WrestleMania 38 had some intense moments and matches that entertained wrestling fans worldwide. Even though wrestling fans from all over viewed that event presented by WWE, the best match of the weekend may not have been part of the event. Ring of Honor held its yearly event Supercard of Honor XV in Garland, Texas Saturday at the Curtis Culwell Center. Here wrestling fans saw a dream match between the FTR and ROH tag champions, the Briscoe Brothers. This match gained steam of happening through social media digs the teams took at each other and FTR showing up to confront The Briscoes at Final Battle last December.
The crowd was into this match before it started. A divided crowd was on their feet, cheering before the match began. The teams standing nose to nose, not stepping back, the excitement was high as the fans chanted, “Holy ****.” As referee Paul Turner asked for the traditional Code of Honor handshake, FTR turned their backs to a building of boos. The match starts with Cash Wheeler and Mark Briscoe as the fans chant for each team. Both competitors milk the crowd, then a thunderous reaction for the initial lock-up between the two. We weren’t ready for the ride we were about to go on.
We saw hand-to-hand mat technician wrestling from the start transitioning into fast-paced action. Both teams ran the ropes countering each other’s moves until a high-impact reaction, then turned into another grappling situation. We hear the color commentator Caprice Colman speak to his cohost, play-by-play guy Ian Riccaboni and say “that’s old school right there, Riccaboni.”
Old school indeed with a modern-day pace. It was a perfect combination of old-school ring psychology and modern-day athleticism.
The match went back and forward as it slowed down and sped up, giving a chance for the crowd to react and express emotion. They got the people into the match, showcasing their frustrations to the fans as each team countered their best shots. They hit each other hard with knife-edge chops, heart-pounding kicks and ring rattling slams. Both tag-teams showed facial expressions of desperation, excitement and anger throughout the match. That frustration mounted higher as FTR used the table outside the ring, slingshot Jay Briscoe under the table, which busted him open. FTR saw blood and went aggressively on the attack. Like great tag teams of the past, the Brainbusters and Midnight Express, FTR cuts off the ring and quickly tagged in and out, leaving Mark Briscoe in the corner and watching his brother take a beating. Jay, a bloody mess, kept fighting back. Out of nowhere, he shifts past FTR attacks and finally reaches his arm out and tags his brother mark. Mark fired up punch after punch, chop after chop. We Riccaboni says, “he comes the Sussex County Chicken, the master of redneck kung-fu,” going on the attack feeding off the crowd and taking both guys on.
As the match continued, both teams were nailing high-impact maneuvers. Briscoes nailed their signature move, “Redneck Boogie,” followed by FTR hitting a combination of a powerbomb into a big slash from the top ropes, both maneuvers only landing a dramatic two count near fall.
We get a close-up of FTR’s Dash Wilder is now busted open through all this action. This action receives a hysterical crowd reaction as they chant, “THIS IS AWESOME” and “R-O-H,” all during the breaks In the action. The Briscoes then nail “Big Rig,” the signature of FTR on Wilder but still, it only gets a two count. You hear the excitement of Caprice Colman as he said, “can you imagine being beat by your own finishing move.”
The competitors end up on the outside again as Wheeler hits Mark Briscoe with a tornado DDT using the apron for leverage. This was countered by Jay hitting Cash with a Death Valley driver on the outside. We have a faceoff between both bloodied fighters as Jay crawls onto the ring apron fighting for control with Dax. It results in Jay suplexing Dax to the outside ring mat. Bodies are all around the ring. Paul Turner goes to the outside to check the status of each competitor. The doctors come to the outside of the ring to check on them. We have seen a car crash of these men. The doctor asks them can they continue, and you hear the men say they don’t want to end the match that way. Referee Turner starts his ten counts as both teams crawl into the ring. As this happens, we now see Mark Briscoe has a facial wound. Now the fans are revved up chanting “FIGHT FOREVER.”
All four men are standing in the ring, dazed with spaghetti legs but still fighting, going blow for blow, punch by punch, forearm followed by another forearm. The hard-hitting continues as both teams try to get an advantage. Mark hits a high-impact move on Cash on the outside and Dax and Jay are in the ring going at each other, falling to their knees with punches, eventually standing back up, hitting forearm shots until Dax goes down. At this moment, Mark lands “Froggybow” on Dax still; they can only get a two count. Now, everyone’s wondering how this all this could end.
As Jay Briscoe drags up a beaten down Dax Harwood, Mark calls for the “Doomsday Device.” Jay tags Mark and Marks goes to the top ropes but is interrupted by Wheeler from the outside. Jay hits chops on Wheeler, knocking him out of the ring, but this gives time for Dax to recover and duck as Mark hits his brother with a knee from the top rope. Wheeler throws Jay outside the ring and FTR nails “Big Rig” for the three-count, winning the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships. The teams meet mid-ring after the match, showing respect for the battle we all witnessed.
FTR lays the newly won belts down in front of the Briscoes, praising them, signifying their respect for the team and giving them a “we’re not worthy bow.” All four guys adhere to the code of honor as they shake hands and give hugs and the fans applaud the action they just saw.
The match was highly praised by wrestling critics and journalists of the sport. ROH Ring Announcer Bobby Cruise tweeted, “One of the best matches I’ve ever seen as #FTR become the new @Ringofhonor World Tag Team Champions by beating the legendary #Briscoes #SupercardOfHonor.
Jim Cornette, on his podcast, The Jim Cornette Experience, said, “this is the best tag team match that has taken place in any promotion in years.”
Joe Hulbert of Wrestling Purist tweeted, “perhaps the finest tag team match I’ve ever seen!”
Fight Talk’s Stephen Jensen picked it as his #2 match on the best matches of WrestleMania weekend. While Lauren Theisen of The Defector wrote in an article on the site, “This match frickin’ ruled, as a pair of extremely talented duos with contrasting aesthetics just went at each other with no bells or whistles for nearly an hour.”
Later, FTR goes backstage to give the fans a chance to show their appreciation for the Briscoe Brothers. Nick and Matt Jackson attack the Briscoes out of nowhere, the Young Bucks hitting simultaneous superkicks. Then nailing “BTE” on Jay Briscoe and then attempts a “Meltzer Driver” on Mark but FTR runs in to stop it, as the Young Bucks bail.
We are reminded on Wednesday that the Young Bucks will face FTR on AEW Dynamite.
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