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Here's a place to check results and comment along with Ring of Honor (ROH)'s Final Battle pay-per-view (PPV) - happening Fri., Dec. 11, 2021 at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore.
In addition to being ROH’s signature PPV, this year’s edition is also “The End of an Era”, as the Sinclair Broadcasting-company has released their roster and will go on hiatus after Final Battle to reimagine the promotion. Ring of Honor is teasing some surprises to pay tribute to the brand’s influential history, and maybe provide hints of what’s to come in 2022 & beyond.
The show will stream live on HonorClub, ROH’s subscription service (details here). It is also available as an internet PPV on Fite, where the first hour is free, the remainder of the show costs $24.99. The event is scheduled for 7PM Eastern.
We've got a preview of the card for you here, and will update the results tonight as they happen, and feel free to use this space to discuss all the action with the best pro wrestling community on the internet - before, during and after the show.
Pre-show
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Vincent, Bateman, & Dutch defeated Moses, Kaun, & O’Shay Edwards to become new champs. The match broke down into heavy duty slams. Vincent was the last man standing after hitting Sliced Bread #2 to pin Edwards. That ends STP’s 11 match win streak with the Six-Man belts.
It was officially announced that the main event between Jonathan Gresham and Lay Lethal will be for the ROH World Championship. Bandido was pulled from the card after testing positive for COVID.
Rocky Romero was in the house to do commentary. Brody King stepped in with a proposition. The implication was that Romero will join Violence Unlimited for their match tonight to make it an 8-man tag.
Miranda Alize, Angelina Love, & Mandy Leon defeated Chelsea Green, Allysin Kay, & Marti Belle. Green took out the baddies with a flying crossbody to the outside. Belle looked to follow with a suicide dive, but Love clobbered her in the ropes. That set up Leon to hit a pumphandle driver to pin Belle.
EC3 was approached by Tracy Williams, Taylor Rust, & Eli Isom to join their squad against Violence Unlimited. Isom convinced EC3 to fight for honor.
Danhausen joined commentary for the wildcard tag match. He arrived from Chicago after trying to convince CM Punk to appear. Punk was busy rearranging his dog’s bookshelf.
Wildcard 10-man tag match: Brian Milonas, Beer City Bruiser, World Famous CB, Flip Gordon, & PJ Black defeated LSG, Demonic Flamita, Will Ferrara, Sledge, & Max The Impaler. Flip saved Doctor Black in the end. He shoved PJ out of the way for a counter cutter to a springboarding LSG. Gordon hoisted LSG onto his shoulders for Black to fly for a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer to win.
PPV
Dragon Lee defeated Rey Horus. Horus scored his super bodyscissors driver finisher. Lee kicked out. Horus climbed the corner and stumbled on the turnbuckles. That gave time for Lee to get his knees up on a flying splash. Lee picked up his opponent, but Horus countered for a satellite DDT. Horus picked up Lee, but Lee countered for a falcon arrow slam. Lee connected on his running knee finisher. Horus surprisingly kicked out. Lee poured on the pain with a ripcord jumping knee and a running knee to the back of the head. That was enough to earn the pinfall.
Eddie Edwards sent a message from home thanking ROH for the opportunity to show what wrestlers can do inside the ring.
ROH World Television Championship: Rhett Titus wins the title from Dalton Castle in a four-way with Silas Young and Joe Hendry. Once the competitive juices and desire for gold overflowed, the friendship between Castle and Hendry exploded. After a ref bump, Castle hit the Bang-A-Rang on Young. Young promptly rolled out of the ring. It didn’t matter anyway, because the ref was still down. Hendry blindsided Castle with the TV belt. Dak Draper sprinted in from commentary to deliver a big boot to Hendry in an effort to protect his mentor, Castle. Titus dropkicked Draper out of the ring. Young scored a roll-up on Titus, but Titus escaped before the count of three. Young went high risk for a headstand rope-bouncing Pee Gee Waja Plunge, but he missed his mark. Titus landed a dropkick flush to the chin to pin Young. Fans chanted, “You deserve it,” to the new champ.
Hangman Page sent a video message. He really enjoyed his time in ROH. ROH allowed him to quit teaching and travel the world as a full-time wrestler. Well wishes to all in ROH.
ROH Pure Championship: Josh Woods retained against Brian Johnson. The loudmouth challenger used his first rope-break 20 seconds into the bout on a takedown. His second rope-break took place at 57 seconds on an submission attempt. Johnson gained momentum on a suicide dive then a hanging cutter from the apron to the floor. Woods turned the tide with explosive suplexes. Johnson used his third and final rope-break at 9 minutes to escape a sleeper. On the separation, he poked Woods in the eye. Johnson hit his Trust the Process finisher. Woods kicked out on the cover. Johnson grabbed the title belt as a ploy to occupy the referee and remove the turnbuckle pad. Woods saw it coming and crushed a German suplex. As the referee was placing the turnbuckle back on, Johnson retrieved brass knuckles from his trunks to sock Woods. 1, 2, Woods kicked out! Johnson positioned Woods in the corner. Woods was groggy, but his instincts kicked in to lock in an arm triangle sleeper to an unsuspecting Johnson. Out of rope-breaks, Johnson could not get free and passed out at 12:57.
Jimmy Jacobs provided a video message sitting in his hammock. ROH makes him think of magic with creative freedom and rabid fans. On the road, his hotel room was where wrestlers crashed. They stayed up all night talking about how they were going to change the business. Frequent guests were Colt Cabana, the Young Bucks, Seth Rollins, and Sami Zayn. They were just kids following their dreams and achieved them. None of that would have been possible without ROH.
Shane Taylor defeated Kenny King. Fight without Honor, which means no DQ with tables, ladders, chairs, trashcans, and kendo sticks. The first bonkers spot was King with a Blockbuster off the apron crashing through tables. Next on the list was Taylor with a running splash off the apron onto King through a table. King hit a DVD onto a ladder leaning in the corner. King leaped off a tall ladder for a flying splash onto Taylor laying atop a hanging ladder. Both men stood on a ladder hanging from the apron to the guardrail to exchange fisticuffs. Taylor came out on top with a package piledriver onto the ladder crashing down to the floor. He rolled King back in the ring for the cover, but King kicked out at two. Taylor grabbed a chair with bad intentions, however, he was hesitant to unleash fury on his former friend. King yelled at him to not hold back. Taylor whacked King with the chair and finished him off with a package piledriver onto a chair.
CM Punk with a video message. He doesn’t know the future of ROH, but he is incredibly proud of ROH’s past to foster an environment to learn, get paid, and enjoy the business they all loved. When he was there, it always felt like lightning in a bottle. If this is the end, don’t be upset. Be happy that it ever happened. The fingerprints of wrestlers from ROH are all over the business today.
ROH Women’s World Championship: Rok-C retained against Willow Nightingale. Willow blocked a Code Red to drop down for a pin. Rok-C kicked out. Willow climbed the corner. Rok-C sprang up to clobber Willow in an effort to soften her up for a powerbomb off the turnbuckles. Willow survived the pinfall. Willow took charge for a stalling superplex then she nailed her moonsault finisher. The champ stayed alive on the cover. Rok-C escaped a gutwrench pickup but ate a superkick. She caught the second superkick to counter with a knee strike. A spinning kick set up the Code Red for victory.
Deonna Purrazzo! The Virtuosa came to the ring with the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship. Purrazo plans to win the Knockouts Championship from Mickie James at Impact’s Hard to Kill PPV on January 8. After that, she wants Rok-C’s belt. Purrazzo challenged winner take all. Rok-C eagerly accepted.
Adam Cole shared a video message. It was thanks to ROH that he decided to be a professional wrestler. He became the wrestler he is today because of ROH.
Brody King, Homicide, Tony Deppen, & Rocky Romero vs. Tracy Williams, Taylor Rust, Eli Isom, & EC3. The match broke down into signature moves all around. Williams had Romero trapped in a Cattle Mutilation submission. Deppen flew in with a flying double stomp to break the hold. Isom possessed with fighting spirit for his team, but Homicide hit him with a Cop Killa. Isom kicked out on the cover. He could barely stand during his final rally, and it was cut short by a vicious lariat from King. A Gonzo bomb gave the win for King to pin Isom.
In the aftermath, EC3 cut a promo on his teammates. ROH is a lie. There is no honor in what they do. They put their souls into this and corporate wrestling gives them nothing in return. The wresting world needs leaders. EC3 issued a call to arms to Eli Isom, Dak Draper, Brian Johnson, and anyone else who is interested. They can rebuild the industry in their own image, but they have to fight to do so. Control Your Narrative. Two goons came out on stage, then EC3 yelled to released the Titan.
The man now known as Adam Scherr cleared the ring and decimated Isom with a huge chokeslam. Scherr and his goons carried the men backstage.
Young Bucks had a video message. They look back fondly on their time in ROH. Thank you for everything.
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Briscoes defeated Matt Taven & Mike Bennett to win the titles. Mark Briscoe and Taven showed tremendous heart kicking out of numerous teamwork finishers. The Briscoes had too much in the end. Jay Driller and Froggy Bow earned the win on Taven. (Full details here.)
The Briscoes thanked the fans. It may be the end of an era, but it isn’t the end of the Briscoes. They called out any tag team that wants a piece. Lights out. FTR was on the apron. Bricoes and FTR brawled.
Bryan Danielson sent a video message. He was on the very first ROH show. If not for ROH and those opportunities, he wouldn’t be where he’s at today. Final Battle holds a special place in his heart. Thanks to the company and especially the fans.
ROH World Championship: Jonathan Gresham was crowned new champ by defeating Jay Lethal. Gresham and Lethal battled in a technical war. Down the stretch, Gresham exploded for running forearms. Lethal answered with a superkick. As he went for Lethal Injection, Gresham trapped him in a backslide. Kick out. Inside cradle by Gresham. Kick out. Octopus stretch by Gresham. Tap out. The locker room celebrated. (Full details here.)
When one era ends, another begins. April 2022. Ring of Honor Wrestling.
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