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By Kevin Eck
The Fight on the Farm between Jay and Mark Briscoe was expected to be a violent spectacle and it did not disappoint. Fans and pundits alike have been raving about the wild brawl.
The match, which aired on last week’s episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, is being categorized as a cinematic match, but unlike other matches with that designation, Fight on the Farm was not overproduced or silly, had no musical score or supernatural elements, and no one was “killed.” If anything, it had the gritty realism of a 1970s film.
Even Jim Cornette, who has referred to cinematic matches as “dreck,” put over Fight on the Farm and had high praise for the Briscoe brothers and Papa Briscoe.
“If anybody wants to know will Cornette like a cinematic match, well this is the one I like,” Cornette said on his podcast. “I don’t want to call it cinematic. They had two hand-held cameras following them around. And this fight … was done in believable, real time. There were no obvious edits. There were a couple commercial breaks because this was television. There was no commentary. There was no spooky music over it. It was two hand-held cameras shooting these guys having a fight.
Cornette’s co-host Brian Last said: “They did this better than anyone else has done it. … The Briscoes are great. Every time I see them I’m reminded of how great they are. I haven’t seen too much of the father, [but] that guy should go to Hollywood.”
Her are some excerpts from what other pundits said about Fight on the Farm:
ProWrestling.Net’s Jason Powell: “Now that was my kind of a cinematic match. This was a straight-up fight without the comedy or over-the-top antics that we typically get from cinematic matches.”
FW4Online.com’s Skylar Russell: “The Fight on the Farm was just a load of fun. I know that cinematic matches are quite controversial in the wrestling world, but I personally enjoy the hell out of them. … Adding Papa Briscoe to the equation only made for a more enjoyable time.
WrestleZone.com’s Colin Tessier: “I liked this match a lot. I think it was a lot of fun. Definitely a great way to shake it up, do something different in Ring of Honor, even in wrestling in general. … This was very refreshing. It was different, it was new; I know I appreciated that. I think that was probably one of the biggest successes of this match.”
JAY AND MARK BRISCOE FIGHT ON THE FARM FULL MATCH AVAILABLE NOW ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://t.co/2anzpfS1yS#FightOnTheFarm pic.twitter.com/E0OnhNgtCZ
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 6, 2021
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There’s no question that Bandido is entering his ROH World Title Match against two-time champion RUSH at the Best in the World pay-per-view on Sunday night in Baltimore as the underdog.
RUSH has only been pinned once since making his ROH debut in December 2018, and he has defeated such stars as Jay Lethal, Matt Taven, PCO, Brody King, Shane Taylor, Dalton Castle, Jeff Cobb, Flip Gordon, Tracy Williams, and Mark Haskins.
He also beat Bandido in their only previous meeting.
However, even though the odds are against Bandido winning, that doesn’t mean he can’t win. Bandido is one of the most talented athletes in the sport and is capable of defeating anyone on a given night — even RUSH.
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Expect an announcement next week regarding ROH’s next pay-per-view.
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The big news this week is that Quinn McKay has been given a second opportunity to earn a berth in the ROH Women’s World Title Tournament.
If McKay defeats The Allure’s Mandy Leon on Ring of Honor Wrestling the weekend of July 17 she’ll get her ticket to gold.
Speaking of Leon, she was my guest on the latest episode of the ROHStrong Podcast, which drops Monday morning on ROHWrestling.com and most podcast platforms. Among the topics we discussed was her match against McKay.
“If she wants a match with me, she can stay and get her ass beat. It’s that simple,” Leon said. “The fact that she really thinks after just one match and having a little bit of training at the ROH Dojo that she can compete in this tournament and actually have a shot at the world championship, that’s hilarious to me.”
Clearly, Leon is not taking McKay seriously, but the joke could be on her. Leon’s partner in crime, Angelina Love, didn’t take McKay seriously when they squared off two months ago, and she was nearly put to sleep by McKay’s Cobra Clutch.
Had it not been for Leon’s distraction, McKay would have beaten the seven-time world champion.
Also joining me on the podcast was ROH backstage interviewer and host of the Wrestling With Wregret YouTube channel Brian Zane.
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It was “Danhausen Week” on Renee Paquette’s popular Oral Sessions podcast.
Not only was Danhausen a guest on the podcast, but he also filled in for Paquette as host for an episode. Paquette clearly loves that Danhausen.
It was Danhausen week via @ReneePaquette making Danhausen CEO of her company “Oral Sessions”. Every listen Danhausen maybe will get $100 from her. So go do listen wherever you can. pic.twitter.com/jKnpyaJJsU
— Danhausen (@DanhausenAD) July 8, 2021
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Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis-Bennett threw out the first pitches at the Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field Thursday night.
It was all downhill for Cubs fans after the Bennetts’ appearance, however, as they were routed by the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-0.
Mike undoubtedly will put up more of a fight than the Cubbies when he faces ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham for the title at Best in the World.
Last night was one of the coolest experience of my life. I often wonder what younger Mike would think of Adult Mike. After last night, Young Mike thinks Adult Mike is pretty cool. @Cubs @ringofhonor @MariaLKanellis pic.twitter.com/nRpvxilhKO
— Mike Bennett (@RealMikeBennett) July 9, 2021
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The greatest matches in Best in the World history will be featured all day (24 hours) on Saturday as ROH presents Best Saturday in the World on YouTube.
Matches include: Lethal vs. Jay Briscoe; Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly; and the very first Best in the World main event, Samoa Joe and Danielson vs. KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji.
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This weekend’s episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling is headlined by a huge triple threat tag team match involving The Foundation (Lethal and Gresham), La Facción Ingobernable (Dragon Lee and Kenny King) and Violence Unlimited (Brody King and Tony Deppen).
Also on the show: Gordon faces PJ Black; and the reunited Briscoes take on Joe Keys and Dante Caballero.
ROH TV PREVIEW: https://t.co/vc4sUOKh8S
The Foundation vs. La Facción Ingobernable vs. VLNCE UNLTD
Flip Gordon vs. PJ Black
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Joe Keys & Dante Caballero
TV Listings: https://t.co/tgUWiiD0w4#WatchROH pic.twitter.com/PhiKDSeXDG
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 8, 2021
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The next episode of ROH Week By Week, which premieres Tuesday at 1 p.m. Eastern, features a six-man tag match pitting The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Brawler Milonas) and Ken Dixon against Primal Fear.
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Reminder: Best in the World Hour One airs free on multiple platforms — including HonorClub, YouTube, Facebook and pay-per-view channels carrying Best in the World – Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern.
On Hour One, PCO and Danhausen face The Bouncers, and Demonic Flamita takes on former MexiSquad teammate Rey Horus.
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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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