Since launching in 2019, AEW has been home to several wrestlers and on-screen personalities, though not everyone is still with the company. Now, three former members of the All-Elite promotion are filing legal action against AEW, alleging defamation and misclassification.

Kevin Kelly and brothers Brandon and Brendon Tate filed the lawsuit on August 30 in the Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, The Wrestling News reports. The suit alleges that AEW misclassifies its wrestling talent as independent contractors rather than employees. If successfully challenged, this could have wide-reaching implications for the wrestling industry.

The Tate Brothers, better known to ROH fans as Dalton Castle’s ‘Boys,’ were released from AEW in April 2024 and their departure was first explained as due to budget cuts. Tony Khan later stated that the release was due to the brothers no-showing several events, a claim the brothers have denied. Now, this claim by Khan has become the basis for their defamation claim.

As for Kevin Kelly, he’s seeking monetary damages from AEW, alleging that the promotion breached his contract and has interfered with his ability to find work elsewhere. Kelly joined AEW in June 2023 and was fired from the promotion in March of this year. Kelly’s termination came about after a series of social media posts in which he spoke critically of AEW and Ian Riccaboni. The lawsuit also names Riccaboni, accusing him of defamation for allegedly linking Kelly to the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory on social media.

In a statement, attorney Stephen P. New, who is representing the trio alongside Benjamin Bear, said the following:

“I applaud the bravery of these plaintiffs in bringing this long-overdue action, challenging the misclassification of pro wrestlers as independent contractors instead of employees. We know we are in for a long, hard fight, but in the end, I believe justice always prevails.”

This lawsuit has the potential to bring about significant changes in wrestling, especially concerning how talent are classified and compensated. As of writing, AEW has not publicly commented on the lawsuit or the potential ramifications. We here at SEScoops will continue to follow this lawsuit for further updates.

All Elite Wrestling will need to find a new talent to be the promotion’s goodwill ambassador in the place of Cody Rhodes, according to All-Elite alum Kevin Kelly.

Rhodes, alongside wife Brandi, parted ways with AEW in February 2022 and the American Nightmare would return to WWE shortly after. Since then, Rhodes has become one of WWE’s top stars and is currently in his first run as Undisputed WWE Champion.

While Rhodes has achieved plenty in WWE, AEW without him has seen its share of issues. Injuries and backstage drama has taken a considerable amount of shine off Tony Khan’s promotion in the eyes of many fans. Taking to Twitter, Kelly suggested that AEW has yet to find someone who’ll represent AEW on all levels in the way Rhodes did for years.

Kelly knows a thing or two about impactful exits from AEW, though his departure was nowhere close to as amicable as the Rhodes family. Kelly made a series of disparaging remarks on social media earlier this year including accusing fellow AEW broadcaster Ian Riccaboni of libel. After not appearing at an AEW taping, Kelly was let go by the company in

• More on Kevin Kelly’s Exit from All Elite Wrestling

Cody Rhodes: Goodwill Ambassador

When it comes to selecting a representative of your wrestling promotion, one would struggle to find a better candidate than Cody Rhodes. Articles highlighting Rhodes’ connection with fans are a regular occurrence online, demonstrating his commitment to his role as a leading name in WWE. Earlier this year, Rhodes got up close and personal with a visually impaired fan at a WWE event who held a sign saying they were trying to see him. This heartwarming interaction came about mere weeks after Rhodes agreed to be the Best Man at a fan’s wedding. 

• Cody Rhodes Ensures Disabled Fan Attends Money in the Bank After Tickets Are Unfairly Revoked

AEW fans were surprised to see Ian Riccaboni on Collision this week. It was a nice change of pace, but there was a deeper reason for this behind the scenes.

Tony Schiavone, who is usually on the AEW Collision commentary table every week, had a big loss in his personal list. His dog passed away, so AEW arranged for Riccaboni to be there as a fill-in for the veteran play-by-play specialist.

Why Riccaboni was on AEW Collision

Ian Riccaboni was on AEW Collision this week, but it doesn’t appear that is a long-time change for the show. Tony Schiavone dealt with a big personal loss as his dog died, so that called for a change of plans for AEW.

During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained what happened. It turns out that Tony Schiavone was at Collision anyway, but Riccaboni was brought in just in case.

“So, Ian Riccaboni was there. It’s not a permanent move for him to be there. What happened was, Tony Schiavone’s dog died, and best wishes to Tony Schiavone, really, really hard day for him, but he came, he was there. They didn’t know, but he was there. Tony could have certainly taken the day off and, you know, there would have been no heat. Because of that, they brought Ian up there.”

Meltzer went on to say that, “if Tony didn’t want to work, then Ian would be there, and lead the show.”

https://twitter.com/AEW_Blog/status/1774251113677570510

Kevin Kelly’s AEW Release

Kevin Kelly was released from AEW, but Ian Riccaboni will not be his full-time replacement. He only worked Collision this week because of Tony Schiavone, who is dealing with a terrible personal loss.

Kelly Kelly’s posts on social media several weeks ago cost him his job with AEW. In those posts, he also shaded Ian Riccaboni as he claimed his career was being sabotaged.

Our thoughts are with Tony Schiavone as he deals with the terrible person loss of losing a pet. They call dogs man’s best friend for a reason, and we hope that he can find peace through this difficult time.

Kevin Kelly wants to give back to the wrestling business after an abrupt exit from All Elite Wrestling. The former AEW commentator was let go on March 8. 

AEW has not publicly addressed the reason for his release, but it occurred just days after some controversial social media activity. While he remains a free agent, Kevin Kelly will host a virtual workshop for wrestlers and sports broadcasters.

Starting in mid-April, I’ll be teaching virtual classes for wrestlers who want to improve their promo abilities and announcers from all sports who want to take their broadcasting career to the next level,” wrote Kelly on X.

Kelly shared his email so that people interested could gain more information about the group courses and individual training. 

The opportunity may be attractive to many, as Kelly has valuable knowledge of working in wrestling. Fans may recall his successful tenures with WWE, Ring of Honor, and New Japan Pro Wrestling before joining AEW. His broadcasting experience may also be helpful for people trying to work outside of wrestling in other forms of media. 

Positive Reactions To Kevin Kelly’s Next Career Plan

The reaction to Kelly’s announcement has been positive, with other wrestlers sharing their experiences attending his classes. Independent wrestling star Anthony Greene was among those who reacted to Kelly’s new plans on Twitter and recommended learning from him. 

“As someone who has done multiple courses with Kevin. I can vouch that this is definitely worth your time and money,” wrote Greene.

Another independent wrestling talent, Keith Youngblood, approved Kelly’s teaching on Twitter. 

“I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar with Mr. Kelly when
@MattTaven
had his school in RI years ago.
One of my favorites to date. Incredibly informative and fun! Take advantage of this opportunity if you can,” wrote Youngblood.

It’s unclear how much it will cost to attend a class with Kelly. However, the positive responses and his career background could make it appealing to those looking to advance their wrestling and media careers.  

Announcer Kevin Kelly has been fired by All Elite Wrestling following a series of tweets in which he shared frustrations within the company. 

This news, as first reported by PWTorch, comes shortly after wrestling fans noticed that his profile was was removed from the roster page of the AEW website.

Kelly was absent from Thursday’s AEW Collision tapings from Atlanta, which was another ominous sign about his ‘All Elite’ status. Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuiness called the action for the show, which airs Saturday night on TNT.

Kelly’s Twitter Outburst

Kelly Kelly’s posts on social media last weekend cost him his job, sources confirmed.  The commentator gained attention for his series of tweets in which he claimed his career was being sabotaged. 

He added that ROH announced Ian Riccaboni had libeled him and that he was being “pushed aside” in Tony Khan’s promotion.

You can read all about the ‘Twitter meltdown’ that precipitated the end of his stint working for Tony Khan:

Kevin Kelly

Kelly was brought to AEW last year to serve as the lead commentator for AEW Collision. His start in the company did not go well as he came across as being unfamiliar with AEW’s product and the history of the wrestlers. Within months of his arrival on Collision, Tony Schiavone was brought in to serve as lead play-by-play commentator though Kelly would remain at the desk. 

Outside of AEW, Kevin Kelly worked for WWE from 1996 to 2003 and was present for the infamous ‘Pillman’s Got A Gun’ segment that nearly saw Monday Night Raw thrown off the air. Later on, he would be the subject of ridicule from The Rock and has been critical of the company’s corporate policies and creative direction since his release. 

He is also known for his work in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. His time with both of these promotions earned him a lot of favor prior to his signing with AEW last year.

Fans tuning into this week’s Collision will not be greeted by Kevin Kelly in the latest development in his issues with AEW. 

Earlier this week, Kelly took to social media to claim that he was being sabotaged within the promotion. Kelly added that in AEW he is being “pushed aside” but that nobody is better than him as a broadcaster.

The veteran broadcaster added that he had been libelled by ‘Ian’, believed to be Ian Riccaboni, a broadcaster for AEW, ROH, and New Japan Pro Wrestling. He later stated that Ian’s attempts to tie Kelly to a”fringe conspiracy theory that everyone knows is bullsh*t” was libellous. 

Missing AEW Collision

Following his comments on social media, Kevin Kelly was removed from AEW’s roster section of its website. Many have taken this as a sign that his time with the company is ending, if it hasn’t already. 

Now, there has been another sign of Kelly’s exit from the company. This week’s episode of AEW Collision was filmed following this past Wednesday’s live edition of Dynamite. Kelly did not appear at the Collision taping, leaving Nigel McGuinness and Tony Schiavone to call the action as a duo. This is particularly alarming given that Kelly was hired to AEW last year with the explicit reason being for him to commentate on Collision. 

Kevin Kelly

Outside of AEW, Kevin Kelly worked for WWE from 1996 to 2003 and was present for the infamous ‘Pillman’s Got A Gun’ segment that nearly saw Monday Night Raw thrown off the air. Later on, he would be the subject of ridicule from The Rock and has been critical of the company’s corporate policies and creative direction since his release. He is also known for his work in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. 

AEW just had a successful season premiere for Dynamite. They are also bringing in some big names, but it seems that one notable member of the crew is no longer around. Kevin Kelly is no longer listed on the company’s roster.

All Elite Wrestling and one of its announcers seem to have parted ways. This comes not too long after Kevin Kelly went on an unhinged rant on Twitter/X about how he was being sabotaged in the company.

Kevin Kelly’s AEW Status

Fans noticed on Thursday that Kevin Kelly is absent from the AEW roster page. While this could potentially be an error on the promotion’s part, it suggests Kelly’s departure from the company.

It has not been 100% confirmed that he is gone from the company. That being said, being removed from their roster page was a pretty clear hint that this is the case.

Kevin Kelly has been removed from the AEW roster page. We're working to find out more

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 7, 2024

Kelly’s AEW Tenure

Kelly began his time with AEW last June as the lead play-by-play announcer for the Collision program on TNT, alongside Nigel McGuinness. He remained a fixture on the program until recently, although he was notably absent from last Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view.

Before joining AEW, Kelly served as a backstage interviewer for WWE before transitioning to announcing roles for ROH and later NJPW.

Kevin Kelly has been associated with several wrestling promotions, including WWE, ROH, and NJPW. His recent replacement on AEW commentary has led to controversy, with Kelly expressing dissatisfaction and pointing fingers at a specific individual.

Kevin Kelly’s Recent Controversy

Just days ago, Kevin Kelly took to Twitter/X to vent his frustration about being sidelined yet again. In a series of intense posts, he made his displeasure clear.

In that rant, he shoveled a lot of shade on Ian Riccaboni as he said, “When you go out of your way to intentionally mischaracterize my raising awareness of the global horrors of child trafficking to a fringe conspiracy theory that everyone knows is bullsh*t in order to hurt my career and standing in the industry, that at the very least is libelous.”

Kevin Kelly is recognized for his involvement with various wrestling promotions such as WWE, ROH, and NJPW. He recently sparked controversy through a series of posts following his replacement on AEW commentary. Needless to say, he’s not happy about how things went down, and he’s blaming someone very particular for this.

Kelly expressed frustration at being sidelined once more. He did so on Twitter/X, where he sent out some rather unhinged posts.

Kevin Kelly’s Twitter Rant

In his Twitter outburst, Kelly voiced feeling undervalued by AEW, linking his absence from Collision commentary to what he perceived as defamatory remarks made by Ian Riccaboni.

This all started when one fan tweeted out to say to Kevin, “I have always appreciated the lengths you go to to give a history and background of a match. Why are these two fighting? I feel sometimes that is lost by some of your brethren. You literally got me into NJ because you took the time to setup matches for someone who was new.” Kevin then said that he loves to do this for AEW, but he then had a follow-up post that raised eyebrows.

Kevin stated, “But the idea of what I bring to the table is lost there because Ian libeled me. So I sit on the bench, valued by my peers, waiting to get my number called.”

But the idea of what I bring to the table is lost there because Ian libeled me. So I sit on the bench, valued by my peers, waiting to get my number called.

— Kevin Kelly (@realkevinkelly) March 2, 2024

Additionally, Kelly asserted his abilities as a commentator, urging fans to seek confirmation from industry insiders: “I keep asking why but get pushed aside. It’s ok because there is no one better than me. Ask the ones that know and they’ll tell you.”

“Someone’s gonna be tweet deleting later,” one fan wrote.

Kevin responded promptly: “Why delete the truth? And who are you?” Undeterred, the fan fired back: “People delete tweets stirring up drama at their workplace when it’s not worth it!”

But Kevin stood his ground: “It’s worth it. I’m pushing for action and conversation regarding what happened.”

I keep asking why but get pushed aside. It’s ok because there is no one better than me. Ask the ones that know and they’ll tell you.

— Kevin Kelly (@realkevinkelly) March 2, 2024

Then, another user chimed in with a more pointed critique: “Kevin, a lot of things about how you handled this are baffling, but the most annoying is that you haven’t said which of Ian’s comments are libel. Can you at least clarify that? Because the ones I saw all pertain to statements you’ve made publicly, all which can be verified.”

Kevin took a moment to respond: “When you go out of your way to intentionally mischaracterize my raising awareness of the global horrors of child trafficking to a fringe conspiracy theory that everyone knows is bullsh*t in order to hurt my career and standing in the industry, that at the very least is libelous.”

When you go out of your way to intentionally mischaracterize my raising awareness of the global horrors of child trafficking to a fringe conspiracy theory that everyone knows is bullshit in order to hurt my career and standing in the industry, that at the very least is libelous

— Kevin Kelly (@realkevinkelly) March 2, 2024

What’s Next

We will have to see what happens in this situation. We did not have Kevin Kelly going on a rant on the morning of AEW Revolution on our bingo card, but then again, you never know what can happen in the pro wrestling world.

You can check out the AEW Revolution 2024 card below. We will have more updates as they are made available here at SEScoops.

American eXcellence Wrestling will launch in 2023. Former WWE announcer and current NJPW commentator, Kevin Kelly announced its launch on Sunday via Twitter.

The promotion’s inaugural event takes place just three days after Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 7 in Hamburg, Pennsylvania at the historic Hamburg Field House.

Kelly confirmed that the has a financial stake in the promotion. He also said that he hopes to do some podcasts about the promotion and how it came about, but mentioned the possibility explaining it in a Facebook video. He did reveal a little bit of why he wanted to start AXW including the “history of the building, Ron Fuller Welch and his Studcast inspired me to put on my ‘promoter hat’. My Sales experience, leading a team of entrepreneurs who love wrestling, will help.”

Kevin Kelly Offers Details on AXW

Kelly has been offering a few details about American eXcellence Wresting on Twitter. First and foremost, it is AXW and not AEW “so we don’t get sued.”

The shows are live event only for now and Kelly will not be doing commentary for AXW. He did hint at the possibility “when things get cranked up.”

Hamburg Field House was home to the WWWF in the 1970s and 1980s. Kelly noted that the original lights hung by Vince McMahon, Sr. are still in use.

NWA referee, Jarrod Fritz has confirmed his involvement in the promotion. Fritz has also worked shows with NJPW Strong and Premiere Wrestling Experience (PWX) in Charlotte, NC, where Kelly has done some commentary work in the past.

Tickets for the first show are available at http://AXWTIX.COM.

• Former WWE Star Appears at the Performance Center This Week

New Japan Pro Wrestling commentator Kevin Kelly recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio. NJPW will be holding their Wrestle Kingdom 15 shows this week, with the traditional January 4th plus the 5th being the dates in the Tokyo Dome.

With the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions there have been questions as to whether Wrestle Kingdom will be able to go ahead. Kevin Kelly would confirm that the shows will go ahead, even if Japan calls a state of emergency in the country.

“It’s not going to affect the event itself. Wrestle Kingdom will happen regardless if Japan calls a state of emergency” Kelly confirmed. “The only question will be if fans are allowed to attend. So, there was already going to be a limited number and we haven’t heard today what is the latest [regarding attendance]. Best case scenario? It happens with limited fans, and worse case? It happens but with no fans in attendance.”

Wrestle Kingdom Won’t Be Canceled

Kelly continued, “The government is shut down and won’t re-open until the 5th. I think that they might put more restrictions on restaurants and bars? But they’ve already got it capped so low. There hasn’t been one case, thank god, of COVID that has been attributed to any New Japan event. They know exactly who has attended a New Japan event and whether or not they’ve gotten sick, and no one has been so far.”

At the time of writing there has been no official update regarding fans in attendance at Wrestle Kingdom.

Wrestle Kingdom 15 is available to watch on NJPWWorld and FITE TV. You can order the two nights of the show at a discount via FITE TV here.

• Kazuchika Okada Proposes Super Show With NJPW, AEW, WWE & More

Are you watching Wrestle Kingdom 15 on the 4th and 5th? What matches are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments

As Jim Ross’s contract with AXS TV comes to a close at the end of the year, AXS TV has announced that they will begin airing same-week coverage of NJPW events in 2019.

On this week’s Jim Ross Report, Ross congratulated Kevin Kelly and Don Callis on being named the new AXS TV broadcast team for NJPW, replacing himself and Josh Barnett.
Ross had nothing but kind words for the duo.

“Of course, congratulations to Kevin Kelly and Don Callis. They’ll do a good job, no doubt about it.”

AXS’s press release does not make clear whether or not Kelly and Callis will record specialized audio for the events, as Ross and Barnett have. Ross indicated Kelly and Callis will be using their audio from the original NJPW World live broadcasts.

Perhaps as a nod to criticism of not always being as knowledgeable of the NJPW product as fans might expect from a play-by-play announcer, Ross says that won’t be an issue with Kelly and Callis.

“They’re both conscientious guys, smart guys, and they know the brand very, very well,” Ross said. “Product knowledge is the key to what you’re doing.”

Ross began calling NJPW events for AXS in March 2016. His final show with the network should air on Friday, December 28.

The full episode of The Jim Ross Report can be found below. When referencing this transcript, please credit SEScoops.com. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

?@davemeltzerWON? convo#LarryMatysik#Announcing#Creative

?@BeckyLynchWWE? ?@MsCharlotteWWE?
?@WWEAsuka?

SlobberKnocker Audio Awaits! ?

Pet Coon Goofy Award! https://t.co/RlgDtHP7Rw

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) November 30, 2018

New Japan Pro Wrestling is increasing the amount of English content on their streaming service, NJPWWorld.com. The promotion recently announced they have recorded English commentary over several classic matches.

NJPW English Commentary On Classic Matches

Here is the lineup of classic NJPW matches now available with English commentary from Kevin Kelly.

• Andre the Giant vs Antonio Inoki (October 7th, 1976)
• Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen (May 18th, 1979)
• Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen (June 5th, 1980)
• Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant (May 27th, 1983)
• Cobra vs Davey Boy Smith (May 11th 1983)
• Seiji Sakaguchi & Kengo Kimura vs Dick Murdoch & Ed Leslie (March 16th, 1984)
• Antonio Inoki vs Big Van Vader (February 7th, 1988)
• Black Tiger vs Owen Hart (January 25th, 1990)
• Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs the Road Warriors (July 22nd, 1990)
• Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs Dave Finlay (February 5th, 1991)
• The Great Oz (Kevin Nash) vs Hashimoto Shinya (May 17th, 1992)
• Masahiro Chono vs Rick Rude (August 12th, 1992)
• The Road Warriors vs The Steiner Brothers (January 4th, 1993)
• Hulk Hogan & the Great Muta vs The Hellraisers (September 23rd, 1993)
• Antonio Inoki vs Sting (January 4th, 1995)
• Keiji Mutoh vs Ric Flair (August 13th, 1995)
• Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs Koji Kanemoto & Chris Jericho (January 29th, 1997)
• El Samurai & Scotty Riggs vs Marcus Bagwell & Hiro Saito (February 9th, 1997)
• El Samurai vs Chris Jericho (May 25th, 1997)

NJPW broadcaster, Kevin Kelly, hasn’t been too kind on Bullet Club’s Firing Squad. Tama Tonga decided to respond to Kelly’s commentary following today’s NJPW Destruction in Hiroshima event.

“Hey, let get’s something straight, I didn’t come at anybody sideways,” Tonga said. “I came at them straight, straightforward after they started with me.”

Tama Tonga Sends Message To Kevin Kelly

Get your shit straight @realkevinkelly pic.twitter.com/Mcwby6N4wa

— Tama Tonga (@Tama_Tonga) September 15, 2018

“Roman started with me. Cody started with me. Brandi started with me and I just finish em, that’s it,” Tonga continued. “I mind my own damn business. And everybody who started with me should learn that same lesson: mind your own damn business.”

Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and “Bone Soldier” Taiji Ishimori defeated David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Ryusuke Taguchi today to retain their 6-Man Tag-Team Championships. Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga will challenge the Young Bucks for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships on September 30th in Long Beach.

Also in regards to Bullet Club’s Firing Squad, the faction has announced they are recruiting. They asked their followers on Instagram and Twitter to suggest possible new members.

Bullet Club Elite’s Cody responded, “Ummm we’re good here guys. We’ve got the best wrestlers in the world, a badass queen, a crazy actor, we’ve even got a dog…”

Cody will challenge Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States Championship on NJPW’s Long Beach show as well.

“But yea I’m sure folks are chomping at the bit to join you and Mr Juicy’s bullet club?” Cody’s Tweet continued. “Go to NXT already please, nobody gives a shit.”

New Japan Pro Wrestling commentator Kevin Kelly was recently in the UK for a run of Revolution Pro television tapings. The longtime play by play announcer will be joining Andy Boy Simmons when Rev Pro hits FreeSports later this month.

Kelly recently took to Twitter to heap praise on a certain star from the UK scene. El Phantasmo has been making waves on British shores over the past year and this culminated in a British J Cup win for the Canadian born star.

The New Japan commentator stated “Congratulations to @elpwrestling for all his success this week at @RevProUK events. Top guy and going to get even toppier?… wait, that’s not even a thing. Trust me, El Phantasmo is great!“

Phantasmo has been performing for the likes of PROGRESS, Fight Club: Pro, DEFIANT, ATTACK!, Southside and Wrestling League. If you have not seen the high flying star then check out some of the on demand services from the aforementioned companies. Kelly may well be calling some of Phantasmo’s action in New Japan sometime soon.

Congratulations to @elpwrestling for all his success this week at @RevProUK events. Top guy and going to get even toppier?… wait, that's not even a thing. Trust me, El Phantasmo is great!

— Kevin Kelly (@realkevinkelly) September 10, 2018

Kevin Kelly touched on an interesting topic during a recent interview about what some will say is becoming an issue within the pro wrestling world.

The NJPW announcer spoke with Sporting News to talk about various topics including if there a concern of the danger level rising in matches especially within NJPW due to their strong style mentality.

Kelly would note that it’s a fear and something to keep an eye on. He did bring up the fact that some could question from a fans’ perspective if it’s a let down because we’re prisoners of the moment and the snap reaction was that last year’s G1 was the greatest of all-time.

“People would say that after each night. How could tomorrow top it? It just does. Hopefully, that comes from not how high we can jump off of something. What story can we tell that’s unique, that hasn’t been told before, and will never be told again.”

Kelly called the classic title match between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega at Dominion and when asked about it, the NJPW announcer gave some insight by stating that they knew at that moment that everyone was witnessing history. He pointed out that in the last minute of the match, he knew right then and there that they were seeing one of the greatest matches of all time.

“This was just the beginning of the final scene. Sure enough, it was. Omega gets up, hits the ropes, V-Trigger, One-Winged Angel, and we’ve got a new champ. I wanted to jump up and scream. I wanted to applaud.”

What are your thoughts on Kelly’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.

Kevin Kelly is leaving his full-time position with Ring of Honor in order to free-up his schedule for other projects, namely NJPW. While Kelly has given his notice to the company, it does not necessarily mean he is done as a broadcaster with ROH. It is believed he intends to work on more of a freelance basis, which would include calling shows for both ROH and NJPW.

Ring of Honor has recently lost two members of their broadcast team, Nigel McGuinness and Steve Corino, to WWE. McGuinness recently replaced Corey Graves on NXT, and was also an announcer for the company’s recent UK tournament. Corino is working as a trainer in developmental.

In addition to working for ROH since since 2010, Kelly was a broadcaster with the WWE from 1996-2003.

ROH and NJPW Joint Shows

Kevin Kelly will be flying to Japan shortly to team with new NJPW broadcast partner Don “Cyrus” Callis, for the company’s event on February 5th 2017. Ring of Honor will also be heading to Japan later this month for their second annual “Honor Rising” shows at Korakuen Hall. It is assumed at this point that Kevin Kelly will still be on commentary for those shows.

At last year’s ROH Korakuen Hall shows Roderick Strong lost the ROH TV title to Tomohiro Ishii on night 1. Then on night 2 last year Jay Lethal successfully defended the ROH Championship against Tomaki Honma.

?????ROH????????????????2??
??“?????”????????????
“?????”?????????????
2?26?????27???????2???https://t.co/8MvebgO27v #njroh #njpw #ROH pic.twitter.com/ZhBWyim4Le

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) February 3, 2017

New Japan have announced that 14 events will feature an English commentary stream alongside their main Japanese broadcast in 2017. This is a big step in securing a more global reach for the NJPW World service.

The team for these events has not yet been revealed however it is expected that Ring Of Honor play by play commentator Kevin Kelly will again be in the booth for these shows.

The lineup is as follows:

• New Beginning in Sapporo – February 5th
• New Beginning in Osaka – February 11th
• ’45th Anniversary Event’ – March 6th
• New Japan Cup Finals – March 20th
• Sakura Genesis (Invasion Attack) – 9th April
• Wrestling Dontaku – 3rd May
• Best of the Super Juniors Finals – 3rd June
• Dominion – 11th June
• G1 Climax US Specials – 1st/2nd July
• G1 Climax Opener – 17th July
• G1 Climax Finals – 11th/13th August

DISCUSSION: Are you more likely to watch these events with the English language stream? Let us know in the comments section below.

The final three G1 Climax events take place over this weekend and New Japan World will have an English commentary stream available as an alternative option.

These events will see a three man booth of Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino and Special Guest Rocky Romero.

#g126 Tune into the English commentary feed @njpwworld with ME! …………And @KINGCorino @realkevinkelly pic.twitter.com/KEvCRCe9Pb

— ROCKY ROMERO?? ?? ?? ??“Chico El Luchador” (@azucarRoc) August 11, 2016

New Japan have also announced that the New Japan World service is now available on a monthly subscription to Paypal users, the service was previously only available to credit card holders, more information can be found through the following tweets:

English contents is now available!
SUBSCRIBE&WATCH? https://t.co/oDGqT4lPZP#njpwworld #njpw #g126 pic.twitter.com/fSHFs2XnzK

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) August 10, 2016

PayPal has been accepted! Welcome new subscribers from all over the world! /
???????????????#njpw #g126 #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/zigwHCIGb9

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 20, 2016

BOSJ June 6, 2016 from Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi, Japan

• Beretta defeated Jushin Thunder Liger (Block B)
• Bobby Fish defeated Tiger Mask IV by submission (Block B)
• Chase Owens defeated Ricochet (Block B)
• Will Ospreay defeated Volador Jr. (Block B) – Ospreay wins Block B and advances to the finals
• Evil, Sanada, Naito (Los Ingobernables) defeated Yoshi-Hashi, Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada (Chaos)
• Rocky Romero defeated Kyle O’Reilly (Block A)
• Matt Sydal defeated David Finlay (Block A)
• Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Gedo (Block A) – Taguchi wins Block A and advances to the finals
• Bushi defeated Kushida (Block A)

Will Ospreay and Ryusuke Taguchi will face off in the finals of the NJPW BOSJ 2016 tournament, tomorrow June 7 at 5:30 a.m. EST, from Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi, Japan, which can be seen live on njpwworld.com including English commentary from Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.

Kevin Kelly and Mandy Leon introduce the show. KK says, “Over the next 60 minutes, we will count you down and get you set for Global Wars, Sunday May 8th. Tonight’s ROH TV is a special Global Wars preview edition.”

Bobby Fish vs Tomohiro Ishii (c) (ROH World Television Championship)

We cut to footage of a match between Bobby Fish against Roderick Strong. Strong taps out, Fish thinks he won and celebrates. Fish climbs back down off the turnbuckle, asks Todd Sinclair what happened, and then Strong hits the running knee, cover, and scores the victory.

We see backstage footage from Episode 239, of Fish heckling Strong backstage before facing Tomohiro Ishii.

Next, footage from Ishii vs. Strong, Ishii hits the ropes and nails are running lariat, and Strong kicks out. Choshu-style lariat, goes for the sliding lariat misses, Roderick lands 2 jumping knees, forearm, headbutt, back elbow, and then a headbutt by Ishii knocks Strong to the mat. Ishii hits the sliding lariat, stacks up Strong for the pin, but Strong kicks out. Ishii nails a stalling vertical brainbuster on Strong, cover, and becomes the new ROH World Television Champion.

Next KK says, “All three competitors would head to Vegas for the ROH 14 Anniversary show, to compete in a 3-way match for the ROH World Television Title,” and we see footage from the match. Ishii hits a sliding Lariat, but Strong kicks out and then Ishii hits a vertical drop brainbuster, gets the pinfall, and records his second win in the row. After the match, Fish gets in the ring, which has led us up to Texas, where Fish and Ishii faced off in a 2-out-of-3 falls match.

Fish throws Strong back into the ring, Strong pushes ref out of the way, and run hits a jumping knee, and then nails flipping backbreaker The End Of Heartache and scores the 1st fall. Later in the match, Fish gets the 2nd fall on a quick roll up in the corner. We pick up action, moments later, with the match tied at 2, Strong with a knife edge chop, Fish with a kick, then they exchange forearms, Fish gets 2 kicks, then Strong fights with forearms, back elbow, Fish goes for a kick, Strong catches him, and then Fish gets a heel hook and strong taps out.

This feud continues at Global Wars, Fish vs. Ishii, and we go to commercial.

Kyle O’Reilly vs IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito (Non-Title)

When we return, Mandy Leon tells us, “O’Reilly has kind of had a tough the last couple of months.” KK explains, “When Adam Cole derailed O’Reilly’s title shot, it all came to a head at SuperCard of Honor in Dallas, Texas,” and we cut to footage from that match.

Both men are on the top turnbuckle, O’Reilly with punches to Cole’s head, and then O’Reilly suplexes Cole through the table in the middle of the ring. The referee counts to 6 as both men are incapacitated, O’Reilly crawls over, puts his arm across Cole, but Cole kicks out. Later in the match, 2 chairs are set up in the ring, O’Reilly with a kick to the chest, Cole gives him the double bird, O’Reilly with kicks to the head and then Cole sits down on the chair. Cole stands up and fights out with elbows and O’Reilly sits on the other chair. They exchange forearms, until both men sit down in the chairs. They grab each other by the head and both land close-handed shots, Cole with a kick the leg, goes for a kick to the gut, but O’Reilly catches him and lands a vertical brainbuster. O’Reilly gets mad and throws the chair out of the ring, grabs the steel chain that is hooked to the rope, ties Cole up with the chain, and then locks in a cross armbreaker. The harder O’Reilly pulls on the arm, the more he strangling Adam Cole with the chain, Cole starts to make it back to his feet, tries to pick up O’Reilly, but Cole passes out, O’Reilly wins.

KK informs us, “Since the loss in Dallas, no one has seen or heard from Adam Cole. O’Reilly is really in a dangerous state of mind right now,” and we go to commercial.

Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada & Moose W/ Gedo & Stokely Hathaway

KK tells us, “Stokely Hathaway was the one who announced this matchup in Dallas.” and we cut to Stokely’s in-ring promo from Supercard of Honor X.  KK reminds us, “While Moose and Okada might seem like a very unlikely pairing, Vegas is where Moose earned the respect of The Rainmaker, and we cut to footage for the ROH 14th Anniversary Show.

Okada with 3 forearms, Moose with a big right hand, Okada with 2 forearms and then an uppercut, Moose with an open-handed shot, Moose punch, and then an uppercut. Moose hits the ropes, Okada ducks, picks him up, reverse piledriver on the knee, cover, kickout. Okada climbs to the top rope and connect with an elbow, calls for The Rainmaker as the camera pans out. Okada goes for The Rainmaker, but Moose ducks, runs up to the turnbuckle ropes, and hits a flying crossbody. Okada is slow to get up, Moose sets up for the spear, Okada jumps over, ducks a clothesline, misses The Rainmaker again, Moose spins around, and then a jumping dropkick sends Moose off the ropes, Okada nails a second drop, kick, picks Moose up and finally nails The Rainmaker for the win.

KK says, “Okada and Moose will face Elgin and Tanahashi who have been solidifying their tag team partnership in New Japan”, and we go to commercial.

Alex Shelley/Chris Sabin/Matt Sydal/Kushida vs Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)/Guerrilas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa)

KK says, “To get an idea of the insanity you’ll see in the 8-man tag team match at Global Wars, we go back to the ROH 14th Anniversary, where the 6-man tag-team match stole the show.”

Omega runs into the corner, Matt runs into the corner, Matt drapes Sydal across the second rope, and Nick hits a swanton. Omega hits a double underhook suplex, Sydal stands up slowly and gets SUPERKICKED by all 3 members of The Elite. Omega stacks him up for the pin, but ACH comes in to break it up.  Elite throw a ACH out of the ring, Omega points, Mr. Wrestling 3 says, “They name this move after Tiger Hattori, and he’s not very happy about it.” Fireman’s carry roll over, but Sydal gets out, Nick misses and then a top rope suplex by Sydal on Matt. Then Kushida and ACH with double moonsault, 1 off the top rope, 1 standing. Nick comes into break up the pin attempt, Omega gets thrown to the outside, Kushida leaps over but Omega catches him, sets him up for the piledriver. Sydal is conflicted about what to do, but can only watch as Kushida gets nailed with a piledriver on the floor. Nick kicks Sydal off the ropes, spikes him on his head, and Nick runs over and kicks ACH. All 3 members of The Elite have Sydal alone in the ring, 5-star Meltzer Driver turns Sydal inside out, and then Omega hits the One Winged Angel, and covers for the victory.

Mandy Leon says, “Wild, Kevin. That was only 6 men, imagine adding in 2 more guys at Global Wars,” and we go to commercial.

Mark & Jay Briscoe vs War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson) (c) ROH World Tag Team Championship

KK tells us, “War Machine is coming off recent successful tag team defenses against Roppongi Vice and the All Night Express, but attitudes have been boiling over with the Briscoes.” Footage is shown from Episode 236 of the Briscoes picking up War Machine’s belts. Mandy Leon tells us, “This feud dates back many years, but was on temporary hiatus when Raymond Rowe suffered a life-threatening motorcycle accident.” KK reminds us, “War Machine have never been able to beat the Briscoes, and Hanson and Rowe have said themselves, they will never consider themselves to be the number one team until they beat the Briscoes.”

Footage from Conquest Tour is shown, Jay with punch, uppercut, kick but Rowe takes control and goes for the Fallout. MW3 reminds us, “Jay Briscoe hasn’t been pinned in over two-and-a-half years.” Jay gets out, back elbows, picks Rowe up into a fireman’s carry, Rowe fights out with back elbows, Jay turns around with a forearm, picks him up in the execution chair for the Doomsday Device, but Hanson knocks Mark off the apron. WM throw Jay up with a double chokeslam, cover, but Jay kicks out. Rowe with forearms on the outside to Mark, Mark picks up Rowe, and sends him into the steel barricade. Hanson nails a sit down splash in the corner, Mark comes off the top rope, but gets power slammed, and then Hanson picks up his partner Rowe and drops him on Mark. WM goes for Fallout, but Jay gets out, and runs Rowe into Hanson, clubbing blow to the back, picks him up on his shoulders, and then Mark comes off the top rope for Doomsday Device. Mark with a running neck breaker off the apron on Rowe, Jay is left alone in the ring with Hanson. Hanson with the Mongolian shop, goes for the deadlift brainbuster, but Jay wiggles out and nails the Jay Driller on Hanson, cover, but Hanson kicks out. Jay gets back up and hits to 3 running boots to Hanson, nails him with a second Jay Driller, cover, and the Briscoes win.

And then we see the Briscoes promo from Episode 237, “talking ‘bout you ain’t never beat us, it’s been 3 long years since Dem Boys held them titles.”

Other schedules action at Global Wars include…

• Jushin Liger & Cheeseburger vs The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)
• Roderick Strong vs Adam Page vs Dalton Castle vs ACH – #1 Contender’s Match for the ROH Television Championship
• Kelly Klein vs Crazy Mary Dobson – Dark Match – Women of Honor
  
• Also scheduled to appear: The All Night Express, Kenny King and Rhett Titus

Mandy Leon says, “When we return, we will look at, some say the long-overdue return have an ROH pioneer.” And we cut to commercial.

Colt Cabana vs Jay Lethal (c) w/ Taeler Hendrix ROH World Championship

After the break, we see the video package from Episode 241, summarizing the confrontation between Colt Cabana and Jay Lethal at Supercard of Honor X.

KK tells us, “Cabana has a luxurious career in ROH, he was ROH Tag Team Champion with CM Punk, held victories over Kevin Steen, and now has the opportunity to make a name for himself with newer ROH fans. Let’s take you back to 2005, Cabana faced his best friend CM Punk at Final Chapter.

They hit the ropes, Punk with an arm drag, headscissors by Cabana, Punk flips to his feet from his backside, Cabana drops into the mat, jump over, Punk goes for a monkey flip, but Cabana stomps him in the face. Punk gets back up, slaps him in the chest, and yells at him. We are reminded that Cabana is always funny, CM Punk is always serious. Cabana with a headlock, both of them run the ropes, Cabanas stops and says, “Look up. There there’s a bear up there.” Punk says no. Cabana says, “If you won’t look up, then look down,” and stomps on his foot. Later in the match, Cabana is on the turnbuckle, knife edge chop by Punk, hurricanrana, roll thru, Boston crab by Cabana. Referee is checking on Punk’s condition, Punk finds the ropes. The match is a 2-out-of-3 falls, tied at 1 fall a piece. Cabana with 2 uppercuts, Punk with 2 forearms, whip reversal off the ropes, and then CM Punk with a reverse hurricanrana spiking Cabana on his head, and we go to commercial.

When we return, Cabana is on the map, Punk first to his feet, slaps him in the face, back elbow kick, goes off the ropes, shining wizard from a standing position, cover, kick out. Punk climbs to the top turnbuckle, Cabana catches him, and then an inverted DDT off the top rope. But Cabana is worn down not, able to follow up. (Todd Sinclair was still calling the action way back then!) Whip reversal, Punk grabs the arm for the Anaconda Device on Cabana, but Cabana gets his foot on the ropes. Punk calls for the Pepsi Plunge, slams Cabanas head into the turnbuckle, climbs the ropes, hooks the arms butterfly-style but Cabana fights out, fireman’s carry by Cabana and then a Samoan drop off the top rope. CM Punk with a quick roll-up, crucifix pin attempt, but only gets 2 on Cabana. Both men get back to a standing position, exchange close handed strikes. Punk yells, “Come on Cabana!” and they keep exchanging close handed strikes, Punk hits 3 kicks to the back of the knee, a kick to the chest, runs the ropes, and connect with a kick to the head, cover, but Cabana grabs the ropes. Punk goes for a vertical suplex, Cabana reverses pin attempt, roll through pin attempt, another reversal, 1-2-3 and Cabana beats CM Punk.

KK tells us, “That was Chicago 11 years ago. 11 years later, Colt Cabana will challenge Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship May 8th on Global Wars,” and the show ends.

Welcome to another edition of Ring of Honor, Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce us to the Honor Rising events taped back in February from Korakuen Hall. KK tells us that Korakuen Hall was built in 1962 and has housed every great pro wrestler throughout the years.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Moose and Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale, Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) (8 man tag team match)

Moose comes down to the ring, making his New Japan debut. Next out is Big Mike, KK says, “Moose wants to be where unbreakable Michael Elgin is, a former ROH World Champion, a great pro wrestler all around the globe.” MW3 says, “Seems like Elgin has found a new home here in NJPW.” Honma is third out, KK describes him as “the true underdog, what an overachiever he has been.” Finally, Tanahashi, MW3 describes him as, “the number 1 star of the last 10 years in NJPW,” KK asks, “Is he still the ace?” MW3 replies, “Absolutely.” KK informs us Tanahashi is nursing a shoulder injury caused by The Elite. MW3 says, “His shoulder is all taped up, but he can still play an air guitar. Now, all 4 members of Bullet Club, the more Japan-based members, walk down the aisle making their ROH TV debuts. MW3 reminds us, “2 second generation superstars in Tonga and Hall, Takahashi has basically renounced his Japanese citizenship, and Fale is a former rugby star. He is really the equivalent of Moose.”

Moose and Fale start it off. Both men hit the ropes, double shoulder block, and they stare at each other. Moose hits the ropes, another double shoulder block, and they stare at each other again. Fale hits the ropes, a third double shoulder block, and third stare down. Punch to the gut by Fale, forearm to the face, clubbing elbow to the back, hits the ropes, and then a standing dropkick by Moose. MW3 says Moose, “gave a little shimmy. That’s how babies are made.” Fale lands a knee to the midsection and tags in Tonga, Moose tags in Honma, Tonga hits a dropkick on Honma, and we go to commercial.

When we return, Tonga has Honma on the mat, Tonga goes for a jumping back elbow but misses, and Honma tags in Tanahashi. Double whip by Honma and Tanahashi off the ropes, double shoulder block on Tonga. Now everyone comes in, the faces clear the ring, and all 4 flex like Hulk Hogan. Tonga crawls back in, Tanahashi hits back elbow, 2 forearms, whip reversal, Takahashi kicks Tanahashi in the back. Now everybody brawls, the fight spills to the outside, Takahashi runs Tanahashi into the steel rail and then nails him with a chair, Hall knocks Honma down, Takahashi chokes Tanahashi with the chair, then crawls back in the ring, the ref starts the count, and Tanahashi gets back in at 16.

Fale tags in, stands on Tanahashi, picks him up by his neck, throws him into the corner, and tags in Hall. Hall enters by jump stomping over from the second rope as he does, back elbow, short arm shoulder tackle, short arm elbow, puts Tanahashi’s arm on the ropes, and then kicks him in the elbow, clubbing blows to the chest, pin attempt, but Tanahashi gets his foot on the ropes. MW3 tells us, “One of Hall’s best moves is the iron claw, very Kerry Von Erich-like.”

Hall tags in Tonga, 2 forearms to the jaw, whip reversal off the ropes, Tonga slides and skirts around on the mat, and then delivers a standing dropkick, steps on his face, tags in Takahashi. Tanahashi fights out with 3 elbows, Takahashi rakes the eyes, tries for a running boot, but Takahashi catches him and then a dragon screw leg sweep takes him to the mat.

Tanahashi gets the hot tag to Elgin, his tag team partner here in New Japan, and Elgin gets a lot of cheers from the crowd. He climbs to the top turnbuckle, flying shoulder on Takahashi, runs into the corner with an elbow, Irish whip reversal into the corner, German suplex, rolls through for a second one, but Tonga comes in and pulls Taka to safety. Elgin picks Tonga up in the air with a one handed overhead press, and we go to commercial.

After the break, Elgin picks up Takahashi into a stalling vertical brainbuster, Hall comes in and kicks Elgin in the gut, but Elgin does not break the hold, Hall pulls down Taka, clubs Elgin in the back, Bullet Club go for a double suplex, but Elgin reverses into a double suplex of his own. Elgin hits a deadlift German suplex on Takahashi, bridge cover, kick out. Takahashi with a kick to the gut, Elgin screams, standing switch, goes for suplex, Takahashi grabs the referee Tiger Hattori, and looks like Elgin’s going to suplex both of them, but the ref wiggles out, while Takahashi hits a low blow.

Moose and Hall in, Moose ducks a clothesline, hits his Moose punches, and then Hall with a fall away slam, stands up turns around and meets a lariat, cover, but Hall kicks out. Moose lines up for the spear, but Hall connects with a knee to the head, picks up Moose, tries for the Razor’s Edge, but Moose slides out, and then Hall hits a spinning lariat. Bullet Club comes in and takes out the faces, gut punches by Tonga, running boot by Takahashi, splash by Fale, a splash by Tonga, Hall nails a chokeslam, cover, kick out. Hall goes for the Razors Edge again, but Honma comes in and nails Hall with the Kokeshi, Takahashi with a fisherman’s buster, Elgin with a double suplex on Tonga and Takahashi, Tanahashi comes in with a running dropkick knocking Fale off the apron, and then Elgin throws his partner Tanahashi onto all three members of the Bullet Club. Moose is left alone in the ring with with Hall, Moose runs in with a splash, whip reversal, Moose runs to the top turnbuckle and lands a cross body slam. Moose nails Hall with the spear, and this one is over, 1-2-3.

Winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Moose and Tomoaki Honma

KK asks, “Can we say a star is born here at Korakuen?” MW3 responds, “I think he was a star already in Ring of Honor, but now he’s a star in the Land of the Rising Sun.” and it’s time for our sponsors.

After the break, we are shown a video package of Jay Lethal and Truth Martini walking around outside, Lethal says, “Tokyo, Japan. I can’t wait, I can’t wait to get one of those massages we talked about, right?” Martini replies, “Yeah yeah, and especially if we’re going to get one of those endings that are kind of happy.” Lethal pulls out some change, “I brought some money, I got some yen here, do you think this is enough to get a nice massage?” Martini says, “Champ, that’s not enough for the kind of ending I’m talking about.” And they laugh, Truth says, “Let’s go. I got it.”

KK talks about Leo Rush winning the Top Prospect Tournament by defeating Brian Fury and getting a shot at the ROH contract and a guaranteed shot at the ROH TV Championship. He tells us that match was scheduled to take place at SuperCard of Honor X in Dallas, Texas, but because ROH TV Champion Tomohiro Ishii had other commitments in Japan, Nigel McGuinness instead gave Rush the rare opportunity for a world title match in his first official ROH match, and we see the closing moments of that match.

Lethal is out cold, draped across the top turnbuckle, slap to the chest by Rush, Rush climbs up for a one-man Spanish fly that he calls Rush Hour, forearm, Lethal has his eyes closed, but out of nowhere, Lethal reverses and delivers a top rope cutter, then Lethal Injection, cover, and pin.

After the match, KK says ROH fans saw “the long-awaited, some say long-overdue return of a ROH pioneer.” Lethal is on the mic, “Someone go tell Nigel McGuinness, KK go tell him NM, JL said there’s nobody left. Do you hear me? There’s nobody left. This is ridiculous.” And Colt Cabana’s music hits. Cabana walks down the aisle, climbs in the ring, “You say that there’s nobody left JL, you say it now, you say it on TV, and it makes me think about myself, about my legacy, what I want to be remembered as. Sometimes you have to look yourself in the mirror, and know exactly what you want to be. I don’t, I don’t want to be known as somebody’s friend. I love what I’m doing, I love that I’m an independent wrestler, I love that I’m DIY, nobody owns me, nobody’s tells me what to do, JL. Everybody still wants to see me, Jay. I’m still booked, I’m still doing what I do, and you know who can’t fire, and you know who can’t reject me? These people. And I should have done it a long time, I should have been kicked out, I should have been gone, but the reality is I’m not, because they’re still chanting my name.” And the fans chant “Colt Cabana!”

Jay gets on the mic, “Woah woah woah woah, let me stop you right there, because the fact of the matter is, these people here can’t make you the greatest wrestler in the world. This does.” He holds up the title, “This does Colt, and I have it. In fact, you haven’t been here in 5 years. For 5 years, you’ve been avoiding this place, because you know I’m the greatest. For 5 years, you’ve traveled the world on small local indie shows in India, in Germany, all over the world, but you avoided this place for 5 years, because you know why, because I’m the greatest. But there’s another reason, and it’s because me and that entire locker room, and whether they believe it or not, they don’t want you here and neither do I.”

Cabana responds, “I like what I’m doing, I like going to India, I like going to Japan, I like going to Germany. I travel all over, and these people are from all over the world, and I don’t make them come to me. I have literally been to every single place, where everybody single person has been, so I can wrestle as an independent wrestler, Jay. It’s not cuz of the money and it’s not cuz of the TV, because when I look back on my career a long long time, and I won’t be able to live with myself unless I’m able to wear that around my waist.” He points at the ROH World Title.

KK tells us, “The world champion was furious. The following day, Lethal claimed that because of Cabana’s 5 year absence, he didn’t deserve a title shot. He went on to claim Cheeseburger as a more worthy challenger, and gave him a world title match on the spot. After the match, Cabana comes down to the ring, “You’re dressed and ready to go, I’m dressed and ready to go, the idea is, we do it right now. Truth might have said no, but the reality is you’re seg now, because you can’t call your own shots. Do you think you can beat me, because I don’t think you can beat me.” Lethal replies, “You want, you want a match right now damn it, you got it,” and Lethal punches him, they exchanged blows, fast forward to later in the match, kick by Lethal, small package roll up, and Cabana wins. KK informs us, “As a result of that impromptu match, live on Global Wars in his hometown of Chicago, IL, Colt Cabana returns to challenge for the one title that has eluded him his entire career. Cabana vs. Lethal for the ROH World Championship.” Commercial.

Martini and Lethal are outside the massage parlor door, “Champ, it’s time to get what you deserve.” Lethal replies, “I’m a little nervous there’s no pictures around. Seems a little shady,” “No, it’s alright, this is a special kind of place.” Lethal says, “I got the end you were talking about, I’m tired of talking,” and then Delirious comes out of the massage parlor. Martini says, “He looked pretty happy to me,” and they laugh. Back outside, Lethal says, “This is it, we came all this way? This is a great NJPW door? Look at that stupid picture by the awning. Where’s my picture? They have Okada up there? If you want a picture of the greatest wrestler in the world, where’s the picture of the ROH World Champion?” Martini says, “Think of it this way, we are overseas and if everybody doesn’t recognize you as the best, they are overseeing that you are the #1 wrestler in the world. That means we’re over, see?” Lethal says, “You know what, I’m just going to go break all of Okada’s stuff right now.” Martini replies, “Champ, hold on, give me one second, I gotta grab this real quick,” and then he bumps a vending machine and an item falls out. “It works every time,” Video of Jay Briscoe and Dalton Castle exploring Tokyo Dome City. Martini and Lethal are in a mask shop, Lethal says, “This is a pretty cool store, look it’s dedicated to everybody I beat. Look at this, I beat him twice, i definitely beat him, oh I remember beating him pretty badly.” And then we see Delirious’s head among the masks on the rack. Moose taking pictures. Lethal recaps, “Champ and Truth Martini, we got one of those happy massages, we destroyed some stuff in the New Japan store, and that’s what they get for not having my pictures in there. Look at this sign you can’t smoke here,” Martini replies, “Champ, I can’t read Japanese.” Roderick Strong and Mark eating. Martini looks at the no smoking sign with a line through it, says “They ruined a perfect picture of a cigarette.” Dalton Castle playing with cats.

Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (Bullet Club) vs The Briscoes

MW3 says, “You have the Multi time IWGP Tag Team Champions, Machine Guns, against the greatest tag team in ROH history, The Briscoes. They got their work cut out for them here tonight. But Gallows and Anderson know Japan, they’ve been here a long time.” Anderson says, “Look, this is my hot Asian wife, here in the front row.” MW3, “Of course, that is Karl Anderson’s hot Asian wife, as he says.” Gallows has on a mask and face paint and a singlet that says #bizcliz. The camera shakes as Anderson shoot his gun. Out next are Dem Boys, KK tells us, “At the time of these events, The Briscoes were two-thirds of the NEVER Openweight 6-man Champions.” MW3 says, “With Yano. Ya know, they’re looking to regain those titles.”

Before the bell, as Briscoes pose on the apron, Machine Guns attack, Anderson and Jay to the outside, Gallows with 2 punches to Mark, running knee by Mark, Jay comes back into the ring and clotheslines Gallows over the top rope to the outside, Mark hits the ropes and baseball slides through the middle rope on Anderson, and then hits a swinging neckbreaker blockbuster off of the apron onto the floor, and commercial.

Gallows with a punch to the jaw, runs Jay into the barricade, Mark throws Anderson back into the ring, Jay kicks Gallows, Mark with a stomp to Anderson, forearm, knife-edge chop, kick to the face, Irish whip reversal, Mark jumps over, rolls back to his feet, redneck kung fu, Anderson goes for cutter but flips him, and then standing kick by Mark, cover, but Anderson kicks out. Mark hits a Mongolian chop, kicks Anderson, another kick to the gut, tags in Jay. Jay with a headbutt, suplex, cover, kick out.

Tags in Mark, Mark with a punch to the ribs, Russian leg sweep, cover, kick out. 3 forearms, runs the ropes, Gallows trips him, kick to the head by Gallows, and then a leg drop on the apron by Anderson. MW3 says, “Size 24 boot by Gallows.” KK protests, “24?” MW3 replies, “I’m guessing, is that wrong?” KK says, “I’m not going to argue with either you or him, certainly do not want to take a measurement.” Jay comes over, Anderson takes him out, Gallows throws Mark through the barricade, opening up the gates, throws a chair to his back as they fight in the crowd. Jay comes over, kick and a punch by Gallows, MW3 says “Oooh, scary face Gallows,” the referee begins to count, but Mark gets back in.

Anderson sets him up on the ropes, rakes the eyes and neck, tags in Gallows. Kick by Mark, and then close handed strikes by Gallows, the referee tells him to stop it, he runs over knocks Jay off the apron. MW3 notes, “It’s an interesting tradition that the announcer always says the numbers English. It’s not just because it’s a ROH event, it’s a tradition in Japan to count in English. As you said earlier, Korakuen Hall opened in 1962, started to house boxing in 1964 for the Summer Olympics, every major wrestling from Hulk Hogan and beyond has been in Korakuen Hall.” Kick by Gallows, shoulder block by Mark, headbutt by Gallows, runs the ropes, drops an elbow, cover, Mark kicks out. Headlock by Gallows, and we go to commercial.

Gallows throws Mark in to corner, Mark fights out, knocks Anderson off the ropes, enziguri to Gallows, knocks Anderson off the ropes again, flips over Gallows and rolls through tags and Jay. Jay nails Anderson off the ropes, forearms to Gallows, runs the ropes, forearm to Gallows, but can’t knock him down, ducks a clothesline and then a boot finally knocks the big man off his feet. Fireman’s carry by Jay, Death Valley driver, red shoes in position, kick out. Headbutt by Jay, whip reversal off the ropes, kick by Gallows to the face, tags in Anderson. Anderson with a running back elbow knocks Mark off the apron, jumping kick by Anderson on Jay, splash by Gallows, and then a back drop neck suplex by both men, Mark comes in to break up the pin. Gallows throws Mark out, fireman’s carry by Gallows on Jay into a front face plant, cover, kick out.

Machine Guns go for the Magic Killer, Mark breaks it up, right hand by Gallows, runs in but Mark holds the ropes sending the big man to the outside. Gallows goes for a Gun Stun, Jay pushes him away, Gallows goes for a second Gun Stun, Jay blocks, Jay goes for Jay Driller, but Gallows breaks it off, and then Mark with a one-legged dropkick off the top rope. Anderson misses a clothesline, Jay goes for the double-arm hook, but Anderson gets out and then gets lariat by Jay. Neckbreaker by Jay, Froggy Bow by Mark, Mark makes sure that Gallows doesn’t come in the ring, and Jay gets the pin on Anderson.

Winners: The Briscoes

Young boy attendees come in with the ice packs for Gallows and Anderson. KK says, “It is clear that the fans here in Japan love the stars of Ring of Honor, but the stars of Ring of Honor also love the fans in Japan.” Another video package is shown of fans getting their picture taken, buying merchandise, and getting autographs from the ROH stars. Lethal says, “Every time I step into the ring, I prove that I’m the greatest wrestler in the world.” More shots of fans cheering and meeting ROH stars, and that’s the show folks.

Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce us to the show, “Re-living all the great action from the Honor Rising events, taped back in February from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. As we ramp up towards Global Wars, Sunday May 8, live on pay-per-view.”

Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini) and Tetsuya Naito (with Bushi and Evil) vs Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi) (with Gedo)

Tetsuya Naito is out first, taking his time on his way to the ring with Evil and Bushi, Naito messes with Red Shoes. Out next is the ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, Truth Martini follows behind holding the Book of Truth. KK, says, “After Naito came back from CMLL in Mexico, he brought back a bizarre attitude, seeming like he doesn’t want to work with anybody.” MW3 tells us, “In this match, we have the two most important world champions in professional wrestling.” Next out is Yoshi-Hashi and Okada with his manager Geto. MW3 says, “Okada is one of the most popular athletes in Japan right now and maybe the entire world.”

Lethal and Naito argue about who will start the match, Lethal wins the argument. The two world champions start it off, they circle each other, collar-and-elbow tie up, wrist lock by Lethal, armringer by Okada, Lethal rolls through back flips and locks in the wrist lock again, Okada rolls through and locks in an armringer again. Lethal with a snapmare takeover, goes for the rear chinlock, Okada counters into the hammerlock, Lethal to his feet, transitions into a side headlock, Okada with two shots to the gut, throws Lethal off the ropes, shoulder tackle by Lethal, Lethal runs the ropes, Okada ducks under leapfrog, but catches a boot to the gut. Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection, but Okada pushes out, Okada goes for Rainmaker, but Lethal ducks out, and the fans cheer. Okada with 2 forearms, Lethal with an armdrag, cartwheel dropkick, cover, but Okada kicks out at 2. Lethal goes for the tag, but Naito does not want to tag in, and we go to commercial.

When we return, Naito tags in, delivers stomps to Yoshi-Hashi, but as Lethal exits the ring, Naito slaps him on the back, tagging Lethal right back in. Lethal with a suplex on Yoshi-Hashi, but Yoshi-hashi kicks out. Lethal tags in Naito, Naito shoos him away, Lethal gets out of the ring, Naito whips Yoshi-Hashi into the corner, running push kick to the chest by Naito, jumps over the top ropes for a basement dropkick, cover, Yoshi-Hashi kicks out. MW3 asks of Evil, “He looks familiar. Do we know him?” KK, “That’s Takaaki Watanabi, he used to wrestle for ROH.” MW3 says, “Oh, I wasn’t in the company back then.” KK replies, “I would have hoped Corino would have given you some notes.” MW3 says, “He did, he said he likes Subway, kind of a jerk.” Yoshi-Hashi to his feet, 3 forearms by Yoshi-Hashi, 1 forearm smash by Naito, Yoshi-Hashi goes for a kick, get caught, hits him with the second kick, and then nails a codebreaker, and both men are down.

Yoshi-Hashi gets the tag to Okada, running forearm to Naito, Okada takes out Lethal, kick to Naito, Lethal with a shot to the back, and then Okada hits a running DDT on Lethal. Okada hits a running back shoulder into the corner on Naito, kick to the gut, DDT spikes him, Okada springboards back to his feet, Okada with a running uppercut, pin attempt, but Naito kicks out. Okada picks up Naito, bodyslam to the mat, climbs to the top turnbuckle for the elbow, but Naito to his feet, Okada jumps over him, meet a double boot from Naito, back elbow by Okada, inverted Atomic drop by Naito, tornado DDT by Naito, and both men are down.

Naito tags in Lethal, Lethal with a bodyslam to Okada, climbs to the top turnbuckle, jumps off and catches Okada’s foot, and then rocks him with a roaring elbow, runs in, meets a boot from Okada, and then a Lethal Combination by the champion, cover, but Okada gets his shoulders up. MW3 says, “Both of these men would love to score a fall on each other, because both believe they are best in the world, bost believe their title is the most important title in professional wrestling right now. Naito whips Lethal to the ropes, Okada comes out gets caught in a full nelson, Lethal goes for a kick, but kicks his partner. Okada with a clubbing blow to the back of Lethal, throws him off the ropes, and then hits a dropkick that staggers Lethal, and he crumbles to the mat.

Okada tags in Yoshi-Hashi, Yoshi-Hashi with forearms, knife edge chop, whip reversal off the ropes, Lethal misses a back elbow, and then a swinging neckbreaker from Yoshi-Hashi. Yoshi-Hashi sets him up for the brainbuster, Lethal lands on his feet, and then Yoshi-Hashi reverses into back neckbreaker, Yoshi-Hashi covers, Lethal kicks out. Okada tags in, whips Lethal to the corner, whips Yoshi-Hashi into Lethal and then runs in with a back elbow of his own, Yoshi-Hashi comes off the top rope with a reverse neckbreaker, Naito breaks up the pin attempt, Okada sends him to the outside and runs him into the steel rail.

Back in the ring, Yoshi-Hashi goes for a suplex, but gets backdropped by Lethal, Martini throws in The Book of Truth to Lethal, he swings and misses, and then a running lariat from Yoshi-Hashi, quick slams Lethal to the mat, climbs to the top turnbuckle, Martini holds onto his leg, but Yoshi-Hashi kicks him out of the way. Evil climbs up onto the apron while Bushi is distracting the referee, and Lethal dumps Yoshi-Hashi to the mat, Naito hits Okada with the Book of Truth, Lethal nails the Lethal Injection on Yoshi-Hashi, and this one is over.

Winners: Jay Lethal and Tetsuya Naito

After the match, Naito reads the Book of Truth, MW3 says, “Well it is in Japanese.” Naito climbs into the ring and beats down Yoshi-Hashi with the Book of Truth as the bell rings. The referee raises the hands of Naito and Lethal, they stare at each other, Lethal points at Naito, Naito puts on his hat, Lethal offers a handshake, Naito fakes a punch, and then shakes his hand. They pose and fist bump in the middle of the ring. Naito puts his hat on Lethal, Lethal hands Naito the Book of Truth, they pose, and it’s time for our sponsors.

Kushida vs Frankie Kazarian

Out first is the “Heavy Metal Rebel” Frankie Kazarian, one half of The Addiction. KK says, “No stranger to New Japan, and no stranger to getting fined by the front office I understand.” MW3, “A foul mouth on this guy.” Kushida’s music hits, and KK says, “There is no language barrier when understanding the motivation, the popularity of Kushida.” He comes out to the ring in his purple life preserver. MW3 tells us, “Kushida is a lifelong fan of NJPW, it was like a dream to finally be a contracted wrestler with NJPW, trained with Tajiri, spent alot of time in the Hustle promotion, met his wife there, she was an office employee, living the true professional wrestling dream.” The referee is Tiger Hattori, who KK tells us has 40 years in professional wrestling.

The two wrestlers size each other up, finger lock. MW3 says, “Kazarian looks like he missed a spot when he shaved this morning,” Kazarian and Kushida exchange leverage in the test of strength, Kushida bridges down, Kazarian puts his knees on Kushida’s midsection pressing down with the weight, Kushida goes for the hoverboard lock, but Kazarian meets the ropes. Kushida with a go behind, Kazarian reverses into a pickup suplex, Kushida with a headlock, Kazarian tries to get out, but Kushida keeps holding on and rolling through, Kushida spins around his back several times, and then slaps him in the back of the head, and we go to commercial.

When we return, Kazarian is on the outside, climbs to the apron, duck a shot by Kushida, pokes him in the eye, snaps his neck on the ropes, jumps over the rope and nails a DDT on Kushida. Kushida holds his neck and shoulder in pain. Kazarian kicks him in the shoulder, picks him up by the hair, whips him into the corner, Russian leg sweep, and Kazarian grinds his crotch to the fans. MW3 “I don’t know what that was, but it’s better than usual stuff that Kazarian says.” Kazarian chokes Kushida on the ropes with his foot, picks him up, runs him into the corner, sets him on the middle of the rope, and then a double knee backbreaker, cover, but Kushida kicks out.

Kazarian smacks Kushida in the head, Kushida fights out, knee to the gut, goes off the ropes, sunset flip, but Kazarian drives a knee to the neck. Kazarian whips Kushida into the corner, runs in but meets a boot, runs in again meets another boot, Kushida flips over the rope to the apron, and then a kick to the head, springboard missile dropkick, knocking Kazarian out of the ring. Kushida climbs to the top turnbuckle, hits a front-flip on Kazarian to the floor, then Kushida stands on the apron and grinds to the fans like Kazarian. MW3 says, “Riding the pony, feeling the flow.”

Kushida picks up Kazarian, throws him back into the ring, runs into the corner, but Kazarian gets out of the way, kick to the gut by Kazarian, goes over the top rope for a DDT, but Kushida catches him in a cross-armbreaker, syncs in the triangle choke, Kazarian tries for the deadlift twice, but Kushida rakes the eyes. The two men exchange forearms, Kazarian doubles up, Kushida hits four or five kicks, then a right hand knocking Kazarian to the mat, whip reversal, handstand, execution chair drop, Kazarian pin, bridges, but Kushida kicks out. MW3 asks KK, “Who is your favorite Japanese baseball player?” KK answers, “I’m not well-versed in Japanese baseball, I’m an American baseball fan.” MW3 replies, ”If Corino were here, we could talk Japanese baseball.” KK says, ”Corino is a New Japan announcer now, he got a well-deserved opportunity.”

Both men climb to the top turnbuckle, Kazarian goes for the suplex, Kushida with shots to the ribs, goes for the flux capacitor, hits a flying Divorce Court off top rope, Kushida with a kick to the face, hits the ropes, tilt-a-whirls around his shoulder, rolls through, syncs in the hoverboard lock, Kazarian tries to fight out, but Kushida rolls him back to the center of the ring, adds pressure and extra leverage, there is no escape for Kazarian, and he taps out.

Winner: Kushida

KK says “Great effort by Kazarian.” MW3 says next, “It’s going to be a SUPERKICK PARTY (with Kenny Omega).” and we go to commercial.

Mark Briscoe is walking around the streets of Japan. “We’re so close to finding him, I can smell him, he must be around here somewhere. Oh this way, excuse me sir, question, have you seen him, no you have not seen him, Godzilla? Have you seen him, Godzilla, have you seen him? No, the search continues, I don’t know where he could be, I thought that guy would know. Time to eat in Japan, what do I want? The noodle, the noodle, the noodle, the noodle, the rice, the rice, the noodle, noodle, noodle, the rice, the rice, the noodle? I think I’ll go with the rice.” Mark continues to ask people on the street, “Thank you. No they don’t know, they’re scared of Godzilla. Little known fact, the historic legendary Mount Fuji was actually named after the historic legendary professional wrestling manager Mr. Fuji. Japan is great, Japan is fun, Japan is okay, but sometime Japan can be dangerous, sometimes there are earthquakes that hit Japan, but everybody here knows, what do you do in case of earthquakes?” And he hides under the bus stop terminal. “Maybe this fellow would know, arigato excuse me you know dojo, redneck kung fu?” A pedestrian points to the New Japan sign and we get a tour of inside the New Japan facilities. Back outside, “Oh my Lord.” Mark looks at a sign showing chickens. “How do you say home in Japanese?”

The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs Katsuyori Shibata and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly)

When we return, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks make their way to the ring to Omega’s spooky horror music. They give the fans headbands and too sweet gestures. The ring announcer announces YB, and MW3 says, “Oh, The Jacksonsons.” KK says, “That’s not Bobby Cruise is it?” MW3 says, “Thank goodness, no. He still waiting for his flight.” Out next is the NEVER Openweight Champion Shibata to entrance music that has a somewhat punk rock sound, he stands in the ring and Omega shows him the IWGP Intercontinental belt. Out next is reDRagon, the three-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, and multi-time IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions. MW3 says, “You love that Bobby Fish don’t you?” KK, “He’s great on commentary, he’s a great wrestler.” MW3 says, “This is why Corino used to get upset.” Kushida joins on Japanese commentary. MW3 continues, “You would probably enjoy him joining our commentary, sitting with you too. You’re that type of guy.“ KK says, “I invited Kushida to join us for commentary.” MW3 explains, “This is a two man team.” KK suggests, “Maybe we’ll have Kushida for Global Wars.” MW3 says, “He’s busy.”

All 6 men go at it, Shibata takes Omega to the outside, double kick by the YB on reDRagon, Omega runs Shibata into the dressing barricade, reDRragon syncs in double cross arm breakers on YB. Omega comes in, kicks to O’Reilly, kicks to Fish, but Shibata gets a cross armbreaker on Omega. Matt picks up O’Reilly and throws him on Fish, then Omega throw Shibata on O’Reilly, Nick with a baseball slide kick to O’Reilly, Matt with a baseball slide kick to Fish, Omega goes for baseball slide but Shibata ducks out of the way and then takes out Omega. Shibata climbs back up to the apron, YB take him out with a handstand by Matt kick by Nick, then YB do a dual suicide dive on the outside to reDRagon. Omega is in the ring, the YB pat the mat, 12-345, Omega runs the ropes and frontflips with some crash-and-burn onto reDRagon. Omega takes off his shirt, grinds his hips and two sweets the camera, and we go to commercial.

When we return, Omega has Fish in the ring, Nick wraps a t-shirt around his head, Nick does a Road Dogg dance along the apron, Omega tags in Matt. Omega hits Fish with a backbreaker drop onto the knee, Nick holds Fish, Matt hits a swinging neckbreaker, Nick with a pin attempt on Fish, but Fish kicks out. Nick rakes the back, kicks Fish in the gut twice, suck it, stomp, suck it, stomp, suck it suck it suck it to the crowd, and then does a bunch of suck its to the ref. Nick tags in Matt, YB whip Fish to the corner, he catches himself, swings with one kick that misses, then kicks Matt in the gut, kicks Nick in the gut, and then toss suplexes Matt into Nick. Fish gets the hot tag to O’Reilly, O’Reilly runs in with the clubbing forearm, Fish with the clubbing forearm, O’Reilly with the running knee, backbreaker on Matt, O’Reilly with a stomp to the chest off the top rope, pin attempt, but Matt kicks out, O’Reilly goes for Chasing the Dragon, but Nick trips Fish and pulls him to the outside, and both men are down.

Shibata and Omega come in, Shibata with 10 elbows to Omega, and then Omega with a flying back elbow, and 8 forearms to Shibata, Shibata stands up and asks for more. Omega rakes the eyes, boot pushes Shibata to the corner, Shibata comes out with a flying boot to Omega, and then pushes a boot into Omega’s face, switches feet and another boot into the face. Shibata runs the corner and nails a running dropkick to Omega, picks him up, snapmare suplex, MW3 says, “I like to call that the Andre the Giant suplex,” pin attempt, but Omega kicks out. Shibata with a rear-naked choke on Omega, YB come in and club him in the back, but he won’t break the hold. YB look at each other like WTF, and then Shibata stands up and then nails them both with a bunch of forearms, runs the ropes, sets up for the Penalty Kick, and gets superkicked. Omega up and now Shibata gets superkicked by all three men, Omega stacks him for the pin, but Fish in to break it up. YB send Fish to the outside, Nick with a tornado DDT from the apron but bumps his own elbow on the railing, Omega sets up to the One Winged Angel, but Shibata with a go behind, Omega with 3 back elbows, runs the ropes, Shibata with a standing dropkick, and O’Reilly pounds the turnbuckle wanting the tag.

Hot tag to O’Reilly, forearms to YB, Matt goes for a kick, leg whip into Nick, and then a double dragon screw leg whip and both YB are down, running forearm into the corner on Omega, running kick to Omega, goes for the rope assisted DDT, but Omega drops him on his head. YB with a superkick to Fish off the apron, Nick goes to superkick O’Reilly, he gets out of the way, and Omega gets superkicked instead. Kicks by O’Reilly, Nick backflips, O’Reilly catches his kick and swings it into Matt. O’Reilly with kicks to the back, superkick by Matt, and then a double lariat by O’Reilly, but Omega hits a running knee. Omega puts O’Reilly up on his shoulder for the One Winged Angel, but O’Reilly gets a guillotine headscissors, Matt comes in with shots to O’Reilly’s head, he won’t break the hold, rear naked choke on Matt by Shibata, superkick by Matt to Shibata. Nick throws the spraycan to Matt, he sprays O’Reilly in the face, YB nail the Metzler Driver, now Omega with a deadlift pick up, O’Reilly tries to fight out, but can’t, Omega nails the One Winged Angel, cover and O’Reilly is finished.

Winners: The Elite

KK talks about upcoming episodes, “Next week more Bullet Club action, as Honor Rising continues, you’ll see Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, the Machine Guns, back on ROH TV, they will tangle with The Briscoes. Plus we’ll also see a huge 8 man tag team match, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Moose and Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale, Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi. Coverage from Honor Rising continues next week,” and the end graphic rolls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AKP9usMr_o

ROH TV Recap – Episode 238 for the week of April 10, 2016

Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce the show from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kelly tells us, “What an unbelievable 60 minutes we have for you. World Tag Title defense by War Machine, the return of ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega taking on ACH.” MW3 joins in, “And for the first time in Ring of Honor television history, we are going to see a Fight Without Honor, between Silas Young and Dalton Castle.”

Roppongi Vice vs. War Machine

Beretta and Rocky Romero come first, Romero has on a black tiger mask with an eye patch. MW3 asks Kelly, “Do you have the Roppongi Vice theme music on your iPod? My boy Steve Corino is going to do a remix version of this.” Kelly retorts, “He’s going to lay down some beats? He’s not going to tell Roppongi stories is he?” WM make their way to the ring, while WM pose on the apron, RPGV jump them from behind before the bell, knocking them to the floor. RPGV do a synchronized swan dive to the outside. Romero throws Rowe back in the ring, delivers clubs to the back of the head, Rowe tries to fight out, but Romero tags in Beretta. Beretta with shots to the face, tags back in Romero, they continue with kicks, standing moonsault by Beretta, cover by Romero, Rowe kicks out and throws Romero half way across the ring.

Rowe throws Romero into the corner, Hanson throws Beretta into the other corner, and WM put RPGV on their shoulders. RPGV both slide out, try to run WM into each other, they stop short, but RPGV continue with strikes on WM. Hanson throws Romero off the ropes, he catches himself in the ropes like a tarantula and laughs, before Hanson kicks him to the outside. Rowe picks up Beretta for a power press above his head, but Beretta grabs onto his beard. Rowe misses with the clothesline, Beretta hits 2 knife edge chops and a forearm, hits the ropes, but Rowe catches him tilt-a-whirling, hits a high knee, and we go to commercial.

When we return, Rowe whips Hanson into Beretta, Rowe runs in with shotgun knees, but Beretta gets out of the way, and Hanson gets caught instead. Romero tags in, Rowe catches a kick, Romero misses a swinging kick, but connects a swinging kick with the other leg, running knee off the turnbuckle, slam, cover, 1-2. Romero hits 3 running-yelling clotheslines, then Rowe comes out of the corner and decks him. Rowe tags in Hanson, they lift Romero in the air, but Beretta comes off the top rope and takes them both out with a split legged dropkick. Beretta with an elbow in the corner on Rowe, and then a tornado DDT using the ropes.

RPGV throws Hanson off the ropes, he cartwheels through meets a double knee, stays on his feet, runs in again, again meets a double knee in stereo, this time falling to the mat. RPGV pick up Hanson and drape him across the top rope, Romero connects with a springboard double stomp to the back of the head, Beretta with a standing dropkick off the ropes, pin attempt by Romero, but Hanson kicks out

Beretta sets up for Strong Zero, Hanson fights out, Rowe is in, they both pick up RPGV in powerbomb positions and throw them at each other. WM is now in with Beretta, fireman’s carry by Hanson, Rowe tags back in, Hanson drops Beretta for a backbreaker across Rowe’s knee, into the Path of Resistance, kickout. WM setup Beretta on the ropes, he fights out, lands a hurricanrana off the second rope, before Romero hits a top rope hurricanrana on Hanson. Beretta runs the ropes, jumps to the outside for a suicide flip dive, Rowe catches him, and delivers a nasty apron bomb. Romero in, sunset flip with a near fall on WM, but Hanson takes him out with the Kick of Doom, Rowe holds him for the double team, while Hanson hits the Fall Out top rope leg drop, cover on Romero, 1-2-3.

Winners: War Machine

Rowe stands on the apron and yells at the camera, “Briscoes, you see this? ROH World Tag Team Champions, War Machine. We’re ready, are you?”

When we return, Donovan Dijak walks out in street clothes to his heavily-over-autotuned song ‘Action’ by Rich Porter and Taho Papi, led to the ring by Prince Nana. Highlights are shown up the Dijack taking out the HoT. Prince Nana starts on the mic, “You idiots have been asking, what is in those envelopes that Prince Nana has been giving out, what has been in those envelopes? That is for us to know and for you to find out. Secondly, everybody keeps wondering about the enlightened ones, the enlightened ones? And another question they keep asking me, Prince Nana, who do you think is going to be the next Ring of Honor Champion, moving forward with the future of Ring of Honor?” A fan yells “Jimmy Ray!” before Nana finishes, “and his name is none other than Donovan Dijak.” Dijack takes the mic, “For one year, I’ve only had one real purpose in Ring of Honor,” He shows off his Jay Lethal t-shirt “and that was to protect Jay Lethal and the House of Truth.” He takes off the Lethal t-shirt, and tosses it aside. “But this man, Prince Nana, this man showed me that one year ago, when I won the top prospect tournament. And Truth Martini? He looked me square in the eye and said ‘Donovan Dijack, if you wrestled Jay Lethal for the TV title…’” Suddenly Jay Lethal comes running down the ramp, the two men go toe-to-toe, Lethal takes Dijack to the mat, pounds away on his head, Dijack returns the punches, the bell rings repeatedly, about 10 ROH officials come down to separate them, Nana and Veda Scott are amongst the melee, and we go to commercial.

Dalton Castle cuts a pre-recorded promo, “Silas Young, tonight we are in a Fight Without Honor. And you probably are walking to the ring with a whole lot of self-confidence, because maybe you’ve got a few wins over me. Let me remind you, every time we fought, my goal has been different. I’ve fought to show you that I was a man, I fought for my boys, and tonight I’m fighting to hurt you.”

Omega vs. ACH

Out first is ACH out of Austin, TX at 190 pounds, he flips over the top rope as he enters the ring. Kenny Omega’s horror music hits with the Bullet Club graphic, Kelly calls Omega, “one of the top stars in the entire world of professional wrestling.” Omega is introduced from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at 203 pounds, and is accompanied by the Young Bucks. They are all wearing camouflage Young Bucks gear. Kenny grabs a headset from the announce table and sings his music into the microphone. Impressed by his own singing, he says “Wow wow wow.”

Omega hands the broom to Matt and crawls into the ring. The fans litter the ring with streamers. Tale of the tape says 190 ACH vs 203 Omega (hey, it’s correct this week!). Fans chant “Omega!” then “YB!” and the YB bang the mat in the beat of 12-3-45. Omega waves off the Code of Honor, Tiger Hattori calls for the bell. MW3 tells us “Both of these guys are huge video game fans and the anime. Is it the anime or just anime?” Kelly replies, “I think it’s just anime, but that’s not for our generation.” MW3 says, “I like Tom and Jerry.”

Omega with a go behind, ACH with an elbow lock, then a headlock, Omega throws ACH off the ropes, ACH hits a shoulder block. The fans chant, “Omega!” ACH hits the ropes, and then goes for a handstand cartwheel kick, but misses, and Omega takes control. Omega with chops to the shoulders, ACH fights back with chops to the chest, throws Omega off the ropes, reversal, reversal, ACH misses a clothesline, and then hits a Lou Thez press. ACH hits a Texas-style elbow, Omega back to his feet, ACH goes for the stunner, but Omega gets him in a full nelson, ACH with an arm drag, and then a drop kick ACH, and ACH shoots a fake basketball into the crowd. ACH leaps over the top rope, Omega crawls underneath, Omega receives a shot to the gut, ACH backflips to the outside, Nick SUPERKICKS! him in the head, and then pulls out a banana peel. The ref asks what happened and the YB point at the banana peel. Omega grabs his broom, sweeps the banana peel under the ring, and we go to commercial.

Adam Cole cuts a pre-recorded promo (note: this was excluded from the Comet broadcast), “Kick me out? You? Kick me out of the Kingdom? That medication they gave you post surgery, must have made you crazy. I created The Kingdom, this was always because of me. When I had an injury of my own, and you and my friend were in charge? You were a joke, you were a laughing stock, you were a Bullet Club ripoff, nobody took you seriously. Everybody took me seriously. Why? Because I was the ROH Heavyweight Champion and the ROH Television Champion. And the fact that you have the gall to remove me from this group? Well, that’s okay with me, because Matt Taven, you, you’re holding me down anyway.”

When we returned the fans chant “Headlock City!” ACH with a shot to the ribs, a forearm to the face, ACH jawbreaker on Omega, ACH runs the ropes and Omega hits a knee to the gut. Omega with a chop chop, fireman’s carry, drops him to the mat, rolls through, flips off the top rope, ACH moves out of the way. ACH with 3 chops, Omega whip reversal, throws ACH into the corner, ACH baseball slides, stops himself, turns around, kicks Omega in the head. Omega comes charging in again, ACH throws him to the apron, Omega catches him and runs his head into the top turnbuckle. Omega climbs the other turnbuckle, but ACH kicks him in the head, knocking him to the outside. Matt gets on the apron, ACH takes him out, Nick gets on the apron, ACH runs after him, Omega hits the ropes and charges in, but ACH throws him to the outside, now ACH with a second rope soaring springboard front flip over the top rope onto the Elite. Fans chant “Go go ACH!”

ACH tosses Omega into the ring, climbs to the top turnbuckle, Omega turns around and slaps him across the face. Omega hooks ACH for a superplex, but ACH fights out, pushes Omega off the ropes, Omega climbs back up again, but ACH again knocks him to the mat and then delivers a double stomp to the back of the shoulder, cover, 1-2, but Omega kicks out. ACH yells “Kamehameha!” sets Omega up for a Brain Buster, but Omega gets out, syncs a full nelson, ACH wrestles out, but then Omega with two strikes to the back, then a dragon suplex. Omega goes for One Winged Angel, ACH counters and drops Omega on his head with a vertical brainbuster, cover, 1-2 but Omega kicks out.

ACH goes to the top rope for a Midnight Star, but YB stand nearby, ACH climbs slowly, Omega gets out of the way. Both trade go behinds, ACH with elbows, Omega with knees, then they exchange open handed shots. Omega catches ACH by the foot, flips him over the top rope onto the apron, but ACH lands awkwardly on the ropes. Omega up first, stomping on the mat, tuning up band, ACH to his feet, Omega kicks, but ACH catches him, goes for a stunner, but gets pushed off the ropes, Omega fights out with elbows, and then ACH hits a stunner, cover, 1-2, Omega kicks out.

ACH goes to the top rope, but misses the Midnight Star, as Omega rolls out of the way. Omega takes the knee pad down, runs the ropes and hits a running knee to the side of ACH’s head, Omega hits The One Winged Angel, cover, 1-2-3.

Winner: Kenny Omega

Kenny’s horror music plays, Matt brings in the broom, they sweep ACH to the outside, and we go to commercial.

When we return Bobby Cruise introduces us to the television main event, a Fight Without Honor, which he tells us “simply means, there are no rules.”

Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young (Fight Without Honor)

“The Last Real Man” Silas Young from Milwaukee, WI, is out first to the song “Unified Divider” by Voodoo Johnson. Silas, carrying a trash can lid, looks in the camera, and says, “You want to fight without honor, Dalton? Now you’re going to find out what it means to fight the way men fight.” The Peacock’s music hits and the fans go wild. Castle stands on the ramp with The Boys. He does not have on his usual robe, just t-shirt and trunks, The Boys tears off his T-shirt, he points to the back, and sends them on their way.

Castle runs to the ring, ducks the trash can lid from Silas, connects several strikes, and the fans litter the ring with streamers. Both men go to the outside, the ring is covered in streamers, and when they get back in, both men are also covered in streamers. Silas with shots to the head, then Castle clotheslines Silas over the top rope to the outside. Kelly says, “We need to get this cleaned up.” Castle runs the ropes struts and spreads his wings. Castle hits the ropes, and then a suicide dive between the bottom and second rope onto Silas. MW3 says, “He’s a peacock and he’s got to fly!” The fans chant “Fan up!”

Deadlift belly-to-back pick up by Castle, slams him to the mat, Silas lands shots to the back of Castle’s head, Castle pushes him away, spear attempt misses, Silas climbs the top turnbuckle, but Castle kicks him off, then jumps over the rope to the outside apron, goes for a running knee, Silas gets out of the way, and shoves him to the floor. Silas flips over the ropes, propelling himself onto Castle. Silas reaches under the ring, digs through the streamers, grabs a chair, and delivers a shot to Castle’s spine with the edge of the chair. Silas with a stomp, then forearm shot to Castle’s face, goes under the ring, digs through more streamers, but can’t find his next weapon. Silas returns to Castle, Castle kicks him in the gut, chop, goes for another chop, but Silas gets out of the way, and Castle hits the ringpost. Silas then grabs his hand, and slams it off the ring apron, Silas looks under the ring again, now finds a second chair, sets the two chairs up side-by-side, positions Castle for the suplex, Castle blocks, Silas delivers 2 shots to the ribs, but can’t get Castle up. Castle flips Silas over his back and then runs backwards, sending his spine into the ring post, goes for another one, but Castle gets out of the way, and then Silas rakes the arms across his back. They walk around the outside of the ring, Silas sidesteps the announce table, Castle walks the apron, delivers a running knee to Silas, and we go to commercial.

Kelly tells us, “During the break, we had a few more elements brought into play. A ladder is laying in the ring, and Silas is setting a table.” Castle to his feet, 3 forearms, chop, punch, forearm, Silas goes to throw Castle into the ring apron, he slides back through, but Silas catches him again, and then drops him onto the two chairs. WM3 yells “Two chairs!” (like 2 chainz!)

Silas throws Castle back in the ring, squeezing him between the bottom rope and the ladder, jumps over the top rope, delivers a forearm, pin attempt, but Castle kicks out. Silas grabs the ladder, moves it to the other corner of the ring, picks up Castle by the hair, fireman’s carry, but Castle gets out, go behind, reversal, go behind, reversal, Silas rolls through with a victory roll, 1-2, kickout, locks in the STF, Castle is screaming in pain. Castle reaches the ladder, Silas breaks the hold and nails forearms, kicks, stomps, goes to the top turnbuckle, springboards off side rope, but smashes his knee into the ladder while Castle gets out of the way. Both men are laying on the mat.

The ref throws the ladder out of the ring, Kelly says, “Todd Sinclair has had enough of this ladder.” Both men to their knees, exchange strikes, both men to their feet, exchange forearms, the fans exchange “Boo! Yay! Boo! Yay!” chants, until one guy yells, “Booya!” Silas with the clothesline, rakes the back of Castle, the Peacock is up, but Silas with a knee to the face, diamond cutter, cover 1-2, Castle kicks out. The fans chant, “Fan up!” Silas with a fireman’s carry, spins him around, and hits Misery the face plant slam. Silas crawls to the outside, grabs the trash can lid, throws it into the ring, grabs the mic, and yells, “Come on, come on Dalton, you wanted to fight without honor?” and smashes him in the head with the microphone, “I just wish The Boys were here, to see how pathetic you really are.” And then all of the sudden The Boys run down from the back. Silas says, “Just in time boys, now you get to see me finish him.”

One of The Boys runs into the ring, jumps on Silas’s back, he throws him off. Boy #2 comes in with punches to Silas’s face, but Silas sends him to the outside, now Castle is on his feet delivering forearms. Kelly says, “You just don’t mess with a man’s boys.” Castle hits two running knees on Silas in the corner, misses the third, and flips over the turnbuckle to the outside. Now Silas with a suicide dive through the rope on to The Boys. MW3 says, “Did you see The Boys pushed Castled out of the way and sacrificed themselves in the process?”

Silas slides through the middle rope, Castle with a hurricanrana, climbs back in, Castle connects with a suicide dive to the outside. Silas gets thrown back into the ring by Castle, Castle grabs him from behind, picks him up, showing his strength, deadlift German suplex, bridge, pin attempt, but Silas kicks out. The fans chant, “Dalton Castle!” Castle goes for the Bangarang, but Silas grabs the ropes, and then Castle throws him backwards flip flat on to the table. The fans chant, “You just killed him!”

Castle rolls Silas back into the ring, covers him, 1-2, kick out. Kelly says, “He was thrown over the top rope through a table, and somehow, someway, he kicked out!” The fans chant, “This is awesome!” Castle grabs Silas by the head, one of The Boys throws a chair in the ring, but Silas hits a low blow on Castle. The fans chant, “Bangarang!” as Silas yells, “Get your ass up, boy! Get up! Get up!” and then spits on him. Castle connects with the Bangarang face first on the steel chair and covers him provocatively, staring in his face, 1-2-3, Castle wins.

Winner: Dalton Castle

Kelly says, “What an unbelievable physical fight encounter we just saw!” MW3 agrees, “It’s hard to put into words. Both men are going to need medical attention.” Ticker tape falls from ceiling, the ring is covered in streamers, and Kelly says “What a scene here in Las Vegas!” The Boys crawl in, and Castle stands tall. Kelly tells us, “Next week, we will see highlights of Honor Rising in Japan, goodnight everybody.”

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.

Recap of Ring of Honor TV for the week of March 27, 2016

Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce the show from Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas Nevada. Tonight we kick things off with a four corner survival match.

Roderick Strong vs. Adam Page vs. Moose vs. Matt Sydal

Out first is former ROH World Television Champion, Roderick Strong, who lost his belt to Tomohiro Ishii at Honor Rising. The lights go out, the Clockwork Purple video entrance plays, and Adam Page poses on the ramp. Next the ‘Moose Nation’ music hits and Moose walks to the ring, led by Stokely Hathaway. Competitor number four is “Reborn” Matt Sydal, wearing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship he won with his partner Ricochet from The Young Bucks at The New Beginning in Osaka. Adam Page refuses the code of honor, and we’re underway.

Sydal and Strong start off, arm rake, reversal, headscissors takeover, headlock, Sydal throws Strong off the rope, Strong knocks Sydal down, ducks under, leapfrog, ducks under, spinning side kick. Sydal gets in a kick, another kick, Irish whip to the corner, but meets an elbow, and then Strong catches Sydal with a backbreaker, cover 1-2, Sydal kicks out. Strong flips Sydal over his shoulder and Page tags himself in, slam to the corner, leapfrog, Page gets in a boot, and then a dropkick. Page pushes Strong to the other corner, and then rakes a forearm across the face and nose. Page looks for a suplex, but Strong reverses, flops Page across the ropes, dumping him to the outside. By the rules of a four corner survival match, Moose is able to declare himself legal with Page now on the outside. Moose is in the ring and wants some action punching and chopping with his orange and white football gloves, and then Moose with a sit-down powerbomb on Strong, pin attempt, but Page in to break it up. Moose dropkicks Page with his orange and white, size 16, boots. Sydal back in the ring hits the ropes, headscissors, spins around Moose, and then an ugly drop thigh hold and Moose. Sydal goes flying to the outside, Moose catches him and delivers a powerbomb on the apron, Strong comes through with a baseball slide taking Moose out, and then Page hits a running shooting star press on Strong. Page throws Strong back into the ring and we go to commercial.

After the break, Page and Strong in the ring, Page delivering chops and then a running dropkick in the corner. Pin attempt 1-2, but Strong kicks out. Page picks up Strong on his shoulders, Strong grabs the rope and makes it to the apron, Moose climbs the apron trying to get back in the ring, but receives a kick and then a side slam across the apron. Back in the ring, Sydal and Page do a roll up, bridge, and kickout. Moose comes in with the “Moose punches” until he gets caught by Strong. Moose comes back with a forearm to Strong, now to Page, then running forearms in each corner that turns Page inside out. Moose sits Page up on the top rope, then sits Sydal on the top rope, and delivers a standing dropkick to both of them, knocking them to the outside. Strong comes back and delivers a kick to Moose, and now sets Moose up on the top rope. Sydal runs in does a springboard off the rope into a hurricanrana, flipping Moose to the mat. Strong picks Moose up on his shoulders, delivers to go-to-sleep, then Page flips over the rope and delivers a running clothesline and DDT on Strong. Sydal in, catches Page by the boot, then gets a boot of his own.

But all of the sudden, running down the ramp is BJ Whitmer, who grabs the leg of Page. Page gets back in the ring and gets a kick from Sydal. Sydal hits an enziguri on Strong, jumping knee to Page, Sydal climbs to the top rope, and hits a shooting star press on Page, Strong breaks up the pin attempt. Strong hits a vertical back breaker that flips Sydal inside out, and then Strong connects with a running knee that knocks Page out, 1-2-3. Strong wins.

Winner: Roderick Strong

After the break, Adam Cole’s “Something for you” music hits, he walks to the ring, stands on the apron, and points at the high hair bun on his head. Cole takes the mic, “Are you ready for story time with Adam Cole, bay bay? I’m assuming that a lot of you expect me to come out here and talk about this downward spiral I was on, losing to Matt Sydal on world television, losing in the main event at ROH’s 14th Anniversary, dropping the ball and not getting the job done. I confidently stand here before you, the best pro wrestler on the planet. The reason being, there’s not a man in that locker room or anybody watching Ring of Honor around the world that can deny I am the undefeated Ring of Honor Champion. A guy like Kyle O’Reilly should not even have been in my rematch. I beat Kyle O’Riley at Final Battle and I will continue to beat Kyle O’Reilly. Sad news everybody, Kyle O’Reilly will never be Ring of Honor Champion. That’s a promise I will keep, another promise I will keep is that I will be the man who dethroned Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship. His days are numbered, it’s done it’s finished, in a one-on-one situation with Adam Cole, bay bay, he don’t stand a chance. Jay Lethal always has the House of Truth watching his back, O’Reilly has Bobby Fish over his shoulder. Me? I have my Kingdom. With or without my Kingdom, I can promise you, one day, very, very soon, this face is your next ROH World Champion.”

The Kingdom’s music hits and it’s the surprising return of Matt Taven. Taven hobbles to the ring on a crutch, microphone in pocket. Cole helps him through the ropes and they hug. Taven speaks, “For the first time in 2016, The Kingdom is back on Ring of Honor television. We are going to pick up right where we left off in 2015, dominating professional wrestling. Not just here in ROH, not just in Japan, but all around the world, exceeding more than we ever have in our careers. Everyone except for you.” Taven turns and looks at Cole.

Kelly and MW3 are in shock, “What? What in the world!” Cole ask, “Matt, what are you talking about?” Taven interrupts, “No no no, you had two chances to win the ROH World Title and what did you do? You blew them both. And to think, I joined the Kingdom because I thought Adam Cole… he’s a big star, Adam Cole…I should attach my name to you, it’ll boost my stock. But what are you doing? You got hurt and I had to keep you relevant. Adam, you’re not better than me. And the only real star of The Kingdom was me.”

Cole on the mic, “You have a lot of nerve to be saying…” Taven interrupts, “I have a lot of nerve? I have a lot of nerve? The last time we were in this room together, you said that I dropped the ball. I blew my knee out a minute into Final Battle and continued wrestling for another 10-12 minutes. It probably cost me another 6 months of my career. But the thing is Adam, the thing is, this is the end. I don’t want to hear it. Adam, what I hear from you, you think things are finished, but they have only just begun. The Kingdom will be rebuilt in my image, and the only thing finished with The Kingdom is you.” Taven drops the mic and walks out of the ring. Kelly wonders “What will Adam Cole do now?” and we go to commercial break.

Backstage promo by Dalton Castle on Silas Young, “Rules. I’ve never been a big fan of the rules. Signs that tell me how fast I can go, restaurants that tell me what to wear. I’m a clothing-optional man! So I can relax, because Silas agreed to a fight without honor, for you will no longer be protected by rules.”

After the break, the announcers continue to talk about the Cole/Taven split.

Cheeseburger vs. Foxx Vinyer

Cheeseburger music hits and he comes out posing with the Shotei palm strike. In the ring already is Foxx Vinyer. Foxx has blue and white face paint, is wearing a black singlet with blue splotches and a blue wolf, he has on leg tassels, his head is half shaven, and a patch of hair is hanging off the side of his head. He offers to shake CHZB hand and then he smashes him over the head. Cheeseburger fights back with chops, then palm strikes to the chest, then a Mongolian chop. MW3 says, “He’s learning!” Then a boot to the midsection, Cheeseburger hits the ropes, but Foxx slams him to the mat, and hooks the leg 1-2, but CHZB kicks out. MW3 says, “Foxx looks like the love child of The Missing Link!” Foxx runs to the corner, Cheeseburger gets out of the way, climbs to the top rope, knee to the head. CHZB sets up for the Shotei palm strike, a move taught to him by Jushin Thunder Liger, and the fan start clapping. However, running down the ramp is the All Night Express. They beat up Foxx, throw him to the outside, pick him up together, and backdrop him into the apron.

Winner: No contest

ANX goes over to the announce table, grabs some microphones, point at Cheeseburger and climb into the ring. Titus is first on the mic, “Whoa whoa whoa, be easy cheesy. Put away the Shotei. We’re not here to do that to you, because we like you Burger. You’re like one of us, you are not like one of them.” King cuts in, “Juicy Burger, even though they cheer for you and chant ‘Cheeseburger!’ for you, they don’t like you. You’re out here risking your life, breaking your back, while they’re sitting in their seats and thinking ‘I could beat up Cheeseburger. That boy better eat a cheeseburger.’ They don’t put their bodies at risk like you do, like we do. They don’t know what it’s like going through a table. At the ROH 14th Anniversary show, my daughter sat in the first row and watched as my spine got bent over a ladder. I could see her tears in her eyes, but I can’t walk over to her, because my damn legs are numb. They don’t care about you Burger. Simple fact is, Cheeseburger, you got more heart in this little, teeny, tiny, minuscule, spaghetti string bicep than the most of you got your whole damn body. When we were the World Tag Team Champions, you loved us, you threw streamers for us, you popped champagne with us. And now we’re back, and damn well know we’re better than everybody. We’re Rhett Titus and Kenny King, the best damn tag team in the world.”

Titus says, “Now we’re going to do a segment called, ‘Wrestlers read mean tweets.” ‘All Night Express came out, and it was a mass exodus to the bathroom.’” Kenny points someone in the crowd, “You were probably the one who said that.” Titus continues, “We also got this one, ‘The All Night Express always remind me of a terrible overrated tag team.’” Titus points at someone in the crowd, “Was that you boy?”  King address CHZB, “Cheeseburger, we’re the same dudes, we haven’t changed. I’m still carrying on as the Emperor of the City.” Fans boo. King responds, “How dare you treat me like that?” Titus says “You should have been throwing rose petals at his feet, when he walked into the building, that’s right!”

King continues, “Titus has got, and you might not be able to see this because he’s wearing the All Night Express t-shirt, available only at ROHWrestling.com, but Titus has got abs! Which now you ARE going to see, cuz he’s taking his damn shirt off. He’s got shoulders, he’s got eyes that hypnotize. Titus woah, don’t take your pants off in here! We’re still the same. But no, you’d rather cheer for spot monkeys with tassels on their legs like the Young Bucks. You’d rather cheer for those damn farmer rednecks the Briscoe Boys. You all look like you smell just like those bearded stinky chumps War Machine. Y’all even like Cheeseburger more than us.” Fans chant “Cheeseburger!” King says, “And that kind of means that you’re like us, but you’re also kinda like them. You’re smart dude, you know our catch phrase, read it on the back of the shirt, ‘If you ain’t runnin with us, you better run from us.’ And your ass ain’t running with us.” King turns around and decks CHZB, Titus joins in with stomps.

Kelly says, ‘You ran away from this company when you were the champ! And it’s not the fans fault, you can’t beat War Machine!” They go to leave, but come back in, pick CHZB up again, throws him in the air, and King nails a sidewalk spinning backbreaker. Titus connects off the top rope and Cheeseburger is not moving. War Machine runs to the ring, the Briscoes run to the ring, ANX to the outside. King says “There’s your damn heroes, look at this.” All 4 men stand in the ring yelling at ANX as ANX walks up the ramp. The Briscoes pick up War Machine’s ROH Tag Team belts and stand there looking at them. War Machine slowly turn, grab their belts back, and both teams exchange shots as we cut to commercial.

A rerun of the same promo from last week is shown, in which Jay Lethal and Truth talk about Hirooki Goto.

Hirooki Goto vs Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship

After the commercial, it is main event time! Goto’s image appears on the screen. Kelly tell us, “Opportunities at the IWGP Championship have slipped through his fingers, leaving Goto to wonder which way he should go, what path he should take with his career.” MW3 says, “I don’t always agree, I don’t like the things he says or does, but when truth Martini does Jay Lethal is the greatest, there is no denying it. He’s the champion for a reason.” Jay Lethal hits the apron, poses with the belt, and streamers litter the ring. We go to Bobby Cruise for the introductions. “This is your main event, scheduled for one fall, for the ROH World Championship. Introducing first, the challenger out of Kuwana, Mei, Japan, Hirooki Goto. Accompanied by Truth Martini & Taeler Hendrix, wrestling out of Elizabeth, New Jersey, weighing 230 pounds, he’s the greatest first generation wrestler, Jay Lethal.” And we go to commercial.

When we return from break, the bell rings, and we’re off. Lethal grabs Goto and sends him to the corner, delivers stomps to the midsection, throws Goto off the ropes, Goto ducks a clothesline and then hits a shoulder block. Goto throws Lethal, reversal, armdrag, reversal, Lethal goes down. Goto kick, chop to the back, and then flips Lethal over, hooks the leg, cover 1, kickout. Kelly tells us, “Goto is attempting to become the second Japanese-born ROH champion (Takeshi Morishima). In the coming weeks, we will see Kenny Omega vs. ACH, plus the YB and reDRagon will be in action.” Goto is in full control, drops a forearm, Irish whip, but then runs into a boot by Lethal, and clothesline. Taeler Hendrix is on the outside, cheering on Lethal in her low-cut dress. Goto sets Lethal up on the turnbuckle, delivers three forearms, climbs to the top rope, but Hendrix climbs up on the apron. As Goto is distracted, Lethal slides underneath, drops Goto’s head to the turnbuckle, and then throws him to the outside. Lethal with a suicide dive through the middle rope, knocks Goto onto the ramp. Truth enters the ring, Hendrix poses on the apron, and Truth does a Truth-a-rooni. Lethal slides back into the ring to break the count, then goes back to the outside to get Goto, and throws him in the ring. Lethal covers Goto with a lax pin attempt without hooking the leg, and Goto kicks out. Lethal sends Goto to the corner and delivers about 10 stomps. Lethal goes back to the middle of the ring and poses for the crowd. Lethal picks up Goto, snapmare takeover, Lethal hooks in a headlock, and we cut to commercial.

We are back, Jay Lethal in control. Lethal delivering forearms to Goto’s head, until Goto stands up and gestures “Hit me again!” Chop chop, Lethal runs the ropes, Goto runs the ropes, and turns Lethal inside out with a clothesline. Goto delivers forearm, forearm, forearm, Irish whip to the corner, and then a spinning heel kick in the corner. Goto goes for the Saito suplex, Lethal fights out, goes for Lethal Injection, Goto fights out and hits a suplex, cover, 1-2, Lethal kicks out. Goto picks Lethal up on the shoulders, Lethal fights out, nails a big forearm, but Goto returns with a headbutt that knocks Lethal out cold. Lethal is dead on his feet. Goto picks him up on his shoulders, delivers an AA-style backbreaker on the knee, but Lethal somehow kicks out again. Hendrix reaches into the ring and grabs for Goto’s leg, but Goto turns around and steps on her hand. Lethal throws Goto into the ropes, Truth goes to smash him with the Book of Truth, but Goto stops him, stands up and turns around, but it met by a dropkick by Lethal, handstand DDT Lethal Injection, 1-2-3.

Winner and still ROH World Champion: Jay Lethal.

As the HoT poses in the ring, a returning Donovan Dijak runs down the ramp. He gets into the ring and exchanges forearms with Lethal, as the bell rings calling for the extracurricular action to stop. Lethal runs the ropes, but Dijack clotheslines him to the outside. Truth climbs in the ring and slams the Book of Truth across Dijack’s back. Dijack smiles, laughs and does the slow turn, as Truth apologizes and begs for his life. As Truth is backing up, he runs into Prince Nana, Truth turns back around around, and catches a big boot to the jaw from Dijack. The fans chant “You just killed him.” Dijack stands tall as the announcers say, “We have to get some help for Truth.”