Category: ROH

CM Punk To Be Inducted Into ROH Hall Of Fame

The final inductee of Ring of Honor’s inaugural Hall of Fame class will be none other than CM Punk. The current AEW star was announced as the last inductee on Monday morning in a press release available on ROH’s website. He joins fellow AEW star Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) in ROH’s inaugural class.

“Ring of Honor is proud to welcome CM Punk, one of the most charismatic and compelling performers in ROH history, into the ROH Hall of Fame,” the statement read. “Punk is the final member of the inaugural class, joining the Briscoes, Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe. Punk made his ROH debut in 2002 and experienced a meteoric rise thanks to his in-ring ability, mic skills and brash attitude. He incited fans by proclaiming that his straight edge lifestyle ‘means I’m better than you.’ Punk had many memorable moments in ROH, including the iconic ‘Summer of Punk’, which began when he won the ROH World Championship in June 2005 right after accepting a deal with WWE. Throughout the summer, Punk taunted ROH fans by repeatedly threatening to take the ROH World Title with him to WWE. He lost the title that August.

“In 2004, Punk engaged in an epic trilogy of matches with then-ROH World Champion Samoa Joe that have become legendary. They wrestled to two 60-minute draws before Joe prevailed in their final meeting. Punk also had a heated rivalry with Raven that is regarded as one of the greatest feuds in ROH history. They waged war against each other in unforgettable dog collar and steel cage matches. In addition to his ROH World Title reign, Punk also won the ROH World Tag Team Championship on two occasions as a member of The Second City Saints. After leaving ROH, Punk became one of the biggest stars in the industry in WWE. He wrestled in main events against the likes of The Rock and John Cena, and his 434-day reign as WWE Champion is the sixth-longest in company history. After stepping away from pro wrestling for more than seven years, Punk made his return last year in AEW, where he continues to be one of the promotion’s top stars.”

As with the Briscoes, Danielson and Samoa Joe, Ring of Honor also announced that a career retrospective on CM Punk would air on the next episode of Ring of Honor television, with a YouTube special focusing on Punk airing on ROH’s YouTube next Monday. As of this writing, CM Punk has yet to comment on his induction. There is no word on who will induct him.

The Ring of Honor Hall of Fame special, which will feature CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and The Briscoe Brothers, will air on TV on March 5th, one day prior to AEW Revolution in Orlando. Punk is currently scheduled to wrestle MJF at AEW Revolution in a Dog Collar match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ex-ROH Star Quinn McKay Makes WWE Debut During NXT: Level Up Taping

Quinn McKay has seemingly joined WWE … as a ring announcer?

Quinn McKay made her WWE debut during the taping of the company’s new developmental show NXT: Level Up … but she didn’t work a match.

The former Ring Of Honor star was introduced as the show’s ring announcer under the name Kelly Kincaid. As well as wrestling in ROH, McKay also worked as a commentator and backstage correspondent, so she’s no stranger to broadcast duties. It seems that she will perform similar duties at the Performance Center.

https://twitter.com/WrestlingCovers/status/1493745532954722305

At the time of writing, no details regarding McKay’s WWE deal have been revealed — although it’s possible that she is yet to officially sign with the company and that the Level Up appearance was a tryout of sorts.

McKay debuted as a pro-wrestler in 2018 and joined Ring Of Honor in 2019. Though she only worked a few matches for the company, she made it to the quarter-finals of the inaugural ROH Women’s World Championship tournament last year, losing to eventual winner Rok-C, who could also be on her way to WWE if recent reports are accurate.

Source: TheSportster

Bryan Danielson To Be Inducted Into ROH Hall Of Fame

Bryan Danielson is about to become a two time Hall of Famer. The AEW star, who was inducted into the 2016 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, will now be inducted into the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame. ROH announced Bryan Danielson’s induction in a press release on their website.

“Ring of Honor is proud to welcome Bryan Danielson, the embodiment of fighting spirit and technical wrestling excellence, into the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame,” ROH’s statement read. “‘The American Dragon’ played a major role in establishing ROH as the Best Wrestling on the Planet, beginning with his performance in the main event on ROH’s debut show, The Era of Honor Begins, in 2002. Whenever ‘The Final Countdown’ blared throughout the building as Danielson made his entrance to the ring, fans knew they were about to witness a true master of his craft at work. A superior technician, striker and submission specialist, Danielson cemented his status as the best wrestler in the sport when he won the ROH World Title in 2005. His 462-day reign as ROH World Champion is the third-longest, and he made a record 38 successful title defenses. Danielson made history in 2006 when he defeated arch rival and ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England to merge the titles. He also won the inaugural Survival of the Fittest in 2004 and main-evented ROH’s first pay-per-view in 2007.

“Danielson had many impressive victories in ROH, but one of his most memorable performances came in defeat. Just over four minutes into his match against then-ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima in 2007, Danielson suffered a detached retina as a result of the Japanese powerhouse’s clubbing blows. Morishima targeted Danielson’s injured left eye throughout the match, but Danielson showed incredible toughness and heart and came within a fraction of a second of winning before Morishima ultimately prevailed after more than 20 dramatic minutes. After leaving ROH in 2009, Danielson would gain world-wide fame in WWE, where he main-evented WrestleMania in 2014 before more than 75,000 fans at the Superdome in New Orleans. Danielson is currently one of the top stars in AEW.”

Bryan Danielson is the second announced inductee into the ROH Hall of Fame, following The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe). More inductees are expected to be announced, with the ceremony airing the weekend of March 5, according to the statement. Bryan Danielson hasn’t commented on his induction at this time.

In the meantime, Bryan Danielson is keeping busy for AEW, recently starting a program with former rival and recently returned star Jon Moxley. In an in ring confrontation last week on AEW Dynamite, Danielson offered Moxley the opportunity to unite and take over AEW as a unit. Moxley has yet to give Danielson an answer.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Announces The Briscoes For Inaugural Hall Of Fame Class

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes are headed to the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame.

ROH announced today that the first inductees into the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame will be Mark Briscoe and Jay Briscoe.

The Briscoes have been with ROH since the start as 18 year old Jay Briscoe defeated The Amazing Red in the first-ever ROH singles match at The Era of Honor Begins on February 23, 2002. Jay was accompanied to the ring by Mark. Since then, The Briscoes have held the ROH World Tag Team Titles twelve times, the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Titles once, with WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, and Jay has held the ROH World Title twice. The Briscoes were also named the Tag Team of the Decade for the 2010s, and they were named Tag Team of the Year in 2019. Mark and Jay have also held NJPW’s IWGP World Tag Team Titles, and numerous indie titles.

The Briscoes won the ROH World Tag Team Titles this last time by defeating The OGK at Final Battle on December 11.

To celebrate The Briscoes, a career retrospective will air this weekend during the ROH TV episode. A YouTube special on The Briscoes will be released on Monday, February 7 via the official ROH YouTube channel.

ROH will air a special Hall of Fame episode of ROH TV during the weekend of March 5. The company will be announcing more inductees over the next several weeks.

ROH will return from their hiatus on April 1 with Supercard of Honor XV, live from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX, during WWE’s WrestleMania 38 Weekend.

ROH Announces Establishment Of A Hall of Fame

This past weekend, Kevin Eck teased online that a “major announcement” will be revealed this week that will excite “anyone who has ever been an ROH fan.”

Via the Ring of Honor Website, it was announced this morning that the company will be establishing a Hall of Fame to coincide with ROH’s 20th Anniversary.

You can see the full press release below:

To coincide with Ring of Honor’s 20th anniversary, the company is proud to announce the establishment of the ROH Hall of Fame.

Since its inception, ROH has created excellence in professional wrestling by giving the best wrestlers on the planet a platform to showcase their talent.

Now ROH will honor the outstanding athletes who have contributed greatly to making it one of the most influential pro wrestling promotions in the industry.

The first inductee in the inaugural ROH Hall of Fame class will be revealed this Monday. Subsequent inductees will be announced on Feb. 7, Feb. 14 and Feb. 21.

Also, each episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling in February will be devoted 

The company’s next major event, ROH’s Supercard of Honor XV, is set for this April. It was announced that Bandido vs. Jonathan Gresham to crown the Undisputed ROH World Champion will headline the Supercard of Honor event.

Supercard of Honor XV will mark ROH’s return from a hiatus. The event is scheduled for Friday, April 1 from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX. The only match announced as of this writing is Bandido vs. Gresham.

Founded on February 23, 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ring of Honor has spent the last 19 years as a place for stars to hone their craft inside the squared circle. Standout alumni include Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, as well as stars like Adam Cole, Kevin Owens, and Jay Lethal.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Briscoes Comment On Potentially Signing With WWE Or AEW

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes recently spoke with Busted Open Radio about the potential of them working for WWE or AEW. While the talk has largely been about them and AEW, the popular duo believes they could make an impact for Vince McMahon.

WWE

“I mean, I think that we would definitely survive,” Jay said. “Because at the end of the day you’ve got to get in that ring and ring the bell.”

Mark Briscoe added, “I think that we would survive and thrive. Vince McMahon likes money, and shoot when we get in-between those ropes, that’s what we are going to do, we are going to make your company money. I think that’s the bottom line, not trying to sound cocky or anything.”

“We are very confident in our abilities, especially right now we are at the top of our game,” Jay added. “So, really man, anywhere we go, we are going to definitely like he said, survive and thrive.”

The style of The Briscoes is very unique and certainly different from anything in WWE right now. However, the tag team believes that is what is needed right now. The fighting style is something they both think fans want

“When people are sitting around, and you’ve got a wrestling fan that has wrestling on TV, and he has his friends over and there not wrestling fans. What are you going to show them to get them to become wrestling fans? You can’t be showing them this clown s–t, man,” Jay stated. “You’ve got to show them something that they can get into, some real s–t.

“And professional wrestling as we all know, there’s so many different flavors of professional wrestling,” Mark added. “But you can’t have certain flavors showcased for such a high percentage of the time. You’ve got to have a fight, that’s what wrestling is, a fight. That’s got to be your staple, that’s got to be your backbone. Your backbone can’t be comedy or this that and the other you’ve got to have fighters out there.”

AEW

If they joined AEW. With the company having a huge roster, Jay made it clear that they wouldn’t be taking a backseat to anybody.

“That’s the thing man, if it does happen, when and if, everybody else is going to have to take a backseat. That’s just going to be the way it is,” Jay Briscoe said. “Once we get in there, ya’ll know what we’re going to do. Once they see we do us and FTR and we whoop their ass, they aren’t going to have no choice but to put us regularly on their television program.”

The Briscoes have been undergoing a war of words online with FTR recently. Despite the fact that they do not like Twitter, the duo admitted that they need to do it at this point in their careers.

“We’re just keeping it real, man. I don’t even like to get on the damn Twitter, man,” Jay Briscoe said. “It just sucks you in, I don’t like to get too involved but at this point in our careers, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. So, we just putting it out there and letting them know, ‘we’re here.’”

“Especially like, it wasn’t five minutes after the Ring Of Honor news hit. Back when it did hit, when your boy, Dax, Big Dax just tweeting Briscoes, nothing but Briscoes,” Mark added. “So we can’t sit there, yeah, ‘Briscoes, huh, Briscoes, what’s up?’”

The Briscoes also believe they will be sure to make a big impact if they do join the company. The team are confident due to the fact they’re trying to provide for their families. This means they will do whatever is needed.

“I think once we make that splash, they’re going to want to see it again and again,” Jay Briscoe stated. “So, I ain’t really too worried about that. At the end of the day we’re providing for our families. So we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. But, I don’t think we’ve got to worry about riding the bench.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Former ROH Champion PCO Reportedly Signs Impact Wrestling Deal

According to a recent report, former Ring Of Honor World Champion PCO (Pierre Carl Ouellet) has signed a contract with Impact Wrestling.

Impact Wrestling has reportedly expanded its roster with the addition of veteran wrestler and former Ring Of Honor World Champion PCO (Pierre Carl Ouellet).

According to Pat Laprade of TVASports, PCO has signed a contract with Impact that will also allow him to work indie dates. However, PCO will have to prioritize Impact commitments over indie bookings whenever necessary. At the time of writing, there’s been no official announcement from either party and no word on the contract’s length.

The 54-year-old Québécois recently parted ways with Ring Of Honor following a three-year stint during which he won the promotion’s top prize on one occasion, the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles on one occasion (with former Villain Enterprises teammates Marty Scurll & Brody King), and the ROH Tag Titles on one occasion (with Brody King).

PCO had a brief stint with Impact back in the mid-2000s when the company was still known as TNA. He made his Impact Wrestling re-debut at the company’s Hard To Kill pay-per-view on January 8, 2022, alongside several of his now-former ROH colleagues (Matt Taven, Vincent, Maria Kanellis Bennett, and Mike Bennett) in what appeared to be the beginning of an invasion storyline.

The invasion story line continued on last night’s Impact.

As we previously reported, Ring Of Honor recently released its entire roster and is now on an indefinite hiatus. The plan is for ROH to relaunch later this year, although whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen. The company’s final pre-hiatus pay-per-view, Final Battle, took place on Saturday, December 11, 2021, at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

Under the name Quebecer Pierre, PCO worked for WWE between 1993 – 1995 as one-half of The Quebecers alongside Quebecer Jacques (Jacques Rougeau). PCO and Rougeau won the WWF Tag Team Championship on three occasions.

Source: TheSportster

Jimmy Rave Passes Away At Age 39

Former Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling star Jimmy Rave has passed away today at the age of 39-years-old. The announcement came yesterday on Twitter, in a statement prepared by agent Bill Behrens and Rave’s daughter, Kailah.

“James Michael Guffey has died at the age of 39,” the statement began. “James was best known as Professional Wrestler Jimmy Rave. His career started in 1999, continued for over 2 decades. He was a two-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. He appeared in Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling, where he teamed with Lance (Hoyt) Rock as the ‘Rock and Rave Infection.’ In Ring of Honor, he feuded with AJ Styles and was the ‘Crown Jewel’ of the faction, The Embassy, and last appeared in 2013 as a member of S.C.U.M. He toured Japan with both Dragon Gate Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling where in 2008 he competed in the Best of the Super Junior Tournament. In 2005, he appeared on World Wrestling Entertainment’s Sunday Night Heat. Rave also appeared in numerous independent promotions including Rampage Pro Wrestling, Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, and Combat Zone Wrestling, among many others. He also served as the booker for several years in Rampage Pro Wrestling and led a faction known as Jimmy Rave Approved.

“Outside of wrestling, he held the position of Director of the Bartow County, Georgia Peer Support, Wellness, and Respite Center for several years. James had been struggling with drug addiction for many years. His struggles resulted in the amputation of his arm and, later, both of his legs. James is survived by his ex-wife Felicia, daughter Kailah, son James II, and his parents Jim & Toni Guffey. At the time of his death, he was living in Philadelphia, PA area with Gabby Gilbert. RIP, James Michael Guffy, 12/8/82 – 12/12/21. Memorial services will be held in Georgia. Details to be released at a later time.”

The news of Jimmy Rave’s passing comes only a few months after Rave was forced to have both of his legs amputated following a battle with a MRSA infection. Jimmy Rave had previously been forced to have his left arm amputated due to infection in 2020, which resulted in him being forced to retire from wrestling.

Many have tried to help Jimmy Rave as he worked to overcome his struggles in the past year. A Go Fund Me page was launched for Rave earlier this year to help him with the cost of his medical bills. In recent months, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley also began raising money to assist Rave.

“I was thinking about Jimmy and how Jimmy’s Go Fund Me really needed a boost,” Foley told The Wrestling Inc. Daily last week. “Losing both legs, it’s devastating emotionally, psychologically, and also financially. He’s got bills that go for $100 thousand. He believes they’ll be able to whittle that down to $50 or $60 thousand, but it’s still a mountain of money.

“I just thought ‘hey, if there are some orders out there to be had, and I can combine that with some of my memorabilia, and also some personal interactions like the 2 nights in Georgia.’ Actually, it was 3 nights, and we had a fantastic time with a couple that bid a nice amount of money. It really exceeded my expectations. I thought we’d get maybe $10 or $12 thousand. Michael said ‘we’re going to try and get you and Jimmy to his goal’, which was $22 thousand. And we get it. It was really incredible.”

Debuting in October of 1999, Jimmy Rave joined Ring of Honor in 2003 and gained notoriety for being one of the most hated heels in the early history of the promotion. He would wrestle the likes of AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Nigel McGuinness, and countless others, and once unsuccessfully challenged Danielson for the Ring of Honor Championship in 2006. His most notable matches in ROH were a tag match where Rave and current WWE on-screen authority figure Adam Pearce wrestled Danielson and Punk at ROH Unscripted II, Punk’s last Ring of Honor match, and a Fight Without Honor match with McGuinness in March of 2007.

Jimmy Rave would join Impact Wrestling, then TNA, in 2007, but failed to catch on despite his aforementioned Rock & Rave tag team with Lance Hoyt (current AEW star Lance Archer). The duo would be released in 2009 after an uneventful two-year run, though Rave would eventually return for several one-off appearances until 2013.

Rave would also make several returns to ROH, first in 2009 to feud with Grizzly Redwood and Necro Butcher, though he was let go shortly after as he battled his drug addiction. He would return again in 2011 to feud with The Embassy’s new Crown Jewel Tomasso Ciampa, and one last time in 2013 as a member of the S.C.U.M. stable, alongside Kevin Steen, Jimmy Jacobs, Steve Corino, Rhino, Cliff Compton, Matt Hardy, and Rhett Tidus. He would continue to wrestle on the independent circuit afterward before his retirement.

 Condolences to Jimmy Rave’s family, and friends during this difficult time.

You can read the statement on Jimmy Rave’s passing below.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Final Battle: End Of An Era Results 12/11/2021, “The Titan” Adam Scherr (Braun Strowman)

ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman, and Dutch) w/ Vita VonStarr defeated Shane Taylor Promotions (Kaun, Moses & O’Shay Edwards) (c) to WIN the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship

Miranda Alize and The Allure (Angelina Love and Mandy Leon) defeated Chelsea Green and The Hex (Allysin Kay and Marti Belle)

10-MAN WILDCARD TAG TEAM MATCH

Brian Milonas, Beer City Bruiser, World Famous CB, Flip Gordon & PJ Black defeated Sledge, Demonic Flamita, Will Ferrara, LSG & Max The Impaler

Dragon Lee defeated Rey Horus

FOUR CORNERS SURVIVAL MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

Rhett Titus defeated Silas Young, Joe Hendry, and Dalton Castle (c) to win ROH World Television Championship

ROH PURE CHAMPION

Josh Woods (c) defeated Brian Johnson

FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR

Shane Taylor defeated Kenny King

ROH WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

Rok-C (c) defeated Willow Nightingale

Brody King, Homicide, Rocky Romero, and Tony Deppen defeated Eli Isom, Taylor Rust, Tracy Williams & EC3

After the match – EC3 grabs a microphone after the match as Eli Isom lays waste in the ring. EC3 says today we pay homage to the past. EC3 wants Eli to stand. EC3 helps him up. He says that they stand in a ring of honor. EC3 says there is no honor in what they do, but they do it for them for corporate three-letter companies. EC3 says people’s souls go into this and they get nothing. He asks where are the leaders. Brian Johnson comes out and gets in EC3’s face and EC3 tells him he lost everything tonight. EC3 says it makes a man like him so dangerous. EC3 says they can take back this industry block by block and build it in their own image. EC3 offers a choice: control your narrative. Become who you’re supposed to be. EC3 says they are the leaders the wrestling world has been waiting for. EC3 says he’s suffered the public humiliation of being fired and lost his home. He wants those in the ring to join him for freedom. EC3 says to control your narrative you have to fight. EC3 tells Brian Johnson to free the titan. The former Braun Strowman (“The Titan” Adam Scherr), then makes his way down to the ring to shock the RoH fans.  He clears the ring and EC3 says this is not an invasion and this is an awakening as he stands in the ring with two others. The former The Titan then picks up Eli Isom and chokeslams him to the mat. The RoH fans chant “Holysh*t!” as EC3 says we’ve been warned.

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Briscoe Brothers (Mark Briscoe and Jay Briscoe) defeated The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) (c) to win ROH World Tag Team Championship

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Jonathan Gresham defeated Jay Lethal to win ROH World Championship

ROH Final Battle: End Of An Era 12/11/2021

DATE: December 11, 2021 8:00 pm
LOCATION: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
AVAILABLE ON:FITE, ROH HonorClub, Traditional PPV

CARD

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
? vs. Jonathan Gresham

ROH World Champion Bandido was pulled from the match after testing positive for covid

ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Rok-C (c) vs. Willow Nightingale

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (c) vs. The Briscoes (Mark and Jay Briscoe)

ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP
Josh Woods (c) vs. Brian Johnson

ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
Dalton Castle (c) vs. TBD

ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Shane Taylor Promotions (Jasper Kaun, Moses Maddox, and O’Shay Edwards) (with Ron Hunt) (c) vs. The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman, and Dutch) (with Vita VonStarr)

GRUDGE MATCH
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Shane Taylor vs. Kenny King

SIX-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
Eli Isom, Taylor Rust, and Tracy Williams vs. VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Homicide, and Tony Deppen)

10-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
TBD vs. TBD