Column of Honor: 03.29.09 Part One: Seventh Anniversary Show Report

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 03.29.2009

Thoughts and opinions of last week’s show in New York City, ROH on HDNet Episode One available on You Tube, news on McGuinness’s arm injury and a preview of Supercard of Honor IV and Take No Prisoners!

Sorry for the delay, but welcome to the Column.



Ring Toss
-Seventh Anniversary Show Report
-ROH Results: Manhattan, NY, March 21st, 2009
-Honored News
-ROH Call
-My Fave 5
-Seven Years of ROH: Defining Moments of 2006
-Get with the pROHgram
-ROH @ 411
-Buy or Sell Quickies

Seventh Anniversary Show Report

It was nippier and colder than expected on the streets on New York City last Saturday and I had underprepared, wearing only my denim jacket instead of my "Michelin Man" bulky winter coat. Chris and I walked the two blocks to the Tick Tock Diner briskly, having learned the wait at the Johnny BBQ restaurant two blocks down was a ludicrous forty minutes. Dodging the mass of fans in Buffo Sabres and New York Rangers jerseys, shirts and jackets (flocking to Madison Square Garden for the hockey game and whose presence no doubt was responsible for the long line at Johnny's ), I began wishing for that winter coat.

While I underprepared for the weather, maybe I had overdressed for the occasion. I was wearing a nice button down dress shirt and slacks to the Ring of Honor Seventh Anniversary Show at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Why? Well, it was a birthday celebration, I felt it was appropriate. Well, okay, that's just a b.s. reason to add poetic license to the story. I actually had no real "reason" other than I just felt like it. Chris and I entered the front lobby Hammerstein and we experienced once again the air and atmosphere of an ROH show. I unbuttoned the dress shirt to display one of my ROH T-shirts.

The Seventh Anniversary Show began about a half hour later, fifteen minutes behind bell time schedule and in reality, belated by about one month's time. It was a show that, like Final Battle 2008, started out pretty slow and could have gone downhill very fast, but turned out to be pretty good by night's end thanks to a spectacular second half. However, once again, ROH fans of many years were reminded that this is not the ROH of old…and some of the booking decisions and crowd reactions left me both puzzled and worried about what could happen in the future for ROH.

The second half of the show has been the savior of ROH these past few months, as whatever happens in the first half is often negligible to the events of the top of the card. That's not to say the first half is automatically bad, but it certainly isn't up to the level that satisfied the fans around me. This is obviously different from ROH under Gabe Sapolsky, when it seemed like anything and everything could happen at any point in the show. Gabe's shows had peaks and valleys, and extreme hits and extreme misses. The two ROH shows in New York under Adam Pearce's booking have been a straight climb up a mountain, with the top of the card and the main event being the summit. This is more "traditional" booking style for a wrestling show and usually there is nothing wrong with it, so long as your top matches pull through. One tradition that remains under Adam Pearce's book that also occurred with Gabe Sapolsky is that the top two matches will always deliver. This was the case last Saturday with the ROH World Tag Team Title match between champions Steen & Generico versus The American Wolves; it continued with the main event featuring the injured ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness defending against challenger KENTA.

Until the second half, it wasn't a party atmosphere at all. In fact, at times the reaction to the show felt more like a funeral…and the "Revolution Rules" match certainly could have been viewed at the time by some as a burial (more on that match in a bit). Chris later told me it felt like the crowd was very "whatever" in their reactions, and I have to admit that at times I felt the apathy in the room as well. That's to say that there was no reaction whatsoever, just different from what was expected, different from the norm. There were more new faces in the crowd where we were located than ever before. The wrestlers received large superstar reactions upon their entrance (peaking with the returns of Jimmy Rave and Colt Cabana) and the crowd popped for the big spots of the match, but other than that, quietness, and at times an eerie unsettling amount of reaction to the wrestling action in the ring.

Personally, I was having a good time, but I usually have a good time at these shows (unless I get violently ill like the night of Final Battle 2007). I enjoyed the first half (didn't love it, but thought it was solid), loved the hell out of Colt's return, sang along with "The Final Countdown", grinced and oooh and ahhed at the no disqualification tag title match and popped like crazy for KENTA killing Nigel with an endless amount of kicks and strikes. I left the show having had a good time, but also carrying the worry that one day that might not be enough for me or for the fans around me.

The show began with Kenny King and Rhett Titus making their way to ringside to the tune of Titus's new theme song, which while not as epic as "Addicted to Love" certainly conveys the intended message of his character. They fought Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens in a very good and enjoyable ten minute contest. The focus was on tag team maneuvers and the coordination between each of the two teams. I do like that ROH is now once again finding its way in the tag division, building up its core of teams so that there is more than just three teams at the top fighting for the belt (which most of the last two years would have included The Briscoes and Kevin Steen / El Generico). Not to say that King and Titus, while promising, don't still have some growing to do in their role as a team. They had some good flash and some sweet moves, but at one critical point King missed an obvious cut off on the faces and thus made it look silly when he went for a cover so need the face corner.

Strong and Stevens were received pretty well—perhaps for Stevens he needed the Mohawk to get back some buzz from the fans, but they were into him more than usual. Strong is also in the beginnings of a renewed push as a babyface—he and Aries seem to be matching up and could perhaps become a renewed program, with Strong in the role of the babyface this time. He and Aries will wrestle at the next set of ROH tapings, with King and Titus not far behind I'd presume. Strong usually gets some good reaction for his chops, but for some reason tonight they didn't have that loud crack we've come to love and expect, perhaps the ring not being mic'ed well enough.

Claudio Castagnoli and Brent Albright had a very strong wrestling match that went back and forth. Albright even took to the air a few times, which is still plenty surprising to see when it happens right in front of you. Some good counters and dodges to their trademark moves followed later in the match. I gave my "Castagnoli is a Nazi" shout for the second show in a row, and for the second show in a row it got some good laughs—maybe it will catch on. Knowing that the undercard matches were usually shorter, I began to get a bit suspicious when we were about twelve minutes in and these two were still going at it. Then Bobby Cruise gave the "one minute left in the fifteen minute time limit" announcement—damn, I hadn't even realized there was a time limit announced for the match to begin with! Many in the crowd began to groan—they could see the draw finish coming a mile away and they didn't like it. Albright and Castagnoli didn't go for a big finish like you would have expected, just back and forth punches for the last thirty seconds or so. Then the bell rang and the crowd booed.

Surprisingly, it was Claudio Castagnoli in a nice twist who asked for the five more minutes, calling Albright an "American coward" who would never accept. Albright said "you're on" and they went tearing after each other. It wasn't long before Castagnoli caused the DQ, which pissed off the crowd even more, although I kind of liked what they were going for with the booking to this match. Catsganoli then snapped again on the flunkies and the referees, which I always enjoy. Overall I thought this was a very solid match and I didn't mind the wonky finish, although at some point they will need to provide a clean one in order to take this feud towards the end point.

Bobby Dempsey was supposed to fight a mystery opponent connected to Sweet & Sour Incorporated, and surprise, surprise, it turned out to be "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce. While some reports have lots of derisive chants related to his new role as booker, there were none that I heard in my section. Pearce talked down to a guy by the name of Oliphant, who was filmed a piece on ROH for NBC's "First Look". Of course, ROH fans being what they are, booed this "outsider" who dared to cover Ring of Honor wrestling for future broadcast in a mainstream forum. Way to go fans, way to go. Anyway, Dempsey shockingly destroyed Pearce in thirty seconds, maybe as a not-so-subtle message to the fans that Pearce wasn't going to place himself as the center of attention during these shows. Dempsey got a huge ovation, although posing with the Oliphant guy, not so much. He then tore Oliphant's shirt off and they did the "Hulk Hogan" pose, to many, many boos. Then again, maybe the ROH fans were right on this one.

Jerry Lynn vs. Mike Quackenbush was next and both received fantastic ovations upon their entrance. However, the crowd was very dead during the body of the match itself. It was a technical wrestling match and a good, but not great effort from both men (we were later to find out online that Quackenbush has reinjured himself and may need surgery once again for a back injury from a few years ago). Given that info, you can see why they kept it short and relatively simple, although I appreciated even then the artistry and flow they put into the match. Quack also did get in a few nice high impact spots, most notably the use of the "Jig n Tonic" (as a call back to his buddy and former Vulture Squad member Jigsaw) for a near fall right before the finish. I was happy to see Quack wrestle live and in person, although I do have to admit that his efforts while in an ROH ring oftentimes pale in comparison to the quality of effort I've seen from him on CHIKARA and other independent promotions.

Next came the most controversial match of the night, the Ultimate Endurance "Revolution Rules" match. This was the bout on the card that many including myself had worried about. It had complicated rules and while had plenty of talent wrestling in the match itself, there was a huge concern this could be a fiasco when all was said and done. As it turned out, our fears were very much founded. Bobby Cruise did not explain the rules of the match very well at all, and even worse, did not update the fans properly after every fall. It left many confused as to what stipulation was next and how to win the fall, which meant by the end of the match many had stopped caring at all about what was going on. This is incredibly unfortunate considering that the finish of the match, if you think about it was very smart and could have received a huge ovation, if it wasn't made overcomplicated.

The good news—when Delirious, Necro and Black entered ringside they received superstar reactions. Delirious is once again very over and the fans in attendance accepted him with Daizee very quickly. The first fall was also really good—filled with some nice double and triple teams, brawling around ringside and some great back and forth between of all people Delirious and Aries. The first fall saw Delirious be eliminated by pinfall, which meant the next fall couldn't be won by pinfall. However, not many people understood that and it affected the crowd reactions, which had been mostly negative in the first place and becoming increasingly hostile as the bout went on, with most of the brawling around ringside taking place and not having one thing to keep their concentration. The downfall of this match began when Necro and Brodie Lee brawled to the far right side of the building and all of a sudden Cruise announced they were eliminated. No one knew how or why, and even worse the referee hadn't been making any overt counts and according to the rules there was supposed to be no disqualification. So how exactly were they both eliminated? It was a b.s. call and a b.s. booking decision that set people off on edge, and even worse, no one knew what the heck the next fall was going to be—how would you eliminate someone? Well, we found out that it would be via submission as Tyler Black put on The End Time guillotine on Aries. Now this was pretty smart, because it meant that Jimmy Jacobs couldn't use his own pet finisher to eliminate Black. He had taken away Jacobs' biggest weapon. The crowd didn't really much care at this point, and the final showdown of the match between Black and Jacobs was as cold as ice. Black had received "next world champion" chants upon his entrance and now no one was saying anything—ANYTHING—at all about him. That was and is not good. The finish, where Jacobs had him in The End Time (which in itself was pretty stupid of him because he couldn't win the match that way), saw Black lift him out of the hold into the Small Package Driver for the three count.

We went to intermission with a very sour taste, but that would soon be washed away by the awesome enthusiasm and raucous return of Colt Cabana. First Prince Nana made his fabulous entry into the arena, cut an awesome promo mangling Barack Obama's name and bringing out Bison Smith and to everyone's welcome amazement, the crown jewel of the Embassy in Jimmy Rave! Bryan Danielson soon entered, although his new theme music was cut short after like two seconds when he started brawling with Bison, which tells me that ROH realizes that it sucks too. Let's get another song for Dragon ASAP guys! Grizzly Redwood came out as a diversion and a bit of a swerve for the crowd, but I knew and wasn't fooled a bit. The beat of Colt Cabana's version of "Copacabana" came out of the speaker and the whole crowd exploded! Everyone got up all at once (maybe for the first time all night) and even the most cynical of smart fans were dancing in the aisles and clapping along as Cabana made a fantastic return, wiping out Rave, Smith, Osiris and Nana in one fell swoop. The match itself was solid, although more fun to see Cabana back in action and interacting with Dragon and the ROH fan base. Smith provided the power, Cabana had the fun, Rave was the spoiled child who had his big return ruined and Dragon was all about taking out everyone in his way. Cabana and Danielson's victory of course led to the playing of "The Final Countdown" over the PA and damned if that song doesn't get everyone pumped up for the rest of the show. This segment began to steer the show in the proper direction and from that point on things were looking up.

D-Lo Brown made his ROH NYC debut and cut a "rah rah promo" about being given a second chance with his arrival in ROH, but something did seem off. He and Jay Briscoe did some fantastic face vs. face work early on, including some fantastic athletic jumps and dodges of moves. And then…all of a sudden, the ref's back was turned and D-Lo kicked Jay right in the groin. Mark Briscoe and the rest of the fans did not like that. D-Lo began to act more heelish with each passing moment, although the crowd was still split in their reaction, with some fans cheering him and others booing what he had done. For my part, I hated to see someone I wanted to cheer on turn heel without any real explanation or motivation. I wanted D-Lo in as a face, and unfortunately it's not going to be that way. D-Lo would have been around the same place on the heel / face depth chart in ROH, so I would have preferred him as a fan favorite. The match ended out of nowhere when Jay missed the top rope legdrop and D-Lo pinned him, not even really holding the tights, although Mark protested as much. It was a bit of a letdown for what was a good ten minutes building into something more. Unfortunately, this is beginning to feel like par for the course on many ROH events these days.

Then we had the two main events—the awesome, thrill-ride edge of your seat tag title match and the slower paced, but still intriguing ROH World Title match. Richards, Edwards, Steen and Generico went out there and put their bodies on the line big time in this match, taking all sorts of abuse on ladders and chairs and just general nuttiness flying and crashing around the ring. Steen bleed in the only visible sign of bloodshed during the night (so much for that "Ring of Blood" nickname from The Voice huh?). McGuinness suffered through his bout against KENTA, taking kick after kick after kick from the challenger. It was not easy going for any of these wrestlers, but they all sacrificed more than normal, worked harder and that all paid off with two tremendous matches. I'd say the tag title match was the best of the night, probably around four and a quarter and an argument could be made for four and a half stars if you wanted. Yet more important than any star rating was that these guys had the attention of the fans and did not let it go until the bell had run to end the match. Generico & Steen took some ungodly bumps on the ladder, but then they made a fantastic comeback ending with Steen damaging Richards' knees with multiple chair shots (to get even for Richards doing the same to Steen several times over the last few weeks) and locking in the Sharpshooter, ahem, I mean, STEENshooter, for the submission victory. The crowd loved it!

As far as the post-match attack on Steen & Generico, I thought that was a necessary moment given that this feud is likely to continue onwards for future rematches. Steen & Generico got the clean and seemingly decisive win against their rivals, but if Edwards and Richards had any hope of getting another title shot in the near future, they needed to make Steen & Generico want to give them one. They did that with a brutal post-match attack, leaving Steen & Generico helpless and needing assistance to the back.

McGuinness and KENTA went out there and followed up with a very fitting main event, although slow in the beginning (and deathly quiet, which is pretty scary to see in a ROH main event). However, regardless of anything that came before, McGuinness and his challenger are always able to get the crowd in attendance to bite at least once on the possibility that there could be a title change. There were three such occasions during this match, all during the last ten to twelve minutes. It was pretty brilliant booking to see Nigel missing ALL of his lariat attempts and having to work with something else. He went to his arm submission work, to set up the London Dungeon submission later on in the match. KENTA meanwhile, was working on the arm himself, all in hopes of suckering Nigel into position for the Go 2 Sleep. When KENTA actually hit it, the crowd was rabid and counting along for the three count, but of course, it didn't happen. Later on, McGuinness hit a Go 2 Sleep of his own in a nice little twist of the situation, but that was only for a close two as well. The finish saw Nigel use the London Dungeon, but tilting KENTA all the way back so that he was lifted above the ground and "racked" on Nigel's knees in a very painful looking position, at the same time having his arm bent backwards in an unnatural position. KENTA had no choice but to tap out, and McGuinness was once again walking out of New York City the ROH World Champion, a position he had grown accustomed to over the last year.


ROH Results: Manhattan, NY, March 21st, 2009 (via the ROH message board)

Matches
-The team of Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens defeated the team of Kenny King & "Addicted to Love" Rhett Titus via pinfall when Stevens pinned Titus after a Doctor Bomb.
-Brent Albright and Claudio Castagnoli fought to a fifteen minute draw. The match was restarted, and Albright defeated Castagnoli via disqualification.
-Bobby Dempsey defeated "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce via pinfall with a Death Valley Driver.
-Jerry Lynn defeated Mike Quackenbush via pinfall with a Cradle Piledriver.
-The Team of Tyler Black, Necro Butcher and Delirious defeated The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs and Brodie Lee along with Austin Aries in an Ultimate Endurance: Revolution Rules match. Aries pinned Delirious with a brainbuster; Necro Butcher and Brodie Lee were both counted out of the ring; Black tapped out Aries with The End Time after Aries and Jacobs fought each other and Black took advantage; Black eliminated Jacobs via pinfall with God's Last Gift (small package driver)>
-The team of "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and Colt "Boom Boom" Cabana defeated the team of The Embassy (Bison Smith and Jimmy Rave with Prince Nana and Ernie Osiris) via pinfall as Cabana rolled up Rave.
-D-Lo Brown defeated Jay Briscoe via pinfall with a roll up, presumably holding the tights.
-ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen & El Generico retained their titles by defeating challengers American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards) via submission when Richards tapped to Steen in the sharpshooter.
-ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness retained the title by defeating challenger KENTA via submission with a variation of the London Dungeon.

Return Date: June 13th, 2009 with Ric Flair.



Honored News

Update on McGuinness's Arm Injury

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has an extensive update on what's going arm with Nigel McGuinness's arm and shoulder injury:

ROH champ Nigel McGuinness suffered a fairly serious left arm injury on the 3/20 show in Elizabeth, PA. He gave KENTA a lariat to the jaw and knew immediately something had gone wrong. He tore his left biceps in 2007 and it was never fixed so he said it's not a torn biceps as has been reported. But it is swollen and bruised and he doesn't know what it is. At this point he will be working at least through the Houston shows from what we hear, so logically he's going to be losing the title either to Jerry Lynn on 4/3 or they will create a match in the next two weeks or so for him to drop it. At this point he's planning on sticking it out for this week and they'll see what happens from there. We originally heard he would be getting surgery next month, which would leave him out of action for several months.

McGuinness's injury puts a damper on the ROH HDNet series, of which he was set to be a major focus. McGuinness may or may not have surgery, but if he does it all but guarantees a title shot either next week or soon afterwards. McGuinness has been banged up and bruised a long time, so time away to heal up may be the best thing for him right now. There will be plenty more storylines that can involve Nigel after he returns from injury. Of course there is always the chance he works through this injury for months on end, like Danielson did his shoulder injury from September through December 2006. If there is an end point in mind for McGuinness's run as champion, then perhaps he can work through the pain to get there. More on this as it develops.


Preview for Supercard of Honor IV April 3rd, 2009 in Houston, Texas

ROH World Title Match--Nigel McGuinness (c) defends vs. Jerry Lynn: This is the only ROH World title match currently on the docket this weekend. McGuinness's health is in question and this could be the right time and the right place for a title change. Lynn has been built up over the last several months as one of the two major candidates to be the next ROH champion (the other being Tyler Black). Lynn and McGuinness have plenty of history over the years, with Lynn defeating McGuinness in 2004 (his last match in ROH until mid-2008), McGuinness defeating Lynn in June in a non-title match and once again defeating Lynn in a title match back in December. Meanwhile, Lynn has had the upper hand in tag contests. Lynn has been built up as the aging veteran whose comeback would be validated by going all the way to the top. Nigel's injury and the impact of a title change on Wrestlemania weekend are strong indicators that this could happen.

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Match--KENTA (c) defends vs. Davey Richards: Its protégé versus mentor with a lot on the line—pride, respect and the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title. Davey Richards has been cool, calm and collected in his promos leading up to this match, the sign of a definite dangerous man. KENTA is a bad man himself, and no doubt these two will be aiming to hurt each other as much as possible in order to work out their grudge and prove who the better man is. Richards may have to win this match without any assistance from his manager Larry Sweeney, but he may not have such a big problem with that—his confidence as of late has skyrocketed, and that could help him reach the next level of his career.

Grudge Tag Team Match--Tyler Black & The Necro Butcher vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Austin Aries: This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends, someone started singing it not knowing what it was, and now I'll keep on singing it forever just because this is the song that never ends…

ROH vs. Kensuke Office--Roderick Strong vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima: I'm expecting some cool moments in this match. Strong seems especially motivated when he fights against the Kensuke Office and I think Nakajima on autopilot would come up with something impressive. I'm hoping this is a spotlight match for Strong and that maybe, just maybe he can actually get the win here in order to raise his prestige a bit in ROH and elsewhere. It's been a while since he pulled out a major notable win, and this could be it.

Special Attraction--Bryan Danielson vs. Alex Koslov: Koslov has a good overall mix of everything, from technical wrestling to aerial proficiency to a unique character and charisma. He'll have a huge test for his ROH debut going against one of the marquee names currently on the roster. I'd expect a bit of comedy in the beginning, with Danielson playing along with Koslov's "Communist-era Russia" antics, including Zeh BAHBUSHKA DAnze! Then, when things go too far along those lines or when Koslov pisses him off too much, BAM! Serious and deadly Dragon will come out way and kick his f**kin head in.

Four Corner Survival--World Tag Team Champion El Generico, vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright vs. NWA World Champion, Blue Demon, Jr: The flier, the arrogant heel, the powerhouse and the x-factor in a luchador. They'll all come together for an undercard attraction match. The big feud highlighted will be Albright vs. Castagnoli, and Generico and Demon will likely pepper in some stuff here and there to keep it interesting.

Six Man Tag Team Match--World Tag Team Champion Kevin Steen, Jay Briscoe, & Magno vs. Chris Hero, Eddie Edwards, & Incognito: More intermingling between ROH and the luchadores continues here. The story is that Larry Sweeney wanted to sign up Incognito to a Sweet & Sour Inc. personal services contract and that these two matches this weekend would be his tryouts. Steen & Briscoe just want a piece of Sweet & Sour Inc. any way they can get it, and Magno is Incognito's rival and counters his presence on the other team. Steen & Briscoe haven't necessarily gotten along when working in tag matches (owing to their past of beating the crap out of each other for the past two years in tag matches), but they know they have a larger task at hand and shouldn't let their old grudge get in the way of their new one.

Special Challenge Match--Colt Cabana vs. D-Lo Brown: Its Colt's first singles match back in ROH and its on a huge card in front of what will be one of ROH's larger crowds of the year. It's all slotting to be a huge moment in Cabanarama history…except for the fact that D-Lo Brown is there to spoil it all. Brown and Cabana are in the same boat, having both been recently "future endeavored" by WWE. Only Cabana seems happy to have gone, while D-Lo became quite bitter quite rapidly about that experience. A win here will go a long way towards pushing someone further up the singles rankings.

Singles Action--Rhett Titus vs. Erick Stevens:Stevens is quickly finding that Titus and his partner King are becoming a nuisance to his life. Stevens will look to bulldoze past Titus, but you can't underestimate the tricks of "Addicted to Love".


Preview for Take No Prisoners April 4th, 2009 in Houston, Texas

Dream Partner Tag Team Match--GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA & Tyler Black vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Austin Aries: These are some pretty interesting combinations of wrestlers. KENTA and Black are high-octane athletes and have a lot of stamina in the tank. Nakajima is a deadly wrestler who when underestimated or not contained in the ring will take you out when you least expect it. Aries is a bit of an x-factor, as he still has all of the tools he previously used, but one wonders if his new "swagger" will take center stage over his offense. Aries may also play the "chicken game", not wanting to fight Black during the match. KENTA and Nakajima have no such compunctions of cowardice, and will likely go head to head without hesitation.

Four Corner Survival--Bryan Danielson vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Erick Stevens vs. D-Lo Brown: A huge Four Corner Survival match has been inked for "Take No Prisoners" on 4/4. It will be a hard hitting affair as it will pit "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson against Erick Stevens, Jerry Lynn, and D'Lo Brown. Brown recently upset the ROH faithful by blatantly pulling Jay Briscoe's trunks to secure victory in New York. Will those kinds of tactics work against the veteran Lynn, the freakishly strong Stevens, or the "Best In The World"? This match will have a variety of styles in play, and a lifetime of experience. A win by any of the men could propel them toward a higher slot on the pecking order.

Tag Team Challenge Match--ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness & Claudio Castagnoli vs. NWA World Champion Blue Demon Jr. & Brent Albright: The European combination is back again…Albright has fought both of them in recent weeks and could use a win here to get himself back to title contention. The biggest question here is if this match will go on as planned and if McGuinness will make it to or through this fight.

No Disqualification War--Jimmy Jacobs vs. The Necro Butcher: Jacobs and Necro have tussled several times, but this one will be on Pay Per View and should be the blow off for this part of the Age of the Fall saga (hopefully). Its Necro's fists versus Jimmy's smarts, winner takes all.

International Challenge--Alex Koslov vs. Roderick Strong: Koslov could make his name this weekend with wins against name ROH competition, but what shape he comes out after his bout with Danielson could determine whether or not he comes out of this bout with the W or L.

8 Man Tag Team Grudge Match--ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen & El Generico, Jay Briscoe, & Magno vs. The American Wolves, Chris Hero, & Incognito: Just signed for 4/4 in Houston is a huge 8-Man Tag Team attraction with plenty of bad blood to go around. It will be Kevin Steen, El Generico, Jay Briscoe, and rising lucha star, Magno, against the confident American Wolves, Chris Hero, and as the second part of his "Sweet-n-Sour tryout", Incognito. Steen and Generico have never wanted to throttle Sweet-n-Sour more, Briscoe is still seeing red, and Magno never gets enough of Incognito! The fight rages on in Houston!

Second City Saints Partners Collide--Colt Cabana vs. Ace Steel: : Cabana has requested, and ROH has granted, a special match for the April 4th "Take No Prisoners" card in Houston. It will be a clash of Second City Saints, as Cabana will face his trainer and mentor, Ace Steel! Obviously not strangers, and both with a world of respect for the other, this contest promises to be a special one for both competitors.


ROH Ticket Sale Slump?

Despite the announcement of Flair's appearance at the Detroit and Manassas shows, second row tickets were still available as of early this week (Observer). Meltzer also notes that ROH has been papering tickets to shows more than usual.

With tickets to ROH shows available and discounts going on almost all the time, ROH should be doing pretty decently…but right now mediocre show reports and perhaps more criticism of the booking has made cautionary tales of the shows. I can say that tickets were going briskly for the next New York show, especially once the announcement that Flair would be appearing. Speaking of which…


Flair is on TV Where?

Ric Flair may have been offered a deal by ROH to appear on ROH's HD Net television tapings, but Meltzer believes there isn't a great chance of him accepting. I'd agree, based on the fact that ROH can't offer him as much money and opportunity as WWE can and Flair probably wouldn't want to burn any bridges with WWE by appearing on the television of other wrestling programs, major or minor. Flair just being on the regular ROH shows is a good enough step to take, and while an appearance by Flair on HDNet would be special, I just can't see it happening.


Cabana and Rave's contract status

More from the Observer: Colt Cabana is back full-time, believed to be for $300 per shot. He'll face D-Lo Brown on 4/3 in Houston and face Ace Steel, his original trainer, on 4/4 on the PPV taping. Jimmy Rave won't be full-time, but is to be used more in the future. Prince Nana brought back The Embassy with Bison Smith, Rave and Ernie Osiris as the members. Rave's TNA contract had not expired as of this past week, but TNA allowed ROH to use him as a surprise on the New York show since TNA wasn't going to use him anymore.

It's good to have Cabana back as a regular, and with Jimmy Rave added to The Embassy and D-Lo Brown looking to make semi-regular appearances, ROH is well on its way to re-establishing a level of roster depth not seen since the glory days of 2005-2006. I think Cabana is going to help refresh the babyface side a ton in the weeks to follow. There are seven shows until he gets back to his hometown of Chicago, but plenty of fresh match ups along the way to get him there. Jimmy Rave hasn't always been the greatest in the ring, but nowadays has a very solid base and a very good understanding of how to work a match, especially as a heel. He is one of the few wrestlers who could consistently get heel heat for his actions, although the crowds in New York have always taken to him and responded positively for his entrances—sort of the HHH effect of getting good pops and then being booed all to heck during the match.


ROHdds and Ends

-From the Observer: Larry Sweeney was also off the weekend shows. He's battling depression and had problems at the previous weekend and was essentially suspended from this weekend's shows. He wants to be back from Houston but we haven't heard anything official whether he will be brought back or not. Obviously this isn't the greatest piece of news to report (I even deliberated whether or not to include it in the column). Depression isn't an easy thing to work through, so I wish Sweeney the best of luck trying to find his way and hope he can come back to ROH ASAP—we need him doing the things he does best, ain't no doubt about that.

-From the Observer: Necro Butcher had a deep cut on his foot from diving off the top rope to the floor, but his foot hit the barricade around the ring. He's not going to miss any dates. Oh, the perils of being a flying Necro Butcher.

-From the newswire: Roderick Strong was on a very successful tour of Pro Wrestling NOAH when ROH filmed its first 6 weeks of television, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that could dispute either his importance or dedication to Ring of Honor. ROH officials are very happy that Strong will be at the next tapings, and not only that, he'll be main-eventing one of the first 3 weeks to be filmed. ROH officials decided that his opponent should be one that will bring the best out of Strong. The ROH Booking Committee has decided that that man is none other than Austin Aries. The history between these two is well-documented, and we can't think of a better match to show the world the style that made ROH famous. These two just tangled on March 20th in Pittsburgh, with Aries getting the duke with some help from his new found friends, Titus and King. Will that trend continue on National TV?

-From the newswire: The second of the first 3 main events to be filmed is a rematch from the 6th week to be filmed at the inaugural television tapings on March 1st. It is match-up of arguably the two most popular competitors in ROH at this time, and without question, two of the most talented athletes in all professional wrestling. One of these men has been World Champion the other aspires to accomplish the same thing. Once more, it will be Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black one-on-one for the world to admire. There is no hype necessary anytime these two step into the ring.

-From the newswire: The final of the three main events to be filmed on April 9th will feature the first time that the ROH World Tag Team Champions will appear together on Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet. During the first set of tapings, El Generico was conspicuously absent to the dismay of many. Now he will be at the side of "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen, and they will oppose one of the best up-and-coming tag teams in wrestling in a rematch from Indianapolis on March 14th– Kenny King and Rhett Titus. King and Titus fell short in Indy, but now they're apparently under the tutelage of Austin Aries. That alone could make a huge difference in this contest.

- From the newswire: Matt "M-Dogg" Cross impressed in his ROH return, and will be in action on April 24 in Dayton!

- From the newswire: More history was made last weekend as Prince Nana brought the Embassy back to ROH, complete with his "crown jewel", Jimmy Rave! With the monstrous Bison Smith and the thieving Ernie Osiris, it appears as though Nana is well on his way to making a statement. His claims that President Obama's stimulus package is the source for his newly-regained financial strength are suspect, but what is clear is that the Embassy is back and looking for trouble. Jimmy Rave will appear in both Montreal and Toronto on April 17th and 18th, as well as in Dayton and Chicago on April 24th and 25th, and there's no telling what Prince Nana has up his sleeve next!

- From the newswire: Kevin Steen and El Generico are incensed that they were decimated at the hands of the American Wolves in New York City; bloodied and driven through tables. And their rage has been conveyed to the ROH Booking Committee in a big way. The have flat out demanded another tag team match against the Wolves, and they don't want a regular match. They want to give the Wolves the receipt of a lifetime. Steen and Generico have challenged Richards and Edwards to a "Tables Are Legal" match and they want the world to see it! They want ROH to broadcast the destruction on National TV! Steen and Generico have demanded that this match be a television main event on HDNet! We'll have the Wolves answer soon, right here in the wire!

- From the newswire: ROH officials are happy to announce that standout Canadian talents Frankie the Mobster, the Super Smash Brothers, and LuFisto will be a part of ROH's return to Montreal on April 17 at Centre Jean-Claude Malepart. I'm real happy to see that the Smash Brothers are getting a chance on an ROH show. They have a very happy-go-lucky gimmick that is certainly more cartoony that what you would expect in ROH, but they can settle down and focus on the in-ring work that needs to be done when it's necessary. Lufisto is…well, she's just Lufisto. Sort of like how MsChif is just MsChif. You need to see her in action to really experience what she's about. The good thing though, is that she may add a little bit of freshness to the women's division in ROH.


-Kayfabe Quote of the Week: "The last team I managed—they was Vultures, but they didn't have the snap to it, they could't fly you know what I mean?" --—Julius Smokes


ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 03/28/2009

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 39 successful defenses)
-defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Jerry Lynn, Houston, TX, 04/03/09

V.1 defeated Jay Briscoe, wristlock submission (10/21/07 San Francisco, CA)
V.2 defeated Chris Hero, wristlock submission (11/02/07 Philadelphia, PA)
V.3 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (12/29/07 Manhattan, NY)
V.4 defeated Go Shiozaki, London Dungeon (wristlock submission) (01/20/08 Tokyo, Japan,)
V.5 Steel Cage Match: defeated Chris Hero (01/25/08, Dayton, OH)
V.6 defeated Roderick Strong, Jawbreaker Lariat (01/26/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.7 defeated Bryan Danielson, London Dungeon (02/23/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.8 defeated Tyler Black, London Dungeon (03/16/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.9 defeated Larry Sweeney, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/22/08 Crystal River, FL)
V.10 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/29/08 Orlando, FL)
V.11 defeated Erick Stevens, London Dungeon (04/11/08 Boston, MA)
V.12 defeated Kevin Steen, roll up holding the ropes (04/12/08 Edison, NJ)
V.13 defeated Kevin Steen, Jawbreaker Lariat (04/19/08 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.14 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, London Dungeon, (05/10/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.15 defeated KENTA and BJ Whitmer, Jawbreaker Lariat to Whitmer (05/15/08, Tokyo, Japan)
V.16 defeated Go Shiozaki, London Dungeon (06/07/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.17 defeated Vic Viper, London Dungeon (06/14/08, Tallaght, Ireland)
V.18 defeated Keith Myatt and Lionheart, (06/20/08, Doncaster, U.K.)
V.19 (title for title) defeated NWA Champion Adam Pearce, Jawbreaker Lariat (06/27/08, Dayton, OH)
*match later reversed via DQ, both men keep their respective titles.
V.20 defeated Kevin Steen, Lariat off Turbuckle, (07/25/08, Toronto, ONT, CN)
V.21 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, Jawbreaker Lariat (07/26/08, Detroit, MI)
V.22 defeated Ruckus, London Dungeon (08/01/08, Manassas, VA)
V.23 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black & Claudio Castagnoli (08/02/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.24 defeated El Generico, London Dungeon (08/15/08, Cleveland, OH )
V.25 defeated Jimmy Jacobs, Jawbreaker Lariat (09/14/08, Tokyo, Japan)
V.26 defeated Roderick Strong, (09/19/08, Boston, MA)
V.27 defeated El Generico, roll up, (09/20/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.28 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Go Shiozaki, El Generico & Kevin Steen (11/07/08, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
V.29 lost via disqualification to Necro Butcher (11/08/08, Markham, Ontario, Canada) Champion retains on a DQ.
V.30 defeated Bryan Danielson, Jawbreaker Lariat (11/22/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V. 31 defeated Jerry Lynn, pin using ropes (12/06/08, Nashville, TN)
V.32 defeated Naomichi Marufuji (12/27/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.33 fought to a time limit draw vs. vs. Tyler Black (01/17/09, Edison, New Jersey)
V. 34 defeated El Generico, London Dungeon (01/31/09 Chicago Ridge, Illinois)
V.35 defeated D-Lo Brown, Jawbreaker Lariat (02/07/09, Orlando, Florida)
V.36 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Tyler Black, Jimmy Jacobs &Jerry Lynn (02/27/09, Danbury, CT)
V.37 defeated Kaio (03/08/09, Milan, Italy) *thanks to the column readers for the update on this defense.
V.38 lost via disqualification to Brent Albright (03/13/09, Collinsville, IL) Champion retains on a DQ.
V.39 defeated KENTA, submission with London Dungeon extension (03/21/09, Manhattan, NY)

**

ROH World Tag Team Champions—Kevin Steen & El Generico (champions since 09/19/08, 7 successful defenses)
-defeated The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black on September 19th, 2008 in Boston, MA to win the championship.

Next Defense: TBA

V.1 defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe (11/08/08, Markham, Ontario, Canada)
V.2 defeated Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (11/21/08. Dayton, OH)
V.3 defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe (11/22/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.4 defeated Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (12/27/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.5 defeated American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) (01/30/09, Detroit, MI)
V.6 defeated Kenny King & Rhett Titus (03/14/09, Indianapolis, Indiana)
V.7 defeated vs. American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) (03/21/09, New York, NY)

**

Top Feuds & Pairings:

-What is going on between Aries and Jacobs?
-Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs
-Tyler Black has a title shot "in his back pocket"
-Jerry Lynn vs. Nigel McGuinness
-Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright
-Bobby Dempsey's trail of revenge against Sweet & Sour Inc.
-Prince Nana is once again a manager
-Daizee Haze wants to save Delirious.
-Necro Butcher continues his war against Age of the Fall


ROH Home Theatre Station

ROH Videowire: March 24th, 2009


ROH on HD Net Episode 1

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Part 6:

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We've got more where that came from, in PART TWO of this week's column!