From ROHWrestling.com:
As you will see this weekend on ROH TV, the future of Ring of Honor changed on June 23rd when Steel Cage Warfare came to a conclusion and as you saw on the edition of ROH TV available right now the status of the World Title also began to change that day.
The vicious assault on then-World Champion Jay Briscoe forced the hand of Nigel McGuinness and ultimately led to this historic announcement:
For the first time in Ring of Honor history the World Title was vacated. So now, for the first time since “Road To The Title” in June 2002 when Bryan Danielson, Prince Nana, Xavier, Christopher Daniels, Scoot Andrews, Low Ki, Jay Briscoe, Spanky, BioHazard, Paul London, Doug Williams, Jody Fleisch, Jonny Storm, Amazing Red, Jerry Lynn, and AJ Styles began their quest to become the first Ring of Honor Champion, a tournament will be held to crown the 19th World Champion!
The tournament kicks off in Providence THIS Saturday night when we return to Rhode Island for a round of “Ring of Honor Wrestling” TV Tapings and it will continue on in Toronto and NYC before culminating in Philadelphia during “Death Before Dishonor XI” weekend this September! Not only do we have the first opening round matches for you this weekend but it also marks the return of The Forever Hooligans to ROH competition, a loaded 6-Man Tag match, a teacher versus student collision, and more! Here’s the line-up:
Ring of Honor World Title Tournament- First Round Match
Adam Cole vs. Mark Briscoe
Both men had their shot at championship glory during Jay Briscoe’s reign but neither man was able to dethrone the 18th World Champion. Now their journey to become number nineteen will begin when they collide with one another in Providence! Mark comes in looking to bring the title back into the Briscoe family while Adam Cole, with his recently questionable behavior, looks to achieve a dream many fans have felt was his destiny since the day he started here in Ring of Honor.
Ring of Honor World Title Tournament- First Round Match
Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt
These two men with a very extensive history outside of Ring of Honor will collide in hopes of getting one step closer to becoming World Champion. For Lethal it is a continuation of a quest that first started in Philadelphia at “Homecoming 2012” when he came up short in his excellent title match with then-champion Davey Richards and continued on into the reign of Kevin Steen in the face of chaos like the events of “Killer Instinct” and the “11th Anniversary”. For Dutt it is an opportunity to truly shine in Ring of Honor in a way in which he has never gotten a chance to in the past and what better stepping stone to do so than against a man with whom he has so much history.
Ring of Honor World Title Tournament- First Round Match
“Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. ACH
Size & power versus speed & agility, David versus Goliath, it is a story as old as time and one that will certainly be on display in this opening round bout. BULLET CLUB’s Karl Anderson is no small man and is certainly not lacking in power as he demonstrated in his bouts with Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong back in April. ACH, on the other hand, has demonstrated his ability to fly around the ring against those same men as well as against competitors like Jay Lethal and Kyle O’Reilly. In addition, ACH has shown a tremendous ability to absorb punishment and keep fighting against the odds. With each singles bout he enters, it seems easy to say that it is the biggest one of ACH’s young ROH career but in terms of it’s importance, not to mention the size of his opponent, it is safe to say that truly is the case here.
Ring of Honor World Title Tournament- Qualifying Match
Adam Page vs. Silas Young
The newest acquisition to the full-time ROH roster versus “The Last Real Man In Wrestling”…it’s the third bout between Adam Page & Silas Young here in Ring of Honor with each man claiming one victory over the other. The first win was Young’s as part of the Top Prospect Tournament in January while the second victory went to Page at “Relentless” in May but this is easily the most important meeting between these two combatants as the 13th spot in the World Title Tournament & a date with Tommaso Ciampa will go to the winner while a bout in Toronto with New Japan’s own KUSHIDA will go to the loser.
Proving Ground Match
World Tag Team Champions reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)
At the “11th Anniversary Event”, The Forever Hooligans made their first ROH appearance as a team but certainly not their first ROH appearance. Rocky Romero reigned as a two-time World Tag Team Champion (one alongside Ricky Reyes and the other with Davey Richards) while Alex Koslov has made sporadic appearances in bouts with Bryan Danielson, Roderick Strong, and even Romero, among others.
That night though, Romero & Koslov brought their own championship pairing to Chicago to face off with The American Wolves and then the following day, as part of the ROH TV Tapings, they challenged the newly-crowned World Tag Team Champions Fish & O’Reilly in reDRagon’s very first title defense. On both occasions Romero & Koslov were unsuccessful in acquiring victories but, if nothing else, they left ROH with the fans wanting to see more of the Hooligans.
Well this weekend the ROH faithful in Providence will have just that opportunity as the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions return to action in an attempt to earn a future World Tag Title shot against reDRagon!
Honor Personified Six Man Tag
“Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen, “Sicilian Psychopath” Tommaso Ciampa & “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs. BJ Whitmer & the American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
Last week we learned that Match Maker Nigel McGuinness had signed a huge 6-Man Tag for our upcoming evening in Providence that he told ROHWrestling.com is “Honor Personified” as it pits “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin, “The Sicilian Psychopath” Tommaso Ciampa, and Kevin Steen against BJ Whitmer & The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)!
“You may find it shocking that I would call this honor personified given that I selected Steen to participate.” said McGuinness to ROHWrestling.com when he made the announcement, “But I believe in my heart, after watching Kevin closely since he lost the title to Jay Briscoe, and particularly with how he stood up for Ring of Honor in Steel Cage Warfare, I believe that he truly has rediscovered that honor he had some years ago before Steve Corino got into his ear. As for the others, well there is no argument that BJ, Elgin, and The Wolves stood for honor throughout the battles with S.C.U.M and I have certainly seen Ciampa, since he returned in Toronto, show that his path is an honorable one which he hopes leads to the World Title. These 6-man represent the best elements ROH has to offer and in Providence they will no doubt show why we are the best pro wrestling on the planet!”
Student vs. Teacher
Michael Bennett w/ Maria Kanellis vs. Brutal Bob Evans
They have been at each other’s sides almost since the first day “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett set foot in Ring of Honor but after the events on recent episodes of “Ring of Honor Wrestling” TV, Michael Bennett has parted ways with his long time trainer Brutal Bob and done so in violent fashion. Now, at the surprising request of Brutal Bob, Match Maker Nigel McGuinness has signed a bout for Providence pitting the former Prodigy against his former trainer!
Will Brutal Bob give Bennett a beating like he used to back in Mike’s greener days or will it be Michael Bennett who shows that the student has surpassed the teacher? We will find out in Providence on the 27th and you can guarantee that Maria will be in the corner of her man that night!
Four Corner Survival
Vinny Marseglia vs. Todd Hanson vs. Kongo vs. Brian Fury
All four of these men have been standouts in previous ROH Tryout/Seminars and now will get their chance to shine as part of the ROH TV Tapings this Saturday! Vinny Marseglia has the most experience inside the ROH ring having most recently fought Tommaso Ciampa at “Dragon’s Reign”, not to mention competing in that ROH Contract Match QT Marshall won at “Boiling Point 2012” last time we were in Providence. Will that experience prove the edge Marseglia needs to be victorious in this one?
Also scheduled to appear:
– ROH World Television Champion: Matt Taven w/ Truth Martini
– Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander
– Tadarius Thomas
– #PartyBoys (Mike Sydal and Zizou Middoux)
– Plus ROH Match Maker Nigel McGuinness!
In addition to the announced matches you can certainly expect more bouts with the other talent scheduled to appear PLUS, from 6:30pm – 7:20pm, the stars of both ROH and New Japan will be available for the ROH faithful to meet:
– New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
– IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions The Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)
– Mark Briscoe
– “The First Lady of ROH” Maria Kanellis
– Michael Bennett
– Jay Lethal
– 3.0 (Scott “Jagged” Parker and “Big Magic” Shane Matthews)
It will cost $10 each for an 8×10 / 1 signed personal item OR for the combo price of $50, you can get one item from ALL 7! Either way, make sure you’re there early and don’t miss your chance to meet the stars of ROH & NJPW in-person!!
Tickets for THIS Saturday’s return to Providence are available HERE or, if they’re still available, at the door on the night of the show! Last time in Providence the event sold-out so don’t wait until the last minute to get your tickets for the absolute best pro wrestling on the planet!!!