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Column of Honor: 07.10.10: After The Boys of Summer Have Gone
“Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac, a little voice inside my head said: ‘Don’t look back. You can never look back’.” Welcome to the Column.
New York City and most of the Northeastern American seaboard just went through a three-day heat wave—near and over one-hundred degree temperatures, damning humidity and a near unstoppable sun beating down on the pavement. There was finally somewhat of a break to this hot streak late in the week, but it just goes to show what kind of summer this has and will continue to be heading into July and August.
So it goes as well with the world of independent wrestling, riding the momentum of great shows as well as the excitement of the return of Bryan Danielson to the independent wrestling scene among other reasons. The focus for several independent promotions will be on the late July weekend when Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate USA, EVOLVE and CHIKARA run shows on the same weekend. Then one week later Pro Wrestling Guerrilla celebrates its seventh anniversary show. There is going to be plenty to talk about stemming from the results of all of those shows, heading into the homestretch of the summer 2010 season.
Ring of Honor has found itself in the middle of its own particular hot streak as well. Their year so far has been a strong one, but the last few months have bore them particularly great fruit, with the success of the Supercard of Honor V event in New York City this past May as well as June’s Death Before Dishonor VIIII internet Pay Per View receiving near unanimous praise and great reviews.
For the second year in a row, ROH has decided to run less shows in the summer—two television tapings and a tripleshot in July, while only two house shows have been announced for late August). However, each of these shows has found some importance, whether it is a debut in a new town, a return grudge match, or a major ROH World Title match. This week ROH also officially formalized the format and wrestlers for their interesting idea to carry the summer season, the “Tag Wars 2010” tournament.
Below is a closer look at some of the more important concepts, feuds and matches to keep an eye on for the next several months as Ring of Honor continues its summer swing:
–Tag Wars 2010:
As Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has its DDT4 tag tournament and CHIKARA has King of Trios (and once had Tag World Grand Prix), Ring of Honor has found its own tag team tournament concept. They already had the name from previous ROH shows. “Tag Wars” was a label used by former booker Gabe Sapolsky to define a particular show as concentrating on the ROH tag division, usually with some marquee tag matches and even a title match or two.
This tournament differentiates itself from those shows in several ways, the most interesting being that the matches have been spread out over several shows, including both the HDNet tapings on July 16th and 17th, the Chicago Ridge house show on the 24th all the way through to the Richmond and Charlotte doubleshot in late August. Each of those tour stops has been included on the action, which is smart in that it gives many fans a piece of something important (and another reason to attend the shows). ROH will have to watch the timing of the television tapings though—hopefully they’ve already figured out how to coordinate the two matches that will take place there so that they air either right before or around the same time as the Richmond / Charlotte shows, where the semifinals and finals of the tournament will take place.
The official format of the tournament consists of three blocks of four tag teams apiece. There will be six opening round matches, leading to three semi-final matches, with the winners of each moving on to a special Ultimate Endurance final that will also include the ROH World Tag Team champions The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli). The title will be on the line in this elimination style match, with each fall having a different stipulation, which ROH announced would be determined by fan voting, set to begin on July 26th.
Here is the announced field as well as quick thoughts on each team’s potential performance:
Block A
The House of Truth (Raymond/Able)
Necro Butcher and Erick Stevens
The Briscoe Brothers
“Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown and Grizzly Redwood
The Briscoes are the clear top contenders in this bracket, with The House of Truth playing spoiler. Butcher & Stevens are newly formed and could make an impact-the obvious pairing is against Brown & Redwood, with whom they have issues. Brown and Redwood is the big man / small man combination, but I don’t see them making it out of the opening round due to Redwood’s size.
Block B
The American Wolves (Richards/Edwards)
The All-Night Express (King/Titus)
Colt Cabana and El Generico
Delirious and Jerry Lynn
These teams have already been matched up and will wrestle in Chicago (see below). Again there is the clear favorite team (The Wolves), the mid-card spoiler (ANX) and two less likely contenders. I love Generi-COLT as a tandem, but it’s clear they have other business elsewhere against Kevin Steen & Steve Corino. Delirious and Jerry Lynn, like Brown and Redwood, are a “common interests” team in their grudge against King, Titus and Aries. I expect The Wolves and The All-Nights to advance to the semi-finals.
Block C
The Dark City Fight Club
The Super Smash Brothers
Shawn Daivari and Ernesto Osiris
The Bravado Brothers
This foursome is actually one of the more interesting ones, because it contains a super -clear favorite (DCFC) and then two teams in the Super Smash Brothers and The Bravados that can really gain a lot from good showings. The SSB are a popular team already, but haven’t made the biggest impact in ROH as a team (in fact, the stand-out performance for either was when Uno had been injured, leaving Player Dos fought his heart out against Steen at Epic Encounter III). The Bravados are young, but this year have been matched against the likes of The Kings and DCFC and while thoroughly dominated have also shown some moxie. I don’t see them making it out of the opening round, but if they can demonstrate some heart (and a more cohesive tag strategy) against whoever they match up against, maybe that helps to elevate their reputation to the fans in attendance. They could really have that kind of performance against the Smash Brothers. I see the DCFC paired against Daivari and Osiris, who seem to be in this tournament bracket for no reason other than to be killed as a sacrifice to the altar of Dark City.
The biggest snub in the tournament field has to be Up in Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy), who have been great the last few weeks. They shined in tag matches against The Kings and The All-Night Express during the Buffalo / Toronto weekend. They are also very fan-friendly, with their ska-influenced theme and impressive double teams providing good entertainment. They have been featured on HDNet over the last eighteen months as an underdog low card tag team, but constantly improving. That seems sound enough reasons to me to include them in this tournament, especially over a non-established team like Shawn Daivari and Ernesto Osiris.
The goal of the tournament as a whole is to push several new teams up the rankings. It will be a challenge, as the top of the ROH tag division has been dominated by a top “threesome” for the last several years. In 2009 it was The Briscoes, The American Wolves and the team of Kevin Steen & El Generico. This year has seen the former two teams still high on the cards, but with The Kings reigning supreme. It will take some extra special effort from the mid-level teams to breakthrough to the upper crust of the tag division, but that is what will be needed to maintain a strong tag division for the next year to come.
The Briscoes have been ROH’s iconic tag team for many years. It is commendable that this year they were able to re-energize and refresh their place in the tag division, thanks to a good ol’ grudge feud against The Kings that had quickly become very heated and personal. However, matching up The Briscoes and Kings repeatedly may wear that feud out, and it certainly doesn’t give much diversity to the top of the tag division. Meanwhile, Davey Richards has already made noise about retiring at the end of the year. If he is leaving wrestling to pursue other interests, that departure will signal the end of the American Wolves team, creating a vacuum and the need for another team to step up to the top three. It would be good to know that there are already teams in ROH that could do so, and this tournament would be one of the methods of discovery.
The three “mid-card” teams that have slowly but surely receiving more attention has been the Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis), The House of Truth (Josh Raymond & Christian Able) and The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus). This tournament will be a huge chance for all three teams to elevate themselves. However, they won’t be able to do it just with the booking. Sure, the wins and losses matter and the deeper these teams go in the field will surely help. However, the real key to elevating and breaking through in the minds of the ROH fans will be the kind of in-ring effort and performance they give in these matches. Each of these teams is going to need to reach beyond what they have already done and shown the fans—to give even more of themselves during these matches. The way to an ROH’s fan’s heart is through physicality and demonstrations of heart, toughness and innovation.
The Dark City Fight Club may be the closest of all three-teams to reaching that level. They already had a very good showing against The American Wolves at Pick Your Poison, wrestling a long and hard-fought match. The fans were very vocal and supportive of both teams and it seemed to be a small but needed “step up” for Davis and Chavis. They will also be receiving more of the spotlight on the HDNet show, including this past week’s contest against The Kings in non-title action and hints of an association with Rasche Brown that may help to elevate all three.
Meanwhile both The House of Truth and The All-Night Express are heel teams, but both have been given the chance to demonstrate their abilities in recent weeks. The House wrestled a very nice match against Up in Smoke last week on HDNet, and they should benefit from their manager Truth Martini adding an upper card talent in Roderick Strong to their ranks. King & Titus have been a team for two years already, but had been used to support Austin Aries when he was ROH World champion. They were not often given the high-profile win and it seemed they would be weighed down by their character. However, now that Aries has shifted into the role of manager, the build of King & Titus has become more serious and sustained. They are winning more often, against increasingly bigger names. They have their own tag team name (no doubt inspired by Jim Cornette’s Midnight Express as well as The Rock & Roll Express) and have established several double team finishers. They are a dark horse team in this tournament and with Aries by their side, could wind up in the finals.
The Ultimate Endurance aspect is the topper. The multiple stipulations in the match challenge the wrestlers to stretch themselves and adapt to the constantly changing conditions. If the teams want to rise to the occasion, make a name for themselves and actually win the titles, they will have to come up with big performances. There is precedent that the title can change hands through this match—as Davey Richards and Rocky Romero won the belts at Without Remorse in January 2008. The Kings have so thoroughly dominated the tag division up to this point (even though their run as champions is only two months old) that the four-way elimination may be the best method to take the belts off of them. Then again, it could emphasize their dominance while also giving other teams a good look at the win—perhaps then branching off into new title matches for the Fall and Winter.
–Tyler Black vs. Kevin Steen (vs. El Generico):
ROH World Champion Tyler Black begins the next stage of his defenses by taking on someone who can be argued is the top heel right now in the company. Kevin Steen’s words and actions in his feud against former tag partner El Generico have been downright sociopathic, but they have captivated the ROH fan base. Every dastardly act, from abusing the Super Smash Brothers to bloodying up Cabana has demonstrated that Steen knows how to both manipulate and perversely entertain the fans. Now he has inserted himself into Tyler Black’s business, at first claiming he could save the champion from going down the same road he once took of appeasing the fans. Black has refused this help, which means Steen must now resort to violence to get his message across—and if that means winning the ROH World Title, then so be it.
Black and Steen will fight for the title on July 24th in Chicago Ridge—which will be (as of this column) the next defense for the champion (his seventh total). This title match is coming just when it seems that the fan base could turn the corner on accepting Black as ROH World Champion. He has experienced an up-and-down experience thus far in terms of fan reception, even though most of his title matches have come through with flying colors (track down his title defenses against Hero and Strong). However, the excellent main event defense against Davey Richards could be the one that puts him over the top. The Toronto fans spent much of the match hating on Black and supporting Richards to win, but the hate turned to appreciation when both men put out a match of the year quality performance. Almost instantly afterwards the message board discussions began to soften on Black’s abilities and worthiness of being the champion. Now it remains to be seen if this all translates to the live audience for future defenses. However Steen’s ease of generating heat and hate for his actions will likely help Black become the true fan favorite fighting champion ROH had been planning for him to become.
–Debuts & Returns-Louisville, Collinsville, Richmond and Charlotte:
Ring of Honor hopes to make good on several debuts and returns on their tour circuit. The first show ROH holds in the Jim Cornette stronghold of Louisville, Kentucky begins their three-show weekend of late July. The show will take place at the Danny Davis Arena, home of Ohio Valley Wrestling, which Cornette used to both co-own and book. ROH has tried to make this a special show for that town, with VIP seats and different ticket packages. They are connecting with the OVW faithful by bringing in Mike Mondo and several other OVW workers, who will be given the spotlight on the undercard of the show, while then ROH wrestlers then take center stage for the feature matches. Tickets have sold well (although the special VIP chair special is still open) and it should be a packed house. ROH also debuts in Richmond, Virginia on August 27th. This venue will look to replace Manassas as a regular tour stop.
There are two returns on the docket as well—ROH comes back to Collinsville (St. Louis area) for the first time since October 2009 (Clash of the Contenders). That show featured one hell of a match between Davey Richards and Kenny Omega as well as the beginnings of the Kevin Steen injury storyline that eventually led to his heel turn. The next show on July 23rd is positively stacked with marquee matches, featuring the returns of The Young Bucks (a.k.a. Generation Me) and Amazing Kong for the first of two appearances each and the continuation of the Generico vs. Steen feud. ROH also returns to Charlotte, North Carolina on August 28th. It was the site of their second internet Pay Per View, The Big Bang. That show was anticipated to be a very large turnout, but had mixed results when the heavily advertised Latino demographic didn’t show up in the numbers they expected. It remains to be seen how well the crowd shows up for this return date.
–July 16th-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—ROH on HDNet Taping:
8:00 pm belltime
The Arena (former New Alhambra Arena/ECW Arena)
7 Ritner Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Strong’s Guaranteed World Title Shot on the line
Roderick Strong w/Truth Martini vs. Davey Richards w/Shane Hagadorn
Originally scheduled for the house show in Buffalo, the next face-off between these two rivals now takes place in Philadelphia with the stakes raised—Strong (ranked first on the Pick Six), along with his life coach Truth Martini have agreed to put up the guaranteed title shot he just won at the Toronto Gauntlet. Richards (ranked fifth) wants a title match as soon as possible after coming so close to winning it at Death Before Dishonor VIII. The curious part is why Truth would have agreed so easily to put the title shot up for grabs. That and the nature of this match taking place on HDNet (where most of the time, marquee matches are in service of developing or progressing an angle) suggests that Richards may about to be royally screwed.
–July 17th-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—ROH on HDNet Taping:
4:00 pm belltime
The Arena (former New Alhambra Arena/ECW Arena)
7 Ritner Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Tag Team Special Attraction
The American Wolves w/ Shane Hagadorn vs. The Super Smash Brothers
The SSB have been featured once or twice on HDNet, but they are the clear underdogs in this attraction bout (which the newswire was quick to identify as not a part of the Tag Wars tournament). The spoiler in this could be Shane Hagadorn. He and Richards have been going through some minor turbulence, including Hagadorn nearly spoiling the ROH World Title match at the iPPV. Again, the HDNet matches usually like to advance angles, and if the SSB win here in what would be one of the major upsets of the year, that could splinter Richards and Hagadorn even further.
Pick 6 Challenge Match
(3) Kevin Steen vs. Jerry Lynn
Former ROH World Champion Lynn has been away from serious contention for the title for over a year now (including his several month absence from the company). That championship run is still one of the more controversial decisions made last year. However, the time away from the top of the main event scene has helped Lynn regain momentum and popularity with the crowd. This is first realistic chance to bring Lynn back into the position of being a contender for the title, but he’d have to win against Steen. Given how strongly Steen has been booked, it’s quite possible that Steen wins this one to continue to demonstrate his prowess and his believability in challenging Black for the title in Chicago (and in any future rematches).
–July 22nd-Louisville, Kentucky (The Bluegrass Brawl):
8:00 PM
The Davis Arena
4400 Shepherdsville Road Louisville, KY 40218
Non-Title Challenge Match
ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. ROH World Tag Team Champion Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio is at an unreal peak in terms of his physique and look, not to mention his in-ring wrestling skills. While he is on top of the tag team game, this is another chance for him to show that he can be the main event in either division. Their bout at Aries vs. Richards in late 2009 was quite fun, but they’ll need to step it up from a fun mid-card bout to main-event quality attraction for the debut show at the Danny Davis Arena.
Special Tag Team Attraction
The Briscoe Brothers vs. The American Wolves
This will be their fourth tag bout against each other in a year (Final Countdown Tour: Chicago, Final Battle 2009 and From The Ashes). Needless to write that these two teams know each other well, but more than that have been rivals for a long time (when The Wolves, in storyline, injured Mark Briscoe). Despite Richards’ popularity with the ROH audience, expect neither team to take it easy on the other for the sake of the fans.
Six-Man-Tag Team Bout
Roderick Strong and the House of Truth with Truth Martini vs. Austin Aries, Kenny King, and Rhett Titus
The House have been matched up against several heel teams over the last few shows, notably against Aries and Titus at Pick Your Poison back in April. Strong and Aries have deep history, being former tag partners and then leaders in opposing enemy stables. Recently, Aries insulted Strong during the latter’s “crisis of trust” with the ROH management. It’s an insult Strong will not easily forget, but he may not have to or want to considering his newfound friends in The House of Truth also want to win this match.
Pick 6 Challenge
(4) Chris Hero vs. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana
This is a match commonly seen in ROH, so here we go again. Last time, at Eye of the Storm 2, it was Hero’s number three spot up for grabs. Hero has slipped one spot since then to number four, but it’s still a good position for Cabana to get back on the charts and march towards another title shot.
Women of Honor
Sara Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze
Speaking of frequent matches, these two have fought so many times in ROH (and around the independents) that I’ve lost count. It’s getting to be Steamboat-Flair-esque, if just in terms of the amount of times they’ve been booked against each other. That’s not to slight their talents. Both are real good wrestlers and this will likely be solid. However, my hope is that ROH finds other opponents for them in the future.
Singles Match
Delirious vs. Mike Mondo
Mondo has been hanging around OVW ever since the days of The Spirit Squad. This should set up as a nice exhibition match and I’d bet the Louisville crowd gets into Delirious’ act.
Plus two other bouts featuring top talent from Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
–July 23rd-Collinsville, Illinois:
8:00 pm belltime
One Gateway Drive
Collinsville, IL 62234
Special Challenge – Tag Team Attraction
GenerationMe (formerly The Young Bucks) vs. The American Wolves
The Young Bucks have performed to the best of their ability whenever they have taken an independent booking. Their performances all year in PWG (as well as their short stint in CHIKARA during King of Trios) are must-see, not just for state of the art tag team moves, but also for their character work and playing off the fans. They have been the heels the fans have paid to see get taken down in PWG, but they were the faces when they last wrestled for ROH. They also had a brewing rivalry against The American Wolves, where they had split two matches. This then, is essentially the rubber match between the two teams. Expect some all-out, fast-paced action during this one.
Six-Person Tag Team War
ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling &Sara Del Rey vs. The Briscoe Brothers & Amazing Kong
The feud between the two sides continues, adding Del Rey and Kong to the equation (stemming from Del Rey using the “Golden Elbow Pad” to knock her out at Supercard of Honor V). The “war” label is affixed to ROH grudges that are reaching another level of bad blood and disagreement. That’s exactly what this match should be and I wouldn’t be surprised if the women took the forefront. No one should deliberately mess with Kong, and that’s what The Kings and their “Queen” in Del Rey have done by costing Kong her return match to ROH. The Briscoes & Kong is a hell of an alliance—expect some big hits on both sides, with the winners being the ones who dish it out the hardest. Just look out for that KO elbow pad as well.
Trios Grudge Match
ROH World Champion Tyler Black, Jerry Lynn & Delirious with Daizee Haze vs. Austin Aries & “The All-Night Express” of Kenny King &Rhett Titus
Here is another huge grudge six-man match with Delirious and Lynn especially looking to continue to payback Aries and his men for their transgressions. Tyler Black is no stranger to Austin Aries and their rivalry has been a constant presence in many shows this year. King & Titus are looking to break out of the pack and so they may have a few more tricks up their sleeve. In the meantime, this will be a hotly-contested bout and will likely switch between technical exchanges and moments of hot-blooded, all-out brawling.
Singles Match
The Necro Butcher with Prince Nana vs. “Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown
This is Necro’s first big singles bout after his heel turn and alignment with Prince Nana and The Embassy. It will be the first real glimpse into if Necro can tap into what made him so special and unique several years ago as a hardcore attraction, as opposed to the watered-down version he became in the last year or so. Rasche Brown is constantly proving himself to be worth the push he is being given—he is a big man, no doubt, but he has the skills and the charisma to make it to an elite level in ROH if he keeps working hard. It remains to be seen whether or not he gets sidetracked by The Embassy feud vacuum (sucking up and consuming those like Necro and Eddie Kingston). In the meantime, this will be a physical reckoning, with Prince Nana looming at ringside waiting to take advantage where possible.
Hate: Round II
Kevin Steen vs. El Generico
This has to be ROH’s most stacked line-up of the summer thus far for such a match to be listed fifth from the top. These two proved at Death Before Dishonor VIII that they could meet the hype and emotional power of their feud with their actions in the ring. Now they meet only a month removed from that match, which ended under controversial circumstances (Steen pulled out a wrench and bashed Generico in the head before blasting him with the Super Fisherman’s Buster for three). Generico has even more motivation now to go all-out in order to prove that he can defeat Steen one-on-one. For his part, Steen has a title match the next night in Chicago and will want to end this quickly. Some trickery may be involved, not to mention some more weapons.
Scheduled to appear:
-Roderick Strong and The House of Truth with Truth Martini
-Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana
-Erick Stevens of the Embassy
-Grizzly Redwood
–July 24th-Chicago Ridge, Illinois:
7:30 pm belltime
9807 Sayre Ave.
Chicago Ridge, IL 60415
ROH World Title Match
Tyler Black defends vs. Kevin Steen
As mentioned above, this is Tyler Black’s next big World Title challenge. If anything this match could highlight both men’s stamina and ability to take the big shot. Both bring some major firepower with their offense and any one of a number of kicks or power moves could do the other one in. Steen winning the World Title here would be somewhat of a surprise considering Black is finally on the roll and has a newfound legitimacy as champion. However, it shouldn’t be overlooked that Steen is also on fire as a heel and there could be a lot to be done with a reign of terror with him as champion and either Black or El Generico doing their best to chase him down and stop him.
Special Attraction – Tag Team Challenge
World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling vs. GenerationMe (formerly The Young Bucks)
The second of The Bucks’ two-night stand in ROH sees a non-title match against the current champions. On paper it looks like this could be one of the best matches of the entire three-show weekend. However, the one worry is that since The Bucks are now under TNA contract, that those in charge of that promotion could pull a power-play, necessitating another outcome ala Kings vs. Machine Guns from Supercard V. That would suck.
Tag Wars 2010: Opening Round
Colt Cabana & El Generico vs. The American Wolves
The beginning of Tag Wars 2010 features a rematch from Phoenix Rising, when Generi-COLT won the match and somewhat decisively at that. The Wolves have been a mixed bag as of late in the tag division, but they’ll need the win here to advance in the tournament and lay claim to one spot in the Ultimate Endurance finals in Charlotte. I’d also wager that Generico’s efforts here will be dependent on his physical condition after fighting Steen the previous night.
Pick 6 Challenge
(1) Roderick Strong with Truth Martini vs. Austin Aries
Another match that is connected to an earlier bout on the weekend, as this will come two days after the six-man. Truth will try to motivate his client past his old foe. If Strong fails, then Aries bounds right back into immediate title consideration while Strong will drop down to second in the Pick 6.
Tag Wars 2010: Opening Round
The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. Jerry Lynn & Delirious with Daizee Haze
I’d expect whoever loses in Collinsville takes the win here, with my guess being King & Titus advancing here. Regardless, this won’t be the end of the line for either Lynn or Delirious as far as going after Aries and his men.
Scheduled to appear:
-The Briscoe Brothers
-The House of Truth with Truth Martini
-Amazing Kong
-Necro Butcher and Erick Stevens of the Embassy
-“Skullkrusher” Rasche Brown
-Grizzly Redwood
There has been some foreshadowing in recent newswires about ROH bringing in some talents who have been known to be or have called themselves “The Best in the World”. These hints are just small, simple paragraphs, with vague description and not a whole lot of definitive information. Of course it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out who ROH may be hinting at with these tidbits. Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas were once known as “The World’s Greatest Tag Team” in WWE. Both men are currently available for work on the independent scene. They may just be what ROH is looking for in terms of a fresh tag team that The Kings of Wrestling could match up against and deliver an intriguing title contest.
Of course, the real get that would please many longtime ROH fans would be if they could once again book Bryan Danielson (dubbed as “The Best in the World” in his first run with the company) for their shows. Danielson is currently under his 90-day no compete after being released from WWE. However that has not stopped him from wrestling for many other independent promotions aside from ROH, most notably Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE. It certainly has raised a few eyebrows, including my own, that Danielson has found bookings in many other promotions except for ROH at this time. EVOLVE has even booked Danielson for their afternoon show on 9/11 in Rahway, New Jersey. This is on the same day that ROH is running its show in New York City. That Danielson could be so close to that show and yet not appear is a real and troubling possibility. Hopefully ROH hasn’t been able to book him more out of the directive from WWE that he cannot work on any promotions’ television or Pay Per View shows (which is essentially what ROH has currently booked through mid-July) and not out of some other more workable situation like the amount of money per appearance. Danielson’s non-compete clause ends around September 11th, and it would be the perfect end of summer if he were to return to ROH.
ROH World Champion: Tyler Black (champion since 02/13/10, 6 successful defenses)
–defeated Austin Aries on February 13th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.
Next Defense: vs. Kevin Steen (Chicago Ridge, IL on 07/24/10)
–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Phoenix, AZ on 3/27/10
–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Charlotte, NC on 4/3/10
–Tyler Black defeated Kenny King in Dayton, OH on 4/23/10
–Tyler Black defeated Chris Hero in Chicago Ridge, IL on 4/24/10
–Tyler Black defeated Roderick Strong in New York, NY on 5/8/10
–Tyler Black defeated Davey Richards in Toronto, Ontario on 6/19/10
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) (champions since 04/03/10, 2 successful defenses)
defeated The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) on April 3rd, 2010 in Charlotte, NC to win the championship.
Next Defense: vs. TBD
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin by DQ after The Briscoes interfered in New York, NY on 5/8/10
–Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in a No DQ Match in Toronto, Ontario on 6/19/10
ROH World Television Champion: Eddie Edwards (champion since 03/05/10, 2 successful defenses)
–defeated Davey Richards in the finals of the HDNet Tournament on March 5th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.
Next Defense: vs. TBD
–Eddie Edwards defeated Colt Cabana in Philadelphia, PA on 3/6/10
–Eddie Edwards defeated Petey Williams in Mississauga, Ontario on 3/20/10
Pick 6 Series
Rankings as of: 06/22/10
1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Chris Hero
5. Davey Richards
6. Kenny King
The Pick 6 Series matches scheduled for July are as follows:
July 22 – Louisville, KY
(4) Chris Hero vs. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana
July 24 – Chicago Ridge, IL
(1) Roderick Strong with Truth Martini vs. Austin Aries
–Civil Warfare May 7th 2010 Manassas, VA DVD Thoughts:
Ten Minute Hunt: Eddie Edwards vs. Bobby Dempsey: Dempsey cuts a hell of a promo—all heart, all emotion. Good for him man, he’s certainly earned the opportunity over the years for promo time and it’s good to see that he can express himself so well and get himself over as the likeable underdog. Bobby Cruise updating the time limit as every minute passes is pretty humorous. This one is about ninety-percent Dempsey and he looks great dishing out the offense and taking advantage of the opportunities given him. He also gives the Virginia fans all the snapmares they can eat. Wait; the words “eat” and “Bobby Dempsey” in the same sentence and there is no fat joke involved—will wonders never cease! This was very physical, much more than you’d expect. Edwards wins with the Achilles Lock after Dempsey almost loses his pants.
Jay Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli: Another physical match and the crowd very much is into Jay Briscoe, so that enthusiasm helps to kick up the action and the story being told. This is a singles match that we’ve seen several times before over the last few years, so it’s nothing surprising, but all of it is good, solid and watchable wrestling. Favorite moments come late in the match with a Briscoe Frog crossbody and a massive Claudio lariat. Briscoe rolls up Claudio out of the UFO for the three-count, but Claudio is a spoil sport and he and Hero attack Jay. Mark runs in for the flying Delawarian save on Hero, and guess what? We have our next match!
Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero (3): The chops fly in this one, to the delight of the crowd. Hero offers up some of his awesome trash talk while beating Mark down at the turnbuckle. The fans are riled up after that and I can understand why. Mark makes a spirited comeback, but Hero uses the loaded elbow pad with a back elbow and popping Mark’s head up for the KO elbow for three. Jay is back out to run off Hero, Castagnoli and Del Rey and run down The Kings as being undeserving champions because of the elbow pad.
Pick 6: Roderick Strong (1) vs. Erick Stevens: Another very physical, hard-hitting match. I’ll say this much—even though the bigger show is obviously the next night in New York City, all of the wrestlers so far have worked hard and given great effort. That certainly applies goes for Strong and Stevens, who despite wrestling against each other many times in recent years both in ROH and FIP are able to keep things interesting and entertaining. Strong’s hard chops are once again a highlight, but it’s not a one-dimensional match, as both guys are running the ropes and using rebound moves. Stevens has his power moves but Strong picks up the win with the kick.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN STEEN! HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING! Now please, don’t hurt me.
Pick 6: Kenny King (5) vs. Colt Cabana: Colt Cabana wins a baby from the crowd! Maybe the cutest moment in ROH this year. It’s also COLT CABANA’S BIRTHDAY! Or at least that’s what the fans chant. Maybe they’ll do the same for Kevin Steen later, but I rather doubt it. Cabana becomes a Virginia hero by blasting King with BOTH a snapmare AND a backbody throw in the same minute. It’s like an all-request concert or something. Fun times in this match continue with Cabana literally wrestling circles around King. The fans are very much into this one, and Cabana is a crowd-pleasure with his throwing King around ringside. Eventually though Kevin Steen runs out to ruin the fun, drawing the disqualification call. Both men have to be separated and Steen threatens rape on Paul Turner if he doesn’t keep Cabana back in the locker room. That leads into:
Pick 6: Kevin Steen (2) vs. Christopher Daniels: This is Daniels’ first official return match to ROH. Steen’s heel act continues to be top-notch, including his verbal response to the crowd and his denigrating actions to Daniels, such as biting him (with the fans informing Steen afterwards that he has herpes, although I don’t think that’s how it’s transmitted) or hitting a move and then clapping for himself. Steen spends the body of the match working Daniels’ arm (well, he did bite it, so it should be weakened). Daniels makes the comeback off a missed Swanton Dive. He retains control through most of the rest of the match, until Steen pushes him into Sinclair, who falls down. Steen takes a chair from the outside and is about to use it when Cabana runs down to take it away from him–uh-oh, someone better warn Paul Turner to get the hell of the building! While Sinclair is dealing with getting Colt out of the ring, Steen turns right around into Daniels who is prime and ready for the Uranage and Best Moonsault Ever for three. Daniels becomes ranked number two in the Pick 6. Steen’s zombie like post-match reaction as the crowd chants “Ole”, giving way to a massive temper tantrum. He bangs on the ringside barricade and then crumples in a heap on the stage. He stands up and yells into the camera that he’s going to kill Cabana tomorrow in New York. Yeah, definitely get Paul Turner into witness protection, like right now.
ROH World Champion Tyler Black & Delirious (with Daizee Haze) vs. Austin Aries & Rhett Titus: On paper this doesn’t come across as a real strong ROH main event, but I’m going in with an open mind and hopefully they can deliver. Black & Delirious teaming up is an Age of the Fall reunion of sorts. The motif of the match is Aries doing his best to avoid interaction with Delirious, who is returning from his “throat injury” (and tour of Japan). Therefore we end up more often than not with Delirious against Titus (which was a low-card feud several years back but is nowhere near as compelling now as it was back then) and Aries vs. Black take 1,234. Unfortunately, this one is a very predictable, by-the-numbers effort from all involved. It really didn’t feel “main event” at any point and would have actually provided a better fit in the mid-card more than anywhere else. The standout moments are Black’s pele kicks and the finish which involves Aries feeding Titus to the wolves—errr, lizard-man, pushing him into a Shadows Over Hell and then “fortunately” falling out of the ring. Black and Delirious capitalize with a superkick and then a Bizarro Driver from Delirious for three.
It’s a disappointing conclusion to the show and the last stand at Manassas, Virginia, especially after what had been a sleeper of a good show before that.
ROH adds to the value of the DVD by including five bonus matches, including four from the HDNet television show and three of which put the focus on Eddie Edwards. These include a relatively competitive bout between Edwards and Kevin Steen in episode two and the absolute doom of Orange Cassidy and Leslie Butterscotch at the hands of The American Wolves (episode 7). That’s a fun squash to watch if you haven’t seen it. Chris Hero versus Kenny Omega and Steen / Jay Briscoe versus Edwards / Hero are the last two selections. Also, The Kings of Wrestling generously give some offense at the start but then dominate their match against The Set, which took place during the Manassas pre-show.
–Supercard of Honor V May 8th 2010 Manhattan, NY DVD Thoughts:
This is a must-buy DVD, which I’ve already discussed the live experience of attending this show back in May, but here are a few thoughts on the DVD presentation.
First of all, it should be noted that the cover to the DVD uses a fan contribution, which looks quite awesome on the front. However, the back leaves something to be desired; especially the color used for the font, a dry red which fades into the pitch black, making it impossibly difficult to read the match listing.
The most bizarre cameo of the year might go to Julius Smokes, who is backstage. Austin Aries, now a newly licensed manager, asks Smokes for advice. He receives it through incomprehensible song and jive. Aries humorously pretends he understands and tries to leave as soon as possible without it looking like he’s uncomfortable about the whole situation. Smokes is randomly holding onto a copy of one of the Weekend of Thunder shows from back in 2004. I guess he needed it to complete his personal collection.
Grizzly has a spirited promo about chopping down Erick Stevens for Necro Butcher…oh, well, nevermind. Daniels also cuts a very spirit promo WITH CERTAIN EMPHASIS on words. I kid. I liked it a lot-set up both the Edwards match and the Richards match while also bringing across his bona fides to people who may not be up on their ROH history. Other promos include Daizee Haze focusing Delirious on revenge, Colt Cabana discussing his excitement for his last man standing street fight against Kevin Steen and a quick Strong promo backstage to end the show, promising us he’s found someone to tell him the truth. Wonder who that could be…
–SHIMMER Volume 27 DVD Thoughts:
This edition of SHIMMER (taped in late 2009) sees the company entering a state of flux and transition in terms of their roster lineup and the introduction of several new angles, both major and minor.
Many of the old guard from the previous four years of shows are not featured on this DVD due to injuries, departures and changes in usage of talent. Serena Deeb, who had been able to work with SHIMMER while under an OVW and then an FCW contract, received the big call up to WWE and will no longer be able to work with the promotion. Daizee Haze was injured around the time of this taping (not sure if that was legit or just part of this new storyline point), so Bryce Remsberg and the rest of the SHIMMER ref squad appointed her to be a special “troubleshooting” referee. Lexie Fyfe was “injured” (in reality, pregnant, but my guess is that wasn’t mentioned because it could have led to her gaining sympathy or respect from the fans as a result, undermining her heel act with Malia Hosaka). Manager Annie Social is not on the show even though her clients Wesna Busic and Melanie Cruise are in action. Portia Perez apparently came down with the (cough, cough) “Swine Flu” and only appears via videotape, coincidentally just as her current rival Allison Danger returns to action.
Yet with all of the changes, this volume of SHIMMER plays out remarkably similar to many of the previous DVDs. It is a ten match show, with a slightly weaker undercard in terms of technique and execution. Then the second half of the show steps it up with marquee matches featuring the upper card talent like Cheerleader Melissa, Sara Del Rey, LuFisto and Amazing Kong. They deliver the goods and make the show worth purchasing. The show is capped off with another quality title defense from MsChif in a beautifully wrestled match against Nikki Roxx. It was one of the easiest matches to watch this year-just great wrestling. At this point, MsChif was on a record-setting pace for her title run as the second SHIMMER champion, with just about every title defense being one to watch. This is no exception.
A major attraction for the DVD is the first appearance of TNA’s Ayako Hamada, matching up against Mercedes Martinez. It quickly becomes one of the best SHIMMER matches in the promotion’s history, with both women going at it ridiculously hard and fast the entire way. It’s replete with hard strikes, big impact and plenty of fighting spirit—in other words, everything that is contained in the very best of the main event style in ROH and SHIMMER matches. The execution and timing is also on-point—these two have complimentary styles, so they meshed well and found a rhythm and pace that pulled them through the entire match. Now apparently, Hamada had an even crazier match against Sara Del Rey for the next edition, but this one sets a very high standard and probably deserves to be hyped and recommended just as much.
Other high profile matches include Amazing Kong vs. LuFisto with the winner receiving a future title shot (and boy, the hits in that one are something else), and Ashley Lane and Neveah giving it their all in a losing effort against Busic and Cruise. That is a nice little monster vs. underdog story, with Lane and Neveah showing improvement in their offense before losing to the big baddies.
There is a running theme through the DVD of the veteran competitors matching up against some of the newer talent (at least in terms of number of appearances in the promotion). It begins with Storm Wrestling Academy graduate Tenille fighting the longest tenured wrestler on the card in Malia Hosaka (with Lexie-on-a -stick). Allison Danger wrestles Australia’s Kellie Slater in a short, but fun outing. Danger looked good in her return, but talked an even better game (see below). After wrestling Daizee Haze to a time-limit draw at Volume 24, Nicole Matthews again was put in a position to elevate herself against the bigger names on the roster—this time a very competitive and dramatic face-off against Cheerleader Melissa. Then there was the most extreme David-versus-Goliath pairing in Sara Del Rey fighting Jessie McKay. You can imagine how that goes for the petite and lithe McKay. Danger says it all on commentary during the match—”that poor girl.” At least she looked cute while decked out in her all-blue wrestling attire.
One of the criticisms I have continually written about the SHIMMER DVDs over the past few years has been the relative poor quality of the promos / interviews. Unfortunately I must repeat that complaint here. There are several bad promos throughout the show from the likes of Nikki Roxx, LuFisto and Daizee Haze. A lot of what the women say in these promos comes across as horribly acted or cliché. It’s not just the wording, or the language barrier (in the case of LuFisto), but also the tone of voice and cadence used during these interview segments. It reminds me of when my high school freshmen students would read lines of dialogue from plays. They, like the wrestlers on this show, spoke their lines in stilted, high-pitched and unnatural cadence. Therefore the promos come across as very forced and unnatural.
I think it’s the same issues that Tyler Black has been dealing with—”putting-on” a wrestling promo as opposed to just talking naturally as a regular person who happens to be a wrester. When Black talks during podcast interviews with wrestling websites he comes across as a natural. He speaks well and it really makes him likeable and relatable. When he goes into “promo mode” as seen on recent ROH videowires, the content gets muddled and lost in his forcing the speech, especially during the first moments. Eventually he does settle down and finds his range. I wish the women could do the same here. I very much enjoy the SHIMMER wrestling product, but find myself cringing during these moments.
In the case of Cat Power, her interview with Amber Gertner is more bizarre than bad, but its content is of questionable taste. Cat Power has at times turned the dial up or down on her Catwoman-influenced character. This promo was turned all the way up to eleven, with her acting like a very creepy-Michelle Phifher-era Catwoman, minus the bondage latex. The grand finale is when she actually licks the side of Amber Gertner’s face with full-on tongue action. It’s in service of some out-there metaphor about tasting power…or something. To me, there was no way to avoid the overt sexual / erotic connotations (although Amber’s reaction was one of fear and not pleasure). It just felt that this was the wrong approach to take compared to the established tone of the SHIMMER product. I like when Cat Power uses the cat character for in ring inspiration (such as a sultry walk or using her claws to rake her opponent), but this? Not so much.
There are two notable exceptions to the bad promo work, one being Portia Perez explaining her absence via the magic of (an intentionally malfunctioning) videotape and the second being the retort from Allison Danger. Of course, Perez found her range as a villain long ago, both in singles feuds and teaming up with Nicole Matthews. As for Allison Danger, she’s had years of experience being involved in programs for ROH where she had to talk, plus she is Steve Corino’s sister. Corino is one of the masters of the microphone, so her talking ability is in the blood. She can definitely make you want to see her put the hurt on her opponents and she’s done it repeatedly, including her feud against Perez and previous grudges against the likes of Cindy Rogers and Rebecca Knox.
As a bonus, Volume 27 also includes the SHIMMER Title match between MsChif and LuFisto from Volume 26. There was no commentary for that match, so in a sign of goodwill it is included here with commentary. That was an excellent match, so its inclusion adds value to the purchase.
There is not enough space in this week’s column to cover Volume 28, but it is perhaps one of the most fun SHIMMER shows in the history of that promotion and the Del Rey vs. Hamada match is indeed as crazy and excellent as advertised. More next week.
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411 Buy or Sell has Berman and Cook discussion Steen and Generico as well as a ton of news from Japan.
The 4R’s covers Episode 64 of ROH on HDNet featuring Strong & Daniels vs. American Wolves.
I’ll have a few exciting announcements in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that. Until next week!
BROOKLYN!
–Ari–
