ROH Jacksonville Tapings Deliver Title Matches, Indie Standouts and a Surprise Appearance
Ring of Honor packed a lot of wrestling into Jacksonville. More than 30 matches were recorded during ROH's September 28 television tapings at WJCT Studios, featuring championship defenses, familiar faces, emerging independent talent and a surprise appearance from the Motor City Machine Guns.
The tapings took place under extraordinarily difficult circumstances following the passing of PAC. Tony Khan opened the evening by addressing the crowd before ROH held a ten-bell salute and moment of silence for Benjamin Satterley. Khan also told those in attendance that every wrestler competing at the tapings had been given the choice not to perform.
Then the bell rang.
And there was a lot of wrestling.
Bandido Retains the ROH World Championship
Bandido successfully defended the ROH World Championship against AR Fox in one of the night's biggest matches. I loved this for Bandido! Fox had already competed earlier in the tapings, defeating LJ Cleary, before stepping into the World Championship picture against Bandido.
Elsewhere in championship action, Lee Moriarty successfully defended the ROH Pure Championship against Mance Warner.
Deonna Purrazzo retained the ROH Women's Pure Championship against Emi Sakura.
Meanwhile, ROH Television Champion Action Andretti battled ELP to a time-limit draw, allowing Andretti to leave Jacksonville with the championship still in his possession.
That's four championship-related matches on one set of tapings — but some of the most interesting names weren't necessarily wearing gold.
Sirena Linton Steps Into Athena's World: One of the more intriguing matches saw ROH Women's World Champion Athena defeat Sirena Linton in a Proving Ground match. For anyone paying attention to wrestlers moving between developmental television, independent wrestling and larger promotions, Linton is a name worth keeping an eye on. Her appearance should not be mistaken for confirmation that she has signed with Ring of Honor.
It is, however, another interesting stop in the career of a wrestler continuing to put herself in different rooms and in front of different audiences. And there may not be many better tests than standing across the ring from Athena. Proving Ground matches have an interesting function in ROH because the champion doesn't necessarily need to lose a championship for somebody else to leave having gained something.
Sometimes surviving in the right ring against the right opponent is its own introduction. An I must sway I loved this for both ladies as well as Bandido retaining his title! I've been a huge supporter of Athena for years. We circled each other on the indies for YEARS and YEARS but ultimately never squared off. She's perfect for ROH and exactly what I would have wanted and campaigned for to add depth, intensity, and character to our WOH Division. Kudos ladies!
ROH's Indie Pipeline Is Alive and Well: This is where these tapings became particularly interesting to me. Look beyond the championship matches and the card reads almost like a snapshot of several different corners of professional wrestling colliding in the same building.
Hyan defeated Billie Starkz.
Adam Priest defeated Alex Zayne.
Queen Aminata faced Janai Kai. (These two kill it and I've written feature n them several times. They DO NOT disappoint.)
Alec Price and Jordan Oliver teamed with Top Flight.
B3CCA faced Trish Adora.
Bryan Keith wrestled Matt Sydal.
Alan Angels faced Bishop Kaun.
Lio Rush was there. (Yes Lio!!!)
Mance Warner was there.
And that's only part of it. This is one of the things Ring of Honor can still do exceptionally well when the door is open wide enough. Professional wrestling needs places where established television wrestlers can share a card with somebody whose name a portion of the audience may be Googling for the first time. Because today's unfamiliar name can become tomorrow's obvious signing.
Anyone who has spent time around independent wrestling knows how quickly that can happen. You work a locker room with someone. Six months later they're getting buzz. A year later they're on television. Then suddenly everyone acts like they appeared out of nowhere. They almost never did. Someone simply wasn't watching yet.
Motor City Machine Guns Surface in ROH:
The tapings also featured an appearance from the Motor City Machine Guns.
MCMG are synonymous with an era of tag team wrestling that helped reshape what audiences expected from teams in the 2000s and beyond. Their presence alone adds another interesting layer to a taping already filled with wrestlers from very different generations and backgrounds. That's what makes this particular set of ROH tapings more interesting than simply reading down a list of winners and losers...
There are champions.
There are veterans.
There are wrestlers still trying to make people remember their names.
And there are independent standouts standing only a few matches away from performers fans have watched on national television for years. That's professional wrestling's ecosystem happening in real time.
Notable ROH Jacksonville Results:
Bandido defeated AR Fox to retain the ROH World Championship.
Lee Moriarty defeated Mance Warner to retain the ROH Pure Championship.
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Emi Sakura to retain the ROH Women's Pure Championship.
Action Andretti and ELP fought to a time-limit draw in their ROH Television Championship match.
Athena defeated Sirena Linton in a Women's World Championship Proving Ground match.
Hyan defeated Billie Starkz.
Mina Shirakawa defeated Isla Dawn.
Matt Sydal defeated Bryan Keith.
Adam Priest defeated Alex Zayne.
Queen Aminata defeated Janai Kai.
Bishop Kaun defeated Alan Angels.
Lio Rush defeated Charles Crowley.
Trish Adora defeated B3CCA.
The Motor City Machine Guns also made an appearance.
The matches recorded September 28 will air across upcoming episodes of ROH programming. And if you're interested in figuring out who professional wrestling may be talking about next year? Sometimes the most interesting name on a taping isn't the one currently holding the championship.
Lasting Impressions & My Favorite Matches:
Bandido Vs. AR Fox
Lio Rush Vs. Charles Crowley
Sirena Vs Athena
Lee Moriarty Vs. Mance Warner