Tony Khan Comments On Possibility Of Re-Branding ROH Programming Under AEW Umbrella

ROH’s annual Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view took place on July 26, leaving fans extremely satisfied with what they saw, as many are already praising the show for its quality wrestling and memorable moments. However, since Tony Khan purchased the promotion in 2022, there has been a notion that Khan doesn’t put as much effort or care into ROH as many would like, especially considering how influential the company was during its 2000s boom period.

During the Death Before Dishonor media scrum, Khan noted that ROH could potentially benefit from being re-branded in order to have more association with AEW, considering that AEW is much more recognizable in 2024. “It’s really interesting what the promotion has grown into, but I’m really proud of it,” Khan said. “I think ROH holds an important place. I recognize that AEW is at the very top of pro wrestling. The ROH brand could frankly benefit from even more association. I don’t think it’s out of the question to say or sacrilegious to say. I think it would only help grow the ROH brand if I were to license it or sublicense it if it were “AEW ROH.” I don’t think that’s a crazy thing or sacrilegious or bad. I think it would be good for everybody. People would see more of the connectivity that exists between promotions and what we’re going for.”

Khan also noted that if “AEW ROH” became a reality, it would likely give ROH more of a chance to be broadcast on Warner Bros. Discovery platforms, especially given that Khan is still in negotiations with WBD regarding AEW’s new media rights deal. ROH currently streams on the HonorClub subscription service, and is usually treated as a separate entity away from AEW.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to AEW

WWE Champ Cody Rhodes Receives Father Dusty’s Robe In Emotional Moment At Tokyo Event

WWE are currently in Japan treating their fans to two nights of live wrestling at the legendary Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo for the company’s first tour of the country in five years. The live events have already presented a whole host of memorable moments, including Meiko Satomura announcing her intentions to beat Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship after news of her pending retirement hit the headlines, and one wholesome moment saw Cody Rhodes presented with a very special gift. After successfully defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against AJ Styles in the main event of the first night of action, Rhodes was presented with a special robe and hat worn by his father, the late Dusty Rhodes.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1816913760277434383

Rhodes would put on the jacket and hat before strutting around the ring in the same way his father did in his prime. He would then do the traditional bow as a sign of respect to the Japanese culture and bid farewell to the Tokyo crowd, thanking them for being so welcoming.

Despite being widely known as “The American Dream” during his career, Dusty was highly respected in Japan as he performed in the country a number of times, with the first notable tour he went on taking place in 1975 with AJPW when the company was affiliated with the NWA. Rhodes would later go on to tour with NJPW during the 1980s, even competing in the MSG Series tournament, the competition that acted as the spiritual predecessor to the G1 Climax. “The American Dream’s” final appearances in Japan took place in 2004, when he was part of a ZERO-ONE event, as well the first three HUSTLE pay-per-views, where he also got to team with his friend Steve Corino, and son Dustin Rhodes, who went by the name Dusty Rhodes Jr. in HUSTLE.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Death Before Dishonor 7/26/2024 (Results)

Zero Hour

MxM Collection defeated Angelico & Serpentico. Mansoor and Mason Madden made their ROH debut with nifty teamwork and stunning poses. Hot tag to Madden to clean house. Tag back to Mansoor for the double-team double underhook brainbuster on Serpentico to win. Afterward, Maria Kanellis complimented the work of the MxM Collection. The insinuation being that she is interested in managing them.

Marina Shafir defeated Angelica Risk. Shafir kicked ass to win via chokehold.

The Infantry defeated Griff Garrison & Anthony Henry. Maria Kanellis was ringside to support Garrison in a makeshift tag team due to the injured Cole Karter. As the match progressed, Henry argued with Maria. He ran the ropes and accidentally knocked her off the apron into the arms of Garrison. Meanwhile, the Infantry closed with the Boot Camp big boot to side Russian leg sweep finisher. Shawn Dean made the pin.

Top Flight defeated Outrunners. Dante Martin blasted a jumping knee to send Turbo Floyd tumbling out of the ring. Darius Martin finished Truth Magnum with a fireman’s carry cutter.

Death Before Dishonor

The Beast Mortos defeated Komander. Amazing highlight reel of cool moves. Komander gambled for a rope-walking shooting star press, but he missed the mark when Mortos moved. The beast hit a vicious backbreaker and the Power Bull inverted piledriver to win. Breaking news that Mortos will wrestle Hologram on Collision.

Melissa Santos interviewed the MxM Collection. They spoke in acronyms to call out FTR for Collision. Dax Harwood needs an extreme makeover, but Cash Wheeler has potential.

ROH World Tag Team Championship: Matt Taven & Mike Bennett defeated Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii to retain the titles. Epic action with a garbage finish. Drama was hot, then Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher entered the scene. Callis distracted the referee, O’Reilly lunged at Fletcher, and Bennett struck O’Reilly with a low blow to win.

Texas Death Match: Leyla Hirsch defeated Diamante. Badass violence. Hirsch was busted open when stuck in the Tree of Woe for a dropkick into chairs to the face. Diamante bled as well. I think that was from colliding face-first into a chair in the corner. Diamante duct taped Hirsch to the ropes to beat her on the head with a chancla stuck with tacks. Hirsch hit a Samoan drop off the apron through a barbed wire board. On the finish, Hirsch duct taped Diamante to the table. Hirsch climbed a tall ladder for a moonsault through the table. The referee began the ten-count. Hirsch rose to her feet at 9. Diamante was still down at 10.

ROH Pure Championship: Lee Moriarty defeated Wheeler Yuta to win the title. Pure rules in effect. Battle of technicians. Both men used all three rope-breaks. Yuta suckered Moriarty into an armbar. Moriarty reached the ropes, but no more breaks. Moriarty used the ropes to roll into top position for a pin, and he put his feet on the ropes for leverage to win.

ROH Women’s World Television Championship: Red Velvet defeated Billie Starkz to win the title. Starkz tried to fake a neck injury again, but it didn’t work this time. After Starkz ‘surprised’ her opponent to continue the match, Velvet played possum to throw her off the turnbuckles. Velvet pounced for a front reverse DDT to win.

ROH World Six-Man Championship eliminator match: Dustin Rhodes & the Von Erichs defeated Dark Order. Winners advance to wrestle the Undisputed Kingdom for the six-man straps at Battle of the Belts. Dark Order used cowbell and cowboy hat antics to take control. They worked a smart game plan consistently attacking Rhodes on the outside to keep him out of the match. That lasted only so long. Hot tag to Rhodes running wild with snap powerslams. Dark Order dumped the Von Erichs over the barricade to attack Rhodes with a numbers advantage. That led to an Iron Claw return from the Von Erichs to clear the path for Rhodes to deliver the Shattered Dreams kick to Reynolds. A Final Reckoning suplex sealed the deal. Afterward, Katsuyori Shibata entered the ring to give the Von Erichs his endorsement. The Texas crowd was hot throughout for this match.

ROH World Television Championship: Atlantis Jr. defeated Brian Cage, Johnny TV, Lio Rush, Shane Taylor, and Lee Johnson to retain the title in Survival of the Fittest. Elimination style of contest. The flow was often one-on-one action with highlights galore. Taylor was eliminated first by Rush via frog splash after everyone teamed up on Taylor. Rush was eliminated second by Johnson via lifting reverse DDT. Johnson was eliminated third by Cage via springboard kick powerbomb combo with Johnny. Johnny was eliminated fourth by Cage via Drill Claw. Cage was eliminated fifth by Atlantis Jr. via roll-up on countering the Drill Claw. Atlantis Jr. was the last man standing.

ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena defeated Queen Aminata to retain the title. Slow pace with hard hits. Athena crushed a tombstone piledriver onto the ring steps. Aminata kicked out on the cover and roared back with anger. Aminata headbutt Athena to set up a double underhook driver. Billie Starkz ran in with Red Velvet right behind to prevent interference. Aminata headbutt Starkz off the apron. Meanwhile, Athena called over Lexy Nair to take her microphone. Boom! Athena walloped Animata with the mic as the referee was dealing with Starkz and Velvet. Athena took flight for the O-Face to win.

ROH World Championship: Mark Briscoe defeated Roderick Strong to retain the title. As Briscoe had momentum setting up a Jay Driller, the Kingdom ran in to interfere. Mike Bennett bashed Briscoe with a title belt. 1, 2, dramatic kick out by Briscoe. Kyle O’Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii ran in to even the odds and brawl with the Kingdom. Briscoe surged for a froggy bow to win.

AEW Rampage Preview 7/26/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT.

  • AEW Royal Rampage to earn shot at AEW World Title at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam
  • Kris Statlander vs. Leila Grey
  • The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) vs. Kyle Fletcher & RUSH
  • Lance Archer will be in action

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/26/2024

WWE SmackDown will air tonight on FOX from the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

  • Cody Rhodes to respond to the Bloodline
  • LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar
  • Queen of the Ring Nia Jax and Money in the Bank winner Tiffany Stratton vs. WWE Women’s Champion Bayley and Michin
  • WWE Tag Team Championship Top Contender Gauntlet: Street Profits vs. Baron Corbin & Apollo Crews vs. The OC vs. Pretty Deadly vs. Legado Del Fantasma vs. Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa
  • Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn to appear

ROH Death Before Dishonor 7/26/2024 (Card)

ROH Death Before Dishonor 2024 airs tonight at 7 pm Eastern on HonorClub globally from the
Esports Stadium Arlington on Arlington, Texas.

CARD

ROH World Championship Match: Mark Briscoe (c) vs. Roderick Strong

ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: The Undisputed Kingdom(c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii

ROH Women’s World Championship Match: Athena (c) vs. Queen Aminata

ROH Women’s World Television Championship Match: Billie Starkz (c) vs. Red Velvet

Texas Deathmatch: Diamanté vs. Leyla Hirsch

ROH Pure Championship Match: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Lee Moriarty

ROH World Television Championship Survival of the Fittest Match: Atlantis Jr. (c) vs. Lio Rush vs. Shane Taylor vs. Brian Cage vs. Lee Johnson vs. Johnny TV

ROH Six-Man Tag Team Titles Eliminator Match: Dustin Rhodes and The Von Erichs vs. The Dark Order

Zero Hour Match: MxM Collection vs. TBA

WWE In Talks To Bring First International WrestleMania To Major European Capital

In 2025, the city of Las Vegas will have the honor of hosting WWE’s biggest premium live event of the year – WrestleMania – for the second time in company history. Beyond that, though, WWE may be looking to expand WrestleMania across the pond, particularly to the country of England.

As revealed in a press release issued by the London Government, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, met with WWE President Nick Khan and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque on Thursday with the intent of discussing the possibility of bringing a future WrestleMania event to England’s capital city of London. For Sadiq Khan, this marked an opportunity to make progress in his mission to platform more North American and international sports in London.

“London has great pedigree in hosting the biggest international sporting events from around the globe – and I’m determined to cement our city’s reputation as the undisputed sports capital of the world, as we work together for a better London for everyone,” said Sadiq. “It’s exciting to be working with the WWE team. The meeting was really productive, and talks will continue about how we could turn our ambition into a reality.”

As pointed out by Levesque, WWE and London have a “long and successful history” that dates back several decades, including 1992’s SummerSlam PLE, which emanated from the world-famous Wembley Stadium. As of 2024, though, WWE has yet to take its grandest stage outside of North America — something that 16-time world champion John Cena previously campaigned to change by specifically bringing it to the prosperous city of London.

Coming out of WWE’s meeting with Sadiq, Nick Khan indicated that further talks were needed, but so far, they appear to be promising. “Sadiq Khan and his team are working hard on positioning London as a sport and entertainment capital of Europe, and it has been great to hear more on his vision for how WWE can support them on that journey,” Nick Khan said.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH TV Preview 7/25/2024

ROH will air a new episode of its weekly television show tonight at 7 pm ET on HonorClub. 

You can sign up for the streaming service here. Below is the lineup for the show:

  • Abadon in action
  • Jon Cruz vs. EJ Nduka
  • 10-man tag team match: Iron Savages, Jacked Jameson, Anthony Henry & Nick Comoroto vs. Top Flight, Action Andretti, Komander & Fuego Del Sol
  • The Von Erichs vs. Dark Order
  • Atlantis Jr. & Lio Rush vs. Johnny TV & Shane Taylor
  • Lee Moriarty & Anthony Ogogo vs. Wheeler Yuta & Claudio Castagnoli

TNA Impact Preview 7/25/2024

TNA Wrestling will present a new episode of TNA Impact tonight on AXS TV.

  • Fallout from TNA Slammiversary
  • New TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth kicks off the show
  • Jordynne Grace & Eric Young vs. Hammerstone & Ash By Elegance
  • AJ Francis vs. Sami Callihan
  • Cody Deaner vs. Steve Maclin
  • Matt Hardy & ABC vs. The System & JDC
  • We’ll hear from Josh Alexander

Former NWA Women’s Champion Kamille Makes AEW Debut On Dynamite

Mercedes Mone brought in an enforcer in Kamille to stack the odds against Britt Baker during “AEW Dynamite.” The former NWA Women’s World Champion of 812 days was reportedly signed by AEW earlier this year after becoming a free agent and holding talks with both Tony Khan and WWE. And after months of waiting and speculation, she finally debuted during Wednesday’s show as Mone sought to eliminate her would-be challenger. 

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1816276455606599789

Before Kamille emerged, Baker had to endure a challenge from a fellow former Women’s World Champion in Hikaru Shida, dispatching her opponent by submission after 10 minutes of action. She hadn’t much time to celebrate as Mone’s music played and she emerged to tease a TBS Championship bout between the pair. Per the theme of the feud thus far, however, she said that wouldn’t happen and Baker was set upon by AEW’s latest debutant. 

Britt Baker returned for the first time since September 2023 at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in June, confronting Mercedes Mone moments after she’d dethroned Stephanie Vaquer to become NJPW Strong Women’s Champion on top of retaining her TBS title.

Kamille’s arrival in AEW had been long in the making, as it had been heavily reported she had signed with the company earlier this year, but no word was mentioned on when she would show up. According to Fightful Select, her appearance on “Dynamite” was kept very quiet in order to maintain the element of surprise, but it was no secret that she had signed with the company. She was reportedly backstage at AEW events as early as January 2024, which ultimately led to contract talks and her eventual signing with the promotion, with graphics and materials being in place for sometime. There were rumors she was set to join WWE as part of the “WWE NXT” roster earlier this year, but those talks never fully progressed.

While newer fans to AEW will see her appearance as a debut, Kamille appeared in AEW in the past when the company had a brief working relationship with the NWA. She appeared on an episode of “Dynamite” in 2021 to confront “Legit” Leyla Hirsch ahead of their NWA World Women’s Championship match at that year’s EmPowerrr pay-per-view, where Kamille retained her title over the Russian star. Despite making an appearance for the company many years ago, she has yet to wrestle a match for AEW, but now that she is aligned with “The CEO,” expect to see more of Kamille on AEW TV going forward.

Source: Wrestling Inc.