The ROH World Title bout is set for the 17th Anniversary Show.
ROH announced that Jay Lethal will put his ROH World Title on the line against the self-proclaimed Real ROH World Champion Matt Taven on Mar. 15.
Ever since Lethal regained the ROH World Title in a Four Corner Survival Match in June by defeating then-champion Dalton Castle, Taven and Marty Scurll, Taven has been claiming that he is the rightful champion. He points to the fact that he had Castle pinned for eight seconds (with a handful of tights, by the way), but the referee was busy checking on Lethal, who had taken a knee to the head from Taven. The referee finally turned around to count the pin, but Castle kicked out at two.
After Lethal successfully defended the title against Will Ospreay at Death Before Dishonor in September, Taven and fellow Kingdom members TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia attacked Lethal. That’s when Taven unveiled his customized title belt and began calling himself the real world champion.
Lethal ignored Taven at first, but he eventually grew tired of Taven carrying around his replica belt and claiming to be the true champion. During one heated encounter between the two of them outside the ring, Taven spit on Lethal’s title belt and a brawl ensued.
Things further escalated during ROH’s international television taping in Lakeland, Fla., this past weekend. Lethal gained possession of Taven’s belt and proceeded to destroy it with O’Ryan’s bat and Marseglia’s ax.
An irate Taven got a measure of revenge later that night. After he, O’Ryan and Marseglia attacked Lethal, Taven put the champion through a table with an elbow drop off the top rope.
At 17th Anniversary, these two bitter enemies will finally settle things in the ring. Will Lethal prove once and for all that Taven is a pretender to the throne? Or will Taven capture the only championship in ROH that has eluded him?
The ROH 17th Anniversary Show is scheduled for Mar. 15 from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here is a look at the announced card thus far:
ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs. Matt Taven
ROH World Tag Team Championships
The Briscoes (c) vs. Villain Enterprises
