Column of Honor: 2.04.06
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 02.04.2006
I’m a moron, Abyss, Milano and Low Ki are all gone, Ole Anderson-Dead or Alive, and Straight Shooting with The King of Old School, all this week in the column that has 100% vitamin HONOR.
Taking the Hit
From the Royal Rumble Roundtable, last week:
Ari Berenstein: Edge as champion has freshened up the WWE Title scene, so I really hope he isn't the transition champion…Edge has real heat now because he is a scumbag. Cena has decreased his booos dramatically as the challenger chasing the title and Ric Flair has become THE NATCHA BOY RIC FLAIR WOOOOOOOO once more…totally reborn. That said, this is the part of the story where WWE totally fucks all the positive momentum created from the last few weeks of good shows and reverts to status quo. However, being the dumbass cynical pessimistic optimistic mark smart mark that I am I am going TOTALLY AGAINST WWE Logic. I will be willing to look like a moron if I am wrong.
Winner: Edge
Ladies and gentleman, I look like a moron.
Wow, did I ever get burned for not trusting WWE logic and instinct. I knew the possibility of John Cena regaining the WWE title was there, hell, I practically spelled it out for myself in the above paragraph, but I still went with Edge. WHAT WAS I THINKING?
Moron.
From last week's Column of Honor, last week (naturally):
Now I dunno what "sick with Gabe's shit" means, unless we're talking about the man's propensity for throwing lighting posts and screeching like a woman in times of stress. So I really can't speak to that either. But then again, neither can the other side of the coin know what it means anyway…so therefore it's all conjecture, i.e. bullshit, and no one really knows what the hell is going on. The only substantial reason I can see with Milano having an issue with ROH is his win loss record, which quite frankly doesn't altogether correlate with future performance (look at Gibson or Punk's W-L record) in the company. Also Milano, like relative newcomer Claudio Castagnoli was ENORMOUSLY over with the fans, thus guaranteeing more pay dates with the company.
Well, it looks like I look like a moron again.
Although I was right on for the reasons Milano disagreed with ROH / Gabe (money, booking, politics), I knocked the story and thought it to be untrue, when it indeed looks like this story is true. I apologize to my readers for jumping the gun and wearing my heart on my sleeve. As a result, Cook got in a good lick on me in his column, and that just ain't good business for anyone.
I'm a Moron.
Back to business…
Major Announcements: Bas News, Worse News and Even Worse New
It appears that Abyss, Milano Collection AT and now Low Ki are gone from Ring of Honor.
It has been quite the tumultuous week, where Ring of Honor promised several huge announcements, expected to be positive progress for the company. One of those announcements was the return to the St. Paul, MN area in the summer of 2006 after a near two year absence from that area. Another major announcement was supposed to be the main even for the March 25th show at Basketball City in Chelsea Piers, New York. The announcements were not supposed to include the departure of three wrestlers from its roster, including a founding father of the company.
The week of departures began as reports kicked up about Milano Collection AT leaving the company due to disagreements in booking and the supposed involvement of Dragon Gate wrestlers in future ROH events (Milano previously worked for that company and had a major falling out which led to his arrival in the American indy scene). While Milano's exit has yet to be officially confirmed, it is now being reported by more than one website, including PWInsider.com.
Around the same time, PWInsider also reported that Abyss and Gabe Sapolsky / ROH had come to a mutual understanding for Abyss to leave the company. Abyss had wanted a larger role in the company, with more featured and upper tier matches. Previously he had been a part of the huge Generation Next-The Embassy war but had yet to be involved in any specific singles feud. It was Gabe / ROH's concern that they were spotlighting too many TNA stars at the expense of the more clearly understood "ROH" specific wrestlers. He did not want to add another name to that list, so apparently both sides have agreed to end their booking. Abyss left on good terms and in storylines he is still owed a match of his own choosing via The Embasy's win last weekend during the Trios Tournament, so he may in fact return.
Then just this past Friday morning, Sapolsky also released the following information via rohwrestling.com:
There has been a disgreement in business arrangements between Low Ki and ROH management. Low Ki has canceled all his ROH bookings as stated in a headline at Low-Ki.com.
We will announce new matches for the ones that Ki has already been advertised in next week.
This will mark the end of Low Ki in ROH. We are sorry things turned out this way and apologize to the ROH fans for the lineup changes.
They say bad news comes in threes, well, this has certainly been proven to be true this week. Each loss is a blow to the roster and as a whole, this is certainly one of the largest movement of talent since the dark days of March / April 2004. Taken into consideration with Samoa Joe's staph infection, reports of Christopher Daniels hurting his right knee / leg in his match against Matt Sydal at 1/28, Homicide and Cabana mostly on the sidelines, January has not been kind to the indy company that could. While the wrestling events have held fine matches and angles, the ROH roster is definitely hurting.
Low Ki's pull out in particular hurts the most considering the future booking of the company had him in a featured main event match against Roderick Strong at the 2/11 show, a main event tag match at the ECW Arena show putting Joe and Danielson against Ki and Daniels and of course the original ROH Triple Threat Redux at the 100th show on 4/22. Quite frankly, that's not putting one bullet into the booking sheet, its downright going ballistic with an automatic. These were no doubt high profile matches, with the 100th anniversary show hurting the most as a result of it. Its one of the few matches everyone was expecting to see come to reality. It also quite possibly means ROH will never see Joe-Ki 2, the match that has basically become the "Chinese Democracy" of the company as far as expecting it to happen (although to be fair, ROH has never announced or promised this match). ROH gets burned by putting the advertising out for these shows in order to sell advanced tickets and then not being able to deliver the goods.
The announced reason for these wrestlers leaving has been deemed "business decisions" but as covered last week that usually means either: money, booking or politics. Low Ki is notorious in ROH for rarely losing. When he lost to Jay Lethal and then KENTA within three months, it appeared as if Ki was becoming more open to the notion of losing, but the loss to Lethal came only after a win earlier in the evening and there was no way Ki could have demanded to win against the GHC Jr. champion on 12/17. Its actually funny, but Ki had actually upped his good will and his reputation among ROH fans because of these performances, especially his Final Battle outing and then his coming in and saving the day over the past weekend, replacing Samoa Joe on the card. People, including myself, were once again getting exceedingly excited over the talent and effort Ki was putting forth in matches.
If Low Ki is choosing to leave because of money, it's actually understandable. Wrestling is about money, and you've got to try to get as much of it as you can while you're still going because you never know when it will end. This is why I don't really hold anything against Milano for asking ofr more money or Abyss for wanting a better position in the company (and hence more money). It never hurts to ask. However, ROH despite is success as an indy darling, still has budgetary concerns that need to be met. When it comes down to it, if Ki wanted more money for his appearances, I would have struck a compromise and split the difference, take it or leave it. However I am not in charge of ROH, so I cannot speak for what actually happened.
If Ki is choosing to leave because of the booking, i.e. he wouldn't put over Roderick Strong in his upcoming match that is nothing but utter ridiculousness and selfishness. Refusing to job in that match or any of the other upcoming events had no merit whatsoever. In this particular case, Strong has been one of the most popular AND up and coming wrestlers on the ROH roster. There is no doubt Strong is being readied to get into a position where he can help carry the company—his promos have steadily increased in time and quality, and his in ring work at present cannot be questioned. If Ki refused to job, there should be no compromise. Everyone has to job sometime, and with what had been a burgeoning Generation Next –Rottweilers war becoming more established, no doubt everyone at one point or another would have to spend some time looking up at the lights. Now, with Homicide on the IR list, Rocky Romero usually off in Japan and Ki gone from the company, The Rottweilers are in shambles. It is officially Ricky Reyes, J-Train and some "nameless" white guy. That is a group to be reckoned with for sure.
Now, the Rottweilers are hurt, ROH is hurt, the fans are hurt. Again I don't blame Ki for trying to use some leverage—after all he DID have the leverage in this situation. The matches were announced, the match quality has been there and Ki did just do a huge favor (even though he DID win both matches, hmmm…) by appearing in Dayton and Cleveland. ROH was not bargaining from a position of power. While I believe you shouldn't necessarily want to set precedent that all the boys can start to abuse if they want, maybe a little less stubbornness on ROH's side would help in these situations.
It's a bit early to go all Chicken Little here, but while the whole sky may not be falling, you should probably do well to bring an umbrella and watch out for some debris. However, I wouldn't go all apoplectic about this being the end of Ring of Honor. It isn't by any stretch of the imagination. There are now some holes to plug in; adjustments to be made that weren't there a few days ago. But the company isn't going anywhere.
And besides, any of these three men may come back at some point in the future. If you have any doubt, I have just two words for you:
Steve Corino.
Oh…and there's always the possibility that this is some sort of elaborate work…after all, when CM Punk was rumored to be leaving for WWE, Gabe went with it and score a touchdown of a storyline. Maybe more of the same here?
Well, I wouldn't bet the house on it, but you never know.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 2/04/2006
ROH World Champion—American Dragon Bryan Danielson (champion since 9/17/05, 9 successful defenses)
ROH PURE Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 8/29/05, 7 successful defenses)
ROH Tag Team Champions—Austin Aries and Roderick Strong (NEW CHAMPIONS since 12/17/05, 2 successful defenses)
COH Top 5 Rankings: February 2006
In lieu of the top 5 rankings nout being updates at ROH, here's a look into my own rankings of the ROH Roster through the three shows of January 2006. We'll see how this list compares to the real thing whenever its released.
1. Roderick Strong – Made ROH Champion Bryan Danielson tap out in a tag team title match on 1/27—this should be automatic grounds for a ROH World Title match.
2. Alex Shelley – Holds Trios Tournament win which Shelley has used for a title shot.
3. Jimmy Rave - Trios Tournament win which Rave has used for a title shot.
4. Jimmy Yang – Has made a big turn around in his second swing with the company. A win with Gen Next in the Trios Tournament and a singles win help place Yang here.
5. Christopher Daniels- wins against Jay Lethal on 1/14 and Matt Sydal 1/28 show that the veteran Daniels can still outwrestle the competition in ROH.
ROH News (via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed)
And Truer Words Have Never Been Spoken… There is chaos all over the ROH roster after last weekend's events in Ohio. We have seen dissension in The Embassy, Generation Next and Lacey's Angels.
Somebody needs to remind all these guys that Valentine's Day is right around the corner… kiss and make up already. Everyone needs to get past their respective egos and understand that a little bit of friendly competition (such as between Sydal and his teammates or Rave and Shelley bickering over title shots, see below) never hurt anyone. United they stand, divided…
Embassy Fallout There is major World Title news for February. The Embassy of Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley & Abyss with Prince Nana won the Trios Tournament 2006 last Friday in Dayton. As a result, each member of The Embassy will get to book themselves in any match they want. Jimmy Rave has selected first and has bumped Alex Shelley from the 2/25 Four Anniversary Show. 2/25 in Edison, NJ will now see ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave!!! Shelley is no longer even scheduled for this event as he will now compete in Japan for Zero-One Max. This brings us to our next news item....
This could be where Danielson drops the belt…or Rave's arrogance and narcissism could get the best of him.
Alex Shelley has picked his match. He will now challenge Bryan Danielson on 2/11 in Long Island!!! This means that Danielson might not even be champion on 2/25. Needless to say, Rave isn't too happy about this. However, Prince Nana is ecstatic as he only cares about bringing the World Title to The Embassy. He feels that will happen in February as both his top aces have a shot at the belt.
More dissension in the ranks…Shelley HAD a lock on his shot until Rave bounced him out of the way with the "magic wish" from the Trios Tournament. That meant Shelley has to USE HIS match to get back in line. This bumper car routine could definitely shake up the cohesive relationship these two once had just a few months ago. Will Nana be able to keep his men happy together? Money can only go so far… I mean, I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love.
Okay, that Beatles reference was out of line. My apologies.
There has recently been dissension in The Embassy. Alex Shelley is set for a World Title match against Bryan Danielson on 2/11. Jimmy Rave is signed to face Danielson on 2/25 and if Danielson is still champion the belt will be on the line. Both Shelley and Rave want the World Title. Prince Nana only cares about someone winning the belt for him and bringing it to The Embassy. Oddly, Nana actually blames Abyss for the dissension and has suspended the big man. We asked Nana what was going to happen with Abyss' prize for being on the winning team of the Trios Tournament. Abyss has an open contract to put himself in any match he wants on a future ROH show. Nana just laughed when we asked him and said that the contract is "like money in the bank."
Apparently, the title shot goes into The Embassy's war chest and will be brought out when everyone least expects it.
Strong Rebound It looks like Roderick Strong is in line for another World Title shot after making Bryan Danielson tap out in a tag team match last Friday in Dayton. Negotiations are currently taking place now for when this match will be. It could end up with Strong challenging an Embassy member since Strong won't receive his shot until at least March or even early April.
With a long line of contenders for Danielson's belt, Roderick Strong needs to make sure he doesn't get lost in the shuffle. He's got a great case for a rematch sooner rather than later.
Generation Next—The Next Fallout? A huge Tag Team Title Match has been signed for the Fourth Anniversary Show on 2/25 in Edison, NJ. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong will defend the belts against AJ Styles & Generation Next stablemate Matt Sydal. Future home releases will see the backstage developments that led to this match.
So here it is, Sydal finally gets the chance he was waiting for with Styles to grab the tag titles. Now, what happens during this match or afterwards is anyone's guess, but if feelings get hurt, well, there's the next fallout.
He's Hardcore! He's Hardcore! Oh Wait…He Wouldn't Like That… ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette had one of his front teeth knocked out of his mouth in a fight backstage last Friday in Dayton. Necro Butcher and Chris Hero tried to crash the Dayton event. Members of the ROH locker room and security dragged them to the back where a huge brawl broke out. Somehow in the brawl Cornette's tooth was knocked out of his mouth. We don't believe that Hero or Necro knocked the tooth out since they were under a pile of bodies, but it is because of them that Cornette was even put in a position to have his tooth knocked out. We hope to find out who knocked out Cornette's tooth after an investigation by ROH officials.
It's amazing that Cornette, who hurt himself earlier in the month while falling down in his own house, would become so involved, physically and emotionally in the struggle between ROH and CZW. Cornette has had fire and determination to lead the men under his commissionership straight through the CZW wrestlers. He's shown no fear and no remorse, and he's made it very easy to get behind his efforts. Good job James E.
Easy Come, Easy Go Delirious was told by ROH officials that despite being popular, he needs to get a win or he will be dropped entirely from the roster. However, since Delirious has so much fan support he can secure a full-time job with just one big win.
The fan support for Delirious has just been monumental…he's just gotta break through or else we might go crazy from the Delirious withdrawal! I know I'll be rooting for him…just so he understands it in his own unique language, here's my cheer for the Big D… BAH, BAH, BAH !
BJ Whitmer has quit Lacey's Angels. He gave his notice by hitting partner Jimmy Jacobs with the Wrist Clutch Exploder last Saturday in Cleveland. Lacey insists this will be a business decision that Whitmer will regret. Right now Whitmer has his sights set on Christopher Daniels.
I'll have more to comment on Whitmer's decisions down in the Ringtones section of the column.
Match / Event Roster Additions Jimmy Yang vs. Jerrelle Clark has been added to the 2/11 event in Long Island. This is an important bout for both these innovative high-flyers. Clark needs a win to earn future bookings. Yang wants to put a win streak together so he can climb into the main event scene of ROH. This promises to be a very exciting bout.
A Four Corner Survival has been added to the big event on 2/11 in Long Island. It will be Colt Cabana vs. Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave vs. BJ Whitmer!!! This will be an important match for the Top 5 Rankings.
AJ Styles has been added to the 4/22 event in Philly.
Matt Sydal has officially earned a fulltime spot in ROH
and will be on every show starting on 2/25 when he teams with AJ Styles to challenge ROH Tag Team Champions Austin Aries & Roderick Strong.
Samoa Joe has recovered from the staph infection. Joe wanted us to send word to all the ROH fans that he can't wait to return on 2/25 at the Fourth Anniversary Show in Edison, NJ to face Jay Lethal. Joe said that Jay Lethal won't be wrestling's hottest free agent after 2/25 because he is going to kick his face in.
The 2/11 match between Yang and Clark looks pretty much to be a win for Yang, but the match could also be a show stealer. One of the four men in the 4CS should make another step up the card with a win. Booking Styles for the 4/22 (100th ROH show) is now pretty fortuitous now that Ki has been pulled. Sydal has definitely stepped up his game and will hopefully stick around for the good, long and foreseeable future. Of course there was NO WAY Joe was going to job to a freaking Staph infection. Muscle Buster + Choke = Staph Infection taps the fuck out. Now its time for Lethal to do the same.
Now Playing at ROH Videos.com There are three new, free videos now at ROHvideos.com including a must see Jim Cornette promo. Video #1 features Cornette going off about hardcore wrestling including clips of Adam Pearce and Cornette pounding on Necro Butcher. Video #2 features a locker room confrontation between Low Ki and Roderick Strong plus clips of both in action from last week. Video #3 is the complete Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious match from last Friday in Dayton. If you've never seen these guys in action this is a great chance to check them out.
Well, now the Ki-Strong video doesn't have much relevance but I strongly suggest checking out the Cornette promo-probably one of the STRONGEST promos many have seen in a while, done by a wrestler, manager or otherwise. Nigel vs. Delirious is a really fun match that showcases both wrestlers very well, and is great action.
Scramble for Scramble Look for the return of the Tag Team Scramble soon.
More like ROH: The Scramble for more tag teams since everyone is breaking up. Seriously, these things were pretty hit or miss sometimes and I think that ROH has maybe outgrown that match style.
Bring It ON! It's ALREADY BEEN BROUGHT! This one goes out to Chris Hero. You want to keep writing in your live journal, well Jim Cornette has a message for you at ROHvideos.com. Not only that, but ROH management is going to have a message for you next week right here in the ROHwrestling.com Newswire. Consider yourself an endangered species.
You know what that last line means—grill up the rumor sheets because RHINO is coming to ROH to take on Chris Hero!
-Matt Sydal, Jimmy Yang and Jack Evans defeated BJ Whitmer, Jimmy Jacobs and Adam Pearce in a Trios Tournament Semi-Final Match Semi Final match.
-The Embassy of Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, and Abyss defeated Jay Fury, Tony Mamaluke and Sal Rinauro in a Trios Tournament Semi-Final Match.
-Claudio Castagnoli defeated Chad Collyer after Ace Steel interfered.
-Ace Steel vs. James Keenan goes to a no contest after a brawl between CZW's Chris Hero and Necro Butcher and the entire ROH locker room!
-Nigel McGuinness defeated Delirious via pinfall after the Tower of London.
-Low Ki defeated Christopher Daniels via pinfall.
- The Embassy of Rave, Shelley, and Abyss defeated Generation Next of Jack Evans and Matt Sydal, and Jimmy Yang in the Trios Tournament 2006 Final. Jimmy Rave pinned Jack Evans with Greetings From Ghana.
-Champions Austin Aries and Roderick Strong defeated challengers Bryan Danielson & Jay Lethal to retain the ROH Tag Team Title.
Angles & Developments
-In the biggest storyline development between CZW and ROH since the 1/14 shows, Chris Hero and Necro Butcher appeared in the general admission section during the show, heckling several matches until a huge brawl between them and the ROH erupted. Afterwards Jim Cornette cut a HUGE promo (different that the one currently available online) about the CZW vs. ROH issue.
- In a foreshadowing of the next days events within Lacey's Angels, BJ Whitmer and Jacobs apparently had some sort of heated argument during their trios match.
-During the Trios Tournament finals, Abyss teased a hitting a choke slam on his own partner Alex Shelley but Nana talked the big man down from the ledge, so to speak.
-After the tag team titles match, DAH EM-BAH-SEE! got to Danielson. Generation Next got the save, but Strong certainly hasn't forgiven Danielson because he wanted another title shot, and he got it.
ROH Results: 1/28, Cleveland, OH (via rohwrestling.com Message Board) Matches
-Adam Pearce defeated Jay Fury.
-Jimmy Yang defeated Jay Lethal.
-Tony Mamaluke, Sal Rinauro and Delirious defeated The Embassy
-Low Ki defeated Jack Evans.
-Claudio Castagnoli and Ace Steel defeated Nigel McGuinness and Chad Collyer.
-Champions Generation Next defeated Lacey's Angels to retain the ROH Tag Team Titles.
-Christopher Daniels defeated Matt Sydal
-ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson defeated AJ Styles to retain the title.
Angles & Developments
-Necro Butcher "invaded" another ROH show, this time brawling with Adam Pearce (leading to the aforementioned "missing tooth incident" involving James E. Cornette).
-More visible "dissention in the ranks" could be seen between Jimmy Rave and Alex Shelley.
-BJ Whitmer turned on Jimmy Jacobs after it seemed that Jacobs was more obsessed with lacey than winning the tag team championships. After ignoring Whitmer, Jacobs was on the receiving end of an exploder suplex.
Ringtones
411's own Stu Carapola has a good question about ROH's own Hillybilly Jesus:
Just wondering what your thoughts are on the breakup of Whitmer and Jacobs
this past weekend? I was kind of upset to hear about it, because after
basically being thrown together, they turned out to be a shockingly good
team. However, if it winds up with Whitmer getting a big singles push, then
I'm all for it. What's your take on this?
I just don't buy Whitmer as a singles wrestler... He just seemed to be very bland on his own back during his 2003 singles run. I like the bitterness that the character he has is now showing because of his feelings that Daniels turned his back on The Prophecy. If he taps into that emotion and wears it on his sleeve, that could be the X-factor that turns him from "bland" into a hateable heel. I think Daniels-Whitmer feud could work for now, but I'm wary of a long term Whitmer singles run. I'm also a bit mystified by his LEAVING Lacey's Angels and Jacobs staying on; usually in wrestling with this type of situation, the wrestler who is MORE sympathetic gets turned on. I.e. Jacobs has a crush on Lacey. HE should have been turned on by both Whitmer and Lacey and thrown out of the group. But I guess its just ROH's way of doing something different. I would have kept Whitmer and Jacobs together; after all, the focus of 2006 was supposed to be tag teams...and now many of the tag teams / stables are breaking up or going through turbulence!
Straight Shootin Series Shorthand: Steve Corino
More alliteration…that's why I was an English major. That and for the chicks (HAHAHAHA…sorry).
So here we go with another shorthand look at my favorite shoot interviews from ROH's illustrious Straight Shootin Series. Now, I don't want to give everything away, because then what would be the point of you out there picking them up…but I will tell you some of my favorite moments from the shoot (that's what it's called shorthand!)
This shoot with Corino was taped back on August ___ 2004:
1. Experiences in TNA / Babysitting The Sandman-- Corino's recounting f his three week stint is hilarious…there's some WCW level ingeniousness at play with some of the booking decisions made for his matches while he is there. There is also a petty sickening story of Corino getting an infection from being thrown through some tables and the doctor not cleaning it properly. The coup de grace of these stories is Corino's thoughts about Jeff Jarrett, Bob Ryder and The Sandman (does a great impression here). Corino has to "babysit" the Sandman for one of the shows in which Mr. Fullington was a little bit less than in good condition to work that day.
2. ECW-- Corino discusses his first try out with ECW thanks in part to Nova, who at first when he calls Corino thinks this is a practical joke. Corino then tells the tale of meeting Heyman after his tryout match, which also included waiting for hours until the wee parts of the morning…right next to Jazz. Corino does a killer Jazz impression and an awesome Paul Heyman impression, emitting much exuberance and excitement. Corino also goes into length about Tommy Dreamer, with some shocking stories if you had been led to believe in Tommy as a "good guy" and "for the boys". The way Corino tells it, he certainly wasn't for Corino, and would berate or talk down or make small but demoralizing comments to Corino during his run in the company.
3. The "Fayetteville Screwjob"—my favorite story from the DVD. It involves Corino working for a friend's indie promotion, a retarded referee (shoot retarded), an asshole referee, and a match ending in a TWO COUNT, with Corino's shoulders down for the count. Fathom that one. Corino's one of voice faithfully expressed the exasperations of this moment.
4. Tommy Rich's Hazing Ritual--"Wildfire" Tommy Rich was one of Corino's favorite wrestlers when he was growing up, so meeting one of his favorite idols as he entered ECW should have been the moment of his life. Emphasis on should have. The story that follows of Rich hazing Corino (and the payoff involving transition into hazing Simon Diamond) are gut bustingly hilarious.
5. Jack Victory's Bedroom Rib --Jack is sick. In his hotel bed. He pisses in the bed. Hilarity follows. The End. (No seriously, I'd rather not have the mental image of Jack Victory pissing in a bed…oh damn, there it is).
The Interruption: A wrestler's life is constantly busy; therefore there is usually some interruption in the course of a two and half hour shoot interview. These interruptions can be just as humorous or entertaining as the actual shoot comments.
Corino's constant complaints about the heat in the interview room: At least once or twice during this interview it seems Corino has problems with the heat of the room. His complaints are vocal and funny.
Overall, this shoot is FLIES by because its so fun and Corino is so great at telling these stories. There's so much more in this shoot, about his time in ROH and his feud with homicide, his work in Japan both in the ring and in the office that this one is worth multiple viewings just to let everything sink in. Very recommended purchase
**The Independent Buy In**
Support independent pro wrestling, ROH or non ROH, I don't care. But if you out there are spending so much time complaining about how WWE sucks, then dammit, spend some money so you won't have to spend so much time complaining. This list stays in the column and will be added to as the year goes on. Remember: don't bow out, BUY IN!
Recommended for purchase:
**IWC No Excuses (Styles vs. Matt Hardy, John McChesney vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Jason Gory vs. Shima Xion)
**FIP New Years Classic (Strong vs. Joe, Homicide vs. James Gibson)
**Hardcore Homecoming (2 Cold Scorpio vs. Kid Kash, 3 Way Dance Barbwire Match Funk vs. Douglas vs. Sabu)
**TNA Lockdown (AJ Styles vs. Abyss, Daniels vs. Skipper, Lethal Lockdown 6 Man Tag, AMW vs. Team Canada + Bonus Chris Candido tribute)
**ROH Fate of an Angel (James Gibson vs. CM Punk, Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Hardy, Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles, Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave)
**TNA Anthology: The Epic Set (available only through Walmart and Walmart.com at a ridiculously cheap price) (Victory Road 2004, Turning Point 2004, Lockdown 2005)
**ROH Redemption (4 Way Title Elimination—Punk vs. Gibson vs. Joe vs. Daniels, Matt Hardy vs. Homicide, Gen Next of Aries, Strong and Sydal vs. The Embassy of Rave, Shelley and Abyss)
**ROH Punk: The Final Chapter (CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana plus post match celebration, Matt Hardy vs. Roderick Strong, Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal vs Low Ki and Homicide, Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Rave)
**IWC Summer Sizzler 2 (AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe, Steve Corino vs. Shirley Doe, Glen Spectre vs. Chad Collyer, Shima Xion vs. Nigel McGuinness)
**ROH Glory By Honor IV (Dragon vs. Gibson, Styles vs. Rave, Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal) **ROH Joe vs. Kobashi (Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi, Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Sydal vs. Azriael, Gibson vs. Yang)
**TNA Best of the X Division MATCHES Volume 1 (Joe vs. Sabin, Ultimate X AJ vs. Williams vs. Sabin, Ironman match: AJ vs. Daniels)
**FIP Bring the Pain (Punk vs. Danielson 2/3 Falls, Aries vs. Strong)
**OVW October 2005 Television Showcase (Ken Doane vs. Brent Albright III, Johnny Jeter vs. Matt Cappotelli, and CM Punk, CM Punk, CM Punk, CM Punk)
**OVW November 2005 Television Showcase (CM Punk vs. Ken Doane (c)—TV Title, CM Punk vs. Brent Albright, Matt Cappotelli vs. Johnny Jeter (c) II-Heavyweight Title)
**ROH Unforgettable (Samoa Joe / Low Ki vs. Homicide / Kenta Kobashi, Dragon vs. Strong, Daniels vs. Yang, Cabana vs. Evans)
2006 List
*ROH This Means War (Bryan Danielson / Roderick Strong, AJ Styles / Austin Aries, Claudio Castagnoli / Alex Shelley)
**ROH Vendetta (Bryan Danielson / Roderick Strong, Eight Man War: Generation Next + AJ Styles / The Embassy, Samoa Joe / Christopher Daniels)
**ROH A Night of Tribute (Bryan Danielson / Christopher Daniels, Aries + Strong / Joe + Lethal, Colt Cabana / Homicide, Claudio Castagnoli / Milano Collection AT)
**OVW December 2005 Television Showcase (CM Punk (c) vs. Ken Doane vs. Brent Albright—3 Way Dance TV Title, CM Punk vs. Brent Albright—TV Title)
--I'm just finishing up batch of indie DVD's I ordered the last time around, so I'll have more recommendations hopefully by next week.
ROH @ 411
Damn, have my boys Jacob Zeigler and Brad Garoon gone CRAZY with their reviews. They're on a mad dash to catch up their stack of ROH releases, and have updated through Glory By Honor IV. Along the way this week they managed to look at the events of Punk: The Final Chapter, Night of the Grudges II and Dragon Gate Invasion.
Steve Cook has his take on the 1/27 Dayton show, why Nigel's beer parody shirt rocks, and then he takes me out like a hit and run. I'm getting close to not taking his shit anymore though…
This might get me heat with Corino, but there IS another shoot I'd recommend you check out… don't worry, it's not for real
Next week, I preview the 2/11 show in Long Island, NY and follow up on the news and major announcements that occur between then and now. Between visiting my house-ridden grandfather and the SUPER BOWL, it'll be a frenetic two days. So for now, I am Ari Berenstein, saying I am outta here—Brooklyn!
--Ari--
