Smarkverse

[Ricky Smarks]

Roman vs. Page is 100% an angle that was neve sure what to do with. Especially when I would never have drafted Usos or Roman myself.

I’m also not sure what the endgame for Page is. Roman isn’t the champion. I get that Roman is high profile, but it’s an interesting final boss strategy.

I do look forward to seeing where it goes, though.

 

[Ricky Smarks]

I’ll also take part of the heat because we wanted Hangman in the crossover. So Juice and I thought Roman wouldn’t like Hangman taking his eyes off him for that.

 

[Samoa Looch]

 

[Spitfire]

<3 this Silas Young match

 

[Samoa Looch]

<3 this Silas Young match

I can't believe they never faced each other tbh... made it an easy decision to book it honestly.

 

[Comrade Khan]

Yea im really down w silas vs rvd thats great stuff Looch

 

[Spitfire]

The viewers once again come across the special commentary line-up of Kevin Kelly, Matt Striker and Tony Schiavone from Korakuen Hall, Japan for the Honor Rising’s Night Two - for the conclusion of the two night special.

Kevin Kelly: Welcome everyone back to Korakuen Hall for the second night of action in this co-production between Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. I am once again joined by Matt Striker and Tony Schiavone.

Tony Schiavone: It is a pleasure to be at the table once again, and we have two great matches to make up the kickoff show. The first being Pentagon, Jr. taking on NJPW’s Kota Ibushi who returns to ring action following the dislocation of his shoulder. And then that will be followed up by Dark Order taking on Top Flight with the NWA World Tag Team Championships on the line.

Matt Striker: And that is just for starters. Tonight is going to great night as we have matches including King vs. Scurll, Ospreay vs. Robinson, but the real pull tonight will be the Undisputed ROH World Championship match between Gresham and Bandido. That match is going to change the entire landscape with a simple three count.

Kevin Kelly: That and many more matches Striker - so let's go to the ring for the first of many.

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Before the match Alex Abrahantes would grab a microphone and make it clear that the four other “Filthy Animals” involved in the six-pack match at Bound By Honor should watch tonight, the match would begin with respect with bot Ibushi and Penta shaking hands, but it quickly devolved in a much more aggressive and violent encounter with it being clear that Pentagon in particularly was very much focusing on the Ibushi’s shoulder that had suffered from injury recently.

The match would be a great crowd warm with Kota showing a lot of heart and tenacity throughout the match including kicking out and making a comeback after a package piledriver pin. Kota goes for a Phoenix Splash, but Penta rolls out of the way and Kota slaps the mat hard and hurts his already sore arm more. Kota taps to a nasty arm bar, but Penta refuses to release the hold, until Prince Puma runs out and chases off Penta. Puma checks on Kota and keeps his eye on Penta, too. As Pentagon, Jr. celebrates with Abrahantes applauding him as he would be joined by his brother Rey Fenix on the entrance way.

Winner: Pentagon, Jr.

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The cameras cut backstage, where Bullet Club’s Jay White is standing solo and is cutting a promo ahead of tonight’s action.

Jay White: Honor Rising? Honor Rising? No, no, no people - tonight this is the ToJay Show, with yours truly Jay White the star attraction for your viewing pleasure. The Bullet Club is back in Japan and it is great to be back where it all began, but let's not forget that the real Club now works out of Ring of Honor and that anyone that was left behind were those that did not make the cut. It is a known phenomenon of pretenders popping up in Japan anytime the King has had to leave the country. He says it all started when EVIL took it upon himself to make himself Bullet Club and Gedo rubber stamped it without his approval. And I suppose I should have taken this as a massive clue that Gedo would eventually betray me.

White pauses for a second and shakes his head clearly not pleased with past mistakes.

Jay White: Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. EVIL tonight you don’t have Gedo protecting you, it was bad enough you got brought in without his my, but then you thought you could create your own club within my ranks? EVIL should have been excommunicated for that alone, as it was clear attempt at starting another civil war, but I let it go and then when my era starts its global dominance, Evil stays behind once again to use that power vacuum to lead a new house using Bullet Club’s popularity and he dares call it a Graveyard? Bullet Club is thriving under my era, but his biggest mistake was thinking anyone wanted to follow his lead. Even his new house left without him and the two he thought would stick by his side were brought in by Tama.

White smiles at this comment, clearly enjoying the rise and fall of EVIL.

Jay White: I had to get rid of EVIL for the same reason I had to oust G.O.D. - there were far too many plays taking place behind my back. I want to thank EVIL for not having the foresight to side with Tama when he had the chance of setting Tama’s Bone Soldier in motion to bury EVIL’s Graveyard for King Switch.

White ushers in Juice to join him, and hands the microphone to one of the newest members of the Club - Juice Robinson.

Juice Robinson: Ospreay you have made an embarrassment of yours for losing your belt, and allowing our match to lose its value by reducing it to a non-title affair. Either way I am going to claim a win over you tonight and catapult myself into getting a future shot at the belt and it doesn’t matter how MJF officiates the contest - because tonight the person standing with their hands held high is going to be Rock Hard.

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Dark Order and Top Flight would feature in a good clean fight, which would see both teams look great in the contest and both their stock would be clearly on the rise and it was clear that both teams had potential of having bright futures especially Top Flight. The match would come to a conclusion with Grayson and Dante taking each other both out in a high flying spot, that would allow Evil Uno to end the contest by nailing Darius with a Falcon Punch to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championships.

Winners: Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson)

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The Foundation are standing in their private locker room backstage.

Tracy Williams: The Foundation was more than a stable to restore purity to Ring of Honor, it was a brotherhood. Jay you turned your back on four of his brothers in order to align himself with a group of lesser men. Jay you may claim that you don’t care about bringing back the sport of pure professional wrestling, but the wrestling world knows that’s a lie. You have allowed those leeches to play mind games with you and your own jealousy of Jonathan has festered and like a disease has corrupted your heart. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter because the Foundation has the cure and we’ll either bring you back home brother cleanse you with fire because we can’t let Vincent’s cult spread in Ring of Honor. I will personally cut it out of you if I have to and make no mistake, we’ll have John Cena’s back tonight. Cena may not be a pure professional wrestler in the strictest sense, but he’s got loyalty and respect and we got him into this mess so we won’t make him hustle alone.

Gresham then nods at Tracy as he steps forward.

Jonathan Gresham: There comes a time when the student surpasses the master and I feel Jay got scared of being left behind. Now that I have become the one thing that Jay wants to be and possess the one thing he values most and he sees it slipping by. He craves it and can’t stand the thought of someone that used to be trainee now being is competitor and possibly his better so he’s latched on to a man’s mission to destroy the Foundation because it would be the easiest way to remove me from the game and get what he truly wants and that’s this prize (he pats his original ROH Title). After I unify the original heavyweight and world titles, honor will live on, but he doesn’t want it to live with me. He’ll come for it. I welcome your anger and hatred Jay, but trust and believe I will be in that ring with Bandido, he will be the better man on this night and I will walk out the true undisputed Ring of Honor World Champion.

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Honor Rising would kick off with a live performance by J-Metal band Blood Stain Child who performed the official Theme Tune for the Night Two ‘Final Sky’.




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As the PPV officially begins, Marty grabs a mic and says he wants to address the elephant in the room. He says he ruined his relationships and doesn’t blame his friends for distancing themselves from him, but he says he’s come back to make amends and restore what he had built with them and tells Brody he has a Villain Enterprises shirt that he wants to offer to his former partner. King responds by taking the shirt before tossing it into the crowd and slapping Scurll almost out of his boots. He reminds Scurll the house always wins. For their violence is truly unlimited as he tosses away the microphone and the bell is rung. The key moments from the match would be as follows:

- Scurll attempts a tornado DDT on Brody in the corner, but on the turn Brody simply tosses Scurll's stomach first onto the mat.

- Brody just drops Scurll with a vicious lariat when he attempts to get back to his feet.

- Brody makes a cover, but Scurll get up instead. Scurll crawls to a corner to get up, but can’t catch his breath as Brody nails him in the bottom of the corner with a cannonball.

- Brody picks Scurll up for a valley beyond driver, but Scurll lands on his feet and ducks another lariat attempt by the behemoth after.

- Scurll fakes going for a superkick and when Brody attempts to block it, Scurll superkicks his knee instead causing Brody to bump face first hard and roll out onto the ring apron.
- Scurll attempts to superkick Brody off the apron, but Brody spins his foot around and then lariats Scurll completely off his feet.

- Scurll rolls under the bottom rope and as Brody pulls him up, Scurll low blows Brody. Scurll then cradle piledrives Brody onto the ring apron and awaits the count, but Brody makes it in before New Japan’s 20 count.

- Scurll goes for a jumping chicken wing, but Brody holds onto the top rope causing Scurll to crash onto the mat. Brody then hits a gut wrench piledriver for the pin to retain his title.

Winner: Brody King

After the match,The Miz would slide into the ring and lay Scurll out with a Skull Crushing Final and would look very pleased with himself as Nick Aldis would emerge from the back microphone in hand and have Kamille standing by his side. Aldis would ask what Miz was so afraid of, because it was clear that Scurll’s return to the ring clearly wasn’t going to plan, so he wondered why The Miz felt he needed to take out the Villain. Nick would make it clear that he should be more concerned with beating the ROH World Television Champion, so then the Worlds Heavyweight Champion might start to take him seriously and consider him as a potential challenge for the most important heavyweight belt in the world.

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The match between the past and present of Bullet Club would serve its purpose as a solid match to go in between two big time singles matches. The World’s Cutest Tag team would impress with both members working strategy of divide and conquer, with Phantasmo focusing on the more comical side of things, whilst Ishimori would be more focused in his approach with high impact maneuvers. It would quickly become clear that “the traitors” of the Club wanted to send a clear message as to exactly why they had joined The Pinnacle. Taiji would take his game up a notch and show a true violent streak that would work down both SHO and Takahashi, and that would setup for ELP to finish the match by nailing Yujiro with Sudden Death before Taiji would follow up with a Superstar Elbow to claim the victory.

Winners: World’s Cutest Tag Team

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Before the match, Cena gets on a mic to say he knows that the Righteous will try to get involved here as they have no honor so they may as well fight this match without honor which is greeted by a huge pop from the Japanese crowd. The key moments from the match would be as follows:

- Cena has Jay up for an FU, but Jay grabs the top rope preventing the move. Jay uses the ropes to jump to the apron outside the ring.

- Jay grabs Cena into an STO as Cena climbs through the ropes and performs the backbreaker and Flatliner combo on the apron driving Cena face first into the steel ring post behind Jay. Cena is now bleeding.

- Bateman removes the padding on the floor as Dutch attempts to piledrive Cena into the floor. Cena back body drops Dutch behind him and clotheslines Bateman onto the floor.

- The Foundation run out to clean up the Righteous mess they got Cena involved in.

- Cena rolls in and Jay goes for a flying elbow, but Cena rolls out of the way in time. After Jay crashes, Cena does his five knuckle shuffle routine and hoists Jay up for an FU only for Jay to flip off his shoulders and land on his feet. Jay immediately handsprings onto the ropes and hits Cena with a Lethal Injection. Cena barely kicks out in time.

- Jay goes up for another flying elbow drop, but Cena springs to his feet and knocks Jay down crotch first onto the top rope. Cena claims up and hoists Jay onto his shoulders and delivers an avalanche FU across the ring. Cena pins Jay after a lengthy down period for the win.

Winner: John Cena

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Alexa Bliss: I don’t understand why Britt Baker was still gaslighting Jamie Hayter when they don’t even share a locker room anymore. I’m not sure what Britt Baker could be afraid of, but you picked a fight with the wrong girl. I am five-feet of fury and tonight I am claiming a big time victory for Ring of Honor.

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OGK join commentary for this match to discuss their alliance with Adam Cole and their issues with Bullet Club in recent week and would also be joined by The Good Brothers who would inform the Kingdom they don’t plan to interfere since the Old Bucks got too big for their britches lately and they ask Mike where lovely Maria’s been hiding this year? The comment would clearly annoyed Bennett, with his wife still contractually obligated to ROH. The key moments from the match would be as follows:

- Kyle runs off the apron presumably to hit a diving knee on the standing Owens, but Kevin grabs Kyle midair and tosses him back first onto the ring apron. Kevin then screams in his face before nailing him with an apron bomb.

- Cody doesn’t let this slide and drives Owens’s face into the steel ring post before setting his sights on the Young Bucks waiting for him.

- Matt attempts a suicide dive, but Cody counters this into a suplex into the guardrail.
- Nick goes to lariat Cody off the apron, but is back body dropped on top of his brother.

- Cody waits for Matt to get back into the ring. Cody goes to springboard off the middle rope to nail Matt with a Cody Cutter, but he counters it into a tombstone hold allowing Nick to springboard in for a Meltzer Driver.

- Bobby grabs Matt’s leg through ropes and dragon screws his foot onto the ring apron.
- Bobby charges at Nick and takes him down with a flying fish hook before catching a hard jumping knee from Strong to his soft face.

- Cole and Strong come face to face once more after their falling out. Cole attempts a superkick only for Strong to counter with an Olympic Slam that nearly puts Cole out.

- Strong hits a fireman’s carry gutbuster before attempting to finish him with a Sick Kick, but Cole counters with his superkick before Owens nails a superkick of his own on Cole.

- Owens lifts Cole up for a pumphandle neckbreaker, but Cole counters with a similar brainbuster onto his own knee instead.

- Cole makes the cover, but Owens still has life in him so Cole climbs onto the middle rope to taunt Owens. Cole then hops off the corner to hit Owens with the Panama Sunrise to end the match, but is countered into a pop-up powerbomb instead for his troubles. Cole similarly won’t stay down for Owens’s pin.

- Owens attempts a Swanton Bomb, but Cole rolls out of the way and Cole lands a Last Shot shining wizard to the back of his noggin.

- Chase and Fale attack OGK at the announcers table. This distracts Cole who climbs through the ropes. The Young Bucks use this distraction to jump up onto the apron on both sides of Cole. Cole attempts to go back through the ropes, Owens is standing behind him. Cole is then sandwiched with triple superkicks from all sides of his head.

- The Young Bucks and Kevin Owens then mockingly recreate the double cheek kiss.

- Cody grabs a mic to warn Owens that the Young Bucks betrayed Bullet Club to form the Elite and then betrayed them to reform Mount Rushmore and they will repeat the cycle.

- The Young Bucks begin to chastise Cody Rhodes before welcoming their old friend back to their signature superkick party.

- Owens is blindsided by reDRagon and taken out by a Total Elimination. Kyle and Bobby then perform a stereo diving spear through the ropes to knock down the Young Bucks.

- Cody slides into the ring to nail Owens with a Cross Rhodes, but is caught by a single-leg dropkick from Roderick Strong while holding Owens’s head. Strong attempts a Tiger Driver but is then jumped by reDRagon who put him down with the Chasing the Dragon roundhouse kick and brainbuster combo to pin Roderick Strong and win this contest.

Winners: Undisputed Elite (Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Adam Cole & Cody Rhodes)

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The much anticipated match between Ospreay and Robinson would prove to be a highly interesting contests with a number of memorable spots:

- Will hooks Juice’s arms and lifts him for a Storm Breaker, but Juice sandbags his weight forcing Will to put Juice’s feet back onto the mat and allowing Juice to hoist Will into a fireman’s carry and drop him with a twisting Samoan. Juice picks Will up off the count.

- Juice goes for a Rockslide next, but Will flips onto his feet out of the Argentine rack. Before Will can capitalize, though, Juice strikes Will’s Third Eye with his palm to the exposed face.

- Juice attempts a delayed vertical suplex, but Will slides onto his feet behind Juice and hits a hidden blade. He uses this advantage to go for a springboard forearm strike. Juice sees it coming and stops him midair with a dropkick.

- Juice goes for his old Juice is Loose forward falling DDT, but Will locks his feet so Juice falls alone. Will follows this up by hitting Juice with the aptly titled Robinson Special strike.

- Will hits his patented OsCutter as Juice gets to his feet. Juice uses the momentum to his advantage and flies out of the ring on impact.

- Will doesn’t let this deter him for long and executes a flawless Space Flying Tiger Drop to the outside onto Juice who just got up.
- After rolling Juice into the ring, Will goes for a handspring enzuigiri, but Juice sidesteps Will. Juice hits Will with a left hand of god before nailing his Pulp Friction Unprettier finisher. Will refuses to quit and gets a shoulder up.

- Juice begins to argue with MJF. MJF has had enough and shows Juice his ring when Will has an idea and shoves Juice into MJF. Will takes the ring from MJF and pelts Juice with it and sneakily puts it back in MJF’s pants. An angry MJF comes to and makes the count.

Winner: Will Ospreay

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Beer Money walk into the Undisputed Elite’s dressing room as reDRagon are preparing to leave for the night. Roode and Storm would congratulate KOR and Fish on their big win and cementing themselves as one of the greatest groups to ever lace up a pair of boots, but make it clear that they aren’t Beer Money. Storm would make it clear that they only care about drinking beer and making money, but after watching that eight-man tag himself and Roode might be able to make some real good money working with reDRagon.

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The contest between Baker and Bliss would be the only Womens/Joshi match of the evening, so it was clear that it needed to be of a certain standard to please the Japanese fans that had grown to love the joint union of New Japan and Stardom wrestling under one banner. The most entertaining moments of the contest would be as follows:

- Bliss goes for her patented DDT, but Baker shoves Bliss backwards into a ring corner. Bliss stops her momentum with a basement dropkick and slaps on a guillotine choke.

- Baker manages to get Bliss to her knees and hooks her for a spinning fisherman neckbreaker to get out of Bliss’s grasp.

- Bliss recovers and charges at Baker with a forearm, but gets caught with a Sling Blade.

- Baker locks in her Lockjaw finishing submission, but Bliss gets her foot under the ropes. Baker attempts to smash Bliss’s face on the middle turnbuckle pad, Bliss stops herself short and puts Baker down hard with a chokehold STO slamming her onto the mat.

- Bliss nails a standing knee and moonsault knee combination on Baker, but she kicks out.

- Bliss attempts a Twisted Bliss, but Baker avoids contact and nails Bliss with a stomp. Bliss digs deep and kicks out at the last second.

- Baker grabs Bliss by the hair and tries to put her down with her own DDT, but Bliss lifts Baker off her feet and tosses her forward onto her own knees. Bliss hits her with a front dropkick and collapses. Baker gets to her feet first and drops Bliss with a quick superkick.

- Baker goes for her curb stomp one more time, but Bliss sidesteps the attempt and drops Baker with a hard right fist to the face. Bliss finally nails Baker with her own DDT finisher.

- Bliss goes for a second Twisted Bliss, but Rebel out of nowhere hops onto the apron and pulls Bliss’s legs from underneath her crotching her on the top rope and falling to the mat. Baker locks in the Lockjaw and the referee calls for the bell as Bliss is out of it.

Winner: Britt Baker

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The Kingdom and Adam Cole are celebrating in the NJPW backstage interview area.

Adam Cole: A bunch of high school bullies can’t tear down a kingdom - they tried it, but they were not successful. The Undisputed Elite banished Mount Rushmore back to Mordor and come Bound By Honor, the Kingdom will show the B-Team where the parachutes are because they’re hopping out next. Adam Cole and OGK will make one Elite Kingdom.

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EVIL would cut a pre-match promo in which he would talk about his own insecurities having begun to bubble to the surface as his current predicament with the Bullet Club have reminded him of his feelings of inadequacy when he was with LIJ and Naito called him the fourth best heavyweight. His worlds would be interrupted by White who would completely disrespect EVIL, by making his entrance mid-promo and not even wait for the bell and throw hands immediately. Some of the best moments from the match would be as follows:

- Evil attempts to lift Jay up for a fireman’s carry, but Jay slides out of it and drops Evil with a deadly Saito suplex. Evil gets to the ropes and up to his feet and tries to buy Jay’s loyalty back with a too sweet in the ring.

- Jay goes for a too sweet before stopping and grabbing Evil’s singlet and nailing a Uranage.

- Jay rips off part of the ring skirt and chokes Evil on the apron with the skirt over his face. Jay asks Evil and the crowd if they breathe with the switchblade until the ref counts 5.

- Jay gets Evil into the ring and mockingly asks him if he’s still too sweet before lighting him up with chops and lackadaisical pin attempts.

- Evil manages to gather enough energy to sprint behind Jay and nail a German suplex.

- Evil bounces off the ropes and takes Jay’s head off with a lariat. Evil picks Jay up for a swinging neckbreaker only for Jay to swing behind Evil and put Evil down with a sleeper suplex. Jay then signals for the Blade Runner.

- Dick distracts the official long enough for Evil to hit Jay with a low blow. He grabs Jay’s face before planting him with an Everything Is Evil STO. Jay kicks out in the knick of time. Barely.

- Evil kicks at Jay’s head a couple times to toy with him before dropping down on him with a senton splash and making another cover.

- Evil tries to pick Jay up for a fisherman buster, but Jay uses all his weight to fall backwards into a corner turnbuckle. Evil launches himself at Jay in the corner with a discus lariat, but is caught with a reverse STO onto the middle turnbuckle pad instead.

- Jay attempts a running lariat on Evil, but is caught into a nasty half and half suplex.

- Evil lands a vicious top rope diving lariat on Jay, but only gets a 2 before Jay gets a rope.

- Evil nails Jay with a Darkness Falls fireman’s carry spinebuster, but only gets a near fall.

- Evil decides enough is enough and locks Jay into a Darkness Scorpion Deathlock. Jay nearly passes out, but gets one last breath of air to leap to the bottom rope for a break.

- Evil sizes Jay up for a roaring elbow to finish the bout, but gets countered with a Blade Runner out of pure desperation. Jay pins Evil after rolling away for a few seconds to win.

Winner: Jay Wite

After the bout Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa hit the ring and attack both Evil and Jay White. Tonga drops Jay with a Gun Stun out of nowhere first. Then they hit EVIL with a Magic Killer. The Guerrillas are sending a message.

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Seth Rollins is watching a monitor in the back when Will Ospreay walks into frame. Will asks if he’s getting ready to watch the quote unquote best in the world clash with Samoa Joe? He says he agrees with him that Punk isn’t what he claims to be, but ponders if he still believes WWE produced the best wrestlers on the planet before excusing himself because has intercontinental business to attend to. He offers his condolences for the loss to Okada before leaving Rollins to stew.

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The fans would be massively hyped as two men who had built their careers in ROH, would face each other in one of Japan’s most iconic arenas and as expected the code of honor would be adhered to. Punk would come into the contest trying to prove there's still honor in professional wrestling and shows perseverance and determination throughout. Joe on the other hand wants to prove once and for all he is the best in the world since Punk has never beaten him one on one. The match that would be littered with memorable moments:

- Punk slips off one Muscle Buster attempt by hitting a stalling neckbreaker from behind.

- Punk hits Joe with a GTS, but Joe gets one leg under the bottom rope in desperation.
- Rollins and Kenta attempt to interfere, but are quickly dispatched by Joe and Punk together.

- Joe lands a nasty Muscle Buster, but an exhausted Punk manages to roll to the floor.

- Samoa Joe follows Punk to the outside and powerbombs him through the Spanish announcer’s table and locks in a modified Boston Crab over the wreckage. The referee admonishes Joe and he gets inside. Punk somehow pulls deep and gets in before 10.

- Joe gets Punk up for another Muscle Buster attempt, but Punk fights it off. Joe decides to instead climb the turnbuckle to drop Punk with a top rope superplex, but Punk headbutts Joe and dives off the top holding Joe for the rare Pepsi Plunge avalanche Pedigree spot. Punk is too exhausted to make an immediate cover so Joe does kick out.

- Rollins comes back out and unties one of the top turnbuckles. Unbeknownst to Punk, he whips Joe into the exposed turnbuckle and hits him with his corner knee and bulldog.

- Punk lifts Joe for another GTS, but Joe slides down Punk’s back and locks in a rear naked choke. Punk almost passes out, but uses the ropes to get to his feet and he climbs up them to spring off the top rope and pin Joe clean.

Winner: CM Punk

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Backstage in the Bullet Club Clubhouse, Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens are publicly discussing Bullet Club’s domination in Japan once more only for the conversation storming into the room visibly upset.

Jay White: I need to know that neither of you had anything to do with Tama involvement in my match tonight. I should have been able to celebrate my game changing win over EVIL, instead of being left to look like a fool on the grand stage. It is important that you understand that Tama broke the cardinal rule of the club, he got in the way. First he tried to win the G1 without cheating, just like when Prince Devitt thought he was too good to let the Bucks help him and he tried to usurp the club from beneath him.

Before Jay could say anything else, Juice Robinson would enter the Clubhouse in a blind rage.

Juice Robinson: Ospreay is a fucking cheat. He stopped me from reaching down and showing the world my fortitude, but that limey bastard used that damn ring and stole from me. He robbed me of my spot and he cost me. HE CHEATED, HE CHEATED, HE CHEATED!

White would grasp Robinson’s shoulder.

Jay White: It is just one loss kid. We will all rebound from this, and people will remember not to stick their nose in Club business.

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Jonathan Gresham comes out first with the classic title and being labeled as the Original ROH World Champion while Bandido is just the regular ROH World Champion and comes out with a Zorro-inspired gear. It would be clear that the fans were divided in regards to whom they wanted to win the contest, and there would be a massive pop as both men would shake hands and adhere to the code of honor. A match of such massive proportion would be filled with a number of great spots and moments that would really help put on a great final match to bring an end to the two-day extravaganza:

- Both men would be involved in multiple takedowns before they would lock hands in a test of strength, with Bandido driving Gresham into the corner. Gresham though would show his ring intelligence by dropping onto his back and trapping Bandido’s foot before rolling through and landing on Bandido’s shoulders and taking him down, toying with Bandido a bit and drop kicking him down. Bandido handsprings off the ropes, hits a pump knee, hurricanrana, and a dropkick before posing right in front of Gresham, which would be met with applause from the crowd.

- Gresham puts on the Octopus Stretch, but Bandido backs Gresham into the ropes breaking it up. They go back and forth for a bit, with Bandido hitting a beautiful looking rotating dive off the top rope followed by a splash in the corner into a rolling stalling suplex with one hand as he’s counting along with the fans all the way up to 60. One full minute in that position, unbelievable. With that, he only gets a two count.

- The two men would trade forearms and kicks, before Bandido hits a suplex for a two count followed by Shining Wizard for another two. Gresham hits a couple pin attempts but Bandido keeps kicking out at the last moment. Bandido puts Gresham on the top rope, but Gresham headbutts him down and hits a cross body that Bandido turns for a two count.

They trade a couple more pins and Bandido hits a pop-up cutter for another close two. Bandido goes for the 21 Plex, but Gresham turns it into a couple pin attempts, as Gresham ends up on the outside where Bandido hits a Fosbury Flop. Bandido sends Gresham back inside, hits the X-Knee and the 21 Plex as Gresham actually kicks out of it. This is insanity. Bandido hits a series of kicks, but Gresham comes back with a springboard moonsault, a dive to the outside, tosses Bandido inside into a trapped pin for the win.

Winner: Jonathan Gresham

- Christopher Daniels crashes the celebration to inform ch in lieu of Jonathan Gresham’s standing open challenge at Bound By Honor - that as a former ROH World Champion himself and the likes of Davey Richards running away from the challenge he can’t think of anyone else better to take on Gresham in a week’s time.​

 

[Spitfire]

Episode Five

- Following Honor Rising and with the NJPW Tour of the United States having concluded last week, NJPW World would come live from the Ryōgoku Sumo Hall - Tokyo, Japan. JoJo would run down the long list of matches scheduled for tonight’s card, reminding everyone that tonight the 2022 New Japan Cup would get underway.

- MJF’s music hits as he begins to walk down the ramp with crocodile tears, with Mauro Ranallo noticing that MJF was wearing a wrist guard which apparently was because he had suffered a referee related injury last night, by counting too hard on the mat. This would result in chortles from both McGuinness and Kevin Kelly. Once MJF was in the ring, he would confirm these facts and that due to his wrist being hurt and the fact that the tournament was beneath him, he would not be taking part in the New Japan Cup. Maxwell would announce that he didn’t join New Japan for the false honor of taking parts in pointless tournaments or featuring in long matches in which people were dropped on their heads for shitty star ratings concocted by irrelevant old men.

- MJF would make it clear that he is in NJPW for the prestige and the paycheque and he got both with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on his shoulder. He makes it clear that whoever books the matches better find a replacement for the cup, because he needs time to heal up ahead of his next defense, whichever irrelevant person that ends up being.
- The light in the arena would go off only to be turned on again, as EVIL would stand right beside MJF and proceed to the beat the crap out of Maxwell before nailing him with ‘Everything is Evil’ before members of The Pinnacle and security would rush out to the ring and intervene before a full on fight took place. With both parties separated, EVIL would grab a microphone and state that he wouldn’t give Maxwell a moment's peace until he got what he wanted, a one-on-one match with him.

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Tomasso Ciampa vs. Nick Jackson

Finish: The opening contest would be a fast action barn burner that would go the distance and see both Ciampa hitting hard hitting suplexes and Nick Jackson nailing big flips and kicks. Ciampa would look to finish things off with the Fairy Tale Ending only for Matt Jackson to appear from the back and climb the apron. Ciampa would hit him off the apron but would give Nick Jackson enough time to recover and smash him in the face with a superkick. Nick Jackson would hit a springboard 450 splash on the downed Blackheart to seal the victory and become the first person to move on in the New Japan Cup.

Advance: Nick Jackson at 15:35 via springboard 450 splash

- Johnny Gargano would come out to chase off Matt and Nick from picking his partner’s corpse. However, Ciampa would refuse Gargano’s hand to stand back up, seemingly upset at the loss and his partner’s perhaps late arrival.

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- Bea Priestley is present in Oedo Tai’s dressing room looking extremely pissed off with Momo and SLK nowhere to be seen. Priestley makes it clear that she is furious with Kris Statlander for interfering in her match with Hayter on Saturday and by doing so had cost her the win bonus at Honor Rising and that this wasn’t something she was going to forget or forgive anytime soon and make that the JUSTICE SQUAD had no right to involving themselves in her business.

- Priestley makes it clear that she has not been medically cleared, and would have been prepared to fight next week if she had been threatened with losing her wages by going against management, so instead she has brought in someone who can. She proceeds to introduce Suzu Suzuki as the newest member of the faction and that - Statlander is going to wish she was able to pay her back the money she was owed because next week Statlander will be going one-on-one with the Deathmatch Queen.

- Bea then looks over her other shoulder as AAA’s Dark Sheik steps into the shot wearing an Oedo Tai shirt. Sheik makes it clear that Oedo Tai transcends borders, and that she is in Japan tonight to address both Taya and Thunder Rosa that if they think they are just going to face each other one on one at Guerra de Titanes then they are both sadly mistaken because she has a contract rematch stipulation and she intends to reclaim her prize in a fortnight’s time.

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Kento Miyahara vs. Konsuke Takeshita

Finish: Konosuke is attempting to get in the win column and add prestige to his resume before his first New Japan Cup and being a bridesmaid in his last two PPV bouts. His luck would continue to be rotten as he would get caught late in the match by Break Heart and while looking dominant for large parts of the match, once again fall short.

- After the match, Kento would help Konsuke up to his feet and shakes his hand before grabbing a microphone and making it clear that before his World Tour came to an end, he intended to face Takeshita once again and hoped that Konsuke would bring an even better version of himself to the ring.

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Samoa Joe vs. El Phantasmo

Finish: Samoa Joe makes his entrance and looks incredibly irritated from his suffered loss to Punk. In contrast, El Phastasmo would be full of confidence and smiles from his own dominant victory over former House of Torture members at Honor Rising. The match would start and unfortunately for Phantasmo his bravado would disappear quickly as Samoa Joe would beat the ever living hell out of him and choke him out within a few minutes.

Advance: Samoa Joe via submission - Coquina Clutch - 3:00

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Will Ospreay vs. Swerve

Finish: The NJ Cup first round action would continue after the last quick match and this time the crowd would be treated to an instant classic as Swerve makes his NJPW debut against the leader of the United Empire Will Ospreay. We would see lots of fast fast and high octane action between the two as the pendulum would swing back and forth showing both men gaining momentum. Swerve would get up on the top rope looking for the stomp only to be pushed off by one of the members of Aussie Open while Will grabbed and distracted the ref. Will would then hit an Os Cutter followed by Hidden Blade to punch his ticket to the next round over the newcomer.

Advance: Will Ospreay via pinfall - Hidden Blade - 16:00

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- A promotional package would recap Okada’s vicious battle and victory over Seth Rollins at Honor Rising. The commentary would put over his growing aggression and ruthlessness since his feud with Malakai Black, whom we will also see in action later this evening. The promo package ends with Okada looking out into a dark void and saying he will destroy darkness itself.

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Kazuchikda Okada vs Darby Allin

Finish: Darby Allin would come out first and is taped up, clearly still a bit banged up from his epic Tag Team Title bout against The Briscoes. Okada would then come out without once taking his eyes off of Darby during his own entrance. The match itself would largely see Okada as dominant and bullying Darby, using his clear size and power advantage. Darby would eventually mount a comeback with a Stun Dog Millionaire and a spear that would send Okada to the outside. He would follow up with his classic suicide dive. Darby would go for the Coffin Drop but Okada plays possum and quickly counters with a drop kick in the back of the head of an airborne Darby. Okada flips the switch and hits another gear, decimating Darby with lariats and the rest of his arsenal. Landslide and Rainmaker combo land but Okada refuses to pin Darby and opts to choke him unconscious with the Money Clip instead. He stands over Darby’s limp body as the referee raises his arm. At this time, Malakai appears and stands on top of the ramp, clapping his hands and laughing. Okada sees him and chases him to the back.

Advance: Okada - TKO - Money Clip - 10:00

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- The Clinic features a Waiting Room segment with all the members present: Britt Baker, Mickie James, Serena Deeb and newly recruited Kylinn King. Bake runs down the group success as of late and after Honor Rising with Serena taking care of business and putting the pretender Liv Morgan to bed with a sound victory to her name before Britt would bask in her own glory over Alexa Bliss.

- Britt is very bold in her statement that The Clinic is once again open for business and it’s about time they receive their just due for holding together the NJPW Women’s Division - with it being very noticeable that she didn’t say Joshi once. Baker ends the promo by alluding that The Clinic are coming for some gold and that in particular that herself and Mickie have set their sights on Black Desire and intend to end their stranglehold of the division and claim the Goddess of Stardom Championships.

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Queen’s Quest (Io Shirai and Utami Hayashishita) vs. Mayu Iwatani and Miyu Yamashita

Finish: The Pink Striker would make her NJPW Japan debut tagging with Mayu against Queen’s Quest’s Io and Utami. Mayu looks to continue her momentum after her victory over Utami Hayashishita at The New Beginnings. The match would be very even, with both teams taking turns with their offense and Miyu Yamashitya showcasing her elite kicking prowess. Io and Utami would have some communication issues with obvious heat still stemming between the two after Io’s tantrum at Dodger’s Stadium and beyond. Utami would find herself in trouble from tag team moves from Mayu and Miyu and would eventually refuse to tag when Utami finally breaks free. Mayu/Miyu would hit a tandem kick splash combination and seal the victory. Io would leave the stage in disgust, leaving her partner behind. Mayu would taunt her that her time is up.

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- EVIL cuts a promo backstage hyping himself and talking about all his accomplishments in NJPW, and how MJF had attempted to pull the rug from under him and bury him in an instant. EVIL makes it clear that he accepts MJF’s conditions and is willing to put his NJPW career on the line next week.

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Miro vs. Toru Yano

- A small video would recap Miro winning the KOPW trophy in a 4 way at Honor Rising. Toru Yano would have a small promo package claiming he needs to reclaim the KOPW and will show Miro true technical Japanese wrestling tonight.

Finish: The match would start and Miro would beat the living shit out of Yano, smacking him around the ring with ease. Yano would try to pull off the turnbuckle pad but Miro would Matchka Kick him in the back of the head. Yano rolls out of the ring and Miro gives chase into the crowd right past the barrier. The lock up as the referee starts the count. Yano then quickly seems to throw something away and runs back to the ring. Miro tries to give chase but realizes he’s been handcuffed to the railing and Yano has thrown away the key. Miro slides back in and the count continues. Miro rages and tries to break the handcuffs and does but not before the count of 20 expires!

Advance: Toru Yano - Countout - 5:30

Miro is enraged and tries to run back into the ring but Yano escapes through the crowd in glee.

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- Tanahashi is backstage and being interviewed by Jushin Thunder Liger about his participation in the New Japan Cup and his recent victory over Cena. Tanahashi made it clear that he intends on winning the cup this year and he has shown that he still has what it takes to be the best and winning the cup for the third time in his career. Hiroshi makes it clear that even if somehow it doesn’t work out and ages get the best of him in a tournament environment, there is no doubt in his mind that he has earned a shot at a few top tier opponents following his recent wins.

- Suddenly, Malakai Black and Okada would spill into the shot with the pair throwing shots at each other and Okada shoving past some camera equipment that would inadvertently lead to Tanahashi being knocked over onto the floor. Malakai and Kazuchika would continue to brawl, as Hiroshi would stand up and try to separate them only for Okada to look annoyed and shove Tanahashi backwards. Hiroshi just looks disappointed and walks away shaking his head, as security rush in and attempt to break Okada and Black apart.

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Buddy Matthews w/ Brodie King vs. Hiromu Takahashi w/ Sanada

Finish: Buddy Matthews and Hiromu Takahashi would have an epic Super Juniors style match pulling out all the stops. Brodie King would try to tilt the bout in his teammates favor by pulling the legs from under Takahashi but Sanada would come to his aid and brawl with Brodie, leading to both of them being ejected. Hiromu, after surviving an onslaught of offense from Buddy, would crawl under to dodge to stomp and mount his come back, ultimately hitting Time Bomb 2 to move on over House of Black’s young gun.

Advance: Hiromu Takahashi - pinfall - Time Bomb 2 - 17:00

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- Ahead of the match, Ciampa and Gargano would feature in the locker-room with Johnny tapping himself up and adjusting his gear. Tomasso would suggest that he should come out with him, considering that happened in regards to Matt Jackson earlier in the night. Gargano makes it clear that he wants to do this on his own and apologizes for the fact that he didn’t come out from the back earlier to prevent Matt from spoiling the result for Ciampa. Gargano makes it clear that he appreciated Ciampa for being such a good friend for so long, but it is clear that Ciampa looks slightly annoyed but still nods his head in agreement.

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Johnny Gargano vs JONAH

Finish: Jonah would have Ellering in his corner and would use him at every moment he could to gain the upper hand. Johnny would be fighting from behind for large portions of the match, giving up size and strength. Eventually he would use his speed to mount a comeback but through another distraction from Ellering would be cut down by Jonah. Jonah would hit a big belly to belly and look to finish things off with the Tsunami top rope splash. He would nail Gargano with it but Gargano would use the momentum to roll the larger man on his back and steal the match with a reversal pin!

Advance: Johnny Gargano - pinfall - victory roll - 12:45

- Backstage Ciampa would be shaking his head from side to side with a grin on his face as he would be watching Gargano’s success on the monitor.

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- Ahead of the contest, Nigel McGuinness would inform the fans that Okada had been escorted out of the building after his altercation with Malakai Black and so tonight’s main-event would go on without interruption.

Malakai Black vs. Orange Cassidy

Finish: Orange Cassidy would make his classic entrance Where’s My Mind by the Pixies and the Japanese crowd would go wild for it. Malakai would then make his elaborate gothic entrance. The match would be an instant classic with Malakai using his striking with precision to beat down Cassidy but the latter using his quickness and wit to create his own counters and opportunities. At about the 10 minute mark Malakai seems to have had enough and appears to turn up the heat, pelting Cassidy’s chest with high kicks. He would cockily attempt the lift him off the ground with his foot to hit the Black Mass but OC would pin him with the Mouse Trap for a close 2.9 count. More back and forth and Cassidy hits the tornado DDT and the Orange Crush. He’s slow to get up and lines up the Orange Punch only for Malakai to counter with the Black Mass roundhouse. The referee checks on OC but he is knocked out. He calls the match

Advance: Malakai Black - KO - Black Mass- 14:00

Malakai would add insult to injury delivering a punt kick to OC. He would lift his unconscious head off the mat and points it towards the camera, taunting Okada.

- The crowd would roar and split as Okada would run through the crowd, jump the railing, shove security personnel out of the way and jump Malakai. They throw punches in the middle of the ring. All of the security and some wrestlers have to rush out to try and pull the two men apart but they continue to break free and land big shots. The show goes off air in total chaos as they are finally separated with bodies everywhere!​

 

[Ricky Smarks]

Those World gfx are fire!

 

[Spitfire]

Tour Show Two
[Bandaijima Multipurpose Plaza Big Karna, Niigata, Japan] - 15th February, 2022

The Princess Tag Team Championship Tournament would continue with a match between Hakuchumu (Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi) taking on the unique combination of Harukaze & Kaya Toribami - that made up BROKEN. The match would begin at a good pace, but it would become clear quite early on that the more eccentric pairing of BROKEN were willing to take risks and put themselves in harm's way in order to get results. The match would end with Toribami hitting Tatsumi with the Second Rope Rolling Senton to claim the win and book a semi- final match with the Sea Stars.

Winners: BROKEN (Harukaze & Kaya Toribami )

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Kings of the North and Voltober 2000 went into the match knowing that Eruption would be the team they would face next week in the Semis. The Northern Irish pairing would be the far more dominant team, and their seven years of experience would shine through and show why teaming up for a long time has its advantages. Volto and Tallon, Jr. would show real potential, but Bonesaw and Corvin would claim the win with Bonesaw nailing Tallon, Jr. with the Death Valley Driver to advance to the next round.

Winners: King of the North (Bonesaw & Corvin)

- After the match, Damien Corvin would cut a short promo, making it clear that he and Bonesaw had signed with the United Japan Wrestling Organization with the intention of breaking out of the British wrestling scene and making a mark for themselves on the International stage and winning the tournament would help cement this decision.

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- Mato Oishi (Makoto) would feature in a recorded promo in which he would make it clear that he fully intended on taking full advantage of being part of this new company and would shoot his shot and call out All Asia Junior Heavyweight Champion Hikaru Sato to face him at Champion Carnival and make it clear that Sato with such an easy opponent as Yuki Ueno, but if he agreed to face him he would find himself on the end of a real challenge.

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The finals match in the first round would see Daisy Monkey taking on NJPW’s representative Cosmic Angels (Skye Blue & Unagi Sayaka) in what would prove to be the closest match of the event so far with a number of nearfalls and last ditch saves by respective partners. The match would end with Suzume preventing Blue from making the save as Arisu Endo would force Sayaka to tap from the Camel Clutch. The win would mean that Daisy Monkey would be set to face another NJPW team in the final four.

Winners: Daisy Monkey (Arisu Endo & Suzume)

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- UJWO Extreme Champion Alex Colon would cut a promo backstage in which he would make it clear that his sole purpose on this roster was to legitimize Deathmatch wrestling on a global scene and eventually earn the right to feature in a high profile match against a more traditional opponent at some point in the not so distant future. Before reaching that point though, Colon would make it clear that he intended to make an example of as many people as possible - and that his first focus as champion would be Tetysuya Endo’s close friend Yusuke Okada. Colon would make it clear that it didn’t matter if Okada was ready for him or not - because at Champion Carnival they would fight with his title on the line in a 10,000 Thumbtacks Deathmatch.

- Colon would make it clear that he considered himself the very best wrestler of his type and it didn’t matter whether it was Deathmatch, Hardcore or Extreme he was the toughest bastard on the planet and would kick anyone’s ass who called him out.

CONFIRMED CONTEST

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After being tripped up unsighted by Vicky Haskins, BT Gunn would drag Yusuke Kodama out of the ring and proceed to beat down on Kodama and would be assisted by Vicky who would proceed to help Gunn in a two on one assault. Mark Haskins would prevent Kuma Arashi from coming to his partner's aid, with Kodama looking in real pain as Vicky would slip on a pair of stilettos and stamp down on Kodama’s throat that would put Kodama out of commission. This would put Arashi on the back foot for the rest of the contest. The match would end with Gunn hitting Arashi with the Codebreaker, only for Mark to force him to tap with the Sharpshooter.

Winners: The Crows (Mark Haskins & BT Gunn)

The night would end with the brackets for both tournaments being updated, with the knowledge that all four semi final matches would take place next week at Tour Show Three.

​

 

[Spitfire]

Week Six

 

[Spitfire]

its getting harder and harder to try and represent as many promotions as possible.

 

[Ricky Smarks]

its getting harder and harder to try and represent as many promotions as possible.

For the rankings?

 

[Spitfire]

oh yeah - Top 20 is much easier than Top 10 though.

 

[Spitfire]

might separate it into Mens and Womens after February