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First of all, thank you all for supporting PWInsider.com as we head into the holiday season after these two final PPVs of the year today, Ring of Honor Final Battle and NXT Deadline. I'll be blogging those shows while Cory Strode and Richard Trionfo will handle play by play. My hope is that both shows will be a lot of fun.
This time of year is always one where you look back at everything that has lead to the holidays and the New Year that will come in a few weeks. If I'm going to be honest, it's been an awfully rough year. Exactly a year ago today, when Sinclair Broadcast Group held their final true ROH event, I was days away from my dad having a quadruple bypass and I dedicated it to him. While he came through the surgery, little did I suspect that just a few months later, we'd lose my mom after her hard fight with COPD. You know when someone is battling that that the end is going to come, but you are never prepared for it and for her, it happened literally when we least expected it. Then, there was the loss of a lot of really good people over the last year - Jim Quigley, Blackjack Brown, Howard Brody, Bob Mulrenin and too many more to even begin to recount here if I want to actually blog and not lose it for a few hours.
It all continued when three weeks ago, my Uncle Frank, out of nowhere, literally, with no signs leading up to it, was diagnosed with Stage Four Rectal Cancer. To say I have never felt as old as I have this year would be a massive understatement. So, I dedicate this blog to everyone we've all lost this year, in my family and yours - we've all been through the ringer the last few years alike and I'd be extremely selfish to not acknowledge the kindness and suppport of all of you who have kept me employed (and to be honest, distracted) through this last year.
There's a GoFundMe that was launched this AM to assist my Uncle, so if you have the ability to help and want to - go for it. If not, please send him, his wife and kids good vibes if you can. He's in for a hell of a fight and I'd like to dedicate whatever this blog ends up being today to him as well. We love you Uncle Frankie.
A year ago, we all witnessed the end of ROH under SBG and over this year, Tony Khan has done what he believed to be best to keep the brand and letters going. We can all criticize things that we didn't care for and that we would have done better, but the reality is, had WWE bought it, ROH would be sitting on the WWE Network and nowhere else. Over the last year, we've had a few ROH shows and the brand name got a lot of exposure on AEW TV. So, ROH still existing makes pro wrestling better than it would be if it had disappeared into the past a year ago and again, like last year, I'm happy for the distraction for a few years as we dive in.
So, a year later, let's see what the annual time capsule for ROH brings us, eh? Once more, let's do it together.
ZERO HOUR
Glad to see Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman are the voices of ROH today. They deserve to be.
I am told Colt Cabana is backstage, so he may make an appearance today.
I am personally bummed Cary Silkin isn't there. I know it's a new regime but he's the Stan Lee of ROH and just as Stan could and should never be separated from Marvel, Cary should always be there in some sort of supporting role in my opinion. It wouldn't exist today had he not fought to keep it alive over the years.
I'd also like to give a big shout out to Joe Koff because he truly protected and cherished ROH when it was under his purview in the SBG era as well.
Jeff Cobb vs. Mascara Dorada was a fun little opening bout on Zero Hour. Nice action and mix of styles.
Next up was Matt Menard and Angelo Parker vs. Eli Isom and Cheeseburger. Isom should be signed somewhere and I'm always happy to see Cheeseburger. He's one of those personalities who just makes you smile when you see him. I like the idea of the JAS appearing as the anti-ROH heels and the fact Dallas gave Cheeseburger a big chant was cool. Burger was worked over for some time and there was a good old school tag team psychology here before Isom got the hot tag. I like that they gave Isom that spotlight. The dude is SO good and like LSG, was one of those ROH talents who was poised to truly break out when the curtain came down on the Sinclair version of ROH. I would have liked to have seen the JAS go down here but it makes no sense for them to lose to two talents who aren't signed. Good solid tag bout.
Our third bout was Trish Adora against Willow Nightingale. I wonder if Tony Khan had Bobby Cruise and Maria Kanellis oversee the women's division bouts today. Their version of the ROH Women's division was a LOT of fun and was one of the true highlights of ROH in 2021. I truly think Willow was one of the best AEW signings of the year. There's something so likeable about her. She could be an absolutely great asset for community outreach and even as a character aimed at a younger, family audience. Who doesn't adore it when she smiles? Glad to see Trish Adora here. Like LSG and Isom, she was poised to break out and get a big push and her work is really good, plus she has an amazing true life story. Some nice action early on with Adora showing some aggression as she controlled Nightingale. The crowd reaction when Willow cartwheeled out of the corner to escape was cool to hear. When she hit the Pounce and pulled the strap down, that was some really nice, legitimate babyface engagement from the crowd. That powerbomb at the end looked a little rough but it was a believable as hell finish. Enjoyable stuff.
Top Flight vs. The Kingdom was next. Really glad Taven and Bennett landed in AEW as you could really argue that they are such great workers. I really like the idea of them as wrestlers forcing Top Flight to have to fight from underneath to make a comeback to hit their big aerial moves, but we'll see if that's the story that plays out here. Darius was cut off and beaten down with some good tag team maneuvers. Darius' facial expressions were really good here. Taven plays such a good, sleazy heel. Good sequence where Bennett snared him in a Kimura and Darius had to fight to escape. Nice to see Darius get some ring time and attention here as he's been out for so much of the last year and Dante got all the love. They went into a GREAT dive sequence and MAN did Taven get some air on his Mike Awesome-style dive. Great stuff! They ended with Darius doing a double jump moonsault into an inverted DDT on Bennett, who was in a powerbomb position held aloft by Dante. Damn awesome, inventive finish. Everyone looks great here.
A great appetizer for the PPV.
FINAL BATTLE 2022.
Rush and Dralistico vs. AR Fox and Blake Christian opens us up. This should be FUN. I almost wish they had advertised this in advance as this is a bout that is certainly in the spirit of ROH history and could have sold some tickets. My guess is Blake is here to take the loss. Very fun to see Dralistico here. Fox and Rush chopped the hell out of each other. One of the truly feel good stories this year was Fox finally getting signed somewhere after years and years of being a workhorse. I'd compare it to Eddie Kingston finally being given his shot in AEW a few years back against Cody. It began breaking down in Arlington with Fox and Christian getting beaten and tortured on the floor. Fox hit some damn awesome dives to the point they were so smooth they looked like he was hanging in the air for a second. The crowd chanted for him and he deserved it. Blake tried to help him when Rush attacked but was caught and just thrust into the barricade. Dralistico looked good with some aerial moves. Fox hit an awesome 450 splash and pinned Dralistico. WOW, big upset. They got me with that! It appears that someone either forget to kick out or the referee was too quick. Rush attacked and destroyed them with chairs over the head, which wasn't needed. My guess is they were trying to get heat back after the wrong finish. Good stuff from bell to bell.
ROH Women's Champion Mercedes Martinez vs. Athena was next. SHIMMER flashbacks! Athena really took the fight to the champ early, playing into her recent streak of aggressive tactics on Dark, where she's been beating the snot out of everyone. Mercedes made a comeback with a head and arms Tazplex. The story was Athena was on the verge of being defeated. They battled to the outside and back in, where Athena nailed a powerbomb into a knee strike for a close two count. Athena pulled a buckle pad off and Martinez ended up hitting the back of her head on it. Athena nailed the O-Face for the pin. New champ. They worked hard. The atmosphere was weird because Athena was supposed to be the heel but was cheered since it was her hometown but they had a good bout.
More thoughts on Page 2!
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