The Kingdom are an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

, who work for

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

(AEW) and

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

(ROH), and previously also appeared with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW), consisting of

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team d ...

Matt Taven Matthew Marinelli (born March 20, 1985), known by his ring name, Matt Taven, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, who currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling. He is best known for his work with Ring of Honor (ROH), ...

, Mike Bennett, T. K. O'Ryan and

Vinny Marseglia Vincent Marseglia (born January 24, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he was a member of Honor No More. He is best known for his tenure in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a record setting 4 ...

. Under multiple incarnations The Kingdom formerly held the

ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...

, the

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

(Taven and Bennett) and the

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won as a result of a match with a predetermined outcome. ...

a record three times (Taven, O'Ryan And Marseglia). In 2020, Taven and Bennett reunited as

The OGK The OGK is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, which currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and their sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). The team was first formed in ROH, as part of the larg ...

. In 2022, Taven, Bennet, & Maria debut in AEW under The Kingdom name once again.

History

Ring of Honor (2014–2019)

Adam Cole’s Kingdom (2014–2016)

Final Battle 2013 Final Battle 2013 was the 12th Final Battle professional wrestling event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH), which occurred on December 14, 2013 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. Background ''Final Battle 2013'' featured eight pr ...

, prior to the official formation,

helped

retain the ROH World Championship, forming a tag team in the process. Shortly thereafter Michael Bennett and

Maria Kanellis Mary Louis "Maria" Kanellis-Bennett (born February 25, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager, actress, model and former singer, She is best known for h ...

joined both Hardy and Cole involving himself in their feud with

The Briscoes The Briscoe Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Jay Briscoe (Jamin "Jay" Pugh) and Mark Briscoe (Mark Pugh). They are known for their 19-year tenure with the American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). an ...

. At Supercard of Honor VIII both Hardy and Bennett helped Cole defeat

Jay Briscoe Jamin "Jay" Pugh (born January 25, 1984) is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Jay Briscoe. He is currently signed with Ring of Honor, where he is the current one-half of ROH World Tag Team Champions with Mark Briscoe ...

to become the undisputed ROH World Champion, with Hardy taking possession of Briscoe’s unsanctioned “Real World Title” belt and renaming it the “ROH Iconic Championship”. On June 22, 2014, at

Best in the World 2014 Best in the World 2014 was the fifth Best in the World professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on June 22, 2014 at the Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. This show ...

, Matt Hardy and Michael Bennett accompanied by Maria Kanellis and

Nick Searcy Nicholas Alan Searcy (born March 7, 1959) is an American character actor best known for portraying Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's '' Justified''. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks–produced miniseries ''From the ...

were defeated in a no disqualification match against

(

Jay A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

and

Mark Briscoe Mark Pugh (born January 18, 1985) is an American professional wrestler best known as Mark Briscoe. He is currently signed with Ring of Honor, where he is the current one-half of ROH World Tag Team Champions with Jay Briscoe in their thirtee ...

). On July 12, 2014, The Kingdom officially made their debut as a stable in

when Hardy, Bennett, and

faced War Machine (

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

and

Raymond Rowe Raymond Rowe Sr. (born August 21, 1984) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Erik. He is also known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he and his ta ...

) along with

Michael Elgin Aaron Frobel (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Michael Elgin. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was a one-time GHC Tag Team Champion with Masa Kitamiya ...

in a six-man tag team match which ended in a no contest. On November 15, 2014, at

Glory By Honor XIII Glory By Honor XIII was the 13th Glory By Honor professional wrestling event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on November 15, 2014 at the San Antonio Shrine Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas. Background ''Glory by Honor XIII'' featur ...

, who had joined the stable back in September, teamed with Bennett as they unsuccessfully challenged reDRagon (

Bobby Fish Robert Anthony Fish (born October 27, 1976) is an American professional wrestler currently appearing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand and was a member of The Undisputed E ...

and

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2009 to 20 ...

) for the

. At

Cole lost the ROH World Championship to

. In July, Hardy opted out of his ROH contract and went back to TNA. After failing to regain the ROH World Championship from now champion Jay Briscoe at

Final Battle 2014 Final Battle 2014 was the 13th Final Battle professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on December 7, 2014 at the Terminal 5 in New York City, New York. Storylines Final Battle 2014 featured eight ...

, Cole announced he had suffered a shoulder injury which would require surgery. The Kingdom & Maria

On March 1, 2015, at the 13th Anniversary Show, Bennett and Taven defeated

The Addiction ''The Addiction'' is a 1995 American vampire horror film directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken and Annabella Sciorra. Edie Falco and Kathryn Erbe appear in supporting roles. The film was written by Ferrara's frequ ...

(

Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kno ...

and

Frankie Kazarian Frank Benedict Gerdelman (born August 4, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and musician currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), performing under the ring name Frankie Kazarian. In addition, Kazarian also pe ...

) as well as

Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), whe ...

(who competed on his own due to

Doc Gallows Andrew William Hankinson (born December 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Luke Gallows. Hankinson began his career in 2005 and participated i ...

suffering travel issues) in a three-way tag team match. On March 27, 2015, at Supercard of Honor IX, Bennett and Taven unsuccessfully challenged reDRagon (

and

) for the

. Cole returned from his injury at War of the Worlds ‘15, where he lost to

A.J. Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...

. Cole then began having tension with Bennett and Taven and even teased a reunion with former Future Shock partner Kyle O’Reilly. On September 18 at

All Star Extravaganza VII All Star Extravaganza VII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on September 18, 2015 at San Antonio Shrine Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas. It was the seventh event under the All Star Extra ...

, Bennett and Taven won their first-ever

, when they defeated the then champions

(

and

) and

The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). Later that night Cole betrayed O’Reilly during his world championship match against

Jay Lethal Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Dubbed "The Franchise" of Ring of Honor, Lethal is a two-time ROH World Champion, ...

remaining with The Kingdom and turning heel once again. Bennett and Taven lost the title to War Machine on December 18 at

Final Battle Final Battle is a professional wrestling event, held annually by the Ring of Honor promotion. The event was initially held in 2002, and is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year. The 2009 edition of the show was ROH's first internet ...

. Bennett and Kanellis left ROH after the following day's ''

Ring of Honor Wrestling ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', often shortened as ''ROH Wrestling TV'' or ''ROH TV'', is an American professional wrestling television series produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). The series featured professional wrestlers competing in matches and condu ...

'' taping, after failing to come to terms on a new contract with the promotion. With Taven suffering a legitimate knee injury and subsequently turning on Cole (who would later join the

Bullet Club (stylised as BULLET CLUB), sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling stable primarily appearing in the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In the United States, the group currently appears on NJPW events run by the c ...

as its U.S. side's de facto leader), The Kingdom went on hiatus.

Matt Taven’s Kingdom (2016–2019)

On the September 18th, 2016 episode of ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', Taven returned and announced that The Kingdom will be competing in the tournament for the new ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championship, but wouldn't announce his partners. On a match taped on October 1, 2016 for the October 23rd, 2016 episode of ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', Matt Taven revealed T. K. O'Ryan and

as new members of The Kingdom and defeated

(Adam Cole, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) to advance to the semi-finals of the

Tournament. On the November 19 episode of ROH TV The Kingdom defeated Team CMLL (Hechicero, Okumura and Ultimo Guerrero) to advance to the finals at the Final Battle 2016 PPV. On December 2, The Kingdom defeated

Jay White Jamie White (born 9 October 1992), better known by the ring name Jay White (ジェイ・ホワイト ''Jei Howaito''), is a New Zealand professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is current IWGP World Heavyweight C ...

Kushida is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling. He is best known for his tenure in NJP ...

and

Lio Rush Lionel Gerard Green (born November 11, 1994), better known by the ring name Lio Rush, is an American professional wrestler and musician currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Chaos stable. He has also ap ...

in the finals to become the inaugural ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions. On March 11, 2017, at Ring of Honor TV taping, Taven, Marseglia and

Silas Young Caleb DeWall (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Silas Young. He was last contracted for Ring of Honor, where he is a two-time ROH World Television Champion, although he has not appeared on R ...

, who filled in for an injured T. K. O'Ryan, lost the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship to Bully Ray and

. On September 27, 2019 at ROH's Death Before Dishonor XVII

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

, after Rush defeated Taven for the

ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Claudio Castagnoli, who is in his second ...

, O'Ryan and Marseglia were shown having been attacked backstage (to explain why neither of them had interfered on Taven's behalf to prevent the defeat, which they regularly had done in the past). On ROH's TV show, Marseglia attacked Taven in the ring, signalling the start of a storyline feud between the two former allies. On December 13, 2019 at ROH's Final Battle PPV, Marseglia scored an upset victory over Taven. After the match, Marseglia and Bateman attacked Taven, attempting to break Taven's ankles. On the December 14, 2019 episode of ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'', O'Ryan announced that The Kingdom had disbanded.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2014–2015)

On August 10, 2014, during the

G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...

The Kingdom, represented by Cole and Bennett and accompanied by

, made their

debuts, defeating

Captain New Japan is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He is best known for his two stints with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and a brief stint with World Wrestling Council (WWC). Hirasawa wrestled as a fall guy, under the mask superhero, .Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

. The Kingdom, now represented by Bennett and Taven, returned to New Japan in November 2014, to take part in the 2014 World Tag League. They finished third in their block with a record of four wins and three losses. Bennett and Taven returned to NJPW on April 5, 2015, at

Invasion Attack 2015 Invasion Attack 2015 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 5, 2015, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan and featured nine matches, four of which were contested f ...

, where they defeated

(

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) to win the

. On July 5 at

Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on July 5, 2015, in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall. The event featured ten m ...

, The Kingdom lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship back to Bullet Club in their first defense. Bennett and Taven returned to NJPW in November to take part in the 2015 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of two wins and four losses, failing to advance from their block.

Impact Wrestling (2022–present)

On January 8, 2022, at

Hard To Kill ''Hard to Kill'' is a 1990 American action thriller film directed by Bruce Malmuth, starring Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, William Sadler and Frederick Coffin. Seagal's second film after '' Above the Law'', it features him as Mason Storm, a d ...

, The OGK made their

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

debut along with PCO and

attacking

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

and others following their match. On August 26, 2022, Taven and Bennett defeated

The Good Brothers The Good Brothers are a Canadian country, bluegrass and folk music group originating from Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band's core members are Brian Good (guitar), his twin brother Bruce Good (autoharp) and younger brother Larry Good (banjo). B ...

(

and

) to win the Impact World Tag Team Championships. This match aired on tape delay on the September 1 episode of '' Impact!''.

All Elite Wrestling (2022–present)

The Kingdom debut for AEW in 2022 under The Kingdom name once again.

Championships and accomplishments

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship The NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Historico de Peso Welter de la NWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship governed by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL had held the NWA World Welt ...

( 1 time) – Taven *

Impact World Tag Team Championship The Impact World Tag Team Championship (formally known as the TNA World Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is owned by the Impact Wrestling promotion. The current champions are The Motor City Mac ...

( 1 time) *

( 1 time) – Bennett and Taven *

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – Cole (1) and Taven (1) **

( 1 time) – Bennett and Taven **

( 3 times) – Taven, O'Ryan and Marseglia ** Honor Rumble (2014) – Bennett **

Survival of the Fittest "Survival of the fittest" is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. The biological concept of fitness is defined as reproductive success. In Darwinian terms, th ...

(

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) – Cole ** ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament (2016) – Taven, O'Ryan and Marseglia *The Wrestling Revolver **Revolver Tag Team Championship (1 time)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom, The Ring of Honor teams and stables New Japan Pro-Wrestling teams and stables Independent promotions teams and stables