Column of Honor: 07.22.06
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 07.22.2006
VICTORY!
First off, due to the extensive coverage on Death Before Dishonor IV and the aftermath of the event which has major ramifications on the direction of Ring of Honor for the rest of the year, the regular feature The Apocalypse Is Not Happening Today will be postponed until next week.So, in fact, The Apocalypse is Not Happening Today is not happening today. That's a hell of a tongue twister right there. Plenty to cover this week, including the greatest victory in the ROH vs. CZW war followed up by perhaps the greatest shock of the year. One thing is for sure is that things are not longer the same in the landscape of the Ring of Honor world, and certain wrestlers are going to be facing a harder road than normal to the top of the company due to those actions.
ROH Results: Death Before Dishonor IV 7/15 Philadelphia. PA with ROH vs. CZW Cage of Death
Matches
-Delirious defeated Seth Delay with his submission move.
-The new Embassy of Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinauro defeated Jay Lethal and Colt Cabana when Rave pinned Colt.
-ROH PURE Champion Nigel McGuiness retained his title by defeating challenger Roderick Strong via countout.
-The Briscoes defeated Irish Airborne after a Cut Throat Driver.
-AJ Styles defeated Davey Richards via pinfall with a Styles Clash.
-ROH World Champion "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson retained the title by defeating Sonjay Dutt via referee stoppage due to the UFC elbow barrage.
-ROH defeated CZW in the Cage of Death match. Order of entry: 1. Samoa Joe (ROH) 2. Claudio Castagnoli (CZW) 3. BJ Whitmer (ROH) 4. Chris Hero (CZW) 5. Bryan Danielson (ROH) 6. Nate Webb (CZW) 7. Adam Pearce (ROH) 8. Necro Butcher (CZW) 9. Ace Steel (ROH) 10. Eddie Kingston (CZW) 11. Homicide (--replaces Danielson, ROH) Homicide pinned Nate Webb with the Cop Killer ON TOP OF a Barbed wire board to give the victory in this inter-company war to Ring of Honor!
Angles and Issues
Footstool: Sal Rinauro was named by DAH EM BAH SEE as Jimmy Rave's newest partner. He is being positioned in the Jade Chung role as Rave's footstool and is clearly being positioned as a lackey. Some comical situations should arise out of this new pairing.
Delirious's Twin: A really cool fan interaction moment occurred after Delirious's match. The masked man actually had his own imitator at the show—a masked fan in a full Delirious mask! Hey, it worked for Elvis, it's good enough for the big D. Delirious came up to this fan and gave him a big hug—and then in an AWESOME moment, they began to talk to each other in Delirious speak! This type of interaction is such an important thing about ROH shows and its clear that Delirious "gets it".
The Cage of Death: The set up for this Cage was EIGHT sides of steel, creating an Octagon shaped cage that surrounded the ringside area. On each side of the ring was some type of violent and hardcore plunder, including: ladders, chairs, and tables covered with barbed wire!
Dragon's Disgust: "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson inappropriately labeled himself the "CZW killer" (having won a grand total of ONE match in this feud, albeit an important one against Chris Hero in the match that started the whole thing). He wanted in to the Cage of Death match as the fifth man on Team ROH. Unlike Homicide, Danielson didn't want three wishes or any wishes at all from Jim Cornette, and that was good enough for James E. However, as we would come to learn, Dragon sneakily inserted himself in this match just to get at Samoa Joe one more time before their title match on August 5th. Upon his entry into the cage of death, Danielson beat up on the CZW opposition but soon afterwards attacked Joe and left the ring. ROH's early numbers advantage (via the coin flip done before the match) was wiped out and ROH was put in danger.
Cage of Death highlights: Other reporters have done a great job of describing what has occurred, so really I'm just going to use their impressions as the source material for all the insanity that was the COD. During this match we saw:
-Joe's Olay kick on the side of the Cage of Death
-A Moonsault Van Terminator by Nate "Spider" Webb.
-BJ Whitmer launching Necro Bucther over the ring and through a table covered in barbed wire!
-Homicide walloping Eddie Kingston over the head with a board that said "Ouch!" on it.
-Homcide passing out GHETTO FORKS for EVERYONE on the ROH team! TEAM FORKING!
-Homicide throwing thumbtacks into the path of Necro Butcher, who is BAREFOOT…OUCH. It looked like a Wile E. Coyote-Road Runner cartoon where the ACME product backfires on poor Coyote.
-Steel throws a trash can at Chris Hero as he is gloating during the match.
-Chris Hero moonsaults off the cage onto Team ROH, AFTER getting barraged by garbage can lid shots and almost falling off.
-Eddie Kingston and Chris Hero not being able to get along, even with a common enemy.
Literally there was so much more going on that it would be impossible to do a full and through review of the match without having video, but be sure to check this match out when it comes out on video—easily in the top 10 matches of the year.
COWBELL RALLY!: Ace Steel was one of the heroes of the Cage of Death match. He had this awesome moment that will live on for quite some time where he came in with a cowbell and just went CRAZY on the CZW guys. It was like: "CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" over and over again and it was fun and awesome. Even better is Ace's three second promo time on the newest ROH Videos recap where he screams out "I GOT A COWBELL!" Freaking genius.
"6 on 5!" vs. "You Can't Count!": One of the big controversies of the main event was the inclusion of Homicide. While Danielson clearly wasn't out for the best interests of ROH, it was the commish's decision to lock him in as a member of the team. For better or worse, when the CZW fans chanted "6 on 5!" towards the end of the match (despite CZW enjoying a 5 on 4 advantage in the ring), technically, they were right. CZW fans and the company can cling to the idea that Homicide was one man over the limit. Meanwhile ROh fans can rationalize that since Danielson walked out on his team, that The Notorious 187 was a viable substitution for their team.
Cornette Cracks: And finally, as we'll cover in a bit, Jim Cornette granted Homicide's first two wishes as a result of his assistance in winning Cage of Death—that being a match with Steve Corino and an ROH World title shot. However, when it came to the third request, the return of Low Ki, well, that's when Jim Cornette had a bit of a problem. We'll let the ROH newswire cover the rest:
There was a shocking turn of events after ROH's huge victory in Cage Of Death. The next ROH Video Recap will have an exclusive Jim Cornette promo about all the series of events that unfolded during ROH's victory celebration. Here is the rundown of what happened after Cage Of Death:
-A jubilant ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette enters the Cage Of Death and calls out the ROH staff to remove the CZW bodies. Cornette requests that Homicide, Lieutenant Commissioner Adam Pearce and ROH's guest coach JJ Dillon stay in the cage. Cornette thanks Pearce for being his eyes and ears while Cornette was out with knee surgery. Cornette thanks Dillon for coaching the ROH team to victory.
-Cornette then thanks Homicide for coming to ROH's aid during the Cage Of Death and says that he will grant Homicide his three wishes, despite being reluctant to do so earlier in the night. Homicide asks for another match vs. Steve Corino and a World Title Match. Cornette happily agrees. Homicide then asks for Low Ki to be reinstated.
-Cornette says that he agreed to give Homicide three things. Cornette says he will not give anything to someone else, especially the guy that kicked his tooth out (this occurred by accident in January during the chaos of a CZW invasion). Cornette suspended Ki on the 4/1 "Better Than Our Best" release for the tooth accident and said that Ki would be back in ROH when his tooth grew back.
-Homicide calls Cornette a liar for not giving him his three wishes.
-Cornette takes deep offense to this and tells Homicide that he should be called HOMOcide.
-Homicide is greatly insulted and spits in Cornette's face at point blank range.
-Cornette nods to Pearce, who jumps Homicide. Cornette then instructs Dillon to lock the cage.
-Homicide fights back, but Cornette maces him. Cornette also maces Julius Smokes, who was trying to climb into the cage.
-Dillon and Pearce handcuff Homicide to the turnbuckle and rip his shirt off.
-Cornette then delivers the greatest insult imaginable and whips Homicide with his belt.
-Dillon and Pearce keep people from climbing the cage to make the save.
-Cornette tells the ROH fans that are booing him to kiss his behind (in less polite words).
-Cornette, Dillon and Pearce then escape surrounded by security.
Philadelphia Road Trippin'
The fun began on the way into Manhattan as Chris and I were aurally assaulted by one of the many musical panhandlers on the Q Train. Mr. Clarinet-Man playing against the backing instrumentals of a boombox recording filled the subway car as we zoomed into the city while we discussed the latest particulars of the wrestling and MMA world.
I had signed us up for the bus trip run by PWInsider.com's own Mike Johnson and I can say with 100 percent certainty that we were certainly worried, not about the bus ride itself, but about our fellow passengers. I know I had written the column last week about how everyone is a mark, but still, this could have been one of those bad "Children of the Corn" type moments. Now I really have no right to say this, considering I was wearing a custom made "I Have Until 5!" American Dragon T-Shirt, so if anyone was the ROHbot dork in the picture it would have to be me. Still, it was slightly weird to be standing outside of The Manhattan Center (future home of ROH live events) amongst other ROH fans in their particular ROH T-shirts, amidst the unknowing and quizzical public walking by on 34th Street. Were they thinking: just who the hell are these freaks and why does this moron have until 5? To do what?
Anyway, the bus trip was very smooth and there were really very little problems if at all. Johnson runs a good ship, well, bus, really. He keeps things going and provided plenty of entertainment for the ride in the form of wrestling videos. On the way to Philadelphia the in flight, err, bus, movie was a Lucha Libre documentary and an ECW house show from The Elks Lodge in Queens. Some pretty good stuff to keep the voyagers entertained.
As we got into the National Guard Armory, I was awestruck by the two HUGE areas of risers, extending throughout the length of the arena. Of course, one was meant to be a majority CZW section and the other one for the ROH fans. Not having any clue though which section was which, Chris and I almost got stuck in the wrong (meaning, CZW) section—but luckily enough we figured things out before the show got underway and got ourselves a nice section all the way at the top of the ROH risers. It was a much different view than I've previously experienced, as usually I'm at ringside or within the first few rows. Now, here I was, pretty much equal to the height level on the ring, with a crystal clear view of the area where the entire chaotic goings on would occur that night.
Before the event began, Jim Cornette and JJ Dillon came out through the back curtain—and as soon as the fans in attendance picked up on them, they received a very loud ovation. The ROH fans were throwing their support towards Cornette's way, but little did they know how that support would be repaid later that night. Also to be found on the arena floor before the show began was the lovely Lacey, who came in and out through a side door. Of note at this point as well was that Bobby Cruise was not yet in his standard issue suit that he wears for the main show, but rather in a T-Shirt and shorts. The casual look lasted only through the announcing of the pre-show student matches and then Bobby went backstage and got ready to go.
The night itself went onwards very quickly, even with the intermission not taking place until before the Cage of Death main event. The crowd reaction was hard to gauge, as the Philadelphia fans were certainly hot throughout the night, but boy could they ever be cold and temperate in their reactions. For instance, Delirious received an incredible welcome (also possibly due to being involved in the first main show match of the evening) and support during his match, but The Briscoes and Irish Airborne, who put on a hell of a match that was crisp, clean and dam near perfect in execution, never received more than average applause and enthusiasm.
The ROH vs. CZW issue certainly could be felt within the crowd, as fans did battle amongst each other—taunting both the opposition's wrestlers and the opposition's fans in the crowds. Chants of "ROHbots" (I guess they didn't read my column last week--Rohbot is not an insult to me any more--"We're taking it back!" (Clerks II)) would arise from the CZW side along with a bevy of other insults to be met with retorts from the ROH crowd like "Losers" and "Same Old Chants." It was certainly a battle of wits as much as volume and effort, but I have to say that even though the CZW fans were in the minority, that together they were highly efficient and much more organized than the ROH fans. I mean here we were, the best and the brightest from the Tri-State and Midwest area, congregating together to see the culmination of this tension filled issue, and the ROH fans just seemed outmatched.
However, at the right moments and when they meant the most—the ROH crowd came through. A deafening "You're Gonna Get Your Fucking Head Kicked In" was unleashed during the American Dragon-Sonjay Dutt match. It lasted a good minute plus and was received with a joyous smile and applause from the self proclaimed "Best Wrestler in the World." At other times, with the CZW wrestlers on the defensive and their fans out of gay bashing jokes, the ROH fans were a riotous mass of enthusiasm, chanting "ROH! ROH! ROH!" with all their might. And even though the CZW fans tried their best to ruin the undercard matches with their chants—at the most important moments, they were shut down, speechless, bamboozled by the fact that ROH was winning and then in fact won, the war against their ultra-violent hardcore heroes.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 7/22/2006
ROH World Champion—American Dragon Bryan Danielson (champion since 9/17/05, 25 successful defenses)*, **
ROH PURE Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 8/29/05, 15 successful defenses)*
ROH World Tag Team Champions—Austin Aries and Roderick Strong (champions since 12/17/05, 12 successful defenses) ***
*4/29/06 champion v. champion match results in no title change and therefore should be considered successful defenses of the respective titles.
**Dragon makes successful defense of ROH title at ETW promotion in Texas on 6/10/06.
***Aries and Strong make two successful defenses in Japan, thus turning the ROH tag team titles into WORLD tag team titles.
SAVE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!
According to Mike Johnson's news report,
After next weekend's Necro Butcher vs. BJ Whitmer no ropes barbed wire match in Dayton, Ohio, Ring of Honor's plan is to move away from doing gimmick matches or concepts (Round Robin Challenge, Survival of the Fittest, etc.) as the feeling is they don't need them due to the stacked talent roster and plans for the next several months.
Now, as much as I understand the need for a bit of breathing room after two HUGE gimmick matches such as the Cage of Death and War of the Wire, but to hear these latest rumors of the doing away of ROH's specialty tournaments is upsetting to say the least. These are some marquee events that have been important parts of ROH history. Speaking for myself, my first ROH home video purchase was Round Robin Challenge, and that sold me completely on the company. However, RRC has been pretty much dormant and out of commission ever since the third incarnation. People kept waiting for the fourth one to be announced and it never happened. So I've accepted that for now, Round Robin Challenge is not coming back to an ROH ring.
What I am not accepting however is the decision to scrap the Survival of the Fittest concept. For the last two years these have been some of the most fun and intriguing tournament events, if not just for the format but also for the participants involved. The tournament format is usually six first round singles matches followed up by a six way elimination final. It has been a great jumping on point for new ROH fans. It is also a great method of pushing newer ROH stars. Both Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong have benefited as being recognized as the winners of the 2004 and 2005 tournaments. Colt Cabana also gained a bit of notoriety after he pinned Samoa Joe in the first elimination of the six man finals in the 2004 edition.
It was the last twenty minutes of inagural finals that showed us the true potential of Austin Aries as he battled back and showed his abilities. This face off feuled the nearly 75 minute two of three falls rematch between Aries and Dragon at Testing the Limit. Meanwhile, Roderick Strong and Austin Aries tore down the house in the 2005 edition of the finals. Strong received a monster push out of the evnt, having nearly all the eliminations in the match. this performance put him over the top in contention status and gave him enough momentum to get title opportunities against, you guessed it, American Dragon.
The opening matches of the tournaments also have had some nice spotlight moments. Generation Next has the spotlight in the 2004 edition, wrecking havoc and calling the shots. The 2005 tournament gave us a great dream match in Christopher Daniels vs. James Gibson as well as the debut of Milano Collection AT in a nifty match against Samoa Joe.
What I'd like to do here is express my wishes that ROH saves the concept of the Survival of the Fittest tournament and uses it again at some point in the future. It is true that ROH may not "need' a tournament at this point to get over its roster, but it is surely is one of the more fun concepts available. It has always generated a buzz and lots of water cooler discussion amongst the fans on the message board. There are also MANY more shows that ROH will run throughout the rest of the Summer and Fall. Surely one of these shows can be used for this event.
I'm not the only one on 411 to voice my displeasure over the loss of Survival of the Fittest either. Here are some responses from 411's writing staff:
Hey Ari,
Rumors are circling through I believe the Wrestling Observer newsletter that ROH is going to discontinue Survival of the Fittest. It'd be REALLY cool if you spread the word in the Column of Honor to help raise awareness and get people to let ROH know that we want to keep this show around.
I appreciate any help you can give,
Brad Garoon
Another venerable 411 writer, Stuart Carapola also voices his desire to SAVE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!
LOVED Survival Of the Fittest, I actually made the trip to Boston for last
year's show and it was probably my second favorite live show of the year,
right behind Unforgettable. I'll be honest, I never cared much for Round
Robin Challenge (which didn't mean anything after the first one) or Field Of
Honor (which just dragged on for WAY too long). Concept shows can be really
tricky.
It really is too bad there's not going to be one this year, it would have
been fun to see if this would be the year Aries would finally win it...and
if Joe got eliminated first again. I really would have liked to see who got
put over this year if it wasn't Aries. If I was booking it, I'd have it
come down to Aries and Davey Richards and have Richards go over, having
Aries come up short yet again. After three years as runner up, it would be
huge if Aries ever did end up winning it, especially if they ever wanted to
push him back to the ROH Title. Even coming up second for two years, it's
been a huge part of his career so far.
If you're going to do a grass roots campaign, you can count me in. I don't
think it'll make much difference either, but you never know.
So I put this to you, my ROH reading public—what do YOU think about the possible loss of the Survival of the Fittest tournament? If you want to voice your opinions, there are several things you can do. First of all, email me and I will publish any responses I get in future columns. If you are a member of the ROH Message Board, there is also a topic entitled "Don't Discontinue Survival of the Fittest" to which you can contribute. And if you readers believe in this issue enough, email ROH directly and let your voice be heard.
ROH News (via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
More from Mike Johnson's News Reports—Cornette, Shelley, Embassy, Claudio
Jim Cornette's heel turn on Homicide was something that was in the works from day one of Cornette's ROH return as Commissioner. The angle was held off for awhile once the ROH vs. CZW issue heated up, which wasn't something ROH hadn't expected as the CZW vs. ROH rivalry was originally designed as a one night appearance for Chris Hero, but took on a life of it's own. Cornette will be managing Adam Pearce in the future, something that was also in the cards from day one of Cornette's return.
It appears that Alex Shelley is done with Ring of Honor for now, although as Jay Lethal has shown by making several appearances after being "done with the company", the door is always open for Shelley to return down the line when it works out from schedule and storyline perspectives.
Expect Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinauro as a team to be focused on in the coming months as they received high marks internally for their debut match as a team last weekend in Philadelphia.
For those who have asked, Claudio Castagnoli will still be part of Ring of Honor despite the ending of the CZW vs. ROH storyline.
Internally, there were a number of people high on Nate "Spider" Webb, feeling his bumps and overall performance last weekend stole the Cage of Death match, so I wouldn't be shocked to see him brought back to the company down the line.
Well, in the beginning of Adam Pearce's run in ROH, he was looking for some respect and consideration from Jim Cornette. I guess one way or another, he got exactly that and while they have definitely been on the same page for quite a while, now they're both in their natural positions as heels. Let's face it, as great as it was to cheer for Pearce and as great a job he did as a face, Pearce and Cornette are heel heat magnets. Plus, as one storyline ends, another one begins—which is perfect wrestling booking. Alex Shelley's departure is a hell of a disappointment, but Shelley has made it quite clear at this point that his focus is on his business with TNA. I will miss his added presence to the cards and I will miss him calling me a fatboy. Rave and Rinauro have teamed up before on the indie scene and should do well as a team in ROH. Castagnoli as a part of ROH was a given, but again it's a shame that Chris Hero won't be involved as well, as the Kings of Wrestling could have been great heel antagonists for the tag team division. Hero was monstrously instrumental as being the big heel character for CZW in the invasion storyline. He forced everyone to pay attention to him and boy did the ROH fans ever respond to him. He deserves a ton of credit for that. And as far as Nate Webb goes, he definitely had some impressive moments, some boarding on insanity, but to me the show stealing moment was definitely Ace Steel and the cowbell rally—CLANG!
From the ROH Newswire:
Cage of Death Fallout
Things are beginning to take shape for ROH's huge debut at the Manhattan Center on 9/16. We now know that Jim Cornette will make a rare appearance in NYC. What will happen when Homicide returns home to NYC and is in the same building as Jim Cornette?
We already know that 8/5 in Edison, NJ will already feature arguably the two best wrestlers on the planet fighting it out for the ROH World Title when Bryan Danielson clashes with Samoa Joe. Now a huge grudge match has been added to this event. Adam Pearce did Jim Cornette's bidding last Saturday in Philadelphia and now Homicide will try to make him pay the price. It will be Homicide vs. Adam Pearce one-on-one in Edison, NJ!!!
You know, I was really worried there that ROH was doing this heel authority vs. rebel angle that's SO freaking played out...but my god, this is Jim Cornette and Homicide we're talking about. Cornette, in the latest ROH videos.com update, made a better promo justifying his beliefs and his anger against Homicide than ANY promo Eric Bischoff did talking down John Cena or just about ANY other heel authority promo in the last few years. The passion of Cornette just comes through the TV or computer screen. Homicide vs. Pearce should be an excellent grudge and brawl that helps to fill out the 8/5 under card.
No Visa Issues Here, Brock The other huge announcement last Saturday about 9/16 is that KENTA will challenge for the ROH World Title that night. KENTA is on a huge wave of momentum that will lead him to this title shot. This leads us to our next big announcement.
"Glory By Honor V Weekend" on 9/15 in East Windsor, CT and 9/16 in Manhattan will see some very special guest. We already know that KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji will be in action. NOAH's Takeshi Morishima, Takeshi Rikio, Mohammed Yone and GHC Jr. Champion Takashi Sugiura will all be in attendence as special guests and available for autographs. They will not be competing, but will be there to support KENTA and Marufuji as well as to be introduced to the ROH crowd. Both these shows are sure to be huge international events.
KENTA will compete on ROH's 11/4 return to Philadelphia. We will announce another date for KENTA soon.
Having the Japanese contingent of NOAH wrestlers at the show is kind of cool, but get these guys involved in the ring! At least KENTA and Marufuji will be back—and that can lead to good matches, such as the Danielson vs. KENTA match on 9/16. The question now is who will Marufuji be matched up against?
Additions to the House We have a new match for 8/25 in St. Paul, MN. ROH was in St. Paul over two years ago for "Reborn: Stage One." The historic show featured two unknowns making their ROH debuts as they tried to earn a job in a match against each other. Now over two years later both are firmly established on the ROH roster. 8/25 will see the rematch from "Reborn: Stage One" as Matt Sydal takes on Delirious!!!
Sydal / Delirious is a great combination no matter when or where they wrestle. They have great chemistry against each other. Check out their battle at "IWC Super Indy V" for a good example of this.
A huge Four Corner Survival has been added for 7/28 in Dayton. It will be a non-title match featuring ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. ROH World Tag Team Champion Austin Aries vs. Homicide vs. Delirious!!! This could be the biggest Four Corner Survival ever.
ROH loves their four corner survival matches; this one puts four top contenders in there against each other. The result could shake up the contention for the ROH World title for some time to come.
The main event of Cleveland will see Bryan Danielson defend the World Title against Nigel McGuinness. Last time in Cleveland, McGuinness defeated Danielson by countout in a World vs. Pure Title Match. Since McGuinness won that match he will now get a World Title shot and he will not have to worry about defending his Pure Title. This match will be contested under regular rules since the Pure Title is not on the line. If Danielson retains the belt here his next defense will be 8/5 against Samoa Joe in Edison, NJ. "Weekend Of Champions: Night 2" in Cleveland saw a match of the year candidate between Danielson and McGuinness, now July 29th will see the rematch. The Armory is located just down the street from Jacobs Field and is a great location.
Get ready for more of this pairing, as these two are also signed up to fight in the UK. It's the right time to match these two up against each other, as both have done incredible work with their respective titles. The World vs. PURE issue finally has two wrestlers who can actually match up against each other and see who comes out on top.
The new Embassy of Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinauro scored a victory over Colt Cabana & Jay Lethal last Saturday when Rave pinned Cabana. Now Cabana wants a return match and it will take place in Cleveland. The difference is this time Cabana will be teaming with his Second City Saint tag team partner Ace Steel. July 29th will have Cabana & Steel vs. Rave & Rinauro as the tag scene in ROH heats up!!!
BRING THE COWBELL!
Jay & Mark Briscoe will be coming to Cleveland for singles action. It will be Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide and Jay Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs. This gives the Cleveland event two potential show stealers!!! We'll have much more on both these matches next week.
Briscoe singles matches are almost as good as their tag matches. The Homicide match has some history behind it (directly related to of all things, Survival of the Fittest '04).
A new match has been signed for 8/4 in Long Island. Last time in Long Island, Delirious won a three-way that included ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness. That has not been sitting well with McGuinness. On 8/4 it will be McGuinness vs. Delirious and if Delirious is still Pure Champion the belt will be on the line. Get your ringside tickets for Long Island and Edison for 20% off until tomorrow at ROHwrestling.com.
I think it would be PURE irony and awesomeness to go from a totally pure and technical champ to a crazy lunatic wrestler holding the pure belt. I think if Delirious won it would just be a short reign and maybe Nigel could get it back to "purify" the title of Delirious's antics. Realistically I don't expect D to take it, especially with a defense or two happening in the United Kingdom, but it would be something, wouldn't it?
School in Session The next orientation for the ROH Wrestling School is this Sunday, July 23rd. There is no fee to attend this orientation and there are no tryouts for the beginner class. You will be trained by the best in the world ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson. If you are serious about being a wrestler and really want to learn the right way there is no better place than the ROH Wrestling School and no better trainer than Danielson. The school is located just outside Philadelphia and only minutes from I-95 as well as the PA & NJ Turnpikes making it an easy drive from all locations. If you cannot make 7/23 we can arrange another date for an orientation for you. Check the main page of ROHwrestling.com or email ROHhelp@aol.com for all the info.
Ticket to Ride ROH tickets will no longer be available at Ticketmaster. We are pleased to announce that ROH tickets will be available at Tickets.com.
The new website for ticket purchases was done to reduce the troubles coming from ticketmaster, including double purchased seats and the added surcharges for tickets. Obviously the best way to get ROH tickets is directly through the ROH website.
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!
July / August 2006 Calendar: Upcoming Shows and Match Announced
With a whole bunch of new matches announced for many of the upcoming shows, I thought this would be a good time just to lay it all out there so that fans can get an overview of what's in store for one of the busiest periods in ROH's lifespan. So via the match listing off of ROH, here are announced matches and as always, keep in mind that old wrestling adage,"card is subject to change".
Dayton, OH- 'War of the Wire II'- July 28th, 2006
No Roped Barbed Wire Match
BJ Whitmer vs. Necro Butcher
Four Corner Survival Match
ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. ROH World Tag Team Champion Austin Aries vs. Homicide vs. Delirious
Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Colt Cabana
Tag Team Grudge Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
Special Challenge Match
Christopher Daniels vs. Matt Sydal
Special Attraction Tag Team Match
Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinuaro vs. Davey Richards & Jerrelle Clark
Cleveland, OH- July 29th, 2006
ROH World Title Match
World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness
Special Challenge Match
Christian Cage vs. Christopher Daniels
Generation Next Together For One Last Time
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans & Matt Sydal vs. Davey Richards, Jerrelle Clark & Irish Airborne
Singles Action
Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide
Singles Action
Jay Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Tag Team Special Attraction Match
Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinauro vs. Colt Cabana & Ace Steel
Long Island, NY- August 4th, 2006
Main Event
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles
Tag Team Challenge Match
KENTA & Davey Richards vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
ROH World Tag Team Title Ultimate Endurance Match
ROH Tag Team Champions Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. The Embassy vs. BJ Whitmer & Adam Pearce vs. The Rottweilers The first fall with all four teams is Tap Out rules only. The second fall with the three remaining teams will be under Tag Team Scramble rules. The final fall with the remaining two teams will be for the Tag Titles.
Pure Title Match
Nigel McGuinness (if still champion) vs. Delirious
Edison, NJ- August 5th, 2006
ROH World Title Match
Bryan Danielson (if still champion) defends against Samoa Joe
First Time Ever Match
KENTA vs. Davey Richards
ROH World Tag Team Title Ultimate Endurance Match
ROH Tag Team Champions Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal & Jack Evans vs. Irish Airborne The first fall with all four teams is Tap Out rules only. The second fall with the three remaining teams will be under Tag Team Scramble rules. The final fall with the remaining two teams will be for the Tag Titles.
Grudge Match
Homicide vs. Adam Pearce
Liverpool, UK- August 12th, 2006
Main Event
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness *stipulations to be announced
ROH World Tag Team Title Match
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong defend against Jay & Mark Briscoe
ROH vs. CZW
BJ Whitmer vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Winning Team Gets Tag Title Match On 8/13
Doug Williams & Jody Fleisch vs. Team NOAH
Four Corner Survival Match
Colt Cabana vs. Matt Sydal vs. Jonny Storm vs. Spud
Grudge Match
Davey Richards vs. Jimmy Rave with Prince Nana
Special Attraction
Robbie Brookside vs. Chad Collyer
Broxbourne, UK- August 1th, 2006
ROH World Tag Team Title Match
Aries/Strong vs. Briscoes winner vs. Williams/Fleisch vs. Team NOAH winner
St. Paul, MN- August 25th, 2006
Special Challenge Match
Christopher Daniels vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Rematch From Reborn Stage One
Matt Sydal vs. Delirious
Chicago, IL- August 26th, 2006
ROH World Title Match- 2 Out Of 3 Falls
Bryan Danielson (if still champion) defends against Colt Cabana
Grudge Match
Samoa Joe vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Short Takes
-As much as I am a big fan of The Briscoe Brothers, I have to take them to task for no showing several non-ROH events, including two PWG events over the last few months, including the upcoming Battle of Los Angeles 2006 tournament. Now I used to help some of my friends who were in a band get some local bookings, and one of the first things you learn when you're trying to get dates for shows is that YOU NEVER BOOK A SHOW AND BREAK THE DATE. It's exceedingly bad business and you can really hurt your reputation by repeatedly canceling or no showing bookings. While The Briscoes have done an incredible job thus far in their ROH comeback, they leave something to be desired as far as trust and dependability elsewhere. Aside from a family emergency, I just don't see a valid excuse.
-ROH fans in attendance at shows—STOP THE BOTTLE THROWING. I fucking hate it and think its nonsense. Fans in attendance threw bottles in the MIDDLE of the Cage of Death match, when they were upset by a CZW rally and Chris Hero gloating on the mic--they didn't even know where the rest of the match was going and they still did it! The plastic bottles wound up hitting Claudio Castagnoli, who threw the bottles back at the fans. I think that was absolutely justified in my view. CM Punk had bottles thrown at him at Fate of an Angel when he was ROH champion last year, and he immediately broke character to go chase after them—all the way to the outside of the building. Quite frankly I think Claudio should have done the same, but for the Cage of Death blocking his path way we could have had some major stuff breaking down. It's horrible that ROH fans are following the bad habits of TNA and ECW crowds for god sakes. It's bad enough people are ruining the Jimmy Rave Toilet Paper gag by throwing it at wrestlers other than Rave as a sign of disrespect, but bottles are worse. I thought as ROH fans we were better than that, but I guess I underestimated mob mentality. It's a slippery slop from plastic bottles to glass bottles to even worse things and I'd hate to think ROH could come to that point.
Ringtones
On the subject of ROH look-alikes, 411's own JD Dunn pops in with the following:
I'll go with Alex Shelley and
former-teen-geek-turned-heartthrob Patrick Dempsey.
Interesting "separated at birth" connection. Let's take a look:
READERS, SEND IN YOUR SUGGESTIONS! WHICH ROH WRESTLERS HAVE A CLOSE CONNECTION TO THOSE "REAL WORLD" CELEBRITIES? SEND IN YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND I'LL POST THEM IN THE COLUMN!
THE WEIRD BUT AWESOME AMERICAN DRAGON CHANT
source: fullimpactpro.com
You're gon-na get
your fuck-ing head kicked in!
CLAP CLAP,CLAP CLAP CLAP
..CLAP, CLAP CLAP, CLAP CLAP
Yes, it came back and in full force last week at the show in Philly, so one more time I reprise the chant here. Even though American Dragon is currently a jerk of a guy for betraying ROH's interests for his own, he still got an amazingly complicated chant over and used it as a psychological weapon against Sonjay Dutt and the CZW fans in attendance. I have to give much kudos to the ROH fans in attendance as they got right into this chant and very quickly it was THUNDEROUS. The chant filled the building for a solid minute and everyone was on point with the cadence and the rhythm. There was a groundswell of support on the ROH message board to get this chant going at the show, so once again, great job ROH fans!
Now, all that's left is to chant "Joe is Gonna Kill You" on August 5th, 2006. That no good bastard American Dragon deserves it for using us to get over his silly but wackily awesome chants.
**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)
**SHIMMER WOMEN'S ATHLETES Volume 2 (Four Way Elimination Match: Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Rey vs. Lacey vs. Mercedes Martinez / MsChif vs. Beth Phoenix / Alison Danger vs. Rain)
**PWG Astonishing X-Mas (December 16th, 2005) (Super Dragon vs. Kevin Steen / Eight Man Tag / Strong & Evans vs. Human Tornado & El Generico / Colt Cabana vs. Scorpio Sky)
**ROH Fourth Anniversary Show (Generation Next / Styles & Sydal, Danielson / Rave, Homicide / Cabana Ghetto Fight, CZW all out brawl)
**ROH Best In The World (KENTA/ &Marifuji / Joe & Dragon, Strong & Evans / Briscoes, Shelley / Daniels, Shimmer 4 Way)
**ROH Dragon Gate Challenge (Daniels / Joe, Generation Next / Blood Generation, Styles & Sydal / Dragon Kid & Horiguchi)
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2005 (2 DISC) (Steen/Dragon, Styles/Evans, Dragon/Reyes, Romero/Kazarian and tons more)
** ROH SUPERCARD of Honor (Danielson / Strong III, Do Fixer / Blood Generation, AJ Styles & Matt Sydal / Austin Aries & Jack Evans, Joe / Jacobs / Daniels)
**ROH Better Than Our Best (the whole damn card. No really, the whole damn card)
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 3 (Knox / Danger, Del Ray / Haze, Cheerleader Melissa / Shantelle Taylor)
**FIP Big Year One Bash Night 1 (Strong / Gibson, Spanky & Rinauro / Rave & Lethal Homicide / McGuiness)
**IWC Super Indy V (Low Ki / Abyss, Sydal / Petey Williams, Delirious / Sydal, Shelley / Reyes, Gambino Bros. Moving Co. / Burning River Brigade—M Dogg 20 and Josh Prohbition)
**Hardcore Homecoming: November Reign PLATNIUM EDITION. (Lynn / Polaco Cage Match, Douglas / Pitbull Gary Wolfe Dog Collar, Matt Hyson / CW Anderson. Bonus DVD: Sabu / Al Snow, Chris Benoit / 2 Cold Scorpio, Psicosis / Rey Mysterio Jr., Lynn / Polaco)
ROH @ 411
J.D. Dunn is exceedingly relevant this week with his reviews of ROH videos and shows. With Delirious getting great reactions in ROH, Dunn takes you back to his first appearance in ROH during the Do or Die III event. He also gives you a look back at the first Survival of Fittest, so go back and read up on why this tournament can be so beneficial for ROH and its wrestlers.
Monseuir Bayani Domingo sure had a lot to say about wrestling's best heels in his Truth B Told this week. He throws a lot of praise towards ROH and their use of Bryan Danielson. Read on, but don't forget to rip up some old grannie's autograph book while you do so.
UMMMMMMMMMAGGGGGGAAA sucks…low rent Samoa Joe wannabe. WWE freaking wishes it had Samoa Joe to lead them into the future of professional wrestling, but they blew their chance.
Shining the Spotlight on the Golden Goose that is an Invasion angle. Hmmm… WWE couldn't pull that off, but ROH sure did…hmmmm…
STU! with a look at Austin vs. Hart from 1997, one of my favorite time periods and moments in WWE history. That whole feud was greatness and led to a ton of awesome sound bites from both Stone Cold and The Hitman.
The Three R's expand the writing bullpen with Larry's cable out on the fritz.
Sullivan keeps you up to date with the newest rooks to head into OVW looking for their big break.
That is all for this week folks—plenty more to cover next week including more of our regular features, results from July 28th (War of the Wire II) and a preview of the July 29th event, which happens to fall on my birthday (!).Finally, congratulations to A & P, I'm looking forward to tomorrow even though my stomach is not. Brooklyn!
--Ari--
