SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.
•Top Stories of the Week
- Mayu Iwatani defeated Kelly Klein to become the 3rd WOH World Champion. The match took place on Sunday February 10th, at the Honor Club event Bound By Honor.
- Two main event caliber matches have been announced for the 17th Anniversary PPV on March 17th. Jay Lethal will defend the ROH World Championship against Matt Taven. The second marque match for the show will be Bandido vs. Rush.
- Per wrestlinginc.com, Greg Gilleland (General Manager of ROH) was interviewed by the local CBS affiliate in Baltimore. Among other things, he was asked about ROH’s chances of working with AEW in the future. Overall Gilleland was dismissive, but said that they have a good relationship with AEW’s VP’s. As a result, as is usually the case in Pro Wrestling, never say never.
•Live Event Results
There was an international TV taping this past Saturday in Lakeland, FL. If you would like to see spoilers, check out this link wrestlinginc.com.
Bound by Honor
2/10/19 at 7pm
Miami, Florida at the Watsco Center
1) Jay Briscoe defeated Rhett Titus at 5:32
2) Shinobi Shadow Squad defeated Dalton Castle and The Boys at 12:15
3) Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Colt Cabana at 13:07
4) Kenny King defeated Marty Scurll and Silas Young and Willie Mack at 11:17 in a non-title match
5) Jeff Cobb (c) defeated Rocky Romero at 14:18 to retain the ROH World Television Championship
6) Mayu Iwatani defeated Kelly Klein (c) at 11:03 to become the 3rd WOH World Champion.
7) Lifeblood (Juice Robinson, Tracy Williams, Bandido, and Mark Haskins) defeated The Bouncers & Coast 2 Coast (Beer City Bruiser, Brian Milonas, LSG, and Shaheem Ali) at 16:20
8) PCO defeated Mark Briscoe at 12:35
9) The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia) defeated Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, and Rush at 15:06 in a non-title match.
•Upcoming Major Show: ROH 17th Anniversary PPV
ROH 17th Anniversary PPV
3/17/19 at 6pm
Las Vegas, NV at Sam’s Town
3 Matches have been announced for ROH’s 17th Anniversary PPV:
- Jay Lethal (c) vs. Matt Taven for the ROH World Championship
- Bandido vs. Rush
- The Briscoes (c) vs. Villain Enterprises (PCO and Brody King) for the ROH Tag Team Championship.
•Upcoming Events
- ROH 17th Anniversary PPV (Pay-Per-View Event) 3/15/19 in Las Vegas, NV at Sam’s Town Live.
- ROH 17th Anniversary TV Taping (International TV Taping) 3/16/19 in Las Vegas, NV at Sam’s Town Live.
- Road to G1 Supercard – 3/31/19 in Baltimore, MD at UMBC Event Center.
- G1 Supercard (Pay-Per-View Event) 4/6/19 in New york, N.Y. at Madison Square Garden.
- Steel City Excellence (Honor Club Event) 4/13/19 in Pittsburgh, PA at Stage AE
- Masters of the Craft (Honor Club Event) 4/14/19 in Columbus, Ohio at Express live
- The Crockett Cup (Honor Club Event) 4/27/19 in Concord, NC at Cabarrus Arena
All current live events are located on rohwrestling.com.
•Latest TV Highlights: 2/10/19 ROH Wrestling
WOH TV Results
Feb. 10th, 2019
Atlanta, GA at Center Stage
Airing on Sinclair Networks and rohwrestling.com
- Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO, and Brody King) defeated Josey Quinn, Corey Hollis, and John Skyler at 6:31
- The Kingdom came out after the match to cut a promo on VE
- A shot of Nick Aldis and PJ Black pre-match was shown
- Nick Aldis (c) defeated PJ Black at 19:42 to retain the NWA World’s Championship.
- Juice Robinson came out and announced Lifeblood for the TV audience. The members of Lifeblood include Juice, David Finlay, Bandidio, Mark Haskins, Tracey Williams, and Tenille Dashwood.
Click this link to read our full report: pwtorch.com
•ROH in the Media
Not much ROH talent in the media this week.
•LATEST “TALKING HONOR” PWTORCH LIVECAST COVERING ROH
“Our Team of Honor.” This week, Harley R. Pageot and Emily Fear conclude their search for a new co-host with a big announcement. Then they discuss Bound by Honor including new Women of Honor champion Mayu Iwatani, Nick Aldis defending the NWA title against PJ Black, and further debate the continuity confusion between weekly ROH TV and Honor Club events with some help from a new correspondent and listener mail.
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “PWTorch” or “Pro Wrestling Torch” on your podcast app of choice
•Social Media Scene
Below is this week’s round-up of social media posts from ROH personalities.
I am Loving Rush’s Energy
Challenge made and accepted! @rushtoroblanco faces off with @LuchadorBandido at #ROH17!
Get your tickets NOW: https://t.co/bR9lW1sw3N
Fri March 15 – @samstownlv
LIVE on PPV & for #HonorClub VIP pic.twitter.com/fmiSP6FIOd— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) February 13, 2019
This is news to me
https://twitter.com/WildHorseTKO/status/1095468716966461440
Good use of meme
#NailedIt pic.twitter.com/Te33JUlAK3
— OVERKILL (@ThisIsHaskins) February 13, 2019
Yes, This is the match we need
22.02.19 – Korakuen Hall pic.twitter.com/3lu0wm8Bkn
— “A̶e̶r̶i̶a̶l̶ Assassin” Will Ospreay (@WillOspreay) February 12, 2019
•Closing Commentary
Last week I teased that ROH needs to try a different type of match. What type of match am I talking about? Intergender Wrestling.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. AEW just sold 14,000 seats in four minutes (including pre-sales). The game has officially changed, no matter what you read, or how people try to spin it. ROH needs to begin to differentiate themselves with the other US based promotions.
One of the hottest things on the indy scene is the high frequency of intergender matches. I always think that the US indy scene is a good barometer for what fans will be into in two or three years. However, I also think that something done at a small show typically needs to be turned down to a 7 (from a 10). This way, you can avoid the Gimmick turning into simply a gimmick.
If taken seriously, I think that select men and women wrestling would bring a lot of attention to ROH, as well as the talent performing in these matches. Overall, any reason for people to tune into ROH and buy Honor Club memberships is a good decision.
Tyler has been a wrestling fan for 20 years. He’s from Columbus, Ohio. Check him out on Twitter @ringoftyler and check out his podcast @tandbwrestling.
NOW CHECK OUT OTHER WEEKLY OVERVIEWS HERE.
OR JUMP TO LAST WEEK’S WWE OVERVIEW: WEEKLY OVERVIEW – ROH (thru 2/6): Top stories of week, major show lineups, live event results, schedule of live events, noteworthy social media posts, more
I don’t intend this comment to be mean spirited, but the idea of Intergender Wrestling is quite possibly the worst one I have ever heard, and I’ve been a fan for over 50 years. If ROH wants to differentiate itself, it should do whatever it has to do to become the permanent home of the NWA championship titles, and then present a realistic sports based wrestling product that hasn’t been seen since the early 1980s version of Georgia Champtionship Wrestling or Championship Wrestling from Florida. To degenerate into gimmicks like Intergender Wrestling will lead to a certain death. Regardless of what seems hot on the Indie scene, ask yourself how many tickets it’s selling. You’ll see it’s not nearly as hot as you think it is.
One other comment regarding Intergender Wrestling.
Mainstream advertisers will NEVER accept it. Again, it’s one thing on an indie show at the VFW sponsored by the local saloon, but it will never fly on a regular basis with a national promotion. Impact Wrestling was forbidden from using ODB in that way (and she was one who would have actually been competitive with a number of the men on their roster) by their TV partner at that time, Spike. WWE will be able to get away with a Nia Jax/Dean Ambrose comedy squash at Wrestlemania, but competitive matches between men and women where women actually get hit, get hurt and lose will never be accepted in the mainstream world. Nor should they.