wrestling / Columns
Column of Honor 10.08.11: Eddie Edwards Hires a New Coach
Welcome to the Column. Its Yom Kippur and I’m fasting real fast here, so no time for small talk this week, but that’s fine considering there are some interesting subjects and news developments to discuss. So let’s get to it.
It is official- Eddie Edwards will challenge once again for the Ring of Honor World Title against his current brother wolf and tag team partner Davey Richards.The match takes place at Final Battle 2011 on December 23rd, 2011 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The announcement came at last last week’s ROH television tapings in Louisville, Kentucky and will air through Sinclair Broadcast Group’s syndicated networks sometime in mid-November.
One of the more out of the ordinary headlines to come out of that announcement was Eddie Edwards’ mention that he has hired a new “coach” to help him prepare for this upcoming rematch for the ROH World Championship. Edwards has long since been a part of The American Wolves tag team with Davey Richards. He has trained with him, broken bread with him and travelled with him up and down the roads of America as a successful tag team in Ring of Honor and beyond that, as successful wrestlers in their own right in the singles divisions.
Now, on the surface, Edwards hiring a coach may seem to be an innocuous, reasonable and fair decision. After all, Davey Richards has his own team, consisting of his MMA and sparring coach, protégé Kyle O’Reilly and long-time trainer / mentor Tony Kozina. If Edwards is to challenge Richards one more time for the most important title in ROH, then perhaps he needs some separation from Richards. After all, if Richards can organize and build a team around him that can help him to train and support him, then Edwards should have that right as well.
However, that Edwards has not chosen to reveal the man (or woman) behind the curtain is another matter entirely. The biggest mystery left to be answered is the identity of who exactly Edwards hired to help him with this most important title match opportunity. Beyond that is the lingering question about why Edwards has declined to announce publically his trainer or team. There is a mind game being played here by Edwards, which is something neither fans nor his tag team partner could have foreseen. Is that psychological edge the x-factor Edwards is depending on that would change the circumstances and the outcome of this next title match to his favor?
Fans have already witnessed several moments of high tension throughout much of the last few months between the members of the wolf-pack. Davey Richards was incredibly supportive and happy to see that Eddie Edwards had risen up through the ranks, seized his opportunity and won the ROH World Title against Roderick Strong at the Manhattan Mayhem IV event this past March. However, Richards’ joy all-too quickly jarred against Edwards’ desire to prove he was the best—not just as ROH World Champion, but the best wrestler between the two of them. Edwards hounded Richards for months into accepting a title match because Edwards “had to know” if he could defeat Davey Richards and prove he was worthy of being the top champion in Ring of Honor.
Edwards learned the answer to that question when Davey blasted him in the head, knocking him out and covering him for the three-count to win the ROH World Championship at Best in the World 2011. The post-match celebration was incredibly emotional and cathartic, featuring Richards crying in happiness and explaining to his team and the fans in attendance that this was a moment he had been working towards for years and that they and ROH was all he had. The confession of his heart was the definition of glory in sports. Eddie Edwards, who had fallen just moments earlier to his tag partner, not only gave Richards all the love and respect in the world, but demanded the new champion take his moment and accept his place as the ROH World Champion.
However, was even that moment of selflessness a bitter pill to swallow for Eddie Edwards? Here he was, having just risen like a shooting star to the top of the promotion, only to fall back down very quickly. Though Edwards asked for it, the irony of his losing the title thanks to his own tag team partner nonetheless hangs pregnant over this entire series of events.
There hasn’t been much in the way of noticeable differences if that loss somehow changed Edwards’ perception of Richards or shook the foundation of their tag team partnership. Both men worked very well together at Tag Team Turmoil as they defeated The House of Truth team of Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin in the main event of that show in Richmond, Virginia. However, the tenuous relationship between The Wolves became exposed just a little at the No Escape event the next night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Eddie Edwards was forced to make a very tough decision at the conclusion of that match between The American Wolves and Richards’ protégé Kyle O’Reilly and his tag team partner Adam Cole (the team now known as Future Shock). The battle between the two teams had become very heated and very close. The situation had spiraled so out of control that the time keeper had been wiped out during a huge dive to the outside. Edwards was back in the ring and managed to lock in his Achilles tendon submission hold on Kyle O’Reilly, but without the ringing bell to signal the end of the match, Edwards refused to break the hold. He became so lost in the moment that not even Todd Sinclair could convince him that the match was over and that he was able to release the hold.
Obviously, the events of those finals moments weighed heavily that night. Richards did not like what Edwards had done and confronted him about it. There were heated words, some pushing and shoving which lasted both in the ring and backstage. Edwards was repeatedly apologetic and sorry for his actions. Eventually, the situation cooled off and despite O’Reilly having to be out of action for a few weeks, fences were mended and The Wolves had apparently moved past the situation.
Then, fans at the television tapings in Louisville, Kentucky last week witnessed a very aggressive Eddie Edwards as he fought alongside Richards in a rematch of the Tag Team Turmoil bout. Reportedly, Edwards used a choke to take out Michael Elgin while everyone else was downed. Richards then covered Elgin for the victory, but he did not realize (at least at the time) how the situation had shaken out to get to that point.
Edwards’ use of the choke instead of his reliable finishing holds is striking and quite possibly alarming. It could be an early example of the valuable lessons of this new coach that he is learning and putting to good use. It could be the beginning of a new, more aggressive and ruthless fighting strategy that Edwards is willing to employ to regain the title. Or, it could just be that Edwards was simply taking advantage of the situation in order to help his team win in the simplest and most direct way possible. It could be that all such speculation is making mountains out of molehills.
Or, could it be that Edwards has hired someone whom Richards or his fans or ROH officials would not approve of? If that’s the case and Edwards has tapped someone shady or disreputable to coach him, then what would that do to his current partnership in The American Wolves?
Though there are small and subtle incidents here and there of these disagreements between The Wolves, in and of themselves, these moments might not amount to much. Taken together, these examples begin to form an intriguing pattern of behavior that begins to unsettle the confidence one might have about the ties that bind between Richards and Edwards, and how strongly held together they are right now compared to only a few years ago, when both men rode roughshod over the ROH World Tag Team Title Division.
With all that in mind, just who could be the new coach that Edwards has hired to help him prepare for Final Battle 2011? Let’s look at the possibilities:
–Brutal Bob Evans: Reputed for his tough training camps and brutal attitude (hence the nickname), Evans is a true “coach” in that he puts his men through the paces and breaks them down in order to build them back up again. His ruthlessness infects the best (or worst) of his students and they apply his principles in the ring. Evans could be just the guy to teach Edwards that choke move he used during this past week’s tapings.
However, it seems unlikely that Evans would pick up a new client after nearly a year of supporting his current star pupil, “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett. Though Bennett has failed thus far to live up to his aggrandizing boasts of winning a championship in his first year in the promotion, it seems unlikely that Evans would abandon Bennett so quickly, or that Bennett would accept Evans splitting his attention with another wrestler who could score a major championship.
–Prince Nana: The Embassy’s main financial backer and one of the richest men in all of Ghana, West Africa could always use another man for his stable, especially one of Edwards’ caliber. Nana has been making plans of promotion-domination in ROH for years, looking for that one final piece of the puzzle to make that run to the top and get all that money that comes with representing the champion. Edwards has the pedigree of being a former ROH World Champion and Nana would see that as a perfect opportunity to institute a new crown jewel. However, Nana and Barrister R.D. Evans had previously stated that only royalty would be accepted into The New Embassy and well, Edwards is hardly the Duke of Dorchester. Though, I’m sure if push came to shove, Nana or Evans could “find” some “long-lost royal title” for Edwards. As well, Nana’s main plans have seemed to revolve around his “project” Tommaso Ciampa and they seem about to pay off some dividends. It wouldn’t be good business for Nana to dump Ciampa at this point (though it may be worth it to add Edwards to his collection).
–Truth Martini: There have been some hints, though small and subtle, within Truth’s blog writings on the rohwrestling.com website concerning his opinion about Eddie Edwards being disregarded by his own tag team partner. Martini claimed in this blog that it was inexcusable for Richards to have accepted the challenge at Best in the World 2011 and that he put himself over his friendship with Edwards. Maybe, maybe not, but regardless of the “truth” of the matter, if Edwards is still harboring any ill feelings about the matter, that makes him perfect House of Truth recruitment fodder.
Truth Martini is a corrupter, and he changes the minds and thoughts of those in his charge, twisting them until it suits his own interests. Truth may have gotten to Edwards already and we just don’t know it yet. Now, the obvious response is “but fans saw Edwards choke Elgin out at the TV tapings, why would he do that to someone in his own stable?” Well, something like this has already been done before—Christopher Daniels fought and defeated Elgin at Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter 2, just hours before he revealed that he had joined The House. There is a certain “proving ground” that Truth likes to make his potential House members go through before giving them the final entry into his cult-like group. This match at ROH TV might have been it for Edwards, if he has taken on Truth as his “Life-Coach”.
–Shane Hagadorn: Now here is an interesting, though somewhat stomach-churning option. See, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards used to call Hagadorn their manager back in 2009 through mid-2010. However, Richards threw Hagadorn to the curb when he “managed” to interfere in matches too many times for Richards’ liking. Hagadorn was also picking and choosing Edwards’ opponents during his first months as TV champion…some would say, “protecting” his investment in Edwards by not allowing him to wrestle against anyone who could be a serious threat for the title. Hagadorn claimed he only wanted to do his job and that The American Wolves were nothing without him. Well, it is true that both Richards and Edwards would go on to prove that claim wrong. However, when it came to disowning Hagadorn, it was Richards who was the most gung-ho and Edwards who was the reluctant one, at least initially. Edwards was forced to make a choice back then…and he chose to dump Hagadorn and stick it out with Richards. That has worked for him, for a time, but in the long run, is it really getting him back to where he wants to be?
Maybe Edwards decided he did need to bring Hagadorn back into the fold after all. It would be the most perfect time for Hagadorn, since his recent charges The Kings of Wrestling (whom, like The Wolves, he also managed to the ROH World Tag Team Championships, though how much credit for that he should get is up for debate) are no longer a part of Ring of Honor and he is need of new talent to manage. Well, perhaps everything old is new again and Edwards is the man for the job. It can only be imagined the reaction Richards would have to his own partner returning to a man whom they both decided was cancerous and not productive for their careers. Probably it wouldn’t be too positive a response, if that is to be the case.
–Delirious: It has been months, maybe over a year since Delirious had a visible presence on ROH television. Perhaps coaching Edwards would be a great opportunity for the green man without a rational plan to emerge back on the scene. Now, obviously, it would be an insane move for Edwards to hire someone who is only half-there all the time, but that’s the genius of the thing. This is a purely psychological move—no one would expect Edwards to do something like this, but it would work as a complete surprise to Richards. He would have to think about exactly what it means that Edwards would do something so crazy, that if he were to go to such lengths as to hire Delirious, that he would go to the edge of sanity and back to regain the title. As far as Delirious’ coaching and training practices, well, that may not be the most cutting edge or relevant towards helping Edwards’ physical conditioning or wrestling strategy. Though it be madness, yet there is method to it. Then again, maybe not.
–someone new: Perhaps Edwards has hired someone who is not a regular part of the Ring of Honor scene. Maybe it’s not an established member of the active wrestling roster or managing circle, but rather someone new who can provide a fresh perspective for the challenger. This new coach could be someone whom Richards may or may not be familiar with but perhaps not expect him or her to come to ROH for this purpose. It could be an aspiring manager whom Edwards feels has the right mindset, conditioning techniques or inspirational / motivational attitude to get him back to the championship position. If Edwards has tabbed someone new, but someone very smart and capable of creating the right strategy, those intangibles may be enough to tip the scales in his favor come December 23rd, 2011 in New York City.
There is a lot of training and preparation ahead for Eddie Edwards regardless of his choice for a new coach, or the popularity or unpopularity of that decision. He and his new trainer along with whatever other coaching team Edwards implements now have less than three months to devise a winning strategy to take back the ROH World Title. Best in the World 2011 was the fight of Edwards’ life and ultimately it was a losing battle. Edwards engaged in a brutal back-and-forth, a hammering of blows to the body and near thirty-six minutes that took him to limit of sweat, exhaustion and pain. This time around, if Edwards is determined to change the outcome, he may need to change the parameters of the fight. Only a new coach can do that for him-to give him a different strategy, a better plan, than the one that ultimately let him down back in June.
Need is a serious word, whose meanings can yield a lot of dangerous consequences. Deep down inside, Eddie Edwards needs to be ROH World Champion again to prove he is the best. Right now, his tag team partner Davey Richards has the title. Yet, a man in need may find himself willing to do a lot of unsavory and condemnable actions to accomplish his goals. Has Edwards found that in his unending need, that he is willing and wanting to do anything and everything it takes to win, even against his own brother wolf? If that is the case, and Edwards has selected someone like Truth Martini or Shane Hagadorn—the devils in the mist—to help him gain his needs—the relationship between The American Wolves would truly never be the same again.
–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.
–Jay Lethal defeated Mike Bennett in Louisville, KY on 10/01/11.
ROH Sinclair Episode 3 Teaser Preview: ROH World Championship: Davey Richards © vs. Roderick Strong
Week Four for Plus 1 (+1), where I use an abacus to decide critically vital matters of national security and the professional wrestling industry. Well, maybe not that first one. Here’s how it works: I’ll demonstrate 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 together and at the end of the month the person, place or thing with the most points will join the “Plus of the Month Club”. Second place gets a set of steak knives; third place is you’re fired. Plus, we have lovely parting gifts for the other contestants including a home game version. So, who is in The Plus Column this week?
to BarberShopWindow.com for taking advantage of a fiduciary situation where WWE would not by creating and selling this excellent Too Many Limes T-shirt. This fantastic creation, that in no way bears any likeness or similarities to any copyrighted material whatsoever, is no longer available through that link, but it was a great idea gone absolutely right. According to their website motto, “We list a cool wrestling T-shirt for sale online. We keep that cool wrestling T-shirt for sale until it sells out. We list another cool wrestling T-shirt for sale online. The process repeats.” Unfortunately those that weren’t in the known couldn’t take advantage, but now that you know about it, check in on there from time-to-time and maybe there will be something that strikes your fancy. Now, all that’s needed is for the follow-up shirt that says “It’s a shameful thing, Lobsterhead” and the obvious logo that is appropriate to said phraseology. Oh, and cut our very own Greg DeMarco a slice of the profits on that one.
to Jerome Cusson of Pro Wrestling Ponderings for his must-read article asking about why Colt Cabana and Silas Young haven’t been signed to one of the big three promotions. I like what he has to say about both men. I’m not sure why Cabana hasn’t been brought back to ROH in this new era (see below) and I’m not sure there’s any good reason anyway. As for Silas Young, he was used as a jobber / underneath guy during the Sapolsky and Pearce booking eras in ROH, but hasn’t really been used in this last year. According to Cusson, Silas’ heel run in AAW has been terrific and his improvements signify he is ready for a shot in larger promotions. Let’s hope that happens and kudos to Jerome for suggesting it.
+2: CHIKARA Pro Wrestling
+2: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
+1: BarberShopWindow.com (NEW)
+1: Jerome Cusson (Pro Wrestling Ponderings) (NEW)
+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
September 2011: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla & CHIKARA Pro Wrestling
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.
Fave Five Current Members of the CHIKARA Roster.
CHIKARA Pro is running two shows this weekend in Burlington, NC and Kingsport, TN, featuring plenty of international talent, a tag team titles match and several more rounds in the 12: Large Tournament to crown the first major singles champion in the promotion (that is, aside from the Young Lions Cup). So, for this week’s favorites list here are my personal favorite current wrestlers on the CHIKARA stable. And yes, Fire Ant is included, in fact he is number five!
5. Fire Ant: Some cynics laugh when they see and hear of Fire Ant and The Colony, but like El Generico, much talent and ability is to be found once one goes beyond the masked character. Fire Ant has a diverse repertoire, both of flying moves and high-impact and his matches are most exciting when he successfully combines the two styles into his in-ring actions. The CHIKARA fans have long since accepted him and his popularity and crowd reaction to comebacks feeds into the overall energy of his matches. I like to watch what he does, especially moves like “In the Heat of the Moment”, the flying kick to the head, or the Beach Break finisher.
4. Ultramantis Black: The evil genius of CHIKARA has been back on the side of angels for a while now (he started as a technico) and has proven to be just as entertaining and engrossing a character as ever. Ultramantis may have dreamed of taking over the world, but he’ll be damned if he ever let anyone else do that too, which is why he has been so opposed to the likes of the BDK and The Batiri. Ultramantis continues to be very good on color commentary and is always good for a dry quip on the microphone.
3. Eddie Kingston: I am still fiercely in support of Kingston, both thanks to his classic promos from several years ago and for still being a bad-ass presence. He isn’t jacked up or a speed-of-sound luchador, but he brawls with the best of them and makes every match seem like a Rocky movie, with him putting on the hurt and then getting ready for his come-back. Holla.
2. Mike Quackenbush: Quack is the mind of the promotion but also a great deal of its heart and soul. He’s had a great year in the ring, mind you, with some fantastic tag team efforts with Jigsaw in defending the Campeones de Parejas. Along the way his team ups with Joshi legend Minami Toyota and British catch-as-catch-can expert Johnny Saint have shown that Quack knows how to make way for featured stars to shine while still showing off his expertise in the ring. That and his matches for the 12: Large tournament have been top-notch back-and-forth efforts focusing on what really matters in professional wrestling and that’s the wrestling.
1. Sara Del Rey: I’ve written this several times in previous weeks, so in a way this is no real surprise, but I have totally fallen for Del Rey’s wrestling in CHIKARA this past year. Her 12: Large matches against Ophidian, Claudio Castagnoli and Icarus all demonstrate that she is the current incarnation of a Billie Jean King-like female on the independent wrestling scene. She is tough as nails, puts on a great show and most importantly, dominates in the clutch. I like to see all three of those things in my favorite wrestlers and my favorite wrestling matches. Del Rey has been in plenty of the latter in CHIKARA this year, so she is definitely the former-my favorite CHIKARA wrestler currently on roster.
-Here is a full rundown of results from last week’s SBG television tapings, if you haven’t read them already. As always, spoilers are included so click only if you want to know.
-Quick reaction to the results, mostly spoiler-free: I like the continued focus on tag team wrestling throughout the show, which continues to separate ROH from the other promotions (and the tag division will once again expand in depth as ROH adds more teams, see below). I like Kyle O’Reilly matching up against Roderick Strong in singles competition as it helps to sharpen him more for the future and readies him for what’s expected for a large role in the company in the years to come. Not a fan of a rematch between ANX and The Briscoes taking place and that making two matches between the teams airing after the supposed blow-off (see below for Death Before Dishonor IX iPPV buy numbers). I do not like Mike Mondo’s in ROH but it is good to see him go under to TJ Perkins, who has better break-out potential in the coming year. Mike Bennett reportedly had a good match with Jay Lethal and there were fans chanting “This is Wrestling” during the match. That’s good for ROH and I’ve already made my opinion known about that particular issue. SPOILER HERE: I do have a beef with the result of the match, that heel who is getting a title match then walks away after the initial time limit draw. He is the one walking away from a title opportunity. It would make more sense if it was the other way around and the heel was denying the babyface a further opportunity at winning the title, but this made Bennett look like a fool., because logically, who knows if he would ever receive another opportunity? He didn’t lose, but he didn’t win either, so why does he deserve another TV title shot?
-Thoughts on the second week of ROH TV: Continuing on similar thoughts, guess which match I skipped out on? The main-event presentation of the TV Title match between Generico and Lethal was very good action, the kind of style and substance one would expect from both men. The crowd was fantastic for this one and made the over-time period far more dramatic and exciting thanks to their reaction to every major move. However, if one listened to the crowd, then one would draw the conclusion that El Generico was the far more popular wrestler of the two and yet, he is the one on the outside looking in right now. Whether or not that may actually feed into a possible storyline twist with Kevin Steen’s situation, ROH still lost an opportunity to capitalize on Generico’s babyface appeal and ability to perform.
The other major highlight of the show was once again the “Inside ROH” newsmagazine feature, with a very effective sit-down interview with Eddie Edwards. Of course, it would be better if ROH didn’t lie about the origins of the “Die-Hard” nickname. He didn’t receive the nickname through his efforts at Ladder War 2 (though that DID serve as the turning point towards making him one of the more popular and fan favorite wrestlers on the roster). Edwards was using that going all the way back to 2006 and earlier, back in his dreadlocked-hair days. Well, at least they didn’t show clips of that-thank goodness for small favors.
-According to the October 12th cover dated Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Davey Richards is slated to defend the ROH World Title in Tulancingo, Mexico on 10/15 against a wrestler named Daga. I will avoid making any bad jokes about French paintings. I haven’t listed the defense in the ROH Call section because ROH hasn’t officially recognized that this match is taking place, but I’ll list it as an unofficial successful title defense if it does go through.
–Survival of the Fittest 2011 details have been released. The annual tournament takes place in Dayton, Ohio on November 18th, 2011 one night before Glory By Honor X in Chicago, Illinois. The winner of the tournament usually receives a future ROH World Title shot. The tournament format has changed occasionally from time-to-time and it shifts again this year. The previous few years have been six singles matches with the winners advancing to the six-man elimination finals. This time around, there will be three singles matches, one tag team match (with both members of the winning team advancing, thus there is a incentive for cooperation because of the mutual benefit) and one four-corner survival match (one winner advancing). That gets us to the six-man elimination finals. In addition to those tournament matches there will also be two other non-tournament bouts to round out the card.
Last year’s winner, Eddie Edwards, looks to repeat his run and is the second official man in the tournament, joining Andy “Right Leg” Ridge for the fourteen-man field. Roderick Strong (the 2005 Survival of the Fittest winner) and Kenny King were named to the tournament on Wednesday October 5th.
-The number of iPPV buys for Death Before Dishonor IX is 972, according to Dave Meltzer in the October 10th, 2011 dated Wrestling Observer. Best in the World 2011 had 2,100 buys, so to be down over 50% from the previous show isn’t great at all. However, Meltzer reasons that a free UFC show running on TV combined with no more ROH on HDNet to promote the shows combined with no Davey Richards or any championship title matches explains the lower number. I’d actually add that the build to the Ladder War match was far too late, in that there was a lot of ambiguity about whether or not that stipulation would occur. There was debate at the time about whether or not Briscoes vs. ANX should have been that kind of match in the first place, but if it was, perhaps ROH should have locked that in months in advance and spent the brunt of its time advertising it as the feud finale (even though, with two more matches between the teams airing after it took place, it actually wasn’t). The main-event matches themselves were really great and perhaps even better than expected and the undercard for this show was probably slightly better than Best in the World, but expectations were low in the first-place about this show.
-It’s now official: Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander, known as C&C Wrestling Factory, have signed with ROH. They should make for a great undercard tag team for the next year, mixing it up with the likes of The Bravados, Future Shock and The Young Bucks for some great efforts utilizing their athleticism and exciting tag combinations.
-Also officially signed to an ROH contract is TJ Perkins, formerly known as both TJP and Puma. Perkins has had dates with the promotion on-and-off since 2005, but he is a very good pickup at this point given his in-ring talents.
Also, Alexander, Coleman and Perkins are now all listed as official members of the ROH roster.
-In a correction, Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Weekly is reporting that Mike Mondo has not been signed by ROH as reported last week.
-New matches for Collinsville, Illinois on 11/06/11: The American Wolves versus The All-Night Express in a first-time ever tag team bout (it wouldn’t surprise me to see ANX go over here with them being set up for a title shot two weeks afterwards)and El Generico vs. Mike Bennett in another first-time singles match. The main event is the ROH World Tag Team Title Match between Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin against challengers Future Shock of Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly. Tommasso Ciampa has also been confirmed for the show.
-Ringside Members of ROH’s website received an email that allowed them to order tickets early with a presale password for Spartanburg, SC and Greensboro, NC on December 3rd and 4th. ROH will likely offer more presales for Ringside Members in the future.
-Here is the initial talent list for ROH’s third set of TV tapings on November 5th, 2011, this one also taking place at The Davis Arena in Louisville, KY: ROH World Champion Davey Richards, ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal, ROH World Tag Champion Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin, “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards, Jay & Mark Briscoe, The All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King), El Generico, “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett, Tommaso Ciampa & The Embassy
-El Generico wasn’t at the ROH TV tapings last week because he was on tour in Germany. Colt Cabana wasn’t at any ROH shows these past few months because…well, I have no real clue why ROH hasn’t signed Cabana. He’s been a large part of ROH’s past and is a great counterpoint to ROH’s usual seriousness. Apparently he will only be brought in on occasion if at all.
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: 83
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.
So, unfortunately, it looks like this countdown is at an end. After all, it was all but a fait accompli that Mighty Mike was going to win the TV Title at the Louisville tapings. So all hail the NEW TV…wait, what? What was that? Mike Bennett didn’t win the TV Title last week? NO! Well, I didn’t see that one coming. I guess the countdown is back ON baby!
Twitter me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.
-Shawn S. Lealos gives you the play-by-play of the second episode of ROH SBG TV with this ROH television report.
-T.J. Hawke interviews the devious (and stylish!) Ultramantis Black. He also talks with Ben Muth of Wrestling Revolution Project.
-T.J. is also in with a review of SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 38 with the excellent main-event of Ayako Hamada vs. Ayumi Kurihara. SHIMMER definitely makes their DVDs worthwhile, especially the upper-card scene.
-For more SHIMMER goodness, check out this week’s edition of The Greg DeMarco show for an interview with “Everyone’s Favorite Girlfriend” (certainly mine) Jessie McKay.
-Its Mike Campbell’s turn once again for a retro-ROH review, looking back at Empire State Showdown, which featured perhaps one of the funniest segments in all-time ROH history in the promo-war between Steve Corino who lists wresters who have abuse drugs in the past (including riffs on Raven and Scott Hall) and straight-edge CM Punk’s counter-rebuttal of drugs he’ll never take. The match was just “aight” but the moment was legendary.
Finally, your moment of QI (Quite Interesting):
I am off next week as I’ll be knee-deep in comic book culture at the New York Comic-Con at the Javits Center in NYC. However, in two weeks, I’ll be back in two weeks. Yeah, exactly… Thanks for reading and for the feedback.
BROOKLYN!
DAH EM BAH SEE FOR-EVAH!
Dedicated to Frank J.A.
–Ari–
