ROH: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mark Briscoe set for Death Before Dishonor

We are just two weeks away from ROH Death Before Dishonor. There haven’t been many stories building towards the pay-per-view, especially title matches.

Originally, Tony Nese was scheduled to face JD Drake. After going back and forth on the mic, Mark Briscoe said he talked to Tony Khan and they decided no one wanted to hear them talk, so he was added to the match. Following Briscoe’s win, a video was played from the newly crowned NJPW STRONG Champion, Eddie Kingston.

Due to being a G1 Climax participant, Kingston can’t be at Death Before Dishonor. First, he addressed his nemesis Claudio Castagnoli and told him he wasn’t off the hook. He spoke directly to Briscoe and told him he had to carry on Jay Briscoe’s legacy.

“It’s your turn, Mark, to be the Ring of Honor champion. Mark — Chicken–this is Eddie talking to you. I need you. These people need you. We need you to win the Ring of Honor championship. We need you to have that Briscoe legacy to live on. I love you, Chicken. It’s your time. It. Is. Your. Time.”

Backstage, Renee Paquette spoke to Briscoe about Kingston’s challenge and told him that Khan said he could have this opportunity if he wanted it. He said he wanted the opportunity. “All my career in singles action, all I’ve ever talked about was winning the Ring of Honor Television title. But now it’s my time, dammit, to reach for the sky and follow in my brother’s footsteps and become the Ring of Honor World Champion.”

Castagnoli gave unsolicited advice to Briscoe and told him never to listen to Kingston. He showed Kingston his limits and will do the same to him. The champion asked if his brother wanted him to follow in his footsteps. “Which shows me that time has made you weak. Which shows me that you are not man enough. You haven’t manned up. That’s right, I said it.”

He said time has hardened him and made him the person he is now. “If I have to pull down to Earth from you trying to reach for the sky, I will more than gladly do that not because I want to, Mark — because I do like you– but because I have to because it is my duty to show you your limits.” Castagnoli told Briscoe if he really wants the match to shake his hand. After Briscoe obliged, he told him not to get his hopes up because he wasn’t ready.

Not only has the match been made official, but it was announced as the main event. Putting the ROH World Championship on Briscoe makes the most sense. Castagnoli is hardly in ROH anymore (in part because he was in Japan during the last TV tapings before the show left Orlando). He’s heavily featured in AEW with Blackpool Combat Club.

The Briscoes were the backbone of ROH for years. They are the epitome of ROH and it’s time that Mark Briscoe takes his rightful spot with the company’s biggest title. With everything he’s been through this year, there is nothing more fitting than a Briscoe holding the ROH World Championship.