Jonathan Gresham has been frustrated with how AEW has treated him these past few months. Aside from Battle of the Belts II – he’s been off programming, despite being The Foundation of Ring of Honor. So, when he was thrown into a tag match with Lee Moriarty against Gates of Agony, he refused to enter the match – and aligned with Tully Blanchard. Now tonight, we have Gresham defending the ROH World Championship against Moriarty, a match which will have huge implications for Death Before Dishonor.
Moriarty would hit the ring with Matt Sydal in his corner, his mentor and closest ally in AEW. Sydal has been out with an injury since February – but is full of professional wrestling wisdom. Meanwhile, Gresham has all of Tully Blanchard Enterprises backing him up – including former FTW Champion Brian Cage.
Jonathan Gresham Bends The Rules
Gresham & Moriarty would respect the Code of Honor, before Gresham was taken down to the mat. Moriarty would hit some punches to the jaw, and Gresham rolled to the outside. He’d come back in and take a knee to the jaw, but Moriarty would follow him on the outside this time.
Gresham would be whipped into the barricade, but back in the ring would look for the wrist lock. Moriarty would fire off some elbow smashes to the jaw, before Gresham would hit a low blow behind the back of the referee.
Gresham would start to pick away at the limbs of Moriarty, showing the skills that made him ROH Pure Rules Champion for so long. Moriarty would be able to keep up with the pace of grappling, and was able to hold his ground before getting another big strike. Gresham would catch Moriarty on the top rope, and was shoved to the floor.
Claudio Castagnoli Wants The Next Shot
Sydal would help to distract Gresham on the floor, allowing Moriarty a chance to recover. Back in the ring, a kick to the elbow and armdrag would follow. Moriarty would block the armdrag, before hitting a kick to the face. More strikes would follow, before turning Gresham inside out with a dropkick before a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count.
Gresham would be able to get the Crucifix Pin, but Moriarty would almost steal the pinfall attempt and get another near fall. Moriarty would get trapped in the Octopus Stretch, and forced to tap out. Tony Schivone would hit the ring for an interview, and called that a tremendous win. Gresham said that he will be on AEW every week for now on – and will outwrestle all of the fans favorites. Tully Blanchard would say tonight was a textbook class in professional wrestling – before the music of Claudio Castagnoli would hit the ramp. He set his sights on that ROH World Championship – and we might have the main event of Death Before Dishonor.
Will Claudio Castagnoli finally become a world champion? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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