Chelsea Green and the Women’s Title Tournament bracket weren’t the only big happenings at Ring of Honor’s Best in the World PPV last night (July 12).
We also saw three titles change hands on an eventful night at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (fka the UMBC Event Center) in Catonsville, Maryland. As it should, the main event gave us the biggest storyline of the night.
RUSH’s second ROH World title reign is over. El Toro Blanco was done in by his own villainy; Bandido scored the pin when his opponent was arguing with referee Todd Sinclair over RUSH’s attempts to rip Bandido’s mask off his head.
AND NEW ROH WORLD CHAMPION @bandidowrestler!!!!! #ROHBITW pic.twitter.com/xlLeP8H3ej
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 12, 2021
The now former champ and his Facción Ingobernable beat down the new champ after the bell, and the show ended with RUSH standing with his foot on Bandido’s chest, so as Conor McGregor said this weekend - this ain’t over.
ROH’s branch of Los Ingobernables isn’t without gold right now, though. Earlier in the show, RUSH’s brother Dragon Lee won back a belt he never lost, the Television title. Back in February, Lee was injured and his teammate Kenny King defended the title in his place, losing to “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams. Since then, Tony Deppen beat Williams for the strap, and defended it in a threeway against Hot Sauce and Lee.
Since Williams was pinned in that match, Lee got the title shot. It was a hard-hitting affair...
THIS. IS. AWESOME. #ROHBITW pic.twitter.com/6GYxNt2es2
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 12, 2021
... that in the end Lee won clean with his Incinerator knee strike.
The Pure title stayed with Jonathon Gresham after he beat Mike Bennett, but The Foundation couldn’t hold on to the Tag Team championship. That could be explained by the fact Gresham had to pull unexpected double duty. Williams was supposed to defend the titles with Rhett Titus in a Fight Without Honor (essentially a Street Fight) against Violence Unlimited’s Homicide & Chris Dickinson. He wasn’t cleared by the Maryland State Athletic Commission after a recent car accident, however, and The Foundation’s Jay Lethal was ruled out because of the damage he took in a loss to Violence Unlimited’s Brody King earlier in the show.
Gresham & Titus battled...
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES ARE ON THE LINE NOW! @RhettTitusANX @TheJonGresham vs. @DirtyDickinson & Homicide! #ROHBITW pic.twitter.com/fOmsRmkaPE
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 12, 2021
... but a weary Gresham took the pin after Homicide hit him with Cop Killer. 14 years after his last ROH title run, The Notorious 187 is again a champion in the company.
Here’s a quick rundown of all the results from Best in the World:
- Rey Horus def. Demonic Flamita via pinfall with a sunset flip
- An edition of the talk show “Trending with Taven” set-up a steel cage match between Matt Taven and Vincent on night two of Glory By Honor on Aug. 21. Taven’s World title show will be on the line. The segment ended with The Righteous beating down the host.
- PCO & Danhausen def. The Bouncers via pinfall-hausen (PCO on Beer City Bruiser after a moonsault)
- The Briscoes def. PJ Black & Brian Johnson via pinfall (Mark Briscoe on Black after a Froggy Bow)
- EC3 def. Flip Gordon via submission with a crossface; Gordon refuses a handshake afterwards, spitting in EC3’s face instead
- Shane Taylor Promotions def. Eli Isom, Dak Draper& Dalton Castle via pinfall to retain their Six-Man titles (Taylor on Draper after a sit-out powerbomb)
- Josh Woods def. Silas Young in a Last Man Standing match
- Brody King def. Jay Lethal via pinfall after two Gonzo Bombs
- Jonathan Gresham def. Mike Bennett via submission to retains his ROH Pure title
- Dragon Lee def. Tony Deppen via pinfall after Incinerator to become the new ROH World Television champion
- Violence Unlimited def. Jonathan Gresham & Rhett Titus via pinfall in a Fight Without Honor to become the new ROH World Tag Team titles
- New signing Chelsea Green is introduced along with the Women’s Tournament bracket
- Bandido def. RUSH via pinfall with a roll-up to become the new ROH World champion; gets beaten down by La Facción Ingobernable to close the show
You can watch a replay of the show on ROH’s Honor Club streaming service, or Fite.TV.