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Manhattan was alive with the sounds of bumps, pain, and the love of pro wrestling. It was time for ROH's Final Battle of 2017.
Cody Rhodes has a new ROH World Championship title and it's a beauty, but he had to defeat Dalton Castle in order to keep it.
There were plenty of other amazing matches such as Bully Ray in what could be his final match alongside Tommy Dreamer against the Briscoes in a street fight that could only take place in New York City.
So much more was at stake because every match was something special. So let's get right to the show as the fire filled the entryway inside the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Will Ospreay vs Matt Taven
Taven represented The Kingdom well with an absolutely sick conspiracy theory themed entrance but everyone loves Ospreay.
The Aerial Assassin wasted no time taking out Taven with a kick and jumping on the rest of The Kingdom with Taven answering back with an insane dive of his own in the first few seconds of the match. After that, it was rather fast-paced as most would expect.
The Kingdom got involved as Vinny Marseglia tossed Ospreay into the barricade while the referee was distracted. After that, Taven took advantage for a bit although the referee caught him with his feet on the ropes.
It was a nice back and forth match after that with Ospeary ending up in a Lion Tamer-looking move while people chanted "Y2J" until Will Ospreay escaped from Matt Taven's hold.
Ospreay soon hit a crescent kick that knocked Taven's lights out and the forearm to the back of the head after that was very stiff but it only got a count of two.
Ospreay dove on The Kingdom and Taven dropkicked him in the back of the head. Then he tossed Will Ospreay back in the ring but Will Ospreay got his knees up to block a splash. They traded moves and near falls for a bit until Matt Taven caught Climax which is his sweet arm trap headlock driver and got the clean victory.
Winner: Matt Taven def Will Ospreay via pinfall
After the match, Taven got in the camera and said this is the last Final Battle that he's not leaving with gold around his waist and he might not be telling a lie. This was a great opening match.
The Addiction vs War Machine
This match wasn't pretty, but it was very entertaining and plenty stiff. The Addiction used their speed advantage to team up with some tandem offense.
There was a huge "John Cena sucks" chant in the middle of this match for some reason which is always entertaining to hear at an ROH pay-per-view. The Addiction used very dirty offense to gain an advantage as a team.
Raymond Rowe took a brunt of the damage throughout this match but he soon fought back leaving himself exhausted in the ring. Hanson finally got the tag and started cleaning up until Addiction's numbers advantage won out. They didn't leave the ring and the ref didn't stop him.
Hanson stacked Addiction on top of each other and delivered some abuse to both Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian. There was a near-fall after Rowe took a backstabber followed by an Unprettier, but Hanson broke up the pin. Raymond Rowe kicked out of a lot of pine in the match.
The finish came when War Machine hit The Fallout and got the clean win
Winners: War Machine def The Addiction via pinfall
The night got even better
Marty Scurll vs Jay Lethal
Scurll came out in an all-white Villain outfit and it was very sick indeed. The match started with a very long handshake followed by some mind games from Scurll.
These two had what could have been the match of the night for some fans as they traded some amazing offense and left it all in the ring.
Scurll almost had Lethal in a roll-up pin with his foot on the ropes, but the referee caught him and stopped the count. The action ended up outside of the ring after a torture rack from Lethal that would make Lex Luger proud.
The traded strikes on the apron until Jay Lethal hit a massive cutter on Scurll to the outside while the crowd broke out into "holy sh*t chants." The referee eventually took a bump and Marty Scurll went outside for a steel chair.
Scurll hit the canvas with the chair and tossed the chair to Lethan before falling to the mat, then Lethal jumped on his back while placing the chair on him. When the referee came to he was confused and upset.
Scurll hit a Ghostbuster which is a brainbuster on the knee that really looks stiff and Lethal kicked out. "This is awesome" chants broke out as the two continued.
Lethal locked on a figure 4 while the crowd broke out into "woo" chants to pay homage to The Nature Boy. Scurll went outside and grabbed his white umbrella but Lethal took it from him. Then as the referee put the umbrella away, Scurll grabbed a black umbrella out from under the ring and whacked Lethal with it and hit the Bird of Prey but Lethal kicked out.
Marty Scurll bounced off the ropes and got caught in a Lethal Injection meaning a clean victory for Jay Lethal.
Winner: Jay Lethal def Marty Scurll via pinfall
Best Friends vs Motor City Machine Guns (ROH Tag Team Championship Match)
The Best Friends and their hilarious awkward antics were really over with the crowd but the ROH Tag Team Champions had a ton of respect too.
There was a nice spot where Baretta accidentally hit Chuckie T with a suicide dive but they turned it into a hug. These two teams were flying all over the place for a bit trading high-risk moves.
There was another spot where Motor City Machine Guns put Baretta in a tree of woe and then crotched Chuckie T using Trent Baretta's face like they would the ring post. Then the Best Friends fell on each other in a very non-PG kind of way which was pretty entertaining.
Motor City Machine Guns were laying it to Baretta until he moved out of the way causing Shelly to take the kick to the face instead. Chuck Taylor got the tag and eventually hit a nice dive on both ROH Tag Team Champions.
The Best Friends were setting up for the Dude Buster but Shelly broke it up. Sabin hit a suicide dive on Taylor and then The Motor City Machine Guns hit the Skull And Bones for a two count.
Best Friends had a near fall after a Super Dude Buster but got a two count. Then they hit a lawn-dart cutter on Alex Shelly on the outside. But Chris Sabin would soon roll Baretta up after a piledriver and get the win.
Winners and STILL ROH Tag Team Champions: Motor City Machine Guns via pinfall
Could Final Battle have been Bully Ray's final battle?
Punishment Martinez vs Silas Young vs Shane Taylor vs Kenny King (Four-Corner Elimination Match For The ROH Television Championship)
Once they got started, Kenny King was doing well against Martinez until Taylor tagged himself in. Shane Taylor told Punishment Martinez to bring it on and clotheslined him over the top rope. Silas Young got the tag and met a stiff tackle from Taylor. Young hit Taylor with a dive over the top rope and Martinez ate a spinning heel kick from King followed by a spinning dive onto the other competitors.
This match was fighting all around with all four men for a while like this with everyone trading big moves.
Shane Taylor hit a running death valley driver on Punishment Martinez followed by a splash for a two count. Then Taylor grabbed Martinez and climbed up top but Kenny King plucked him off the top rope and hit the Royal Flush and Martinez hit a twisting senton to eliminate Shane Taylor.
King hit a Royal Flush on Martinez as Silas grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it over Kenny King's head while the referee was distracted by the Beer City Bruiser. Silas Young covered Kenny King for the three count to eliminate the ROH Television Champion from the match.
Punishment Martinez almost had the win but Beer City Bruiser dragged Silas out of the ring. Silas tackled Martinez against the barricade on the outside and kicked him against the metal surface.
Punishment Martinez took a lot of damage and looked hurt as Silas Young kept hitting one still strike after another. Young hit Misery and won the match.
Winner and NEW ROH Television Champion: Silas Young def Punishment Martinez via pinfall
Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer vs The Briscoes (New York City Steet Fight)
Dem Boys, The Briscoes really upset Bully Ray when they nearly ended his career and Tommy Dreamer couldn't wait to help his old friend get some revenge. This match got started off in a big way and the action was fierce as soon as Dreamer and Bully Ray entered through the crowd.
There was a moment when all four people had chairs but the Briscoes dropped theirs to take shots to the back. Then they rolled out to get kendo sticks but before the Briscoes could do anything, Bully and Tommy Dreamer rolled out of the ring and grabbed lightsabers. The crowd chanted "holy sh*t" and "use the force."
Bully Ray made everyone yell "get the tables" and as they went out of to get the table, Mark Briscoe hit a dropkick onto the table which smashed against Bully Ray and busted him open. Then he placed a ladder over Dreamer and hit a senton off the apron.
Then Mark Briscoe grabbed a cheese grater and stalked Bully Ray in the ring; he was soon cutting the flesh off of Bully Ray's forehead.
Jay Briscoe picked up a table but Bully Ray kicked the table and made him fall backwards. Tommy Dreamer got up and they babyfaces hit an inverted 3D on an unfolded table. Then Dreamer hit a Spicolli Driver off the apron through a table on Mark Briscoe.
Bully Ray started firing away on Mark Briscoe's head with a kendo stick and set him up on a table. Bully climbed to the top rope and hit a splash through the table shattering it, but he only got a two count as the crowd chanted, "you still got it"
Then Bully Ray set up another table in the middle of the ring and started covering it with a flammable liquid. But the Briscoes would gain the advantage and hit a 3B followed by a top rope elbow through the table for the win.
Winners: The Briscoes def Bully Ray via pinfall
The Hungbucks vs Flip Gordon, Dragon Lee and Titan
The Young Bucks and Hangman Page were insanely over and there were tons of "The Elite" chants. Everything The Bullet Club did in the ring got a great reaction.
When Flip Gordon finally got the tag, Matt Jackson went to shake his hand, but instead, Gordon changed it to a "too sweet." What followed was a bunch of dropkicks in a row and fast-paced action concluding with all six guys hitting dropkicks in the middle.
Gordon, Lee, and Titan hit a trio of flipping dives on The Hungbucks to the outside.
Page got the tag and ended up getting a fireman's carry into a dropkick while he completed a moonsault on Titan. The action moved to the outside where Matt Jackson hit a running flip on their opponents from the entrance ramp.
Flip Gordon started countering every one of The Young Bucks' Superkicks with Matrix-style dodges and then he hit a double 6-1-9 on them. Gordon hit a slingblade on Page and followed it up with a one-footed springboard flip onto the Jackson Brothers on the outside.
Gordon hit a Star Spangled Stunner but then he took a Superkick. Then it became a Superkick Party for a minute. Titan got caught in the Indytaker, but Flip interrupted it. Matt Jackson hit a springboard DDT on Dragon Lee onto the apron and that was very painful looking.
Page was going for a Right Of Passage, but Gordon reversed out of it to make tags. The Young Bucks came in and Nick accidentally ate a superkick. They soon came back to life and Matt caught Titan as Hangman Page hit a shooting star Indytaker from the apron onto the floor.
Gordon soon found himself fighting all three members of the Bullet Club by himself in the ring and laid in as many chops as he could muster. But they soon hit a Triple Superkick. The Hangmanpage picked up all Gordon and Dragon Lee to hit a double Indytaker for the win.
Winners and STILL ROH Six-Man Champions: The Hungbucks def Flip Gordon, Dragon Lee, and Titan via pinfall
The Main Event
Cody Rhodes vs Dalton Castle (ROH World Championship)
Dalton Castle got an amazing rockstar entrance indeed as he used The Boys as steps to walk down from a throne on wheels and later up into the ring. Cody Rhodes received an incredible entrance as well as Brandi Rhodes accompanied him to the ring and kissed his ring. Brandi actually carried the impressive new ROH Championship to the ring and when Cody took down his hood, his hair was very blonde.
These two fought on the inside for a bit and moved to the floor but Brandi Rhodes distracted Castled when he was getting in so Cody took advantage. Castle tried to hit back, but Cody hit an Alabama slam, the referee upset Cody so he got in his face but referee Todd Sinclair pushed Rhodes.
Cody and Castle worked to the outside again and Rhodes started hitting him with some punishing strikes. Then scrambled around a table and cleared out the area around the timekeeper's table. Castle got on the apron and Rhodes hit a powerbomb through the table.
Cody grabbed a chair but The Boys took it from his. Brandi Rhodes climbed to the top rope and hit a splash on both of Dalton Castle's Boys. Then the referee ejected The Boys and Brandi Rhodes from ringside.
Castle caught Cody with a throw on the inside but Cody broke the waistlock that followed. Castle hit a release Northern Lights Suplex that sent Cody out of the ring. Castle countered an attempt to crotch him on the ringpost sending Cody's head against it instead and Cody was busted open.
They fought on as Cody continued to bleed. Castle reversed out of a Crossroads and the referee took a bump in the corner. Castle locked in the Julie Newmar and Cody tapped ou but the referee was still out in the corner so there was no win.
Then Cody hit the Crossroads and Dalton Castle kicked out of the pin. Cody Rhodes hit a Disaster Kick next and waited for Castle to get back up. Castle hit the Bang-A-Rang and won.
Winner and NEW ROH World Champion: Dalton Castle
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
