Mark Briscoe has the chance to win the Ring of Honor World Championship, eleven years to the very day that his brother Jay won the very same title in 2013. 

Mark will challenge ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston at Supercard of Honor 2024, Ring of Honor confirmed this week. In a video, Mark spoke about having to re-establish himself following his brother’s passing last year. 

In a direct message to Kingston, Briscoe said that he knows that the pair of them have faced setbacks and referenced Kingston’s recent AEW Continental title loss to Kazuchika Okada. Borrowing the words his brother told him, Mark said that for Eddie Kingston, it’s “time to man up.”

11 years to the day!
Mark Briscoe (@SussexCoChicken) is coming for the #ROH World Title at Supercard of Honor!

Watch #ROH TV on #HonorClub at https://t.co/8dcdtxqvDf pic.twitter.com/SJdt8yckCx

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 28, 2024

Jay Briscoe’s Championship Win

Jay Briscoe won the ROH World Championship at ROH Supercard of Honor 2013 with a main event victory over Kevin Steen (today WWE’s Kevin Owens.) Jay would hold the title for 89 days before the gold was vacated due to a storyline injury to Briscoe. He would win the gold back at the All-Star Extravaganza VI event in September 2014. 

ROH Supercard of Honor 17

Here is the card for ROH Supercard of Honor 17 as it currently stands: 

• Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Mark Briscoe (Ring of Honor World Championship)

• Athena (c) vs. Hikaru Shida (Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship)

• Mina Shirakawa, Maika, and Mei Seira vs. Saya Kamitani, Tam Nakano, and AZM (STARDOM Showcase Tag-Team Match)

• Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Lee Johnson (Ring of Honor World Television Championship)

• Billie Starkz vs. Queen Aminata (Tournament finals to crown the inaugural Ring of Honor Women’s World Television Champion)

WWE Superstars can sometimes work for a decade or longer in the pro wrestling business before getting their shot. Kevin Owens certainly had to put in his time on the indies, but now that he is a WWE Superstar, although he appreciates his past, he is looking forward.

Kevin Owens Speaks on His Time in ROH

Kevin Owens is known all over the world now for his work in WWE. However, prior to rising to prominence in the global wrestling scene, Owens was a fixture in Ring of Honor from 2011 to 2013. It seems that he doesn’t really think about that time in his career anymore.

During conversation with Wrestle Radio Australia, Kevin Owens mentioned that the current phase of his career aligns more closely with his true self compared to his time in Ring of Honor. He acknowledged that during his Ring of Honor days, he often aimed to shock people and gain recognition, even if it meant doing things he wouldn’t do now.

Owens then expressed gratitude for reaching his desired destination in his career, although he doesn’t necessarily reminisce about his Ring of Honor years. He doesn’t watch that footage, and some of it is cringe-worthy for him now.

I mean, this is a lot closer to myself than I am, you know, the Ring of Honor stuff. A lot of it was about shocking people and trying to get my name out there and for better or for worse, you know? There’s a lot of things I did back then that I would not do today. You know what I mean? So I’m glad that I’ve managed to get to where I wanted to get to, and the Ring of Honor years are great years for me, but they’re not necessarily years I even look back on. I don’t really watch that stuff back. If I did, I’d probably cringe at a lot of stuff I did. You know, licking people’s blood and just a lot of crazy things in the ring that I probably shouldn’t have been doing. But, you know, it all paid off ultimately. I am where I wanted to go.”

What’s Next For Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens does not have a match on WrestleMania 40 yet, but odds are that will change as the weeks tick down for the show of shows. This could be an eventful time for him, because the road to WrestleMania has been known to pick up for the Prize Fighter since his debut on the main roster.

SEScoops will have continued coverage of Kevin Owens’ career, and everything else in the pro wrestling world. 

One of Ring of Honor’s top stars is currently unable to compete in the ring in the United States due to ongoing issues with their visa. 

Kyle Fletcher has not been able to compete for weeks in either Ring of Honor or All Elite Wrestling due to these issues, according to Fightful Select. The reigning Ring of Honor World Television Champion, Fletcher’s most recent match was against Chris Jericho on the January 31, edition of AEW Dynamite. Jericho would get the pinfall victory in this non-title match. 

A Change of Plans

Fletcher’s visa issues have led to all plans for the ROH World Television Champion being left up in the air. The report adds that Fletcher was poised for a program with Ethan Page over the ROH World TV title. It’s unclear if Ring of Honor will continue with this plan when Fletcher can compete again. 

Backstage Perception

AEW management has been very happy with Fletcher’s performance since he began competing for the company. As part of Aussie Open, Fletcher has been thrust into several high-profile spots, including matches with ally Will Ospreay. More recently though, Fletcher has been embarking on a singles run as his longtime partner Mark Davis has been sidelined with an injury. 

Kyle Fletcher in Ring of Honor

In addition to his current TV title reign, Fletcher is a former Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion. In 2023, he won ROH’s Survival of the Fittest tournament to win the vacant ROH World Television Champion. Previous Survival of the Fittest winners include Bryan Danielson, Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, and Roderick Strong. 

There are a lot of stories going around in the pro wrestling world, especially concerning WWE Superstar releases and the reasons behind it. Now, Maria Kanellis has stepped up to address some of those misconceptions.

Maria Kanellis Speaks Out About Her WWE Departure 

Maria Kanellis addressed the misinformation surrounding her WWE departure, clarifying several points. Contrary to some reports, her initial release in 2010 occurred when her contract expired, and she declined a renewal at one-third of her male counterparts’ salaries. 

Despite initial assurances of change upon her return, she said WWE’s treatment did not align with expectations, especially concerning family planning. She emphasized that Mike Bennett’s request for his release was separate from her situation. Contrary to rumors, WWE did not facilitate rehab for Mike, and they were misled multiple times about their storyline. 

“There are a lot of reports about things that happened when I was in WWE. Most of them are just wrong. Some are rumors circulated by WWE loyalists, bots, or ‘news’ organizations on the WWE payroll. Here are some facts: When I was “released” by WWE the first time in 2010 my contract was up and I refused to sign for one third what my male contemporaries were making. When I went back, I was told by many people I trusted that WWE had changed. WWE knew we were planning on adding to our family when we resigned. Mike asked for his release, I did not. Mike never went to WWE rehab. Nor did they pay for any rehab. We were lied to many times about our storyline and what direction it was going. I fought back against it to no avail. We were never paid millions of dollars in WWE. We had the average contract for WWE for 6 months. We are not millionaires and we don’t live in a mansion. I hope this helps people separate fact from fiction.”

https://twitter.com/MariaLKanellis/status/1754337867843744198

Maria refutes claims of earning millions, highlighting their average WWE contract duration of six months and dispelling notions of a lavish lifestyle. Her aim is to provide clarity amid the mix of facts and fiction. 

What’s Next For Maria Kanellis

When it comes to what she’s doing now, Maria replied to a fan to say how proud she is of her current work in ROH. 

“I love what I am doing. I have watched the tag team division in @ringofhonor get better and better since July of last year. These guys are working their asses off to represent the division that has given us some of the Best Tag Team Wrestling in the world. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in a year.”

https://twitter.com/MariaLKanellis/status/1754341660253675586

SE Scoops will have continued coverage of ROH, AEW, WWE, TNA and every other company making waves in the pro wrestling world. We will have to see what Maria Kanellis says next, but she certainly addressed some popular rumors in this situation. 

A difficult situation has led to former Ring of Honor Wrestling talent Rhett Titus selling some of his gear to help pay for some necessary costs. 

On Twitter, Titus explained that despite being approved for maternity leave months ago, his insurance company has not paid his wife. This has led to his wife rushing back to work after having a C-section. Titus revealed that he will be selling a lot of his wrestling memorabilia from his time as a fan and as a wrestler. 

Please read and pass on to any wrestling collectors you may know. #AEWWorldsEnd #watchroh #honorclub pic.twitter.com/YbaCyoSfzQ

— The Professional 💀 (@RhettTitusANX) December 31, 2023

In the comments, Titus shared some vintage wrestling shirts, including the first-ever shirt released by Ring of Honor. Titus also shared a crew shirt for last year’s AEW All In event, which was never made available for purchase. Titus also had some other rare shirts as well as pieces of his own merchandise available for purchase. 

Rhett Titus in the Ring

Titus is best known for his tenure in Ring of Honor which began in 2006. Titus is a former ROH World Television Champion and won the title from Dalton Castle at Final Battle 2021. He is also a former two-time ROH World Tag Team Champion and won the now-defunct Top of the Class Trophy once. In 2020 he won a Year-End award for Faction of the Year with The Foundation. 

Titus has also competed for several other promotions, including Jersey Championship Wrestling, Full Impact Pro, Force One Pro Wrestling, and MCW Pro Wrestling, where he is a former MCW Heavyweight Champion. In 2012, he broke the top 100 wrestlers in the world in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s annual PWI 500 ranking, by coming in at #98. 

Rhett Titus appeared on an episode of AEW Collision in an unlikely role. Click here to find out more. 

 Zak Knight has finally competed in front of an All Elite Wrestling and Ring Of Honor audience. His sister, Saraya, has been advocating for her brother to wrestle in AEW for a few months. Ahead of the December 20 episode of AEW Dynamite, AEW President Tony Khan gave Knight his opportunity.

Knight shared on Twitter on December 19 that he had been in the United States for the month and was traveling with AEW. In the tweet, he spoke highly of the company and the backstage environment and thanked Khan for giving him the opportunity. This caught fans’ attention, but it was unclear when he would wrestle for the company. 

 The following day, he posted a photo of himself and Saraya standing at the entrance ramp for AEW Dynamite hours before the show. On Twitter, The Franchise Sports’s Sean Thurmond shared that Knight faced Peter Avalon in a taped match before the episode. The photo Thurmond shared of Knight and Avalon in action showed them wrestling for a ROH. It was also noted that the debuting talent won the match. 

It’s unclear if it will be shown on a future episode of ROH on Honor Club. That said, Saraya got her wish, and Knight was able to showcase his skills in front of an AEW and ROH audience. 

After making his debut and getting a win, it’s possible Knight could be making more appearances for either AEW or ROH. 

What’s Next For Zak Knight?

Knight revealed that he will travel from December 28 until January 21, 2024. He has a Visa to work in the U.S. and Canada and posted on Twitter on December 10 that he is accepting bookings for January. 

While he is the Shropshire Wrestling Alliance Champion, Knight is looking to explore his options next year. It’s possible that Khan could book Knight for more appearances, as his availability seems open for now. 

For Saraya, she’ll likely want to see the AEW President give her brother more chances and potentially make him “All Elite” in 2024. 

Mark Briscoe has shared why he put WWE on blast following a tweet that he and many found to be highly disrespectful. 

Earlier this week, WWE tweeted an image of The Street Profits and Bobby Lashley, captioned with the phrase ‘Dem Boyz.’ While the term is used by many across sports and entertainment, in wrestling, the term is associated with the Briscoes. 

WWE faced criticism for the tweet, with Mark sharing his own criticism and saying somebody running the account should be fired. In a follow-up tweet, however, Briscoe said that nobody needs to be fired but was still not pleased with the tweet. 

Mark Briscoe on WWE’s Dem Boyz Tweet

Speaking on the post-ROH Final Battle Media Scrum, Briscoe recalled his reaction to the tweet at the time. 

“I thought, ‘Man, on the anniversary of this match that we had, they’re really going to do that? That’s kind of disrespectful. I can’t just keep silent. There’s only one Dem Boyz.’ You can talk about the Dallas Cowboys and multiple songs in the hip hop genre. That’s all good. In professional wrestling, there is only one Dem Boyz. That’s Mark and Jay Briscoe. I had to let them know there only one Dem Boyz.”

Briscoe concluded by reiterating that there is only one pair of ‘Dem Boyz’ in WWE even with Jay’s passing. 

“It’s not easy and we’re adjusting to this new normal. If anybody in the professional wrestling world is going to call themselves Dem Boyz, I’m going to come at you [laughs]. I don’t care who you are. There’s only one Dem Boyz and that’s the Briscoe Brothers, damn it.”

Briscoe also said that after seeing the negativity from some to his tweet, he felt that things had gotten out of hand. He also pointed out that he’s a human being and is still struggling with the death of his brother in January of this year. 

H/T – Fightful

Tony Khan has been at odds with WWE for years, but the AEW/ROH President believes standing against the Stamford promotion is worth the fight. 

It was in 2019 that Khan launched AEW, which has proven to be the most significant competition to WWE since the demise of WCW in 2001. In March of last year, Khan added Ring of Honor to his collection. It was reported at the time that WWE had its sights set on acquiring ROH as well, though reportedly only wanted the promotion for its media library. 

Tony Khan is Ready to Fight

Khan has been competing with WWE for some time now but is hardly the first figure to stand against Vince McMahon’s empire. Speaking on the post-ROH Final Battle media scrum, Khan addressed competing for the Sports Entertainment juggernaut. 

“It’s worth the fight, and I love the fight. I’m never gonna stop fighting. No matter what happens, no matter how things change. It’s the fight Jim Crockett fought, Verne Gagne, Ted Turner and so many other people that tried.”

Khan was happy to look at those who’ve competed against WWE in the past, while also noting how AEW is different. During the media scrum, Khan compared the success of AEW to that of WCW. 

”The numbers we’re doing for our tickets are not only comparable to what WCW was doing in the mid 90s, but in many cases better. So our numbers are better per show than in WCW 94 and right on 96 and 95.”

Khan’s next big show will come later this month with the first AEW Worlds End event. The show will take place on December 30 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. 

At Final Battle on Friday, Athena retained her ROH Women’s Championship. She is 44-0 in ROH-sanctioned singles matches and just surpassed one year as champion a few days earlier. She is the longest reigning women’s champion in ROH history. 

Athena is the anchor and the star of ROH. The women’s division revolves around her and the champ says Honor Club is her show. With no signs of stepping off the gas any time soon, what’s next for “The Fallen Goddess”?

On a recent episode of Under the Ring, Athena answered that very question. She trained all over the US and Mexico, which helped her to be versatile. When talking about the relationship between AEW and Japanese companies, Athena asks, “who wouldn’t want to wrestle more universally known talent?” 

The #ForeverChampion reveals some women she’d like to get in the ring with. “Like Giulia from STARDOM. Mercedes Moné, Trinity. There’s so many beautiful, talented women out there that I’ve been dying to get my hands on. Including women that work in the company now, like Jamie Hayter. It’s really cool what AEW and ROH has done bringing in some of that outside talent.”

“Next on the list is going to Japan to wrestle because I’ve never gotten to do that. But with all of the Japanese superstars, with RIHO coming back and just a plethora of them dying to come over here, the opportunity is always there for those crazy dream matches.” 

During Athena’s current run, she has faced Yuka Sakazaki, Miyu Yamashita, and Emi Sakura. 

Tony Khan’s pro wrestling companies are nearing a contract renewal period for both AEW and ROH. Naturally, there are a lot of rumors about the subject, especially since WWE is reportedly walking to Warner Brothers Discovery as well.

CM Punk reportedly helped to facilitate discussions between WWE and Warner Bros Discovery for a potential deal involving Monday Night RAW. Speculation arose about the possibility of WWE RAW moving to TNT or TBS, while AEW might find a place on the Discovery Channel, or another platform entirely.

During a post-ROH Final Battle Media scrum, AEW President Tony Khan was questioned about the relationship between AEW and Warner Bros Discovery. Khan emphasized that AEW and Warner Bros Discovery maintain a strong and positive association.

”Ring of Honor, we haven’t had recently as many, but we’ve had really good conversations about AEW, even in recent days, I’ve had really good talks with Warner Brothers Discovery. We’ve been with them for several years, it’s a really exciting time for AEW.

We’re performing incredibly well for Warners Brothers Discovery and we’re a very strong relationship. With media rights and all the things coming up, everyone has to do their due diligence. It’s just part of the TV business. Where we stand, we stand in a position for AEW to have a huge growth year in 2024. There are a lot of really exciting things happening that I know Warner Brothers is excited about, that we’ve talked about.

It’s a great relationship and it’s going very very well for us and part of the TV business, for both sides, is doing their due diligence and that’s just a part of sports and television, really. Being part of the NFL and Premier League, I’ve seen that process play out with certainly different TV networks looking at different sports and the sports looking at different TV networks. I’ve been part of this multiple times in the NFL.”

What’s In The Future For Tony Khan’s Television Shows?

We will have to see what the future holds for Tony Khan’s companies. Nick Hausman previously reported that Tony Khan turned down talks for ROH to end up on The CW, because he wants to bring both AEW and ROH to the table as a package deal when the time comes to talk about new television contracts.

This is certainly an interesting situation, especially if WWE is in play right now. Tony Khan is not going to sell things, even if there are issues. At this time, it appears that things are going very well between WBD and Tony Khan, according to him.

2024 will be a very interesting year, especially with so much at stake when big television deals are on the table. Keep checking back with SE Scoops for more updates.

Whether it’s good or bad, Ring Of Honor has gone through some changes since being acquired by Tony Khan and the latest is just ahead of their PLE this weekend, Final Battle.

While hyping some stars for the brand, ROH changed up the color scheme to its logo, using white fill in their lettering instead of the conventional black that they’ve been utilizing. However, the match graphics for Final Battle stick with the black logo. In addition for that, the ROH acount still has the black logo for their profile picture. 

Below are some examples of the new look in comparision to was fans have been accustomed to.

Dig what I'm sayin'?
Former #ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Righteous @NoNamexVincent & @DEATHxWALKS will be in action on #ROH TV!

Watch #ROH TV on #HonorClub at https://t.co/8dcdtxqvDf 7/6c pic.twitter.com/jNY1toRfGr

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 14, 2023

The Full Card For ROH Final Battle

Even if they haven’t fully adopted the new look for the brand, ROH has put in an effort to make Final Battle feel newsworthy.

Athena is set to defend her ROH Women’s Championship against Billie Starkz as the two have been involved in a long-term story that is set to culminate in the two’s clash.

There will also be a Survival Of The Fittest Match featuring Dalton Castle, Komander, Lee Johnson, Kyle Fletcher, Lee Moriarity and a mystery opponent.

Wheeler Yuta will put his ROH Pure Championship on the line against MLW’s Filthy Tom Lawlor. Yuta will be pulling double duty as he’ll team with Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley to face FTR and Mark Briscoe in six-man tag action. 

Tony Nese will take on Ethan Page in an I Quit match, El Hijo del Vikingo will defend his AAA Mega Championship against Black Taurus, Keith Lee will fight Shane Taylor. ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships are on the line as Mogul Embassy faces TMDK and The Von Erichs will make a special appearance on Zero Hour to face The Outrunners.

This Friday, Athena will defend her Ring of Honor Women’s Championship against her former minion, Billie Starkz, in the main event of ROH Final Battle. The title match came forth after Starkz turned on Athena, who had previously served as her mentor throughout her training at MIT (Minion In Training). 

After months of intense training, Starkz and fellow MIT student Lexy Nair recently geared up for their 2023 MIT graduation ceremony, where the valedictorian would receive a graduation certificate and an official “Athena’s Minion” t-shirt. Much to the surprise of the crowd, and Billie Starkz, Lexy Nair was bestowed the title of valedictorian. In response, Starkz sent her long-time ally crashing into the barricade alongside the entrance ramp. Now, Starkz will challenge Athena for the ROH Women’s Championship at Final Battle in Garland, TX.

During an interview with Under The Ring, Athena laid her thoughts on Starkz’ vibrant betrayal, and their upcoming title match. 

“Chaos has ensued,” Athena said. “I feel like I’ve given Billie the world, and she’s just not grateful. She’s that rebellious teenager that doesn’t understand this is how real life works. She’s still in that, ‘Hey, I’m an adult. It’s sunshine, rainbows, happiness,’ that type of thing. And I’m sitting here like, ‘No, this is the real world. This is how this happens.’ 
She has turned on me and going into Final Battle in my hometown, it’s not about me reclaiming my championship, it’s about me teaching Billie a lesson that she rightfully deserves.”

Briefly putting their feud aside, Athena recognizes that Starkz, who is currently 19 years old, is one of the hottest young talents within the entire wrestling landscape right now. However, Athena asserts that she was an even better performer at that age. 

“It’s crazy when you look at everything that she’s done, making list after list after list, not just for the women, but for the men when it comes to PWI. She’s probably one of the hottest young talent around the world right now. Everyone is looking at what Billy Starkz is going to do next, so I can’t discredit any of that. But I actually know exactly who I’m dealing with. As someone that has started when they were 18 years old, fresh out of high school, in college, I have done this entire thing that Billie has done. Billie thinks that she is unique. She thinks she is special. No, plenty of us have done this journey. I just did it better,” Athena said.

Other announced matches for the ROH Final Battle card include Tony Nese vs. Ethan Page in an I Quit Match and The Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR & Mark Briscoe.

ROH has been through quite a lot of changes in recent memory. The company survived the pandemic, and they tried their best to get things going once again, but in the end, Tony Khan bought another pro wrestling company.

AEW President Tony Khan acquired Ring of Honor last year, prompting speculation about the brand’s future. Over the past year, Khan has organized several pay-per-views under the ROH banner and initiated a weekly television series earlier this year.

Declining ticket sales and the absence of significant buzz about ROH raised natural concerns among dedicated fans. The fact that AEW can’t get fans to stick around for the ROH tapings after their lives shows is also impossible to avoid.

During his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff discussed ROH’s current product, pointing out that NXT’s success stems from WWE gradually establishing it as an independent brand before introducing main roster stars to compete in NXT.

You have to build the brand, it has to stands on its own, it has to perform on its own without diluting the core product. Right now, ROH is a giant freaking parasite on the AEW brand and the more focus they put on the parasite, the more the parasite is going to diminish or harm the core brand. I just think that they f*ck it up so badly that we won’t really see a successful ROH anytime in our lifetime.

The ROH Final Battle pay-per-view is scheduled for December 15th, and ticket sales for the event have been underwhelming. Although Tony Khan’s company has a good card, complete with Athena defending her ROH Women’s Title through an injury, the future of the company is still uncertain as far as Eric Bischoff sees things.

ROH has certainly come a long way, but they also have a lot to improve on. There will probably be many stories to come as Tony Khan continues his efforts to keep the brand relevant. Keep checking back with SE Scoops for more.

Maria Kanellis and her husband Mike Bennett were released from WWE a couple of years ago as part of cost-cutting measures. They later found employment in AEW and ROH. Recently, Kanellis became entangled in another online dispute involving Mark Briscoe, and in the aftermath of the controversy, she decided to delete her Twitter account due to the backlash over her expressed views.

The story behind Maria Kanellis deleting her X account

Mark Briscoe gained attention when he publicly called out the “WWE on FOX” social media account for appropriating The Briscoes’ well-known “DEM BOYZ” term in reference to Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits. Briscoe even tagged Triple H, urging him to address the situation.

Maria Kanellis joined the discussion by sharing her perspective on the matter. She highlighted the significance of ‘DEM BOYZ’ to Mark Briscoe, emphasizing that the “WWE on FOX” account made the comment on the first anniversary of his brother’s final match. However, Kanellis faced unexpected backlash for her remarks, ultimately prompting her to announce her departure from Twitter and subsequently delete her account.

‘‘I think I’m about done on this particular platform. It’s too crazy. Disagreeing is one thing. Threatening my family, name calling, agism, racism, family planning shaming, religious prejudice, and sexism is all too much. I will keep my Instagram. But it’s about time to move on from the negativity.”

Mark Briscoe already apologized to Triple H

Mark Briscoe revealed the reason behind his outspoken comments, explaining that he was mourning the loss of his brother. He sent out a post to let people know exactly what was going on.

Oh yea, thatsss why I quit posting on Twitter lol. Just logged back on…woww. Some of y’all are wild lol. I just miss my brother, that’s all, and I got a little in my feelings when I seen the Fox post. Triple H, you ain’t gotta fire nobody, times is tough. Love y’all..take it light people

Oh yea, thatsss why I quit posting on Twitter lol. Just logged back on…woww. Some of y’all are wild lol. I just miss my brother, that’s all, and I got a little in my feelings when I seen the Fox post. @tripleh, you ain’t gotta fire nobody, times is tough. Love y’all..take it…

— Mark Briscoe (@SussexCoChicken) December 10, 2023

Nevertheless, Maria Kanellis decided that leaving Twitter was the optimal choice for her mental well-being, and fans acknowledge and respect her decision. We will have to see if there are new updates on this story from this point on.

We will have to see if Maria Kanellis reactivates her X account. She should have around 30 days to do so, if she wants to come back to the platform. What’s your take on this? Let us know how you feel by engaging with us on social media!

Tony Khan’s roster has a few injuries on it already, and some of those wrestlers are able to complete through the pain. It appears there is a new name on that list, as Athena is now injured with a big title defense ahead of her.

ROH Women’s Champion Athena posted on Twitter that she had sustained a broken nose. That was cause for alarm, but she stated that she would still be participating in next week’s Ring of Honor Final Battle pay-per-view.

Later on, Athena removed the tweet, but PW Insider reported confirming the authenticity of the injury. The current ROH Women’s Champion is injured, but that won’t keep her from wrestling. 

It seems that Athena incurred the injury during last week’s Collision and Ring of Honor taping in Montreal. She will be featured on the upcoming ROH episode on their streaming platform. While engaged in a scuffle with Billie Starkz, it is believed that Athena suffered the broken nose, possibly from being thrown into a guardrail or a ring post.

Athena’s deleted tweet mentioned that she had just received X-ray results confirming the broken nose. It appears that she will still wrestle Billie Starkz at Final Battle despite that setback.

We’re hoping that Athena has a speedy recovery, and it doesn’t cause too many issues for her upcoming match. You can check out the card for ROH Final Battle below.

ROH Final Battle 2023 Card: 

The following matches are set for ROH Final Battle 2023, which takes place Friday, December 15 from Garland, TX at the Curtis Culwell Center:

ROH Women’s World Championship Match: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

ROH World Television Championship Survival Of The Fittest Match: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. Lee Johnson vs. Lee Moriarty vs. TBD* 

I Quit Match: Tony Nese vs. Ethan Page

Wheeler Yuta, Bryan Danielson & TBD vs. FTR & Mark Briscoe

Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor

Veteran star CM Punk has been on the shelf with injury and he was allegedly suspended. He has not been featured in the AEW programming for the past several months. There is a possibility that we might see him back inside the squared circle soon.

Punk had captured the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley at All Out last year. However, it was reported that he tore a muscle in his arm during the contest and was also suspended following the controversial media scrum rant.

During the post-AEW All Out media scrum, CM Punk bashed Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, and The Young Bucks, which received in a ton of backlash. The comments reportedly led to a backstage brawl which grabbed the headlines.

CM Punk rose to prominence at his first promotion which was Ring of Honor (ROH). With the promotion’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view scheduled to take place on March 31, the ROH Hall of Famer could be making his return to the promotion at the event.

CM Punk: Honor Never Dies

The former AEW World Champion recently shared a photo on his Instagram story of him working out. While he was pumping iron, Hatebreed’s ‘Honor Never Dies’ was playing in the background, hinting at a return to Ring of Honor.

Check it out below:

It should also be noted that AEW President Tony Khan owns ROH alongside All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and Punk could return at either of the promotions. We will now have to wait and see what the future holds for CM Punk.

The future of the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championships has been made clear after the tragic passing of Jay Briscoe earlier this year.

In January, Jay died in a car accident minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware at the age of 38.

The accident resulted in the death of the driver of the other vehicle, and Jay’s daughters Jayleigh and Grace have both had to undergo surgery.

ROH World Tag Team Championships

Since Jay’s passing, Mark Briscoe has continued to be promoted as an ROH World Tag Team Champion during his appearances on AEW and ROH programming.

During this week’s taping of AEW Rampage (which is set to air on March 10,) Mark announced that a ‘Reach for the Sky’ Ladder match will decide the next champions.

The match is set to occur at Ring of Honor’s upcoming pay-per-view, Supercard of Honor on Friday, March 31, 2023.

It was also confirmed that former AEW World Tag Team Champions the Lucha Bros. will be part of this match.

The Briscoes

Considered to be the greatest tag team in the history of Ring of Honor, the Briscoes wowed fans for years with their no-nonsense style.

Together, Mark and Jay became 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, with their most recent win coming at Final Battle last December.

The pair also held the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships at one time with Bully Ray, and are seven-time ROH Year-End award winners.

In addition to Jay’s two reigns as ROH World Champion, the brothers were inducted into the ROH Hall of Fame in 2022.

AEW TNT Champion/Ring of Honor World Television Champion Samoa Joe is a force to be reckoned with, both in and out of the ring.

Joe arrived in AEW/ROH last year, months after being cut (for the second time in under a year) by WWE in January 2022.

In April 2022, Joe captured the ROH World TV title, and regained the AEW TNT Championship (which he had previously won at Full Gear 2022) last month.

Suicide Squad

Away from the ring, Samoa Joe has recently tried his hand at voice acting, and will be playing King Shark in the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League game.

The game will see the titular squad take on the Justice League’s band of heroes, all of whom have been mind-controlled by the villainous super-intellect Brainiac.

Speaking about the game to WrestleZone, Joe promised that news and information will be coming soon.

“There will be probably more stuff coming out very, very much sooner than later, and some pretty cool [stuff] man. There’s a lot I can tell you that I can’t say anything about. There’ll be some pretty cool announcements.”

Samoa Joe.

Joe also praised the devlopers Rocksteady as the team behind the critically acclaimed Batman ‘Arkham’ series, and said that they “haven’t let up for this game”

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will be released on May 26, 2023 on PlayStation 5, XBox X/S and PC.

Twisted Metal

In addition to King Shark, Joe will be Sweet Tooth in the upcoming Twisted Metal series on Peacock, with the series recently wrapping production.

In the interview, the Samoan Submission Machine also teased that this highly-anticipated series is closer than you’d think.

“I would imagine it’s closer than a lot of people would expect. [Twisted Metal is] another project I’m really excited to see the light of day and I think a lot of fans will enjoy it. I wouldn’t be too impatient.”

Samoa Joe.

The series, based on the hit vehicular mayhem collection of video games, is due to release at an unspecified date in 2023.

Ring of Honor is back and filming weekly content once more, but the promotion has left several wrestlers ‘frustrated.’

This past weekend saw ROH create content for their weekly programming with the first episode airing last night.

ROH was purchased by Tony Khan a year ago this month and hosted a handful of Pay-Per-View events ahead of this week’s relaunch.

Frustrated

Several people were flown in for last weekend’s Ring of Honor tapings, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports.

It is noted that a lot of wrestlers canceled their weekend bookings on the indies to work the ROH tapings, but did not go used.

While the unused talent was paid (reportedly more than what they would have earned at the indie events) it is reported that there was “frustration” among the talent who weren’t used.

One independent promoter told WON that he lost four of his top guys and none of them got used on the ROH tapings.

While the promoter said he did not have an issue with the wrestlers taking the ROH booking, he added that they really should have been used.

Dak Draper was one name who was backstage and not used.

Title Feud

Not everyone made it onto the first Ring of Honor show of this new era, but Eddie Kingston did make his presence felt.

After ‘quitting’ AEW following this week’s episode of Dynamite, Kingston appeared after the main event match between ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and AR Fox.

Kingston made it clear to Castagnoli (who he has spoken negatively about prior to the Swissman’s AEW arrival) that he plans on taking the ROH World Championship.

Eddie Kingston’s time with All Elite Wrestling has seemingly come to an end, and it hasn’t taken the Mad King long to find work elsewhere.

During this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite, Kingston brawled with Ortiz, and announced after the show that he was quitting the promotion.

This shock announcement garned a ton of reactions online, including one from Ortiz, who mocked the Mad King for taking an easy way out.

Kingston in Ring of Honor

While Eddie Kingston’s time in AEW is up, he has now found work in Tony Khan’s other promotion: Ring of Honor.

After winning his match against AR Fox to retain the ROH World Championship, Claudio was met by Kingston on the first episode of the new ROH.

Kingston didn’t mince his words when speaking to the two-time ROH World Champion:

“Guess what? I’m an Independent Contractor, dawg. I’m 1099. Know how I promised Mox I wouldn’t beat your ass at AEW? This ain’t AEW, I’m coming for your Championship.”

Eddie Kingston.

ROH Honor Club

The closing moments of the first Ring of Honor show of the new era was a fitting way to end an explosive night of entertainment.

In the first match, Mark Briscoe, who remains a Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion, defeated Slim J.

The Kingdom made quick work of The Infantry, while NJPW World Television Chamber Zack Sabre Jr. stepped through the Forbidden Door to defend against Blake Christian.

Christopher Daniels defeated Rohit Raju and Konosuke Takeshita bested Josh Woods.

The Embassy picked up a six-man-tag win over Joe Keys, Rex Lawless and LSG, while Ari Daivari defeated fellow WWE alum Metalik.

In Women’s action, Madison Rayne and Skye Blue defeated The Renegades and Willow Nightingale defeated Lady Frost.

Ring of Honor pulled out all the stops to make their return to TV tapings something to remember, including bringing in a veteran of WWE.

This past weekend saw Ring of Honor tape their first show since being purchased by AEW President Tony Khan just under a year ago.

The first episode of the ROH tapings will premiere this coming Thursday on March 2.

Tony Chimel

Over the weekend, ROH taped across both Saturday and Sunday, with the second night featuring the ROH debut of Tony Chimel.

Chimel, best known for his time in WWE, served as the master of ceremonies for the event.

Despite being best known as a ring announcer, Chimel will not be resuming that role with Ring of Honor, as ROH veteran Bobby Cruise is still on duty for the show.

Chimel in WWE

Chimel spent 38 years with WWE as a ring announcer before being released from his contract in 2020.

It was Chimel who was the ring announcer for the very first episode of SmackDown in 1999 and would defeat Howard Finkel in a tuxedo match that same year to become the show’s full-time announcer.

Though not a wrestler, Chimel would have the occasional brush with talent, including Mr. Kennedy, who would be irate with how Chimel pronounced his name.

On the December 22, 2006, SmackDown, Chimel’s enthusiastic call for the Boogeyman would catch the attention of the bizarre Superstar, who forced worms into the announcer’s mouth.

In 2015, Chimel transitioned to just announcing at house shows but would appear during Beth Phoenix’s 2017 Hall of Fame speech to deliver his infamous voice-cracking introduction of Edge.

In his later years with WWE, Chimel worked backstage as a production manager and part of the ring crew before his release.

On Saturday night, ROH held its first set of TV tapings of the weekend from Orlando, FL, at Universal Studios. The promotion will return on Sunday evening for another round of tapings. 

The relaunch episode under Tony Khan will premiere on Thursday, March 2nd, that will air on the HonorClub streaming service. ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. AR Fox will headline this show. 

The Results

Here are the spoilers, courtesy of F4Wonline.com:

• Mark Briscoe defeated Slim J.
• The Kingdom defeated The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo).
• NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Blake Christian.
• Christopher Daniels defeated Rohit Raju.
• Konosuke Takeshita defeated Josh Woods.
• ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun & Toa Liona) defeated LSG, Joe Keys & Rex Lawless.
• Ari Daivari defeated Gran Metalik.
• Madison Rayne & Skye Blue defeated The Renegades.
• During a Wheeler Yuta in-ring promo with Ian Riccaboni, Timothy Thatcher challenged Yuta for the Pure Title that happened later in the tapings.
• Willow Nightingale defeated Lady Frost. Nightingale challenged ROH Women’s Champion Athena to a future title match. 
• ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defeated AR Fox to retain the title. Eddie Kingston came out after the match where he had promised Jon Moxley that he wouldn’t beat Castagnoli’s butt in AEW but this wasn’t AEW. Claudi left without saying anything to him. 
• ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defeated Tony Deppen. After Joe asked for his next challenger, Mark Briscoe came out and accepted because the title was his destiny.
• Dalton Castle & The Boys defeated Cody Chhun, Guillermo Rosas & Marcus Kross.
• Rush & Dralistico defeated Angelico & Serpentico.
• Trish Adora defeated Billie Starkz.
• Ari Daivari & Slim J defeated Jake Crist & “Manscout” Jake Manning. 
• ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta defeated Timothy Thatcher to retain the title. Post-match, Yuta says he’s in the ’96 Bulls with Jordan and Pippen while these “track suit dojo boys” think they’re so great because they train with Shibata. Clark Connors challenged Wheeler to a match.
• Aussie Open defeated Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus
• Eddie Kingston defeated Ben Dejo (aka Jon Cruz/Serpentico). Post-match, he demanded a shot at the ROH World Title. Castagnoli said that “a man without honor will never be ROH Champion” and left. 
• ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Willow Nightingale to retain the title.

Ring of Honor will make its long-awaited episodic return in March.

All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan has teased that ROH will return to TV for a while. Khan bought the company in March. 2, 2022, which he announced on an episode of AEW Dynamite. Since he bought the company, ROH has had two pay-per-view events on Bleacher Report.

The last ROH event was ROH: Final Battle on Dec. 11, 2022. After the event, Khan shared that ROH will continue to put their pay-per-views on Bleacher Report. However, ROH will air its TV episodes for fans on its revamped subscription service Honor Club for $9.99. Khan didn’t have an exact date for its episodic return until today.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Khan revealed that ROH would start airing new episodes on Honor Club on March. 2. Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso transcribed the following quotes.

“Ring of Honor TV is coming Thursday, March 2, on HonorClub,” says Khan. “We’ll have our first tapings on Feb. 25 and 26 at Universal Studios in Orlando, and we’re going to put tickets on sale for the inaugural taping on Thursday. Those will be the first-ever tapings of the new Ring of Honor.”

He added, “We also have the library on the HonorClub with 20 years of matches. All the Briscoes-FTR matches are available, including Final Battle from December, and those matches are going to stand the test of time in wrestling. Ring of Honor has a tremendous history. We have been able to introduce it with a further reach across the world this past year, and I’m excited to finally introduce weekly Ring of Honor shows.”

Tickets for the first taping are available on AEWTix.com. They are advertising that tickets will be as low as $20, and fans could also attend a taping for AEW Dark and the second taping of ROH on Feb. 26 as a bundle for $45.

What to Expect for ROH?

The timing of ROH’s return to airing episodes is interesting, as they have a PPV coming next month. ROH’s Supercard of Honor will take place at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, on March 31. Khan’s choice to have the event on that date is intriguing because it’s the day before WrestleMania 39, which will be less than 10 miles away from each.

The episodes taped starting on Feb. 25 should build matches for Supercard of Honor. The company has yet to announce a match that will take place at the event. Tickets for the event have also yet to be shared with the public.

Khan may start building anticipation for ROH TV’s return and its next PPV on upcoming AEW Dynamite and Rampage episodes. However, he will have also to convince fans to subscribe to Honor Club for 9.99 and also pay for the PPV on Bleacher Report.

ROH is slated to start filming episodes for its weekly TV show heading into Supercard of Honor.

Fightful Select’s Will Washington reports the promotion will start taping content almost a year after Tony Khan bought the promotion. It was said that ROH talent had been told tapings will take place in Orlando, Florida, during the last weekend of February.

The Venue

The assumption is that it would be at Universal Studios, where AEW regularly films its Dark series. Voices Of Wrestling previously reported information about the dates.

Although VOW didn’t have more details past that, those Fightful spoke with think it will serve as tapings leading into the Supercard of Honor PPV on March 31. 

The report added that several wrestlers were signed by AEW as far back as last spring with the intent of using them on ROH programming.

2022 closed up the first year under Khan’s ownership and creative vision for the brand. Final Battle was the most recent ROH PPV event, which drew over 25,000 pay-per-view buys (19,000 streaming and 6,400 cable) based on first-week estimates.

The other 2022 pay-per-view events for ROH were ROH Supercard of Honor in April, with 23,000 buys, and ROH Death Before Dishonor in July, with 37,000 buys.

Nearly two weeks after his death, Jay Briscoe’s funeral service took place on Sunday. His family allowed the service to air via livestream on YouTube.

His funeral comes several days after Jay’s brother, Mark, was finally allowed to wrestle on AEW television. Mark and Jay Lethal asked to honor Jay on what would’ve been his 39th birthday. The match closed out last Wednesday’s Dynamite. AEW was also finally able to air a video package for Jay.

Jay Briscoe’s “Celebration of Life”

On Wrestling Observer Radio, it was revealed that Tony Khan got a jet to take talent that worked yesterday’s Dark tapings to Jay’s funeral if they wished to attend.

There was representation for multiple companies at the funeral. Roderick Strong assisted Jay Lethal in a 10-bell salute.

One story shared was that Jay began using the catchphrase, “Reach for the sky, boy” because Woody in Toy Story said that when his string was pulled. He would always cry when watching the movie with his kids.

Mark spoke at his brother’s service and talked about how Jay viewed religion.

Prince Nana tweeted a picture from the reception.

Donations can still be made for the Pugh family here and an AEW shirt with all proceeds going to his family is also available. The tribute show to Jay is available on both Honor Club and ROH’s YouTube channel.