Who heads for the Tokyo Dome?

Even with ROH Final Battle on the horizon, Athena, Billie Starkz, Red Velvet & Leyla Hirsch battle to be part of NJPW’s International Women’s Cup! Who will represent ROH at WrestleDynasty?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• WrestleDynasty International Women’s Cup ROH Qualifier Fatal 4 Way: Athena VS Billie Starkz VS Red Velvet VS Leyla Hirsch; Athena wins and advances to WrestleDynasty.
• The Outrunners VS The Premier Athletes w/ Mark Sterling; The Outrunners win.
• Madison Rayne VS Allysin Kay; Rayne wins.
• Toa Liona VS Lee Johnson w/ EJ Nduka; Liona wins.
• NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships: Grizzled Young Veterans VS MXM Collection; GYV wins and retains the titles.
• ROH Rewind – Final Battle 2021, Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor VS Kenny King; Shane wins.
• Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara VS Eric Dillinger & Josh Crane; Dustin & Sammy win.
• ROH Pure Championship: Lee Moriarty VS Matt Taven; Lee wins and retains the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

Billie Starkz gets ready backstage.

She calls to the cameraman to come closer. She has a Fatal 4 Way match tonight for WrestleDynasty! She can set herself up for any title match she wants, meaning it’s another chance to prove herself. As cheesy as that sounds- Athena interrupts by saying, “Hellooooo~ Minions~! This is your Fallen Goddess, your Minion Overlord, the inspiration to every division, the American Joshi, but most importantly, the Forever ROH Women’s Champion, to call a MEM: A Minion Empowerment Meeting.”

Athena turns her attention to Billie and says that she knows for some reason, Billie’s had her issues with Athena. Athena doesn’t get it, she’s done nothing wrong, no idea why Billie’s being this rebellious teenager, but tonight, Billie owes Athena the biggest of apologies. So when all the dust settles from “Lil’ Red” and “Ley-Ley” out there, Billie needs to lay down, stare up at the lights, and let Athena get the 1-2-3 so she can start the Athena World Tour! But Billie wants to go to the Tokyo Dome, too… Athena says no one cares what Billie wants! Billie owes Athena for everything Athena has done for her.

Does Billie not get it? When Billie signed that MIT application, it is a legally binding contract that Billie is Athena’s Minion For Life until Athena terminates the deal. So get it together, and see you out there. And after, maybe Athena lets Billie ride on the plane for the world tour. WrestleDynasty, here she comes! Athena happily marches her way out, Billie sighs, and Billie also seethes. Will Billie finally stand up to the bully and be her own person?

WrestleDynasty International Women’s Cup ROH Qualifier Fatal 4 Way: Athena VS Billie Starkz VS Red Velvet VS Leyla Hirsch!

The Fallen Goddess may be the Forever ROH Women’s World Champion, but everyone in this match has equal odds of winning! Will Athena still be as dominant against three opponents? Will Minion 400,237 & 3/4ths finally stand on her own? Will the ROH Women’s World Television Champion be serving L’s left and right? Or will WrestleDynasty be LEGIT with Leyla Hirsch?

Leyla and Velvet, though opponents at Final Battle next week, keep the Code of Honor here. But they don’t want anything to do with Athena or Billie, and the feeling is mutual. The bell rings and the fans rally for Billie. Athena says Billie sucks, Leyla sucks, and Red sucks! But then they all storm up on Athena! Athena says get back, she’s the baddest! Athena bails out, does jumping jacks, but Billie mockingly asks what happened to “baddest hits first?” What about the Tokyo Dome? Leyla and Velvet tie up, Leyla headlocks, but Velvet powers out. Billie bypasses Leyla and Leyla runs Velvet over! Leyla runs, Velvet drops, so Leyla RAMS Billie!

Billie stays up, Velvet takes a swing but Leyla ducks. Leyla back suplexes, Velvet lands out, but Billie is there to get her! BACKBREAKER! Billie shoves Velvet away to then dodge Leyla, and wrenches to a KNEE SMASH and HEEL KICK! Leyla tumbles away, Velvet crawls, and Billie builds speed. Billie DIVES and takes out Leyla! Not the cleanest hit but Billie still roars! The fans fire up and Billie stands Leyla up. They brawl, but Velvet is up top! SUPER CROSSBODY and down they go! The fans fire up as Velvet stirs it up, but Athena attacks Velvet from behind! Athena sends Velvet into railing! Athena drags Leyla up and throws her intro railing!

Athena cheers herself while the fans are conflicted. Athena puts Velvet in the ring, runs up, but Velvet dodges to fire body shots! The ref counts, Velvet lets off with a roll of the eyes, but Athena BOOTS her down! Athena whips Velvet to a corner, then runs corner to corner, handspring and LARIAT! The fans fire up as Athena runs, springboards, and CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! Velvet is tougher than that and that upsets Athena. Athena storms over to a corner, climbs up, but Velvet stands to ROUNDHOUSE! Velvet climbs up after Athena, goes to the very top, and SUPER CASADORA! Athena tumbles but Leyla is back!

Velvet dodges Leyla to mule kick and snapmare. Velvet KICKS Leyla in the back, then drags her over to join Athena. Velvet hooks all those arms for a DOUBLE MOUSE TRAP! TWO!! Athena and Leyla escape, and now Billie is back to whip. Velvet reverses and CALF KICKS Billie down! The fans fire up and Velvet drops a leg on the arm! Velvet ties up Billie in a short arm scissor! But Leyla steps over, DISARMER! But Athena clamps onto Leyla with a DRAGON SLEEPER! It’s a submission chain! Leyla endures, Velvet endures, but Billie reaches up! Billie grabs Athena’s hair and YANKS her down! The fans fire up and Billie rolls Velvet, TWO!

Billie and Velvet stand, and Billie blocks a kick! “EAT YOUR TEETH!” KNEE! Leyla waistlocks Billie to GERMAN SUPLEX! The fans fire up and Leyla storms up on Athena. Athena shoves Leyla away but Leyla comes back. Athena catches the lariat to wrench and BIG back suplex! Athena kips up, the fans fire up, and Athena whips Leyla to ropes. Leyla ducks ‘n’ dodges to sunset flip, TWO and Athena sits on the cover, only for Velvet to BASEMENT DDT! Velvet covers Athena, TWO! Leyla gut wrenches to SLAM Velvet back onto Athena! But that’s another cover! Leyla breaks that cover, then covers both Athena and Velvet! TWO!!

Billie SWANTON BOMBS them all!! Billie covers Leyla, TWO! Billie covers Velvet, TWO! Billie is frustrated already, but then she spots Athena. The fans rally up as Billie walks over to Athena, but Leyla turns Billie around to DECK her! Leyla eggs Athena on but Athena SUPERKICKS her! The fans rally up, Velvet wheelbarrows Athena, but Athena THROWS her down! Athena hauls Leyla up to GOURD BUSTER her onto Velvet! But that’s a cover! Billie and Athena both hurry over, but Athena uses Leyla as a step to then RANA Billie! The fans fire up as Athena shouts, “This is MY show!” Athena then storms up on Leyla, but Leyla jumps on for a SLEEPER!

Athena stays up, Velvet runs to CROSSBODY, but Athena catches her! The fans fire up as Athena powers up to SWINGING FACEBUSTER BACKPACK SENTON COMBO!! Athena covers Leyla, TWO! Cover on Velvet, TWO! Athena grows frustrated but then she climbs a corner. The fans rally, but Velvet trips Athena up! Velvet fires hands, climbs up, and then Leyla joins in! They mug Athena, but Billie gets under them all! TOWER OF DOOM!! The fans fire up for Billie as she’s the only one standing! Billie storms up on Leyla, tucks her in, STAR 10!! Cover, ATHENA BREAKS IT! The Overlord and the Minion stare down!

Athena says this is NOT what they talked about! Billie says this was supposed to be her time! Athena says who cares about Billie’s time! Now just lie down! But Velvet SHOVES Athena into Billie, and they both end up on ropes! Velvet runs to DOUBLE BLINDSIDE KNEE! Billie and Athena tumble out, Velvet drops back, but Leyla leaps off the steps! DOUBLE SHOTGUN! The fans fire up and Leyla rises up. Leyla storms in and meets Velvet. The fans rally for this preview of Final Battle! The forearms fly back and forth, harder and harder! Leyla gets the edge, but Velvet knees low! Velvet whips, Leyla goes up, but Athena is there, too!

Velvet runs up, Leyla jumps aside, Athena and Velvet CLOBBER each other! Athena falls, Leyla hits a JUMPING NECKBREAKER on Velvet! Leyla sits Velvet up for the LEGIT KNEE!! And then a pump handle and RIGHT ANGLE SLAM!! Cover, BILLIE BREAKS IT! Billie TOSSES Leyla, but Leyla drags her out with her! Athena snipes the cover!! ATHENA WINS!!

Winner: Athena, by pinfall (advances to WrestleDynasty)

Billie is stunned and Athena is all smiles, because the world tour is beginning! Will the Fallen Goddess go to the Tokyo Dome to bring the International Women’s Cup back to ROH? But what about her opponent for Final Battle?

As for Velvet and Leyla, they just have to brush this off and now prepare for each other in the Hammerstein Ballroom. Will The Chef stir it up in the Manhattan Center? Or will Leyla make Final Battle LEGIT?

Dustin Rhodes speaks.

“The Righteous like to jump people from behind, and play their so-called mind games. You can jump me from behind. But one thing you don’t understand that after 37 years, no matter how many times I have fallen on my back, I always get back up. There’s no quit in any Rhodes in my family. We are passionate about what we do. So play your little mind games. Yeah, you may have rattled me a little bit and I am kinda pissed off… And Dutch. You specifically have crossed the line, mentioning my father’s name and that bull rope that he gave you. I understand you trained with him, and I understand that he took you under his ring. He saw something in you.

‘But what you don’t understand is the kind of man that Dusty was outside of the ring. He would give his shirt off his back for you, and anybody else that was passionate about our sport, because he loved it. he loved the kids, he loved teaching. And you crossed the line! You don’t understand just how far you’ve gone. Because you’re a sick son of a b*tch for using my dad’s kindness against me. I have been through Hell and walked all through it! Kicked the Devil in his teeth and survived, and survived, and survived. And now it’s on. Final Battle. Historic first-time-ever DOUBLE Bullrope Match for the ROH World Tag Team Championships.”

Dustin picks up his own cowbell and bull rope, and he wants Dutch to know that Sammy Guevara has always had Dustin’s back. And The Sons of Texas are about to deliver The Righteous straight to Hell and leave them to rot forever! Dutch, Vincent, at Final Battle, in Hammerstein, in the city that never sleeps, don’t you EVER mention Dustin’s dad again! Because it will be the last words that you speak! “See you soon, boys.”

The Dark Order speaks.

“We are the Gri-gri-gri, Grizzled Young Veterans!” Well, no, it’s Alex Reynolds & John Silver cosplaying as Zack Gibson & James Drake to make fun of them. But this is also GalaxyCon so cosplaying fits in here. Evil Uno walks over to see this and asks what they’re doing. They’re better than this! No we’re not, mate! They gotta teach the boys a lesson! Uno lets the gag go on as Reynolds continues to be Gibson, and he tells the prospects to take notes. First: Zack Gibson is NOT as handsome as Alex Reynolds! Make sure to write that down! Second: GYV are just Wish.com Dark Order, mates!

But then GYV storm in and Gibson asks if they’re having a laugh! Uno tries to keep the peace but Drake shoves Reynolds! Reynolds storms up but Uno stands in his way! Silver asks what the hell, but Uno takes the GYV towels off Reynolds & Silver to give back to Gibson & Drake. Gibson says they’ll let this go, for Uno’s sake. Uno is better than this. Silver again asks what Uno is doing, but will Uno get his team to take things seriously?

NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships: Grizzled Young Veterans VS MXM Collection!

ROH has always been about that crossover, so how’s this: Zack Gibson & James Drake went to Lowell, Massachusetts and won these belts at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. But Mansoor & Mason Madden have been strutting their stuff back and forth between ROH and AEW, hoping to get their hands on any fashionable title belt. Will the Iron Chic & Mahogany Hunk start wearing a lot more blue to go with these titles? Or will they simply learn to #GritYourTeeth?

Well here’s a surprise! MXM still has Johnny TV accompanying them, but he’s apparently agreed to a makeover! And doesn’t seem that into it… Is it the strange bobbles on his necklace? Or that strange looking pinky ring? Johnny lets MXM go to the ring without him, he’ll just lend moral support this time.

The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and we see who is NJPW Strong!

The teams sort out and Gibson is already not amused. But Mansoor demands that GYV touch their tips! The fans chant, “Touch Their Tips! Touch Their Tips!” Gibson & Drake are beside themselves, but they reach out, only to leave MXM hanging! The fans boo but Mansoor steps up to Liverpool’s Number One. The bell rings, they tie up, and Gibson waistlocks then arm-drags to wristlock. Mansoor fights up, Gibson wrenches, but Mansoor rolls, kips up, and cartwheels! Mansoor handsprings, wrenches, but Gibson throws him down by his hair! Tag to Drake and GYV double suplex, but Mansoor lands on his feet! And swivels his hips! DOUBLE RUDE AWAKENING!

Mansoor winks at the camera and blows a kiss, then he goes for Drake. Mansoor ROCKS Drake, tags Mason, and MXM mugs Drake. Mason fires body shots over and over, then DOUBLE CHOPS Drake down! The fans fire up and says he’ll make Drake touch tips! Mason steps over Drake’s arm, drags him towards the corner, but Drake resists! The fans fire up as Mason gets closer and closer, but Drake pulls hair! Mason frowns and UPPERCUTS Drake! Mason TOSSES Drake to the corner, tags Mansoor, and he sends Mansoor in for a SPLASH! Mansoor moves aside so Mason can ELBOW Drake! Feed to the atomic drop!

Mansoor dropkicks the legs out, and Mason pulls up to HIP ATTACK! Then MXM touch tips! Cover, ONE!! Drake is tough but Mansoor headlocks. Drake powers up and out, Gibson tags in, and then Drake drops so Gibson can trip Mansoor! Gibson drags Mansoor out but Mansoor DECKS Gibson! Mansoor looms over Gibson, but Drake DIVES onto Mansoor! The fans boo but Gibson says they reeled in a big one. Gibson puts Mansoor on the apron and SLAMS his chest! Gibson stomps Mansoor, stays between him and Mason, then ROCKS him! Gibson storms up but Mansoor BOOTS from the corner! Mansoor fires shots on both Drake & Gibson!

Gibson scoops,  Mansoor slips free, but Gibson keeps Mansoor from Mason! Mansoor fires hands, reaches out, but Gibson KNEES low! Gibson sucker punches Mason, but Mansoor inside cradles! TWO!! Gibson headlocks, Mansoor powers out, but Drake tags in! Gibson reverses the whip, Drake dropkicks legs and Gibson basement dropkicks Mansoor! Gibson then steps up and Drake runs in, MAYHEM IN MOTION! Down goes Mason and GYV stalk Mansoor. Gibson hauls Mansoor up, Drake climbs, Gibson hits a SAIDO! Drake is up top for the DIVING BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO!! Mansoor survives and the fans fire up!

GYV argue the count but the ref defends it. The fans rally for Mansoor but Drake brings him up. Drake DECKS Mansoor, tags Gibson, and GYV mugs Mansoor. Gibson asks if Mansoor wants to touch now! Gibson pie faces Mansoor and says jokes don’t win titles. Gibson ROCKS Mansoor, but Mansoor asks, “Is that all you got, you bald bastard?!” Gibson fires more shots, but Mansoor hits back! The fans rally as Mansoor CHOPS, but then Gibson throws another forearm! The shots keep going, but then Gibson fireman’s carries! Mansoor slips free, shoves, and atomic drops to a SPINEBUSTER!

The fans fire up while both men are down! Mason rises up! Mansoor and Gibson crawl, hot tag to Drake, hot tip to Mason! Mason runs up, breaks the clothesline, and DOUBLE SHOULDER TACKLES GYV! Then ELBOW in a corner for Gibson! NICO NICO KNEE for Drake! LEG LARIAT for Gibson! Ripcord and SWINGING URENAGE for Drake!! The fans are thunderous and Mason tags in Mansoor! Mason clamps onto Drake, Mansoor sets up, CHOKE SLAM SAIDO!! Cover, Gibson breaks it! Mason TOSSES Gibson, but Gibson drags Mason out with him! Mason shoves Gibson away, runs up, but is sent into steel steps!

Mansoor grabs Gibson, Drake grabs Mansoor! Mansoor steps over the cover to cover, TWO!! BOOT and ENZIGIRI! Mansoor hurries to fireman’s carry, but Drake fights free! Drake shoves, Mansoor grabs ropes and BOOTS back! Drake distracts the ref, Gibson uses the scarf/towel to CHOKE Mansoor and then YANK him down! The fans boo but Gibson gets away with it. Tag to Gibson, GRIT YOUR TEETH!! Cover off the high-low, GYV wins!

Winners: Grizzled Young Veterans, by pinfall (still NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions)

Gibson & Drake snatch this one away from MXM, and then they get outta there before Mason can run up on them. GYV mock the tip touch, but will MXM still find a way to be wrestling’s next top tag team?

Paul Wight speaks.

“ROH fans, Paul Wight here with some exciting news! Former ROH World Champion returning to competition, the one, the only, Jay Lethal!” Lethal has his macho handshake ready and says put ‘er there, Paul! They shake hands and Lethal says it is an honor to be returning to ROH. And at Final Battle of all places! That show is set to be incredible. But if they could get that conversation from earlier today… Oh, he wants to have that conversation on air? Lethal says why not, cameras are here. Wight says okay, and Lethal says it is his number one priority to get back to the top of the ROH marquee. He is telling us right now, it is 100% doable.

Wight agrees, and Lethal is also wondering, who is he facing at Final Battle? Hopefully whoever it is, it gets Lethal back in the title picture. Because Wight knows, Lethal loves gold. But in steps QT Marshall & Aaron Solo, and QT wants everyone to hold on. Title picture? Is that what ROH is doing now? Just handing out title matches? QT apologizes to “Mr. Wight” and sits down at the table. QT wants to talk with Wight. There’s no heat from Full Gear. QT gets that Wight was just standing up for The Rizzler. But QT has heat with Lethal! Lethal wants to talk about the top of the marquee, but QT couldn’t have laid it out any easier! QT VS Lethal at Final Battle!

Uh, no, Lethal doesn’t want to do that. Oh, he doesn’t wanna do that? Does Lethal have bigger fish to fry? What has Lethal been doing? All QT remembers about Lethal is going “0 for the century” in the Continental Classic. How about this? Lethal isn’t even in this year’s C2! And Lethal’s shirt (a Macho Man tribute) shows he is just fixated on rekindling an old flame that was never that hot to begin with. Lethal gets heated and QT says hold on, hold on. QT read the room wrong. But QT will never ask for another match against Lethal.  QT is sure Wight has some great ideas for Lethal to rekindle that flame.

So after all that and it doesn’t work out, Lethal can rest assured knowing he’ll always have a spot carrying QT’s bags like he does for Jeff Jarrett. Lethal grabs QT from across the table! Sonjay Dutt, Solo and Wight break it up! This does not happen in his office. Wight tells Lethal has business to handle with QT, so it will be Lethal VS QT at Final Battle. After that, they can talk about Lethal’s bright future in ROH. QT thanks Wight, high-fives with Solo and says, “It worked!” as he and Solo get out of there. QT goaded Lethal and Wight into this fight, but will it be QT who faces his DOOOOM~?

ROH Rewind – Final Battle 2021, Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor VS Kenny King!

If we’re talking about handling business, this match was about that and about staying afloat during some dire times. Desperation turned friends into enemies, was Big Bad Shaney T able to trump the K I N G KING~?

The bell rings and Shane is already egging on King, daring him to hit first. King shrugs, and SPITS WATER in Shane’s face! The fans fire up, Shane takes a swing, but King dodges to JAB, JAB, and swing. Shane dodges, UPPERCUTS, then runs, but King ROCKS Shane! King takes another swing but Shane dodges! Shane LARIATS King up and out and the fans fire up more! Shane storms out after King, and he whips King hard into barriers! King even clips the chair that sits in the corner! Shane drags King up and he whips King hard into more barriers! The barriers move back and the fans fire up!

Shane storms around while King crawls away. Shane grabs one of those chairs, takes aim, but King ducks! Chair hits post and Shane’s hands jam up! King runs up but Shane BACKDROPS him away! Shane moves things aside so he can bring a table over! Then he brings another table over! Fans rally up as Shane has both tables together, but King eggs Shane on from the ring. King throws his jacket, Shane storms in, and King fires off! Shane shoves King but King kicks and fires forearms! King kicks, Shane blocks, but the DRAGON WHIP comes around! King runs up but Shane puts him on the apron!

Shane ROCKS King, fires more forearms, then looks to those tables. Shane goes to the other side of the corner, and the fans are freaking out already! “PLEASE DON’T DIE! PLEASE DON’T DIE!” King CLUBS away on Shane, but he just adjusts position! SUPER BLOCKBUSTER down through the tables!! The fans lose their minds, and King has a bit of a grin as he sits up from the wreckage. King gets the fans to say his name, “The K I N G KIIING~!” King still has to hobble and crawl his way over to other items, but then he and Shane both get in the ring with kendo sticks! Shane swings, King dodges! Shane dodges, but then King gets him in the gut!

The fans fire up as King SMACKS Shane on the back! King KICKS Shane in the side, SMACKS him on the back, then uses the kendo stick to CHOKE Shane! Shane can only suffer, but King lets Shane off. King says time to put his ass in the trash! King gets a trash can, pushes that into the ring, then storms up on Shane in a corner. King fires hands but Shane returns fire with body shots! King CLAWS Shane’s face! The fans are torn but King has the can! SMACK right to the head! Shane sputters while he sits down in the corner and the ref checks him. King tells the ref to back off, and then he runs up, but Shane catches him! URENAGE onto the trash can!

King writhes after the can dents from his body! The fans cheer on “S T P! S T P!” Shane storms up on King with a kendo stick now! King asks for mercy, but Shane just SMACKS him instead! Shane SMACKS King again, and again, and again! It is all payback for earlier, with interest! The fans fire up as Shane goes out and fetches a new table! Shane brings that over to the ramp side, then fetches King. King fires hands but Shane CLUBS him on the back. Shane brings King over, and DECKS him onto the table! King sputters while Shane goes up to the apron. Fans fire up again as Shane runs up, SPLASH DOWN through the table!!

The fans are thunderous as Shane gets himself free of the wreckage. Shane rises up, goes to the other side of the ring, and he brings out a FOURTH table! It’s covered in streamers but Shane clears those off as best he can before putting the table in the ring. The table is propped up in the corner, and Shane hauls King up for a scoop! Shane runs up, but King slips free! EDDY GORDO KICK! Fireman’s carry! ROLLING DEATH VALLEY into the table!! The fans are thunderous again as King covers, TWO!! Shane survives and King is beside himself! The fans rally for STP again, but King goes out to look at what’s left.

King goes with the ladder! And it’s a tall one! King manages to make a bridge between ring and barrier, and the fans already anticipate something painful. But then King gets a second ladder, puts it in the ring, but Shane grabs the other tall ladder! King hurries to SMACK Shane with a kendo stick first! And then SMACKS him again! King takes ownership of the ladder, and does his best to position that in the corner. The ladder stands tall, but Shane is back with a kendo stick! Shane SMACKS King in the gut! More payback with another SMACK to the back! King pushes wreckage out of the way before he goes out again.

Shane fetches one more ladder and puts it in the ring. Shane stands that fourth ladder up near a corner, opposite of the tall one. Then Shane takes the odd ladder out and makes a bridge between everything. King just lets him do it, then he SMACKS Shane on the back! King CHOKES Shane with the kendo stick, pushes Shane onto that bridge, and then CLUBS him down! King climbs up and the fans are already freaking out! King goes up, and up, and up! SUPER SPLASH on the ladder bridge!! Both men writhe and the fans are thunderous! Cover, TWO!!! Shane survives again and King is facing despair at this point!

King huffs ‘n’ puffs, shoves ladders over, dumps ladders out, and just wants “this bullsh*t outta here!” King folds up the tallest ladder, puts it in a corner, and then runs at Shane. Shane blocks the boot, pushes King back, but King somersaults in return! Shane ROCKS King! Then ROCKS him!! Then KNEES him!! Then he hauls King up, WELCOME TO THE LAND!! Cover, TWO!?!? Shane can’t believe King survived, but the fans are loving this! King goes back to his original ladder bridge, makes sure it’s back in place, and the fans rally up. Shane goes outside but King goes to the apron.

King SPITS at Shane just to egg him on! Shane gets up onto the barrier?! And then Shane joins King on his ladder bridge?! The fans are going nuts already, and Shane asks ring crew and ROH prospects to prop this up for him, he knows he’s a big man. Both men walk out to the center, they’re doing this like Robin Hood and Little John! They brawl while teetering on the edge, and King gets the edge! King says Shane “will always be my b*tch!” But Shane HEADBUTTS King!! Shane tucks King in, MARCUS GARVEY PILEDRIVER through the ladder!!! The fans are losing their minds over the destruction!

Shane stirs, and he drags King up and into the ring! “This is Awesome!” as Shane brings in a chair. Shane shovels King to a cover, TWO!?!?! King defies human limitations, but Shane says this is the end. Shane waits on King to rise up, and King stares him down. Shane is conflicted, but King asks, “What’re you waiting for?! EFFIN’ DO IT!!” Shane HEADSHOTS King with the chair!!! And then he sets the chair up, for a FULL METAL MARCUS GARVEY!!!! Cover, SHANE WINS!!

Winner: Shane Taylor, by pinfall

The fans give a standing ovation while the members of STP 2021 hurry out to celebrate with their fearless leader. But speaking of Big Bad Shaney T…

Shane Taylor speaks.

“‘Someone like you isn’t meant to be champion. Your job is to sing, dance, and entertain. There’s nothing that you can do to change this game. People like you need to know your place.’ I heard it all before. Shane Taylor Promotions, we know our place in the game. It’s just not where you want. We’re coming for everything. And there’s nothing, nothing, you can do about it. Rumble, bad man, rumble.” Will 2025 be the Year of STP?

Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara VS Eric Dillinger & Josh Crane!

We heard from The Natural, but now he and the Spanish God are looking to warm up before their battle with The Righteous. Will everyone learn why you don’t mess with The Sons of Texas?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and Crane takes the first shot! Dillinger follows suit but Dustin hits back and Sammy shoves Dillinger! Dustin TOSSES Crane, Sammy ROCKS Dillinger! Sammy keeps on Dillinger inside while Dustin DECKS Crane! Sammy winds up and he CHOPS Dillinger in the corner! Dillinger goes to another corner, Sammy winds up, and runs up to CHOP! Tag to Dustin and the fans fire up. Dustin CHOPS, CHOPS, and then he tags Sammy. Dustin says one more and the fans cheer. The Sons DOUBLE CHOP! Crane runs up but into a DOUBLE CHOP for himself!

Dustin & Sammy DOUBLE SUPLEX Dillinger, then Dustin runs to SHINING WIZARD! Sammy HIP TOSSES Crane onto Dillinger! Then Sammy sets up, STANDING MOONSAULT on them both! The fans fire up with Sammy and he tags Dustin. Dustin brings Dillinger up, wrenches him, but Dillinger fires hands! Dillinger whips and Crane gets a shot in! Dillinger BLINDSIDE LARIATS! Tag to Crane and fans boo but Crane & Dillinger double whip. They DOUBLE ELBOW, then do some RISKY BUSINESS! Crane covers, ONE!! Dustin is tougher than that, but Crane whips him to the corner. Dustin BLASTS Dillinger!

Dustin BOOTS Crane, the fans rally up, but Crane kicks low. Crane whips but Dustin reverses, and Dustin SNAP POWERSLAMS! The fans rally, Dustin crawls, hot tags to Sammy and Dillinger! Sammy climbs up and leaps, DOUBLE CROSSBODY on Dillinger & Crane! Sammy LARIATS Crane up and out, then he baits Dillinger in. SUPERKICK, to FLYING CUTTER! Dustin hops in to DESTROYER!! Sammy says this is it! Torture rack, but Crane runs up! Sammy SMACKS Crane with Dillinger! GO TO HOSPITAL, into Dustin’s dragon sleeper! CROSS RHODES!! Cover, Sons of Texas win!

Winners: Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara, by pinfall

Public Enemy take down, and The Luckiest Man Alive isn’t feeling so lucky! But will Dustin & Sammy be naturals in the Bullrope Tornado Tag with- Oh, speaking of, The Righteous are here! And Dutch is storming down to the ring with the Dusty Rhodes cowbell! But Vincent has a mic to tell Dutch to wait. Dutch grins at Dustin, and Vincent says, “Hello, gentlemen. So… You wanna fight tonight?” The fans wanna see it! Vincent chuckles and says, “Since I’m such a nice guy… I’ll let everybody here decide.” The fans like that! Vincent asks Columbus, Ohio if they wanna see it tonight. The fans say yes, they do!

Vincent says, “Well, that’s just too bad. Because you don’t deserve it. And you two don’t decide when it happens. And in time, we will ring your bell with daddy’s bell.” The fans boo and Sammy keeps Dustin calm. Vincent says they’ll see nothing but polka dots after. Dustin’s had it! He goes out to grab a chair but Sammy wants him to stand down. Dutch & Vincent laugh as they leave, but Sammy says this is what they want. They want Dustin tilted with his anger. The Sons of Texas stand down, but soon enough, they will have their Final Battle with The Righteous. Will Dustin & Sammy make sure Dutch & Vincent are never ROH World Tag Team Champions?

ROH Pure Championship: Lee Moriarty VS Matt Taven!

Shane Taylor Promotions is looking to take over, but the ROH Grand Slam Champion is looking to become a FIVE-STAR Champion! Will THE Matt Taven be able to complete ROH bingo? Or is #TAIGASTYLE just too wild?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who is truly Pure!

For this title match, we have a ONE HOUR time limit! And should this somehow go to that time limit, our judges for tonight are Christopher Daniels, Jerry Lynn & Nigel McGuinness. The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the fans fire up for Taven. That might be in part because Lee is from Pittsburgh and this is Ohio, but Taven is a long standing staple of ROH. The two circle, feel things out, then tie up. Lee waistlocks, spins and wrenches Taven to a wristlock, but Taven wrenches back. Lee spins, slips through, wrenches, and then spins and wrangles Taven to the mat! Taven endures the top wristlock while fans applaud the technical exchange.

Lee talks trash that Taven will never beat him, but Taven fights up. Lee wrangles Taven again, eggs him on, so Taven fights up. The fans rally but Lee again wrangles Taven with the wristlock. Taven headscissors! Lee kips free, Taven arm-drags, and now Taven gives back the trash talk and the wristlock. Lee fights up, arm-drags, but Taven drags Lee back down! Taven keeps on the arm, but Lee fights up to reach back for a headlock. They end up in a corner, the ref calls the neutral break, and both men let go. But Taven avoids the cheap shot! Taven whips, Lee reverses, but Taven goes up and over. Taven slides under, then he DROPKICKS!

The fans cheer and we’re just past 2 minutes as Taven says he’s got something for ya. “IIIII’M Matt Taven!” But Lee cradles him! TWO, and Lee ducks the heel kick! Lee kicks out a leg, and then shouts, “IIIII’M Lee Moriarty!” The fans are torn but Taven ELBOWS Lee away. Taven whips, Lee reverses, but Taven reverses back! Taven suplexes, Lee slips free but Taven spins around to suplex after all! Cover, TWO! Taven is a little frustrated but he drags Lee up. Taven headlocks but Lee throws body shots. Fans rally as Lee powers up and out. Taven ends up in a corner, Lee runs up and SOBATS! Taven sputters, was that a liver shot?

The ref checks Taven and we’re only past 3:30. Taven grits his teeth, stands up, and he catches his breath. Lee uses the opening to LARIAT in the corner! Lee RAMS Taven again and again, then pie faces him. Lee claps at Taven at 4 minutes, then KICKS him in the back. Taven is in the corner, and Lee CLAWS Taven’s back! The ref reprimands, the fans boo, but Lee brings Taven up in a clinch. Lee fires knees, then whips Taven to ropes, kitchen sink knee! Cover, TWO! Taven stays in this but Lee stays on him with a rear bearhug! The fans rally, Taven fights up, and Taven pries at the hold. Lee shifts for a COBRA TWIST!

Taven endures as Lee adds an arm to the hold! Taven fights and falls, ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Lee steps back, and that is Taven’s first of three. Lee nods and likes how this is going. Lee hauls Taven up, snapmares him, then KICKS him in the back! Lee claps, the fans are torn, but Lee soaks up both cheers and jeers. Lee then KICKS Taven in the chest! Taven sputters but he toughs it out. Lee says Taven is not on his level, but then Taven snapmares to a ghost pin! TWO, but Taven floats to go for a crossface! Lee slips out, he goes for the same! BORDER CITY STRETCH! Taven fights around fast but he’s still far from ropes!

Lee stomps away on Taven’s free arm! Taven kicks around and uses his legs for the ROPEBREAK! We’re at 6:30 but Taven’s already used up his second! Lee grins, he has Taven right where he wants him! Taven wrenches and whips for a kitchen sink knee! And then another! But Taven rolls Lee! Lee slips free, HEEL KICK from Taven! Both men are down and the fans fire up! Taven pounds the mat, the fans rally behind him, and both men rise. Lee puts his dukes up, but Taven bobs ‘n’ weaves. Taven ROCKS Lee with a forearm, then hits an atomic drop! Taven runs to LARIAT! The fans rally up, Lee takes as swing, but Taven ducks!

Taven ripcords Lee, and hits the FLATLINER! Taven still wants his crossface but Lee slips free! Lee waistlocks, Taven switches, but Lee switches back! Lee goes for the schoolboy but Taven steps over, rolls away, and then comes back with JUST THE TIP of the knee! Cover, TWO! Lee stays in this as we pass 8 minutes. Taven stays focused and the fans rally up. Taven stands Lee up but Lee wrenches and has the wristlock! Lee wrangles Taven and SNAPS fingers! The fans fire up as Lee acts like a Villain! Then DISCUS LARIAT! But Lee isn’t done, he hauls Taven up to wrench, crisscross, and STRAITJACKET FACEBUSTER!

Lee then clamps on the BORDER CITY STRETCH!! Taven flails, reaches out, ROPEBREAK!! That’s Taven’s last one and we’re only at 9 minutes! Lee lets go and is all the more confident. Lee goes back to Taven but Taven DUMPS him out! Taven aims and TORNILLO PLANCHAS! The fans fire up and Taven brings Lee up. Taven puts Lee in, climbs a corner, and FROG SPLASHES!! But the pain in his ribs and chest keep him from holding the cover! Taven has to crawl back for Lee, covers, TWO! But into Taven’s HEAD ‘N’ ARM CROSSFACE! Lee fights, pulls hair, then has the ROPEBREAK! Taven lets go, Lee uses his first.

The fans fire up but Taven protests about the hair. Taven drags Lee up but Lee ROCKS him! Closed fist!! That’s Lee’s free shot, if he does it again he is disqualified and loses the title! Lee runs up, but into a SUPERKICK! Lee staggers around, flops against ropes, but Taven runs up. Lee BOOTS Taven! Taven comes back, but Lee goes up and over, ROPE OCTOPUS!! The ref asks Taven because there are no ropebreaks anymore! Taven TAPS, Lee wins!

Winner: Lee Moriarty, by submission (still ROH Pure Champion)

At 11 minutes, 18 seconds, Lee Moriarty puts away the ROH Grand Slam Champion! Shane Taylor Promotions appear to celebrate with “The BEST Technical Wrestler on the Planet!” Bring anyone you’ve got, he’ll beat them, too! Who will step up and test themselves against #TAIGASTYLE?

Athena speaks.

The Fallen Goddess is backstage again, thanks “Not Lexy” Ian Riccaboni for the cue, and says speaking of Bestie, Athena hopes Lexy’s all-expenses-paid vacation in the Bahamas, courtesy of your Overlord, and also Tony Khan’s black card. Charge whatever you want, girl! Only the best for Lexy. But now, let’s talk Final Battle. Athena, the Forever ROH Women’s World Champion, the Minion Overlord, the inspiration to every division, the American Josh, and countless other nicknames, has every porcelain hussy scared to face her! So Athena will just have to skip Final Battle and go on her WORLD~ TOUR~!

Athena is ready for WrestleDynasty and its Fatal 4 Way International Women’s Cup “against three other porcelain hussies from around the world.” But we all know the Minion Overlord will win and finally get back to AEW! But then Billie Starkz storms in and asks, “Are you kidding me?! The hell was that?!” Athena asks Billie if she’s insistent on interrupting her? Billie says yes, and Athena asks why. WHY!? Billie wants to know what was that out in the ring? She wants Billie to just lie down?! Athena says they talked about this! Billie owes Athena an apology. Athena has done nothing but help Billie time and time again.

Billie says Athena’s done NOTHING for her! Nothing?! Has Athena not taken Billie under her wing, told her how to win the ROH Women’s TV Championship? And Billie’s the one who goes and messes it up doing it her way to LOSE Athena’s title! Athena is still here trying to make things work with Billie, and Athena just doesn’t understand what to do. Oh, well, since this is all Billie’s fault, and Athena wants to get an apology out of her… How about they fight instead? At Final Battle! Athena laughs that off. An apology at Final Battle? Y’know what? Athena gets it. They’ll put on a great show, Billie will throw it for Athena, it’ll be great.

So yes! Billie! Fake anger! Athena “hates” Billie so much for how she “disgraced” MIT! At Final Battle, December 20th, it will be Athena VS Billie Round 2 as Athena makes history headlining the Hammerstein Ballroom! And Billie will be the one that stares the light when they face off for the ROH Women’s World Championship! And then, once Athena wins and gets another historic victory, she’ll go on her WORLD~ TOUR~! Billie doesn’t understand Athena, but at least she gets her title match! Will Billie finally put Athena in her place? Or is that ego just going to grow and grow on its way to WrestleDynasty?

Tony Schiavone is here!

He’s in the ring and notes that one week ago, ROH World Champion Chris Jericho put out a challenge to any New York wrestler to face him for the title. That challenge was answered, and this is now the official contract signing for Final Battle’s main event, the ROH World Championship! First of all, the champion, The Learning Tree, Chris Jericho! The fans are a bit torn as The Nueve makes his way out here. And instead of wearing his goofy Nueve cowboy hat, he wears a New York Yankees hat as the self-proclaimed “King of New York.” Jericho waves to the fans, but Schiavone welcomes out the challenger, #AlwayZReady, Matt Cardona!

The fans fire up as the King of the Deathmatch makes his way out! Cardona joins Schiavone and Jericho in the ring and the fans chant “Always Ready!” Schiavone says in just over a week, ROH returns to the Hammerstein Ballroom for Final Battle, and he doesn’t have to tell them how big of a moment this is for ROH. Jericho says first of all… He waves to the fans and the fans boo, so then Jericho flips them off! That’s what they get for cheering Cardona when Jericho is here. The fans continue to chant “Always Ready!” to spite Jericho. Jericho says typical Kansas City, always a step behind.

And typical Schiavone in demeaning Jericho’s legacy. He isn’t just ROH World Champion, he’s the Nueve! NINE-TIME World Champion! Nine times! That’s more than the Chiefs and the Royals combined! The fans boo but Jericho says it’s true. Not only that, Jericho is the Learning Tree, teaching lessons to people every day of his life. And on top of that, he is the King of New York! Cardona speaks up but Jericho talks over him to say he wasn’t done, don’t be rude. The fans chant “You’re From Canada! You’re From Canada!” Jericho says he can’t understand their KC accent.

But Jericho tells Cardona just how lucky he is to be granted this chance at the ROH World Championship. Cardona’s accomplished so much in his career, but just being in the ring with Jericho puts Cardona on a different level, “amirite?” So Jericho will congratulate Cardona for having the biggest match of his career at Final Battle in the Hammerstein ballroom. But Jericho also wants to warn Cardona. There is no way Cardona takes the world title from Jericho. There is no way that Cardona can beat Jericho. There is no way Cardona conquers the King of New York! Cardona says in New York City-

Jericho again interrupts by saying, “And on top of that…” The fans keep reminding Jericho he is Canadian, but Jericho changes it to, “You’re From New York!” Cardona tells Chris to just shut up! The fans cheer as Cardona says he is sick of Jericho running his mouth! Cardona knows Schiavone’s sick of it, and he knows the fans are sick of it! The fans cheer that, too! Cardona says everything that comes out of Jericho’s mouth is just 100% BS! He doesn’t fool Cardona! Jericho is a fake, a phony, a fraud! Everything about Jericho is fake! That smile is fake! This “King of New York” stuff is fake, and his love of ROH is fake!

Jericho doesn’t give a damn about ROH! Jericho is LEECHING off ROH! Jericho is using ROH like he’s used everyone and everything else. Cardona assures Schiavone he has this. Cardona tells Jericho that Final Battle isn’t just the biggest opportunity of his career, it is the biggest opportunity of his LIFE! And he will not let this slip through his fingers. Final Battle isn’t about shutting Jericho up, it isn’t about seeing who’s the King of New York, and it isn’t about proving the doubters wrong. It is about proving himself right! Cardona does that by beating Jericho to become the NEW ROH World Champion!

The fans cheer and Cardona writes his name down on the contract! Then he lets Jericho have his turn. Jericho borrows Schiavone’s pen and asks Schiavone to exit the ring. Schiavone hops outside, and Jericho picks up the contract. The fans tell him to sign it, and Jericho… hesitates? Cardona asks what’s going on here, but Jericho still stalls. Jericho pushes himself to do this, and he writes his name down! The contract is signed, the match is official, and Jericho asks for a handshake. Cardona is now the hesitant one, but he still takes it! To then whip Jericho into Bryan Keith! Cardona heard the footsteps and hits the Bad Apple first!

Jericho staggers, into a RADIO SILENCE LEG LARIAT! Keith gets up but Cardona DECKS him! Then Cardona picks Jericho up, SPINEBUSTER through the table! The fans fire up for The Complete Cardona, and he snatches that belt up! He’s #AlwayZReady, but will Cardona stand tall at the end of Final Battle? Or will the Learning Tree have something up his sleeve?

My Thoughts:

A good episode of ROH, but just over two hours is a lot. Especially when you give the ROH Pure Championship match a 60 minute time limit but don’t even go past 15. I know the idea is Taven is newer to Pure Rules, there still could’ve been more. But with Shane’s very good (but apparently out of sync) promo vignette, and that ROH Rewind of that awesome Fight Without Honor, maybe STP does start making moves on all the titles in ROH. We’re getting good stories in all the other divisions, STP could probably be a faction that actually hits all divisions better than Death Riders are doing that in AEW.

Athena’s story as Women’s World Champion is going just as I’ve been saying. She won that great Fatal 4 Way to now head for WrestleDynasty, but they also bring this story with Billie into it where this is Billie’s last straw. I did like the promo after the Fatal 4 where Athena thinks Billie wants to pretend to fight, and I would love that once the bell rings, Billie hits Athena full force and Athena realizes she’s in for a real fight. As I’ve been saying, Billie should win, it’s the only thing that makes sense. And then as Athena implied tonight, she’ll move up to AEW after this. Whether or not it’s with the International Women’s Cup, that really depends on who from CMLL and Stardom shows up, but either way, Athena heads for an AEW title in 2025.

Really good stuff from Outrunners with Premier Athletes, great stuff with Liona and Lee Johnson, and even a good stare down of Liona and EJ Nduka. Madison Rayne VS Allysin Kay was good but I still feel like Madison moves a little slower than she should. Still nice for her to win in front of Columbus, Ohio, her hometown, but that was about it. Funny bit with Dark Order mocking GYV, though ironically, it should’ve been Silver as Gibson and Reynolds as Drake because of bald and hair and such. Great match from GYV VS MXM but of course GYV win with the titles on the line. I am pretty sure Dark Order will get a shot, too, but GYV will still win.

Very good promo from Dustin, and of course he and Sammy get a win, but also good appearance from The Righteous. We’ll get an awesome Double Bull Rope Tag Team match for the ROH titles, and I still see it as Righteous potentially winning the titles but Dustin getting a moral victory by taking Dusty Rhodes’ cowbell back. Or if Infantry is going after the titles on behalf of STP, I could see The Sons of Texas having it all, the titles and the cowbell, so they have a lot of momentum going into 2025 to face Dean & Bravo.

And a good contract signing segment to close the show, which went about how we’d all expect. Jericho was obnoxious, Cardona told him to shut up, Cardona vowed to win, and then Cardona thwarted the sneak attack so he could stand tall. That is because, under go-home math, Cardona is going to lose at Final Battle. He’ll beat Keith tomorrow on Rampage, but he’ll lose to Jericho in New York, perhaps by Jericho cheating.

My Score: 8.7/10