Column of Honor: 4.15.06
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 04.15.2006
Fueled by Matzoh Meal and Sinus medication. This week: CZW is back for more, Storm comments on his match, Davey Richards signs to ROH, Dear Delirious and 5 Questions about ROH’s Spring and Summer 2006.
Man, you'd think that with the off week between the tripleshot and the 100th show that there would be a breather for ROH news and information. Well, that is NOT the case, as this column's length will surely show. Dammit Gabe, take a few days off from the newswire why don't you?
Not only is there a ton of news and features to get to in today's column, I'm also fighting spring allergies which seem to have cropped up from nowhere. I always forget that I have these damned allergies and it's making my typing juuuuuust a bit of a hassle. So excuse me if I make any nonsensical and / or insane comments.
I'm not wearing any pants!
This week I've got results and news from the week in wrestling and five questions that must be asked about the upcoming Ring of Honor Spring season. We are locked and loaded this week, so let's get right to it!
ROH vs. CZW—the War Rages On
Well today is April 15th , traditionally tax day in America. However, in Philadelphia taxes and dues of a different kind are going to be paid at the former ECW Arena. CZW's Any Questions? event is taking place, with some interesting implications in the ongoing struggle between CZW and ROH. Although from the lack of mention from newswires and such, you'd think ROH could care less about today's event. The lack of hype from the ROH side for this event is shocking considering there will be at least one match that ROH will participate in where pride, honor and integrity will be on the line…as well as revenge.
The match I am speaking of is a tag team grudge match ROH's martyr (messiah?) BJ Whitmer teaming up with CZW Iron Man Champion Kevin Steen to take on Super Dragon and Necro Butcher. Previously, at the March 11th double show held by both companies, Whitmer was violently beaten up, bloodied, handcuffed to the ROH ring and was proceeded to be staple gunned and weed whacked by CZW wrestlers. Whitmer got a small measure of revenge in the evening show by attacking Necro Butcher and Generation Next defeated Blkout. Kevin Steen also defected from CZW to ROH (although this has yet to be acknowledged by ROH officials and Steen has not even shown up at any events). Now Whitmer teams up with the CZW defector to further Ring of Honor's agenda in Combat Zone Wrestling. Necro and Super Dragon are out to defend their territory and inflict some more violence on Whitmer and Steen. Violence will certainly be the answer to this equation tonight in Phialdelphia.
In addition to this tag match, BLKOUT (Ruckus, Sabian, Joker & Eddie Kingston) has given an open challenge to the ROH roster to show up and fight. Although this may or may not be an official match, certainly ROH wrestlers should be able to answer the challenge. If they don't, what kind of message is being sent to the rest of company and its fans? ROH has talked tough so far about defending and demonstrating its style of wrestling as better than the "ultra violent" style of their rival, now is the time to back up those words with action.
There has also been a profanity laced challenge laid out to Jim Cornette to show up at tonight's event from CZW owner Zandig. It seems that the war of words between these two may escalate into something more physical.
This show is just one week away from the 100th show for Ring of Honor, where there will be a sic man war between Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce and BJ Whitmer against Chris Hero, Necro Butcher and Super Dragon. With these matches so close together in date and location, there will likely be a ton of fallout stemming from each show. Again, surprising is the lack of attention being paid by ROH officials to the matches taking place at CZW events. There has been a decided lack of voice about those matches taking place in enemy territory and in fact it is the fans on the respective message boards that seem to be taking care of spreading the word between each other. I understand that ROH may not want to advertise CZW events for fear they may seem like they are condoning their actions, but you'd think a bit of rallying the troops and the fans wouldn't hurt their cause. After all, if ROH is welcoming CZW fans into their show on 4/22, why wouldn't ROH officials also recommend that ROH fans go to the CZW show to lend their support to the ROH wrestlers who are sacrificing themselves for the cause?
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 4/15/2006
ROH World Champion—American Dragon Bryan Danielson (champion since 9/17/05, 14 successful defenses)
ROH PURE Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 8/29/05, 9 successful defenses)
ROH Tag Team Champions—Austin Aries and Roderick Strong (champions since 12/17/05, 4 successful defenses)
ROH Top 5 Rankings: April 2006 (Released Week of 4/2-4/8/06)
1) Colt Cabana
2) Christopher Daniels
3) Samoa Joe
4) Jimmy Yang
5) Roderick Strong
Lance StormSpeaks: Reaction to 4/1 Match with Danielson, future with ROH
Lance Storm was in the news a bit this week, as he posted his reaction to his much celebrated appearance on the 4/1 show in Chicago Ridge. Here is his message from Stormwrestling.com:
ROH in Chicago
April 9, 2006
I've gotten a ton of email asking me about my return to the ring this past Saturday for ROH in Chicago. So I figured I would deal with it here as apposed to answering a 1000 email.
The weekend itself was fantastic, albeit exhausting. It takes only a few minutes of travel to remind me why I retired in the first place. I hadn't even entered the terminal in Calgary and I was already saying to myself, "what the hell am I doing?" I got dropped at the airport around 3:30 pm and it was after 2am by the time I was checked into my hotel in Chicago. Boy I love traveling!
Once in Chicago mind you things went really well, and I've got to say ROH runs one hell of a show. It seems to have all the love, passion, and hard work of ECW, without the chaos, disorganization, and bounced checks. (LOL) The show on Saturday had the largest advanced ticket sales in the history of the company. A fact I am taking full credit for. I'm not saying it was all me, I'm just taking credit for it. It was also I believe the largest crowd in ROH history (I'm taking credit for that too) and what a crowd they were. I cannot thank them enough for making my return something truly special.
When I hit the ring that night the crowd response was amazing and I was greeted by a huge bombardment of red and white streamers. This is a Japanese tradition and I've always been a huge fan of the concept. I could not have received a warmer welcome and again I thank everyone for it, as this helped make this night one of the greatest in my career.
I still haven't decided how I feel about the match itself. By all accounts it was a great one. All the fan reports I've read put it over strong, and there is no doubt the live crowd ate it up, but it just felt strange to me. Part of the problem I think is that it was such a different match for me. The match was a different style than I'm used to. I've always tried to adapt and follow the, "When in Rome…" philosophy, so I attempted to work more to the ROH style that Bryan Danielson is used to. I also had to work as a Baby Face, which is unnatural for me now and to be honest I don't much care for it. Those things aside though, I do feel it was a strong performance. Even more so considering I've been inactive for almost 2 years, and it's been a full 10 months since my last match. In all honesty I was a little disappointed I was as tired as I was after the match until Gabe Sapolski pointed out that we went approximately 27 minutes, which would be the longest single match I've had since early 1995.
Again I would like to thank everyone who had anything to do with that night in Chicago. I want to thank ROH for convincing me to return to the ring, and even more so for not making me regret it. I cannot say enough good things about the company and how I was treated. If you have not been to a ROH event you are missing out, this is truly a product to watch and support. The DVD of this event will be available in 6-8 weeks and it is a must see show believe me. I got one email from a guy who went to both this show and WrestleMania and said Mania was a Snooze Fest by comparison. I'll be sure to post a link once the DVD is available. I want to thank all the great fans. Your reception and support made the night truly special. I love this business and fans like you are a big reason why. The "Please Come Back" and "You Still Got It" chants were music to my ears. For future reference though I could live without the "You're not Boring" chants. I know they are with good intentions, but lets just let that whole angle DIE! Lastly I'd like to thank Bryan Danielson for a great match and for being the kind of worker who brings respect to this industry. Wear that Championship with pride, my friend. Shawn Michaels once said, "It's not the title that makes the man, it's the man that makes the title." You make the ROH title something worth fighting for and this sport is better because of it.
Thank you,
Lance Storm
In an interview with Bryan Alvarez on the Figure 4 Daily audio show from April 10th, Storm has the following to say about his match
It was a really great experience, the show was amazing, the crowd was phenomenal and hopefully the match was as well…I haven't had a chance to see the match back yet, but judging by the reviews I've read and the reaction of the crowd that night, no one seemed disappointed.
And on working the match: It's been a long time since I worked a different style…but I really wanted to work their style and do a Ring of Honor show, so when I watched Bryan Danielson's match before the event I really sort of wanted to do his sort of match, which was different and being a babyface was real different. There were a couple of times during the match when I was in control and had to second guess my instincts, which were to go into "Lance Storm Heel Mode" and I probably could have and the crowd wouldn't have gave a damn, but it was just one of those things where you just maybe to have think and not go as instinctively as normal.
We really didn't go in with a whole lot, in WWE a lot of times you tend to lay out a lot of the match and structure it a lot. I didn't want to do that because that's not what he was used to and what the fans were necessarily used to so we really went in there. We're gonna wing a majority of this and go back and forth a little bit….And I definitely do not miss being a baby face
And on working Danielson: He was really easy to work with. Truth be told, he caught me in the throat once on a closeline, but that happens everyday… he was easy both to follow and lead…we communicated and worked and felt each other out. And he was there for anything that I wanted to [do]…he's really a top notch worker.
And on his future in Ring of Honor related events: None booked, but Gabe asked me if I would be open to some in the future and I said "Absolutely." I would be interested… again it would have to be the right timing and everything else but I was treated so well and enjoyed the product so much that I would find it hard to believe that there won't be another one somewhere down the road."
And on future opponents: Obviously there's interest in working the Daniels's, the AJ's, the Samoa Joe's…actually I'd like to have a go with Austin Aries. I actually sat with him in the back and talked to him a little bit and he seemed to be a good egg."
There you go, you heard it here first, Austin Aries is a good egg!
ROH News (via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
We start with some highlights of an interview conducted with Cary Silkin, owner of ROH, conducted by www.inyourheadonline.com. Actually some interesting comments made, especially since there was mention for the first time of possible PPV deals and TV expansion, although they would want more than 43 minutes (an hour of TV time minus commercials). Cary also mentioned that Abyss and he were good friends and that he could be brought back anytime (possibly at the UK shows) and that Chris Hero, Necro Butcher and ROH don't have a "real working relationship."
Appearing on almost every show since the beginning of '06 doesn't constitute a real working relationship? Right… pull the other one Cary. Oh well, I understand the need to kayfabe the ROH / CZW feud a bit. More interesting was the PPV / TV bit… although again I don't see the cost-benefit for ROH going for mainstream TV being good enough right now, I think a PPV production would be quite interesting. Hey if those stupid "All Stars of Wrestling" or whatever shows that look like they were produced on a toaster can get on PPV, why not the cream of the crop for independent wrestling?
Christian Cage's Conundrum: 5/12 Involvement
ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson has made waves about stepping into the ring with NWA World Champion Christian Cage on 5/12 in Long Island when Christian makes his only ROH appearance. Danielson sees this as a unique opportunity to prove he is the best champion in wrestling. ROH officials are hesitant to sign a singles match due to potential political problems.
The main event has been signed for 5/12 in Long Island. ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson called the ROH offices and said that he wanted to be in the ring with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage so he can make him tap just like he did to Lance Storm. ROH officials just got off the phone with Christian, who is more than happy to get in the ring with Danielson. It will be a dream partner match on 5/12 in Long Island as Danielson and the partner of his choice will take on Christian and the partner of his choice. It is unknown if these athletes will announce their partners before the show or if they will be surprises on 5/12.
Very interesting set up here…of course politics will block any one on one match up between the two champions, as there would be no way around having one of them going over the other and not having a clean finish in a main event situation (or even a draw) would not produce the greatest reaction by the paying customers. If this is to be the main event of the card then a dream tag situation does seem to be the best comprise…and you could even have Christian take on a TNA related ally while Danielson goes to someone more strictly tied into Ring of Honor. Christian / AJ vs. Danielson / Joe maybe (yes I know Joe is as much TNA now as he is ROH, but still, let's pretend) could work.
Davey Richards signs with ROH Super 8 winner Davey Richards has signed a fulltime contract with Ring Of Honor. Richards is set to make his ROH debut on 4/22 in Philadelphia. He will be on almost every ROH show after that including 4/28 in Dayton and 4/29 in Cleveland. Can Richards make an impact in ROH?
Another match has been signed for Dayton. It will be a special challenge match pitting Delirious vs. Davey Richards. This is an important match for both men as they try to climb the ladder in ROH. Both athletes really need a win here.
Davey just won the Super 8 and has been getting a lot more attention from fans, especially on the west coast but also around the internet From checking out some clips on the YT, Davey is very impressive and should look to get some fantastic fan response in his appearances for ROH. He seems to be similar to Austin Aries in frame and height; he dressed plainly, with black or black with white trim. He has all the fundamentals, does some nice combinations and chains. From what I saw, he also has a fiery comeback and intense personality. Of course, PWG fanatic Bayani could have told you so beforehand, but I look forward to watching Richards perform on the east coast.
Moving Back Into the Hotel Ring Of Honor has been forced to move its 6/17 event from Basketball City to our old Manhattan home of the New Yorker Hotel. Basketball City has been forced to cancel ROH for that night due to a fireman and police charity function. ROH is happy to be back in the intense atmosphere of the New Yorker to see KENTA return to action. Tickets now on sale on ROHwrestling.com, by calling 215-781-2500 and at Ticketmaster outlets.
All previously purchased tickets are going to be honored for the venue. The New Yorker is considerably smaller than Basketball City, so available tickets are going to go quickly. Personally I think it's great to return to the New Yorker, which had some of the most positive energy and some of the most memorable ROH shows in its short existence as a site for ROH events. Basketball City is a fine venue inside its doors, but it's the getting inside and outside its doors that has been the problem. The New Yorker, meanwhile, is a great central location in NYC and has been really friendly to the ROH fans, but has confined space, cramped quarters and somewhat obstructed views. The atmosphere is off the charts though, and I can't wait to be back inside the venue.
Four Corner Survival in Philadelphia-a.k.a. Every Saturday in Philadelphia A big Four Corner Survival has been added to the 4/22 event in Philadelphia. It will be Jimmy Rave with Prince Nana vs. Jimmy Yang vs. Delirious vs. Jimmy Jacobs. All these men need a win in this one!!!
The legendary Bill Watts will be at the 4/22 event in Philly for a special autograph signing. Watts will be signing his new book (now available at ROHwrestling.com) and his Straight Shootin' DVD with Jim Cornette. Straight Shootin' With Bill Watts & Jim Cornette Vol. 2 will also be taped that weekend.
Yang has achieved well in multi man matches while Jacobs and Delirious have new life thanks to their respective performances from the Detroit-Chicago appearances. I'm not sure we really needed a second SS with Watts. Why can't we just get a one-on-one shoot tape from Jim Cornette?
Not as in "Potato" United Kingdom high-flying star Spud will make his United States debut for ROH on 4/28 in Dayton and 4/29 in Cleveland. ROH is bringing a lot of upcoming high-flyers to Ohio including Spud, Irish Airborne and Jay Fury.
Spud is part of an ongoing talent exchange agreement between ROH and FWA in England (run by Alex Shane, who just happens to be the guy who set up ROH's UK stay this August). Spud is VERY VERY small, think Spike Dudley, and then think smaller. I've only seen one match with him on the 1PW debut show, and eh…he was okay. It may be a bit hypocritical because I'm a backer of the smaller performers (and I threw a ton of support behind Rey Mysterio as WWE World Heavyweight Champion) but Spud as a performer doesn't do much for me personally. I'm sure he will put on a great show, but for some reason, I'm just eh.
Wheaties—Breakfast of Tag Team Champions The Tag Title Match for 4/28 in Dayton has been signed. ROH Tag Team Champions Austin Aries & Roderick Strong know that Samoa Joe wants to be the first grand slam champion in ROH history and he needs to win the Tag Titles to achieve that goal. Aries & Strong will give Joe the opportunity to win the Tag Titles in Dayton. They have told Joe to select the partner of his choice and go after the belts because they are fighting champions and will prove to be the greatest Tag Team Champions in ROH history. Joe has selected Aries and Strong's stablemate in Matt Sydal. On April 28th when ROH returns to one of its best cities of Dayton it will be Aries & Strong vs. Joe & Sydal for the Tag Team Titles!!! This completes the triple main event of title matches that will also see Bryan Danielson defend the World Title vs. Jimmy Yang and Nigel McGuinness defend the Pure Title vs. Christopher Daniels.
Sydal will never learn, will he? Well, if you don't succeed the first time, try, try again. Of course I'm speaking of Austin and Roderick beating the ever loving piss out of Sydal in order to get him to stop this madness.
Rice Krispies—Breakfast of the ROH World Champion. Total—Breakfast of the ROH PURE Champion. Honey Smacks—Breakfast of Special K OK, I'll Stop. A huge main event has been signed for 4/29 in Cleveland. It will be a first time ever match in Ring Of Honor. The Dayton and Cleveland double shot is known as "Weekend Of Champions" because every ROH belt will be defended on both shows. Cleveland could see the first ever title vs. title match as ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson takes on ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness. The match will be contested under Pure Title rules, but both the World and Pure Titles will be on the line!!! This will be a history making event in Cleveland. If either Danielson or McGuinness lose their title the night before in Dayton, this match will be for whatever title can still be put on the line. If both Danielson and McGuinness lose their belts the previous night this match will still take place to determine who is #1 in the Top Five Rankings.
Did you get all that? Seriously, this being the first time that ROH will go title for title in its history (Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles World for Pure title was looking to happen in 2004 until AJ was told he couldn't perform for ROH) is interesting, although Nigel McGuinness with the world title would be cause enough for me to go on a five day bender…of nachos. During Passover.
Emptying The Clip The first match has been signed for ROH's big return to Edison, NJ on 5/13. It will pit ROH Tag Team Champions Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe!!! If Aries & Strong are still champions and The Briscoes defeat AJ & Sydal on 4/22, the Tag Titles will be on the line in New Jersey. Either way this is going to be an intense match especially after what happened that last time in Edison when The Briscoes returned to ROH and attacked Aries & Strong twice.
So this match has been built up and built up to the point where it will be very interesting to see what happens if either The Briscoes do recapture the tag belts on their first try or if Generation Next loses grasp on something Aries continually says "isn't going anywhere for a long long time." While the tag team competition has gotten stronger in the last few months, Gen Next is still the dominant team. The Briscoes lost their first match with any Generation Next members, and may not be able to take out this combination either.
This Just In—Why Did I Give Myself More Work by Checking for More News? Six Man Mayhem will be taking place in Cleveland for the first time on 4/29!!! This is the most action packed match in all of wrestling as no tags are needed and contestents can just come into the ring as others leave the squared circle. The Cleveland Six Man Mayhem will pit Jimmy Yang vs. Delirious vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jay Fury vs. Spud vs. a graduate of the ROH Wrestling School.
Also signed for 4/29 in Cleveland is a match that will be taped for ROHvideos.com as Super 8 winner Davey Richards takes on The Canadian Cougar from FIP.
Canadian Cougar….RRRRRRRARRRRRRRR!
Your Mid Column Olay
source: tnawrestling.com
OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY….
OLAY, OLAY…
OLAY! OLAY, OLAY, OLAY…
OLAY, OLAY…
This has been your Mid Column Olay!
I'm very proud to once again have everyone's favorite insane and deranged masked wrestler here with me in the column. Yes, that's right, it's time for another installment of…
Dear Delirious:
BAHBAHABAHABAHABAH!
Hey Delirious, welcome back. How are you feeling after finally getting that HUGE win against Rickey Reyes in the tripleshot weekend?
BLEYYAT! BLEYYAT ! BAH! BLEYATT!
Hey that's great…I'm happy to know that you're happy. Well, we don't have too much time to spare, so let's get right to it. Today's letter is postmarked from "the corner of Swanson and Ritner…and I mean the actual corner, because that's where I live." No kidding. The stamp also seems to be covered in some sort of red viscous liquid. The letter reads:
Dear Delirious,
I've wrestled for quite the long time without the aid of wrestling boots. That is right…I wrestle barefoot. Some people believe that it is a tribute to the great Superfly Jimmy Snuka that I do not wear boots or shoes or socks of any kind to the ring. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The truth of the matter is I am afraid of exorbitant shoe prices. I refuse to pay for $150 pair of shoes or give some old school wrestling codger extra money for his cigar fund in exchange for a pair of worn down and ugly wrestoling boots. Therefore my feet have become stinky, smelly and just overall gross. I also seem to cut up my feet on some piece of wooden table. Can you help me out in this smelly, health risk situation?
Yours,
N. Butcher
….PFFFT…BAH BAH BAH PU! BAH! BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH WAH WAH WHA PFFFT BLAH
Well, first of all, N. Butcher, Delirious finds your lack of footwear and your choice of wrestling barefoot disgusting. He really wishes you would just stop being cheap and plunk down the dough for some shoes. You might want to try your local footlocker or footaction and get some cheap deals.
Huh… oh wait, there's more from Delirious…
BAHBAHBAHBAHBAH! BOOM!
Ah that's right. Delirious is suggesting BOOM! Tough actin Tinactin to help you with any possible athlete's foot situations.
John Madden and Delirious…what a team of great communicators!
And that wraps up this week's Dear Delirious. Keep sending in those letters and Delirious will do his BAHBAH best to answer them!
5 Questions About Ring of Honor in the Spring and Summer of 2006:
We are in the middle of the Spring season and coming after the triple shot weekend, there are lots of questions to ask from a "where do we go from here?" aspect. Here are five burning questions about the ROH action in the upcoming months.
1. Will we see "serious" Colt Cabana or "funny" Colt Cabana now that his feud with Homicide is over?
Throughout the past six months, everyone's favorite Colt Cabana had taken on a more serious personality due to his very serious, dangerous and almost lethal blood feud with the man I have dubbed "the virus of violence", Homicide. The Notorious 187 has a nasty habit of getting in his opponent's head and turning him inside out. Well, he definitely did that in this feud; Cabana, at first trying to laugh the feud off, had to face the fact that he needed to get serious about a guy who he couldn't get away from in life and in the ring. Then when he was almost "killed" in the ring several times by Homicide's actions, Cabana got deadly serious, possibly as a result of the trauma of these victimizations. Cabana's promos changed as well—gone was "Good Times, Great Memories". In its place was "Bad Times, Nightmarish Memories" and in some very good to even great serious promos, Cabana explained that he was haunted by the visions of what had been done to him by Homicide. He couldn't eat, sleep, shave or crack a joke.
Then he and Homicide waged war on the triple shot weekend. Homicide beat the holy hell out of Cabana some more, Cabana got his hometown win and a measure of revenge. Then Homicide said the feud was over and that Cabana had earned his respect. He even shook Cabana's hand and hugged him.
Yeah, I'm not sure I buy into that either.
However, at the end of the night, it was "Copacabana" playing out the fans of Chicago and Colt Cabana back to strutting and dancing like he had before this whole ordeal with Homicide.
Which brings us to the topic in question—which side of Cabana's personality will remain dominant in the wake of the end of this feud? Is Cabana's serious side here to stay, or are we back to seeing funny, "haha" Colt Cabana?
Well, if Cabana is going to go back to wacky and goofy antics, he may have picked the wrong time to do so. Cabana is slotted for the ROH World Title shot at the 100th show and Philadelphia against Bryan Danielson and if he wants to win the title, he NEEDS to be serious Colt Cabana. Danielson is far too dangerous an opponent these days to get all cute and silly in the match up. Cabana has had a few title opportunities, but has never been a serious threat to the title. With the latest, hard fought win in Chicago, Cabana has earned his stripes and earned a serious look at consideration for the top belt. In fact there is a buzz going around that this might be Cabana's best opportunity to take the title.
All this, after the summer of '05 where is seemed possible that Cabana could take the belt from his best friend and then champion CM Punk. Discussion grew back then about whether or not Colt Cabana would fly as a champion. The edge seemed to be going with those that thought "wacky" Colt Cabana couldn't be a convincing champion. Unfortunately, we never found out for sure the answer to that debate, as Punk lost the title the night before his one on one farewell match with Colt.
I've always loved the wacky Colt Cabana personality—the character that would use comedy, charm and a bit of overbearing antics to get into his opponent's head. Mind games work wonders in wrestling, especially if the crowd can go along with it and laugh along with the baby face. With the more "serious" Colt Cabana, I feel that part of the personality is missing and it is harder for me personally as a fan to get behind Cabanarama. What an irony huh?
So to finally get to answer the question, I think the more serious side of the personality has to stick around, or the last six months of character evolution will have been lost. However, I don't see any good reason for Cabana not to go back to some of the comical tricks of the trade that worked for him in his matches. The "look up" finger poke, the cradle ball game, etc. etc. all are great tactics that when added back t o the repertoire of a ore serious and "ready to win" Cabana, could make him that much more well rounded. Cabana has a serious chance, no pun intended, to combine the two aspects of his character and make him even more of a threat to his opponents than ever before.
The real question though: with Cabana making frequent appearances on WWE TV these last few weeks, will Cabana even have the opportunity to do so in Ring of Honor?
2. Who is the "mole" in the ROH/CZW feud?
For weeks, there has been speculation that there is a "mole" or a "traitor" in the ROH roster who is secretly working for CZW. This person is thought to be just biding time before striking out against the company of honor. Rumors and speculation have run rampant, fingering people like BJ Whitmer, Claudio Castagonoli and even Adam Pearce. All three men have become physically involved in altercations with CZW forces and all three have become subject to rumor by the ROH fans (not the ROH roster mind you).
Now, if there is a spanner in the works, I hardly doubt its BJ Whitmer, a man who got DESTROYED by CZW forces, including a weed whacking. If that doesn't prove someone's loyalty, I don't know what will…maybe a blood oath or something? Claudio certainly would have had a reason for turning against ROH, since Chris Hero was his tag team partner in CZW. However, Claudio showed his allegiance to Ring of Honor not once, but several times over the course of the last four shows. Not only that, but he has become physically involved in the fights, including hitting Hero several times. Now sure, this could be a set up for a future betrayal, but I don't see it really. Adam Pearce had not been getting along well with ROH commissioner Jim Cornette before his involvement in the CZW-ROH issue. Now why a man who has been getting lots more opportunities to fight would betray that company I have no earthly explanation. Pearce may be a heel's heel, but he has been a rabid ROH supporter and has taken the fight to CZW. I don't think he is the mole.
Now I have been proven wrong before and I may be proven wrong again. However, my guess is that there is NO mole whatsoever. Why does there even need to be a mole? Ever since the whole nWo business, there seems to be a "mole" in every invasion storyline. Why would ROH want to do something that has already been done to death in other companies? There is no need for intrigue in this fight, in fact I think a better way to go about this is just to have the two sides fight it out for their cause and just go at it straight ahead until there is a winner declared in the war. NO MOLES NEEDED.
Then again, who did knock out Jim Cornette's front teeth? Hmmm…
3. Who will be the man to dethrone Nigel McGuinness's run with the Pure title?
Nigel officially has the longevity record for his ROH PURE title reign…and as much as it pains me to admit this…he has proven to be one hell of a champion. In fact he has remade the PURE title division into something intriguing for me because I cannot wait for SOMEONE, ANYONE, to take the title from him. So who is going to do it? There are plenty of options to consider, but here are four men who could dethrone Mr. "In It to Win It."
Christopher Daniels: The next match for the PURE title sees Daniels lined up as the next challenger on the "Weekend of Champions" Night 1. Daniels has all the tools necessary to take out Nigel, but Daniels hasn't been performing so hot in title situations as of late. It seems like Daniels is always a bridesmaid and never a bride in the ROH singles division. Daniels has also not had much experience in the PURE division before, which means that Nigel has the definitive advantage in the match as far as using and bending the rules. Conclusion-Daniels will not be the next PURE champion.
Bryan Danielson: The second night of "Weekend of Champions" pits the World vs. PURE champion. With both titles on the line, unification is a possibility. Right now Danielson is the BEST technical / submission wrestler on the roster and has almost become unbeatable. Danielson is just as capable of chain wrestling as Nigel. He will also bend the rules to get the advantage eve MORE than Nigel has done so in his title matches. He has numerous submissions which will hurt Nigel and will cause the use of rope breaks. Quite frankly, Danielson is perhaps THE greatest threat to Nigel's run right now and if Nigel makes mistakes in this title vs. title match then the advantage no doubt goes to the Dragon.
Doug Williams: The UK tour is coming up in just a few months. No doubt that ROH would want a hometown boy to be challenging against that bloody wanker Nigel. Williams vs. McGuiness has often been looked at as a dream match for the PURE division and now seems to be the right time and the right context for this match. Williams has a busy schedule, but perhaps a switch and short tour of America could work for "the Anarchist's" second PURE title run.
Alex Shelley: The man can wrestle circles around everyone and would match up excellent well against the PURE champion. Shelley has a ton of submissions and will use the ropes to his advantage. He can also go toe to toe with Nigel in terms of cockiness and arrogance. Prince Nana is also a huge distraction factor in any match; no doubt Nigel would be befuddled by the accent and antics of the leader of the DAH EM BAH SEE! The only thing is that Shelley has had his sights on the World title, so would he switch his focus for a shot at this title? If he does so and would succeed in winning the PURE title from Nigel, perhaps the cure would be worse than disease.
4. Will Generation Next split up?
Well, taking a second look at the phrasing of this question, the answer has to be "Yes, in fact Generation Next has already split up." Ever since Matt Sydal agreed to team with AJ Styles back in January, there has been division within Generation Next. I mean, how DARE Sydal choose to go after the ROH tag team titles currently held by his teammates? Sydal was just a Mid-West performer before becoming attached to Gen Next; now because of his affiliation he is one of the fattest up and comers in the promotion. Not only that, but in his joining up with Styles as a tag partner, he went OUT of Generation Next to find someone to take on his partners. He could have picked fellow Next-er Jack Evans to try on Aries and Strong, but he went outside the group. That is like a double slap to the face to the group who helped him out in a time of need.
Also, with Jack Evans now on his way to the Land of the Rising Sun, Generation Next is effectively down to the champs…Matt Sydal, who seems to have no problem in finding as many tag partners as possible (upcoming Samoa Joe) to get his stable mates' belts. This group is in serious trouble right now and for sure they are split up at the moment.
However, split up does not mean broken up. Evans's stay in Japan is only until the summer, and Sydal may "get it" sooner rather than later if Aries and Strong keep beating it into him that fighting amongst each other is doing no good for any of them. Obviously Generation Next is in a weak position right now, but maybe it will take an attack from another faction or stable that will bring these four men together once more. They are at their best when they are fighting against a common cause.
5. Will KENTA become overexposed to the ROH crowd?
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that NOAH's KENTA and Marifuji were going to make more frequent appearances for ROH. They seemed to be on pace to make an appearance once every three months, which is quite amazing since fly ins from Japan are very expensive and airfare is currently at one of the mostly costly rates in quite a while. Now with a slate of three shows scheduled in June, KENTA is set to blow that pace out of the water. Five shows in six months? Unbelievable. Fans have fallen in love with KENTA in his short stay in Ring of Honor and for sure the increased appearances are to meet the demand set by the crowd.
However, with an expansion in showings, there is also the chance of a KENTA backlash by the crowd. KENTA has often been given credit for being an incredibly explosive wrestler with a tremendous arsenal; however the knock on him is that his in-ring psychology and his potential is somewhat less compared to his off and on tag partner Naomichi Marifuji. Now, I don't agree with that assessment, but nonetheless the criticism is out there. The backlash from ROH fans, who are extremely critical (in both positive and less positive ways) of EVERYTHING involved in the company, especially the in ring aspect, is possible if KENTA doesn't live up to the hype. IF KENTA does have less than stellar performances and / or shows weakness in psychology or whatever else, the fans will probably call him on it (on the boards anyway, probably not to the man's face).
Poor Marifuji.
Ringtones
Let's spend some time catching up on the mailbag. First of all, thanks to the people who sent me positive feedback on my Wrestlemania 22 special feature. It's the first non-Column of Honor piece I've done for the wrestling zone, but I felt it came off pretty nicely (although maybe a bit too technical) and it seemed like a fitting enough tribute to a company that had been the largest part of my wrestling fandom…until you know what came along. That's right… IWC…you have something that belongs to me. You have my heart.
Just kidding.
First up: B. Tribe wrote in and this goes back to my report of the 3/25 show, where I noticed that someone shouted out "THE CHANT". By the chant, I mean the "You're Gonna Get You're Fucking Head Kicked In" that didn't catch the world on fire.
Hey Ari!
Great work on the column as always. I was at "Best in the World", and you were right, it was probably the best ROH show I've been to live. Every match was fantastic, and even the ‘bad' matches would be main events on any other ‘Indy' card.
What I wanted to let you know is that it was my bro "Big Andy Mac" who did the "You're going to get your fucking head kicked in" chant. I couldn't figure it out, unfortunately, so I couldn't help get it over for you.
Glad you enjoyed the show as much as I did! Peace out!
Unfortunately, it looks like the cadence of the chant is just too weird and off key for people to catch onto it… I'm glad there's someone else out there who appreciates it...it's such an oddball chant that I thought it might just have had a chance to catch on but unfortunately it's just too out there for most folks. Only someone like Dragon would try to get that wacky chant over.
Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to drop the Dragon chant section from the column. I blame Prince Nana.
This comes from:ttasielli and he is not happy about Colt's recent WWE excursion:
How the hell do they job Colt Cabana to that ridiculous character Umaga. I'm getting pissed at creative, they should have never re-hired that mess.
Well, I hear ya... but unfortunately (or fortunately for the ROH fans) Colt Cabana isn't signed to a contract with the WWE...which means he is being brought as an enhancement guy. Cabana probably got the call because he is local to Chicago and the Wisconsin. Indie scene. As far as Samoa Jamal...excuse me, Umaga, he's signed a full time contract so of course if they want enhancement talent to job to him, then that's what's gonna happen. But I totally understand where you're coming from and I completely agree with you...WWE is going to miss the boat on Cabana (and probably Punk)...but you know what? As an ROH fan, I'm so glad that they are missing out on Cabana's abilities so that I can enjoy him in ROH for that much longer.
411's That Was Then columnist Stu Carapola breathed a sigh of relief over PWinsider's report of ROH's inclusion of Davey Richards and the movement of Jacobs and Cabana into higher spots on the roster:
I'm glad to hear about this. I really was worried because of all the top
ROH guys being under TNA contracts, that we'd one day see a repeat of 2004
after the Feinstein Incident and ROH would be fucked. As phenomenal a
wrestler as he is, I was a little worried that Bryan Danielson is the ROH
Champion because there's really nobody else that was safe to have the title
on. But now with Danielson, Pearce, Rave, Richards, Jacobs, Yang, and
others in the mix that aren't likely to be signed by either of the big feds
anytime soon, I feel a lot better about this.
So what do you think of ROH so far this year? I know it's still early in
the year, but 2005 is going to be hard to follow up on. There were so many
awesome matches that year, and Aries was a great champ. But Punk's gone,
Gibson's gone, the Carnage Crew's gone, Joe, Styles, and Daniels probably
can't be given a title reign because TNA can yank them at any time, Dunn &
Marcos are as good as gone, Lethal's gone...they really got stripped down
the last few months. I'm really looking forward to this next batch of
talent coming up.
So far I'm very much enjoying the ROH releases and shows...I didn't like "Hell Freezes Over" so much but ever DVD since then has been aces, 3/25 was a ton of fun and from what I've heard so far it looks like the tripleshot is going to be very impressive on DVD. That sounds like a good start to me.
I loved Punk's return on 2/11...makes me jealous that I missed it, but I had to stay at my grandfather's and that trumps Punk...also thought that show turned out much better on DVD. I fucking LOVED 2/25...the entire card but especially the main event was insane action, the briscoes looked great and Danielson / Rave proved in my eyes (and I wasn't sure it would happen) that rave can go in a main event situation.
Danielson's reign is shaping up nicely now, with some really memorable title defenses...I see what you mean about not giving the titles to TNA guys, but still somehow I think Roderick Strong will end up with the title sometime down the road, whenever we get the fourth title match, I'd think that would be it. Or maybe Homicide or even Joe...just because they're TNA doesn't necessarily mean they won't be good challengers for the title.
I still think that Lethal should have been kept around...he was really beginning to feel it in the heel role. However, Alex Shelley has so stolen the show as far as the "arrogant prick heel". I love to hate that guy.
Irish Airborne...eh...don't do much for me just yet...but I haven't see too much of them.
I'm also liking what ROH has done with Pearce and BJ, really building them up. Pearce is just so OVER as a face in the ROH/CZW deal and he's supposed to be the asshole heel! It's great to see the crowd take to him and BJ again. This may have been ROH's toughest transitional period since 2004 but it looks like they're going to come through it again with new talent and fresh / quality matches.
Mark Kohn had written in previously to compliment me on the WM Special and this time he chimes in with thoughts on ROH and Rey Mysterio:
read your last Column of Honor, liked it a lot. Kind of funny how you and
I discussed Rey winning at WM, they go ahead and actually do it and it is
made to be a forgotten moment, when memorable was written all over it. Not
surprising, but still sad. The 9 min match really made the win seem
worthless and of course the little celebration they allowed Rey to have.
I like what you do at the end of your column promoting non-wwe shows to
order. That is really cool, I have many of the older ROH and TNA stuff, but
will probably get some of the newer stuff, especially ROH. The only thing
that really ticked me off about ROH as I watched from the start of the fed.
was their inability to keep track of the legal man in matches with more than
just 2 people. From their 4, 5, 6 man matches to the many tag 2, 3 or 4 man
matches. Even WWE does a good job with that. Has ROH improved on this issue.
It really did bug me a lot.
Lastly, do you watch much Japan stuff.
I got this best of 2005 Japan, vol. 1 and 2 and it is really cool, great tag
matches (legal man always enforced), nice woman's match and clean finishes.
Alex Shelley is in 2 matches and others who have been in ROH (Spanky) and
currently in ROH (Milano AT), Kenta is their also.
Keep up the great work in the columns and promoting non-wwe events.
I absolutely agree with your take on Rey Mysterio and WWE's handling of the situation at Wrestlemania…just pretty pathetic on their part to give the match only 9 minutes. They did give Rey the big band entrance, which was great, but the in-ring product while very good while it lasted, didn't live up to the ideal match in my mind. It was nowhere close to HHH-Benoit-HBK and the "fairy tale comes true" ending that WM XX had. Thank god they more than made up for their error at WM22 on the very first Smackdown, which became "The Rey Mysterio Show" for almost 40 minutes. Of course, he's completely off this week's Smackdown, except for a "highlight video package" Wow, just absolutely inexcusable not to have your champion on television live.
You really do need to get into the recent ROH shows…although there are so many great new ones out right now I wouldn't know where to start…I guess that's what the Independent Buy In portion of the column is for. All I can say is that if you liked the older stuff, then the newer ROH shows will blow your mind. Unfortunately ROH does still have that legal man problem in tag matches, although they have improved somewhat thanks to the inclusion of the tag rope, but slip ups still happen. I blame the referees…they really do deserve the boos they receive at the shows!
Except Todd Sinclair. He's the man!
My boy Chris is the man with the Puro plan…so sometimes when we hang he shows me the Japanese products. The best ofs are a great place to start and I'm probably gonna plunk down some dough for that, the 2005 Differ Cup (KENTA and Marifuji rocked it) and some other selections soon. Thanks for writing in Mark!
Finally Larry C. checked in with an odd message: Since you had asked before, Survivor Series this year is 11/26 in Philadelphia.
-Larry
Had I asked? I have no freaking clue. Don't remember that at all. Oh well, thanks bro!
**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)
**SHIMMER WOMEN'S ATHLETES Volume 1 (Cheerleader Melissa vs. MsChif, Sara Del Rey vs. Mercedez Martinez, Lacey vs. Daizee Haze)
**TNA Bound For Glory 2005 (Iron Man 2: Styles / Daniels, Monster's Ball 2, Joe / Liger, 10 Man Gauntlet, Jarrett vs. Rhino)
**TNA Genesis 2005 (Jarrett & AMW / Rhino & Team 3-D, Styles / Williams, Elimination X: Joe, Daniels, Shelley, Strong / Sabin, Dutt, Aries, Bentley; Christian Cage Debuts)
**ROH Steel Cage Warfare (Generation Next / The Embassy, Dsanielson / Romero, Joe / Lethal, Corino / Homicide )
**ROH Final Battle 2005 (Low Ki / KENTA, Danielson / Marifuji, Claudio / Nigel, 4CS: Daniels / Joe / Lethal / Whitmer )
**ROH Tag Wars 2006 (All three Trios Tournament 2006 matches, Generation Next / Danielson and Lethal, Low Ki / Christopher Daniels )
**BCW International Incident (Jarrett / Raven, Daniels / Sabin, Petey Williams / Jerry Lynn, Bobby Roode / Abyss)
New additions to the list next week, as I have some catching up to do over the Spring break vacation.
Honor Bound Links
First of all, HUGE congratulations to Ryan Boman on the birth of his daughter. May she live a very successful life. Of course, me being the confirmed bachelor (errr. LOSER) that I am, I will never know the miracle of child birth. Well, that and also because I'm a guy, but you know what I mean.
Let me toot my own horn as I returned to the Music Zone for a review of the new album from The Sounds. I have no clue if I'll be doing more reviews, but it was cool to drop by for a cup of coffee with the old gang, so to speak.
That looks to be about it for now…I'm heading back to my Matzoh induced state of vegetation. Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all celebrating. Brooklyn!
--Ari--
