Final Battle (2022)

The 2022 Final Battle was the 21st Final Battle professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on December 10, 2022 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. It was ROH's second live event under the full ownership of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) president Tony Khan.

Twelve matches were contested at the event, including four on the pre-show. In the main event, Claudio Castagnoli defeated Chris Jericho by submission to win the ROH World Championship. In other prominent matches, The Briscoes ( Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) defeated FTR ( Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) by referee stoppage in a Double Dog Collar match to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship, Wheeler Yuta defeated Daniel Garcia in a Pure Wrestling Rules match to win the ROH Pure Championship, and Athena defeated Mercedes Martinez to win the ROH Women's World Championship. The event received positive reviews, with the Double Dog Collar Match receiving undisputed acclaim. Dave Meltzer of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' gave the Double Dog Collar Match a 5.5-star rating.

Production

Background

Final Battle is a professional wrestling event produced by Ring of Honor. First held in 2002, it is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year. It is widely regarded as Ring of Honor's premiere flagship event, similar to WWE's WrestleMania.

On October 18, 2022, ROH announced that Final Battle would be held at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas on December 10. The event will be held on the same day as WWE's NXT Deadline and '' UFC 282''.

Storylines

The event will feature several professional wrestling matches, which involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains or heroes as they follow a series of events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines will be produced on AEW's weekly television programs, '' Dynamite'' and ''Rampage'', and AEW's supplementary online streaming shows, ''Dark'' and ''Elevation'', as well as promotional videos on AEW's YouTube channel (as ROH has not yet secured its own television or streaming deal under Tony Khan).

At AEW Grand Slam, Chris Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli to win the ROH World Championship after delivering a low blow to Castagnoli. This would be Jericho's eight overall world championship in professional wrestling, hence his new moniker, "The Ocho," briefly leaving his "The Wizard" moniker. Since precuring the title, Jericho vowed to destroy everything related to Ring of Honor before rebuilding it in his image, dubbing it "Ring of Jericho." Additionally, Jericho would successfully defend the title against former Ring of Honor champions - including Bandido, Bryan Danielson, Dalton Castle, and Colt Cabana - though usually by utilizing some form of cheating. At Full Gear, Jericho would retain the title against Castagnoli, Danielson, and Sammy Guevara, pinning Castagnoli after a ''Judas Effect''. On the November 25 episode of '' AEW Rampage'', Castagnoli confronted the Jericho Appreciation Society, who were cutting a promo in the ring, and challenged Jericho to a rematch. Jericho initially refused, but after some convincing by JAS member Matt Menard, Jericho changed his mind and accepted the challenge for Final Battle on the condition that if Castagnoli loses the match, he would be forced to join the JAS.

At Death Before Dishonor, Wheeler Yuta of the Blackpool Combat Club successfully defended the ROH Pure Championship against Daniel Garcia of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Several weeks later on ''AEW Dynamite'' - held in Garcia's hometown of Buffalo, New York - Garcia defeated Yuta in a rematch to win the title. On the November 30 episode of ''Dynamite'', during a sit-down interview with members of the BCC and JAS, Yuta challenged Garcia to a third match at Final Battle, which Garcia accepted.

On the November 18 edition of ''Rampage'', Athena, who recently began having a new vicious streak, defeated Madison Rayne. Afterwards, as had now been commonplace for Athena, she continued attacking Rayne after the bout, even knocking down referee Aubrey Edwards when she tried to intervene. Athena would later be confronted by ROH Women's World Champion Mercedes Martinez, making her first televised appearance since Death Before Dishonor after suffering an injury. As a result of her attacking Edwards, Athena was suspended for a week. The following Friday on ''Rampage'', Athena called out Martinez to put her championship on the line against her. On December 1, ROH announced that Martinez and Athena will wrestle for the title at Final Battle.

On the December 2 edition of ''Rampage'', Keith Lee was set for a backstage interview before being confronted by former tag team partner Shane Taylor. Taylor would comment about how "the business between you eeand I ayloris far from over," while asking about what it was with Lee leaving "family." He would reference how he left former partner JD Griffey in the Texas independent scene, how he left Taylor in ROH when he signed with Evolve, and recently abandoning Swerve Strickland during the AEW World Tag Team Championship match at Full Gear. Taylor would later throw out a challenge to Lee for Final Battle, with he and Griffey facing Swerve In Our Glory. Strickland would then appear behind Lee as Taylor left, with a hesitant Lee asking if he can still trust Strickland.

At Supercard of Honor XV, FTR ( Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) defeated The Briscoes ( Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) to capture the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Three months later at Death Before Dishonor, a rematch between the two teams took place, this time a two-out-of-three falls match. There, FTR defeated The Briscoes 2-1 to retain the titles. On the December 7 episode of ''Dynamite'', FTR failed to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship when they were confronted by The Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn), who appeared on the titantron. The Gunns would reveal a Christmas card