Column of Honor: 07.23.11: The Roller-Coaster

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 07.23.2011

Discussion of how CM Punk made wrestling exciting again, news and thoughts on Ring of Honor’s television tapings in Chicago, the search for a new world-class high flyer, a new reading from The Book of Truth and more!

Kind of a quiet news week on the Ring of Honor front, but there was something very awesome that happened this Sunday which provided the inspiration for my main feature. Welcome to The Column.

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=The Roller-Coaster=







When I was a kid I was scared of roller-coasters. Didn't want to get on them, didn't even want to go near them. Whenever my family and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure here in the Tri-State state area, I would go on many of the rides, but never the roller-coasters.

It was understandable. After all, children are afraid of a great many things--the dark, big scary bees flying around in the summer, those scary dolls that look like they could come alive and kill you, the strange man who lives in the basement of the house next door who keeps asking you if you'd like to come inside for some candy, dress shirts and slacks, etc.. I was afraid of some or all of those things at some point in the first ten years of my existence on this planet.

Roller-coasters were a big deal man. First of all, they were literally big, as in huge behemoths that seemed to go on for miles. Then they were tall, way high up in the air--so that's a tag-team of fear right there. The old, wooden ones were crickety and felt like you could fall off at any time while the modern ones were super fast. Some even took the bottom out of the coaster and left you looking down at nothing but air and a long way to fall.

However, eventually I did get over my fear of the roller-coaster, when I discovered one very important, crucial and paradigm-changing fact--these things were fun!

When I finally did knuckle down and manned, err, boy-ed up, I discovered the thrilling feeling of speeding downhill on a track--similar to those car-rides to Long Island that had a section of steep hill, only multiplied several times over.

The feelings one experiences on a roll-coaster ride are both immense and yet very primal. The giddiness and joy of gravity pulling you down and around, the momentary but addictive feeling of weightlessness, the rush of sitting in the front seat with your hands held up high, seeing and knowing what was coming ahead of you and playing chicken with the person who sat next to you about who could keep their eyes open the longest. Then came the relief at the end of the ride, when you have been brought back down to safety, allowed to catch your breath and realize that you have survived and are able to keep going. Followed by the intense desire to do it all over again.

And of course, there is the joyous scream. The one emitted by you and all the other passengers at the precipice of that steep decline down the track and through the remainder of the journey. That is the cathartic expression of a boatload of emotions rushing out through the voice-box.

Yeah, once I discovered that adrenaline rush, I was hooked. Soon I had been on every roller-coaster ride at Great Adventure...and when I went to other theme-parks I was no longer afraid to ride.

In the world of professional wrestling, that thrill and the scream that usually accompanies it is referred to as a "mark-out moment".

It is a moment that is rare and fleeting, but awesome in its power and ability to create pleasure in the mind of the viewer undergoing the experience. It is a high that wrestling fans chase after and long for. The "Oh my god" moment Joey Styles screamed about after seeing an incredible, nearly unbelievable move or sequence. The "I can't believe this is happening" feeling of Scott Hall coming out of the crowd to start the "Invasion" that soon became known as the nWo. The crazy-coolness of Hulk Hogan turning heel that lead to questions such as "what the heck can happen next?" The many WWE and ECW cross-overs where it felt like universes were colliding and that anything was possible, even if only for a time (in the original invasion of ‘97, it was two months; in the 2001 Alliance storyline it lasted one hour).

These are the moments that many wrestling fans want to feel when they sit down to watch their chosen program. When it happens, it feels like everything is right in the world of professional wrestling. It feels like a roller-coaster ride that you want never to end.

Many wrestling fans complain about storylines and matches gone wrong--and sometimes those comments are constructive criticism. Sometimes the complaint is just done to complain. However, when fans talk about how things can be done better, what I believe lies underneath is the yearning to experience that mark-out moment once again--because like the roller-coaster ride--they've felt the tremendous positive energy that rushes over when there is a moment that is not just "right", but cool and awesome.

Luckily enough, professional wrestling these past few months have provided for many a mark-out moment across many a professional wrestling promotion. Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards put out a show-stopping performance in the main event of Ring of Honor's Best in the World 2011 internet Pay Per View ion New York City. Austin Aries, Low-Ki, Jack Evans and Zema Ion (better known on the independents as Shima Xion) provided a remarkable X-Division showcase at TNA's Destination X, breathing new life into a long-shunted part of that promotion's product.

And WWE, oh can you believe WWE? They found the courage to blur the lines between reality and their brand of weekly serial-storytelling and as a result they have begun the process of telling tell an amazing wrestling story. The past month has seen CM Punk, a man who has been no stranger to controversy (having one foot in the WWE doghouse at all times) make the most of a featured position and becoming one of the centerpieces of the promotion, one which he flat-out told us he was leaving. In what was a deja-vu for ROH fans who had been through the original "Summer of Punk", Punk won another title on his "last night" in a wrestling promotion. CM Punk actually won the WWE Title.

WWE actually let CM Punk win his "last match" and for all intents and purposes.walked out of WWE with their number one major title. It just wasn't "supposed" to happen...and that is what is part of the thrill and intrigue behind the whole angle. Whether or not this has now merely shifted into just a storyline or if it was "real" at some point, fans have been hooked by the angle--but that's the point. We want to be hooked. We want to be interested. We want to be entertained. We want to mark-out.

The angle also continues to keep fans guessing as to where its going in the future.The roller-coaster just took a dramatic twist with Punk on the "outside" holding the rightful WWE Championship while WWE is trying to pick up the pieces with a new WWE Title tournament and Triple H replacing Vince McMahon as far as being in-charge of day-to-day operations of WWE.(in storyline but not quite yet in reality, though it is coming eventually). While almost everyone has their guesses and their fantasy scenarios, fans don't actually know where this angle is heading next...and that is both exciting and praise-worthy, not to mention incredible in this era where smart fans usually find out what's happening before it happens.

Of course, all due credit to John Cena for his role in the match against CM Punk at Money in the Bank--he played the foil perfectly. I may not like the direction of his character as it relates to his personality, but I suppose that was an important part to making the Punk storyline stand-out. Punk did a great job of making Cena out to be "the enemy" to those who related to his cause...and the hometown fans of Chicago rallied behind him, accepted him as "their guy" and exalted him as their champion. It made for one of the best environments for a WWE show in years...and the result was one of their best Pay Per View shows in years.

CM Punk has been a repeated catalyst to some of my favorite personal mark-out moments in professional wrestling.I went crazy with joy when he won his first World Heavyweight Title back in 2008 (just one day after my sister's wedding, as I wrote here). It was the beginning of the validation of this generation's independent scene--as Samoa Joe had just won the TNA Heavyweight Title around this time as well. Two of ROH's top stars in the early years were now on top of the wrestling world.

Of course, Punk's 2008 title run wasn't all roses, and an argument can be made that he was treated even less seriously as champion than Rey Mysterio in 2005 by WWE brass. Still, what Punk (along with Edge, Batista and Jim Ross, who were all involved in that opening Raw segment) provided wrestling fans was an incredible and memorable moment--a mark out moment happening that one would normally believe to be impossible. Then again, "anything can happen in the WWE", and Vince McMahon has sometimes decided to show just how much that slogan can actually be true.

Fast-forward three years later and now it was CM Punk and Daniel Bryan (formerly known as Bryan Danielson) continuing to prove their supporters correct. CM Punk was given a huge boost in his career when he won Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 24 (and then again the next year when he repeated the win). Similarly, Daniel Bryan has now taken another step forward in his WWE career progress, one many of his detractors believed to be impossible.

CM Punk has demonstrated that he was able to accomplish the impossible and the unexpected many times over in his career--and in doing so he entertained myself and many others with his words and actions, whether as the protagonist or the antagonist.The same emotions of joy and happiness I felt that day in 2008 was how I felt during the original Summer of Punk back in 2005 Ring of Honor--that thrill of not knowing where the plot was going, but loving every twist and turn as it happened right in front of me. There have been many other moments when Punk's words and actions have inspired such charged up emotions--his "This is Straight-Edge" promo of course, the Punk heel turn, and so on (side note: since I'm getting close to listing all of them anyway, Nick Bazar has a list of Punk's ten best moments here).

This weekend I was lucky enough not just to feel those emotions during Money in the Bank but twenty-four hours previously I was marking-out to another match- Eddie Edwards defending the ROH World Title against Chris Hero from the Ring of Honor Revolution: Canada show that took place in early May in Toronto.

The chops and forearm strikes thrown by each man had me screaming out loud, like when I would be on a roller-coaster heading down, down, down. The butterflies in the pit of my stomach were floating around for sure and I was giddy when Edwards would violently lace into Hero's chest or when Hero would blast back with his ferocious elbows to the head. Oh my lord, these two were going at it and I was loving every bit of it.

It is quite ironic that it is the thrill of the unknown that rockets me through my recent professional wrestling viewing experiences... and that events have aligned just right for there to be excitement throughout the entire fan base of the wrestling industry. In many ways I'm back on that roller-coaster ride careening through at high velocity--and I don't ever want it to stop.

If it does, I know I'll want to ride again.

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As of 07/23/11


=ROH World Champion=
Davey Richards

Champion since 06/26/2011 | 1 successful defenses
Best in the World 2011 defeated Eddie Edwards in New York, NY to win the championship.
Next Defense a- vs. Chase Owens in Kingsport, TN on 08/04/11. b- vs. Roderick Strong in Chicago, Illinois on 08/13/11.


--Davey Richards defeated Tommy End in Barcelona, Spain on 07/04/2011




=ROH World Tag Team Champions=
Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team: Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin
Champions since 04/01/2011 | 3 successful defenses
Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter 1 defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) in Atlanta, GA to win the championship.
Next Defense vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) in Chicago, IL on 08/13/11.


--Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in Toronto, ON on 5/7/11.
--Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli), Jay & Mark Briscoe and The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) in New York City, NY on 06/26/11.
--Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeatedEl Generico & Colt Cabana in Richmond, VA on 07/08/11.



=ROH Television Champion=
El Generico

Champion since 06/26/2011 | - successful defenses (New Champion)
Best in the World 2011 defeated "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels in New York, NY to win the championship.
Next Defense vs. Jay Lethal in Chicago, Illinois on 08/13/11.




Some tension between The American Wolves is definitely flaring up...and one can plainly see Eddie Edwards apologizing but Davey Richards isn't having it... also interesting to get a closer look at the ROH locker room and see a multitude of wrestlers in the same place at the same time. Good "behind the scenes" stuff, so to speak.



Then of course there is this little beauty, as CM Punk continues to become LEGEND.

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For lo tho ye walk in the valley of the shadow of death, thou shalt not fear it, for in it lies the miracle of Truth, that there is no life so rich and full that cannot be ripped asunder and no life so meager and wanting that cannot be built upon and improved. Ergo, listen ye well to this treasured advice found within The Book of Truth, for these words are worth their weight in gold. So sayeth The Truth, so sayeth The House:


Once upon a time, Hansel and Gretel Bravado lived with their mean family--a petulant and indolent mother and a vindictive and narcissistic father. More than anything, they wished to escape their inadequate life of suffering and squalor. The one saving grace was their kind-hearted and giving Grandmother Bravado, who stayed in the upstairs portion of the house away from her wicked son and daughter-in-law. The Bravados would try to stay as much as possible with their nana, but inevitably their mother or father would call them away to do laborious work. One day, Hansel Bravado decided that he would run away from home. He woke Gretel Bravado up and, though it took a while, managed to convince him to leave with him. However, Gretel was unsure about the decision, because it meant that they would never be able to see their dear sweet Grandmother Bravado ever again. Hansel, thinking aloud, said that they would take a loaf of bread from the cubbard (their father would never allow them but a pittance of crumbs for dinner) and piece off the bread little-by-little on the ground. That way, if they missed their granny and wanted to return to visit, they could do so by following the pieces back home. So The Bravado Brothers (yes, Gretel was a boy even though he had the girlish name and long flowing locks, go figure) took off on their grand adventure. They trudged through the outskirts of their town, throwing the bread onto the ground just as they planned. They walked into deep and dark woods, not knowing what was on the other side...or the dangers that awaited them therein. For in those woods lived an evil and wicked witch, who was known as Queen Sara of the famous Famous Rays clan, who were known for their very tasty pizzas in New York City. However, Sara wanted to strike it out on her own and chose to live in exile in these woods, building a house of yes, pizza dough. It was hours and hours of walking and The Bravados were so weary and tired, when they happened upon this house of delicious, delicious pizza. They knocked on the heavy dough doorknob several times, until finally Queen Sara answered. The Bravados told her of their story and asked her to take pity on their situation. Luckily, Sara did have extra space (and extra cheese) in her dough house. She sighed in slight annoyance and let them come in. She informed them that they could stay the night, but warned them not to eat any of her pizza dough. She would be away from the house in order to collect tomatoes from the garden. With that, she disappeared in a puff of pastry and The Bravados were once again by themselves, left to their own devices. They were very hungry, very hungry indeed...and they found it hard to resist the smell of mozzarella, fresh basil and a hint of garlic that emanated from every pore of the magical pizza house. Finally Hansel Bravado could resist no longer...and he convinced Gretel Bravado that they could eat the cutlery made out of garlic knots and that no one would notice. Of course, the garlic knots led to the fried dough plates which led to the mozzarella towels...and so on. Soon enough, they were eating up the entire house and home! Queen Sara returned from her gardening to find The Bravado's strung out and filled to brim with dough products. She was shocked and horrified...and angry, very, very angry. And hungry too, for the smell of pizza was wafting through the air. So Queen Sara lifted both Hansel and Gretel up from their roly-poly-doughy state and threw them in the oven. Where they baked at about 425 degrees Fahrenheit and turned into wonderfully large record-breaking pizza pies. Which Adam Richman then featured as an eating challenge on Man vs. Food Nation. At last, Queen Sara had something special to hang her hat in the culinary business. And they all lived Happily Ever After, except for Hansel and Gretel Bravado, who were dead.

-"Hansel and Gretel Bravado " From The Collected Fables of Lance and Harlem Bravado in The Book of Truth

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-Two new title matches have been made official for the ROH Sinclair Broadcast Group television tapings on August 13th, 2011 in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. El Generico puts up his TV Title on the line in its first actual on-air defense since the January HDNet tapings. He will face Jay Lethal, back for his second match on this new swing through ROH. That match should be very cool and a nice little babyface match where the focus can be on athleticism and wrestling style.

Meanwhile, Davey Richards will also defend the ROH World Heavyweight Title against Roderick Strong. That will be Strong's second title bout in a row in Chicago Ridge and it will have been sixteen months since the last match between Richards and Strong in that city.

I have read some complaints from some of our friendly 411 comment club about the repeat matches between Strong and Richards and on a surface level that is true (and if one looks at the tag team title scene, this will be another in a long line of Kings of Wrestling vs. Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team matches throughout the past year). However, those complaints fail to take into account that: 1- these matches have always been very good at the minimum and downright excellent at their very best; 2- Richards vs. Strong is a recurring series in the mold of Danielson vs. Aries and that there have been many other examples of "series" of matches occurring between wrestlers in ROH in a short period of time (Samoa, Joe vs. Austin Aries, Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide, Briscoes vs. Kings); 3- ROH needs a combination that can provide a great match to start the early episodes of the series while not giving away the kit-n-caboodle...and Strong is not being given the biggest emphasis these past few months and is therefore somewhat expendable.


-Though Richards vs. Strong is the new champion's first "official" defense within ROH, there will actually be one more before that one ever happens as Richards will defend the championship against Chase Owens at an NWA Smoky-Mountain event August 4th at the Kingsport Civic Auditorium.in Kingsport, Tennessee. Owens made an appearance on the ROH show in Charlotte, North Carolina as a House of Truth recruit that didn't make the cut. This would actually be Richards' second defense of the title away from ROH proper.

-The All-Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus have officially signed contracts for the SBG Ring of Honor era.


-Here is the line-up for the newest "ROH on HDNet" DVD, Volume 8, which is now available for purchase:

1. American Wolves vs. Dark City Fight Club…Episode 67
2. Roderick Strong vs. Christopher Daniels…Episode 67
3. Delirious vs. Kenny King…Episode 68
4. Mark Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli…Episode 68
5. Jay Briscoe vs. Chris Hero…Episode 68
6. Tyler Black vs. Christopher Daniels…Episode 69
7. Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards…Episode 70
8. Kevin Steen vs. Jerry Lynn…Episode 71
9. Kings of Wrestling vs. Colt Cabana and El Generico…Episode 72
10. Tyler Black vs. Steve Corino…Episode 72
11. American Wolves vs. Super Smash Brothers…Episode 73
12. Austin Aries vs. Delirious..Episode 74
DVD Bonus:
- Tag Team Honor Rumble…Episode 28


-Add the two Mikes, Mike Elgin and Mike Bennett to the list of appearing at the ROH on SBG television tapings.

-ROH is apparently on the look out for a high-flier. The newest newswire states that: "ROH officials are currently scouting the world for a specific wrestler who can take high flying to the next level." A specific wrestler mind you, not a vague one. Is this going to end up like the Mick Foley "Lost in Cleveland" vignettes or something?

According to the July 19th newswire, "In regards to Pro Wrestling NOAH, ROH officials are currently in the process of setting up a stronger working relationship that could see the return of the NOAH stars in 2012." Sounds good to me--ROH has had a consistent presence in NOAH and NJPW the past few years (mostly for major tournaments) but its been a while since some major international guest stars have made their way to ROH.


-Opinion: I find myself shaking my head at those who believe that ROH and WWE are working some sort of deal or those who continue to insist that WWE has staked an interest in ROH. First of all, Sinclair Broadcast Group and WWE are two separate corporate entities. SBG purchased ROH outright from Cary Silkin and they have a 100% controlling interest. If there was any business negotiations between the two sides involving money it would likely have to be reported or made public, since both are public companies. As far as Colt Cabana appearing on WWE television (and no one on commentary acknowledged his name), well, Cabana isn't signed to Ring of Honor. Neither are The Kings of Wrestling, so if they show up on WWE television, its not a sign that WWE and ROH are somehow in cahoots.

Would it be awesome if CM Punk showed up at the ROH TV tapings in Chicago, six years to the date he left the promotion (Punk: The Final Chapter)? Absolutely. Hell, Punk might even actually show up and be backstage--he's attended plenty of ROH shows all over America even when under WWE contract. He may even show up and "make a scene" or just go around signing autographs for people. Could it happen? Yes. Will it happen? I don't know...and that's fine-because that's the very point I was trying make in the column this week. It's okay not to know--in fact, fans should welcome it with open arms. However. One can dream and once can discuss the possibilities and the "how cool would that be?"s so long as one doesn't become disillusioned or disappointed when it doesn't actually happen, because it was never actually promised in the first place. ROH hasn't advertised that CM Punk will be wrestling or even appearing August 13th in Chicago Ridge, so there should be no complaints registered if come the end of the tapings he isn't there...or that if he's there backstage he didn't come out to the front stage to continue his WWE angle.

Still...how cool would that be?

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At the beginning of the year, "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett vowed that within one year that he would become the Ring of Honor World Champion. So let's see how he's done so far, eh?


ROH World Titles Won: 0
Days Left to Reach Goal: 158


Bennett was shut-out of any title shots at the first Sinclair Broadcast Group tapings. OOPS. Anyways, be sure to keep track of how Mister Bennett's progress is doing. That man, he's quite the prodigy at winning championships.

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I'm still going strong on Twitter so head on over to TwitterNation and follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.

I made back-to-back call-in appearances on 411Mania's Podcasts hosted by Larry Csonka. You can listen to those here and here and listen for me in the second hour of each show.

Mike Campbell is in with a retro review of Manhattan Mayhem II and while ***3/4 for Danielson vs. Morishima I is treading low, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by his Driven review, but no spoilers, yet.



Finally, due to popular response, your moment of QI (Quite Interesting):





That's it for The Column for this week.--next time out, full thoughts on Revolution: Canada...probably...maybe... Thanks for reading and for the feedback.

BROOKLYN!
DAH EM BAH SEE FOR-EVAH! EH!
--Ari--