ROH 19th Anniversary: 5 title fights, EC3 grudge match, Dragon Lee out

Ring of Honor has a pivotal PPV coming at you with all titles being defended, two serious grudge matches, and Danhausen. The direction of the company will be on the line as Los Ingobernables and the Foundation clash for championships. Let’s break down the card.

The 19th Anniversary event begins with a free pre-show at 8 pm ET and the PPV portion at 9 pm ET on Friday, March 26. It is available exclusively on HonorClub, PPV, and Fite TV. The full lineup includes:

• ROH World Championship: Rush (c) vs Jay Lethal
• ROH Pure Championship: Jonathan Gresham (c) vs Dak Draper
• ROH World Television Championship: Kenny King (c) vs Tracy Williams
• ROH World Tag Team Championship: Kenny King & Bestia del Ring (c) vs Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
• ROH World Six-Man Championship: Shane Taylor Promotions (c) vs MexiSquad
• EC3 vs Jay Briscoe
• Matt Taven vs Vincent
• Mark Briscoe vs Flip Gordon
• Dalton Castle vs Josh Woods
• Brian Johnson vs Eli Isom vs LSG vs Danhausen

The prime story in ROH right now is the clash between Los Ingobernables of Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King, and Bestia del Ring and the Foundation of Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, Tracy Williams, and Rhett Titus. Los Ingobernables flaunt the rules and stand for disorder and humiliation of opponents. The Foundation desires to purify professional wrestling and bring honor back to ROH.

As you can tell, the groups have conflicting agendas. One way to get a leg up to exert power is by holding championships. The world, TV, and tag team titles will be on the line in separate matches between these crews. I’d put Los Ingobernables as favorites to retain their titles, because they are willing to cross lines that the Foundation won’t.

One notable name missing from the action is Dragon Lee. He was pulled due to a ruptured eardrum. Lee was scheduled to defend the TV and tag titles, but substitutions had to be made with Los Ingobernables’ members. Kenny King slides into the TV spot, and Bestia del Ring slides into the tag spot.

The lone Foundation member without an opponent in the major faction feud is Gresham. His challenger for the Pure Championship will be Dak Draper. Gresham is pretty much a lock to retain. The interesting aspect will be the visual of the height difference. The 5’4” Gresham will have to use his pure skills to ground the 6’5” Draper.

The Briscoe brothers have their own beefs to deal with. EC3 picked out Jay to see if honor is real in ROH. Their fussing and feuding was supposed to come to a boil at the Final Battle PPV in December 2020, but EC3 was licking doorknobs and got a case of the COVID. EC3 returned as a signed member of the roster to pick up where things left off. They will finally be able to settle the grudge at the 19th Anniversary.

Meanwhile, Mark is coming for Flip Gordon. The Mercenary was paid off by EC3 to interfere in a #1 contender tag bout, which cost the Briscoes the match. Mark repaid the favor with interference to aid Flamita in defeating Gordon. Now, it is personal between both men, and the match was made.

Matt Taven and Vincent have a long history together. Their friendship was shattered when Vinny Marseglia turned into the horror king. Broken bones and blood have paved the way toward this showdown. Vincent has been playing mind games to avoid giving Taven the match he wants, but he finally set his own terms for the fight. They will go toe-to-toe back at their original training grounds. This might be ROH’s foray into the cinematic scene.

Dalton Castle and Josh Woods will compete in a rubber match. Woods pulled the upset in their first encounter. Castle faked a back injury to secure a roll-up and victory in the rematch. Castle has the pressure of being a veteran on the outs. He has to do whatever it takes to win.

The pre-show will feature the trios titles and Danhausen in a four-way. Shane Taylor Promotions originally had a six-man scheduled with former champs MexiSquad at Final Battle, however, two-thirds of the luchador team were pulled for COVID. ROH offered to hand the belts over to STP, but Taylor wanted to earn gold the right way with a victory in the ring. STP did battle with the MexiSquad in February to win the Six-Man Championship. Taylor, Moses, and Kaun are doing the honorable thing by offering a rematch at the 19th Anniversary. This bout is my pick to steal the show. Both teams go hard in completely different styles.

Danhausen, Brian Johnson, LSG, and Eli Isom are competing in a four corners survival match. This was thrown together as a rising stars showcase.

Get in the mood for the 19th Anniversary with a countdown of the 10 greatest anniversary show moments in ROH history.

How does the 19th Anniversary card stack up? Which matches are you eagerly awaiting? Which bout will steal the show? Share your predictions.