Tag: ROH

Backstage News On Ric Flair’s Health After Last Match

Ric Flair is reportedly “doing great” despite getting bloodied and taking several bumps in his final match Sunday evening.

According to PWInsider, two doctors were waiting for the 73-year-old Flair the second he returned to the locker room after his match. A person who spoke to The Nature Boy after the medical evaluation provided a positive update, noting that Flair was perfectly fine. The report added that Flair was “obviously spent after the bout” and was saying he was “starving and wanted to go out and eat.” During his farewell speech, Flair told Tony Schiavone he was going to party with Kid Rock at the musician’s bar in Nashville, TN.

Fans were understandably concerned for Flair’s health after watching him take several bumps, especially towards the closing stages of the match. Furthermore, Flair appeared to be gasping for air midway through the bout, and one could notice that Andrade El Idolo, Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal tried to buy him time so he could catch his breath.

Flair appeared to get busted open after Karen Jarrett handed her high heel to her husband, who proceeded to strike Flair with the foreign object. Jarrett then slammed Flair’s head onto the barricade, which led to Megan Flair confronting Karen. During this sequence, Lethal continued to beat down on Flair, causing him to start bleeding from the forehead.

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The match eventually ended with Flair applying his signature figure-four leglock on Jeff Jarrett as referee David Miller counted to three. Prior to the finish, Andrade pulled Flair out of harm’s way as Jarrett accidentally hit his tag partner, Lethal, with a guitar shot. This was followed by Conrad Thompson throwing a pair of brass knuckles to Andrade, who proceeded to strike Jarrett.

A few more highlights from Ric Flair’s swansong can be seen below.

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Source: Wrestling Inc.

Update On Tully Blanchard’s AEW/ROH Status

There is an update on Tully Blanchard’s AEW/ROH status following ROH Death Before Dishonor.

According to Fightful Select, it looks like Blanchard will not be moving forward with AEW or ROH.

There were conflicting reasons behind Blanchard not appearing on Death Before Dishonor. Fightful was told that his prison ministry group was cited as the reason why he wasn’t there.

Talent and staff that inquired about Blanchard’s whereabouts were told that he was “effectively gone” from ROH and isn’t figured into plans moving forward.

During Saturday’s ROH Death Before Dishonor, it was revealed that Prince Nana had purchased Tully Blanchard Enterprises and was renamed The Embassy. The Embassy was Prince Nana’s original group in 2004. The current Embassy includes Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun), Brian Cage, & Jonathan Gresham.

Tully Blanchard Enterprises was first formed at the ROH Supercard of Honor with Gates of Agony and Cage. Gresham joined the group on the July 8 edition of AEW Rampage after he left Lee Moriarty in the ring with Gates of Agony. Before the group, Blanchard was the manager of the current ROH World Tag Team Champions FTR.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Jonathan Gresham Requesting ROH/AEW Release

The former Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham is seeking to be immediately released from his AEW/ROH contract, according to a new report from “Fightful.” It’s explained that Gresham asked for his release Saturday ahead of the ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view and his ROH World Title defense against Claudio Castagnoli — a bout he ultimately lost.

The report cites “a lack of communication between the company and Gresham leading up to the weekend,” inspiring the technical wrestling specialist to feel “disrespected.” The lack of time given to the World Title match during last night’s show was also a noted “tipping point.”

Gresham reportedly met with Tony before the show began and got heated enough to the point that he was “cussing out” the AEW/ROH President. “Fightful” notes that several people backstage have corroborated this story after what occurred between the two. Gresham has since responded to inquiries about the ordeal and claimed he is “done with wrestling for the foreseeable future after this month.” Part of the reason Gresham came out in his regular entrance attire last night was that he was unsure if that would be his final match before hanging up the boots. Tony Khan has yet to comment, and it remains unclear if Gresham has been granted his requested release from ROH and AEW.

After a successful career in the former ROH, Gresham made his AEW in-ring debut when he competed at their Battle of the Belts II against the flamboyant Dalton Castle. Gresham managed to hold on to his ROH World Title on that occasion when he defeated Castle by submission. His first time working with Tony Khan was at the ROH SuperCard of Honor XV this past April, the first ROH show following Tony Khan’s acquisition of the company.

UPDATE

According to Fightful, Gresham met with Khan before the pay-per-view and was already more heated than usual regarding the direction of his booking and character, but while their dialogue had been expected to stay private, details couldn’t help but spill into the locker room as the conversation increased in volume, with even the building’s security being able to hear it. Fightful’s previous report had stated that Gresham ‘cussed out’ Khan.

Gresham reportedly had contacts within AEW in the form of QT Marshall and Sonjay Dutt had also been a contact for him from within the company. Despite that, Gresham was frustrated with the creative direction of his character — specifically, he had been against the idea of turning heel, and more broadly, he “a vision for his creative direction” that Khan did not share. Gresham had apparently been told that creative changes had to go through Khan, but he was unable to meet with Khan until just a few hours before the event on Saturday. The finish of Gresham’s match with Claudio Castagnoli, which saw him lose the ROH World Championship, is believed to have been hinted to him, but it’s unclear whether he knew before the day of the show itself. Fightful claims that the typical creative process involves talent speaking to AEW coaches, as well as Marshall, Christopher Daniels, Marshall, and Pat Buck, who then act as intermediaries between the talent and Khan. The report also notes that while Khan does try to speak directly to talent, that practice has declined “due to the changing of the world and travel in general.”

The general lack of communication within AEW is not a new complaint, as former talent like Joey Janela, Marko Stunt, and Chavo Guerrero have discussed similar issues in the past. It remains to be seen whether Gresham will have his release granted, as neither Khan nor the company have made an official comment.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Death Before Dishonor Results 7/23/2022

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Colt Cabana defeated Anthony Henry

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Trustbusters (Ari Daivari & Slim J) defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger & Eli Isom)

– Backstage, Prince Nana reveals that he has purchased Tully Blanchard Enterprises

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Brian Cage & Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun) w/ Prince Nana defeated Tony Deppen, Alex Zayne & Blake Christian

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Willow Nightingale defeated Allysin Kay

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jonathan Gresham (c) w/ Prince Nana (**TITLE CHANGE**)

ROH SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brandon Tate & Brent Tate) defeated The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman & Dutch) (c) (**TITLE CHANGE**)

ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Wheeler Yuta (c) defeated Daniel Garcia

Rush  w/ Jose the Assistant defeated Dragon Lee

ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Mercedes Martinez (c) defeated Serena Deeb

ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Samoa Joe (c) defeated Jay Lethal w/ Satnam Singh

– A rundown of this week’s “AEW Dynamite” is shown, including Bryan Danielson’s return to in-ring action.

2 OUT OF 3 FALLS – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) defeated The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)

– After the match, FTR invited the Briscoes into the ring to allow them to receive the appreciation from the fans. FTR and the Briscoes shook hands. Harwood got on the microphone and said that he loves professional wrestling and that we’ll see FTR on “AEW Dynamite” on Wednesday. Regal, Castagnoli and Yuta came out to the stage, seemingly stating their intentions to challenge FTR.

ROH Death Before Dishonor 7/23/2022

DATE: July 23, 2022 8:00 pm
LOCATION: Tsongas Center, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
AVAILABLE ON: Pay-Per-View, FITE TV, Bleacher Report

CARD

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jonathan Gresham (c)

ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe (c)

2 OUT OF 3 FALLS – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The Briscoes vs. FTR (c)

ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Serena Deeb vs. Mercedes Martinez (c)

ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Daniel Garcia vs. Wheeler Yuta (c)

ROH SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Dalton Castle & The Boys vs. The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman & Dutch) (c)

Dragon Lee vs. Rush

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Allysin Kay vs. Willow Nightingale

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Anthony Henry vs. Colt Cabana

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Brian Cage & Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun) vs. Tony Deppen, Alex Zayne & Blake Christian

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger & Eli Isom) vs. Trustbusters (Ari Daivari & Slim J)

Tony Khan Says Ring Of Honor Isn’t A Subsidiary Of AEW, Provides Update On Promotion’s Future

Ring Of Honor owner Tony Khan has hinted at what’s in store for the beloved promotion.

Ring Of Honor owner Tony Khan seems pretty adamant that he doesn’t expect ROH to play second fiddle to AEW, the other pro wrestling promotion he owns.

“Is Ring of Honor as big as AEW right now? No. Is it selling as many PPVs? No. But that was incredible growth for Ring of Honor, a company that has over 20 years of history now,” TK said during the May 26 media call to promote AEW Double or Nothing (h/t Wrestling Inc.) “And they sold a ton of PPVs over the years, and that was, of all the shows they’ve promoted, one of the biggest Ring of Honor shows. It was the biggest show by far in years. When we get all the final numbers in, it’s going to be probably 20 times or more than the recent Ring of Honor PPVs. So we’ve been able to rebuild and get Ring of Honor, I think, to a stronger place it’s been in many years.”

Tony Khan announced his acquisition of ROH in the opening segment of the March 2 edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS. During the post-AEW Revolution media scrum on Sunday, March 6, Khan confirmed that he will be booking Ring Of Honor when the beloved promotion returns from hiatus … an event that is yet to occur.

Aside from the Supercard of Honor event — which had been scheduled way before TK finalized his acquisition of the promotion and was referenced by the man himself in the above quote — ROH is yet to return. Ring Of Honor titles have been defended on AEW TV and at various independent shows, but we still don’t know when the company will return to producing weekly shows.

“I would love to get Ring of Honor weekly TV series, or streaming series, wherever it ends up going, very soon,” Khan said in response to a question regarding ROH’s future. “And it’s something I’m working on, and I think it would be awesome for the fans, in addition to the great shows they get from AEW. There are a lot of Ring of Honor fans around the world that can’t wait until the TV comes back. And I am hopeful we’ll have Ring of Honor TV and continue the great calendar of Ring of Honor PPV events. Supercard of Honor was a big success for us, and I’d like to bring Ring of Honor back to PPV as well and follow up on it. I don’t know when the TV will start back up on a weekly basis, but that is my goal, to get it going again. It’s something I’m working on.”

Source: TheSportster

Top IMPACT Star Deonna Purrazzo Comments On AEW Debut On Next Week’s Dynamite

ROH Women’s World Champion and IMPACT star Deonna Purrazzo will be making her AEW debut on next week’s Dynamite.

It was announced on last night’s Dynamite that Purrazzo will wrestle ROH Women’s Interim World Champion Mercedes Martinez.

Purrazzo has reacted to the announcement via Twitter, as seen below.

Purrazzo and Martinez also engaged in a Twitter interaction later.

Ever since AEW President Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor last month, Purrazzo has been teasing her arrival on AEW TV.

Last October, Purrazzo explained why she was eager to wrestle against or tag with Dr. Britt Baker, her best friend in real life.

“To have that crossover with women and possibly wrestle someone like Britt or tag with someone like Britt, who is my best friend in real life,” Purrazzo told  Busted Open Radio. “It would just be very special for us, I think as friends, but for women’s wrestling too. And that’s the whole point of all this. It’s to grow and evolve women’s wrestling. We haven’t had a lot of those firsts yet, so any time you can kind of get your hands on that and claim it as your own, I think it’s important these days.”

For what it’s worth, Purrazzo signed a contract with IMPACT Wrestling in October 2020. At the time, Josh Mathews revealed via Impact Press Pass that Purrazzo had agreed to a long-term deal with the company.

Deonna Purrazzo lost the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship to Taya Valkyrie at Saturday’s Rebellion pay-per-view.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jonathan Gresham Reportedly Signs With AEW

ROH World Champion & PROGRESS Unified World Champion Jonathan Gresham has reportedly signed with AEW.

After weeks of speculation, a new report from Fightful Select confirms that Gresham has signed an AEW contract that will also see him perform for ROH.

Gresham will make his AEW TV debut at Battle of The Belts II this Saturday night on TNT as he defends the Ring of Honor strap against ROH veteran Dalton Castle.

AEW has also signed “Gates of Agony” Kaun and Toa Liona to similar contracts, as reported earlier this week. Word is that there are other talents who are signed to these AEW/ROH contracts, and names should be confirmed soon.

Gresham became the Undisputed ROH World Champion by defeating Bandido in the main event of ROH Supercard of Honor on April 1, which was the first show booked by new ROH owner Tony Khan.

Gresham has worked for Impact Wrestling in recent months, and will face Eddie Edwards in a non-title match at the Rebellion pay-per-view on April 23. There’s no word yet on if this will be his final date for Impact.

Gresham has also worked several indie dates in recent months, but there’s no word on if this new AEW/ROH contract will allow him to continue taking those bookings. Gresham captured the PROGRESS Wrestling Unified World Title on March 20 at Chapter 130 by defeating Cara Noir. Since then he has retained over Malik and Warren Banks, but there’s no word on how the AEW/ROH contract will impact his PROGRESS run.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Confirms Samoa Joe Has Joined Both ROH And AEW

Tony Khan recently spoke with the media following Ring Of Honor’s Supercard Of Honor show about signing Samoa Joe.

The former WWE Superstar debuted at the end of the event, and Khan made it clear that he’s excited to have him on the roster for both of his promotions.

“I am very excited to have Samoa Joe in both Ring Of Honor and All Elite Wrestling,” he exclaimed. “I think his timing was impeccable, and I’m sure the champ (Jonathan Gresham) agrees. But I am very excited, and we are going to hear from him shortly, and you’ll get to hear from him as well. But I know I am very excited about having Samoa Joe in AEW. Samoa Joe is going to be on Dynamite on Wednesday, and it was great to have him here on Supercard.

“I thought it made a great night of great wrestling a bit more special. And it was a really cool moment to see Samoa Joe in the ring. I think with Jonathan Gresham and Lee Moriarity. A few different generations of great wrestlers, and great Ring Of Honor stars. All people that potentially could be competing also in AEW. I am very excited about a great championship match to end a great PPV tonight.”

Jonathan Gresham joined Tony Khan in being pleased about the situation. He admitted that there are people on the roster that he sees as originals, with Joe being one of those. He is also pleased to have these veterans passing on their knowledge to the next generation of talent.

“For me, I am just very excited,” Gresham said. “From the locker room to people that are making special appearances. Like tonight, Samoa Joe. Christopher Daniels is in this locker room, Jay Lethal is here, B.J. Whitmer is here. To me when I became conscious to how wrestling can be, in my mind, how wrestling should be, I call these men, these great men, the originals. They still possess the fire and the spirit of what I believe wrestling is built upon.

“Having them here in this company, to teach the next generation, to help us understand how to be pro wrestlers, it means the world to me. I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and I am very happy these guys are coming back to an umbrella that has someone who cares so passionately about the sports and the essence of this business. Tony Khan, and Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, and all these guys are keeping the business of pro wrestling alive, and I am happy to be part of it.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Says Samoa Joe Is All Elite, Joe Set For AEW Dynamite

Samoa Joe is now All Elite.

Joe made his surprise return to ROH at the end of Friday’s Supercard of Honor XV event. The main event saw Jonathan Gresham defeat Bandido to become the Undisputed ROH World Champion, but Gresham and Lee Moriarty were attacked by Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal after the bout.

Lethal, who turned on longtime friend Matt Sydal earlier in the night after defeating Moriarty, challenged Gresham to an immediate title match but Gresham denied him because of his earlier actions. This led to Dutt hitting Gresham and Gresham getting beat down. Moriarty tried to help Gresham but he failed, and that’s when Joe came out. Joe faced off with Lethal, then choked Dutt out.

In an update, ROH announcer Ian Riccaboni noted on commentary that Joe would be appearing on AEW Dynamite this Wednesday.

Furthermore, AEW President and new ROH owner Tony Khan took to Twitter to declare that Joe is All Elite. Khan confirmed Wednesday’s Dynamite appearance for The Samoan Submission Machine, who has the longest ROH World Title reign of all-time at 645 days when he held the strap from March 22, 2003 – December 26, 2004.

Supercard of Honor XV marked Joe’s first ROH appearance since June 2015. He is a one-time ROH World Champion, a one-time ROH Pure Champion, and was inducted into the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame earlier this year.

WWE released Joe from his contract back on January 6. He was believed to be under the standard 30-day non-compete clauses that most WWE NXT talents have, which would’ve made him a free agent on February 5 when the clause expired.

Source: Wrestling Inc.