Posts Tagged ‘ROH’

ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty on Showcasing His First Art Exhibit & AEW Evolution

Two years ago Lee Moriarty set a goal to have his own art exhibition. The dream becomes a reality as the Ring of Honor Pure Champion prepares to have his first public showcase during Miami Art Week. Moriarty, 30, will be at the NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) booth, part of the wrestling publication Orange Crush’s presentation 

For the emerging talent, art was a way to express himself out of the ring. His parents encouraged him to continue pursuing a creative outlet. He’d draw off Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon cards, as well as Dragon Ball Z VHS tapes and issues of Game Informer Magazine. Although he took graphic design at the community college, Moriarty was largely self-taught. 

“I’ve been an artist longer than I was a wrestler,” Moriarty said. “One of my goals was to have an art exhibition. I didn’t have in mind what this series was going to be at first. The more I painted, it became about professional wrestling life outside the ring. A lot of people associate professional wrestling with just violence and combat. People don’t realize the serene peaceful life a lot of us live, especially me. 

“I’m a person who is closed in and keeps calm and relaxed. I like walking my dog, going out in the nature world, painting, and playing tennis, which is one of the paintings. This was a big opportunity that came to me by Adam Abdulla to have the exhibition at NADA. From December 3 through the 7th, my art will be on display for the first time. Nobody has ever seen my art outside of photos and things. To see this in person, I’m excited about it.” 

Moriarty has combined two of his passions through the exhibition. A collection that presents an endearing and vibrant display of wrestlers in repose. The paintings are a tribute to the sport he loves, capturing the duality of wrestling. 

“Originally when I was painting luchadors, one of my favorite aesthetics is luchadors with suits and tuxedos,” Moriarty said. “Back in the day El Santo, Blue Demon, all these guys would have really nice suits combined with the masks, which I think is so unique when it comes to professional wrestling that you won’t see anywhere else. 

“I wanted to capture that with my artwork. I wanted to paint beyond just luchadors in suits. Then it became walking the dog, grilling and barbecuing, and things like that and I decided to keep the Lucha Libre wrestlers in the mask aesthetic. That is the universal imagery when it comes to professional wrestling, even if you don’t watch professional wrestling. You see a mask, and you know this guy is a pro wrestler.” 

Moriarty works hard to fit art into his busy schedule as a traveling entertainer. When the traveler flies somewhere or in hotel rooms before a show, he’d get out his tablet and draw and brainstorm. The star would then put those ideas on canvas. 

“I also use my tablet for graphic design,” Moriarty said. “I’ve designed all of my shirts. I’ve designed the logo you’ll see on my trunks sometimes. The tiger was a design I had before I debuted for AEW or Ring of Honor. I’m always drawing and painting. I have a camera. I’ve done photography. I like making my own scenes. I just like expressing myself creatively and building this world outside of my head.” 

Moriarty appreciates the support he felt from the locker room and company. “[AEW] is very supportive of outside ventures that help the person grow as individuals and as brands. I’ve had nothing but support from the first day I posted a painting. Among those colleagues is stablemate Shane Taylor, who he’d watch on his first or second independent show. Taylor’s opponent just happened to be a future trainer in Brandon K. “I knew who [Shane] was and his story and work ethic and have a lot of respect for him,” he said. 

The exciting athlete is proud of the progress he made over the past three years. Moriarty feels he got more comfortable with promos and in the ring on television. He has also put on some muscle weight, going from 175 to approaching 200. The student of the game is always looking to grow and improve.

“There was a period I was learning from Jon Moxley for a while,” he said. “There was a period I was learning from Claudio when we were donig the Texas shows. For three straight weeks, I was getting advice from him. Orange Cassidy is someone I would go to a lot. Serpentico, Jon Cruz, those guys I learned from a lot. So many people. 

“I trained at Malakai Black’s school for a point. I’m very grateful and can’t express how much it meant. Even when Nigel McGuinness came back to the ring, I was in the ring training with him. I can’t express the appreciation I have that these guys are giving me the time to learn from them.”  

Moriarty welcomes the latest signings in AEW with The Hurt Syndicate’s MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin arriving on the scene. Three who he sees as an example of how to build a career. 

“I think they are three of the most valuable talents in the world,” he said. “They have the total package. The presentation, athleticism confidence. They inspire me to do what I’m doing in professional wrestling and my art. It’s to not settle and not just be comfortable in the spot I’m in but continue to grow as a business and brand.” 

Much like pro wrestling, he has hopes for his artistic aspirations. Moriarty looks to step into more product designs from bottles to shoes. “I know AEW believes in me and hopes to help AEW expand with my art talents, I don’t have an end game when it comes to my art. It has been wherever it takes me ….I’m going to keep going and see how far I can get.” 
For more information or two purchase tickets for NADA Miami 2024, visit https://nada.artsvp.com/73ace8?link=website.

Will Ospreay Pitches Scott D’Amore To Run ROH

Will Ospreay loves the passion of Scott D’Amore and he thinks that incorporating him into the AEW product would be extremely valuable to the company.

Speaking with Adrian Hernandez ahead of AEW Double Or Nothing, Ospreay expressed how much he respects the former TNA President and praises D’Amore for being the catalyst for the continued success of TNA despite no longer being with the promotion.

“I can’t tell you enough how much respect I have for Scott D’Amore. If there was anything that I want to put out there; if there was a way that AEW could hire Scott D’Amore in any type of fashion.”

Ospreay had one idea in mind as to how Tony Khan could utilize the talent and mind of Scott D’Amore.

“Have that guy run Ring of Honor or something. The passion that he had for TNA, and just how he completely single handily transformed that company.”

Tony Khan purchased Ring Of Honor years back and made the brand its own entity. Much to the chagrin of many, all the new programming resides on the ROH Honor Club. Khan has been criticized as to how he has handled the brand as a great deal of the product flies under the radar due to it solely being on Honor Club.

D’Amore was let go by TNA after he was the primary proponent for rebranding the company and since then, D’Amore has trademarkedd “Maple Leaf Wrestling” and is putting on a Border City Wrestling event later this year. Ospreay spent a “cup of coffee” in TNA as a free agent before signing on full-time with All Elite Wrestling.

H/t to Fightful for the transcription.

ROH Drops New-Look Marketing On Social Media

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

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

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

The Full Card For ROH Final Battle

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

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

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

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

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

Jay Briscoe’s Funeral Service Aired via Livestream

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

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

Jay Briscoe’s “Celebration of Life”

Jay Briscoe

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

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

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

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

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Prince Nana tweeted a picture from the reception.

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

AEW Pays Tribute to Jay Briscoe on Dynamite

On Tuesday, Jamin Pugh, known to the wrestling world as Jay Briscoe, was killed in a car accident in Laurel, Delaware.

According to his wife, Ashley, their daughters were also injured in the accident. Their daughter, Gracie, had back surgery on Wednesday morning. Their other daughter, Jayleigh “has some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting!” She asked for prayers for all of them.

AEW Honors Jay Briscoe

Jay Briscoe passed away in a car accident on Tuesday

As fans filed into the arena before AEW Dynamite, “Gimme Back My Bullets” by Lynyrd Skynyrd played. This was the song they used in GCW.

The first match of the night was Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy. Lethal wore a black armband that read “Briscoe”. During the match, Best Friends were in the crowd. They each wore a black armband that read “Jay”.

On commentary, Excalibur talked about Briscoe and said more was coming.

The Young Bucks also wore black armbands that said “Jay” with a red heart on them. They also paid tribute with a Doomsday Device, a signature of the Briscoes.

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Bryan Danielson and Bandido both wore black armbands that read “Jay”. Before getting to the ring, Bandido kissed his fingers and pointed to the sky.

After the match, commentary was shown on camera. Excalibur and Taz were also wearing black armbands.

Jay Briscoe special for ROH

Mark and Jay Briscoe

Tony Khan tweeted that after tonight’s show they would be filming a special ROH tribute to Briscoe. It will be available “soon free to everyone on Honor Club”. He also tweeted that the special will also be on ROH’s YouTube.

As the show was going off the air, Excalibur said, “we are thinking of you Jay Briscoe. You are in our hearts and minds.”

Watch: What Happened With Bandido After Dynamite Went Off Air

The main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite saw Chris Jericho defending his newly won ROH world title against Bandido in a singles match.

The masked star offered a handshake to the wrestling veteran before the bout. However, Y2J rejected this code of honor and he flipped the bird instead. The two went on to have a good match which has been praised by fans.

The ending of the bout saw Jericho poking Bandido in the eye. He then pulled Bandido’s mask over his eyes. The high-flying star still almost caught Chris with a roll-up but the former WWE star ultimately retained the title using a Liontamer.

After the match, Chris Jericho claimed that the Ring of Jericho era has begun. He said that he will beat every great champion that has ever held the ROH title.

What Happened With Bandido After Dynamite

Once the cameras stopped rolling, Tony Khan came out. The AEW president raised the hand of Bandido who was on his way back to the locker room.

The former ROH world champion received a huge applause from the crowd. He ended up hugging the AEW owner before finally heading to the back:

Many fans are demanding Khan to sign Bandido to an AEW contract after his performance on Dynamite. The post-show moment between the two suggests that Bandido may actually get an official offer very soon.

AEW Star/ROH Champion Working Through An Injury (Report)

The number of AEW stars dealing with injuries continues to increase because it has been revealed that Dax Harwood is dealing with a torn labrum injury.

One of the ROH, AAA, and IWGP Tag Team Champions previously indicated that he had suffered a shoulder injury following his bout at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view in June. On this past Saturday, at Death Before Dishonor, FTR successfully retained the ROH World Tag Team Titles against The Briscoes in a 2 out of 3 falls match.

Injury Update

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported, “Harwood is the latest AEW wrestler working with a torn labrum.”

Meltzer added that following the Death Before Dishonor match, Harwood also had “a swollen eye, a stiff neck, and his shoulder was worse.”

Other AEW Injuries

Another AEW star, Adam Cole, has been dealing with a torn labrum injury for a few months. He pushed through the pain and kept working until he suffered a concussion at Forbidden Door.

Even though several stars are still sidelined with injuries, some wrestlers have returned, including Bryan Danielson.