Welp, we have made it to the final ROH pay-per-view of the year. No, I have no idea how we made it. However, this is my sixth Final Battle I am attending in person and the first one that I am media for so that alone is part of the reason I am excited for this show. Now, it was a bumpy road to get here and this card is something else, but let’s predict Final Battle!
Zero Hour:
The Infantry (Carlie Bravo and Shawn Dean) vs The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett):
Kimmy: I would not be surprised if we see Maria Kanellis here with all of the history with ROH and Final Battle itself. I think The Infantry has to win this one because of the heel turn they are on. The Undisputed Kingdom who have an extensive history with this brand will get their moment on the show, however they will not win.
Winners: The Infantry (Carlie Bravo and Shawn Dean)
Bill: Infantry all the way. I predict this team will be ROH Tag Team Champs at some point in 2025.
Winners: The Infantry (Carlie Bravo and Shawn Dean)
Harley Cameron vs Hanako:
Kimmy: Cameron is someone who has maximized all of her minutes on TV and I am glad she is getting the chance to be featured on this show. I expect big things from her in 2025 and more opportunities to arise. However, she will not win this one as I think Hanako is going to win.
Winner: Hanako
Bill: Harley Cameron is one of the best characters in AEW/ROH. She’s pitch perfect and has gotten better every time we see her. However, Hanako is coming off a match with Mercedes Mone that people are absolutely raving about, so I think she needs to go over here to establish a foothold for her in the company for future returns.
Winner: Hanako
LEEJ (Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka) vs Gates of Agony (Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun):
Kimmy: Just as I expected on my ROH Review last night they made this match official for Zero Hour. These two teams have been feuding for the last couple of weeks on ROH TV. This is the first time the teams are facing off and I think the newly formed LEEJ will finally break the undefeated streak of the Gates of Agony.
Winners: LEEJ
Bill: ROH needs to invest in both Johnson and Nduka. Big Shotty has been in the fold for quite some time, and EJ has everything you’d want in a star. Push ’em to the moon.
Winners: LEEJ
Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) vs Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson):
Kimmy: Similar to the last match these two teams have also been feuding for the last couple of weeks cause Silver and Reynolds stole GYV’s clothes. With all of the hype with GYV when they signed with ROH, I am going to assume they will win this match.
Winners: Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson)
Bill: GYV get the win here, no doubt. This match will be way better than people expect.
Winners: Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson)
Pure Rules Championship Open Challenge: Lee Moriarty vs TBD:
Kimmy: Let’s play a fun game of who I want the TBD to be vs who it will actually be. I want the TBD to be someone who has a history at Hammerstein Ballroom, someone like Nigel McGuinness, Jerry Lynn, a returning Samoa Joe, etc. In reality, it will probably be Josh Woods as logically that makes the most sense. Regardless, Moriarty will retain here because this is just the beginning of the entire Shane Taylor Promotions being on top of ROH.
Winner: “And Still” Lee Moriarty
Bill: I think there’s three options here.
Note: My initial guess was Katsuyori Shibata who we have not seen (to my knowledge) since he lost to Jack Perry. A former Pure Champ, it’d be a good surprise, a good pop and a good match. However, he was announced to wrestle “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington. Could he pull double duty? Sure. Will he? No.
So my now first option is — Nigel McGuinness. They’re showing his documentary right before the PPV, so that could be a tip-off. This is the type of wrestling Nigel can maintain and be an attraction for ROH with, especially if they get TV.
My second option is some like Tomohiro Ishii (who’s on the poster) or a wrestler on the AEW/ROH roster we’ve forgotten about.
My third option is someone who will literally leave the audience stunned — like Kimmy said, someone with a history in Hammerstein. There’s a litany of names from ROH’s past you could tap into like Homicide or Colt Cabana who’d get a solid pop and put on a good match. But if we’re getting wild here, let’s throw Chris Hero’s name out there. Why not have the Knockout Artist come up and remind people how good he is.
Regardless of who it is, I think this mystery name is the one to snatch the belt off Taigastyle.
Winner: “And New” TBD
Survival of the Fittest Match for the ROH World Television Championship: Brian Cage vs Willie Mack vs Komander vs Mark Davis vs AR Fox vs Blake Christian:
Kimmy: Does it occur to anyone else that this title is always in a Survival of the Fittest match on pay-per-view instead of building up a viable contender and doing a one-on-one match? Just me, figured. I also do not understand why Komander is taking a break from the Continental Classic to be in this match but, logic does not exist in this company. Cage is practically undefeated in ROH-sanctioned action so he will probably retain here after squashing all five of his opponents.
Winner: “And Still” Brian Cage
Bill: This is a nice way to get more faces on the card. It’ll be a very fun match with lots of absurd spots. Don’t see Brian Cage losing here unless they do an “upset” spot for Komander to bolster his position in the Continental Classic.
Winner: “And Still” Brian Cage
Mansoor vs Atlantis Jr.
Kimmy: Oh, welcome back to ROH, Atlantis Jr. I would have rather seen this as a tag team match with MXM vs Atlantis Jr and someone else from CMLL. This match should be fine and it should kick off the show with, Atlantis Jr. taking the win.
Winner: Atlantis Jr.
Bill: No way Atlantis Jr. loses here. He’s the future of CMLL, and I was not stoked about his match against Brian Cage. This should be a good rebound/repair match for him as Mansoor is a solid worker, who will make Atlantis look great. Maybe this leads to some MxM vs. Atlantis and friends feud on TV for a bit.
Winner: Atlantis Jr.
ROH Women’s Television Championship: Red Velvet vs Leyla Hirsch:
Kimmy: As we all respectively enter year-end award season, Red Velvet deserves the most improved award. She is someone who has come back from injury and has gotten more comfortable in the ring. She has traveled to Mexico several times since winning this championship and represents ROH with pride. I think this match will be a good opener to the show as both women have had a great year within the ROH brand. I still think it is too early to take the title off of Velvet since she has only had one proper feud since winning this title.
Winner: “And Still” Red Velvet
Bill: It’s never fun to pick against a Jersey native, but this is not “Legit” Leyla Hirsch’s night. Red Velvet has been on a tear, and I think it’s another four-six months before she drops the belt and heads back to the main roster.
Winner: “And Still” Red Velvet
Katsuyori Shibata vs Tommy Billington:
Kimmy: Love that Billington has come back to ROH/AEW since every time he has gotten an opportunity he has shined. This match should be amazing with Billington and Shibata having such similar styles. I think Shibata wins this one, with it being officially announced Billington is All Elite at the end of the show.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata
Bill: This match messed up my prediction for the Pure Title Match. However, I think this will be a sleeper as Billington is actually pretty good. Shibata is going to light him up, but ultimately respects Billington for taking the beating. A future team-up for them is almost inevitable.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata
Jay Lethal vs Q.T. Marshall:
Kimmy: Well, this is certainly a match on the show. The Costco guys will get involved here since AJ just had a staredown with Marshall at an indy show in Florida this past weekend, as well as AJ and Big Justice saying they will be in NYC at the Hammerstein shows. This is the only reason this match is on the show, and if they don’t get involved then what are we honestly doing here?
Winner: Jay Lethal
Bill: To quote Ben Folds, this is a battle of who cares less. And that would be the fans. Listen, Lethal and QT will have a good match together, but where’s the heat on it? As Kimmy said, the BOOM will be felt, and the people will go nuts for The Rizzler.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Texas Bullrope ROH Tag Team Championship: Sons of Texas (Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara) vs The Righteous (Dutch and Vincent):
Kimmy: This feud has been awesome on ROH TV. Dutch constantly gets in the head of Rhodes after saying Dusty always liked him more than his son. That folks is what they call cinema. This is probably going to be one of the matches of the night due to the violence and how both teams will bring it to NYC. The Righteous have to win here. This could lead Guevara and Rhodes to split and fight each other or lead both of them to do other things in ROH. Remember Rhodes technically holds the Six-Man Tag Team Championships as well…
Winners: “And New” The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch)
Bill: If Dustin Rhodes had not cut the “You don’t use my dad’s name” promo recently, I would have said the Righteous would be the winners here. However, I think we’ve got a little bit of juice left in the squeeze for The Sons of Texas. Ultimately, I think the Grizzled Young Vets should be the ones to dethrone Dustin & Sammy, then we see the fallout — leading to a blow out at All In Texas.
Winners: “And Still” The Sons of Texas (Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara)
ROH World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs Matt Cardona:
Kimmy: No, this is not the World Heavyweight Championship match I was expecting to be on this card, but here we are anyway. I will give Cardona credit for how much promotion he has done for this match. He posts every day about Final Battle and all of his segments on AEW/ROH, he is a true worker. The match should be fine and I would not be shocked if this gets some type of stipulation because of the attack Jericho gave Cardona at GCW last weekend. Jericho will retain here as he will hold this title until ROH gets their TV deal.
Winner: “And Still” Chris Jericho
Bill: This will be one of the most interesting matches on the card. It won’t be the best wrestling match, but if there’s one thing ROH has always had tremendous success with its, cross-promotional feuds and invasion angles. CZW vs. ROH back in the day was a white hot experience, and you have to hope this could lead to similar business results. It’d spice things up for both companies and make for some big fun. I except that you see some sort of combination of Effy, Broski Jimmy Lloyd, Joey Janela, Mance Warner, Allie Katch and maybe even Ricky Starks (although that’s an estimated wish) involved in this match. Jericho is going to keep the title because if this TV deal is happening, you want his face attached for recognition.
Winner: “And Still” Chris Jericho
ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena vs Billie Starkz:
Kimmy: A year in the making! Now the way they got to this match this year in my opinion was not as good as they did last year, but they are main eventing again so cheers to that. Before Athena won the Wrestle Dynasty qualifying match, I would have told you Starkz was winning this match. My only thing is I can not imagine Athena walking into the Tokyo Dome without the ROH Women’s World Championship. However, if it’s not now then when, and if it’s not Starkz then who? I am sorry my minion overlord.
Winner: “And New” Billie Starkz
Bill: 2025 should be the year of Billie Starkz as ROH Women’s Champion and Athena on the main roster. Athena vs. Mercedes Mone will be box office, and tremendous wrestling. Meanwhile, it’s time to belt up young talent and Billie has more than earned this spot.
Winner: “And New” Billie Starkz
The current record in Bill vs Kimmy is 6-4-5 in favor of Bill
