ROH Final Battle: End of an Era Review - December 11, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman and Dutch) def. Shane Taylor Promotions (O'Shay Edwards and S.O.S.) to Win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship

Maybe it's just because I loved The Wyatt Family so much, but I think The Righteous is a terrific trio. Vincent as their leader is just perfect and I hope they can take the titles to another promotion before Ring of Honor's possible next show. Shane Taylor Promotions have just as much upside if not more and I agree with Taylor when he says that wherever they go next, it should be as a unit. This was a very enjoyable six-man tag team affair with the level of excitement you'd expect from those involved.

Pre-Show: Miranda Alize and The Allure (Angelina Love and Mandy Leon) def. Chelsea Green and NWA World Women's Tag Team Champions The Hex

The Allure have been in ROH for years (Leon specifically) whereas Green and The Hex just recently arrived, so the outcome was logical. This was another multi-person match where they really wanted to leave a lasting impression. Leon and Marti Belle are not very good, but everyone else shined and I thought this was fine for what it was. I wouldn't be shocked to see Alize and The Allure end up in the NWA at some point given how well-rounded their women's division is. IMPACT is another option, but the NWA feels like a better fit for them, though Alize in particular will be successful wherever she goes.

Pre-Show: PJ Black, Flip Gordon, World Famous CB and The Bouncers def. LSG, Sledge, Demonic Flamita, Will Ferrara and Max the Impaler in a 10-Person Wild Card Tag Team Match

This was basically ROH's way of getting everyone else on the card who didn't have a match on the main card. It was a random mish-mash of talent, but this was fun. I'm not high on the intergender stuff normally, but Max being in there was believable and the crowd was into her interactions with The Bouncers. Black and Gordan have turned into a hell of a team, so it'd be nice if they stuck together in another promotion.

Dragon Lee def. Rey Horus

This was a smart choice to go with as the opener. Lee consistently delivers and Horus is super skilled as well. They worked a fast pace and had the entertaining encounter you'd expect from them. Lee has wrestled at most of the Final Battle shows I've been a fan for and always has one of the best bouts of the night. It's a shame Rush couldn't make the show due to an injury, but I think he and Lee would add a lot to Andrade El Idolo's act in AEW.

Rhett Titus def. Silas Young, Joe Hendry and Dalton Castle in a Four Corner Survival Match to Win the ROH World Television Championship

This marked Hendry's first match back in ROH since right before the pandemic. I honestly thought he was done with the promotion, but he was able to make it back for one final show. The singing shtick was never for me, but he came across more serious here and appeared to be in phenomenal shape. Maybe his heel turn means there are plans for him and Castle to feud down the road if ROH sticks around. Titus has been in ROH for many years and he's found his stride as part of The Foundation, so him winning the title was a nice moment. This was a well-worked four-way.

ROH Pure Champion Champion Josh Woods def. Brian Johnson in a Pure Rules Match

Johnson is a fantastic trash talker and I've become a big fan of his throughout the pandemic period for ROH. He's also the antithesis of the Pure Rules, so this was a fun clash of styles that saw Johnson attempted to cheat in various ways in an attempt to steal the title. Woods retaining was the right call as he's had a breakout year. Apparently he'll be appearing on an upcoming episode of AEW Dark, so if AEW is where he ends up, that's a good get for them. I'm shocked WWE couldn't find anything to do with him when he was there under a developmental deal.

Shane Taylor def. Kenny King in a Fight Without Honor

The bad blood between these two had been brewing for a while and this was a brilliant way to pay it off. This lived up the stipulation as this was an absolute war. They beat the holy hell out of each other and had the crowd invested every step of the way. Both of these guys are top talents and I'm glad their story received such a satisfying conclusion with plenty of crazy spots sprinkled throughout. Taylor has really come into his own over the last two years and would be an awesome addition to any roster.

ROH Women's World Champion Rok-C def. Willow

Rok-C made a handful of appearances for AEW before wrestling in the ROH Women's World Championship Tournament and winning the whole thing. She's damn good and is only 20-years-old, which is wild. Willow has a ton of potential as well and she connects with the crowd so well that the fans in attendance actually wanted to see her win more than Rok-C. Nonetheless, this was a top-notch match from these two. Deonna Purrazzo showing up afterward, given her history in ROH, was a cool surprise and I like how Purrazzo vs. Rok-C will likely be taking place in an IMPACT ring at some point in the coming months.

Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Homicide and Tony Deppen) and Rocky Romero def. EC3, Tracy Williams, Eli Isom and Taylor Rust

Chris Deppen is currently out injured (though he was able to appear at ringside for this), so he was replaced by Romero, which was cool. Romero has been making the rounds for practically every company over the last year except for WWE and thus I'm glad he got to be a part of ROH's last show for a while. This match didn't have any storyline support, but it was well wrestled and got extreme at times (I could've done without some of spots with the fork, personally). Post-match, EC3 seemed to establish a new faction from his Free The Narrative stuff he's been doing lately with the former Wesley Blake, some other dude, and the former Braun Strowman, who looks to be in the best shape he's ever been in. I can't say Strowman appearing in ROH was on my 2021 bingo card, but here we are. Will this carry over into IMPACT or somewhere else?

The Briscoes def. The OGK to Win the ROH World Tag Team Championship

Maria Kanellis appearing in the corner of Mike Bennett and Matt Taven and coming out to the original Kingdom entrance music was a really nice touch. That music is amazing. At any rate, this was a blast of a bout. These teams are no strangers to each other and were the perfect two teams to be facing each other for the ROH World Tag Team Championship on this show. They went all out and killed it. If that wasn't enough, FTR showing up afterward and brawling with The Briscoes was a hell of an angle. I'm extremely excited for that match regardless of where we get it.

Jonathan Gresham def. Jay Lethal to Win the ROH World Championship

The main event was originally supposed to be Gresham vs. Bandido, but due to Bandido testing positive for COVID-19, he was replaced by Lethal. Props to AEW for allowing him to work the show. It only made sense given how long he was there before leaving for AEW. This was contested for the original ROH World Championship belt, meaning they can always build to Bandido vs. Gresham in a unification match of some sort at their next show if it indeed comes to fruition. The match itself was excellent and encapsulated what ROH is all about. These two know each other very well and have always had strong chemistry as partners and as opponents. They made the most of the time they had and Gresham finally winning the title was a special moment. The post-match celebration was rushed a bit as they were about to go off the air, but the visual of the entire ROH roster cheering him on from ringside was very cool.

Overall Show

I honestly had no idea what to expect from this pay-per-view because the build was fairly weak leading up to it due to the television tapings happening before news broke that ROH was going on hiatus, not to mention that several stars got injured (Dickinson, Danhausen, Rush) or sick (Bandido). Despite that, they put on a fantastic farewell pay-per-view. There were plenty of great matches, memorable moments and even some surprises. The videos sent in by the likes of Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Adam Cole, The Young Bucks, Eddie Edwards and others were wonderful and I'm happy AEW and IMPACT allowed that. It certainly feels like some of the ROH titles will be defended in other promotions, so here's hoping the company can maintain a presence until their upcoming event in April. I first got into ROH back in 2014 and have watched religiously since, so while I'm sad they'll be going away for a while, I'm thankful for the many memories it provided me with (including events I've attended in person) and am ecstatic they went out on such a high note.

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