ROH Roundup: Fans To Return In July, Tag Title Match Preview, Women’s Title Tournament Takes Shape

It’s only Tuesday, but this week has already been an eventful one in the world of Ring of Honor.

First, on this past weekend’s episode of ROH Wrestling, Silas Young outsmarted his former partner, Josh Woods to pick up the win in a heated grudge match between the two. Elsewhere on the show, Shane Taylor Promotions successfully defended the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship against Primal Fear, and the duo of LSG and Joe Keys won a Rankings Battle Royal.

For a review of the show and a discussion of all things ROH, check out the newest Recap of Honor.

'Baddest' Champions Impress, Dojo Students Shine – WrestleZone Podcast (Recap of Honor 5/17/21) by WrestleZone

Next week on ROH Wrestling, Fred Yehi will battle Rocky Romero in a Pure Rules Match, and The OGK (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) will challenge The Foundation (Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus) for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. But a vicious assault of Bennett by Bateman and Dutch might cast some doubt over this bout. The duo attacked Bennett during the Rankings Battle Royal on ROH Wrestling.

Plus, an interview with Flip Gordon should shine some light on the conflict that’s brewing between “The Mercenary” and EC3. The former world champion was clearly upset when he found out that he and Gordon only won their match with the Briscoes because “The Mercenary” cheated.

On the newest episode of ROH Week By Week, Woods confronted Young backstage, teasing an eventual rematch between the two rivals. Then, LSG and Keys celebrated their victory, and Keys said the future is now. The two men will face off in two weeks on ROH Wrestling, and the winner will enter the rankings for a division of their choice.

Plus, The Foundation will battle Violence Unlimited in an eight-man tag team match that could sway the balance of power in ROH’s dynamic stable warfare.

Elsewhere on the YouTube show, The OGK previewed the tag title match by looking back on their history as a team and their challenging journey to this contest.

Speaking of the rankings, Kenny King and Dragon Lee remain the top contenders in the tag division. But because La Faccion Ingobernable has been suspended for the month of May, they’ll have to wait a little longer before they get a title shot.

This week on ROH Week By Week, World Famous CB defeated Wheeler YUTA in a Pure Rules Match. In next week’s exclusive bout, Chris Dickinson of Violence Unlimited will face Eric Martin, a student at the ROH Dojo.

Of course, the most buzzworthy news of the week has been the announcement that live fans will be permitted at ROH Best in the World on July 11. Here’s an excerpt of the official statement from ROH:

For the first time in nearly a year and a half, The Best Wrestling On The Planet will be presented LIVE and in-person to the best wrestling fans of the planet.

Ring of Honor is welcoming fans back into the arena for the Best In The World pay-per-view at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (previously known as UMBC Event Center) in Baltimore on Sunday night, July 11th, 2021!

Live fans aren’t the only exciting return to look forward to; because it won a poll on the ROH The Experience Facebook page, the Survival of the Fittest tournament is coming back. Kevin Eck shared the news in his weekly “Eck’s Files” series:

You asked for the Survival of the Fittest tournament to come back and the ROH Board of Directors listened. The tournament returns in June on ROH TV.

Originating in 2004 and last held in 2018, the tournament is composed of a series of qualifying matches, with the winners meeting in a multi-man elimination match to determine the overall winner. The lone survivor will be rewarded with a future shot at the ROH World Championship.

Past winners of Survival of the Fittest include Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black, Jay Lethal and Adam Cole.

Thanks to Women’s Divison Wednesday, the ROH Women’s World Title Tournament continues to take shape. Rok-C, Trish Adora, and Miranda Alize have joined Angelina Love as official participants in the tournament. Another member of the bracket will be revealed this week on Women’s Divison Wednesday.

This Wednesday, Hyan will face Max the Impaler. The two competitors were in tag team action on the first Women’s Division Wednesday; it’s safe to predict that the winner will earn a spot in the tournament.

Though this pairing is in its early stages, the new team of PCO and Danhausen could be a fun combination of two zany personalities. The duo is already dealing with some dissension, as PCO eliminated Danhausen from the Rankings Battle Royal.