Smarkverse

[Spitfire]

Episode Four

- The NJPW Tour of the United States had scheduled one final date following ‘The New Beginning’ with select members of the roster instead of flying back to Japan - traveling to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Hawaii. The show would begin with a recap of the pay per view highlighting all the best bits and encouraging all the viewers who hadn’t checked out to show - to go back and watch a replay of the climax of the US Tour that had taken place at Dodger’s Stadium.

- The music belonging to ‘The Beast’ would begin to play and Brock Lesnar would emerge from behind the curtain and would slowly make his way to the ring with the ever present Paul Heyman scuttling behind him, microphone in hand. The crowd would be going batshit crazy as Brock would clamber into the ring and Heyman would struggle to speak as the fans would make a deafening level of noise which would result in Heyman allowing himself to smile. Paul would make it clear that after a long recovery and period of reflection following his loss at Wrestle Kingdom, his client was finished licking his wounds and was now ready to take a seat at the table and feast.

- Heyman shifts his focus to the recent comments that Moose made about Brock and begins to run down all of Moose’s accomplishments only to make it clear that they pale in comparison to the star studded career of his clients career. Moose rather than looking at the sun and pretending to be Icarus, should be more focused on his own business in Ring of Honor and TNA. Heyman reveals two tickets from out of his breast pockets and state that Scott D’Amore has invited them both to come and watch Moose fail to claim ‘his beloved one final time’ and that this addiction to failure is going to continue when he finds himself standing across the ring from ‘The Beast’.

- Brock would take the microphone for himself and make it clear that if Moose really intends to insult him from thousands of miles away, then he will just have to come and meet him in person and see how much he is willing to run his mouth then. He makes it clear that Moose would be better trying to get a job back at TNA or just hitting the showers and going home because a fight with him at Honor Rising is only going to put him in place. The hospital!

- Music would start to play, cutting off Brock as out from the back would emerge Big Cass. Cass would make it clear that he was pissed off. Not only had Moose not only lost his championship and the promise of a future title shot, but now he had to deal with Brock Lesnar waltzing into whatever company he wanted and stealing the attention from everyone else. He, like so many members of the wrestling community had actually been working his arse off and had even been forced to bend the knee and kiss ass to get the shot that he deserved only to be sidelined like a comedy opener when a bigtime star walked into the club. He would make it clear that he wasn’t going to fall in line anymore, and that he was going to show Brock what a real star who is capable of wrestling more than once a month looks like. Brock would chuckle and make it clear that he was only too happy to fight, right here and right now.

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Brock Lesnar vs. Big Cass

Finish: Big Cass would do his best to look tough and put some strong offense on show at the start of the contest, but it wouldn’t take very long for Lesnar to warm up and start to fuck his opponent up with strikes and suplexes. The match would end with Cass being rag-dolled with a first class ticket to Suplex City before Heyman would scream at Brock to take to the turnbuckle, with ‘The Beast’ leaping off and hitting the aerial Shooting Star Press for the victory.

- After the match, Lesnar would look pumped as he would make it clear that he and Paul had a plane ride to catch Buffalo, New York.

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- John Cena would be standing backstage where he would be interviewed with Funaki, and would make it clear that the loss at The New Beginning still hurt, but he felt blessed to be able to finally have got to share the same ring at Tanahashi and hoped that he would get a rematch down the line. Funaki would follow up by asking what was next for Cena in NJPW, but before he could get an answer the pair would find themselves surrounded by The Righteous. Vincent would point at Cena and state that he was nothing more than a washout who needed to be erased from history. Cena would make it clear that he didn’t care who he had to face, but he would gladly beat their asses tonight.

- Vincent would instantly make an excuse, that it wouldn’t be appropriate because they hadn’t had time to pack any of their wrestling gear and had only flown out to the island to deliver a message, but that he was more than willing to face Cena tomorrow night on Elite if he had the balls, but the result would be one and the same as that which had happened to Jay Lethal. Vincent would state that Cena was as fake as Lethal, he has no loyalty, no hustle and no respect. Cena would make it clear that he would be there, but that after he crushes them all on live tv he would demand that they let go of Lethal, before asking how is that for hustle.

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- The Never Openweight Champion would make his way down to the ring by himself, with the commentary team suggesting that Malakai Black was most likely still healing following the violent encounter. Brody would wait in the middle of the ring not saying a word, with it having been confirmed earlier in the day that he would continue to offer an Open Challenge for his belt. Finally music would start to play and it would belong to Flip Gordon, with the fans looking surprised and King actually looking to be amused by the prospective opponent.

Brody King (c) vs. Flip Gordon

Finish: Flip Gordon had made a terrible mistake taking on Brody, and King would play with his food and total annihilated Gordon before finally seeming to grow bored and hit the Gonzo Bomb before claim the win via a one footed pin.

- After the contest Marty Scurll would slide into the ring and blindside Brody by smacking him in the back with an umbrella. Brody would no sell the attack and instead spin around and grab Scurll around the throat only to be caught out by Flip who would nail him from behind with a low blow with the pair following up by attempting to start beat down King, before Buddy Matthews would charge out from the back leading to vultures clearing the ring as he would check on in House of Black stablemate.

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- A backstage segment shows Okada stepping out of his limousine and would exit with no other member of Chaos present with him, and it seemed as if he was heading straight to the ring dressed in a suit with a real purpose.

- The Rainmaker’s music would begin to play and the IWGP Heavyweight Champion would make his way down to the ring with a real look of intent and focus in his eyes. Okada cuts a scathing and aggressive promo running back his feud with Malakai before actually seeming to be thanking Black for helping him release all of his pent up anger that he had been storing inside of him for far too long and would make it clear that moving forward he intended to obliterate his enemies and at no point taking into account their health and safety. He makes it clear that he is going to bring the fight before they can even strike and sever their head straight off their bodies with the true power of the Rainmaker.

- He would then turn his focus to Honor Rising and make it clear that there was one man that had continued to disrespect the Japanese style andyet done nothing but offer him praises throughout his career. He would make it clear that this man was pathetic buffoon, a joker and completed a true fashion faux pas by actually thinking that dying your hair blonde half and half was actually a good look before making it clear that he intended on humbling none other than Seth Rollins before cutting to English and shouting ‘FIGHT ME!’ to bring the promo to an end.

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STARS ( Riho and Meiko Satamura) vs. The Clinic (Britt Baker and Mickie James)

Finish: The tag team match would be a really exciting contest, with both teams impressing. The Clinic would be vicious and with MJ having really discovered her inner rage at The New Beginning to soften up Riho and Satamura with Baker claiming the win by nailing Meiko with the Fisherman’s Neckbreaker to pick up the win.

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- After the match, Alexa Bliss comes out to congratulate Britt, even though she thinks Mickie is her puppet just like Hayter used to be. She says she was teaming with Mickie when Mickie was still relevant. Britt says she’s going to destroy her at Honor Rising and tells her she wouldn’t even be good enough to be an intern at The Clinic. Bliss said she could beat any of them at any time. Kylinn King attacks her from behind with Deeb. After they get separated by officials, Britt says she can take on Kylinn King later tonight, then!

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- A short commercial would play revealing the penultimate first round match in the National Wrestling Alliance’s Jr. Heavyweight Tournament with NJPW’s Lee Moriarty revealed to be facing TNA’s Matt Sydal.

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- The Undisputed Elite would walk around backstage with the trio running into Roderick Strong.They would approach him and suggest that perhaps Roddy should come back into the fold and join them back on ROH. Roderick would actually seem undecided and that would make it clear that he had friends on both sides of this dispute, only for Owens and the Young Bucks to step in front of Strong in what would snap from a civil conversation to a confrontation. The Bucks would berate them for costing them their tag team titles by chasing off their back up, with Kevin making it clear to Roderick that he really should be listening to this group of backstabbers. Owens would suggest that they have a six man tag team match tonight, and have Strong as the special referee because he knew that Roddy had no bias and would call the match right down the middle.

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- The Bullet Club (Jay White, Good Brothers, Juice Robinson, Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens would all be standing in the ring representing the stable. Jay White would discuss how repulsed he had become by New Japan now that it was no longer being influenced by the money and raw star power of the Bullet Club. He would make it clear that EVIL’s failure to maintain control and he had allowed some trust fund baby to disband his factions in a matter of weeks and make it clear that EVIL was the bigger embarrassment that had ever worn the Bullet Club colors

- Fale and Owens would look uncomfortable, as White would continue to talk about others failures within the faction including the Young Bucks having lost their titles to enhancement talent that were known for nothing, but working in developmental but it was only the Switchblade Era of the BC that would be considered as canon from this point onwards. Grumbling would come from Owens and Fale, and White would lose his temper and tell them to shut their mouth whilst he was talking. The duo would not look pleased and rather than keep quiet, would just look at each other before exiting the ring and heading to the back.

- White would look frustrated, as he handed the microphone over to Juice. Robinson would laugh at Ospreay for losing his title to MJF and that the limey fuck had always lived in the shadows of the real stars of NJPW and that once again hist was repeating him and that at Honor Rising he was going to continue to add to that embarrassment.

- The Good Brothers would take to the microphone and chuckle at the Young Bucks for dropping their belts and that perhaps they should have been more than just associates before focusing on DIY and making it clear that it was high time that the IWGP Tag Team Champions returned around the wait of the Bullet Club.

- The shit talking would prove to be enough. First DIY would come out from the back and Gargano would make it clear that he was ready for a fight and that it didn’t matter if they were outnumbered. Ospreay’s music though would start to play and make it clear that he and Aussie Open were more than happy to have a temporary alliance for one night only with DIY. It was hard to tell if it had been a setup or not, but Fale and Chase would emerge back from the curtain in an attempt to jump the fivesome - only for Aussie Open to have followed them out and fought them on the stage.

- This would serve as a distraction though, and allow the Good Brothers and Juice to charge at DIY and Ospreay and the six men would also start exchanging blows, at White would stand in the ring laughing to himself. Out from the crowd would emerge EVIL and would slide into the ring and totally catch White out and connect with Everything Is Evil! White would be quick to flee, and shout at the rest of the Bullet Club as the unit would immediately retreat doing their best to protect their leader.

- After a commercial break a graphic confirms a 12-man tag match booked for later tonight.

Bullet Club (White, Owens, Fale, Good Brothers, Juice) vs. DIY, Ospreay, Aussie Open and EVIL

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Ali (c) w/ Dijak vs. El Hijo De Vikingo

Finish: The match would be an absolute barn burner with two of the best Junior Heavyweight continuing to impress in a high speed contest, only for Mustafa to nail Vikingo with the title whilst Dijak distracted the referee before nailing Vikingo with the 054 to retain the belt.

- After the contest with Ali and Dijak enjoying another dirty title win, Vikingo would be blindsided with a chair shot to face by Renee Dupree with Karl Fredricks following up with nailing Vikingo with a Spinebuster down onto the chair with the two members of the ‘Dagger Club’ running away like scolded dogs, as security would look to eject the AAA pairing who had no right to be present on the show.

- Kevin Kelly would announce that Mustafi Ali would defend the belt against Rey Fenix at Honor Rising, in what would be an interesting clashing between two super juniors in what he considered to be a dream clash and one for the ages.

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- Bandido would feature in a video package in which he would hold his version of the ROH World Championship and make it clear that he has a lot of respect for The Octopus and the rest of The Foundation and for that reason he is willing to take on a member in Rhett Titus, because despite Titus’ ability he has every confidence that he will beat him and continue to prove himself as the real champion. He makes it clear that once he has stepped over Rhett, he can finally take on Gresham in front of the world and that at Honor Rising the unification match that everyone has been waiting for cna finally take place.

Bandido (c) vs. Rhett Titus

Finish: Rhett would be left looking respectable, but there was no doubt that Bandido was head and shoulders more impressive than Tituts and his opponent simply wasn’t able to match the final gears that Bandido was able to reach. Bandido would finish the match by plunging Titus with the 24 plex.

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- Samoa Joe would make his way down to the ring and would talk up his victory over Jonah at The New Beginning. Joe would make it clear that now he was back to winning ways he was now very much turning his attention to this Saturday at Honor Rising. He says ROH was always his first love and first home and he can’t wait to get back there and show them who the king is.

- CM Punk music would blast out and the crowd would go crazy as he would walk down the ring and soak in the atmosphere from the fans before sliding into the ring with Joe and Punk having a short stare down. Punk grabs a mic and says that ROH was always his first home too and he can’t think of a better man to rekindle that old flame than Samoa Joe albeit an annoying distraction being TAFKA Tyler Black which would actually get a smirk from Joe. Punk makes it clear that he is glad that Joe is coming off a big win and hopes he isn’t too banged, because a match with him is going to be the biggest match he would have fought in years.

- Joe would respond that Punk was getting a bit cocky, but would remind him that have stepped away from the ring for seven years and that ring rust could never be shaken off after such a long period sitting on your ass. Punk would smirk before offering his hand, but Joe would reach forward only to feign a punch making Punk flinch. Joe would chuckle and Punk would smile, with the tension between both men clear as they would actually shake hands fans loving the moment.

KOPW Honor Rising Match announcement
Ultimate Submission Match - 30 minute time limit
Fatal Four Way
KENTA vs. A-Kid vs. Miro vs. Keijih Mutoh

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The Pinnacle (El Phantasmo and Ishimori) w/ Maclin vs. Sting and Darby Allen vs. Top Flight

Finish: With three teams in the match, all vying for a chance to face The Briscoes. The Pinnacle would have begun the match dirty by attacking Top Flight during their entrance, and despite the fact that all three would put on a great match it was clear that Top Flight were suffering the most and would be the first team eliminated from the contest. ELP and Ishimori looked to be the favorites as the much more accomplished tag team, but Sting and Darby would have a counter for nearly every pin or submission attempt to claim a tricky win with Sting laying Ishimori out with the Scorpion Death Drop to punch their ticket onto the Honor Rising card.

- Maclin would hit the ring as soon as the match was over and he would join ELP and Taiji release their frustration by attacking Sting and Darby post-match. The Briscoes would emerge from the back and hit the ring and start beating the crap out of all three Pinnacle members and send them running, before helping Darby and Sting up to their feet only to have a stare down with Jay and Mark actually looking at each for a moment as if to suggest they were happy with their opponents.

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Bullet Club (White, Owens, Fale, Good Brothers, Juice) vs. Blackheart Empire ( Gargano, Ciampa, Ospreay, Aussie Open, EVIL)

Finish: The match would be a clusterfuck, which was not all surprising considering the numbers involved in the match and the throwing together of the one night only team of the Blackheart Empire. A moment that the fans would remember would be a moment between Fale/Owens and the Good Brothers with the two teams unable to take instruction from the other, which would almost result in a loss for the BC. Jay White though would manage to show why he was the leader of the club, by nailing Mark with a swinging neckbreaker followed by an illegal pin by leveraging his feet on the middle rope to pick up the win.

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- Rush, Naito and Andrade would feature in a taped segment in which they would visit a number of the tourist locations in Hawaii with a gaggle of hot babes in a montage presentation. It would end by the group ending back at a lavish estate only to find a letter with a ROH logo on it. Rush would open it and reveal three plane tickets with him looking at Naito and Andrade and smiling.

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Alexa Bliss vs. Kylinn King w/ Britt Baker

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Finish: The match would see Kylinn really step up to the mark, but would be benefiting from Baker’s presence. Jamie Hayter would come out from the back though and neutralize Britt. This appearance would allow Bliss to tap into speed and overcome the King in what had very much been a David/Goliath style match up by hitting the Glitz Flip to win the contest.

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-MJF appears via satellite message and makes it clear that he can’t be expected to turn up to any live show until his official coronation ceremony as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion had been completed. He would add insult to injury that turning up to what was a pseudo ROH go-home show really wasn’t worth his time and just thinking about it was giving him indie flashbacks of when he had been forced to lower himself and work for shitty companies like MLW and AEW.

- He makes it clear that he had been sent a video of that terrible match that Pip had taken part in with Bullet Club earlier in the night and would act confused and that he was sure he had already killed off that faction. Worse still, he would make it clear that he hadn’t received a permission slip from EVIL in regards to allowing the washed out scrub to show up on his show. Maxwell makes it clear that Sting and Darby have been taking performance enhancing drugs, because there is no other logical means by which they would have beaten the World’s Cutest Tag Team. MJF says that with Elite being Buffalo and therefore in the best state in the US, he would consider purchasing a booth if ROH were able to rent a venue that actually had VIP facilities.

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New Mount Rushmore (The Younng Bucks and Kevin Owens) vs. The Elite ( Adam Cole and reDRagon)
Special Referee: Roderick Strong

Finish: The night’s main event would see Roderick Strong coming off as being very conflicted, with it being clear that he didn’t know who to side with and it looked as if he had betrayed New Mount Rushmore as he would seem to make slow counts before straight up refusing to count pins for Rushmore. This would all prove to be all a clever ruse, as with their guard down Strong would nail his old mentor Adam Cole with Death By Roderick. Owens and The Bucks would add insult to injury by then delivering the BTR Trigger with three knees to Cole and kissing him on the cheeks for old times sake before securing a lighting speed pin with Roddy doing the fastest count of all time.

- New Mount Rushmore would stand tall to close the show.​

 

[Comrade Khan]

LETS FUCKING GO!

 

[Spitfire]

double shot of Japan I think needed - UJWO inbound

 

[Spitfire]

Tour Show One
[Hodogaya Public Hall, Yokohama, Japan] - 8th February, 2022

There first match in the Princess Tag Team Tournament would see the coming together of both teams representing AAA facing off against each other in what would be an interesting contest with both pairings starting to show signs of the Asian/Mexican fusion that had been obviously be instilled into them by the new training system in place for the Japanese-Mexican super promotion It would be the combination of real life sisters Ashley Vox and Delmi Exo who would shine through and claim a win for the Sea Stars with Exo taking out Gracia with a Powerslam on the ring apron, whilst Vox would finish of Santana Garrett by nailing her with the Vader Bomb to advance to the semi finals.

Winners: Sea Stars ( Ashley Vox and Delmi Exo)

* * * * * * * * * *

The contest between the Astronauts and Purple Haze would see Fuminori Abe and Takuya Nomura come at Purple Haze full of energy and attempt to end the match quickly and almost catch out Zeus who was showing a hint of fatigue having battle only a few days earlier against Tetsuya Endo for the KO-D Openweight Championship. The Bodyguard though would manage to save his partner, and would go on rampage and end up tearing both members of the Astronauts apart and end the match by pummeling Nomura down hard with a Pumphandle Slam to claim the win and advance to the next round waiting for the winners of Total Eclipse/The Crows to know who they would face next.

Winners: Purple Haze (Zeus & The Bodyguard)

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- Jungle Kyona would appear live in a UJWO ring, having been out injured since September due a string of injuries. Kyona would make it clear that with Stardom having merged with New Japan, United Japan Wrestling Organization was her new home and she intended to focus on becoming the best version of herself possible. She would lay down an open challenge for Champion Carnival - and make it clear that she would face any member of the roster willing to step toe-to-toe with her in the ring.

- Kyona as well as the Yokohama crowd would be left surprised, when out from the back would emerge the UJWO Princess of Princess Champion Shoko Nakajima. Nakajima would make it clear that she intended to be the very best champion that she could be, especially when a true villain had emerged to wreak havoc at the Royal Rambo. (a clear reference to Ram Kaicho). Shoo would make it clear that she wanted to give fans the matches that they didn’t even know they wanted - and would accept Kyona’s open challenge before announcing that at Champion Carnival the two would battle for her championship belt at Korakuen Hall.

CONFIRMED CONTEST

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Guilia and Thekla had fallen short on becoming the Goddess of Stardom Champions against Black Desire at The New Beginning at Dodger’s Stadium - so fans were left wondering if The Donnas would have even flown back to Japan following the PPV if they had won the tag titles. Both members of Donna Del Mondo would look in mighty form though as they took on the combination of SAKA and Yuna Mizumori - with the team from New Japan being visibly more skilled and capable in the ring. The pair would finish off their opponents at the same time with Guilia hitting Mizumori with Glorious Driver and Thekla connecting with the Toxic Spider Death Drop on SAKI. The pair would pin their opponents at the same time and claim a double pin victory to advance.

Winners: The Donnas (Giulia & Thekla)

- Theka would take to the microphone and make it clear that DDM was THE faction in Japan and that it didn’t matter if it was in NJPW or UJWO they were here to stay and this win had once again shown why they recognised and feared throughout the entire wrestling world. Guilia would take over and make it clear that not only did they intend on becoming the inaugural UJWO tag team champions and winning this whole tournament, but that after all of this they would return to New Japan and finally dethrone Black Desire.

* * * * * * * * * *

- Lulu Pencil would cut a short promo in which she would announce herself as the voice and valet for the future of wrestling in Japan - Pokotan. Pencil would issue a statement that Pokotan was willing to take on anyone on the other side of the Forbidden Door!

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The clash between Eruption and Pheromones would be a clash with both teams proving to be massively over with Yokohama fans in what would be a high energy match with both teams taking bumps and featuring a good combination of tag team double moves as well as individual express. The standout performer would be Yukio Sakaguchi who would look absolutely exceptional. He would finish the match by knocking Iino off the ring by connecting with the Kami no Migi Hiza (Jumping knee strike) - before grabbing hold of Akito and throwing him over with a snap suplex before locking him in the Cobra Clash and forcing him to tap out.

Winners: Eruption (Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi)

- After the contest Yuki would cut a promo - making it clear that he had been a three-time KO-D Tag Team Champion with one of these reigns coming with Kazusada, but wanted nothing more than to become the inaugural UJWO International Tag Team Champions alongside Higuchi and make sure that everyone recognized that Eruption was a faction that other members of the roster would consider ditching their own stables for. And that it didn’t matter if Kings of the North or Voltorb 2000 won their side of the bracket - because either way they were going to tear them apart.​

 

[Spitfire]

- AAA Interim Mega Champion Cibernetico features in a YouTube video post on AAA's channel. He would confirm that he had sanctioned the attack on El Hijo del Vikingo at 'The New Beginning' and that the intent was clear, to remind Vikingo that he should be more concerned with their eventual unification match than a crappy Junior Heavyweight belt. He would then confirm that Escalera Real had hired the services of the Dagger Club and that these beatdowns would continue to take place until Vikingo remembered his routes and started showing respect to the the history of both Lucha Libre AAA and Pro Wrestling NOAH that had become Alianza Azteca Asiatica and respect for the Mega Championship belt. Cibernetico would make it clear that he hoped Vikingo had the guts to turn up Guerra de Titanes, so they could finally settle who the true Mega Champion was.

- Dr. Wagner, Jr. would make a cameo appearance in which he would congratulate Cesaro and the Grizzled Young Veterans in their victory over Nueva Generacion Dinamita on the AWA last week, but would make it clear that all that was irrelevant and that he was looking forward to kicking the crap out of Cesaro at Guerra de Titanes.​

 

[Comrade Khan]

June BTBOTM 2022

Still got few days but get your BTBOTM choices in if you got two to me.

wrestlingsmarks.com

shameless plug to go vote for juicyverse if u like it ( i did not vote for myself lol)

 

[Spitfire]

 

[Spitfire]

 

[Spitfire]

 

[Roy Mustang]

ALL HAIL POKOTAN

 

[Spitfire]

ALL HAIL POKOTAN

if you still want to send ratings in for Week 5, I haven't counted them all up yeah

 

[Roy Mustang]

if you still want to send ratings in for Week 5, I haven't counted them all up yeah

Just to make sure I am doing it right, which shows were eligible for week 5 rankings? I also can't seem to start a conversation to send a message for some reason

 

[Spitfire]

Ranking:
NJPW World Ep3 | ROH Elite Ep 5 | AEW Dynamite #122 | TNA Impact #913 | AWA Ep 005

 

[Spitfire]

the depth of more people rating, is great for the stats.

 

[Spitfire]

Episode Six

- Elite begins with a cold open, showing a split screen of Adam Cole and Roderick Strong arriving at the Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York. Adam Cole is stopped by Quinn McKay who would ask Adam about his crumbling relationship with Roderick Strong. Cole would make it clear that they both had a long history, but tonight would have to fight like brothers and he hoped he would be able to knock some sense into Roderick because the matchmaker had agreed to book a match for this evening. On the other hand, Strong would make it clear to Ian that he wasn’t taking questions at this time. The commentary team would then welcome the fans to the Blue Cross Arena in what tonight would be a special extended episode with the this weekend seeing the coming together of ROH and NJPW for this weekend’s two-night PPV Honor Rising coming live from

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- We cut to a pre-taped segment of the press conference between Bandido and Jonathan Gresham ahead of their planned unification match at Honor Rising. Gresham would begin by talking about the importance of the unification match and would make it clear that he was a man who bleed and sweats Ring of Honor and that he refused to let anyone take the belt away from him and he would enjoy nothing more than defeating Bandido and proving that loyalty was everything and that he truly is the face of this company - because he is part of The Foundation of ROH. Gresham would make it clear that Bandido had never beaten the purest wrestler in the business today and he would never get to the technical prowess he was ever. Gresham would make it clear that this weekend Honor will rise with the Octopus.

- Bandido would speak in Spanish with translation being offered during the entire conference. He makes it clear that he is the best in the world and that he is a true champion and that Gresham will never be able to take the true belt away from him. Bandido makes the point that a victory over Jay Lethal didn’t mean anything, and that he was the better wrestler and the tougher opponent. Bandido would make it clear that he fully intended to make ROH and Mexico proud, and intends to continue that legacy and being the unified ROH World Champion whilst still cementing himself in Japan.

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- Dario Cueto would make his ROH debut and make it clear that this was now his Temple and he intended to bring the very best Luchadors to the ring and to continue to give a global audience some of the very best luchador battles as often as possible. Cueto would announce that he had a strong working relationship with Dr. Wagner, Jr. of AAA and that this allowed him to have some leniency in regards to some matchmaking. He would introduce King Muertes and Prince Puma and make it clear that the Rochester fans were lucky to be in the presence of Lucha Royalty. Cueto would announce that tonight both men would open the show and that the winner of the contest would become the number one contender for GHC National Championship and challenge Chris Ridgeway for the belt.

Finish: The commentary team would focus on the fact that both Muertes and Puma had rich history, and would very much focus on the two men’s feud that had very much lit up around the Lucha Underground Championship. Muertes would be accompanied to the ring by Catrina with it being clear that the Monster was very much under her spell. Konnan would also emerge from the back and it was clear that he was very much in Puma’s corner. The match would have a good flow to it, but just as Muertes was setting up to hit his Avalanche Flatliner, only for Konnan to whack Muertes with cane out of the referee’s view - that would allow Puma to recover and hit the 630 Senton to claim the win and become the number one contender.

- Mastodon (Authors of Pain & JONAH) would emerge from the back with it clear they very much had their sights set on King Muertes, with Prince Puma wanting to have nothing to do with the situation. Before anything else could happen, Tomohiro Ishii and Orange Cassidy of CHAOS would emerge from the back and come for the save in a clear unexpected union - with a very much an enemy of my enemy vibe. Catarina would grab a microphone and challenge Mastodon to a Trios match at Honor Rising if they had the balls to show up.

- In the back, Legado del Fantasma would be watching back the match with Santos Escobar reflecting on his time on LU when he had been King Cuerno and would make it clear to Mendoza and Wilde that he had never forgotten their history and it seemed like they all know had something to focus on.

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- Backstage reDRagon would approach Roderick Strong and would make it clear that they had no intention of taking sides tonight, but couldn’t hide their disappointment in Roddy. Strong would make it clear that it was Cole who had betrayed them all time and time again, and would suggest that Kyle and Bobby get a reality check.

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Finish: Despite not being able to rely on any partners and having a real stamina battle against three men, Cena would impress and would look on the verge of winning the contest after hitting Bateman with the FU. A man dressed in all white with a white hood would slide into the ring and nail Cena from behind with a low blow resulting in the match ending immediately via DQ with the referee calling for the bell.

- Vincent and Dutch would enter the ring and proceed to start beating the crap out of Cena in the middle of the ring before stopping, with the hooded man revealing himself as none other than Jay Lethal with a truly evil smirk. Gresham would emerge from the back flanked by Rhett Titus and Josh Woods and demand to know what the hell was going on. Lethal would make it clear that HE is the Franchise, not Cena and certainly not Gresham. Jay would make it clear that he was the only man worthy of being the ROH World Champion and that Jonathan should have just stayed in his lane and stayed in the Pure Division. Lethal would make it clear that restoring Purity was Gresham’s goal, but that should never have been the true purpose of The Foundation.

- Lethal makes it clear that he has proved his legacy in ROH time and time again as had all but confirmed himself as one of the greatest of all time and that he had grown sick of all of the liars, pretenders and fakes. Lethal makes it clear that the Righteous are the only group capable of showing the way, and that after Lethal tears Cena down at Honor Rising it will be Gresham whom he will want next.

- Gresham would respond that he would have happily honored Lethal in granting him another shot at the belt, but his behavior simply didn’t warrant the honor of this company. Unspotted by Woods and Titus, Vita VonStarr would emerge from under the ring apron and punch Gresham straight in the stomach.This would result in Lethal exiting the ring, showing no intention of fighting anymore as Dutch and Bateman would exit the ring and proceed to start fighting with Woods and Titus with Gresham still winded. Cena had been feigning slightly, and would grab hold of Vincent before he could exit and lay him out with the FU.

- Bandido appears on the HonorTron and challenge Jay Lethal to face him for the ROH World Title later on tonight and make it clear that he is owed a title match even though he failed to win the interim title from Gresham, he’ll give him what he’s looking for as he wants to show Gresham he too can pin Lethal for the top prize and doesn’t want to hear any excuses or nonsense from Lethal after this weekend. Bandido makes it clear that when he beat Rhett he had done it to prove himself against Gresham - but now that Lethal had outed himself he would enjoy nothing more than wiping both players off the board that had challenged for the second version of the ROH World Championship.

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- Backstage Rey Fenix and Pentagon, Jr. would congratulate Prince Puma on his victory and having earned a shot to challenge for the GHC National Championship, but ask him what his deal with Konnan was and acknowledge that he had history with him and that they had once had him in their corner, but that version of Konnan was gone and he had very much returned to his gang ways and that advised Pumpa he wouldn't want any part of it, considering he had been a thorn in their side since they themselves had joined ROH.

- Konnan interrupts and says that Puma remembers history, just like when Penta forced Puma out of Lucha Underground. Konnan makes it clear that LAX can’t get involved in any business at Bound by Honor - but that Puma isn’t constrained by the Code of Honor. As viewers returned to commentary they would be reminded that at Honor Rising Fenix would challenge Mustafa Ali for the Junior Heavyweight Championship and that they had just learned that Pentagon, Jr. would go one-on-one with Kota Ibushi.

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- Cody Rhodes would come to the ring decked in the best suit that money could buy and would in very polite terms ask for Adam Page to join him in the ring with the TNA wrestler joining him without playing his hand or expressing how he felt. Cody thanks Hangman for having his back last week, even if he personally didn’t feel as if Flip had deserved it. Cody would ask if perhaps he would consider joining ROH and come back to the Elite. Adam would make it clear that he had made it clear since leaving the Elite and even when he had been close with the Dark Order that he really didn’t feel the need to be part of a group anymore.

- Cody would say he appreciates and understands the reasoning, but makes it clear that a war is taking place right now between The Elite and the Bullet Club and this was the time that it was time for friends to step up and rally and come to the aid of their friends. Hangman would make it clear that he was over those types of factional wars that he didn’t want to be part of, because they never truly died. Cody would go a different route, and suggest that perhaps Adam was looking for a challenge to prove his worth. This would result in an HonorTron coming to life and Roman Reigns appearing on screen.

- Roman would make it clear that if Adam Page was looking for a way out to avoid having to prove himself of facing the ‘Top Dog’ then perhaps he should take whatever other Cody was making him, because he was far from impressed that Adam had seemed more interested on appearing on a second rate brand rather than focusing on the task in hand of facing Jimmy this Thursday on Impact. Roman would look agitated, and just when Cody looked like he was going to say something, Reigns would respectfully ask if Cody would wait a moment. Roman would state that if Adam somehow managed to claim a victory over Jimmy then he had a different idea in mind.

- He would suggest that at Bound By Honor, Page should prove himself against none other than Cody Rhodes - but that if he lost then perhaps he should actually consider giving up on his TNA dreams and his big match with the ‘Top Dog’ and go back to being a second rate loser wearing stupid tees and calling each other elite and too sweet or some other dumb shit. Whilst all this was being said, it actually seemed as if this was almost something that Cody wanted - although he most likely would have said it in a very different manner.

- Page would respond that he wasn’t scared of anyone, and if he actually lost to Cody then he would accept his fate and jump ships and join ROH.

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- Alexa Bliss would feature in a backstage interview with Ian Riccaboni and would ask her if she was ready for her match later on tonight against Britt and Rebele and if she was planning on teaming up with Jamie Hayter tonight. Bliss would make it clear that she was very appreciative of Hayter having stepped in on World last night, but she’s still a little weary over her alliance with Baker so instead she had decided to bring in her best friend Liv Morgan into the frame and that tonight she hopes that they can come to together and claim an important win tonight.

- After this a vignette airs advertising the arrival of rich valley girl Tiffany Stratton. Underlying message is money buys many things including happiness and doors. If you’re not happy, you must be poor. Ew.

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Finish: Both men would wrestle in a good and clean contest, with the fans being treated to some good old fashioned wrestling with both men looking great. As was to be expected though, members of both factions would show up at ringside, and Strong would be distracted as Cody would end up laying out Owens with a steel chair - allowing Adam to nail Strong with The Boom to pick up the win.

- After the match a massive brawl would ensure, with everyone from Mount Rushmore and The Elite spilling out from the back and it would only be halted by Scott D’Amore who would come out from the back and say that enough was enough and would book a huge 8-Man Tag Team Match at Honor Rising. Despite this announcement being made, it showed no sign of stopping anything as Owens would whistle towards the back as the Bullet Club would hit the ring and end up aiding Rushmore in beating down the Undisputed Elite. Everyone would turn towards the back, as the familiar tune of The Kingdom would start to play throughout the arena.

- Matt Taven with a microphone in hand said he had heard what Kevin Owens had been saying about OGK and that he shouldn’t be speaking about things he didn’t know about, but he said that at a time like this it was important for the original family to get back together and with Matt Hardy once again in their clique and Cole clearly in need of help they had been left with no choice, but to return the the call. Taven would make it clear that it didn’t matter if he, Mike and Matt were part of TNA because they truly were Elite before the trio would rush down to the ring and help fight off Rushmore and Bullet Club with the allied Elite and Kingdom standing all as one in the ring.

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- Backstage in the lockers area, the camera joins Flip Gordon and Marty Scurll. Flip is holding his head and is acting like he is crazy and is telling himself that Marty isn’t real and he isn’t in front of him and that this is all in his head. Marty makes it clear that he is indeed very real otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to help him out last night. Marty makes it clear that Villian Enterprises may be no more, but villains never forgets. And the house will burn.

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Finish: The tag contest would be another interesting spectacle with all four women shining in the ring, Mickie James would distract Liv Morgan that would open a window of opportunity up for her unit captain Britt Baker who would claim a snap victory by colliding her shin into Bliss’ chin. Hayter would be prevented from interfering, as a fan would leap over the ringside barricade and suckerpunch her only to remove a mask and reveal herself as none other than Bea Priestley with the current leader of Oedo Tai beating the crap out of Hayter and holding her in place.

- After the match, Serena Deeb would pull Liv off the ring apron and the two women would start throwing shots at each other at ringside and would be pulled apart by a group of officials and backstage security to prevent both fights at ringside from taking place.

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- The World’s Cutest Tag Team are seen coming out of Scott D’Amore’s office, and ELP reveals to a camera crew that he and Ishimori will challenge the Briscoes tonight in a non-title match and have been promised that if they win tonight, then at Honor Rising the match for the tag team titles will be a triple threat contest. They would be joined on camera by Fale and Owens who would wish the pair luck and congratulate them on taking charge in Japan with the Pinnacle and remind them that no matter what, being in the club was for life.

Pinnacle’s Cutest Tag Team is coming out of Scott D’Amore’s office making their non-title match with the Briscoes official. If they win, it’s a triple threat at Honor Rising. Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens wish them luck tonight and congratulate them on taking charge in Japan with the Pinnacle. They remind them that no matter what the club is for life, and that they can always rely on them.

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Finish: Brody would look like the absolute leviathan he was when he was the legal man, but the finish would come with Buddy and Marty in the ring - with a Rope-assisted enzuigiri before forcing him to tap by locking in a Crossface Chickenwing to claim the victory.

- After the match, Brody grabs a microphone and makes it clear that the House of Black is everything that Scurll wished that Vllian Enterprises could have been. King makes it clear that he wants Marty at Honor Rising and that after he beats him, he never wants to be associated with Scurll ever again.

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- LFI arrive at the arena in a pair of limousines, with the commentary team informing fans that they are here tonight with the intention of scouting for their next challenge for their NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles.

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- Prince Nana makes a surprise return to ROH, where (re)introduces himself to the fans and runs through his history with the company. He informs viewers he has a whole new Embassy to show and tells the truck to run the video - with a vignette rolls hyping the Gates of Agony.

- After this video finishes, Matt Striker informs fans that two more matches have been added to the Honor Rising card. Serena Deeb will take on Liv Morgan and Bea Priestley is set to face Jamie Hayter.

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- Rollins comes out down to the ring in the most absurd suit and trouser combination possible in a clear attempt at channeling his best of ‘The Joker’. Seth responds to Okada’s challenge and say that just like Ospreay despite having a stupid nickname of ‘The Rainmaker’ he has never competed in the majors and so he doesn’t actually know what it means to make it rain. He makes it clear that he has been doing this for over a decade, so thanks Green Hornet - but no thanks.

- CM Punk appears from the back and looks as if he is about to speak only to be blindsided from behind with a swinging chair to the back of the head by KENTA, with Seth laughing like a maniac in the ring. Seth makes it clear that if Punk faces KENTA at Bound By Honor, then he will happily show Okada the rope this weekend and perhaps someday the kid might actually make something of himself.

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- We cut to the conference room where Scott D’Amore is joined by Moose, Pac and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Josh Alexander. Scott confirms that Moose has agreed with a written contract that this will be his absolute last shot at the championship if he loses tonight and to prevent any shenanigans from taking place Pac has agreed to stay out of the match tonight with one condition. That win, lose or draw he gets a match with Moose at Bound By Honor no matter what.

- PAC makes it clear that he respects TNA too much, despite whatever Orton might have said on the matter. He makes it clear that he will let Alexander handle his business, however he doesn’t believe Moose respects TNA and is looking forward to nothing more than whipping some respect into him in two weeks time. PAC completely dismisses the idea of Moose winning tonight, and wished Alexander the beat of luck against The Viper at Bound By Honor. PAC would make it clear that he had turned down the shot at the title, because this was all about TNA’s honor and not his own. Moose looked visibly annoyed during this, but would seemingly be held in check by D’Amore who didn’t want a situation to transpire.

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Finish: Andrade, Naito and Rush would sit at the comms table for the contest, with Dark Order and Sanity being the two teams starting the contest. Sanity would be joined by Madman Fulton, with it clear that he had made his decision known. VBD would end up coming out early and costing Sanity a fall, before attacking Dark Order resulting in Sanity getting Disqualified by the referee in what was a very questionable decision. EY would claim the victory nailing 10 out with the Edge of Sanity. LFI would applaud VBD on the victory, before joining them in the ring and six men staring each other down.

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- The camera cuts backstage where Seth and KENTA are in front of the camera in what would have previously been seen as an unlikely partnership. Rollins would make it clear that Punk was always taking credit for other people’s hard work and he was sick of hearing the kid rag about being the best in the world. Seth would make it clear that he had scoured to find like minded individuals who had a belief system like his own. He thought that would have been Samoa Joe when he brought him in for Honor Rising, but Joe had too much respect in his heart. Instead, he had found someone better - a man full of rage in his heart.

- KENTA would make it clear that Punk had literally stolen his entire character and gimmick from him and that the signature move was his and his alone. KENTA would make it clear that he owed the fame, glory and all the financial benefits that Punk had taken from him by using his Go 2 Sleep move and he was coming for the royalties and that the blood, sweat and tears would just be an added bonus.

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Finish: It would be a good tag contest, but Jay and Mark would continue to remind everyone exactly why they were the most successful team in ROH history and would wrap up the match by nailing Ishimori with the Briscoe Bottom.

- After the match the House of Torture storm the ring alongside the ousted EVIL, and would proceed to absolutely and with no mercy brutalise ELP and Ishimori in the ring. Jay White would brushes through the crowd, and move past H.O.T. and hit EVIL with the Blade Runner before demanding a microphone.

- White would remind everyone that Bullet Club is for life and he doesn’t care if the Pinnacle kicked EVIL out for him or if they left on their own regard, because the only thing that matters is the Era of the Switchblade. Jay makes it clear that he intends to fish that job in regards to EVIL at Honor Rising and the House will show the Pinnacle why there were no longer fit for purpose.

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- Evil Uno speaks on behalf of the Dark Order backstage and makes it clear that he was far from pleased in the manner in which VBD stole the wi from both them and Sanity, and that if Sanity ever needs it they will have their back in the future. He expresses the disappointment of not getting to challenge for the Trios gold, but issues an open challenge with the intent of defending their NWA tag team titles at Honor Rising. Top Flight enter the shot and make it clear that they would love a second chance to be part of the card and the two teams agree to face each other this weekend for the gold.

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Finish: Despite, the match being a really tough contest for the belt and Moose clearly being motivated to reclaim the belt - after a referee bump Big Cass would slide into the ring and wipe Moose with a Big Boot with Alexander none the wise as he would force Moose to tap out via an Ankle Lock.

- After the bell Moose and Cass would continue to brawl, with Enzo Amore proceeding to make his ROH debut and call out Moose. He says with friends like you Moose who needs enemies? He says it looks like Big Cass needs the realist guy in the room to have his back once more. During this speech, Moose would be distracted long enough for Cass to nail Moose with another Big Boot before Enzo would hit a Top Rope DDT on Moose to lay him out. Before the duo could celebrate the moment, Brock Lesnar jumps the guard and enters the ring and demolishes both men with brutal suplexes, before smiling as he watches Moose push himself up only to flatten Moose with the F5, sending a clear and direct message.

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- Killer Kross and Scarlett would be backstage talking about their upcoming match with Miz and Maryse at Bound By Honor. Scarlett sends a question to Maryse asking how Maryse was going to be able to step into the same ring as a man who had literally been crushing men alive, whilst her and her husband seemed more interested in looking after their kids and playing house - whilst feature in reality television like the absolute worst version of the Kardashians. Scarlett continues, in not blaming the couple for not wanting this match and that if she was in their shoes she would be standing out in the cold to catch the flu or trying to falsify a covid test especially with such lucrative television careers especially considering it the only real way they bring the bacon home after all why damage it for pride and hubris.

- Kross would then take the focus and start focusing on The Miz hopg he was watching ROH Elite right now. Kross would make it clear that when he had stepped into Lethal’s World, his entire foundation crumbled and in a click of a finger Jay Lethal was a whole new man and was so much better for it. He hadn’t let his dreams crush him and stop him from evolving and that Jay was a man that The Miz could learn a thing or two from. Killer Kross would make it clear that if The Miz still doubted the path of destruction was awaiting him, then he suggested he watched him defend this ROH World Television Championship at Honor Rising against Konosuke Takeshita. Consider this a preview of coming events, Miz. What you take from that is up to you. Tick tock.

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Finish: The Righteous would attempt to steal the victory for Lethal, only for a clearly still hurt Cena chasing The Dutch and Bateman too the back with a kendo stick in his hand that would allow Bandido to focus up and retain the belt by hitting Jay with the Spanish Fly to retain the belt.

- Cena would return to the ring after the belt and exact some revenge on Jay with the FU. Meanwhile, Jonathan Gresham would walk out from the back and proceed to clap Bandido on the entrance ramp with the knowledge that the next time that both men were in the ring it would be to finally unify the ROH World Championship.

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- The show closes with Josh Alexander putting the bag in the back of his rental car in the parking lot, only to be blindsided as Randy Orton would appear out of nowhere and nail him with the RKO. Orton drops down on the floor and informs Josh that at Bound By Honor he is bringing the TNA World Heavyweight Title back to TNA and bringing an end to this pathetic bond between TNA and ROH.​