Exclusive: Jay Lethal Discusses Joy Of Destroying Matt Taven’s Title Belt, Taven Responds
Ring of Honor returns to PPV and HonorClub this weekend with 17th Anniversary, headlined by Jay Lethal and Matt Taven — two men who both claim to be world champions.
Jay Lethal is the rightful champion, but in 2018, Kingdom leader Matt Taven started carrying a purple version of Ring of Honor’s World Championship. A “Real World Champion” story would unfold, only to see Lethal destroy the title belt on a recent episode of ROH TV.
“The Real World’s Championship is still in my possession, it’s my property. It was damaged by Jay Lethal. I’m a stand up man, and like to settle things mano-a-mano. I’m going to Jay Lethal and slap him in his mouth for what he did. I’m going to make that title better than it’s ever been. I’m going to take that piece of tin and show Ring of Honor what is fit for a king. The Real Ring of Honor World Title might be gone for now, but it’s not gone forever,” Taven told Fightful, largely in character.
Lethal is buying the return of the Real World Championship, and is instead intent on defending his on Friday at ROH 17th Anniversary against Taven. When Fightful spoke to Lethal, he discussed the differences in the two title belts visually, and the fun he had tearing it up.
“From a visual perspective, it looked just liked my belt. It was just purple and had more stones on it. From Matt Taven’s perspective, it was better because it was his and he owned it. I don’t think it was ugly, but what it represented was. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t one of my favorite things I’ve ever done — getting to destroy the belt. I got to use the bat and the axe. I don’t think I’ve ever hit anything with a bat and the axe. I’m an awful baseball player — which is why you’ve never seen me talk about that part of the (Randy Savage impersonation),” said Lethal.
Ring of Honor 17th Anniversary airs live this Friday night from Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas, NV and can be viewed on FITE or ROH HonorClub. Fightful will have full live coverage of the show, and a post-show podcast.
