– Kyle O’Reilly, the 29-year-old British Columbia native, defeated his long-time arch rival in a bloody war at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle pay-per-view this Friday night to fulfill a dream he has been chasing for seven years: to be the ROH World Champion.
O’Reilly bested champion Adam Cole in a main event grudge match that featured trash cans, steel chairs, thumbtacks and more to win the promotion’s top title for the very first time. The two have been battling for years, dating back to their tag team, Future Shock, that ran on the independent scene and had multiple runs on Ring of Honor television. Their rivalry has been one of the hottest programs in wrestling since 2013, extending to a battle over the PWG Championship.
Since then O’Reilly has become one of the most well-respected wrestlers on the planet, teaming with Bobby Fish to win five sets of major tag team titles across ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling. This is his first singles title in Ring of Honor.
Adam Cole losses his title just 106 days into his reign, after defeating Jay Lethal back in August to become a two-time champion, something only three men in history have accomplished. The presumptive Western leader of the Bullet Club has been on a hot streak since returning from injury, while working his way up the New Japan roster.
– Cody Rhodes made his long awaited, highly anticipated debut with Ring of Honor tonight, wrestling former world champion Jay Lethal at Final Battle, the promotion’s biggest event of the year, live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.
It appears Cody may have begun a long-term angle involving some of the biggest stars of ROH, after turning heel in the final moments of his match, kicking Lethal square in the unmentionables and securing his first Ring of Honor victory with the Cross Rhodes. Following his nefarious upset, the former WWE Superstar mocked the promotion’s “Code of Honor” and gave Lethal two middle fingers before overturning the judges table, stealing a cup from a fan at ringside, at throwing its content all over referee Todd Sinclair.
Veteran ROH stars Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, who were serving as special guest commentators during the match, rushed the ring to check on Lethal as Cody made his way to the back. Before the next match could begin, however, Rhodes returned to the ringside area and shoved over long-time ROH commentator Steve Corino before leaving for good.
Ring of Honor has already announced Rhodes will be appearing for the company at the events on December 4th, January 14th, February 3rd, and February 4th. After tonight, it would appear ROH is setting the groundwork for a program that may involve some of the company’s biggest names. It is unclear why The Addiction tag team members were out for the match in the first place, other than to get them on a jam-packed card they were previously advertised for, and Corino made several comments throughout the remainder of the show towards Rhodes, alluding to things “becoming clear” and events that are likely to play out in the coming months.
