ROH announced that Jay Lethal will receive an ROH World Title shot at Manhattan Mayhem on July 20. Lethal is a former two-time ROH World Champion and the most decorated champion in ROH history. He lost the title to Matt Taven at ROH-NJPW G1 Supercard in a triple threat ladder match.
New York City has been the site of one of Jay Lethal’s greatest victories as well as one of his most deflating defeats. At the Manhattan Mayhem international television taping on July 20 at Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom, Lethal will be seeking his sweetest victory yet in the Big Apple.
On that night, Lethal will attempt to become just the second man to win the ROH World Title on three occasions when he faces current champion Matt Taven or whoever is the champion at that time. It will be Lethal’s first shot at regaining the title since losing it to Taven at Madison Square Garden, which is just minutes away from the Hammerstein Ballroom, in a Triple Threat Ladder Match at G1 Supercard on April 6 before a sellout crowd.
Lethal, who has held the ROH World Title for more combined days (707) than anyone, won the championship the first time at Best in the World in 2015 at Terminal 5 in New York City. By defeating then-ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe in a winner-take-all match, Lethal became the only man to hold the ROH World and ROH World Television titles simultaneously.
Leaving Manhattan Mayhem as a three-time world champion will be no easy task, especially if Taven is Lethal’s opponent. Three weeks before Taven won the title at G1 Supercard, the leader of The Kingdom went move-for-move with Lethal in a classic encounter that ended in a 60-minute draw at ROH’s 17th Anniversary pay-per-view.
Since winning the championship, Taven has successfully defended it against PCO, Flip Gordon and Mark Haskins. In those matches, Taven showed that he will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to retain his title -- he even used an ax and a spike on PCO’s one good eye to achieve victory.
Will Lethal make history once again in New York City? Join us live for Manhattan Mayhem to find out!
