago. Overcoming Vincent, Bateman & Dutch of The Righteous, Castle & The Boys became two-time Six-Man Tag titleholders in ROH.
Though not showcased much on shows like AEW’s “Dynamite” and “Rampage”, the Tag champions have stayed busy; defending their championship against a variety of trios on AEW’s Youtube events. Another threesome who have been busy since forming is Prince Nana’s latest version of The Embassy – Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona. Their first showing as a unit on ROH programming happened at “Death Before Dishonor” as well where they defeated a game trio of Alex Zayne, Blake Christian & Tony Deppen. Though they haven’t had as many matches together as their opponents, The Embassy’s latest showings on AEW “Dark” & “Dark: Elevation” prove they have what it takes to become titleholders. It’ll be a showcase of very differing personalities with the champions needing a more hit & run approach if they want to pick apart the brute strength & force of Nana’s latest crown jewels; but there’s a more probable chance new champions will be crowned in Texas.
Swerve in Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & JD Griffey)
Keith Lee is an amazing tag team wrestler. Though the big man has seen his share of success on his own, Lee’s time wrestling alongside others has benefited him greatly as proven true most recently in AEW where he and Swerve Strickland won the World Tag Team Championship. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Lee’s inability to maintain those bonds; sometimes it’s beyond his control and other times it is completely due to a choice Lee makes. In 2015, Lee and Shane Taylor made a splash in Ring of Honor with a series of victories. There reason for coming to ROH was simple: to destroy War Machine of Ray Rowe & Hanson (the current Viking Raiders in WWE, Erik & Ivar). Rowe & Hanson found success in ROH having left the trappings of the Midwest territory to become national and, eventually, international stars. But upon War Machine’s branching out, they left behind their proteges and peers – Lee & Taylor (known as “The Pretty Boy Killers”) were among the forgotten.
The PBK bided their time and eventually get enough wins to earn ROH contracts; immediately going after their old running buddies that set off a feud of big men matches unlike anything in North American tag team wrestling at the time.
By 2017, The PBK were poised to win ROH World Tag Team gold having earned a title shot following their last match with War Machine and defeating top contenders Dalton Castle & Colt Cabana in two receptive matches. Rumblings behind the scenes became more important than whether or not Lee & Taylor could become the new ROH World Tag Team champions as their contracts were expiring and Keith wanted to become a singles star. ROH management saw The PBK as the most beneficial aspect of their respective talents, yet Lee bet on himself and left both ROH and Taylor behind. Shane would struggle for years to not only make a significant mark in ROH, but also remove the stigma that he was the “Marty Jannetty” of The PBK – a talented wrestler overshadowed by the immense abilities of his old tag team partner.
Taylor refused to be broken and eventually shattered the figurative glass ceiling in ROH; defeating former and future World champions like Jay Briscoe, Chris Sabin and Bandido on his path to singles and trios success. After winning and losing the Television Championship, Taylor put his best foot forward in opening pathways to success for others who, too, struggled to make it to that next level in wrestling. Shane Taylor Promotions – originally seen as a tool to make Taylor himself more money – gave the likes of Bishop Kaun, Moses Maddox, O’Shay Edwards, and Ron Hunt a chance to shine under the honorable bight lights. Shane Taylor Promotions became, arguably, the greatest Six-Man Tag Team champions in ROH history. Yet, Taylor never forgot where he came from and who left him behind when he needed them the most.
Recently on AEW “Rampage”, Shane Taylor made his AEW on-screen debut by confronting Lee during an interview segment. The former ROH World Television champion acknowledged his history with Keith and was coming to finally right the disrespect Lee dispensed all those years ago. But Taylor wasn’t coming alone. As noted, Taylor has spent the better part of two years trying to give wrestlers opportunities he didn’t have afforded to him during his career by aligning with them and taking them alongside STP to the top – JD Griffey is the latest name added to that list.
Griffey is a hybrid grappler from Texas who has made significant impressions everywhere he goes. Similar to Taylor, Griffey is also a master on the microphone who can get under anyone’s skin. Taylor and JD aren’t just some random pairing as they’ve not only teamed up in the past year, they’ve also done battle both in singles and tag team competition with the latter being the most interesting fact as it was The Pretty Boy Killers beating a young Griffey when the team still existed. Swerve has non-verbally offered his services to help Lee stop this violent form of retribution that’s to come by way of Taylor & Griffey’s hands, but can Keith’s most recent tag team partner be trusted after their recent disagreements? It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out and, hopefully this is the beginning of the new STP era in ROH.
La Faccion Ingobernables (RUSH & Dralistico) vs. AR Fox & Blake Christian
The former two-time ROH World champion RUSH has been rather busy behind the scenes since joining AEW. When Andrade El Idilo went down with an injury, his good friend RUSH stepped up to carry the mantle of La Faccion Ingobernables. In Mexico, the original Dragon Lee turned Mistico (II) transformed into an even flashier version of himself in the form of Dralistico after leaving his home promotion of CMLL after eleven years. Embracing the rudo lifestyle, Dralistico has attained success alongside Dragon Lee (RUSH’s blood brother), winning Tag titles in two different promotions while becoming top contenders to the AAA Tag Team Championship. This will mark Dralistico’s first ROH appearance since 2017 where he wrestled as Mistico during the “War of the Worlds UK” tour – a three-show series where he was unable to pick up a single victory in tag team competition.
Surprisingly, Dralistico has more televised appearances than one of the most prominent names on the independent wrestling scene for the last fifteen years: AR Fox. The recently AEW-signed Fox has only one ROH in-ring match to his name in the form of a dark match that happened in 2015. After his impressive showcases in AEW thus far including taking former ROH World champion & current TV titleholder Samoa Joe to the limit, Fox has the chance to showcase his talents in the honorable realm alongside someone who, too, have been making waves on the indie landscape in Blake Christian. This will be Christian’s third ROH match and his first on ROH pay-per-view. Like Dralistico, Christian has failed to come into another ROH event with a loss-less record having failed to overcome Colt Cabana at “Supercard of Honor” and The Embassy during “Death Before Dishonor’s” respective pre-shows.
Though there isn’t any real story connecting these opponents, this is an opportunity for both duos to potentially breakthrough the pack during a time when it seems ROH is on the verge of finally restarting in full. For Fox & Christian, a win here also has international implications as a win over LFI could open up doors for matches in AAA or other luchadors coming into ROH. This has all the makings of being the most energetic bout of the evening in terms of athleticism and could steal the show relatively early.
Zero Hour/Pre-Show Matches
– Willow Nightingale vs. Trish Adora
– The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin)
– Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger & Eli Isom) vs. The Jericho Appreciation Society/2Point0 (Matt Menard & Angelo Parker)
– Jeff Cobb vs. Mascara Dorada
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.
