| Cage of Agony | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Statistics | |
| Members | |
| Name(s) |
|
| Debut | April 1, 2022 |
| Disbanded | October 16, 2024 |
| Years active | 2022–2024 |
Cage of Agony was a professional wrestling stable in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), comprising Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage, and Toa Liona. Together they were former two-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Within the stable, Kaun and Liona formed a tag team named Gates of Agony.
At the ROH pay-per-view Supercard of Honor XV in April 2022, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona (as "Gates of Agony") teamed for the first time to defeat Shinobi Shadow Squad. During the event, the Gates of Agony were announced as members of Tully Blanchard's new stable, Tully Blanchard Enterprises, along with Brian Cage. [1] The Gates of Agony made their tag team debut for ROH's sister promotion, All Elite Wrestling (AEW), on the July 6 episode of AEW Rampage , defeating Jonathan Gresham (the ROH World Champion) and Lee Moriarty when Gresham turned on Moriarty and joined Tully Blanchard Enterprises. [2] [3]
On July 23, 2022, at Death Before Dishonor, Prince Nana was announced as having purchased Tully Blanchard Enterprises and folded it into his long-running stable, the Embassy. [4] [3] At the event, Cage, Kaun, and Liona wrestled their first match as a unit, defeating Alex Zayne, Blake Christian, and Tony Deppen in a six-man tag team match. [2] Also at the event, Gresham resigned from ROH, leaving Cage, Kaun, and Liona as the only wrestlers in the Embassy. [5]
In December 2022 at Final Battle, Cage, Kaun, and Liona defeated Dalton Castle and the Boys to win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. At Supercard of Honor in March 2023, they successfully defended the Championship against AR Fox, Blake Christian, and Metalik. At Death Before Dishonor in July 2023, they successfully defended the Championship against Leon Ruffin, Master Wato, and Ryusuke Taguchi. In September 2023 at Grand Slam, they lost the titles to The Elite. [6]
In April 2023, the Embassy merged with Swerve Strickland's Mogul Affiliates stable to form a new stable, Mogul Embassy. [7] At Forbidden Door, Cage, Kaun, Liona, and Strickland defeated Chaos in an eight-man tag team match. [2] In November and December 2023, Kaun and Liona wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, competing in the World Tag League. [2]
In November 2023 on AEW Dynamite , Cage, Kaun, and Liona defeated The Elite to regain the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. At Final Battle in December 2023, they successfully defended the titles against The Mighty Don't Kneel. In January 2024 on AEW Dynamite, Cage, Kaun, and Liona lost the titles to Bullet Club Gold. [8]
In May 2024, Cage, Kaun, and Liona attacked Strickland and split from Nana, disbanding Mogul Embassy. [9] Later that month, they dubbed themselves the "Cage of Agony". [10] At Double or Nothing in May 2024, Cage of Agony lost to The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. At All In in August 2024, Cage of Agony and Undisputed Kingdom lost to Dustin Rhodes, Katsuyori Shibata, Marshall Von Erich, Ross Von Erich, and Sammy Guevara in a 10-man tag team match. [11] On the October 16, 2024 episode of Dynamite, Cage joined the Don Callis Family, seemingly disbanding Cage of Agony and leaving Kaun and Liona as a tag team. [12]
Cage of Agony were described as "bruising behemoths" [13] and as "very beefy and very dangerous" [14] The team used a pendulum powerbomb. [15]
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a Canadian-American professional wrestler and manager. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s as a member of The Four Horsemen and The Brain Busters. Championships held by Blanchard over his career include the NWA World Television Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, WWF World Tag Team Championship, and NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. He was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2009 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
Nana Osei Bandoh, better known by his ring name, Prince Nana, is an American professional wrestling manager and former professional wrestler of Ghanaian descent. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he serves as the on-screen manager of Swerve Strickland.
Mogul Embassy, formerly simply the Embassy, was a villainous professional wrestling stable. Formed by Prince Nana in Ring of Honor (ROH) in 2004, in 2022 the Embassy also began appearing with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). In 2023, the Embassy merged with Swerve Strickland's Mogul Affiliates stable to become the Mogul Embassy. The Mogul Embassy disbanded in May 2024 when its members turned on Strickland, ending the stable's run after 20 years.
Brian Christopher Joseph Button, better known by the ring name Brian Cage, is an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Don Callis Family and a former one-time FTW Champion. Cage also performs in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is the current ROH World Television Champion in his first reign and a former two-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He also competes on the independent circuit.
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Kyle Thompson, better known by his ring name Kyle Fletcher, is an Australian professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Don Callis Family stable. He also performs in its sister company Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former one-time ROH World Tag Team Champion and ROH World Television Championship. Fletcher was previously signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a former IWGP Tag Team Champion and inaugural and record-setting two-time Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion. He also made appearances for British promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where he was a two-time Undisputed British Tag Team Champion.
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Jasper Kange is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bishop Kaun or Kaun. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a one-half of Gates of Agony.
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Bruce Orlando Leaupepe is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Toa Liona and is one-half of the tag team Gates of Agony. He also wrestles for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former two-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion.
Tyler Reber is an American professional wrestler. As of December 2022, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where performs under the ring name Action Andretti. He also makes appearances for its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).
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Gates of Agony is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH). They are two-time former ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions as part of Cage of Agony with Brian Cage.
