| Final Battle (2021) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring various ROH wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | Ring of Honor | ||
| Date | December 11, 2021 | ||
| City | Baltimore,Maryland | ||
| Venue | Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena | ||
| Tagline | The End of an Era | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| Final Battle chronology | |||
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The 2021Final Battle was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view event produced by American promotionRing of Honor (ROH). It was the 20thFinal Battle event and took place on December 11, 2021 at theChesapeake Employers Insurance Arena inBaltimore,Maryland. The event was billed as "The End of an Era", as it was the last Ring of Honor event to be held before the company went on hiatus, eventually resuming operations in April 2022.
Eleven matches were contested at the event, with three matches on the pre-show. In the main event,Jonathan Gresham defeatedJay Lethal to win the vacantROH World Championship. In other prominent matches,Dragon Lee defeatedRey Horus,Shane Taylor defeatedKenny King bypinfall in aFight Without Honor match,Rok-C defeatedWillow Nightingale to retain theROH Women's World Championship andThe Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe andMark Briscoe) defeatedThe OGK (Matt Taven andMike Bennett) to win theROH World Tag Team Championship. The event is also notable for the ROH return ofDeonna Purrazzo, and the debuts ofAdam Scherr,Westin Blake and the tag teamFTR. As well as well wishes sent via pre-recorded message from ROH alumniEddie Edwards,Moose,Jerry Lynn,Jimmy Jacobs,Matt Hardy,Christopher Daniels,Jay Lethal,Colt Cabana,"Hangman" Adam Page,CM Punk,Cody Rhodes,B. J. Whitmer,Adam Cole,The Young Bucks, andBryan Danielson.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Ian Riccaboni |
| Caprice Coleman | |
| Ring announcer | Bobby Cruise |
| Backstage interviewer | Denise Salcedo |
| Referees | |
| Stephon Smith | |
| Paul Turner | |
| Mike Posey |
Final Battle is aprofessional wrestling event produced by Ring of Honor. First held in 2002, it is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year.[1] It is widely regarded as Ring of Honor's premiere flagship event, similar toWWE'sWrestleMania.[2][3]
On October 11, 2021, ROH announced that Final Battle would be held at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on December 11.[4]
The event featured elevenprofessional wrestling matches, which involved different wrestlers from pre-existingscripted feuds,plots, andstorylines that play out on ROH's television programs. Wrestlers portrayvillains orheroes as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[5]
AtDeath Before Dishonor,Rok-C defeated Miranda Alize in the finals of the Quest for Gold tournament to become the inauguralROH Women's World Champion.[6] On the October 2 episode ofRing of Honor Wrestling, Rok-C would have her first in-ring interview as champion, before being interrupted by Alize,Trish Adora,Willow Nightingale,Allysin Kay, andThe Allure (Angelina Love andMandy Leon). Seeing the talent in the ring, ROH Board of Directors memberMaria Kanellis-Bennett would make twothree-way matches, with the winners facing off in a #1 contender's match the week before Final Battle. The winner of that match will go onto the event to face Rok-C for the ROH Women's World Championship.[7] The following week, Willow bested Love and Alize in the first match to advance to the #1 contender's match.[8] On November 20, Leon defeated Kay and Adora in the second match.[9][10] On December 4, Willow defeated Leon,[11] thus making her Rok-C's challenger at Final Battle.[12]
On the February 27 "Championship Edition" ofRing of Honor Wrestling,Rush defeatedShane Taylor to retain theROH World Championship thanks to a chair shot from Rush's stablemateKenny King.[13] King and Taylor were old friends and also former partners in The Rebellion stable withCaprice Coleman andRhett Titus. Seeing this as an act of betrayal, Taylor would begin a long-running feud with King, which would extend to a stable rivalry between Shane Taylor Promotions andLa Facción Ingobernable. AtDeath Before Dishonor, STP were scheduled to defend theROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship against LFI's King,Dragon Lee, andLa Bestia del Ring (who replaced Rush due to injury). Before the bell rang, King repeatedly struck Taylor with a steel chair, rendering him unable to compete and leaving O'Shay Edwards to take his place. By the end of the match, Taylor returned to give King a chair shot of his own, allowing STP to retain the titles.[6] On the November 12 edition of ROH's weekly web news articleEck's Files by Kevin Eck, it was announced that Shane Taylor and Kenny King will have a one-on-one grudge match at Final Battle.[14][15] On the December 7 edition ofROH Week By Week, it was announced that this match would turn into aFight Without Honor, courtesy of the ROH Board of Directors.[16]
On October 4, formerROH Pure ChampionJonathan Gresham announced his entry into the ROH World Championship picture.[17] This transition was hinted at the end of Death Before Dishonor, when Gresham and The Foundation arrived after Bandido's title defense againstBrody King,Demonic Flamita, andEC3; where Gresham would shake Bandido's hand.[6] AtHonor for All, Gresham defeated No. 1 contender King, allowing him to advance to Final Battle and challenge Bandido for the ROH World Championship.[18] However, on December 9. it was announced that Bandido tested positive forCOVID-19, meaning he would be taken off the card.[19] To replace him, two-time ROH World Champion and newAll Elite Wrestling signeeJay Lethal, whose loyalty to The Foundation has been question afterVincent showed a clip of Lethal saying "I don't even like The Foundation", will now wrestle Gresham at Final Battle.[20] At the event, it was announced that this match will be for the now vacated ROH World Championship, represented by the original title belt.
On the November 18 episode ofRing of Honor Wrestling, Brian Johnson officially entered the ROH Pure Championship division, winning a Pure Rulesgauntlet match by last eliminating LSG via a dirty pinfall.[21] Johnson would continue to bend the pure wrestling rules in matches against his former mentorP. J. Black[22] andJohn Walters,[9] before he would eventually become the No. 1 ranked contender. With his new position in the rankings, Johnson faced Pure ChampionJosh Woods at Final Battle.
Final Battle has been the name of the last ROH show of each year since the promotion started in 2002
The ROH athletes put it all on the line at the biggest event of the year. Replays of the iPPV broadcast of "Final Battle 2011" are available here.
Ring of Honor closes out 2012 with the biggest event of the year...