12 Biggest Stories From Ring Of Honor's Final Battle - And What They Mean For 2019

10. Matt Taven's "Real" Victory Over Dalton Castle

The past year for Matt Taven and Dalton Castle has been wildly different. Castle became ROH World Champion at last year's Final Battle, but his reign was plagued by nagging injuries, primarily a broken back. After taking time off to heal, he returned in October but it may have been premature. Meanwhile, The Kingdom became the Six-Man Champions, and Taven declared himself the “Real World Champion” after a controversial loss to Jay Lethal.

Friday's match quickly became a brawl but Taven's momentum was halted when he crashed hard into the steel guardrail as Dalton sidestepped a dive. TK O’Ryan involved himself in the match, but the Boys intervened before being dragged under the ring by Vinny Marseglia. Castle then regained the advantage, sending Taven into the ring post. The referee finally ejected TK from ringside after he threw one of the boys onto Dalton to break up a pin. Castle's Bang-a-Rang followed, but Taven managed to kick out before hitting the Climax for the victory.

With Dalton Castle now out of the way, Matt Taven may again pursue the actual ROH World title as, despite his claims, his purple-strapped belt is not the real world belt. Meanwhile, Castle is unlikely to taste gold again anytime soon, as he will need to reestablish himself next year after a disappointing 2018.

Contributor

Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.