Eck’s Files: Can Kenny King Trust His ‘Family?’ What’s Next For The Briscoes?

February 26, 2021

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By Kevin Eck

It’s easy to understand why Kenny King has likened La Faccion Ingobernable to the Corleone family and himself to the character of Tom Hagen.

For those who may be unfamiliar with “The Godfather” saga, Hagen was raised by the Corleone patriarch and went on to become the consigliere to the family. Like Hagen and the Corleones, King is not a blood relative of fellow LFI members RUSH, Dragon Lee and their father, Bestia del Ring.

After seeing the recent video that showed a hint of dissension between King and the three family members, I’m starting to wonder if King is more comparable to Fredo Corleone than he is to Hagen.

I’m not suggesting that King is dimwitted like Fredo; he’s obviously not. I’m referring to how Fredo’s loyalty to the family wavered, which caused his brother Michael to order a hit on him.

In the aforementioned video, King made it clear that he wasn’t on board with LFI’s plan to use a steel chair to ensure that RUSH retains his ROH World Title against Shane Taylor on this weekend’s episode of “Ring of Honor Wrestling.”

King and Taylor have history together and there’s mutual respect and admiration between them. King told RUSH he doesn’t need to resort to those tactics against Taylor.

That didn’t go over well with RUSH, Lee and Bestia. Even King’s cohort, Amy Rose, was displeased with him.

If King isn’t on the same page with his associates, it couldn’t come at a worse time, as King and Lee are facing ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham in a Pure Rules match in the other championship bout on “Ring of Honor Wrestling” this weekend.

Perhaps I’m reading too much into the situation. All I know is that if I’m King, I’m not going fishing on Lake Tahoe with any members of LFI sitting behind me in the boat.

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I thought there was a really good chance the Briscoes would be facing Lethal and Gresham for the tag team title this weekend, but after their controversial loss to King and Lee in last weekend’s No. 1 contenders’ match, and the return of EC3 to confront Jay Briscoe, I’m not sure where Jay and Mark Briscoe go from here.

The loss — which was due in large part to interference by “The Mercenary” Flip Gordon, who apparently was paid by EC3 — knocked the Briscoes out of the top 5 rankings in the tag team division.

Will the 11-time former ROH World Tag Team Champions regroup and attempt to work their way back into title contention, or will Jay Briscoe resume his obsession with getting his hands on EC3?

 

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Speaking of EC3, the fact that he signed a contract to be with ROH full-time is huge. EC3 had been pro wrestling’s hottest free agent, and his presence makes an incredibly deep and talented ROH roster even better.

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Congratulations to Shane Taylor Promotions (Taylor and The Soldiers of Savagery — Kaiun and Moses) for becoming the first All-African American team to win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Title last weekend when they dethroned MexiSquad (Bandido, Rey Horus and Flamita).

Taylor is entering his showdown with RUSH with a ton of momentum.

 

On a side note, after STP won the match, Moses looked upward and said, “RJ, this is for you.” Moses was paying tribute to RJ Meyer, who trained him and Kaun. Meyer died from leukemia in November at 44.

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I can’t say I’m surprised Vincent threw Bateman to the wolves on last weekend’s “Ring of Honor Wrestling.”

After Mike Bennett defeated Bateman, Matt Taven hit the ring and threatened to injure Bateman’s ankle just like Vincent had injured Bennett’s ankle in December unless Vincent agreed to face him in a match.

Vincent rejected Taven’s demand, showing no regard for the well being of his loyal follower, and Taven made good on his threat.

Based on the blind devotion Bateman has shown for Vincent, I have little doubt that he will continue to stand by The Righteous leader (even if he isn’t actually able to stand).

 

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This time next week Brian Johnson could be the ROH World Television Champion. “The Mecca” gets his shot at Lee for the title this Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern exclusively on the ROH The Experience Facebook page and YouTube.

If Johnson can bring the same intensity to the match that he did in his recent interview, Lee is in trouble.

 

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LSG was my guest on the latest episode of “The ROHStrong Podcast,” which drops this Monday morning on ROHWrestling.com and most podcast platforms.

LSG talked about his eye-opening performance against Lethal; enduring a frustrating 2019 and facing uncertainty about his future with ROH until recently; the ups and downs of Coast 2 Coast; C2C’s memorable match against War Machine; his backyard wrestling days, and much more.

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The Pure Rules rematch Dalton Castle asked for against Josh Woods is scheduled for “Ring of Honor Wrestling” the weekend of March 6. Woods, the No. 1 contender for the Pure Title, defeated the former ROH World Champion by submission last month.

Castle has lost four of his past five singles matches, and if he doesn’t win this one, it might be the last we see of him in ROH, a source close to Castle told me. 

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Dak Draper and Joe Keys will square off in a Pure Rules match on this Tuesday’s episode of “ROH Week By Week.”

Draper is 8-1 in one-on-one matches in his ROH career, with his only loss coming to Lee a year ago in an ROH World Television Title bout.

Keys is coming off a strong showing in defeat against Pure Champion Gresham in a title match last month.

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Look for Tony Deppen to return to “Ring of Honor Wrestling” in the next few weeks.

Also, Eli Isom’s return is imminent. Isom hasn’t had a match in ROH in nearly a year.

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Until next time, keep safe and stay #ROHStrong!

Kevin Eck is a veteran pro wrestling journalist who has worked for The Baltimore Sun, WWE and WCW before joining ROHWrestling.com. Eck’s Files appears every Friday.

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