Column of Honor: 11.07.09: The All-World Series

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 11.07.2009

Who makes the cut to represent wrestling hot spots in New York, California, Canada, Europe and Japan? I nominate All-Star teams and you decide the best team! Plus: more on DGUSA and ROH head-to-head, Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 and the ROH Pick 6 Series!





Welcome to the Column.


All-World Series


One of the minor frustrations I've had over the years of watching WWE around this time of year is the Survivor Series Pay Per View. It actually used to be my second favorite show of the year next to Wrestlemania when I was a child. Of course, there were only four major WWE (then WWF) Pay Per View shows back in the 1980's when I began to follow professional wrestling, so while that may not seem to mean much now. However, I loved the concept of a "Team" elimination series where wrestlers were put in positions where they needed to join forces in order to win against their rival oppositions—hence "Teams of Five (later four and then later once again five) Strive to Survive", as the saying goes. As a burgeoning wrestling fan back then, this show seemed to be very important to the overall framework of the WWE.

These days, Survivor Series has become just "another" Pay Per View in WWE's year long schedule of shows. The elimination matches that were once essential to the show itself (the first four shows from 1987-1990 did not have one singles match whatsoever) are now no longer even a guarantee to be included on the card that bears its very namesake. While WWE at some points has forsaken the entire concept of the elimination match for show, they have at the very least tried to include at least one of these types of matches over the last five years and generally speaking they have booked some compelling bouts with the concept. However, once again this year it seems that the Survivor Series elimination bouts are being left in the cold, or at least being de-emphasized in favor of higher profile title matches such as the recently announced Undertaker vs. Big Show vs. Chris Jericho World Heavyweight title match and the WWE Title three-way match of Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. John Cena.

As of the date this column has been published, there is one Survivor Series elimination match announced for the Pay Per View and it is a woman's match. No disrespect intended towards the WWE Divas, but that's not a very impressive or exciting bout. Hopefully there is still time to book at least one male team elimination match into the show. There are enough logical booking directions for WWE to use in building team matches—a team captained by Kofi Kingston against Legacy, Team Miz (co-captained with Dolph Ziggler) against Team Morrison, a Team Smackdown vs. Team Raw rematch minus Show, Michaels and Triple H. I hope that at least one of these matches takes place, if just for the inner child in me that loved those original Survivor Series show.

Speaking of that inner child, the frustration about the lack of elimination matches thus far on the show has given way to a bit of fantasy booking and the concept for this week's column.

Coincidentally, this week marked the conclusion of Major League Baseball's World Series, this year pitting my home city's Yankees against the Philadelphia Phillies (I am a Mets fan, which over the years has been the equivalent of pulling for Barry Horowitz to pull off the major upset, but I was born into it, so what can I do?). Its baseball's best team from the American League squaring off against the best from the National League in a best-of-seven warfare, a survivor series in its own right.

I had also been thinking about the concept of high school All-City teams—it's quite an honor to be selected, signifying that you are the best of the best for your chosen sport. I was always interested in reading the annual feature in the New York Daily News and other newspapers that announced these All-City teams, even going back to my own experience in high school.

So, in the need to fulfill that part of my mind that clamors for team challenge series, I present to you the All-World Series and this is how it goes: I've chosen several well-known American wrestling cities, and several very important wrestling territories around the world. I have nominated one wrestler or one tag team from each of the three-major promotions (WWE, TNA and ROH) to join up and represent the city as part of a wrestling "All-Star" Team. Then YOU, the reader can decide the best team.

Here are your chosen cities and the members of each team.


All-New York City Team

Of course we have to start with my hometown crew here in Brooklyn and the other four boroughs. New York is one of the Mecca's of professional wrestling, so much so that as many readers know, the nickname for WWWF / WWF / WWE among workers and wrestling fans is "New York" due to the popularity and running so often in Madison Square Garden. Ring of Honor has had some of its greatest successes and largest shows while running Hammerstein Ballroom and the nearby New Yorker Hotel. TNA has even dabbled its feet in running New York City (with their latest adventure was participation in the Hulk Hogan press conference last week). There are several wrestling schools here as well, including Johnny Rodz's academy.



WWE: Cryme Tyme: In their first promo they gave a shout out to Flatbush and other neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Honestly, JTG and Shad had me at "Flatbush". Politically speaking, they've certainly had their ups and downs in WWE. However, their combination of flash and power make them a formidable tag team, with plenty of thugalicious combinations. They bring Brooklyn Pride to the NYC equation.
TNA: Homicide: another Brooklyn native. It's widely known that Homicide is responsible for training a large number of wrestlers, many of whom reside in Brooklyn or the nearby boroughs. Homicide was partly responsible for training Amazing Red for instance, and now they are feuding in TNA. ‘Cide may be small, but he is a killer. He's dangerous in a fight, with or without a weapon although in this case you better believe he's hiding a Ghetto Fork Straight Outta Brooklyn for whichever fools cross his path in a team encounter.
ROH: Eddie Kingston: The Last of a Dying Breed knows about the Hard Knock life coming from Yonkers, the outskirts of The Bronx. Kingston is a perfect fit for this team, as he is a fighter. He can get dirty and he doesn't mind taking one to give one. His intensity and his motivation to inflict violence on everyone in his path proves well, but the problem is he's more a loner than any of the other three on his team. Kingston would likely get an "unsatisfactory" on his elementary school report card under the header "Plays Well With others." The remedy would be to pit him up against someone he hates, because he'll fight someone with whom he has a bone to pick, solo or in a team environment.

Second Team: Tommy Dreamer, Amazing Red
Team Analysis: You might as well call this team "The Brooklyn Brawlers" because these four men are all about the throw down till you get down. Homicide and JTG gives them a little more depth in the high flying department, but technical wrestling is a bit of a weak spot. Still, this is a good grouping of four wrestlers with whom you would go to battle. They represent the spirit and the grit of NYC very well.


All-California Team

California has come on strong in the last decade or two as far as being the birthplace of some very talented modern wrestlers. The independent scene was bursting with great talent during the last independent wrestling renaissance, with wrestlers earning their rep in So Cal like Frankie Kazarian and Samoa Joe. The New-Japan training center was there and of course you can't forget Pro Wrestling Guerilla, which is a constant presence in Reseda. There's also a ton of history there especially with WWE, running in Anaheim for Wrestlemania XII and of course when they "Went Hollywood" at Wrestlemania 21. TNA even got in on the Cali scene as they ran their last Pay Per View, Bound For Glory, in California. There were so many great choices here that you could nominate an entire second team of all-stars and much more. Here's who I went with:




WWE: Rey Mysterio: One of the most exciting luchadors of all time and a man who constantly and proudly represent the "619" of San Diego, California. Rey's 6-1-9 Pride is more than enough to cinch his inclusion on this team. Even more so, Rey can still go in the ring despite the fact he is older and has recovered from numerous knee surgeries. He brings a never-say-die attitude to go with what is sometimes a kamikaze-like attack plan in the ring. He is someone who can drive the larger guys crazy but will also be able to match up against today's generation of aerial-specialist wrestlers.
TNA: Samoa Joe: Joe loves his Samoan roots, but yes, he was raised and currently resides in California. Joe's brute strength and submission skills are more than a match for any opponent, but even more worrisome is his nasty disposition and his brutality. His recent "Nation of Violence" campaign is meant to strike fear into the heart of other wrestlers, and the intimidation game usually works. Or he just screams a lot and people run away because they don't want to their ear drums to burst.
ROH: Joey "Magnum" Ryan: He is the long-time leader of The Dynasty in PWG and a spoke in the well-oiled (or is it greased?) machine that is The Embassy in ROH. Ryan is a good jack-of-all-trades, which is to say he isn't great at any one particular component of the wrestling game, but he is good enough in all the aspects that he is a good hand to have on any team. What puts him over the top is his uncanny charisma, which is to say that his sleazy, smarmy attitude is enough of a turn-off that it provides the appropriate amount of distraction in order for Ryan to get his way.

Second Team: John Morrison, Sting, Goldust
Team Analysis: You've got a small man, a big man, and a sleazy man—a bit of a perfect fit if you will. It's hard to argue that these three wouldn't be able to get it done in the ring—you have the high flier, the submission specialist and the all-around talent that completes the package. Not only that, but when you see the 6-1-9, the Brahmin Samoan Submission Machine and That Guy Who Wears Sunglasses, Hawaiian Shirts and Pours Oil Over His Chest, you just can't help but think about Sunny California.


All-Canada Team

You'd be hard pressed to ignore the influence and presence of Canadian wrestlers across the three major promotions. There is the Hart Foundation and their various incarnations in the WWF, Team Canada in TNA and the return matches of Lance Storm over the last several years in ROH. Of course, Stu Hart and The Dungeon are responsible for cultivating the wrestling youth of the last several decades. Meanwhile Scott D'Amore has trained and given a platform to this generation's independent scene with wrestlers such as Petey Williams and Bobby Roode. There is a ton of heart, soul and great wrestling skill from the Great White North, and that's what unites them in a team format match.



WWE: Chris Jericho: The choice was between Jericho and Christian and really I couldn't go wrong with either pick. I went with Jericho because while Christian can sometimes be a CLB (creepy little bastard), Jericho outdoes him that regard. He will do whatever it takes to win and he will show no remorse. Jericho's wrestling skills are at an all-time peak while submissions and a counter game are his major strengths. The man knows how to inflict pain on his opponents but more importantly, he knows how to win.
TNA: Robert Roode: Again there was a choice here between Robert Roode and Eric Young. I think Roode has come along very well over the last year as a part of his tag team with James Storm. He has the brawn but also the quick mind to deal with any problems and react to them. He also brings an invaluable asset to any team—MONEY! Roode has the bucks to buy his way into the best private gyms and he would share his luxuries with his partners, if just for the sake of ensuring everyone is prepared for success.
ROH: Kenny Omega: Youth and exuberance are omega's strong points, and his speed and agility give this team another angle of attack. Omega and Jericho on the same team would be very special and I believe Omega could learn a lot from him.

Second Team: Christian, Eric Young, Petey Williams, Kevin Steen
Team Analysis: Canada is represented with a diversity of talent, from the technician in Jericho to the powerhouse in Roode to the impact and speed of Omega. Omega is a bit of a wild card given his youth, but Jericho would rein him in—or else—and his leadership would shine through in this scenario. Just look at how he brought his team to victory at Bragging Rights. Oh wait, Big Show isn't helping him this time...


All-Europe Team

Over the years all three promotions have imported their share of talent from European countries, but more importantly all three have also been overseas, holding successful tours. Of course WWE has been the most prolific, routinely travelling to England, Ireland, Germany and even Scotland. Both ROH and TNA have held several tours in the UK, although ROH hasn't been back there since 2007.



WWE: Sheamus: Again, so many possible choices and I had to go with just one. So I've bypassed William Regal, Finlay, Drew McIntyre and several other European natives to go with the newest kid on the block in Sheamus. Why Sheamus do you ask? Is it his alabaster skin? Is it his muscular build? Is it the fact that he destroyed Jaime Noble on Monday Night Raw and could very well do the same to me? Yes, yes, yes. However, you'll soon see I have a bit of an all-inclusive theme going here, and I needed someone who was trained and initially wrestled in Ireland, and well, here you go.
TNA: The British Invasion: Three for the price of one here as we get the very technically sound Doug Williams, the learning fast on the job Brutus Magnus and Big Rob Terry, who well, ,like to flex his muscles a lot. He also likes to be tall. Anyway, British Invasion are being very well pushed right now in TNA . Their imposing presence (and Rob's flexing muscles) would help to strike the fear in any opponents. Ultimately it's Doug Williams who is doing the heavy lifting (or then again, maybe it's Rob Terry) and his Chaos Theory finisher is a great finisher against any opponent.
ROH: Claudio Castagnoli: A man who is know for being "Very European" is an absolute-must to include on a team such as this. Claudio's European uppercuts are a thing of beauty, as is his neckerchief. Seriously though, Claudio brings a lot to the table: power, stamina, versatility. When Claudio is at the top of his game there are very few who can match up to him.

Team Analysis: Europe is represented well here with a motley, yet talented crew of ne'er-do-wells. There is more than enough power, ability and pizzazz (love that word) that these guys, like several of the other teams, could plan any number of different strategies and find success. However, would politics prove to be the difference? Can men from Ireland, England and Switzerland all co-exist in the European Union at the same time? Well, likely yes, especially if Claudio brings the Lindt Truffles.


All-Japan Team

(P.S. I'm aware of the pun)

Again, all three major U.S. wrestling promotions have been importing talent from Japan over the years and also held tours there. TNA has had the most recent success with its constant interaction with New Japan Pro Wrestling and their Global Impact shows. Team 3-D heads back there to defend the IWGP Tag Team Titles against Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson. ROH has toured Japan in 2007 and 2008 with shows co-sponsored by Dragon Gate and NOAH. Puro is a huge influence for TNA and ROH wrestlers, especially guys in the X-Division like the Machine Guns. So who makes the cut from each promotion to represent Team Japan?





WWE: Yoshi Tatsu: The surprise find in ECW this year is one of the few WWE wrestlers who hail from Japan. I could have gone with Kung-Fu Naki, but really, he doesn't have nearly stylish enough hair compared to Yoshi. Tatsu is light on overall experience in the ring, but he has speed, good strikes and as we have seen, a determination to win.
TNA: Kiyoshi: Already a member of World Elite in TNA, this nomination brings in him another All-World honor. The disciple of The Great Muta has found a home in the X-Division. While he also lack the overall experience compared to some men on other teams, like Yoshi he brings with him very good combinations of speed and striking ability. He also has… THE MIST!
ROH: KENTA: You want speed and striking power? Look no further than one of the baddest mofos on the wrestling planet. Also, unlike his other partners, he does bring with him plenty of wrestling experience (having wrestled in many high-profile matches in both ROH and in Pro Wrestling NOAH) and he is still young enough that his stamina and agility are at a high, almost near-peak level. KENTA's blitzes and finishing sequences are almost untouchable. The Go 2 Sleep is a killer. You really can't go wrong with this pick.

Team Analysis: This team is light of brawn and experience but makes up for it with youth, determination and a bevy of kicks. I can just imagine all three of these men simultaneously kicking the stuffing out of their opponents in the ring. Quite the visual. Obviously, KENTA is the man to do the heavy lifting, but he could go it alone and have a pretty good shot at winning.

Readers, what do you think? Which of these teams is the best? Who comes out on top in a five team free five-for-all? Who would you have included to represent these world locations? Let your voice be heard in the Comments Section below!


In addition, I tried my best to create teams for Chicago, New England, Michigan and Ghana, but was unable to fill in the gap for one of the three major promotions. Just for the fun of it, here's what I had for each team.

All-Chicago Team: It would have been a Second City Saints reunion with CM Punk and Colt Cabana once again on the same side, but without an active wrestler on the TNA roster from Chi-Town, this one went by the wayside.

All-New England Team: John Cena tips the balance in the favor of any team he joins. Eddie Edwards would have been a cool team-up, but again, no one on the TNA active roster as far as I could find from that area.

All-Michigan Team: This time it's TNA that is teeming with talent but WWE is conspicuously absent from the proceedings. You can pick and choose from The Motor City Machine Guns, Rhino, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Nash to represent TNA. Meanwhile if you're stretching things, you could go with Jimmy Jacobs if you want to ignore that he is no longer with ROH (but he did wrestle for them for half of the year). However, Josh Raymond has wrestled more recently with them as part of the House of Truth tag team. He is an easy fit seeing as how he hails from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

All-Texas Team: it was very obvious that you could go with Shawn Michaels or The Undertaker for WWE and TNA has the bad-ass "Super Mex" Hernandez. Unfortunately, ROH does not have any talent from Texas to represent on such a team.

All-Ghana Team: The pride of West Africa would have been surely achieved if I could have found a third member, but unfortunately TNA had no such man. Kofi Kingston recently changed his home country during ring introductions from Jamaica to his actual birthplace of Ghana. He might be Ja-FAKIN', but that change qualifies him for this team. Meanwhile, Prince Nana represents Ghana in Ring of Honor and I believe Jimmy Rave moved there several years ago in storylines. The Embassy will be represented indeed with these men on such a team.

If I happened to miss any picks from WWE, ROH or TNA, please help fill in the blanks in the comments section below.

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Honorarium


-In an update to the ROH vs. Dragon Gate USA story from last week, DGUSA's press release mentioned both of their Wrestlemania weekend shows in Phoenix will take place at 8:00 PM. That means ROH and Dragon gate will only go head-to-head for the first night of shows. It also means that Dragon Gate USA WILL go head-to-head on Saturday night March 27th against WWE's 2010 Hall of Fame ceremony. ROH did exactly that while under the Gabe Sapolsky reign, two years ago in fact.

The different show times on March 27th at least open the door for Davey Richards and The Young Bucks to make at least one appearance for ROH on that weekend. They will definitely be making both DGUSA shows, so we'll have to wait-and-see for the former.


-At the latest ROH on HDNet tapings, Jim Cornette introduced the Pick 6 Series. Essentially this is a mini-tournament to establish six top contenders to the ROH World Title, thus ending Austin Aries' arbitrary lottery, the "A-Double L-Double", which had been his preferred method of deciding on contenders to his title. Here is the specific information about what is entailed in the Pick 6 straight from the ROH website:

Over the past several weeks, ROH officials and Executive Producer Jim Cornette have been working behind the scenes to address World Champion Austin Aries and his "Austin Aries Lucky Lottery", which has been universally viewed as a farce, and ended with Tyler Black falling victim to a vicious fireball attack.

ROH officials unanimously agreed on the formation of a new and objective ranking system which would base championship matches on the merits of a competitor's record, at the same time eliminating the chance for unfair or bogus title defenses, and creating a new sense of competition between wrestlers who are "climbing the ladder".

It is with these ideals in mind that we are happy to proudly introduce the "Pick 6" Contenders Series.

To begin, twelve competitors have been selected by ROH on HDNet Executive Producer Jim Cornette to compete in six singles matches with the winners being seeded by ROH officials from one-to-six. Once the initial ranking is established, the "Pick 6" Contenders Series will function as follows:

- Only wrestlers ranked in the "Pick 6" are eligible to challenge for the ROH World Championship.
- The higher a wrestler is seeded, the more leverage he has in determining the scheduling of championship matches.
- Wrestlers securing victories in "Pick 6" matchups earn a match bonus.
- Once the rankings are set, wrestlers can only enter the "Pick 6" Standings by defeating a ranked wrestler.
- An unranked wrestler that defeats a "Pick 6" Contender assumes that wrestler's spot, and everyone lower slides down one rank. The lower a wrestler is ranked, the more they have to lose.

ROH officials are encouraged by the simplicity offered by this system and look forward to a establishing a new level of competition around the greatest prize in our sport – The Ring of Honor World Championship.

I love this idea, especially since it indicates a return to the earlier days of ROH where there was a specific and definitive ranking system to determine title match recipients. I loved the top five rankings system and am thankful ROH is using it. There was a time for when newswires could randomly announce title matches or grudges necessitated multiple title shots, but now ROH is in need of a system such as this. It brings logic and excitement to a title build and gets back to a more realistic, "sports" oriented slant of wrestling competition (which I love to see happen). Imagine if this was done earlier in the year—perhaps the Tyler Black build wouldn't have been so wrecked and then maligned.

A system such as this suddenly makes the undercard mean that much more, because bouts involving wrestlers on the list have more at-risk (someone beats them, they get their spot and everyone else moves down one). Other wrestlers will likely be demanding matches to get onto the list maintain their position or climb up the charts. Meanwhile, whoever is the champion will still exert a measure of leverage—the number five or six wrestler might want a title match, but the champion can shoot it down and demand he wrestles more competition. Conversely, someone can hotshot their way to the top and demand a title shot right away. There are plenty of storyline possibilities and variations to use under this new contention system and that's why it's almost certainly going to be a success.

The only question I have is if this applies ONLY to HDNet shows, or will this system be put to use on the non TV shows as well? If it's the latter, there will be a lot to keep track of, but if it's the former the move isn't encompassing enough. I hope this applies to ALL Ring of Honor shows from now on, as the intricate booking of the Pick 6 could really help to spark interest and excitement on the house shows, organically build programs and ultimately boost attendance and DVD purchases.


-How much do I love WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010? Let me count the ways. This game is really, really good. There are plenty of new moves and animations; including bringing back some of the moves they inexplicably took away last year. There are more moves in the moveset of each wrestler, so matches have more variety. There are even ways to chain wrestle and vary up your attack. Royal Rumble mode is far more in-depth given the various new ways you can attempt to eliminate your opponents. It's just real fun to play the game, not to mention the various creation options available to you.

I have to admit that I was very upset and mad when learning about all of the changes to this year's edition of the game. I was especially upset about the inclusion of the Legends of Wrestlemania kickout system, because when I tried to play that game I could never kick out correctly and always ended up losing. I also didn't want to bother rebuilding new CAWS…again! Especially considering it was very difficult to build up stats and unlock abilities with the '09 version. I was extremely skeptical of this game. I had skipped the 2008 version and ended up playing with '07 an extra year instead. I was contemplating doing the same this time around.

At first I wanted to rent this game before I even contemplated purchase. I waited two weeks, but the local Hollywood video never received shipment of the game, so after hemming and hawing I gave in a purchased my copy from my local FYE. I don't regret it for a second.

The worry about having to create CAWs all over again was wiped out completely two hours in when I already had amassed thirty CAWs from the Community Creations on X-Box Live. This is absolutely a godsend since it's saved me a bajillion hours of work on my own CAWs. I'm excited to add even more, as X-Box and PS3 owners can now have up to FIFTY CAWs instead of thirty like in previous years. Working on abilities is far easier as CAWs build up stats faster, you have a good amount of control over where the ability points are used (you have to "level up" your wrestler on a particular stat before you do so, but that's easy enough and multiple stat ranges are leveled up in any one match). There are also several important abilities already available to you as you begin the game, which is unspeakably AWESOME and THQ would be best served to do this from now on.

Even the LoW kickout meter which was initially going to be the make-or-break point is so bad. I hated mashing buttons for that meter (although I was fine with doing so in previous editions of SDvR because it's just what you did and it worked out well enough) but you can also push down and release, which is a million times easier to accomplish.

I haven't even tried my hand at the Road to Wrestlemania or Create-A-Storyline features and I already feel like I've been given my money's worth by the improvements made to the game. That's not to say that there isn't more that can be done—for instance, this year's edition is very buggy (a cursory look at any discussion forum yields at least one or two threads per page devoted to a bug in the game). I'm also still waiting for the day that there will be more than six wrestlers on the screen at any one time. You'd think that after all this time this would have happened already. Give us the ability to do eight-man tags, proper four-on-four or five-on-five Survivor Series elimination matches and a Royal Rumble that has more than six people in it at any given time!

The bad news in all of this is that I won't have a life.


-"Just when I thought it was safe to clear my "to be watched" list, they're back…and this time, it's personal." /movie voiceover. So, I received multiple shipments of DVDs this week, just days after completing the last one that was on deck. I know it's silly to complain about having to watching wrestling DVDs, especially since that's how the cycle goes. It is a huge mountain this time though. Here's my latest haul:

WWE:

Survivor Series Anthology Volume 1 (1987-1991)
Survivor Series Anthology Volume 2 (1992-1996)

I've been waiting quite a while for some of these shows to hit DVD, so I couldn't resist buying them as soon as they became available. As I wrote earlier in the column, Survivor Series were easily my favorite "concept" shows over the last twenty four plus years of my wrestling fandom. This will be a great bit of nostalgia, especially the earlier years, when the shows consisted purely of elimination matches. I remember vividly being in the dining room after Thanksgiving, rotating the television around to face the table and watching the Pay Per View after dinner.

My favorite of the Survivor Series from the early years was 1990, with the Ultimate Battle of Survival finale. I was very happy to see that many fans on other forums also view that one as their favorite. To be honest, I'm not sure why the Survival Finale wasn't followed up on in the following years, considering it would be an easy way to build feuds and push talent. I also get to fill in some of the blanks. I've never actually seen the 1994 Series or most of 1995 (ended up watching the Hart vs. Diesel title bout in full when I picked up the Bret Hart DVD).


CHIKARA:

Anniversary Yang
Never Kneel At the Altar of Conformity
Young Lions Cup VII Night 3
Hiding in Plain Sight
Cibernetico Increible

I now have my next wave of CHIKARA shows thanks to the recommendations from 411 and Pro Wrestling Ponderings own Kevin Ford. I went with fewer picks this time around but managed to hit what are the most important and well-reviewed shows up to mid-October. I anxiously anticipate watching the Hair vs. Mask finale between The Colony and Team F.I.S.T. as well as Bryan Danielson's final appearance for the company.


SHIMMER:

Volume 24
Volume 25

SHIMMER approaches its four year anniversary tapings, but I'm playing catch-up from their last series. I'm hearing good things about the quality of wrestling on volume 24, but the combination that is catching my eye is the one displayed on the cover of 25: MsChif vs. Wesna Busic for the SHIMMER Title. To combine the words and voices of Stan Lee and Dave Prazak: ‘Nuff Said, man.


ROH:

The Final Countdown Tour: Dayton

Chris Hero vs. Bryan Danielson is the one to watch out for from this set (they also have that incredible encounter for the PWG Title at Guerre Sans Frontiers, damn, that reminds me…). I'll be watching this with the commentary on, by the way.

So here we go again, more wrestling DVDs! The bad news in all of this is that again, I won't have a life!

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Honor Bound Links

I invite everyone to check out some of my other writing, available at Associated Content.

NCIS Season 7 Episode 6: Outlaws and In-Laws: Can Gibbs Help Former Partner Mike Franks One More Time, or is He in Too Deep?

I also invite you to check out my new columns through Suite101.com. Become A Fan of: A Fine Frenzy in eight easy songs.

You can also head over to TwitterNation and follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.


This week at 411, we have the following Ring of Honor coverage:

411 Buy or Sell on SHIMMER and Prince Nana!

Aaron Hubbard reports on this week's ROH on HDNet with the last HDNet match with Nigel McGuinness (a.k.a. Desmond Wolfe).

J.D. Dunn is all the way live with new reviews of ROH DVD releases. Check out his thoughts on A Cut Above, The Homecoming II, Never Say Die and Validation.

411Mania has a very exclusive interview with ROH's Executive Producer Jim Cornette. Check out Part One and Part Two.

That will take care of things until next week, so until then…

BROOKLYN!
--Ari--