ROH's Last Pre-Hiatus Main Event Is In Trouble
Bandido vs. Jonathan Gresham was supposed to headline Final Battle, BUT...
Ring Of Honor World Champion Bandido is out of this Saturday's Final Battle 2021 event, which is scheduled to be the promotion's last before embarking on a planned four-month hiatus.
Per ROH's tweet below, Bandido has tested positive for COVID-19 and will no longer be able to work the show. The Mexican was due to put his ROH Title on the line against Jonathan Gresham.
#FinalBattle update. Get well soon @bandidowrestler! Match updates will be released as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/3qlSUTn0vY
Advertisement— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 9, 2021
The promotion is yet to announce a replacement match. Whether or not Gresham will wrestle at Final Battle is currently unclear.
ROH announced its impending hiatus in October, releasing all contracted wrestlers in the process. Though the company plans to return to shows in April, it is yet to announce any further dates beyond Final Battle, which it is billing as "the end of an era."
It is expected that ROH will return to its indie roots should it resume operations in 2022, with the Sinclair-helmed group relying solely on uncontracted talent.
Here's how the Final Battle 2021 lineup looked at the time of writing:-
Rey Horus vs. Dragon Lee
Eli Isom, Taylor Rust & Tracy Williams vs. VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King, Homicide & Tony Deppen)
Fight Without Honor: Shane Taylor vs. Kenny King
ROH World Television Title: Dalton Castle (c) vs. Silas Young vs. Rhett Titus vs. Joe Hendry
ROH Pure Title: Josh Woods (c) vs. Brian Johnson
ROH World Tag Team Titles: The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) (c) vs. The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)
ROH Women's World Title: Rok-C (c) vs. Willow