ROH issued the following:
The stars of RING OF HONOR return to the Charlotte area for BEST IN THE WORLD Weekend on Friday June 24, with 9 PM EST bell time for BEST IN THE WORLD LIVE on Pay Per view! The following night, ROH will conduct a National Television Taping starting at 6 PM EST. Both events will take place at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, NC just outside of Charlotte!
Fans will be able to watch this extravaganza in the United States on all major carriers and worldwide on ROHWrestling.com but nothing beats seeing the hard-hitting, fast-paced action LIVE and in person!
ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness announced at the Toronto stop of the War of the Worlds tour that a grudge match over TWO YEARS in the MAKING will be resolved in an UNSANCTIONED FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR!
UNSANCTIONED FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR
BJ WHITMER vs. STEVE CORINO
It started nearly two years ago with a series of passing comments and a series of glares. Ring of Honor Television Color Commentator Steve Corino, known for his gift of gab and occasionally not filtering his thoughts, would pepper in his displeasure with the lifestyle of B.J. Whitmer, unearthing skeletons from deep within his closet on television and on social media.
For months, fans wondered why the now-jovial Corino was seemingly going out of his way to express his dislike for Whitmer. Did bitterness still exist over an ex? Was this a rivalry built on the road between two stars that couldn’t stand each other? Fans soon found out that the bones of old skeletons are of no comparison to what the issue really was: family.
Whitmer decided to fight Corino’s stone throwing with a bazooka. Whitmer recruited Corino’s son, rising professional wrestling star Colby Corino, to join the Decade as its young boy. While the younger Corino had an impressive array of talent and an advanced repertoire of moves, Whitmer would frequently sign Colby for matches in which he was clearly overmatched, forcing the elder Corino to watch his son get humiliated and physically destroyed by the likes of Moose and War Machine.
For months, this behavior continued, with Whitmer promising to reveal even deeper, darker secrets about Corino while continuing to crush Corino emotionally with taunts of being the father Colby never had. At All-Star Extravaganza, Whitmer entered the ring following a grueling bout between Jay Briscoe and Adam Page. With his back turned, Corino followed him. With a roll of quarters in hand, Corino delivered the most satisfying punch of his life but simultaneously ended his run as the color commentator for Ring of Honor Wrestling.
In Kalamazoo, ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuinness delivered the indefinite suspension verdict based on the announcer/wrestler zero tolerance policy with a catch. While Corino was suspended indefinitely as a commentator, McGuinness not only reinstated Corino’s contract as a wrestler but also announced that he had signed a match for Final Battle 2015 that would see Corino and Whitmer finally meet to resolve their differences.
There was one catch: Corino, with advanced notice of this decision, went to his physician for a routine physical. The tests revealed a neck issue that would require surgery. Corino took the ring with McGuinness and announced that he would never be able to compete again. In the weeks ahead, Whitmer would taunt Corino’s misfortune, the toll of years of grueling competition. Meanwhile, a series of rotating commentators attempted to fill the King of Old School’s chair to varying degrees of success.
Until Mr. Wrestling III arrived. Claiming to be from Parts Unknown equipped with calls he identified as “tributes to King Corino”, III quickly emerged as a suitable replacement for the King. One man wasn’t buying it: Whitmer identified III as Corino from the jump and has routinely called ROH management “a bunch of idiots” for not recognizing it. Whitmer has said that he believes that this is part of a greater conspiracy, stating that McGuinness and other ROH officials approved of Corino’s actions, thus hadn’t made III unmask.
Whitmer would continue business as usual. After Colby’s loss to Punisher Martinez in the 2016 Top Prospect Tournament, Whitmer pummeled and once again humiliated Colby right in front of, this time, Mr. Wrestling III. Corino would make his return in Concord, NC, saying that he may not be able to fight but Adam Page could. III could not contain his excitement every time Page got his hands on Whitmer and occasionally, Corino would watch from the isle when Page got his revenge for the berating he received while in the Decade.
It was Corino’s recruitment of Whitmer’s former protege Page that drew Whitmer over the edge. Whitmer accelerated his black-hearted behavior. First, Whitmer donned a Mr. Wrestling III mask at the commentary table in West Warwick, RI and began to promise a flash drive. At Global Wars, Whitmer delivered III the flash drive and ordered ROH to air the contents. Through YouTube, ROH fans saw over a year and a half’s worth of stalking Whitmer did to Corino’s wife and youngest son. Somehow, someway, Whitmer knew exactly where Corino’s wife and young son were at all times.
Corino’s comments and behavior all began to make sense and in were some ways admirable. Corino had been able to remain relatively professional through the creepy, disgusting Whitmer stalking his wife and trying to get close to his toddler son, much like he did with Colby.
Corino’s neck has healed and he says it is better than ever. Whitmer’s fully healthy for the first time in years after battling an ACL injury. The stars have finally aligned and McGuinness says there is no better time than in Corino’s home state of North Carolina for the two to finally resolve their differences in an UNSACTIONED FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR!
For Whitmer, he has an opportunity to get revenge for the comments Corino made about his checkered past. For Corino, he has vowed to end Whitmer’s career because Whitmer got Corino’s family involved. This promises to be the grudge match to end all grudge matches and while ROH officials are allowing this to take place in an ROH ring, they have vowed this is UNSANCTIONED!
The only way to see this bout is to join us LIVE, on pay-per-view through all major providers, FITE TV, Playstation 4, and ROHWrestling.com!
Last year the Best Fans on The Planet SOLD OUT Terminal 5 in New York City to witness Jay Briscoe & Jay Lethal battle to see who ROH’s Undisputed Champion would be.
Tickets are available NOW; you will need to get your tickets early before they do in fact SELL OUT! Click HERE for BITW and HERE for the National TV Taping the next day
Check back to ROHWrestling.com for the latest match announcements for Best in the World 2016 ahead of its live broadcast on all major pay-per-view carriers, ROHWrestling.com, FITE, Playstation Network, and more!
ALREADY SIGNED
**MAIN EVENT**
THE BIGGEST RE-MATCH IN ROH HISTORY
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RE-MATCH
#LETHALvsBRISCOE2
ROH WORLD CHAMPION JAY LETHAL W/ TAELER HENDRIX VS. JAY BRISCOE
ROH WORLD TV CHAMPIONSHIP
BOBBY FISH (C) VS DALTON CASTLE w/ the BOYS
UNSANCTIONED FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR
BJ WHITMER VS. STEVE CORINO
SIGNED TO APPEAR DURING BEST IN THE WORLD WEEKEND
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: THE ADDICTION (CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & FRANKIE KAZARIAN)
KYLE O’REILLY
WAR MACHINE (RAYMOND ROWE & HANSON)
YOUNG BUCKS (NICK & MATT JACKSON)
MARK BRISCOE
MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (ALEX SHELLEY & CHRIS SABIN)
RODERICK STRONG
ACH
DONOVAN DIJAK W/ PRINCE NANA
“PRO WRESTLING’S LAST REAL MAN” SILAS YOUNG
2016 TOP PROSPECT: LIO RUSH
ALL NIGHT EXPRESS (RHETT TITUS & KENNY KING)
KAMAITACHI
PLUS MORE!
