Mike was so mad that we tied for Survivor Series: War Games that he went into retirement for the rest of 2022 in doing this column with me, how pathetic. Regardless, we have someone way more qualified to do this specific column with me, the one and only le editor in chief of Pop Break, Bill Bodkin!!!
Now, for me specifically with the work I have done with Ring of Honor I am really excited for this card and the new reboot of the company that we have been getting in 2022. I do believe that we will be getting an announcement about the TV deal on this card which means more Ring of Honor programming!
As for me (Bill Bodkin), I am an original Ring of Honor fan. I was there at the Murphy Rec Center in South Philly when they crowned Low Ki their first champion. I posted on the message boards. I was there at the Rex Plex in Elizabeth and witnessed CM Punk vs. Raven in a Dog Collar Match. I owned a Ring Crew Express t-shirt. I was at the Philly Armory for Final Battle 2003 to see Muta, Kojima and Gedo & Jado invade ROH. Hell, I was there with my buddy Kenny at Final Battle 2013 where Kevin Steen pointed out his Colt Cabana-centric “Funny = Money” sign. So yeah, I’m pretty invested in the future of ROH!
Now with only five matches announced for a Saturday afternoon pay-per-view, here are our Final Battle predictions.
Ring of Honor Six Man Tag Team Championships: Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brandon and Brent Tate) vs Gates of Agony (Toa Liona and Kaun) and Brian Cage
Kimmy: Now with Prince Nana in their corner how can the trio of Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony fail? Well, it’s because of Cage he really does not connect with an audience, he puts on banger matches from time to time but besides that he just isn’t that good. Castle and The Boys are so entertaining and I am hoping this leads to Castle signing with the company. In conclusion, easy win for Castle and The Boys.
Winners: Dalton Castle and The Boys
Bill: Wild theory right out the gates so listen up silly gooses! this is not the match we’re gonna see. Given social media yesterday, we’re going to see the new La Faccion Ingobernable (RUSH, Prest10n Vance & Dralistico) show up, make the challenge and win the Trios Titles. If this doesn’t happen, they show up to challenge the eventual winners — Dalton Castle and The Boys. It’ll be a big fight for Dalton’s team, but the man is so over, they need to keep the belts on them for now.
Winners: Dalton Castle and The Boys
Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) vs Shane Taylor and JD Griffey:
Kimmy: This match is interesting because of the dynamic between Swerve and Lee. At Full Gear Lee walked out on Swerve leading to the demise of the team, but it seems TK has other plans for them. This match should be fine but I think Swerve and Lee get the win and then Lee beats up Swerve after the match to get his revenge.
Winner: Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland)
Bill: This is going to be the sleeper match of the show. Shane Taylor is very, very good. He and Keith Lee are 100% going to put on a show. However, I think Swerve is the one who walks out on Keith Lee here allowing Taylor and Griffey to win the match. Don’t be shocked if Taylor and Griffey end up aligned with Swerve.
Winner: Shane Taylor Promotions
Ring of Honor Television Championship: Samoa Joe vs Juice Robinson:
Kimmy: This is Robinson’s first match since officially signing with AEW, so welcome to the company Juice! This is honestly going to be one of the sleeper matches on the card. Since leaving WWE I think Robinson has truly reinvented himself for the better (remember he used to be obsessed with trees and saving the world). Joe right now is also on a different level. This is the Samoa Joe that we have all grown up with and have loved in the ring and the Samoa Joe that we wanted to see in WWE. Now can I see Wardlow costing Joe in this match to help Robinson win of course, but I think we hold off on that rematch until Winter is Coming. I think Joe gets the win here as he is the new pronounced king of television.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Bill: If this match happens and Wardlow does not get involved (HE MIGHT), I think we see something along with the lines of Joe/Darby from Dynamite as this will be a way better than advertised match. I feel like the TNT and ROH TV Titles will be unified (given TK said he’d make an announcement about the TV Title) and we’ll get that unification at Winter is Coming. Wardlow regains the belt and hopefully, we get a full-fledged Hobbs/Wardlow feud with “The MonSTAR” winning his first belt in AEW. This will then allow Samoa Joe to challenge Claudio for his newly won ROH title.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Ring of Honor Womens Championship: Mercedes Martinez vs Athena:
Kimmy: This is the match that I am most excited about on the card, and no it is not because of the work I did for the reinvented Ring of Honor Women’s Division. I think Athena’s heel turn has been tremendous and I hate the fact that this has only been shown on AEW: Dark and Dark Elevation. Martinez has just come back from injury, but if we are really rebooting the whole company I think you need to put the title on Athena. Her in a heel persona needs a title to complete the entire character change, and this is the place that you need to do it.
Winner: “And New” Athena
Bill: Athena is gonna wreck shop on Mercedes. ROH’s Women’s Division has been sorely under-served given Mercedes’ injury (no fault of her own), so they need to put this belt on someone who is red hot, and Athena is just that. She needs a nice dominant run and I think ultimately will drop the belt at Death Before Dishonor to Willow Nightingale.
Winner: Athena
Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship Double Dog Collar Match: FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) vs The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe)
Kimmy: Mark my words, this will be not only your match of the night, but also your match of the year. Both times these four have wrestled each other they have put on a tag team clinic. The major headline that will come out of this match is what happens to FTR. With rumors circulating that they might leave AEW towards the middle of next year, you might see them dropping more titles especially since they just lost clean to The Acclaimed. I think The Briscoes get the win they desperately need after having an 0-2 streak against FTR
Winners: “And New” The Briscoe Brothers
Bill: This is the toughest one to call. On one hand, how do you have The Briscoes lose a third time to FTR? On the other, how do you have FTR lose two matches within a week? Could they be dropping all their belts soon? I feel that this could be possible … but ultimately leading to them winning the AEW titles for a second time (more on that for a future time and podcast). This match will be bloody, this match will be intense. This match will be awesome. So on a coin flip, I’m gonna stick with the Top Guys. Best team in the world retains.
Winner: FTR
Ring of Honor Pure Championship Match: Daniel Garcia vs Wheeler Yuta
Kimmy: The rubber match between the future top stars in professional wrestling. To me the winner of this match determines what happens in the main event as both of these matches are BCC vs The JAS. However, based on that analogy that means that Yuta is going to win the rubber match and that is something that I do not 100% believe is going to happen. If Yuta wins I do not know what is next for Garcia unless he is costing Jericho in the main event to eventually lead to that big money match. This match can truly go both ways and I really do not mind who wins this match, but not only do I think this is going to be the match of the night, I also believe that the “Dragon Slayer” is gonna prove why he owns the Pure Title.
Winner: Daniel Garcia
Bill: Garcia needs to lose in order to get back to the heights of popularity from earlier in the summer. A loss to get over? Makes no sense, right? Follow along you silly gooses! Garcia could easily drop the Pure Title to Wheeler, then cost Jericho the main event (by accident). This leads to more tension between the two until Garcia is expelled from the JAS, likely at either New Year’s Smash or the LA Forum Show. This will lead to Garcia (maybe) joining BCC or becoming his own man. Meanwhile, Wheeler has definitely cooled off and after all the Regal malarkey, BCC needs to look strong. Also, division between Wheels and Bryan for this title, will be a ton of fun.
Winner: Wheeler Yuta
Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs Claudio Castagnoli:
Kimmy: If they are announcing the TV deal during this show, I fully believe that Jericho gets the win to help build the TV show just like he did with Dynamite. I personally wish they did not have this as the main event because we have seen this match already and I fully understand why they did it, but I think they could have used another Ring of Honor alumni to help build this pay-per-view main event. I think Claudio finally gets his revenge on this ocho and gets his title back, I would go the other way but I am not booking the show.
Winner: “And New” Claudio Castagnoli
Bill: Claudio is winning this so we can have him and Samoa Joe for the title at the Spring PPV. Claudio is great and can keep on AEW TV with the BCC and defend the belt when needed. Joe and he will be an absolute classic. Jericho did a good job keeping the ROH Title relevant, and it wouldn’t shock me if he challenges Claudio again on the first ever ROH TV show under Tony Khan’s regime.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
