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Onto the official PPV. Let's face eternity together, shall we friends?
They open with a video package. No sound for the beginning of it. Really guys? Come on. The audio starts. They admit everyone is leaning into uncertainty. They say we are celebrating life, love and Low Ki. No, they didn't really say that.
It's officially time for the official PPV. We are a long way from The Murphy Rec Center and Da Hit Squad beating down the Christopher Street Connection to kick off the Era of Honor. I could write books about what ROH has meant to people, but I know there are others already working on that and I look forward to reading them when they are announced and released. ROH changed a lot of lives for the better. That's the legacy.
Rey Horus vs. Dragon Lee will officially kick off the show. Unless they both have one of the worst nights of their life, this should be great. They are going full blown lucha style with some big dives but also some well worked submissions. Horus hit a great flip to the outside on Dragon Lee. Ian and Caprice are calling out fans they see by name. It's nice but just reinforces how unfortunate this entire deal is. Dragon Lee, deservingly, scored the win with a nice looking ripcord on knee. My guess is this will be the last we'll see of these talents in ROH given I don't see the company spending the money to replenish work visas in the near future. This was a really strong match and a nice choice to kick off the show.
They aired a promo from Impact's Eddie Edwards thanking the fans and Ring of Honor for giving him a chance as well as others a chance. They'll be some messages from AEW talents as well.
Time for the ROH TV title bout. Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young vs. Rhett Titus vs. Joe Hendry.
Hendry was first out. He literally came to the United States a week ago in order to make sure he could finally make his PPV debut on this show and man, he's added a ton of muscle. He told me earlier in the week he was coming to make a statement and it appears that statement is that he looks like a star and it's time for someone else to hire him! Castle was last out. He actually turned down a chance to work for Impact many years ago to sign instead with ROH. Castle has been all shenanigans, which the crowd live absolutely loved the hell out of. Everyone is working super hard. I feel like I'll be repeating that sentence all night, but really, who's going to be lazy when everyone is watching and you want someone else to hire you? Hendry showed off his power, hitting a Fall Away Slam on Silas and Rhett at the same time. Dalton tried to pick the bones. Rhett scored the win and they called him the final champion. This was a nice surprise as Titus originally trained to be a wrestler at the ROH Dojo and has been a stalwart and workhorse here. It felt like a big thank you to Titus as they close the doors.
AEW Champion Adam Page thanked ROH, noting he never would have traveled the world without ROH and that he hopes the future holds the best for everyone. You have to appreciate AEW and Impact allowing their talents to appear tonight. That's class as they get nothing out of it but goodwill and in the case of AEW, used their own resources to produce the content at a recent TV taping.
Next up is the Pure Title match with Josh Woods defending against Brian Johnson. Let's go Cousin Johnson! The timing of ROH's shut-down sucks for Woods as he had just ascended to the Pure title run but hadn't really had a chance to entrench his roots in the role. Johnson shouted out a bunch of former ROH Champs before knocking them. You gotta love his gift of gab. Johnson lost two of his rope breaks within a minute. Whoops, talk about being behind the eight ball. This was a hard worked match with Johnson pulling every heel 101 tactic to steal the "Pure" title, which I actually got a big kick out of. Woods ended up choking him out while standing on the buckles. So, Woods is the first champ to actually retain his title. Overall, this was fun from bell to bell.
Jimmy Jacobs said that his time in ROH was a magic time with a lot of people who tried to change the wrestling business. They all got to achieve their dreams and they couldn't do that without ROH. He's right. They all changed the business and without ROH, perhaps some of them would have, but none of them would have had the journey and life experiences in the manner they did. What really sucks from my perspective is I lived through the end of ECW and WCW in 2001 and saw lots of talents who were on the national scene then disappear and never return to that plane of existence as performers. I really, sincerely hope that isn't the case for any of the ROH regulars, but the law of averages has to be against them.
Fight Without Honor time - Shane Taylor vs. Kenny King. King came out dressed for street fight. There are ladders outside the ring so that the talents can use them as party favors. Lots of weapons. Fans chanted "Please don't die" when they teased a superplex to the outside through several tables. That chant started with Paul London back in the day. King nailed a Blockbuster off the top through the tables. King got slammed RUDELY through a trash can. Like, ouch. Taylor splashed him off the apron through a table. That looked evil. King came back with a DVDR through a table in the corner, then grabbed a ladder. You can tell the crowd is really into the big spots. Taylor tossed another ladder in. They start building a mousetrap. Taylor is laid out across a ladder that is bridged between two other ladders. King climbed up and splashed Taylor. Taylor beats down King and hits Greetings from Asbury Park. King kicked out. The crowd chanted, "Fight Forever." They meet atop a bridged ladder that is set from the ring to the guard rail. Taylor drove King through the ladder which got the biggest pop on the show BY FAR tonight. King somehow kicked up. This bout, as much as anything thus far, is truly celebrating the spirit of ROH. Taylor killed him with a chair and hit the Driver again, scoring the pin. A great war.
They embraced after.
CM Punk appeared. He said when he was in the company, it felt like lightning in the bottle. He said this ROH is different from when he was there and if this is the end, you should be happy ROH happened, not just sad it's over. The business would be different without ROH. Top guys from every company came from ROH. He looks back on his ROH time with pride. It was a spirit he will always remember and love and he will continue to foster it in AEW. He thanked everyone from ROH. This was a great get for ROH - after all, Punk was the guy who risked being fired by WWE after signing with them in order to come back and be a surprise main eventer for ROH when Impact pulled a bunch of talent. He truly believed in the company and wanted it to succeed and at times, wanted to buy it. He even flirted with the idea of coming back to book it a few years ago.
My blog continues on Page 3.
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