ROH Wrestling TV results: Powell’s review of Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe in the Fight on the Farm, and Jonathan Gresham vs. Fred Yehi for the Pure Championship

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

Ring of Honor Wrestling TV (Episode 511)
Taped in Baltimore, Maryland at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
Aired July 3, 2021 in syndication and on SBG regional sports networks, available Mondays on FITE.TV

The ROH opening video aired… Quinn McKay checked in from the studio and hyped the Fight on the Farm and the ROH Pure Championship match. She also recapped Bandido winning Survival of the Fittest to earn an ROH World Championship shot at the Best in the World pay-per-view…

McKay’s post match interview with Bandido aired. Bandido spoke in a combination of English and Spanish, and subtitles were used. Bandido said he was happy and said he would see Rush at the pay-per-view. Bandido picked up McKay and hugged her to show off his excitement…

Fred Yehi was showcased in a sit-down feature. Yehi spoke about how he goes back nearly ten years with Jonathan Gresham and how they trained together numerous times. Yehi said he knows Gresham better than Dak Draper, Flip Gordon, and even Gresham’s best friend Jay Lethal do. Yehi said he would shake Gresham’s hand before and after the match, but in between he would take the ROH Pure Championship…

Jonathan Gresham’s sit-down feature aired. He said he was excited when he heard that Yehi was coming to ROH. He said he was surprised that Gresham wanted to be on an island all to himself and would question the integrity of his division. Gresham asked Yehi to leave all the bitching behind. He said Yehi knows him well enough to know that he won’t cheap shot him and the match will be about being the better man. Gresham said that when he retains the title, Yehi can either join The Foundation or shut up and get out of their way…

The broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman checked in while entrances took place for the ROH Pure Championship match. Mike Bennett sat in on commentary. Riccaboni noted that Bennett would challenge the winner of this match for the title at the Best in the World pay-per-view. Riccaboni recalled Gresham saying that Bennett doesn’t belong in the Pure division. Bennett said he gets it and wants to prove it. Ring announcer Bobby Cruise delivered in-ring introductions for the title match… [C]

1. Jonathan Gresham vs. Fred Yehi for the Pure Championship. The wrestlers adhered to the Code of Honor. Yehi didn’t let Gresham’s hand go. Gresham used his foot to free his hand. Riccaboni noted that both men trained under Mr. Hughes. Gresham and Yehi had a back and forth battle for the first five minutes that spilled over to ringside where they stared at one another heading into a break. [C]

The wrestlers were back in the ring and roughly 30 seconds of match time was missed coming back from the break. Late in the match, Gresham took Yehi down with an armdrag and then rolled him into a pin for the three count. Gresham and Yehi shook hands afterward…

Jonathan Gresham defeated Fred Yehi in 12:16 to retain the Pure Championship.

Powell’s POV: A very good match with some terrific reversals and counters. They didn’t use any rope breaks and I have no doubt that these two could have filled the one-hour time limit and kept things interesting had they been asked to. Yehi strikes me as a guy on the rise in ROH. I don’t know what his contractual status is, but if he is under contract, then he’s one the younger wrestlers the company should look to elevate into a more meaningful position.

A graphic listed the Fight on the Farm as coming up next… [C]

McKay interviewed Gresham in the backstage area following his win over Yehi. Gresham said Yehi was a formidable opponent. He recalled training with him back in 2007. Gresham said he showed Yehi what Pure Wrestling is. He said Yehi needs to go back to Georgia and get more training and he’ll be waiting for him to return.

McKay brought up Gresham’s title defense against Mike Bennett at the pay-per-view. Gresham said Bennett wants to prove something to himself and the wrestling community. Gresham said that when he first came to ROH, he watched Bennett and he’s not an honorable person. Gresham said Bennett claims to respect him, but he does not respect Bennett because he hasn’t earned that. Gresham wished Bennett the best of luck, but said his rise in the Pure Division ends with him…

Powell’s POV: A good promo that created some interesting booking scenarios for the Gresham vs. Bennett match. It could be as simple as Bennett earning Gresham’s respect and the match ends with a handshake regardless of who goes over. Or perhaps Gresham stating that Bennett isn’t an honorable person is foreshadowing a Bennett heel turn. Either way, I am looking forward to that match.

An ad aired for the ROH Best in the World pay-per-view… A video package touted the Fight on the Farm and featured comments from Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, and Papa Briscoe… [C]

2. Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe in the Fight on the Farm. A graphic warned viewers that what they were about to witness was done by trained professionals and also noted that viewer discretion was advised. Papa Briscoe opened the door to the shed where the ring was located. Jay and Mark entered the ring behind their father. Papa Briscoe told his sons to keep it clean and fight like men. There was no commentary during the match.

Mark was the early aggressor, but Jay hit him with a weapon when Mark tried to dive onto him at ringside. Jay tried to hit Mark with a shovel, but Mark avoided it. Papa Briscoe called for his sons to return to the ring. Mark obliged by throwing his brother inside the ring and then followed him. Mark worked over Jay and then went up top, but Jay shoved Mark from the top rope through a table that was on the dirt floor at ringside.

Jay and Mark fought their way out of the shed and fought on the lawn of their property. Jay hit Mark with a water trough. Mark came back and suplexed his brother on a board that was leaning over the back end of a truck. [C] Coming out of the break, Mark propped up a ladder and climbed to the top of an RV while saying that Jay knows he’s crazy. Jay stood up and asked Mark what he was going to do now. “I’m about to jump on your ass,” Mark said.

Mark asked if Jay was scared and encouraged him to join him on top of the RV. Jay climbed the ladder and then the brother traded punches. Mark caught Jay in a sleeper hold. Mark released the hold and punched Jay, then set him up for a Death Valley Driver, but Jay fought his way free. Jay threw Mark off the RV and onto something on the ground that was covered by a tarp. “How you like that (censored)?” Jay asked before saying he was going to go pin his brother.

Jay climbed down the ladder and approached Mark. “How you like that, chicken?” Jay asked. “I ain’t done with you. I ain’t done with your ass.” Jay picked up his brother and threw him in the back of a pickup truck. Jay told the cameraman to climb in the passenger seat. Jay hopped in the driver’s seat and said, “I got his ass now.” Jay drove the truck while telling Mark that he was going to “compost your ass.” Jay got out of the truck, but Mark was no longer in the back end. Mark hit his brother with a flying forearm while another graphic appeared on the bottom of the screen to warn viewers not to try this at home.

Mark wrapped a rope around Jay’s neck. Mark took a table out of the back of the truck while saying, “How convenient.” Funny. Mark set up the table and then hit Jay with a small Sandy Fork sign. Mark placed Jay on top of the table and then climbed a nearby tree to get to the top of a shed. Mark yelled that Jay asked for it, then dove off the shed and drove Jay through the table. [C]

The warning graphic appeared at the bottom of the screen coming out of the break. Papa Briscoe asked his sons of they were good yet. Mark used his father to pull himself up, then Papa Briscoe helped Jay to his feet. Papa Briscoe helped both sons while saying this is what they needed. Papa led Jay and Mark back to the ring and they both rolled inside of it. Mark used the ropes to pull himself to his feet. Jay got to his feet and then Mark threw punches at him.

Jay hit Mark a few forearm shots. Mark returned fire. “Are you good yet,” Papa Briscoe asked his sons while they continued to trade forearms. “Get it all out of you.” Mark headbutted Jay, who then blasted him with a punch. Papa Briscoe asked if they were good yet. Jay said he was good, then punched his brother. Mark fired back with a clothesline. With Jay and Mark lying on the mat, their father asked if they were good yet. They said they were good. Papa Briscoe told them they could get back to being the best team on the planet. “But first, clean this (censored) up,” he said before leaving.

Jay Briscoe fought Mark Briscoe to a non-finish in a Fight on the Farm.

Graphics listed PJ Black vs. Flip Gordon, and Brody King and Tony Deppen vs. Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham vs. Dragon Lee and Kenny King in a three-way tag match for next week…

Powell’s POV: Now that was my kind of a cinematic match. This was a straight up fight without the comedy or over the top antics that we typically get from cinematic matches. Don’t get me wrong, some of the humor in other matches has been fun, but I prefer a more realistic approach to pro wrestling and that’s what we got here. The non-finish didn’t bother me because it was a fight between brothers and the idea was clearly that they needed to work through their issues and get back on the same page before teaming up again.

Overall, I love that we had a Pure Rules match and a chaotic Fight on the Farm brawl on the same episode. This was a great episode and it’s worth taking the time to watch on FITE TV if you missed it over the holiday weekend. ROH delivered some hype for the Best in the World pay-per-view this week, but they really need to come through with a strong go-home show next week to sell viewers on ordering the show. I will be back later today with my weekly ROH Wrestling audio review for Dot Net Members.