Christopher Daniels will be facing TV star Stephen Amell at the All In PPV event on September 1st. The 47 year old veteran Daniels recently spoke to TV Insider regarding his upcoming bout and the success of All In.
When asked about the ticket sales Daniels stated that “The day that the tickets went on sale and sold out so quickly, I feel like we all took a step back and said, ‘Wow, that happened quicker than we expected.” Daniels also discussed the rise of popularity of Bullet Club and The Young Bucks/Cody Rhodes in particular. “I think everyone knew that with the excitement around the Bucks and Cody and the way things are going for them right now, I think they knew it would be successful. How quickly it happened was such a pleasant surprise. It was a good feeling to know the support is out there for these guys and what they want to have happen.”
When Daniels moved onto his opponent at All In he discussed how Stephen Amell will be looking to set the bar “a lot higher than people are going to expect.” He went on to say that “I’ve been reading a lot of social media of people’s expectations. I’m pretty sure we’re going to exceed anyone’s preconceived notions of what this match is going to be.”
Third Bout for Amell
This of course will not be the first time that Stephen Amell steps in a pro wrestling ring. The star of ‘Arrow’ first appeared in a bout at Summerslam 2015 alongside Neville against Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes (then Stardust). Amell also performed as part of the Bullet Club vs Flip Gordon, Scorpio Sky & The Addiction match in last November’s ROH Survival of The Fittest PPV.
You can read Stephen Amell’s recent comments on the match here.
The announcement came as a bit of a shock to some fans. Amell will go one-on-one with former Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Heavyweight Champion Christopher Daniels.
Amell recently took to Twitter to show off footage of his training for the bout. In his Tweet, he takes a jab at Daniels by calling him a “middle aged” man:
“All In” goes down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Cody Rhodes and IWGP Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks are self-funding the ground-breaking professional wrestling event. See “All In’s” updated match card below:
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: (C) Nick Aldis vs. Cody Rhodes
ROH World Championship: (C) Jay Lethal vs. TBD (Winner of The Over Budget Battle Royale)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll
Adam Page vs. Joey Janela
Rey Mysterio, Bandido and Fenix vs. The Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi
Stephen Amell vs. Christopher Daniels
Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Britt Baker vs. Chelsea Green
All In: Zero Hour Pre-Show
The Over Budget Battle Royale (Winner will face Jay Lethal for ROH Title): Jordynne Grace, Moose, Rocky Romero, Colt Cabana, Ethan Page, and TBA
Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Christopher Daniels has a tremendous amount of respect for what Cody Rhodes is doing.
Rhodes and The Young Bucks are self-funding an “All In” event from the Sears Centre in Illinois on September 1st. The arena, which holds over 10,000 fans, sold out very quickly for the show.
Not to mention the enormous amount of singles success Rhodes has seen since departing from WWE. Daniels spoke to GiveMeSport recently and credited Rhodes for “pioneering” through the professional wrestling industry lately:
“I’ve had nothing but good experiences working with Cody [Rhodes]. He’s pioneering, he’s making his own way in professional wrestling and he’s one of the best examples of going outside of the WWE and finding success.
“It’s great to see that happening for him. I was a big fan of his work when he was in the WWE and to see the change from the ‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes, Stardust to what he is now, it’s pretty cool to know that he bet on himself and now is succeeding in a way a lot of people want in their own career – it’s cool to know that he is making it happen.”
3 more names have been confirmed for All-In on September 1st, 2018 from the Sears Center in Chicago. Despite hating the city the event is being held in, the members of ROH”s SoCal Uncensored faction have just declared for All-In.
Christopher Daniels announced the news earlier today on Twitter:
The trio from Ring of Honor consists of Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky.
All-In September 1st, 2018
Cody will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship that evening but it has yet to be confirmed who the champion will be at the time. Assuming Nick Aldis retains the championship leading up to September 1st, he will then face Cody.
The first official match announcement is expected later today.
Confirmed For All-In
Cody
the Young Bucks
Hangman Page
Marty Scurll
Kota Ibushi
MJF
Madison Rayne
Paul Turner (ref)
Rick Knox (ref)
Todd Sinclair (ref)
Jerry Lynn (ref)
Earl Hebner (ref)
Matt Cross
Kazuchika Okada
Stephen Amell
Specifically not Flip Gordon
Tessa Blanchard
Joey Janela
Jay Lethal
Pentagon
Fenix
Brandi Rhodes
Cody On WWE Signing Talent Away From All-In
Recently, Deonna Purrazzo dropped out of the planned event. It is largely believed she will be competing in the Mae Young Classic on the 8th and 9th of August and likely wants to keep her options open should WWE offer her a contract.
“That’s a possibility,” Cody admitted on Twitter regarding the possibility of WWE signing talent booked for All-In. “Everybody has different goals. If your goal is to take a meet/greet style handshake photo, and pretend to be excited about going back to wrestling school…that’s your prerogative ha”
Former Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Champion Christopher Daniels recently did an interview with Monsters and Critics to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Daniels first discussed how his latest run with ROH compared to his previous ones:
“I was there in 2011 and left right when Sinclair bought the company. I came back in 2014 with Frankie [Kazarian] and it was different because over those three years, Sinclair brought Ring of Honor from a company that was just starting to do syndicated television. In those three years, they brought them to the point where they were doing live pay-per-views, which is where Frankie and I debuted at their first broadcast pay-per-view.
“It was great to get back. It was different because over the course of my career there, I’d sort of been by myself, but I came back with Frankie, who was the best partner I have ever had. It put a different dynamic into what we were doing and what I brought to the company, anyway. Over the course of the last four years, Frankie and I have held the tag team titles twice and just recently we were the six-man tag team champions with Scorpio Sky. We have been very successful, and it has been very beneficial to the three of us.”
Daniels then named two ROH stars that he thinks professional wrestling fans should keep their eyes on – Scorpio Sky and Adam Page:
“The first guy I have to talk about is Scorpio Sky. We were very fortunate to get Scorpio as a part of Ring of Honor and to bring him in as part of SoCal Uncensored with me and Frankie. I mean, he’s been wrestling for 15 years but I feel like people weren’t really aware of him because he hadn’t had that breakout performance on a national stage. In the last year in Ring of Honor, people have started to see that Scorpio is, hands down, one of the best guys on the planet.
“I feel like whatever the future holds for him and us, as SoCal Uncensored, no matter what happens, Scorpio is going to be a big part of Ring of Honor for a very long time. Another guy that I feel has the world in front of him as far as wrestling goes is Adam Page. In the last couple of years as part of Bullet Club, people have started to see Adam grow as a performer and as a wrestler. It is tough too because there are so many dynamic personalities in Bullet Club that, for a while, it seemed that Adam was in the background.
“Now, he sort of stands out front and he is one of the dynamic personalities that people have come to expect from Bullet Club. He has become one of the more popular guys and certainly one of the most talented guys that Ring of Honor has had in the last couple of years. There is probably going to be championship gold in his future.”
At 48-years-old Daniels is still putting on great matches. He offered his explanation as to how that is:
“It is not an age thing for me. It is, for me in my head, I have always tried to do the things that I know I can do no matter what part of the match it was in. I’ve always told other wrestlers that, in terms of staying safe and staying smart, you do the things that you can do whether it is the first five minutes of the match or the last five minutes of the match. For me, I have been very cognizant of taking very calculated risks. I am not a high flier in the sense that I take those high risks in every part of my match.
“I wrestle what I feel is a very safe style for me. That might be comical to an outside eye to see some of the things I do at the age of 48. It’s something I feel comfortable doing and I feel safe doing. Whatever acrobatic things that I do that seems high risk to other people, to me it is a very calculated risk. Those are the risks that I take any time I wrestle. I know that no matter what I am doing — if it seems dangerous — it is something I know I can do 10 times out of 10.
“I have been fortunate to avoid the accidental injuries that come and go in everybody’s career. I keep my risks at a minimum in my head. That is something all pro wrestlers have to learn. There are things they can do every time and not suffer from fatigue or mistake and keep it within that risk factor.”
You can read Daniels’ full interview with Monsters and Critics by clicking this link here.
Ring Of Honor’s (ROH) Christopher Daniels recently did an interview with WrestleZone to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Daniels first discussed getting a role as a stunt performer in Netflix’s series “Love”:
“Chavo Guerrero is a stunt coordinator, he was the stunt coordinator for GLOW, and when Love needed a wrestling scene they knew that he was someone that has worked with wrestlers and stunt people at the same time. Chavo put myself, Tyrus, Lil’ Cholo from Lucha Underground is in it, and Lisa Marie Varon is in it, but that’s how it all got set up. Chavo knows that there’s a lot of us out here in [Los Angeles], and whenever there’s a wrestling scene he kind of just throws his friends together and gets us in there.”
The former ROH World Champion was then asked if he takes roles based on appeal to his fanbase, or if he is simply trying to build up his resume as a stunt performer:
“For me, someone that is entertaining the idea of branching out into stunt work in the future, it’s just an opportunity to sort of hone my skills and get to know more stunt coordinators and stunt performers in the Hollywood scene. I understand, and I hope wrestling fans understand that these shows may not be on the toplists of fans that watch me in Ring Of Honor, but they understand the difference between Christopher Daniels of Ring Of Honor and Christopher Daniels as a stunt man.
“We’re playing different roles and I’m serving a different show and a different storyteller. It doesn’t bother me to go into stunt work, and if [ROH fans] are watching Love because I’m on it, hopefully they enjoy the show, and it might get them into watching the entire series if they like the episode that we’re on.”
Daniels then discussed facing The Hung Bucks (The Young Bucks and Adam Page) at ROH’s 16th Anniversary show this weekend:
“The feud between myself and Frankie [Kazarian] and the Young Bucks has been going on for a couple of years now. As far as our toughest opponents, I have to throw the Young Bucks up at the top of the list. So, now with them as the Six-Man Tag Team Champions with Adam Page, we recently recruited Scorpio Sky as a fellow So-Cal professional wrestler to be on our side, so over the course of the past few months we’ve had so many interactions with them were Friday is going to be a Vegas Street Fight.
“Basically there’s no rules, and anything goes. The tensions between us and them have escalated to the point where there’s going to be weapons, there’s probably going to be blood, but I feel confident in myself, Frankie and Scorpio where we’re going to come out as the new Six-Man Tag Team Champions.”
When asked about his Mount Rushmore of ROH wrestlers, Daniels offered up names such as Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, and Bryan Danielson:
“I feel like probably the top four guys for me are, and I’m not going to name myself, that’d be wildly arrogant. I’d have to put Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Jay Briscoe and Jay Lethal. It’s tough to narrow it down to four, because you leave out guys like Nigel McGuinness, who deserves to be in that conversation. You leave out Low Ki, Austin Aries as the first two-time champion, or Adam Cole as the first three-time champion.
“All of those guys deserve to be in that conversation, but certainly looking back at the history of Ring Of Honor, the first two guys, Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson are locks. And what Jay Briscoe and Jay Lethal have meant to Ring Of Honor, especially over the past decade, it certainly says a lot about their hard work and their effort and what they brought to this company as a whole.”
You can read Daniels’ full interview with WrestleZone by clicking this link here.
DEFIANT Wrestling has announced that Christopher Daniels will be taking part in their ‘Magnificent 7’ match as part of the ‘Lights Out’ PPV on March 19th. The show will be taking place from the O2 Academy in Leeds, England and tickets are available to purchase via the tweet at the bottom of this article.
The Magnificent 7 match originated in DEFIANT’s previous incarnation WCPW. DEFIANT sent out the following press release confirming the return of the gimmick bout on March 19th:
Following the chaos of the five-on-five main event at Chain Reaction, Stu Bennett had plenty of business to take care of at the start of Defiant #10. After declaring that Austin Aries would defend his Defiant Championship against Martin Kirby at Defiant #11 on March 2nd, the GM noted that a new number one contender would be required to battle whichever of the two men emerged victorious.
Bennett then revealed the Magnificent Seven briefcase – looking somewhat worse for wear after the battering it took from former holder El Ligero – and announced that the Magnificent Seven match would return at Light’s Out on March 19th. The winner of that match earns the briefcase, which contains within it a contract for a Defiant Championship shot.
You can check out the first ever Magnificent 7 match via the YouTube video below:
ROH World Champion, “the American Nightmare” Cody, is set to defend his championship this weekend in Dallas, Texas. His opponent will be the former champion, Christopher Daniels.
The winner of this match is scheduled to defend the belt against Dalton Castle at ROH’s Final Battle PPV event.
ROH Press Release on Cody vs. Daniels Texas Death Match
The Best Wrestling on the Planet returns to Dallas on Saturday, November 18 for Night Two of Survival of the Fittest! Your favorite ROH stars will compete in a three-night tournament to determine the 2017 Survival of the Fittest winner. The winner of this year’s tournament will get the customary ROH World Title shot at a later date and etch their name in the history books! Seven out of ten men that have won have gone on to either win the championship with their title shot or do so at a later date – winning ROH’s preeminent tournament has proved it can launch careers!
At the Soaring Eagle Cup, former ROH World Champion “Almighty” Christopher Daniels took on the man he lost the championship to – current ROH World Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody. A hard-fought bout went to a time limit draw. It was the third time these men met one-on-one and the fans wanted desperately to see a winner.
Chants of “five more minutes!” rang through Soaring Eagle but Daniels said he wouldn’t compete unless the ROH World Championship was on the line. When Cody acquiesced, Daniels backed out saying he wouldn’t fight Cody with the title on the line 15 minutes into a match.
With wounds still open, and Cody maintaining an open challenge, a Pay Per View Main Event Rematch will be Survival of the Fittest – Night Two’s main event..and this time it’s a TEXAS DEATH MATCH!
MAIN EVENT
TEXAS DEATH MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROH WORLD CHAMPION “THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE” CODY vs. “ALMIGHTY” CHRISTOPHER DANIELS
There was a marked change of attitude from “Almighty” Christopher Daniels following his loss of the ROH World Championship to Cody at Best in the World. Revered as he chased the gold and celebrated by fans as he won it, Daniels was surprised by the fans’ reaction in Lowell, MA when Cody defeated him for the title.
The following night, Daniels and Frankie Kazarian addressed the crowd at the International Television Taping, with over eight minutes of footage deemed unairable by the ROH Board of Directors. The Addiction insulted the fans, wrestlers, commentators, staff, officials and more, racking up fine after fine and being suspended from television.
The duo felt the fans turned their backs on them to support the new Champion Cody and Bullet Club. It is tough to say they are wrong!
Meanwhile, since winning the ROH World Championship, Cody became a barnstorming, free agent champion, defending the title at independent events against competitors Ring of Honor cannot legally mention the names of. When Cody signed the most lucrative deal in ROH history after defeating Minoru Suzuki in the biggest win of his career at Death Before Dishonor, Cody began defending the title against anyone and everyone. With another successful defense against Rocky Romero this past weekend at ROH Elite, Cody will now defend his title against Daniels in Dallas!
While Cody has proved to be a fighting champion, something seems odd about this match. The match is entirely on Christopher Daniels’ terms based on their confrontation at the Soaring Eagle Cup. Additionally, Cody has maintained a more strenuous international travel schedule that puts him behind the eight ball more so than Daniels as the Addiction have an opportunity to isolate Cody in their tag team bout against Kenny Omega and Cody the night before in San Antonio!
Has Cody played straight into the hands of the Smartest Men in the Room? Or will Cody’s reign continue with Cody making Daniels kiss the ring? Be there in Dallas to find out!
There is nothing like seeing the hard-hitting, in-your-face action of Ring of Honor LIVE! VERY LIMITED tickets remain. Don’t miss ROH’s return to Dallas – get your tickets now!
RING OF HONOR PRESENTS SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST 2017 – NIGHT TWO
Saturday, November 18th, 2017 – 7:30 PM Bell Time
Gilley’s Dallas
Dallas, TX
MAIN EVENT
TEXAS DEATH MATCH FOR ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROH WORLD CHAMPION “THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE” CODY vs. “ALMIGHTY” CHRISTOPHER DANIELS
ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION KENNY KING (IF CHAMPION) vs. “HEAVY METAL REBEL” FRANKIE KAZARIAN
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (ALEX SHELLEY & CHRIS SABIN) (IF CHAMPIONS) vs. TEAM CMLL (ESFINGE & REY COMETA)
DALTON CASTLE & JAY LETHAL vs. ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPION CO-HOLDERS THE YOUNG BUCKS
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ROUND 1
MATT TAVEN vs. CHEESEBURGER
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ROUND 1
TK O’RYAN vs. FLIP GORDON
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ROUND 1
“INKSANITY” VINNY MARSEGLIA vs. “THE OCTOPUS” JONATHAN GRESHAM”
Former Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Heavyweight Champion Christopher Daniels recently did an interview with CLICKON Sports to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Daniels discussed remaining relevant in the professional wrestling world despite being a longtime veteran, the success of The Young Bucks, the partnership between New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and ROH, and much more. You can check out the highlights here below:
Wrestling being an art form:
“I absolutely think wrestling is an art form. There’s an aspect of storytelling in professional wrestling that maybe not everyone gets, especially casual fans or just people who look at it on the surface or from afar. You have to sort of watch it over a period of time to understand what’s going on.
“Yeah, every match tells a story in itself, but the longer arches of how wrestlers progress from the bottom of the card to the top, from villain to hero, that sort of stuff is a long term form of storytelling that I think fans understand and enjoy.”
Still being relevant as a longtime veteran:
“I sort of force myself to stick with it. I recognize what worked for me five years ago may not work for me now, and I try not to become so deeply entrenched in my habits. I try to recognize when things are getting stale, and try to change direction when I can.
“I think Chris Jericho is a perfect example of someone who enjoys success but also challenges himself to do something different and find different things for people to latch onto. That’s something I’ve tried to incorporate as well, because I don’t want to stay stagnant for too long.”
The success of The Young Bucks:
“I feel like the Young Bucks are sort of ahead of the curb in terms of reaching their audience without any filters in between. They go directly to their audience, and of course, being a part of ROH and New Japan, you can certainly catch them on those events – but if you’re a fan then all you really need to do is go on YouTube to see their latest exploits.
“Them, going to the fans first, it helps build up a fanbase for those companies and also solidifies their own brand. The Young Bucks understand that social media is a finger on the pulse of where fans are at.”
The partnership between ROH and NJPW:
“I’ve worked for both companies [ROH and NJPW] and knowing they were coming together to trade talent, I felt like it was going to bring a new facet of fresh match-ups to both side. That’s an interesting aspect for fans in the US to see these Japanese wrestlers, and throwing them in the mix with the Ring of Honor roster is bringing a level of interest to ROH as a whole.”
What he’d like to change about the professional wrestling industry today:
“I would love to see more stringent vetting processes for promoters that are coming up. I feel like a lot of wrestlers now are earning their living on the independent scene, and whilst you have to go through training to become a professional wrestler, anybody with money can become a promoter. Sometimes it’s hard to know which promotions are legitimate, and which are just money grabs.”
You can check out Daniels’ full interview with CLICKON Sports by clicking this link here.
Former Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion Frankie Kazarian recently spoke with The Wrestling News Hub about various topics including his friendship with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe as well as Christopher Daniels winning the ROH World Title from Adam Cole at the ROH 15 Anniversary pay-per-view event in March. Here are some of the highlights:
Christopher Daniels winning the ROH World Title earlier this year:
“First and foremost, I was very, very proud of the entire angle, and how we were able to hook everybody and pull the wool over everyone’s eyes, which is hard to do these days in the professional wrestling landscape. That was great and everyone played their part so well. The Young Bucks and Adam Cole. Everyone played their part so well. The night Chris won the title I was right there with him and it was as though I had won the title myself. How much he has given this business, if people only knew they would be astonished, and I know it was something he wanted for so long and worked so very hard for. It was like imaging two guys who were actors that came up together, and one gets nominated for an Academy Award, you are going to be happy for them, it’s the pinnacle. For him to be the Ring of Honor World Champion meant so much to him because of his pedigree there. It was just a great night, one of the better nights of my career. I am very happy for him and so very happy the angle came off the way that it did. Everyone enjoyed the match, and everyone enjoyed the way the angle came off. It was just a really, really good night for me and my career.”
His friendship with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe:
“We just make it work. You would be hard pressed to find four guys that were closer than AJ, Joe, Daniels, and I; we have been through a lot together. From our time in TNA and being there from day one, and just all the ebbs and flows and ups and downs that each guy has gone through, great times and hard times, and being there for each other and having each other’s backs, and then wars in the ring whether it be on the same side or against each other. It creates a unique bond. I can’t really put it into words. We have such a strong bond, and no matter how much time passes, when you see each other and when you talk on the phone you are right back to where you started. I could go months without seeing Joe and AJ, but when we do get together it’s like it was five minutes. I am blessed and fortunate to have a bond with three guys that I have known many years. They are the best friends I could ask for. For me, it was real easy, and I have a lot of really good friends, but those are the guys that I will communicate with until they throw dirt on me. It is pretty simple because that bond is so strong.”
Cody Rhodes captured the ROH World Championship from Christopher Daniels at last night’s Best in the World Pay Per View.
This marks the first World Title to be held by a Rhodes family member in 31 years (that of course being legend Dusty Rhodes). Cody now makes his way to the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Specials in July against IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada….Cody has been promising fans that he will be a double World Champion, could it happen?
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 13, 2017
Silas Young vs. Kushida vs. Dalton Castle vs. Bobby Fish
Kushida came out in a Yankees jersey. Silas Young cut a promo on Kushida pandering to the crowd and attacked him to start the match.
Everyone got some offence in but Kushida in particular seemed to be made to look strong. He got armbars on both Bobby Fish and Dalton Castle, with each having to be broken up before the guy tapped. He will be participating in the Best of the Super Juniors next week.
The finish of the match started when Kushida was taken out by a clothesline by Silas. Then Fish took Silas out with a legsweep. This left Fish and Castle in the ring alone, Castle hit Bang-A-Rang and got the pin.
Bobby Fish successfully defended the ROH TV title against Dalton Castle earlier this year, so there could be another match between those two coming. They shook hands after the match.
Winner: Dalton Castle
A video package of the history between Kazarian and Hangman Page/Bullet Club is shown. Kazarian had convinced Bullet Club he had joined the faction and had betrayed Christopher Daniels, his longtime tag partner. It was a swerve however, and Kazarian helped Daniels beat Adam Cole to win the ROH Championship. Now Kazarian is feuding with Bullet Club.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 13, 2017
Frankie Kazarian vs. Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
Kazarian hit Page with a diving cannonball before he could enter the ring, and the match started with a brawl on the outside.
There were a couple of fun moves early; Page hit a standing shooting star press from the apron to the floor on Kazarian. Then Kazarian hit an unprettier (aka Christian’s finishing move).
Eventually they started spitting at each other. Literally they took turns spitting at each other similar to how strong-style wrestlers exchange forearms. They had a similar gross spitting spot on television recently.
Finish of the match came when Page hooked the ropes in the corner while Kazarian was going for a sunset flip. Page continued to hold onto the ropes as he had Kazarian’s shoulders pinned and got the 3-count. Kevin Kelly made sure to mention that there will be more to come between these two.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 13, 2017
Evil & Sanada (Los Ingobernables) vs. War Machine vs. Chris Sabin & Jonathon Gresham w/ Alex Shelley (Search & Destroy)
There were a lot of fun spots here. Rowe gave an overhead belly-to-belly to both members of Search & Destroy at the same time. Evil then wrapped Hanson’s head in a chair, and then hit that chair with another chair. War Machine definitely looked strong. They just defended their tag titles last month in NJPW, and are scheduled to do so again next month against the Guerillas of Destiny.
The beginning of the end started when Sanada took everyone out on the outside with a plancha. Sabin then ended up alone in the ring with both members of War Machine, who gave him a pop-up powerslam for the win.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 13, 2017
Jay White vs. Will Ospreay
This match is interesting from an NJPW perspective, as Jay White was a young lion and is now on loan/excursion to ROH. Meanwhile, Ospreay won the Best of the Juniors last year, so a win for Jay White would indicate they have big plans for him. Cabana mentioned on commentary that White is putting on weight to wrestle as a heavyweight however.
Jay White got in a lot of offence, including a Muta-clutch, brainbuster on the apron, and a flying dropkick. Ospreay got in a lot of his office as well, including a standing spanish fly, reversing a move into a cutter, and lots of kicks and his normal array of impressive offence.
An interesting part of the match was when White reversed a springboard move by Ospreay into a position where he had both of his arms trapped, allowing him to freely land elbows to Ospreay’s head. It looked as though the ref was going to step in, but White ended up getting free.
Ospreay hit the most ridiculous springboard shooting star press to the outside that you will ever see. He then rolled White into the ring, hit a springboard cutter and picked up the win. The crowd was very into this.
Winner: Will Ospreay (CHAOS)
After the match Punishment Martinez hit the ring and took out Osprey. White tried to help, but he got hit with the South of Heaven Chokeslam.
Roppongi Vice recently won the IWGP jr heavyweight tag titles, so they had a chance to become double champs in this match.
Bully Ray came out in the rafters and announced this will be a no DQ match. He has a lot of history in this building, and there were ECW chants periodically throughout the match.
There were a lot of diving moves to the outside and chairshots early here, with each team getting in time on offence. There was some throwing of chairs to the head, but not unprotected swinging chair shots..
Aside from the early chair useage, the match wasn’t that hardcore for the most part. It was high paced however. At one point Jay Briscoe hit a double doomsday device, followed by Mark hitting an elbow from the top to Goto. Bully Ray then called for the tables. Ray powerbombed Berretta through a table from the 2nd rope, then they hit 3-D on Romero for the win.
Winners: Bully Ray & the Briscoes
We were shown a replay of earlier this month on television, when Marty Scurll was cutting a promo about being out of opponents. Sydal came down to the ringside and simply pointed at Scurll’s belt to let him know he was challenging him for a title shot.
Last week on ROH TV, Sydal had just won a singles match when Scurll ran to ringside and attacked him from behind, but Sydal was able to fend him off.
Each guy got in the majority of their offensive arsenal, and Sydal even added a new move.
Sydal reversed Scurll’s chickenwing at least twice. The first time he reversed it, Scurll transitioned into that finger-breaking move he does. Sydal hit a hurricanrana and a flying knee shortly after that however.
Not long after Sydal countered the chickenwing for the second time, he landed what looked to be a Gory-bomb, i.e the Guerreros. After that, he went to the top for the shooting star press. Scurll got his knees up however, then was finally able to lock in the chickenwing and got the tap.
It seemed as though the Bucks were getting the majority of the offence in the first part of this match. They did a lot of their innovative tag team moves, but were eventually slowed down when Naito hit a tornado DDT on Nick, followed by a reverse hurricanarana on Matt.
Naito then went for Destino on Matt but it was reversed to a piledriver position, and the Bucks started to go for the Meltzer Driver. Bushi prevented Nick from springboarding into the ring however, and then with the ref out of position he sprayed poison mist into Matt’s eyes. Naito rolled him up for the pin, but Matt kicked out just in time.
When Matt got up he was blind and walking around the ring, but he could still hit super kicks! He hit Naito, Bushi, then his own brother Nick, and then the referee because he didn’t know who was who. He finally got a bottle of water to clear out his eyes. Then Naito hit him with Destino, but Nick broke up the pin with a swanton.
Matt Jackson took out Naito with a tornado DDT on the apron, which allowed Nick to go to the top and Matt to roll Bushi into the ring. Matt hit a standing moonsault, and Nick came off the top in unison. Nick covered Bushi for a near-fall only.
Finally, Nick took Naito out on the outside with a flying cannonball, allowing Matt to grab Bushi and put him in position for the Meltzer Driver. The Bucks hit their finish and got the win.
Winners: the Young Bucks
A Very Interesting announcement after this match! NJPW has created a new championship: The IWGP U.S Championship. There will be a tournament for the title shortly, with Jay Lethal already announced as participating.
NJPW will be running a G1 show in LA on July 1st. They also announced the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental championships will also be defended on that show. This is all apart of NJPW’s US expansion plans.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 13, 2017
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Adam Cole (Bullet Club)
Commentary talked about how this match is between arguably the greatest champion in modern day NJPW against the same in ROH. Cole is a 3x ROH champion, and Tanahashi ruled NJPW for the last decade. After his loss to Okada at WrestleKingdom Tanahashi has fallen out of the IWGP heavyweight title picture, but will wrestle Naito for the Intercontinental championship next month.
Each guy got a lot of offence in. Cole hit the Last Shot, countered Tanahashi’s High Fly Flow, and even his own version of the High Fly Flow at one point. Tanahashi finally landed his patented High Fly Flow frog splash and got the pin.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 13, 2017
After the match, Cole remained in the ring while some fans chanted “thank you Adam!” (has Cole signed with someone?) The Young Bucks then hit the ring and played it up like they were going to finally superkick Cole after weeks of building towards a split. Cole turned around and the Bucks acted like everything was fine and gave him the 2 sweet signal. Kelly referred to it as them doing their own version of a curtain call.
Then the lights went out and we cut to a video of Kenny Omega. He says he was disappointed in the Bucks for standing with Cole after he tried to fire them from Bullet Club. He tells Adam he has had a long and storied career, but just like all fairy tales there “has to be a hero and a villain”. The camera fades back to reveal the bird mask worn by Marty Scurll. Omega then tells Cole he is officially fired.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 13, 2017
The lights go back on in the building and Marty Scurll is in the ring. He reveals an umbrella with the Bullet Club logo. Then the Young Bucks superkick Adam Cole. Scurll then reveals a Bullet Club shirt.
Commentary was playing up how Cody is a free agent, and looking to achieve as much as he can all over the world.
Lethal began favouring his shoulder after landing a suicide dive, but it didn’t seem to impact him too much. Later in the match Cody would bring out a table, though it wouldn’t be used immediately.
Cody ended up hitting Daniels with the Cross Rhodes, but when he went for the pin Lethal came off the top for an elbow. Cody got out of the way just in time, and Lethal ended up hitting Daniels. He stumbled onto the apron, and Cody ended up hitting him off the apron and through the table. This left Cody and Lethal alone in the ring.
There was a ref bump, followed by Cody hitting a low blow on Lethal. When Cody went for the Disaster Kick, Lethal countered into a cutter for a nearfall. Lethal then went for the Lethal Injection, but Cody countered into the Cross Rhodes, but Lethal kicked out just in time.
Cody then put Lethal in a figure-four, but Daniels got back into the match, hit the Best Moonsault Ever on Cody and pinned him while Lethal was still trapped in his figure-four. The crowd was into it. They were into most things on this show.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) Champion Christopher Daniels recently did an interview with Ring Rust Radio ahead of his title defense against Cody (Rhodes) and Jay Lethal in New York tomorrow (Fri. May 12, 2017) at Ring of Honor’s War of the Worlds. Here are some highlights from the Fallen Angel:
Winning the ROH World Championship 15 years after his debut:
“It’s very surreal. When the three count finally went down and I realized that my journey to that goal had finally been completed, I felt a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment. It also sort of washed over me in that moment of time. Hearing the crowd’s reaction, seeing the streamers and having my friend Frankie there to help me along. All of that is just something I will always remember and something I will always hold dear in my heart.
“As far as the reaction for my peers, literally 20 minutes of every hour of the first two days after I won the championship, I spent on Twitter or my phone responding to tweets, DMs and messages from people that I’ve worked with over the course of 24 years that were reaching out to congratulate me on my big evening. For me having worked with so many different people over the course of my career and to have them reach out on my big night, that meant the world to me.
“I was happy to know that my experience with all those guys was positive enough that they felt compelled to reach out to congratulate me when I became champion. It was very cool and it was a great feeling to know that I have the respect of so many of my peers.”
Young ROH Talent He Sees The Most Potential In:
“You talk about the guys that are coming up like Dalton Castle, Jay White and Flip Gordon. A tag team like War Machine who has only been together for a short period of time but have already been Ring of Honor tag team champions and now they’re currently IWGP champions and there is a bright future for those guys as far as a tag team dominance.
“Guys like Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay who just recently in the past year joined Ring of Honor and continue to show innovation and a creative mindset for pro wrestling that I think Ring of Honor fans are very happy to have on our roster. I think they will continue to grow and become great characters and great contributors to the history of Ring of Honor.”
His “ROH Mount Rushmore”:
“Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, CM Punk and Nigel McGuinness. I wasn’t going to put myself on there. As much as I’ve contributed to Ring of Honor, those guys did as much or more and certainly deserve the recognition. It’s nice to think that people think I deserve to be top four like that and that sort of sense of what they’ve done for the company, but if I found out I was number five on the list out of four, I wouldn’t be disappointed. You look at the track record of those four guys and what they contributed to the company in the time when they were
“You look at the track record of those four guys and what they contributed to the company in the time when they were champion, I don’t think my current run compares to the stuff they’ve done yet. You can try to build a title reign that stands up and when you lay it side-by-side with what Joe, Punk, Bryan or Nigel all did, that’s my goal is to try to be comparable to those guys and it’s a long road ahead of me to do that.”
Ring of Honor has announced the first bout as part of their co-branded War of The Worlds tour alongside New Japan Pro Wrestling.
NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi will be teaming with ROH Champion Christopher Daniels and his Addiction tag team partner Kaz to take on the team of The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega.
Ring of Honor released a press release for this behemoth main event which you can read below:
“Kenny Omega returns to Ring of Honor for World of the Worlds Toronto to team with the ROH World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks in a dream six man tag team bout against ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, and seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi!
“The Cleaner” has cemented himself as one of the biggest stars in wrestling, leading Bullet Club to unprecedented heights and championships around the globe under his leadership. Omega assumed control of Bullet Club after forcibly removing AJ Styles. His One-Winged Angel led him to become the first non-Japanese born star to ever win the G1 Climax last year. The victory led to one of the most talked-about matches in pro wrestling history against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada at WrestleKingdom 11.
Omega and the ROH World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks are experienced trios competitors, representing a faction within Bullet Club they call The Elite. The trio has twice held the NEVER Openweight Six Men Tag Team Championships.
Standing across the ring from them are three equally accomplished stars. ROH World Champion Christopher Daniels, ahead of at least one ROH World Championship defense during the War of the Worlds Tour against Matt Taven, teams with long-time Addiction tag team partner and best friend Frankie Kazarian and the man that has held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship the most times for the most days in history, Hiroshi Tanahashi!
The battles, including Ladder War VI, between the Young Bucks and the Addiction are well-documented while Omega’s meteoric rise was due in some part to defeating seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in 2016! But questions surround Bullet Club – rumors are abound that all is not right within their ranks. Can the first-time team of the World Champion, Kaz, and Tanahashi get on the same page and take advantage of this main event opportunity?
Like Kenny Omega, this six man tag team dream match CAN ONLY BE SEEN IN TORONTO! Tickets are already moving fast – don’t get locked out. See this HUGE main event and the stars of ROH and NJPW do battle at the Ted Reeve Arena on the War of the Worlds Tour!”
ROH TV
March 27th (on the Fite App)
Las Vegas, Nevada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9fUKteazus
Christopher Daniels World Title Celebration
45-year-old Christopher Daniels won his first world championship for a major promotion at the company’s 15 year anniversary show recently. This show was the first for the set of tapings which occurred after the IPPV.
Kazarian and Daniels came out and celebrated with “apple-tinis” to start the show. Daniels declared himself the “world champion…of the world”.
Dalton Castle, who will challenge Daniels this weekend at Supercard of Honor, came out to join in the celebration. He was very impressed with the Apple-tini he was given. The boys even gave him his own glass.
Adam Cole and the Young Bucks came out. Cole said he was screwed out of the championship and promises payback to the Addiction. A 6-man tag pitting Adam Cole & the Young Bucks vs. the Addiction & Dalton Castle is scheduled for later in the show.
* In the back Kenny King challenges Marty Scurll for the ROH TV title. Scurll accepted, so we should get that match sometime soon.
1. ROH Tag Team Championship Match the Hardys (c) vs. the Briscoes The Hardys retained after several near falls. Jay Briscoe kicked out a twist of fate and Matt Hardy kicked out of a froggy-bow. The finish of the match came when Jeff Hardy came in on a blind tag and used his leg-scissor pinning combination on Mark Briscoe for the win.
After the match the Young Bucks came out and challenged the Hardys to make their match at Supercard of Honor a ladder match. Interesting. Winners: the Hardys (2nd title defence)(Jeff Hardy pinned Mark Briscoe)
2. Adam Cole & the Young Bucks (Bullet Club) vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Dalton Castle Finish of the match started when the Bucks accidentally superkick’ed Adam Cole. After that Castle clotheslined them both out of the ring, and Daniels hit them with a moonsault. In the ring Dalton Castle gave Adam Cole the Bang-a-rang and pinned him for the win. The idea was the two guys in Saturday’s main event came out looking the strongest here. Winners: the Addiction and Dalton Castle (Castle pinned Cole)
ROH’s Supercard of Honor will be available on IPPV on Saturday at 6pm.
On Friday night 45-year old Christopher Daniels won the ROH world championship for the first time. It is the first world championship of a major promotion he has won.
Seth Rollins offered his congrats to Daniels:
Major congrats to @facdaniels on winning the @ringofhonor title. One of the best dudes I've had the pleasure of knowing. Long overdue!
Seth Rollins and Christopher Daniels ROH Experience
Rollins and Daniels were both in ROH together in 2010, when Rollins was the ROH world champion. He defeated Austin Aries for the title in February of 2010, and would drop it that September to Roderick Strong.
At the time Daniels was returning from TNA Wrestling, where he had been since 2002.
This Friday night at ROH’s 15th Anniversary show, Daniels defeated Adam Cole in the main event for the ROH world championship. Daniels’ longtime tag team partner Kazarian, had joined Cole’s Bullet Club earlier in the month on ROH television, but at the PPV showed it was all a double-cross. Kazarian turned on Adam Cole and helped Daniels gain the advantage and win the championship.
Earlier in the night Jay Lethal defeated Bobby Fish in a match that commentary indicated would have world title implications. Most likely Daniels’ first title defence, if not a rematch with Cole, will be against Jay Lethal.
Ring of Honor have announced several high profile bouts for their ‘Honor Reigns Supreme’ event that takes place February 4th in Dallas. The announced bouts are:
2/3 FALLS (1st PINFALL, 2nd LUCHA TAG, 3rd NO DQ)
Young Bucks (NICK & MATT JACKSON) vs Mark & Jay Briscoe
Ring of Honor have secured the services of ex-WWE star Cody Rhodes for Final Battle on Friday December 2nd, which takes place from the Hammerstein Ballrom in New York City. His opponent has not been announced as of this writing.
Also announced for the December supershow are ROH Champion Jay Lethal, ROH Television Champion Bobby Fish and ROH Tag Team Champions Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian.
Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian of The Addiction defeated War Machine at Monday night’s ROH War Of The Worlds live event from Dearborn, Michigan to capture the ROH Tag Team Championships.
Highlights from last week are shown when Donovan Dijak made his surprise return to confront Jay Lethal and the House of Truth. Lethal cuts a backstage promo, “Tempers are high and emotions are out of control, and I’m going to try to keep it together, because my best friend is in the hospital right now. Donovan Dijak congratulations, I don’t know what your goal was, but.you were successful in getting my attention. The World Heavyweight Champion is speaking to you. Was this your sad, pathetic attempt to get a shot? Well, it didn’t work, because you don’t deserve it. Last year, when you won the top prospect tournament, it was Truth’s idea to bring you in, shape you, groom you. We tried his way, now we’re going to try mine. You don’t deserve to be here in Ring of Honor, you don’t deserve the friendship that was shown to you by the House of Truth. Be sure to tell Prince Nana that Jay Lethal is coming and, I’ll tell you what, you ain’t going to survive this one.”
Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 welcome us to Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada.
reDRagon vs Kazuchika Okada and Gedo
reDRagon is out first to their entrance music, “Dance Away” by the Damn Valentines (who sound a lot like The Misfits). The Rainmaker is out next to much fanfare, followed behind by his partner Gedo. The fans throw gold Okada dollar bills at the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. (Interestingly enough, total combined weights of Okada & Gedo are announced at 406 vs reDragon at 421, but the tale-of-the-tape graphic has them listed at 426 vs. 427.) Okada and Gedo refuse the code of honor, legendary referee Tiger Hattori signals the match to start, the bell rings, and we’re off.
Gedo and Bobby Fish start it off, each men take pause to groom their facial hair. Gedo rakes the arm, takes Fish to the mat with a headlock, Fish tries to roll out, throws Gedo off the ropes, leapfrog, armdrag attempt, blocked, kick to the head, Gedo gets caught with knee lock, but Gedo reaches the ropes, and we get a clean break. Kelly comments on the good sportsmanship shown by Fish. Fish asks Gedo if he wants to tag in Okada, Gedo looks confused. Fish lays flat on his back, then beefcake poses, and welcomes in Okada. When Okada comes in, Fish tags in O’Reilly.
Collar-and-elbow lock up between O’Reilly and Okada. Kelly and MW3 talk about the recent flare up to O’Reilly’s cauliflowered right ear. He’s had it drained several times since Adam Cole irritated it at the ROH 14th Anniversary show. Okada backs O’Reilly into the ropes, the referee calls for the break, Okada fakes a cheap shot, then pats him on the chest. O’Reilly rolls his eyes. Another lock up, Okada hits the ropes, shoulder block to O’Reilly, O’Reilly ducks, leapfrogs, ducks, leapfrogs, then catches himself on the ropes. O’Reilly knocks Okada to the mat, runs up his back, throws him off the ropes, sunset flip, but O’Reilly gets in a cross armbreaker. Gedo comes in and punches O’Reilly in his ear. Okada tags in and continues to work on O’Reilly’s ear. Okada kicks him in the gut, picks him up, slams him down, goes to the outside, and flips over the top rope for a senton. Okada covers but O’Reilly kicks out at 2, and we go to commercial.
After the break, O’Reilly and Gedo exchange blows until Gedo grabs O’Reilly’s cauliflower ear again. Okada comes in and knocks Fish off the apron, O’Reilly ducks a double clothesline, kick to the gut, kick punch punch kick punch kick, and finishes with a leg sweep to Okada knocking him to the mat. O’Reilly gets the hot tag to Fish, Fish comes in with a sliding forearm, crossbody splash into Okada in the corner, back elbow drop, goes for a kick, misses, then picks Gedo up and suplexes him onto Okada, pin attempt, but Okada kicks out.
Okada delivers a knee, Fish delivers a knee, Okada goes for a jackknife powerbomb, Fish rolls through, and Okada drops Fish on his head. Okada picks up Fish, plants him to the mat, climbs to the top turnbuckle, and hits a top rope elbow drop. Okada picks up Fish again, spins him around, goes for The Rainmaker, Fish ducks it, picks him up in his shoulders, and Samoan drops Okada to the mat. Both men are down. Gedo tags in, knocks O’Reilly off the apron, picks up Fish, delivers a neckbreaker, superkick, pin attempt, but Fish gets out at 2. Gedo sets up for the Exploder, but Fish now fighting back with elbows to Gedo until Okada hits a standing dropkick, Gedo with an inverted pin attempt, but Fish gets out. Fish to his feet, backs Okada into the corner, Okada knocked to the outside, Fish sends Okada into the ringpost, then Fish and O’Reilly attack Gedo in the corner with fast smashing double-team offense. Fish covers Gedo, but Okada makes the save. Okada now trading forearms with reDRagon until O’Reilly hits the Ax and Smash. reDRagon picks up Gedo and hit Chasing the Dragon for the win.
Winner: reDRagon
reDRagon congratulate each other and we go to commercial.
When we return, we see highlights from last week between War Machine and the Briscoes. The Briscoes cut a pre-recorded promo, “The current reigning and defending ROH Tag Team Champions, Hanson and Rowe, War Machine, listen up. Fellas, we got a message for ya and it ain’t nothing abstract, it ain’t going to blow your mind. Boys, you ain’t never beat us. Four times we’ve been in the ring together, and you ain’t never beat us. And you know damn well, you’re the champions, congratulations, but you can’t call yourself the best when you ain’t beat Dem Boys. But don’t get it twisted, y’all ain’t the only ones with something to prove. It’s been too long, it’s been 3 years since Dem Boys held those titles. It’s been too long, man. Y’all ain’t the only ones with something to prove.”
Adam Cole vs Kushida (Non-Title Match)
Adam Cole weighing 207 pounds, makes his way to the ring. Out next, wearing his purple Back to the Future vest, from Tokyo, Japan weighing 192 pounds IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kushida. The fans pop big and litter the ring with streamers. MW3 tells us Kushida has a both an MMA background and a baseball background. The two men to exchange the code of honor, the bell rings, and we begin.
They circle each other, collar-and-elbow tie up, Kushida gets backed into the corner, the referee calls for the break, Cole backs up and yells, “Adam Cole, bay bay!” Kushida looks confused, draws air quotes, and the fans laugh. Kushida goes to fight from his backside (as per his Jiu-Jitsu training) and tries to swat Cole away. MW3 tells us Kushida is a student of Tajiri. Kushida takes Cole to the mat, spins around his back, slaps him on the back of the head, and yells, “Kushida, bay bay!” Cole with a boot, headlock by Cole, reversal headlock by Kushida, Cole throws Kushida off the ropes, misses with the clothesline, fujita armbar, and then Kushida delivers a stomp to the back of the head. Kushida throws Cole off the ropes, reversal, Kushida catches himself in the ropes, flips to the outside, but meets an enziguri to the back of the head. Cole tells the fans to scurry at ringside so he can throw Kushida into the crowd, but instead Cole turns around, gives them an up yours gesture, and we go to commercial
When we return, Cole has Kushida in a headlock, Kushida fights out, hits the ropes, but Cole hits a back elbow and bows for the crowd. Kushida rakes Cole’s arm on the apron, Kushida flips back in and knocks Cole to the mat. Kick kick by Kushida, he gets caught by Cole, Cole punches him in the leg, then an atomic drop by Kushida, low dropkick, cartwheel and a dropkick to the side of the Cole’s head. Kushida working on Cole’s left arm, Kushida goes for a kick that misses, Cole connects with a kick, Kushida misses a clothesline, Cole connects again with a kick, Cole runs the ropes, but Kushida follows him with a cannonball that knocks Cole to be outside. Kushida climbs to the top turnbuckle, and then a crash-and-burn swanton onto the floor. The fans chant “Kushida!”
Cole gets back in at 10, but gets met by a standing drop kick from Kushida, then a top rope moonsault press, but Cole gets the knees up. Cole then hits a running Shining Wizard, pin attempt, but Kushida kicks out at 2. Kushida syncs a tarantula Hoverboard lock, Cole grabs the referee for leverage to break the hold, before the referee yells, “You keep your hands off me!” Cole picks up Kushida, small package, Kushida catches Cole in the hoverboard lock, rolling pins by both men, kickouts. They run the ropes, smash each other with forearms, bicycle kick by Cole, jumping enziguri to Kushida, and then Kushida delivers a Kuroda strike knockout blow to Cole. Kushida hits the ropes, rolls through, Hoverboard Lock, Cole nearly gets to the ropes, Kushida brings him back to the center of the ring. Cole picks Kushida up on his shoulder, Kushida slides down, Hoverboard Lock again, Cole reverses, pin attempt, stacks him, Kushida kick out. Both men to their feet, Cole catches Kushida, but Kushida hits a superkick. Off the ropes, reversal, Kushida goes for the flying back hip block, but Cole kicks him in the head, then inverted neckbreaker onto the knee and Cole covers, 1-2-3.
Winner: Adam Cole
Dalton Castle cuts a backstage promo, “Every time I meet someone, I’ve thought about how to fight them. Silas, I’ve met you a lot. It’s not about how I’m going to fight you, but what I’m going to fight you with. Maybe I’ll use a colander, maybe I’ll fill your pants up with flesh-eating piranhas. I don’t know how many years I got left on this planet and I’m going to get weird.” (Note: this promo was cut from the Comet broadcast.)
When we return, we are shown footage from the 14th Anniversary Show of MCMG reuniting.
The Addiction vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Tag Team Grudge Match)
“The Almighty” Christopher Daniels and “The Heavy Metal Rebel” Frankie Kazarian are out first. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin make their way to the ring to Alex Shelley’s music and entrance graphic. Nigel McGuinness has joined on commentary. Daniels and Sabin start it off. “The Ring General” walks around the ring with his hands folded behind his back. They tie up, Kazarian and Shelley come in, and this thing has broken down already. All four men are in the ring, shot to Sabin, Irish whip to Shelley, Addiction throws both MGMG to the center of the ring, MCMG does the dosey doe, splash Addiction in the corner, throw Addiction into each other, and toss them out of the ring. The fans applaud and we go to commercial.
When we come back, Kazarian is on the outside, sunset flip over Sabin, reversal, pin attempt, kick out. Sabin holds Kazarian’s arm while Shelley comes off the top rope. Now Shelley holds Kazarian’s arm while Sabin leapfrogs over Shelley’s back, then they take turns jumping off each others back with running forearms on the Addiction. They throw Kazarian off the ropes, atomic drop, low dropkick, rolling neckbreaker, and then a kick to the face. Shelley climbs up on the second rope, opens up the five-hole, and Sabin connects with a suicide dive to the outside. Sabin throws Kazarian back in the ring, Shelley goes to the top rope, Kazarian is staggered, cross body block, pin attempt, but Kazarian kicks out at 2.
Kazarian gets to his feet, Shelley sizes him up Paparazzi Productions style, climbs to the top rope, gets 5 shots to the head before Daniels comes over distract. Shelley takes out Daniels and then Kazarian. Shelley rushes in with a forearm, Daniels pull Shelley’s legs off the second turnbuckle, and then Kazarian with a backbreaker to Shelley. Sabin tries to come in, but the ref stops him, and Addiction double-team Shelley in the corner. Kazarian picks Shelley up, club to the back of the head, throws him off the ropes, punch to the gut, knee to the face, swinging neckbreaker by Kazarian, Daniels covers for the pin, 1-2, kickout. Daniels holds Shelley in the corner, stomp stomp, Kazarian tags in. Addiction keep tagging each other in and stomping on Shelley. Kazarian poses in the ring while Daniels stands on Shelley’s hand.
Shelley now trying to fight out against both men, hits the ropes, ducks under Kazarian, but meets a clothesline, Daniels flips Kazarian onto Shelley, and then Daniels hits a second rope moonsault. Daniels stands with a boot on Shelley’s chest, the referee counts, but Sabin comes in to break up, and we go to commercial
When we return, Addiction have Shelley isolated in the corner. Daniels tags in Kazarian, Irish whip to the corner, spear, then Kazarian leaps over the top rope with a DDT to Shelley, pin attempt, but Sabin runs in and breaks it up. McGuinness tells us, “Shelley is taking a lot of damage.” Kazarian tries to hook him for a suplex, but Shelley fights out, Daniels comes in, and then Shelley nails a stunner/DDT combo on both of them at the same time. Shelley goes for the tag, but Daniels pulls Sabin off of the apron. Kazarian with a snapmare takeover, kicks to the back, and Addiction have Shelley in their corner again.
Addiction throws Shelley off the ropes, he ducks a double clothesline, turns around, gets caught by Daniels, kicks Kazarian and drops him to the mat, then Shelley delivers a drop toe hold to Daniels that slams Daniels head first into Kazarian’s groin. MW3 says, “Right in the ding ding!” Sabin with a crossbody block onto both members of Addiction, 3 elbows to Daniels, wrenches the arm, kick to the stomach, goes to throw Daniels off the ropes, reversal, Sabin ducks a clothesline, and hits a clothesline of his own. Sabin runs to the corner with a back elbow, climbs to the top rope, kicks Kazarian in the chest for good measure before leaping at Daniels, they run the ropes again, Sabin tries to leapfrog, Daniels catches him, Sabin gets out, and then meets a springboard DDT onto Daniels, Sabin hooks him, 1-2, but Daniels kicks out.
Addiction catch Sabin in a basket catch, double team offense, pin, but Shelley is in to break it up. Daniels up on the top turnbuckle, Kazarian positions Sabin to lock fingers with Daniels, but Daniels rolls through and then Daniels jumps to the outside. Kazarian catches Sabin and delivers a diamond-cutter over the top rope, but Sabin kicks out. Addiction go for Celebrity Rehab, but Sabin counters, Shelley in now, Daniels hits an STO, Sabin with an enziguri, MCMG catch Kazarian on their shoulders, and then spin him to the mat. MCMG double-team kicks to Daniels, Sabin with a neckbreaker, then holds Daniels while Shelley comes off the top for a diving crossbody for the Skull and Bones finisher. Sabin scores the victory.
Winner: Motor City Machine Guns
After the bell, Addiction take out MCMG until Matt Sydal and Kushida run down to make the save. While they are checking on MCMG, The Young Bucks come in and deliver a superkick to Kushida. Shelley takes out Matt, then Nick and Sabin go at it. Addiction, Sydal, and Kushida are in now as well. The bell is ringing while all four teams brawl. It’s a donnybrook, as the credits roll, the faces (MCMG, Sydal, Kushida) gain control of the ring, hug each other, and the show ends.
Former TNA Wrestling star and active international star Christopher Daniels recently appeared as a guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Podcast and spoke about the end of his run as the “Fallen Angel,” the moment he knew there was nothing left for him in TNA and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On the end of his “Fallen Angel” run:
“I started doing the stuff with Sting, and that was the period of time where I had the face paint. It was an angle that Vince Russo had come up with. And, for some reason, I felt they never really pulled the trigger on it. Like, they had me talking about doing stuff with Sting, and they had me interacting with Sting, but I felt like they were still doing other things with Sting that never made me the focus of Sting’s attention. So I always felt like by not making me seem like the most important thing on Sting’s plate, that it sort of hurt me. It made me look like I wasn’t important enough for the fans to care about either. So that was the end of the whole ‘Fallen Angel’ character with me, just because I felt like it wasn’t working, I felt like I had gone as far as I could go in TNA with that mentality and that style of promo.”
On feeling like there was nothing left for him in TNA after his angle with Sting:
“I pitched the idea of doing Curry Man with them, and they gave me a year while I was doing Curry Man as a character. At the end of that, they got rid of the Curry Man character, they fired him, and I came back for a short period of time. First as Suicide, because the person that was doing Suicide got injured right away, and so I took his place for a couple of months. And then I was back [as] myself, then just near the beginning of 2010, they basically let me go. They said that they really didn’t have anything for me, and so they were going a different direction.”
Former TNA and current Ring Of Honor performer Frankie Kazarian recently appeared as a guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On The Addiction as a team and working with Christopher Daniels: “It is hard to put in one short answer. The guy is my best friend, I’ve known him for pretty much the better part of the 17 years of my career. It’s great having somebody that you can rely on not just in the context of a wrestling match but also on the road, traveling here and there. We are best friends, tag team partners, our train of thought is very similar when it comes to wrestling matches and the whole business. It’s a real confidence booster knowing he’s there and takes a lot of stress off knowing how professional he is and knowing where we both are going to need to be. It’s almost like we are on cruise-control at this point, we know each other so well. When it comes to tag team wrestling all those thing make an awesome package.”
On being revealed as the KRD, what makes this story different: “If I can say that one thing Ring of Honor is not lacking, but is not necessarily focused on is angles like the KRD one and Ring of Honor is top notch in every aspect, especially match quality and there is nothing to compare it to. But, angles being played out like that is something you necessarily saw a lot on Ring of Honor previously and being a fan of cool well put together angles I was psyched to be a part of it. I was thrilled to become tag team champions that way and I hope that now on Destination America we can continue to do some outside-of-the-box kind of things in terms of Ring of Honor’s previous business model.”
On if he prefers to work babyface or heel: “Without question we are in our wheel-house when are bad guys. The act really got some steam when we were doing dastardly things over in TNA in 2012. It really fits our personalities so much better portraying the bad guys, it’s just right and it’s us. We got a lot of real positive reactions when we came to Ring of Honor and I think because people were happy to see us but after a while it’s going to wear off and if any team is going to be the working heels and the bad guys of the company I can’t think of anyone better then Chris Daniels and myself.”
On working Samoa Joe’s final Ring of Honor match in NYC with AJ Styles and Daniels: “Those three gentleman stood up with me at my wedding. That says it all right there. Those are three guys that I’ve traveled with and known longer than anyone else in the business and are my three best friends in the business. We all have come up together, all of our families know each other so it was a very special moment. The match we knew match quality wise was going to be there but it was afterwards really taking it in and I got to share the ring one last time with my three best friends in the business for Ring of Honor especially it was really cool and I was very aware because I used to take moments like that in my career for granted. The whole day was a great moment, especially after the match when Ring of Honor gave Joe the sendoff that he so richly deserved.
Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.
– WWE has made some changes to their advertised lineups for upcoming WWE live events. Originally scheduled to headline one wing of the tour was WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns, however now Dean Ambrose vs. Rollins in a “Street Fight” will serve as the main event of the shows. Subsequently, Reigns has been moved to different shows.
– Team 3D vs. The Young Bucks in a tag-team bout has been officially added to Tommy Dreamer’s next “House Of Hardcore” event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Also announced recently is Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian vs. Matt Taven and Michael Bennett. Scheduled to appear at the show in her final appearance is former TNA Knockout Traci Brooks. Additionally, Johnny Mundo, Rhyno, Eddie Kingston, Chris Hero and Tony Nese are also advertised to appear.
Ring Of Honor star Christopher Daniels recently appeared as a guest on The Rack podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his upcoming dream tag team match with Kazarian vs AJ Styles and Samoa Joe: “Absolutely. We’ve traveled together; myself, Frankie, Joe and AJ, in one way, shape or form, the four of us have traveled and shared locker rooms for more than a decade but this will be the first time, and now the only time, all four of us will have ever been in the same match. So, I know I’m looking forward to it, Frankie is looking forward to it and I know that, more importantly, the Ring of Honor fan base is looking forward to it.”
On if there is any pressure on them to make this a good match: “Yeah, definitely that; I think the pressure that is there is self-inflicted. We know what we are capable of, Frankie and I know how good of a tag team we are and we know that despite that Joe and AJ don’t really tag much together or aren’t considered a full time tandem, we know how good they are as well, so I know how good we can make this match. So, any pressure we have is completely self-inflicted and self-imposed by us. We want to go out there and make a match that people are going to remember for years and I think there’s definitely, now that Joe’s future is more concrete, it’s good to know that this will be the last Ring of Honor match that he’ll have and it’s a way for the three of us to send him off.”
On if he’s happy for Samoa Joe signing with the WWE: “I’m thrilled for him, I’m happy for him and I’m glad that he’s sort of paving a way for a lot of different people, I think; in the next year or so, there’s going to be a lot of people that are modeling that same leap and, truthfully, Joe wasn’t the first one. When Kevin Owens went to the WWE, or when Finn Balor went to the WWE, I feel like there’s a lot more guys that will be brought to the WWE, either through NXT or directly to the main roster. I think there’s going to be a lot of guys who’ve been on the independents that have been honing their craft for a while and will finally get that opportunity to be there. So, I’m thrilled for him, Joe’s been one of my best friends for a long time and you can’t help but to be happy and be proud of someone who has worked as hard as he has to finally get that opportunity to show the world, on the main stage, what kind of professional wrestler he is.”
On if we will ever see The Fallen Angel in the WWE: “I’ve never said never; right now I’m full-time committed to Ring of Honor but I don’t know what the future holds in terms of that. All I can say is wait and see.”
On his thoughts of Kevin Owens and his transition to the WWE: “I think he’s doing just fine. I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who debuted on the WWE main roster as successfully as he had in the past 10 years I think. I mean, name anyone whose first WWE match, main roster match, was a pinball victory over John Cena; I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone, other than Kevin, who does that.”
On if he feels he had more freedom in the ring with Ring of Honor over TNA: “I think so. I think both Frankie and I, both of us, have been given the freedom to do what we do best and especially in the past few months with the angle with the KRD and what’s happened with us and the World Tag Team Championships, I feel like we’re finally able to show what we do best and with such a deep tag team roster like ReDRagon and the Young Bucks and Roppongi Vica and The Decade, there’s a lot of fresh matches for us as the Tag Team Champions and us as heels again. I feel that there are a lot of possibilities for great match-ups and I’m looking forward to all of them.
For the Best in the World Pay Per View, (we have) a No-Disqualification Match; we’ve had a lot of matches with ReDRagon already, but I feel like that the story has turned with us as the Champions, I feel that there’s a whole new chapter we can write and those guys are one of the best tag teams in the world and I feel like we are a great antagonist for those guys, so no matter what happens on June 19th, I feel like there’s a lot more we can do with the with story as well between The Addiction and ReDRagon.”
On his thoughts on ROH’s deal with Destination America and if he is excited with the news: “Absolutely, I feel that one of the things that I wanted to see happen in coming back to Ring of Honor was, as strong as the syndication with Sinclair has been, I felt that one of the difficulties was trying to tell people a set uniform time and date that Ring of Honor could be on. Usually, you’d say ‘check your local listings’ but now we can tell people, if you want to watch Ring of Honor, go to Destination America on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm. So, I feel like we’ve opened up a lot of new eyes to our product in addition to the amount of eyes we had through syndication, I just feel like this opened up more doors for us and gets a lot more people aware of us and that’s definitely a great thing for Ring of Honor.”