wrestling / Columns
Column of Honor: 10.01.11: I Want My ROH TV
Welcome to the Column. I want to thank everyone who commented for their compliments for last week’s super-sized column about the ROH and CHIKARA shows in New York and the Fave Five discussion. It is always much appreciated.
For any new readers finding the column after watching ROH’s new TV series and wanting more information about the product, spoilers are to be found throughout the column, so be forewarned and forearmed.
The debut of the Ring of Honor television show on Sinclair Broadcast Group syndicated networks is now in the history books and with it the latest chapter begins in bringing the ROH brand of wrestling to a larger audience.
The story with the television show is the same as it ever was with Ring of Honor as a whole: the in-ring work was good and in some cases, great; the presentation of the product as a serious and earnest professional wrestling product and not as sports-entertainment was there as well. Where ROH is lacking is where it has always been lacking-in perhaps the most important aspect of television-the look and quality of the picture.
Video may have killed the radio star, but HD is killing the standard-definition video star.
It’s almost unfair, a catch-22-that while Ring of Honor has the ability to excite and energize its crowd at live shows, but for years the biggest failing is on the technical side in capturing that awesome essence of what makes ROH shows so great in the first place. For some reason, ROH has not been able to find the right combination of lighting and video camera quality to make things look absolutely crystal clear and picture-perfect. So it goes with the new Sinclair television series.
The video quality on the first episode of the new television show is the same as you’d find on most ROH DVD releases, which is not good enough when bringing an independent wrestling promotion to a mainstream television show, even if it’s being presented on local affiliates.
In some ways it’s ironic that ROH used a Tweet of the Week feature on the first show to promote that people should watch their product because it’s not 1997 anymore, an obvious knock on the booking directions of WWE and TNA without directly mentioning those initials (for the record, Dave Lagana stated on Twitter they would not be doing that sort of thing with this feature every week, but rather it would be more of a fan interaction as opposed to WWE’s highly annoying “Did You Know?” factoids). Indeed, the year is 2011 and The Attitude Era died a decade ago. Yet, the feed for this show wasn’t even up to par with the standards of 1997, pre-digital optimization, before even the mainstream profileration of DVD to the home market, much less HD TV and Blue Ray digital products.
Many television shows, whether it be news, sports, comedy or drama are taped in High Definition format, with very expensive high-tech camera equipment. As a general rule, ROH competes with these shows and other forms of media and entertainment. Not to mention movies that are state-of-the-art, and when dealing with action movies in particular the over-the-top special-effects laden action sequences have become more fabulous and impressive than anything back in 1997 ever could hope to be. Yet, ROH’s video feed is taped in standard-definition and its raw look feels very twentieth century.
Some find that throwback look to be earnest or likeable, but for a contemporary audience it is always the look that comes first and leaves the most dramatic impression. Many faults in ROH’s visual look that have been harped on over and over again through the years were on display here-from an inconsistent white balance and bad lighting that makes the wrestlers sometimes look like a pack of albinos, to a too-dark atmosphere where if they went to certain angles the show looked like it was taking place in a black hole. Nothing can ever be perfect and mistakes will be made especially when trying to start out a new series. However, the video quality is certainly a significant step back and far worse than the quality of the HDNet series. In some ways even, this ROH show looked worse than some of the original ECW’s television shows that were broadcast late-night on cable television in the mid-to-late 1990’s. This, obviously, is not a very promising development.
On the plus side, while the video quality is not at all great, the graphics and effects overlays used to package the show are very well done. ROH doesn’t have the money to go toe-to-toe with WWE in terms of graphics, fireworks and other bells-and-whistles. However, this television show on SBG affiliates actually does very well with their overall graphics presentation, including stylish yet readable chyrons, special effects and whizbangs that enhance the product, replays, split screens, sound effects and more. The shiny sound that accompanies the wipe of the “O” in “ROH” when going in and out of replays is pleasant and fun. The new logos used to introduce championship title defenses look impressive. The chyrons are simple but effective and look good. Most everything in terms of the special effects is professional.
This show looks and feels like Ring of Honor wrestling. If the video didn’t look all that special, the covering on top of it helped to add at least a sense of good post-production and that time and effort went into the mastering process of the show. The SBG television series not only has the in-ring style that Ring of Honor fans know and love, but the window trimmings and dressing to match.
Further, the features that are done to accompany and support the actual in-ring matches are smart and on-target with what a long-time fan would hope ROH would bring to a more mainstream product. Many of the cornier aspects of the HDNet series have been toned down or completely eliminated. In its place, there is a more serious and professional sports-build to the show. This helps Ring of Honor to stand out as very different in tone and purpose from WWE and TNA. Funny enough, this is the sort of presentation that ROH should have done during their time on HDNet, since they were on a channel targeted in part at the MMA audience.
The very best decisions made as far as the supporting features for the new series is the usage of UFC-style interview segments to promote and segue into that episode’s featured wrestling matches. This is such a smart call, because UFC is obviously a leading brand in combat sports right now. The look and feel of the fighter interviews they use as introduction are fantastic hype pieces that, so long as there are some interesting comments from the interview subject help to add interest and excitement for what is ahead in the show. Future Shock and The Bravados both had time to speak in earnest about themselves and then about the match and their opponents-and viola, in less than two minutes a viewer had a handle on the who, what, when, where and why.
ROH has also incorporated a “Tale of the Tape” graphic at the beginning of matches, something used in many boxing, mixed martial arts and other combat sports. The best part about this is aside from age, weight and hometown is the “Code of Honor” category, which informs viewers about whether or not the wrestler(s) follow the handshake philosophy that has been an underpinning of ROH’s concept since the beginning of the promotion’s history. It’s not a pure one-to-one to determine faces and heels, but it’s an interesting extra layer to the wrestlers’ personality. The Bravados follow The Code, because, obviously, it fits their nature and is the “gentlemanly” thing to do. The Kings of Wrestling do not follow The Code because they feel they are superior to everyone else in the promotion.
Another well done piece is the “Inside ROH” segment, a newsmagazine style report hosted by Kevin Kelly in line with what WWE used to do (and so desperately could use now) with their “Report” segments hosted by the likes of “Mean” Gene Okerlund, Sean Mooney or Lord Alfred Hayes. It would be nice to see Dave Prazak (who lost out on play-by-play for this series, though he was still doing it for the iPPV show in early September) get a shot hosting this type of segment or at least used in “from the field reports”. Kyle Durden, the backstage interviewer used on HDNet was also noticeably absent, though he would be out of place in that role given the new style of backstage interviews mentioned above.
This first “Inside ROH” featured Jim Cornette introducing the concept of “The Code of Honor” (the handshakes done at the beginning and at the end of shows) and a look back at Best in the World 2011. Obviously, this type of segment is an example of something from wrestling’s past that can be translated effectively into the twenty-first century aesthetics. Maybe it’s not 1997 anymore and from a booking and “wrestling theory” perspective, maybe it shouldn’t be that way either. However, that doesn’t mean one can’t use the better ideas from, say, 1987, such as this newsmagazine feature and include them in a modern presentation of ROH’s product. This was well handled and executed and again, something that made ROH stand out from other wrestling promotions on television.
Already, the commentary team of Kevin Kelly and former ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness (who wrestled in TNA as Desmond Wolfe) is leagues ahead of any current combination of commentary team on either WWE or TNA shows. Their voices are pleasant to the ears and not once did either of them come off as annoying or unlistenable. That makes them better than present-day Michael Cole right off the bat and they are not over exaggerated in their calls, so they already have more authority and believability in what they are saying to the audience than Booker T, Josh Matthews, Taz and maybe even Mike Tenay.
Kelly and McGuinness both took their time with the call, let the action speak for itself at times but also supported the stories going on in the ring. They informed the viewer about the wrestlers and the special move names (and they didn’t go overboard here like Lenny Leonard, who as good as he can be in the booth, has sometimes completely obliterated his call on Dragon Gate USA DVDs with walls of screaming out move names without any context or explanation). I did find it somewhat of a lark to discover the names of some of Chris Hero’s trademarks like the “Cyclone Kill” (tornado boot) and the “KTFO” (his whack-a-mole style stomp to head followed by a KO elbow)—great name by the way—considering both he and Castagnoli are WWE-bound and will not appear on the series again after this episode (which is a real shame, considering they probably stole the show here with their facial expressions and contributions to the main event). The one slight criticism of the broadcast booth is that I noticed McGuinness actively rooting for Chris Hero at the end of the Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team / Kings of Wrestling match, though that can be excused by long-time fans since Nigel has been a heel for most of his ROH run, plus it was quick and not a belabored point.
Kevin Kelly was ubiquitous on this show-which on the one hand is very good because he is very good at what he does both on commentary and as the host of the show. On the other hand, for a twenty-first century product billing itself on youth and action-packed in-ring action, I don’t know that Kelly is a “cool” representative of the product to hook in the younger audience and 18-35 year-old demographic. Then again, neither was Mike Hogewood on the HDNet series. Nonetheless, together Kelly and McGuinness are a very good team and a definitive positive for the new ROH television show.
One of the best decisions made on this new series was to feature their ROH World Champion, Davey Richards, heavily on the first show. This demonstrates that ROH did learn from an early mistake they made on the first episode of the HDNet series in 2009, when they almost completely neglected any mention or focus on Nigel McGuinness, their ROH World champion at the time. Richards did not have a match on this show (as instead ROH focused its in-ring on one of its greatest strengths, the tag team division), but he was not The Invisible Man either. He cut a nice promo during an interview segment with Kevin Kelly that served as a sort of hype for ROH on Sinclair networks and that they would soon come to the local city airing the show. Richards was also featured in the recap of Best in the World 2011 and his showdown against tag partner Eddie Edwards and subsequent title win was made to be very important. Edwards and Richards both added comments about the match which were inserted into the clips and those added even more depth to the story of the match and their relationship. Even more importantly, this was interesting and intriguing and made viewers want to see more developments come out of the Edwards / Richards brotherhood in the months to come, which could lead to another in-ring face-off.
The first episode of the new ROH series demonstrated that there is potential for some very good and even great wrestling shows, just like it was with the HDNet series. The problem with that show was the limited exposure that came with being on a premium channel with a niche market. The Sinclair syndicated network reaches a different viewership, but the question remains if ROH can take what is essentially a niche of a niche and grow it into something more with this new opportunity. ROH has a chance for a greater exposure to more fans, but it may be a moot effort if the program is not up to snuff enough to impressive potential new viewers, or if the raw atmosphere and grainy video will be too much of a turn off. They will need to adjust and quickly to the very same issues that have always plagued them and it doesn’t seem likely that can be done given past history.
However, the in-ring professional wrestling has been and can still be Ring of Honor’s saving grace. The atmosphere of the best ROH matches is contagious and addictive, when the fans become enraptured with the action and become a raucous chorus with great energy, there is nothing like it. Some very good talents will be featured, from main-event players such as Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards to up-and-comers like Michael Elgin and Future Shock, to the anticipated debut of The Young Bucks and the very gifted TJ Perkins. In addition, ROH’s new on-demand subscription service adds another revenue stream and their iPPV audience also has increased in its potential clientele and future purchases.
Ring of Honor cannot be the mainstream phenomenon of WWE, while TNA has a very significant head start in terms of developing a consistent television presence and viewership. Yet, there is an opportunity here to grow ROH into something larger and more than it ever has been before while at the same time keeping its core values and approach to professional wrestling. That would be the best outcome here for fans that have been following ROH through the years, through ups and downs, mistakes and triumphant decisions made by those in charge and passionate debates about angles and matches and who is and isn’t champion, who should and shouldn’t be booked. Wrestling fans ultimately have a passion and a desire to see great wrestling. Significant growth can occur in the coming months if ROH can convince enough of them that theirs is the place where great wrestling happens. Make them say “I Want My ROH TV” and that’s a very good start.
Then again, I feel as if I’ve written this all before, two years ago, at the beginning of the HDNet series.
–Davey Richards defeated Tommy End in Barcelona, Spain on 07/04/2011.
–Davey Richards defeated Chase Owens in Kingsport, KY on 08/04/11.*
–Davey Richards defeated Colt Cabana in Carrolton, GA on 08/06.11. *
–Davey Richards defeated Roderick Strong in Chicago, Illinois on 08/13/11.
* These matches are not as yet officially recognized by Ring of Honor on their records page, but as they did occur as billed “ROH World Title” matches for the live crowd in attendance they are listed here for posterity.
b- winner of that match defends vs. winner of Briscoes / ANX (Ladder War 3) in Chicago Ridge, IL on 11/19/11.
–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 defeated El Generico & Colt Cabana in Richmond, VA on 07/08/11.
–Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) in Chicago, IL on 08/13/11.
ROH Sinclair Episode 2 Teaser Preview: El Generico vs. Jay Lethal
ROH Commercial for Ringside Members
Preview of Q&A with Nigel McGuinness
SBG, Meet The Prodigy
Week Four for Plus 1 (+1), where I add one to everything in order to show my first grade mathematic abilities. Or, to show my agreement with a point someone made this week or if someone in the wrestling industry said or did something I liked. Then these “pluses” get added (more first grade prowess!) into previous totals. At the end of the month we can see who is getting the most credit for their actions and he, she or it will join the “Plus of the Month Club”. This is in no way related to Subway (EAT FRESH!) and whatever Club Sandwich of the Month Club they have going for themselves. So, who is in The Plus Column this week and who is the first month’s winner?
to Dave Lagana of IWantWrestling.com and Ring of Honor social media manager for his yeoman’s efforts on Twitter in getting the word out about ROH’s on-demand services. This was a VERY busy week in terms of advertising the show and disseminating information, but Lagana knuckled down and did, all the while on a massive east coast trip dealing with other projects such as “Nuclear Cowboyz”, which I really hope doesn’t involve Tony Romo trying to stop Armageddon (mostly because that might mean Jessica Simpson would sing the soundtrack cover of “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” …EYYYYUH). I don’t know how many Tweets he had to send out, but it reminded me of Sesame Street in that it was brought to you by the letters “R”, “O” and “H”, the number “zero” with a dollar sign and the phrases “free for everyone on Thursdays” and “available worldwide”. It had to be done though and kudos to him for doing it.
to The Rock for his heartfelt wishes for a happy Rosh Hashana: “Rosh Hashanah! Sheh yeh shana tova ve metuka. Yes… #IKnowMyHebrewPlaya“. I can only imagine what The Rock would be like during a Rosh Hashana dinner: “Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth with this Challah Roll.” “I’m gonna stick this apple dipped in honey straight up your candy kosher ass.” “Do you think you’re going to be in the good book this year? IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK! It’s all in God’s hands.”
…Ahem. And so on. Rock on Rock and thanks for the shout out to The Tribe on Twitter Nation.
to Ring of Honor for actually following through on something they announced for their new re-launch- Video On Demand. This has been a heavily requested service by fans on the ROH Forums (which I hope at some point ROH officials or those at Sinclair plan on restoring to the website, or else that might be grounds for a “Minus 1”) to provide older matches and shows that are out-of-print on DVD through streaming video. Previously, Ring of Honor had established “www.rohvideos.com” as their site for downloading digital copies of OOP shows, but these were “images” of the shows and had to be burned to DVD to be viewed. This service was decommissioned once the new ownership group purchased the company. However, ROH did state that they would make plans to establish some sort of similar service as soon as possible. When ROH rolled out its “Ringside Membership” service, they included access to the archives of matches and that includes shows in the package. Actually, ROH could have done this as a separate service and likely gotten away with it, but that they bundled it with their premium access deal enhances the value of that service and it satisfies. Obviously, this doesn’t necessarily help completists like me who have every ROH DVD published, but it does give newer fans and first time viewers from the SBG TV show the opportunity to see these events, perhaps for the first time. Here’s hoping ROH continues to add shows and matches to their archive, thus giving fans additional value for their dollar.
+2: CHIKARA Pro Wrestling
+2: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
+1: Dave Lagana
+1: The Rock
+1: ROH
+1: “The Greek God” Papadon
+1: Tommaso Ciampa
+1: WWE
+1: Smart Mark Video
+1: Todd Martin (Columnist, Wrestling Observer / LA Times)
+1: Sugar Dunkerton
That means we have a tie for “Plus of the Month” for September 2011. CHIKARA and PWG earn the gold star. So here’s what happens starting next week- those still on the list keep their values. “+1″s will keep racking up and then at the end of the October once again we’ll see who has the most in their Plus Column. If it’s a new leader, then they will join the club along with CHIKARA and PWG.
That’s right—the Fave 5 is BACK, BABY! You see, I don’t know how or why it happened, but someone named Booker T decided to take the Fave 5 idea all for himself. AW SHUCKY DUCKY QUACK QUACK, I’m taking it back! However, this time around, the Fave 5 will be just a tad different. Instead of listing my favorite wrestlers or moments of that week, the Fave 5 will now be a different category or topic each week.
Reader Michael L wanted me to follow up last week’s Fave Five list on Athletic Rivalries in ROH with a list of Grudge Rivalries / Bloodfeuds in ROH. Sounds good. The problem? He pretty much nailed my list, with the exception of BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs in and Steenerico / Briscoes out. Jacobs and Whitmer had great chemistry both as partners and as rivals. The bloody wars they had were violent and exciting. Of course, the feud also brought about some of Jacobs’ best early promo work, with fantastic dramatic monologues professing his love for Lacey, how BJ Whitmer looked at him as a little brother but he would make him pay and thus win Lacey’s heart in the process. Just fantastic material that elevated the actual in-ring efforts. The other four would be Homicide-Colt Cabana, Homicide-Steve Corino, ROH vs. CZW and Kevin Steen (w/ Corino) –El Generico (w/ Cabana). How about that? Colt Cabana, the jokester and lover of catch-as-catch-can technical wrestling involved in two of the best (and my personal favorite) grudge / blood rivalries in ROH history? Absolutely.
So, instead this week, let’s go with something off the beaten path. Let’s look at my Fave Five Ring of Honor Comedians of Wrestling Comedy. Contrary to popular belief, there has been comedy and there has been laughter in the near ten-year history of the product. These are wrestlers who are experts in making the crowd laugh before the smash their opponents’ stinking rotting teeth in and make them cry.
5. Kenny Omega: While Delirious came right out and flat out said he was a madman with his get-up, personality and behavior, Kenny Omega slips up on you as someone who is just a few fries short of a Happy Meal. He looks like a normal dude, but when he speaks to you, you know immediately this guy is ridiculous, but in a very entertaining manner. I mean, who the heck knows what he was saying when talking about his match against Davey Richards at Epic Encounter III last year, not to mention he said it on a FORKLIFT. Then you have his constant attempts to make his opponents stop simply with the power of an upheld hand—and sometimes it works! Omega is a weird kid, but man is he funny.
4. Delirious: Before he was the booker-man or the dark Delirious that rampaged as a part of The Age of the Fall, Delirious was just a man on the edge of sanity, trying to make sense of the world around him—and it was hysterical. It was the unpredictability and sometimes sublime usage of the absurd that worked to his favor. Delirious’ warped gimmick fed into his comedy, from being motionless before the bell and then once it rang going crazy and running around the ringside to eating streamers or shoes to making a random comment in half jibberish or in his own language of Deliriousese.
3. Kevin Steen: Speaking of psychopaths, here’s Kevin Steen! Okay, yes obviously Steen is quite the good human being outside of a wrestling ring (don’t let him know I said that or he might hit me with a package piledriver). Inside the ring, whether he is the hero or the villain, it’s a different story. Steen’s comedy is essentially a walking, talking and wrestling roast show, whether it’s his a tag partner, an opponent or even the fans in the audience. One of the great hidden highlights of many a ROH or PWG show over the past few years has been simply turning the commentary feature off during Steen’s matches and just listening to what he says.
2. Colt Cabana: One of the modern day masters of using comedy and humorous wrestling passes both to entertain the crowd and simultaneously to frustrate his opponents. Cabana will hop over, duck, dodge, whirl and twirl, go under and around and sometimes even through a wrestler for the sake of a great “gotcha” moment. The wrestling tricks and traps he uses aren’t being used by too many others on the independent circuit, so that makes his act stand out as something different. It is true that sometimes Cabana can become a bit too cheesy, but generally Cabana knows when to use the humor and when to become more serious and straight-up wrestle.
1. Kikutaro / Ebessan: Still going strong in Japan, the man sometimes known as Kikutaro and sometimes known as Ebessan is surely one of the funniest intentional comedy acts that has graced Ring of Honor (“…and don’t call me Shirley”). For all the talk about being super serious and intense, Ring of Honor brought the clown prince of wrestling comedy many times in the mid-2000’s…and not only was he over with the fans, but he made wrestling fun too! From Jushin Liger and The Great Muta impersonations, to wearing flannel and doing the double thumbs up with Mick Foley as Ebessan Jack, to a Ric Flair woo off and Flair Flop, Ebessan made me laugh and smile and kept me entertained while he was here.
7:00pm Bell Time
The Davis Arena
4400 Shepherdsville Road
Louisville, Kentucky, 40218
Tag Team Grudge Match – The American Wolves (ROH World Champion Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin with Truth Martini
The two teams went at it back in July’s Tag Team Turmoil event, where The Wolves emerged victorious in a fantastic main-event quality bout. I have no doubt all four men involved will be able to match that quality effort again, but more important than the in-ring may be whatever hints and foreshadowing that could be laid for future programs. That intrigue goes in particular for Edwards and the ROH World Champion Richards, who could be on another collision course for a title match by the end of the year. Does ROH begin to heat up the disagreements between the two men (and there is enough subtle build from just the first episode where the Best in the World 2011 vignettes focused on their encounter, plus recent mentions of Edwards holding onto Kyle O’Reilly leg too long during The Wolves-Futureshock match at No Escape bout)? Does Truth Martini, Roderick Strong or Michael Elgin stir the pot? Or, will this be played out as a straight tag match where competition is the name of the game?
World TV Title Match – Jay Lethal defends vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett
Even though Jay Lethal just won the TV Title at the first tapings, don’t rule out another immediate title change here to Mike Bennett, who has been on the search for ROH title gold. Bennett defeated Jimmy Jacobs on the second episode of the series (the one that airs tonight, the same one with the Lethal title win), presumably earning this shot because of that win. Though Shelton Benjamin did defeat Bennett at Death Before Dishonor IX, so that should have negated any contention.
Non Title Match – World Tag Team Champions Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas) vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander
Caprice and Cedric have only teamed a few times in ROH but are damned impressive thus far. Caprice has charisma to spare and Cedric is young and learning but very solid and has some exciting moves he can use to excite the crowd and be effective in the ring. Obviously though, this match, while it could be decently competitive, is meant to put shine and spotlight on Haas and Benjamin as tag team champions. Don’t expect C&C Wrestling Factory to win this one unless another team has shenanigans in store for WGTT.
Tag Team Grudge Match – The Young Bucks vs. The Bravado Brothers
Matt and Nick Jackson featured on an ROH show-bet they get plenty of time to do their thing and show off. They are definitely leaning heel with the walk out on Futureshock at Death Before Dishonor IX and their follow up promo which was full of arrogance and brash claims of superiority. That makes a match up with The Bravados different, because The Bravados are not popular with the fans due to their false sincerity and propensity for wearing argyle. So I wonder if ROH backs off on a full heel turn during this match with The Bucks playing face and then walking out of a Code of Honor handshake afterwards…or maybe to be confronted by Kyle O’Reilly about the disrespect issued in New York.
-Also Appearing: The Briscoes, The All Night Express, Kyle O’Reilly, TJ Perkins, Tommaso Ciampa, The Embassy, Steve Corino, More
According to PWinsider.com: “Ring of Honor will be using some OVW guys for their TV taping this weekend. The following matches are currently set for the show:
-OVW Southern Tag Team Champions The Elite Vs. Bolin Services 2.0 (James “Moose” Thomas and Rocco Bellagio with Christopher Bolin)
– US Army Veteran Mike Hayes Vs. Mohamad Ali Vaez
Mike Mondo will also make an appearance.”
Welcome to OVW, Ring of Honor fans. I don’t know if I have to words to express how I feel about this news, but maybe you can feel me through your computer screen as I roll my eyes deep, deep into the back of my head.
-In news just breaking yesterday, Mike Mondo has been signed to ROH. Fabulous. He got so over in his other appearances and everyone was demanding his return. No, wait. Anyone else Jim Cornette wants to bring in from his time in OVW?
-Pep talk for ROH fans: step your game up if you’re going to the live television tapings and start bringing better signs to the shows. Some of those plain-Jane efforts I saw on that first episode of the Sinclair Broadcast series are not going to cut it. At least break out the glitter or try some shading using a different outline color. Let’s represent ROH with fashion and style and properly spelled-out words on oak tag…and glitter!
-ROH has not released the numbers of iPPV buys for Death Before Dishonor IX, so make of that what you will. Jim Cornette in his interview with Figure Four / Wrestling Observer mentioned the show did within 100 buys of what he had expected. So, I hope he didn’t expect 100 buys.
-Some SBG affiliates ran the second episode of the television series by mistake last week, which is a very blatant mistake. Hopefully steps will be taken to ensure that doesn’t happen again for future editions.
-ROH is running another try-out, this time a two-day seminar on November 12th and 13th. Details are available here.
-ROH is looking for bands again, so if you have a band and want to promote your music, this could be a good opportunity for you. From the September 29th Newswire: Are you a band that is looking to promote yourself? ROH is looking for bands interested in having their music played at live ROH events, TV, and DVD releases. This is your chance to have your music appear on the hottest wrestling product today. Music that is used must follow the common copyright laws and if you give us your song to use we will give you on screen credit. Your song will not be sold or distributed for any sorts of funds. We are looking to help out any bands that want to make a break and we’re open to any form of music. Contact [email protected] for more information.
-Ring of Honor re-launched its website last weekend, though there were some initial rough patches when during the debut telecast on SBG stations the website was not yet set up. Then when it was re-launched, some pages and links were not available. However, by mid-Sunday afternoon, things were in place and the website was officially live and fully active.
Visitors found an updated skin, revamped roster and article pages and information on signing up to be a member of the ROH website. Fan can become “General Admission” members to gain access to the ROH television show on Thursdays, or they can subscribe to “Ringside” membership for a fee ($7.99 monthly, $19.99 quarterly or $59.99 annually). That grants fans exclusive access to the ROH TV show on Mondays (three days before GA members) and exclusive podcasts (a Q&A with Nigel McGuinness went up on Monday for these members), and a deep library of ROH archives including complete shows. Fans also receive a 15% additional discount on merchandise, discounts on iPPV purchases, no ads pre or during their stream of the shows / matches and the ability to pre-order and receive new shows before their official street date release. ROH is also doing a special for the first month where if one subscribes for the annual membership there is a bonus free T-shirt that will be sent to you. That is actually a lot of perks for the subscription service, but if one just wants to watch the show, that is free with GA membership.
To me, it would be very nit-picky for anyone who grumbles about having to sign up for GA instead of it being readily available to anyone on-site on Thursday. This is a process done by many companies and products looking to promote themselves. For instance, many bands or musicians will release free songs online nowadays, but you have to type in your email address (and in doing so, join their e-mailing list) before gaining access to the download. As for the subscription service, it’s not compulsory to watch the show, but there are advantages offered to subscribers like the early access to the show in order to convince people to sign on. That’s a way to run a business in these days of torrents and demand for instant access but also giving people value for their dollar.
The ROH Roster Page provided some of the more interesting revelations as to who is on the current active roster and who isn’t. It’s no surprise that Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli are no longer on the roster. The first episode of the TV show was indeed the last appearance of The Kings of Wrestling as a tag team in ROH. Claudio is now Antonio Cesaro in Florida Championship Wrestling. Hero is expected to join him shortly, though he is still taking the odd independent booking here and there in October. Rhino and Homicide are the surprises as far as being listed on the roster, as both are only making occasional appearances for ROH, mostly on the New York City shows and not at all yet on the SBG television series. It might speak well for seeing more of both in the future.
Perhaps the most telling (and to some, upsetting) absences from the roster page are Colt Cabana and Sara Del Rey, both of whom have been valued members of the promotion for several years. Both have not been listed in the new and updated roster page. In Cabana’s case, he has been on extended European and Japan tours over the past few months and had not committed to more appearances for ROH during that time. The rumors of his going to WWE on the back of the CM Punk angle have subsided, but Cabana is still going strong as an independent professional wrestler. Sara Del Rey had been “The Queen of Wrestling” as part of the package with KOW. Their manager Shane Hagadorn remains on roster (perhaps to sign a new player for his services in the near future), but Del Rey was left off.
Del Rey has been tearing it up in CHIKARA for the last few months in their 12 Large: Summit tournament, to the point where she is now one of their most popular acts. The problem with this new ROH is that once again things are at a standstill when it comes to promoting “The Women of Honor” concept of women’s wrestling. Simply put, there is now ONE woman on the ROH roster, Mia Yim, who has been a part of The Embassy. While Yim has physically inserted herself into the action on occasion, to date she has never had a singles match in the promotion. There is literally no one else, which makes booking women’s wrestling matches somewhat difficult. Even if Del Rey did come back that would mean just one match could be booked, which brings ROH right back to where it was several years ago with endless Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze singles matches.
While Sara Del Rey is completely believable wrestling the men in CHIKARA, it may be more difficult to push that perspective in ROH at this point in time, especially when beginning this new TV series. That doesn’t mean Del Rey doesn’t deserve a spot on the roster or a chance to showcase herself on this new series. However, priorities are elsewhere for now-and maybe rightfully so.
On the other hand, what cannot be justified and in fact should be criticized is the manner in which Sara Del Rey found out she was not on the active roster page—she had to find out for herself (she said as much on her Twitter). Now, that doesn’t mean she and Colt are definitely done with the promotion, but admittedly, it’s not a great sign. On the other hand, ROH have booked C&C Wrestling Factory (Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman) and The Young Bucks for their TV show, yet both teams are not on the roster page as yet.
I’m not sure what is with Ring of Honor and its methodology for telling their employees about their future plans for them. A few years ago, Lenny Leonard had to find out through the internet that he was no longer being used on commentary for DVDs. Then in late 2010, Erick Stevens, Necro Butcher and Dark City Fight Club were told they were being put on hiatus and would eventually return, but not one of them came back. Now this. Yes, these are different administrations and different ownerships, but even from the outside looking in, these types of decisions in handling personnel are striking. Let people know what’s going on before it hits the internet-which only leads to resentment and that’s always more trouble than necessary.
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 Tag Team Titles Won: 0
ROH TV Titles Won: 0
Divas Dated: 1
Appearances on The Greg DeMarco Show: 1
Days Left to Reach Goal: 90
Mike Bennett suggested that he was not just looking to win the ROH World Championship but ANY ROH title, be it World, TV or Tag Titles, so I have decided as of September 24th, 2011, out of my kind heart and generosity of spirit that I will also include his pursuit of any and all Ring of Honor championship gold.
The official number is 90, which means three months and counting down. Tonight will be Mike Bennett’s second-ever opportunity at the ROH TV Title…and let’s face it, there is a very significant chance he wins the title. Jim Cornette sounded like he was dying of Joker-induced smiling toxin when discussing how Bennett gets the dander up of ROH fans this past week in his interview with Wrestling Observer. So all hail the new ROH TV Champion, Mike Bennett.
Twitter me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.
-Sean S. Lealos gives you the play-by-play of the first episode of ROH SBG TV with this ROH television report.
-Meanwhile, Steve Cook gave his own opinions and thoughts on the new ROH show in his News from Cook’s Corner. Jeremy Thomas went R crazy with his ROH 4R’s in this week’s Wrestling’s 4R’s (obviously).
-Jack Stevenson goes to Japan with his retro-ROH review of Battle of the Best, which featured Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness and The Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes.
-It looks like 411 Buy or Sell has been sold and closed down, so Cook is beginning to integrate ROH and indies back into 411 Fact or Fiction and this week ROH’s TV debut and Sara Del Rey’s CHIKARA future is discussed.
Finally, your moment of QI (Quite Interesting):
Next week, results from tonight’s tapings in Louisville and thoughts on the second episode of ROH television. Thanks for reading and for the feedback.
BROOKLYN!
DAH EM BAH SEE FOR-EVAH!
–Ari–
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