Column of Honor 09.26.09: What I Watched During My Summer Vacation Part One

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 09.26.2009

Capsule reviews and recommendations for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, SHIMMER and Dragon Gate USA. Then, I explain why I am so hyped up for live wrestling shows such as tonight's Glory By Honor VIII in New York City. Breaking news on Eddie Edwards, thoughts from the show in Dayton and more!

In what is literally breaking news from the ROH Twitter account, Eddie Edwards suffered a broken elbow during his Boston Streetfight against Kevin Steen last night. His status for tonight's Ladder War is uncertain.


You know there's been something I have forgotten these past few weeks. Something was missing from this column. It just didn't feel complete…and then I remembered, so here it is:

Welcome to the Column.




What I Watched During My Summer Vacation Part One


Do you remember those elementary school assignments on your first day back after break? Your teachers were looking to do something to fill up the time (before the real curriculum started to kick in), so they made you write an essay on what you did during your summer vacation.

Since I took about three months time off during the summer as a break from writing the column I haven't really been able to discuss any of the shows / DVDS that I've watched since then. I had something of a little extra free time, so believe me, I watched a lot, both of wrestling and non-wrestling shows. However, since this is a wrestling column, we'll forgo the latter and consider the former. Here is a list and capsule summary of what I have watched during the last several months.


Pro Wrestling Guerrilla



Express Written Consent

The show is only six matches, but they are six really good ones; not a bummer in the bunch. This is where my awareness of the improvements of The YoungBucks began—as they hold up the six man main event and basically steal the show away from a returning Paul London (although London does get the final word in with one of the best Shooting Star Presses I've ever seen him perform). Kenny Omega vs. El Generico is also another match that is easily memorable—highlighting Omega's heel act, which is a mix of comedy and heel distraction tactics. The inclusion of the referee getting involved in the action could have come across as clichéd and forced, but Omega being a jerk really helped to sell the response by the referee—and of course, the crowd loved it too. Another match that was a bit of a surprise was the T.J. Perkins vs. B-Boy match—I loved the insane high impact moves these guys pulled out (although I was starting to wear thin by the end of it because they hit about four moves in a row that not only would have easily been a finish, but look so brutal that if it so happened this was real life any one of those moves would have killed someone). This show was also notable for the surprise appearance of Colt Cabana, one day removed from his firing from WWE as Scotty Goldman. Its one hell of a surprise, catching the fans completely off-guard. Their reaction is one of the coolest to see and they realize what exactly is going on and that Cabana is going to wrestle that night. I will say I'm not really sure I like that fans cheered Tornado and treated him as a face when he spent a whole year abusing and making Candice LaRae's life a living hell. I know its wrestling, male dominated audience, yadda yadda yadda and I know Tornado has a charisma factor that's hard to deny, but you'd think that sort of storyline wouldn't be overlooked by fans…and yet, they do.




Ninety-Nine

Again this is a very good show with recommended matches up and down the card, but the main event is the lasting memory. Motor City Machine Guns vs. The YoungBucks doesn't go over the top, nor is it an hour long fireworks show. What it does present is a tightly-contested tag team dream match that is well-paced and a joy to watch. The Bucks go move for move and even start to outpace the Machine Guns by the end, and none of it seems unrealistic—the Bucks have just proven themselves that much that when they get one over on the vets Shelley and Sabin that it seems natural and feels right. An undercard match that I really loved was Tyler Black vs. El Generico—a face versus face match that again doesn't go too overboard but has a ton of cool back and forth action. This match is one that began to make me think that PWG was using the ROH wrestlers better than ROH itself. I don't think these two would have the same style of match in ROH and that is the shame of what limiting the ROH style has done over the last year or so. The back and forth aggression between Omega and Richards also echoed that sentiment—Richards certainly has been putting forth this kind of effort in ROH on a consistent basis, but Omega seems to kick it up an extra gear in PWG that he has yet to bring to bear when he wrestles for ROH. Bryan Danielson vs. Chuck Taylor was also cool to see because you haven't seen them in matches against each other over the last several years. It continues to baffle me and my wrestling friends why Taylor still has not received a chance to make it in ROH, since his excellent characterization and solid in-ring work cannot be denied at this point. Something else that impressed me on this show was Scott Lost—he has kicked it up a notch and is now lived up to the potential he has demonstrated at times over the past years. My jaw dropped at the force and velocity of the Big Fat Kill—it ain't just a superkick, it's a super superkick.




One Hundred

The real highlight of this show is what is most likely the comedy match of the year between Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega. Danielson wanted to keep it a serious wrestling match, but Omega distracts him with wrestling clichés like the "test of strength" and when that doesn't work, we go straight to the sublimely ludicrous as Omega begins to break out "John Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt". Danielson has so much fun that he is lulled into a false sense of security and Omega rolls him up for a close fall. Omega is repentant, but Danielson makes him pay the rest of the way through for his transgressions. If there is any match to go out of your way to see, it would be that one. Scott Lost once again is a surprise revelation as he and Roderick Strong put on a hell of an effort early in the show. Strong is someone else who excels at the back and forth, fast paced exchanges. Lots of drama for that one in the backstretch of the match, as it is plausible either one could win it. Generico vs. Sonjay Dutt gets over very well, especially because there are so many diehard Generico supporters in attendance, but they also go all out, with Generico's last barrage of finishing moves in particular. Black and Richards have a go at it and again they both work hard and the result is a great watch—no complaints there. However, there were a few disappointments on the show: I thought Paul London and Joey Ryan would work better together, but London was still rusty at this point and it doesn't gel. I actually liked London's efforts in the six man tag from EWC more than here. The main event of Hero vs. Cabana is an okay match, but I would have expected a bit more for the main event of a PWG milestone show. In fact, it ends a bit abruptly with one of Hero's elbows. I liked Hero's match against Aries at Ninety-Nine a tad better—it had more "oomph" (which is a vague and subjective term, I know, but it's the word that jumped inot my head).

Both Ninety-Nine and One-Hundred work best together as a set, as you can see the different combinations of wrestlers working well on the double shot weekend. There are very strong undercards on both shows which give you more bang for your buck, to steal a phrase.


SHIMMER Women's Athletes




Volume 23

This is a packed DVD, and when I write packed, I mean PACKED. You get eleven matches taped for the show PLUS a bonus match from ROH Rising Above 2009 between MsChif and Sara Del Rey. That's a hell of deal, really, but the best part is all of these matches are solid at least. The main events are MsChif vs. Serena Deeb for the SHIMMER Women's Championship and Cheerleader Melissa vs. Wesna Busic—and each one is both exciting and compelling. In the case of Busic vs. Melissa, you can also add brutal, because these girls don't hesitate to dish it out. The show is also noteworthy for its use of a simple but effective angle—the use of managers. Two manager licenses were granted for the show. By the end of the night we know who both of those are—independent wrestler Annie Social, who is looking to start her own stable of women to take to the top of the promotion. We also have the return of Lacey, who is now the official manager of the International Homewrecking Crew of Rain and Jetta. Lacey's return pays immediate dividends for her team and puts Ashley Lane and Neveah's SHIMMER Tag Team Title run in jeopardy. I also enjoyed matches between Daizee Haze and Nicole Matthews (who has been given a bit of the spotlight over the last several shows and has impressed), Amazing Kong vs. Mercedes Martinez (a shorter than expected but almost as stiff match as Melissa-Busic). It's always fun to see Nikki Rox, Cat Power, Amber O'Neal, Daffney and Lufisto in action—their characters and personalities are now well-defined and they use them just as much as the moves in the match to tell the story.


Dragon Gate USA




Enter the Dragon

The Dragon Gate Pay Per View has been given rave reviews up and down the internet and for the most part, rightfully so. Its two hours of real total nonstop action and worth the money to buy—and the DVD release looks professional and has plenty of extras to make it worth anyone's while to buy the show. I had fun watching the matches. I loved seeing wrestlers like BxB Hulk and Dragon Kid in action once again. I was glad to see the CHIKARA wrestlers like FIST and The Colony were so successful in a major spotlight situation. Quackenbush got over like a million bucks. I hadn't seen much of YAMATO since a few early appearances in ROH, but I was impressed with his effectiveness as a punk heel (although an aside, why were there subtitles for the angle with Quackenbush available in the online video, but not on the actual Pay Per View, where it would be seen by more viewers?). The Young Bucks continued to show that they kick ass with a tremendous tag team attraction bout against CIMA and Yokosuka. SHINGO and Doi managed to leave a lasting impression in the main event despite all of the insanity that came before it. However, I do have to admit that by the end of the show I felt like I was on a never ending carousel stuck on high speed. While I knew I was seeing excellent matches, I was completely desensitized to it because there was one insane move after the other. There was no time to breathe (as with early ROH PPV efforts) and I felt like the show definitely needed it. I also found myself increasingly annoyed by Lenny Leonard's commentary style—which is odd, because I usually dig his calls on the ROH DVDs. I just felt they were too over the top to be all that effective on this show and in particular his constant cat-like screams of "No!" when someone kicked out because beyond aggravating. I was glad that Leonard F. Chikarason and later Mike Quackenbush were there to even out the equation. Overall, the matches lived up to the hype, but I can't say that I had the same emotional connection to the characters and angles that I have following ROH or WWE. I think I now realize how new viewers felt as they were beginning to jump into the world of ROH Pay Per View. The question is—can Dragon Gate establish that emotional connection, not with the live crowd because they have that already, but with the PPV buying audience?

One more comment is that I think that whoever decided to bump up the price of the show to $19.95 made a very smart business decision. In particular, Gabe Sapolsky was going off of the theory that only hardcore fans will be buying the show. These fans were targeted for months with hype and advance positive reviews. So, if they were going to buy the show at $14.95 (the price of ROH PPVs), they would also most likely buy the show even if it was five dollars more than expected. That is exactly what happened, as I read many comments on message boards about how they weren't too pleased about the higher listed price, but they would buy the show anyway. Since Pay Per View revenue is shared by the promoter and the cable companies, raising the price of the show allowed for a higher profit margin, which is critical at this juncture for a start-up such as Dragon Gate USA.

Take that bit of Wall Street journalism, JP Prag!


So, if you're looking for recommendations, yes.

Okay, seriously now, definitely get any or all of these DVDs. I'll have more DVDs and recommendations next week in part two of this feature.

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What I Love About Attending ROH Live Shows


There are some aspects of Ring of Honor that I become excited to witness no matter the criticisms of the product in recent times on the internet by myself or other sources. The main event marquee match-ups that take top billing, the killer performances of dramatic monologues that wrestlers like Jimmy Jacobs and more recently Chris Hero complete in promos, but most topical to this weekend's finale is that there is nothing like the anticipation and building of excitement that I get when I know I am going to attend a live wrestling show, which for the last several years now means a live Ring of Honor wrestling show.

I guess you could say this is actually something I feel not just for wrestling shows but for any other major event, such as a music concert, a sporting event, hell sometimes even my friends' weddings. Its' the raw, almost uncontainable nervous excitement that stems from the pit in my stomach and builds as the day draws closer. I know there's an important event that is going to happen shortly and that I will be a witness to it. I love that feeling. I live off that feeling.

There is plenty to love about going to a live ROH show and much of it for me is in the moments building up to the start of the show:


-It's in the travel to the venue, commuting in from Brooklyn on the MTA into the heart of Manhattan.
-It's in the surfacing topside on West 34th Street and watching the teeming city streets filled with tourists and citizens—everyone travelling in multiple directions, heading somewhere, anywhere in "The City".
-It's in the pre-show dinner that I have with my brother-in-arms Chris as we discuss wrestling, MMA and the latest news in Midwood High School football.
-It's in the line that forms to get into building, oftentimes stretching down 8th Avenue. Sometimes the wait is a breeze and sometimes it's a headache, but it's never dull. I don't talk so much on the line, quietly and sometimes breathlessly waiting for my turn to enter.
-It's in the sitting around in my seat, listening to the background music and watching the panoramic vista of anywhere between 1,300 and 2,000 plus wrestling fans milling around the venue (depending on if the show is upstairs at the Grand Ballroom or downstairs in the Hammerstein proper).
-It's in the lights going down and the expected announcement on the PA—"Attention! Attention! 10…9…8…7…" and so on that counts down to the opening of the show, the referees and front office personnel walking out to ringside, Bobby Cruise's opening announcements and of course, the first match of the evening.
-It's in the show itself and being a witness to THE SHOW firsthand.
-It's in the intermission, thinking about and breaking down what we've just seen happen, and predicting what is to come in the second half of the show.
-It's in the end of the show, the slow walk out of the venue, usually feeling very satisfied and happy as I march back towards the subway and head on my way back home.


Sometimes it takes a while for the energy of anticipation to build up and make its presence known, Sometimes I don't get that feeling until the day of. Sure enough, as I write this right now, I am beginning to become aware that I am psyching myself up, hyping myself up for a huge wrestling event I am going to attend.

It is the last time for now that I will be able to see Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness wrestle for Ring of Honor, or anywhere else on the independent scene. Some might scoff and some might say "Who cares?" For me, this is a pretty big deal and it definitely seems like it is important. Sure, maybe not as important as a friends' wedding…but it counts. I and many others have been witness to Danielson and McGuinness develop into the professional wrestlers that they have become. I watched Danielson from the very beginning of my fandom for ROH and he quickly became one of my favorites. Likewise, I quickly became a supporter of Nigel McGuinness wrestling for ROH, even as far back as when he was in a mid-card tag team with Chad Collyer of all people. While some of my friends who attended ROH weren't immediately sold on McGuinness, I knew he had "it" and I am pleased to know I was right on the money about him all along.

Tonight's show in particular—Glory By Honor VIII in New York City—is perhaps the most important ROH show of the year. Not only do the fans say goodbye to two of the company's most tenured mainstays in Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness, but it is the time where ROH has to seize the day and make a firm and declarative statement about their future. As I wrote several weeks ago, all eyes from the independent wrestling world will be on them this weekend. There is a lot to live up to, but looking back on past history, ROH has thrived on that kind of pressure in the past. The pressure not just to thrive, but to survive is what created such landmark shows as At Our Best, Generation Next and World Title Classic in 2004. Everyone on the roster and everyone in personnel will have to reach down deep and come up with an effort that will make everyone realize they are not going anywhere. Essentially, they need to—they better—be feeling the very same way that I feel before the show begins. They need to bring that kind of emotion to the fore tonight.

There will be some amazing matches up and down the card, including the culmination of the best feud ROH has offered this year in the American Wolves versus Kevin Steen & El Generico (if Edwards makes it to the show). Eddie Kingston will finally make his New York City homecoming when he fights long time rival Chris Hero, who is peaking with the "Young Knockout Kid" persona in promo quality and in-ring presence at just the right time. Austin Aries will defend the ROH World Title against a mystery opponent (which is likely to be Roderick Strong, but you just never know) so there is a lot of fun intrigue with that program. However, more important than any one match and more important than anyone talent, it is going to be the whole of the presentation and the booking tomorrow that will clearly demonstrate if ROH is capable of sustaining the blow of losing Danielson and McGuinness and moving forward from there.



ROH Video Wire Theatre


I hope Nigel is NOT naked during his promo….



Ringtones

Long time reader Luke Damron reports from the field regarding last week's show in Dayton:

I really enjoyed this show. The last show I went to was about a year ago, and aside from a couple episodes of the HD Net show, I haven't really seen any ROH from the last year.

I even liked the dark matches, as I liked seeing Tim Donst in an ROH ring and apparently I'm one of the few who enjoy Sal Rinauro (although I'm not sure "enjoy" is the right word to describe his naked-ass earthquake spash).

Albright vs. Omega and House of Truth vs. Dark City Fight Club were both pretty good, and given a decent amount of time to tell a story. Dark City Fight Club was pretty over. Neither of these matches were great, but they were enjoyable.

Rave vs. Redwood was fine for what it was, and the Necro/Rave brawl was fun. Interesting note: In addition to absolutely BLASTING a referee with a chair, Necro nearly flattened a child when he went to slam Rave into the seats and the kid ran right in front of him.

Davey vs. Richards was awesome and my match of the night. After the match, the crowd was chanting "Next World Champ" at Davey.

Briscoes vs. Young Bucks was good, but I think the crowd was a little drained from the previous match. I think they can probably have better matches, but it was still quite good.

Silas Young showed a lot of personality in his loss to Rasche Brown. Hopefully, Young will get a bigger opportunity, because he was better than I anticipated.

Titus/Aries vs. Cabana/Williams was good and a lot of fun, as you would expect it to be. Titus got busted open about halfway through. The Canadian Destroyer is pretty awesome live.

Danielson vs. Hero was very good, and a close second for match of the night. I'm very glad I got to see Dragon one more time in ROH before he heads to WWE.

While I haven't followed ROH that closely over the last year (for several reasons), I've been to quite a few shows in Dayton and I enjoyed this one more than any since War of the Wire II.


Thanks to Luke for the show rundown and good to know that people are enjoying themselves at the live shows despite all of the trials and tribulations of the past year in ROH.


In order to protect the prestige of the ROH Championship, i move that we, the IWC, pretend Christopher Daniels had the title, while Xavier had it.

Posted By: the danger stranger (Guest) on September 19, 2009 at 07:15 PM

SECONDED.


Yeah, Uppercut vs. Masters of a Thousand Holds was extremely entertaining, but not exactly what you want to see in a main event title match, which is I think what he was saying. It worked well, but RoH title matches are supposed to be epic, legendary encounters, not semi-comedy matches.

I love Johnny Saint, but suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

Posted By: Vordeo (Guest) on September 19, 2009 at 11:56 PM

You know, it was fun for a while, but then it became extremely repetitious. Danielson started to heel on them by becoming more aggressive, but then they stopped that and went back to the hold counter-hold…by the time they got more aggressive I was a bit sick of the match. Sorry to say, although I did love the entire first night of King of Trios 2009 and I'll be writing about it next week in part two of the "Summer Vacation" feature.



Honor Bound Links


You can also read 411Mania's very own Steve Cook's impressions on that Dayton show here.

The Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson Farewell Roundtable is up and running with comments from myself and many other 411 Writers as both men head into their final weekend in ROH.

Aaron Hubbard with the ROH on HDNet Report.

Jasper Gerretsen looks at The Young Bucks in his That Was Then, Is This Too? column.


I invite everyone to check out some of my other writing, available at Associated Content. Click and read any and all of the following articles:

Michelle Branch Wows Fans, Twitter Nation on Webcast: Branching Out to Promote New Album "Everything Comes and Goes", Due Nov. 10, Branch Plays to Fans and Climbs Up the Twitter Charts

NCIS Season 7 Episode 1: "Truth or Consequences" Recap & Review: NCIS Special Agent Tony DiNozzo's Master Plan to Rescue Ziva David is a Bit of a Trojan Horse

Eating My "Spinach"--Ten Childhood Movies I've Come to Love as an Adult: As the Years Pass, These Movies Remain Dear to Me

In addition, I have caved in and joined TwitterNation. You can follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.

Right here on 411Mania, you can check out my live review of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in concert at Radio City Music Hall.


That will just about cover it for this week's Column. Next time out, thoughts from live at the Grand Ballroom for Glory By Honor VIII, plus more shows and DVD recommendations from what I watched over the summer. Thanks for reading and as always,

BROOKLYN!
--Ari--