By Kevin Eck
An uncut version of “This Is Women’s Wrestling!” the critically acclaimed documentary about the ROH women’s division, will be uploaded to ROH’s YouTube channel this Thursday at 7 p.m. Eastern.
It will include footage that was not shown when the documentary premiered on Ring of Honor Wrestling over the weekend.
The captivating documentary provides an up-close-and-personal look at the athletes in the division and takes viewers behind the scenes of last summer’s ROH Women’s World Title Tournament.
Response to the documentary from wrestling fans and pundits has been overwhelmingly positive. Here’s a sample of what the pundits are saying about it:
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson: “This was one of my favorite hours of pro wrestling TV in years. … There are so many wonderful, deep moments in this documentary, with Trish Adora discussing her mother’s illness while competing in the tournament and how much the opportunity means to her, how the ROH booking became a true healing moment for the family of one of the competitors, Maria Kanellis-Bennett’s goals to make the division mean something special after all her roles and experiences in the business, a wonderful sequence featuring the families of the finalists, some great promos from Miranda Alize (who CERTAINLY deserves a big break in 2022) and more. … You should sincerely go out of your way to track this down when it airs.”
The Pop Break’s Kimmy Sokol: “The most heartwarming part of the documentary comes when the members of the tournament discuss what this meant to them. Whether it was proving that they are good enough, or getting kicked out of their home right before the life-changing call, or gaining a new sense of confidence — it’s apparent this tournament has truly changed lives.”
411 Mania’s Steve Cook: “This was a nice little look at the inner workings of the tournament from the perspective of the creators.”
ProWrestling.net’s Jason Powell: “I really came away with new respect and a better understanding of some of these wrestlers.”
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Expect ROH to make a major announcement sometime next week. My sources tell me that anyone who has ever been an ROH fan will be excited by this news.
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Speaking of major announcements, ROH made headlines yesterday with the news that ROH World Title claimants Jonathan Gresham and Bandido will square off in a winner-take-all match to determine the undisputed champion at Supercard of Honor on April 1 in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Tickets for the show for HonorClub members went on sale this morning. Tickets for the general public go on sale next Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Central.
WINNER TAKES ALL
JONATHAN GRESHAM AND BANDIDO WILL MEET AT SUPERCARD OF HONOR TO DETERMINE UNDISPUTED ROH WORLD CHAMPION https://t.co/D83FevTmUD
Tickets on sale tomorrow at 11 AM ET/10 AM CT for HonorClub members: https://t.co/vLgh9p0GYL#SupercardOfHonor pic.twitter.com/GUzn6ezsyk
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) January 20, 2022
A number of fans on social media have pointed out that Gresham has multiple title defenses of his version of the ROH World Title (he has the original ROH World Championship belt) scheduled before his match against Bandido, including against Blake Christian at Game Changer Wrestling’s The WRLD on GCW in Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center in New York on Sunday, and against AEW’s Santana at the Terminus show in Atlanta on Feb. 24.
The ROH Board of Directors has said that if Gresham loses the title prior to Supercard, the new champion would face Bandido in the winner-take-all match.
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ICYMI: Gresham successfully defended his ROH World Title against Steve Maclin on last night’s episode of Impact on AXS TV.
What a @ringofhonor championship match! @SteveMaclin @TheJonGresham #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/9ehyKoew5O
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 21, 2022
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The war of words between 12-time ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay and Mark Briscoe and All Elite Wrestling’s FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) escalated last week.
Both teams posted vitriolic videos on Twitter. Rather than transcribe the videos, I’ll simply post them. Warning: NSFW. Parental discretion is advised.
LET IT BE KNOWN the ONLY thing stopping this match from happening is @DaxFTR and @CashWheelerFTR getting they permission slips signed.. @Tonykhan we ain’t looking for jobs bud, we just want big fights
Hope y’all have enjoyed these videos cuz this shit done got old quick pic.twitter.com/sQRQKW323S
— DEM BOYS (@jaybriscoe84) January 12, 2022
Hey chicken shits, here’s your answer.
Show up. pic.twitter.com/iGqaJKrz6N
— CASH (@CashWheelerFTR) January 13, 2022
Great hearing from u @DaxFTR @CashWheelerFTR
Please understand that the next time we see y’all, y’all fuckin dead#DemBoys pic.twitter.com/6RVR09PduT
— DEM BOYS (@jaybriscoe84) January 13, 2022
Ever since FTR crashed Final Battle: End of an Era last month and instigated a pull-apart brawl with the Briscoes, it’s seemed inevitable that a match between them has to happen. If it does, the question becomes when and where.
I respect FTR. There’s no question they’re one of the top tag teams in the sport. That said, I think Harwood and Wheeler should think long and hard about whether they really want to f**k with Dem Boys. (Sorry, I couldn’t help but curse after watching those videos.)
Meanwhile, the Briscoes have issued an open challenge for their GCW Tag Team Title at The WRLD on GCW.
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This weekend’s special episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling features the 2021 ROH Match of the Year between the Briscoes and The OGK (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) for the ROH World Tag Team Championship from Final Battle: End of an Era.
The other half of the Final Battle double main event – Gresham versus Jay Lethal for the original ROH World Title – will air on Ring of Honor Wrestling the weekend of Jan. 29.
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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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