Column of Honor: 09.02.06
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 09.02.2006
Results from Chicago, The Year of the Dragon running out of time, 60 minute draws, the Money Players for August 2006, new selections for the indie buy in, bullfighting, women’s fighting, AJ and Davey fighting…just, lots of fighting.
To quote Tom Petty, "It's a big weekend. If you don't run, you rust".
It's a cloudy and windy day here in the big city, threatening to rain at any moment. Summer is over for me and its back to the teaching biz, raining on my vacation parade. Into every life a little rain must fall and as always a busy week in Ring of Honor means tons of news and results to discuss. Bring the umbrellas. Maybe they're in little Martini glasses, but bring those too.
ROH Results: Cabana vs. Danielson Chicago, IL August 26th, 2006
Matches
-Davey Richards defeated Alex Payne.
-Nigel McGuinness with The Embassy of Sal Rinauro and Jimmy Rave defeated Delirious and Irish Airborne of Jake and Dave Crist.
-Jimmy Jacobs defeated BJ Whitmer via roll up.
-Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe defeat Homicide & Davey Richards via pinfall on Richards.
-Samoa Joe defeated Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall with the musclebuster.
-ROH World Tag Team Champions Austin Aries and Roderick Strong retained their titles by defeating Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal. Aries pins Daniels after the 450.
-ROH World Champion "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson retained his title in a one hour time limit draw against Colt Cabana. First Fall: Cabana pins Danielson in six minutes with the Colt 45. Second Fall: Danielson small packages Cabana at about the 59:30 mark. Third fall goes to draw.
Angles and Issues
Not in DA EM BAH SEE, fool!: Despite teaming up with them this night, Nigel McGuinness has not joined the Embassy. Well, Prince Nana's loss.
When Huss Attacks!: More on this below, but Jimmy Jacobs went postal on former partner and now bitter rival BJ Whitmer, including several chair shots to Whitmer's ankle.
Corny's Promo: ROH commissioner Jim Cornette repeats his claims that he is not a heel commissioner, but his actions seem to point to the contrary. He said that he has issues with Homicide and will take care of him, but good!
Is The Year of the Dragon Coming to an End?
The great arc of the championship title run: the build, the win, the defenses, the loss.
For almost one year ROH has seen the arc of "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson as ROH World Champion and in that time Dragon has over two dozen defenses, has taken on some of the toughest competition within ROH and around the world. He is the self professed "Best Wrestler in the World", but there is enough video evidence to prove this statement to be true, even in a court of law. Danielson has gone a long ways towards building a more charismatic presence about his wrestling character, above and beyond what many wrestling experts and fans had seen in him in previous years.
Now after one of the toughest weeks of title defenses in his year long run as champion, including wrestling in three one hour draws in three week's worth of time, this writer believes that it may only be a matter of time before the ROH World Title and it's current holder are to be separated from each other. With some of the toughest upcoming defenses in his title run to come in the next few weeks and after suffering a separated shoulder tear in his match against Colt Cabana on August 26th (see below), Bryan Danielson is in danger like never before of losing the title that he has proclaimed to be his "wrestling freedom".
The ROH champ fought through a hellacious weekend of matches and he did not escape unscathed. In two consecutive one hour draws, Danielson managed to hold onto the belt, but not without some scary moments where the title was in jeopardy. In the match against Nigel McGuinness, Dragon got the lead early on, but then in a rare submission, he tapped out in Nigel's arm trap submission. The damage to the arm was considerable but it was not what led directly to the conclusion of the match, where it seemed McGuinness could take the ROH World title. No, what put Dragon's title in harms way was having one of his own trademark maneuvers turned against him. Dragon has been using a Ultimate Fighting style barrage of elbows to the face, which has often caused the referee to stop the match because there was a lack of defense against the move or the wrestler was close to being knocked out. This time around, it was Dragon who was getting the worse of an elbow and forearm barrage, as Nigel just rained them down on Dragon in the closing moments. Dragon just barely avoided getting knocked out and held on for the time limit which ensured he would be able to keep the title. It was not a surprise then when it took Danielson almost ten minutes after the match to recuperate from the beat down which nearly cost him his most prized possession.
Danielson's situation would worsen against perennial contender Colt Cabana, who had been a constant irritation to the champ ever since April. Cabana just kept wanted moe title opportunites, and it would be in frustration and losing control of the mental game that Dragon kept granting Cabana more chances. It was here again in Chicago, in Cabana's rabid hometown, where Dragon again defeded the title to the time limit. However, for over fifty minutes, the title situation was at its most dangerous for Dragon. He fell behind early in the match, succumbing to a Colt 45 at the six minute mark. Dragon had been trying desperately to win another fall after that and even worse was he was trying to do it with only one good arm. If he was down one to nothing at the end of sixty minutes, Cabana would win the title. Finally, at the fifty nine minutes and thirty second mark, Danielson went to a last resort maneuver in distracting the ref with a title check, low blowing Cabana and then rolling up the plucky Chicago superstar for the fall. With the match at an even one fall apiece and the time limit expired, the Dragon has once again escaped the closest of margins, still the ROH champion.
One of the more interesting patterns to be found in Ring of Honor is in the way it's champions have been booked. There is a period of defenses where the champion appears to be strong, confident and is able to retain the strap, even through some difficult challenges and matches with viable contenders. However, at some point, a champion's weakness is exposed (whether it is Samoa Joe's vulnerability to flash pins or the neck injury to Austin Aries) and they are put to use against him. This is only natural and realistic, for a champion will not be champion forever. A wrestler's body will break down; eventually a wrestler's mind will be worn down because of the stress of holding the crown. Hey, even Samoa Joe lost the ROH World Title after twenty one months and when most thought he could not be defeated, it was then when he was upset for the title.
Each champion has had a story to tell in their run with the title. If you ask me this idea is the evidence of deep booking. That in-depth, "little things" aspect of carrying out title runs is quite rewarding as a fan. Maybe not the average fan gets the idea behind these runs or even needs to get the idea, but its one more demonstration of the "don't insult the intelligence of the fans" mindset involved in running Ring of Honor.
The story for these one hour draws this past weekend is that Dragon is slipping from the top shape of his earlier run. Back then, in early October, Danielson had been retaining the titles with relative ease against competitors such as Steve Corino and Chris Sabin. Now, Danielson is approaching a year as champion and it's to the point that he can't finish his opponents off. The challengers are tougher, more well scouted against his moves and ready to take the champ to the limit if that's what it takes to become the ROH champion. Dragon's schedule of title matches and the match stipulations that go with it are also that much more ambitious when compared to the early months of this run. Retaining a singles title in a one on one match is all well and good, but Dragon has been fighting in three way dances, two out of three fall matches and going to one hour draws. Now he fights Austin Aries and KENTA back to back at the upcoming Glory By Honor V Weekend, both of whom have proven they can beat Dragon in matches.
The one positive of this weekend's matches is that due to pre match stipulations pertaining to title rankings, Cabana and McGuinness are no longer to be considered eligible for a title shot so long as Danielson is champion. Both men didn't lose their matches, but they didn't win them either. And as Bobby Heenan always said, the champion doesn't have to beat the challenger; the challenger HAS TO beat the champion. Since both of these men could not take advantage of their final opportunities they are now out of the title chase. Danielson is now free to no longer worry about these men as title challengers due to the above stipulations. However, that doesn't stop the list of worthy challengers from continuing to stack up. If the champ can get past Aries and KENTA, Dragon has rematches lined up with Samoa Joe. That can't be a comforting thought for Danielson as he nurses his wounds for the next two weeks.
You can't discount Dragon's abilities and he is still quite dangerous as an opponent. His definitive wins in the United Kingdom shouldn't be forgotten or discounted. Three clean (or as clean as you can get) finishes against Nigel, Pro Wrestling NOAH's bad ass SUWA and Roderick Strong provided Dragon with a 3-0 record overseas. That's Dragon beating a guy from the UK, Japan and America. For a while now, Dragon has been referring to himself as "The Best in the World" and this showing goes a long way towards proving that to be realistically true. Even if these last two title defenses haven't been definitive, Danielson is just going to show that he will try to retain the title in any way that he can--and he can still claim to be the best in the world, even if that no longer is "technically" true.
No mistakes though, the clock is ticking down on American Dragon's run as the ROH World champion, just like it did for CM Punk, just like it did for Austin Aries and just like it did for Samoa Joe. It's no longer a matter of if, but when and who. Dragon may make it to a year as champion and past that, but sooner or later his fire is going to run out, and that will be the moment of opportunity enough for his opponent. Dragon is vulnerable now, and the more one hour draws he fights, the more it seems that someone someday is going to take him out.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 9/2/2006
ROH World Champion—American Dragon Bryan Danielson (champion since 9/17/05, 30 successful defenses)*, **
ROH World Tag Team Champions—Austin Aries and Roderick Strong (champions since 12/17/05, 16 successful defenses) ***
*ROH World and Pure Titles Unified on 8/12/06, Pure Title is folded
**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.
ROH News (via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
DANIELSON V. KAMALA!!!! No, REALLY!
According to Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, "NWA Pro on 9/30 in Bridgeport, Ct presents an ROH title match with Bryan Danielson vs. Kamala on a show that includes Midnight Express vs. Rock & Roll Express".
According to the press release, this will also be an ROH title match. Well, if Danielson hasn't had a tough time already, now he must fight the Ugandan Giant! How the hell Danielson will defeat this painted menace is unclear, but this will put Dragon to the test like no other match before. Truly these are the end of days for Danielson.
Danielson Suffers Separated Shoulder; Whitmer Ankle Surgery Puts Him Out of Action
About 10 minutes into the Cabana match last night Danielson suffered a separated shoulder. Danielson gutted out the final 50 minutes of the match and wrestled in excruciating pain in what will go down as legendary effort. Danielson went to the emergency room this morning and had his shoulder popped back into place. He will see a specialist this week for a MRI and we will have an update on his condition when we get one.
ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson will take this weekend and next weekend off to rest his shoulder for "Glory By Honor V Weekend."
BJ Whitmer was rushed to the hospital after last Saturday's Chicago show with a severe ankle injury at the hands of Jimmy Jacobs. Things do not look good for Whitmer and he is expected to miss some ring time. We will have an update soon.
BJ Whitmer underwent ankle reconstruction surgery on Tuesday. Two ligaments were completely torn and needed to be reconstructed and a big piece of destroyed cartilage along with some bone chips were taken out of the ankle. Whitmer will miss 12-16 weeks. The injury initially happened on 3/30 at "Dragon Gate Challenge" in that infamous fall from the ring to the floor against Jimmy Jacobs. Whitmer worked the entire CZW feud in pain and gutted out the injury while trying to keep things quiet. Jacobs finished the job on the ankle last Saturday in Chicago with a vicious attack that isolated the ankle. Now Whitmer will face tedious rehab before he can return, hopefully before the end of the year.
I know Larry Csonka has issues with Danielson continuing to wrestle with the shoulder tear. I'm not too happy about it either, but it is the show must go on mind frame that continues to work in the business. Danielson knew he had to get to the finish that they had in mind, and he did so. Of course, the cost of the shoulder is that he has lost bookings (and $$$) in between the ROH events of last weekend and Glory by Honor V. Whitmer has also been playing hurt for months, and this injury angle looks to be a good way to write him out for now. It's pretty unfortunate that after all this time building BJ up that he is going to be on the shelf—but hopefully Whitmer will not be forgotten by the fans. He gave so much over the last few months that it would be a shame if that did happen.
BRUNO! Legendary WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino will be a special guest at the 9/16 event at the Manhattan!!! You will have an opportunity to meet Sammartino as he returns to the shadows of MSG where he had some of his greatest matches. We will have more on Sammartino's appearance in the upcoming weeks.
Well how about that? Bruno rarely makes appearances at wrestling cards and fan conventions, but reportedly is one of the nicest guys around. Bruno is someone who I'd place as the swing man between the golden age and the current age of wrestling. It's certainly just an awesome thing to consider that a man who meant so much to wrestling in the 70's is making an appearance in ROH. Remember to add on appearances of wrestlers from NOAH's Takeshi Morishima, Muhammad Yone and Takashi Sugiura (also appearing in CT) for pics and ‘graphs and you have a special appearance roster so deep and special that it rivals the live action on the card!
Matches Spark a Fire: Joe v. Strong; Chicago 10/28/06 Last Friday in St. Paul saw Roderick Strong pin Samoa Joe with the Gibson Driver in a ROH World Tag Team Title Match. It is rare that Joe is defeated and now he wants to even the score. Joe has challenged Strong to a one-on-one match and Strong has accepted. It will be Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong in their first ever singles ROH match on 9/15 in East Windsor, CT.
Jack Evans has been added to "Glory By Honor V Weekend" on 9/15 in East Windsor, CT and 9/16 in NYC with the debut in the Manhattan Center.
Just in case you missed it there are three matches announced for the 10/28 Chicago return as a result of the happenings of last Saturday's event in Chicago. Already signed is: Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels vs. Austin Aries and Davey Richards vs. Mark Briscoe!!! Tickets are already selling fast and third rows are almost gone so get them now at ROHwrestling.com or by calling 215-781-2500.
Now we're talking! Great matches here as the two Joe vs. Strong matches in FIP were very good and I have to think they will take their match up to a main event quality for their bout here. Jack Evans is a NYC crowd favorite, so his appearance will be very well met. The three matches for Chicago are also must see draws—Danielson vs. Joe will be interesting because at this point who knows if it will be for the title and they will have already rematched at Survival of the Fittest. Lots of balls up in the air for that match.
Pretty in Pink Steve Corino will make his return to ROH on 10/27 in Dayton and 10/28 in Chicago.
Will he be sporting the pink tights from Japan?
? It all changes next week.
Jesus, talk about being cryptic. What the hell does this mean? What changes are going to take place? Will ROH get a new vending machine? Will there be a change in shower time in the locker room? Or will this be the live debut of the AWE INSPIRING ROHBOT MOTHER FUCKING ARM?
…Now it's time for Hero's Sandwich
Oh ho ho! Do my ears deceive me? Are my eyes blanketing out? NO! It's true! I heard it through the grapevine that those internet simpletons on the message boards have been whining and complaining and moaning…about WRESTLING? This is almost too good to be true; too ironic to be in an Alanis Morrisette song; too predictable for you Ring of Losers. Don't worry; it is as always, up to Chris Hero to lay down the law on wrestling fans. That I have to do it here of all places, in the most pathetic of internet columns…well, that's a sacrifice you're Hero has been prepared to make.
So fans are shooting their flaps about how there were two sixty minute draws over the weekend…and that's just too much wrestling. "Oooh ohh, why? What is ROH thinking? They shouldn't dooo that!" well, when ROH fans complain there's too much wrestling in their wrestling matches, what have we come to? Hey, forget Bryan Danielson, I, ME, MYSELF, am the KING of the IRON MAN MATCH! Hell, I've wrestled thirty minute draws, fought through 45 minute draws, survived sixty minutes of hell, hell, I once did a 93 minute match with CM Punk. NINETY THREE MINUTES! And hey, I had to carry that never will be all the way through it, so imagine my pain! Everyone was hailing us then—we broke the barriers! We did what was unexpected! And I-Chris Hero—became…a WRESTLING GOD! Oh wait, wait, sorry that's someone else's gimmick—let's see—I, Chris Hero, became the MASTER AND RULER of the UNIVERSE! Hmm, still sounds familiar, but we'll go with it. The point being, even if you all complain and bitch and whine about wrestling in wrestling matches, I, your Hero, will still be there to deliver the goods. No thanks are needed, just pay your money to see me and buy my T-Shirts, and all will be forgiven.
This has been…Hero's Sandwich.
Honorarium (formerly Short Takes)
-I hereby nominate both Colt Cabana and Delirious to Team United States for the World Toilet Paper Throwing Championships. Each does a consistently awesome job of lobbing, throwing and nailing Rave, Nana and Daizee Haze with pinpoint accuracy. Now I know that Delirious hails from "the edge of sanity", but if anything that sounds more and more like America nowadays, so I say bring him on board. Colt Cabana's TP specialty is sneaking a couple of rolls behind his back and wind milling the TP at an unsuspecting Embassy member. Delirious prefers to keep extra ammunition in his mouth—chewing the toilet paper must make it extra moist and ready to be thrown at any moment.
-I was thinking recently of some interesting parallels between wrestling matches and bullfighting. Each form of athleticism is known for embracing both a "sport" or athletic competition, but each also puts a premium on showmanship, performance and entertainment. Of course in bullfighting, the matador (not Tito Santana mind you, but someone equally as talented in the ring, ARRIBA~!) makes several "passes" between himself and the bull; this demonstrates the ability of the bullfighter to negotiate danger and then to exploit the weakness of the opponent-the bull. This also happens during wrestling, where the competitors make "passes" at each other in their movements, their wrestling and grappling. Think of the indy respect spot, and the idea of passing and parleying with a wrestler becomes more clear. Now, wrestlers such as Terry Funk refer to wrestling at it's finest as dancing with a partner; bullfighting is also a special kind of dance, with a rhythm and a pace set in the fight. Finally in bullfighting, there is "the kill" that is performed when the fighter has battled and gone through his dance with the bull. He has struck the bull a few times, prepared for the often brutal and bloody finish, the killing of the bull. In wrestling, we have "the finish" of the match, which also occurs when the time is right and after one of the wrestlers has prepared for the defeat of his opponent.
What's the point of all these parallels? Dammed if I known—I just thought it was kind of cool.
Of course, we could also compare wrestling with the RUNNING of the bulls; perhaps the fans trying to get out of the way of incoming wrestlers brawling into the crowds. Or maybe it's the crowd running out of the building during a particularly brutally bad Umaga, Kane, Viscera, Chris Masters or Rob Conway match.
-I've been listening to Jared David on commentary for a few shows now—I didn't want to comment immediately on the guy because I wanted to give him a chance to develop along. David has seemingly improved on recent releases, and has definitely become more confident and more present on the DVDs. However, he just is not on the same level as Lenny Leonard had been in his run in ROH. There are several things which are getting to me when I listen to David—the major fault being that his role in the booth is almost interchangeable to what Prazak does. Both men seem to be running the play by play almost exclusively on these DVDs, which leaves out the small but important aspects of color commentary, including analysis of the match, how wrestlers are working the match and for what purpose, as well as the hitting lighter, more comic notes during a match so that not everything comes as so stiff and so stuffy. David has had a few good one liners here and there, but he really needs to adjust and to add more focus to what he brings to the audio of ROH shows. I will say this, to be fair, that on Full Impact Pro DVDs both Prazak and David do a better job together in commentary. I can't really put my finger on why they work better in FIP than ROH—perhaps it's because David usually does the majority of play by play work on those shows. Prazak has shone in either play by play or commentary, but David is better when he does the play by play.
Lenny Leonard really surprised me with the quality of his color commentary and especially his chemistry with Dave Prazak (who has had a number of broadcast partners in ROH, IWA and other independents. Leonard's run in ROH had prematurely stopped because he needed to recover and rehab from double knee surgery (which sounds just awful). No offense to David, but I'm hoping Leonard comes back sooner rather than later.
-A match that should be getting tons more people talking is Cheerleader Melissa vs. MsChif Falls Count Anywhere match that took place back in February for SHIMMER Women's Athletes. The match can be found on the Volume 4 DVD and has some of the more violent and intense fighting than anyone has seen in women's wrestling in quite some time. Not only is there excellent wrestling and stiff brawling in the match, there are tons of creative and ingenuous moments in the match. Now, Brad Garoon put up a review of this match that was not complimentary, but I would have to disagree with his analysis. I think the brawl style action of the match is something that hasn't been seen in women's wrestling since the Trish Stratus vs. Victoria hardcore fights back in WWE. These women are tearing it up—and it isn't meant to be pretty. I'd also say that seeing moves, sequences and such that I've never seen in women's wrestling before really ups the value of watching the match.
Since the match is falls count anywhere, the fight spills out to the crowd and up the stairs of the front entrance to the armory. These women then proceed to fight outside into the streets of Chicago! Melissa manages to body slam MsChif straight onto the concrete of the sidewalk! Now that is something you don't see everyday. Something else you don't see everyday, or almost ever, is blood in a women's match. You get that in this one, as MsChif bleeds, seemingly hard way and it's pretty far out there. The blood ups the intensity one step further, showing the audience that this is a very bitter grudge match.
There is also some very creative use of the architecture of the building while the women are out there, including the use of some beams / poles that connect the building to the ground. Back inside, Melissa takes out some kind of rolling wooden ballast or platform out from underneath the stage and they proceed to do what I can best describe as a "Hide and Seek" spot. MsChif is thrown inside the crawlspace underneath the stage and comes out through an adjacent panel. This is like a wacky cartoon moment, but I didn't think it was contrived—in fact I popped huge for it. A few moments later MsChif is again slammed onto this rolling carriage and Melissa proceeds to roll MsChif UNDER the RING, all the way to the opposite end of ringside.
The finish is sick; it recalls a spot from their first match on SHIMMER volume 1, where Melissa puts MsChif in an inverted cloverleaf and stretches MsChif's body forward to the point where Mischief's own feet are touching her head! However, this time around the spot is doubly evil because Melissa is also using a chair, so in effect MsChif is hitting herself in the head with a chair with her own feet! Believe me, seeing that almost made me lose my lunch (in a good way); it's something I've never ever seen before in a wrestling match. In fact, there's a ton of stuff here you don't normally see in a wrestling match, let alone a women's match It's over twenty five minutes in length but it seems to fly by because there is something interesting occurring throughout every part of the match.
-AJ Styles vs. Davey Richards from Death Before Dishonor IV has taken some major flack over the last month and a half. This match comes off tons better on DVD than it did live. In fact, aside from AJ getting blown up towards the end of the match I'd go so far as to say this was a good match and has not been nearly worth the negative reviews it has received. I loved watching this match from the comfort of home; sometimes that lives vs. tape thing happens where a match is just not well received in the arena but translates very well to video. Even the crowd reaction seemed to be tons better through the miracle of home video. Another thing to consider with the crowd is this was ROH vs. CZW night and that means a different kind of crowd dynamic--harsher and more on edge. Some CZW fans came just to crap over everything Ring of Honor; some ROH fans didn't want to be bothered to get behind matches that weren't connected to the ROH vs. CZW issue. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the crowd was bad; in fact this was an incredible crowd and live there was tons of electricity and great support for certain matches. However, it's almost a mistake to rely on this particular crowd for a definitive gauge and as it is people shouldn't really judge things until they've seen it with their own two eyes. Some will be disappointed and some will ask, what was all the fuss about?
The Money Players: August 2006
Who are the money players? In the sports industry, money players are the athletes who are making the right plays at the right moments.
In wrestling, the concept of the money player is not all that different. The wrestler who has a great match or gives an impressive impression upon the audience ups their worth to the wrestling promoter. In all likelihood, making the money play and being a money player means more attention for yourself, better spots, more money (well, in the world of indie wrestling, that's still a big maybe). While you may be helping your team, you are also helping yourself and your career.
So once a month here at Column of Honor, I'll be looking at some of the money players in Ring of Honor. We'll see who's hot, who's not, who's making those key plays and who is dropping the ball, so to speak. I'm also going to manage a "stock portfolio" during the year. We'll see how the wrestlers I picked perform over the course of time. We'll also see whether or not I have a future in investment or if I'll lose my shirt and pants in the whole thing.
Here's the ground rules: a player's "stock" can go up or down dependent on a number of factors. Most importantly, from a "shoot" perspective, we'll be looking at a wrestlers' position on the roster and on the cards, any political quandaries and the future possibilities of being booked onto shows. Injuries can also impact the well being of a wrestlers' stock. From a "work" perspective, it's important to consider wins and losses, feuds and rivalries, entanglements and championship runs. Simply put, the more a wrestler impresses in the ring through talent and through W-Ls, the more likely a chance their stock goes up and vice versa.
Money Player of the Month—August 2006
Nigel McGuinness (NIGE)
-Nigel's name and presence dominated the Ring of Honor news throughout much of August. Whether it was defending the ROH Pure belt, taking his best shot against Bryan Danielson or fighting in front of his hometown UK crowd, Nigel was something special this month. He might have lost the Pure title, but his nearly year long run has built him up considerably, and fan reception is at an all time high. Even more amazing is the slowly developing face turn for Mr. In It to Win It. I could not have called this, but Nigel has earned the respect of the fans. That sounds like a money player in my book.
ROH STOCK INDEX
Breadwinners
-Bryan Danielson (ADBD): Back to the top of the list by showing the world that there is at least ONE current World champion who is willing to prove he is the best in the ring, in long match form, just like the great ones used to do back in the day.
-The Briscoes (BRSC): They are the instigators of the tag team division and they have their fingers in a lot of pies right now. They have pissed off Homicide, Aries and Strong, Davey Richards, KENTA and Samoa Joe. Have they bit off more than they can chew? They'll just have to "man up". That new catchphrase has caught on like wild fire and ups their value.
Loss Leaders
-BJ Whitmer (WHIT): A very serious injury has thrown plans for growth out the window. Whitmer looks to be out for three to four months and that is a long, long time to be out of the game. Look for a steep stock drop until his future becomes more clear.
-Claudio Castagnoli (CAST): Rocketing to the bottom of the market ever since CZW lost in the Cage of Death. Even with all his money in the Swiss banks, Claudio cannot buy a win right now. Massive losing streak usually equals career death in the market, but surprisingly the future looks bright in the new quarter. Claudio could get help from a merger with another player and up their value ten fold.
Trendsetters
-Roderick Strong (STNG): Hey, it's not every day that someone gets a definitive fall over the Samoan submission machine. Strong got the winning fall in the tag title match in Chicago, setting up an interesting singles match in CT. Strong has set the trend of being able to win against Joe—the question is will this be a strong new trend or just a passing fad?
-Shane Hagadorn (HAGA): Looks like someone is making friends in high places. Constant wins against fellow students and constant main show appearances have received praise from Adam Pearce. Hagadorn is perhaps the first true breakthrough of the penny stocks.
Future Outlooks
(+) POSITIVE: Homicide, The Briscoes, KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji, Delirious, Jimmy Jacobs, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Austin Aries, Ace Steel
(/) NEUTRAL: Nigel McGuiness, Jack Evans, Colt Cabana, Matt Sydal & Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce, Jimmy Rave, Roderick Strong, Irish Airborne
(-) NEGATIVE: BJ Whitmer, Ricky Reyes
Penny Stocks
Looking for a cheap bargain? This is the place to speculate on the next possible big things…but look out; there could also be a few duds here.
--More than a penny for your thoughts Adam Pearce (IRON)--Pearce is mixed with Homicide and Cornette's business. Their business is his now; should affect future growth. Jimmy Jacobs (HUSS)--just took out BJ Whitmer and is always a strong potential earner. Shane Hagadorn (HAGA):--see above.
--Still just one cent
ADDED: Trik Davis (TRIK):--constant undercard and pre show appearances show this wrestler has some value. Irish Airborne (IAIR)—so so month in the ring—still needs to make that one big showing. Jerrelle Clarke (JRLE)—not seen on a main ROH show since the Generation Now match, but tag match on FIP DVD stokes interest Jay Fury (FURY)—same forecast as Clarke. Shingo Takagi (TAKA)—still injured. Conrad Kennedy III (CDK3)—MIA Sterling James Keenan (SJKN)—MIA
-The Students-
Perhaps the purest of the penny stocks since these guys are at the very start of their career. Each shows promise but each has risks at this stage. Will any of these stocks show maturity in the future?
Pelle Primeau (PPRM)
Mitch Franklin (MFRN)
Bobby Dempsey (BDEM) –Recently taken out by Hagadorn in three seconds; this could make him more focused and hungry for in-ring vengeance.
Derek Dempsey (DDEM)—the Dempseys and Hagadorn don't mix well, so Derek should want to take his shot against the top of the class.
Rhett Titus (TTUS)
Alex Payne (PAYN)
Ari's Stock Portfolio
These are the wrestler's I've chosen to look at over the next few months. I've also assigned a conditional starting stock price for each of them, assigned of course by myself (we'll let the kinks work out in the system). I have a total of $150.00 to spend on these stocks and I must pick two pennies for my portfolio. I was also not allowed myself to make any stock moves until AFTER the third month, but now can buy and sell at will.
Sold last month: Chris Hero (HERO) (July value: $16.00) STOCK UP! --> 18.00
Previous Balance entering August 2006: $130.05
Current Balance end August 2006: $131.06
Net Change: PLUS $1.01
Analysis: Was it a mistake to dump Chris Hero so quickly? Hero's stock looks to be making a market correction and could rebound very quickly. Meanwhile, the stocks I bought in his stead didn't do much good for me at all just yet. Homicide could be a key stock in the future, but didn't move up at all. Meanwhile, Danielson continues to improve , but one wonders if this is it for his peak value? Joe's value is down slightly because he could not get past Danielson and just took a loss to Strong. However, the market isn't too worried just yet about Joe—he is a proven commodity.
DING! DING! DING!
The closing bell for the stock market has come for this month, but we'll return to the free market enterprise system in one month's time.
Ringtones:
Going back two weeks to my statements about Joe vs. Danielson from Fight of the Century, Frank Cook has his comments about the rooting for Dragon:
Just to comment, I'm glad you found my Dragon-rooting funny! I must have been sitting directly to your right. I was wearing my "Party's R Us" polo shirt. Adam Pearce actually did land on me when BJ threw him towards the railing. I got kicked in the head and got a wicked bruise on my left arm. Here's hoping that it makes the DVD!
Anyway, I had a blast at the show. I agree, the "Fight of the Century" wasn't so, and how can one live up to that monicker? The KENTA/Richards match was top notch, and the Four-Corners was swank!
BTW, Nigel McGuinness may be the nicest person. He gave us a round of high fives, and talked with us about this and that for about five minutes after the show.
Love the column, hope to see you in the Manhattan Center on the 16th. I got row 2 again, and I'll be donning the same outfit. Just listen to the Dragon cheers.
Frank, you may have even been sitting almost right behind me...I don't remember my exact seat number, but it was indeed sec D, row 2, like between seats 6 through 8 I believe...again can't remember for sure. I was wearing a custom made "Guns don't kill people, Samoa Joe kills people" shirt, so I guess you can guess who I was rooting for in that encounter. Like I said in the column I thought the Dragon rooting that you and some of the others in that section did was hysterical. How can you not love that kind of support? I'm not sure if it was you or another guy who shouted this, but the whole "he's only kicking you because he's scared" deal...my god...that is genius stuff. There were MANY many other things said that were tremendous. I couldn't help but crack up and admit defeat...you guys owned the Joe supporters including myself that night, and it was awesome to see both Joe AND Dragon acknowledge it during the match.
I may think Nigel the character is a wanker, a tosser, a pillow biter, a bloody git...but the guy IS very, very nice to the ROH fans in attendance. My buddy Chris (who I mention often in the column) recently got to talk to him for a few minutes and came away with a similarly positive story.
I'm running out of time, so quick thanks to Bradley Grehan, Jeff Pegues andGohan6482 for writing in recently and for sending in their feedback.
**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)
**UWF-TNA Hardcore War July 9th, 2006 (Styles / Joe / Daniels, James Gang / AMW / Team 3-D (No Finish), Jarrett / Rhino, Lynn / Williams, Lethal / Dutt, Abyss / Runt)
**UWF-TNA Monster's Ball July 10th, 2006 (Rhino / Joe / Abyss, AMW / Daniels & Styles, Homicide / Lynn, Lethal / Jarrett)
**Colt Cabana's European Vacation II - World of Cabana
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 4 (Rain / Sara Del Rey, MsChiff / Cheerleader Melissa Falls Count Anywhere, Daizee Haze / Rebecca Knox).
**ROH The 100th Show (Team ROH vs.Team CZW, Danielson / Delirious, Aries & Strong / Homicide & Reyes, Daniels / Castagnoli)
**ROH Ring of Homicide (Homicide / Necro Butcher, Aries & Strong / Briscoes, Daniels / Sydal, Danielson / Delirious, McGuinness / Lethal)
**ROH In Your Face (KENTA / Joe / Danielson, Homicide / Hero, Whitmer / Jacobs, Richards / Rave)
**ROH Throwdown (KENTA / Strong, Danielson / Whitmer / Jacobs, Pearce / Necro Butcher, Rave / Joe / Delirious / Richards)
**ROH Chi-Town Struggle (Danielson / Cabana, KENTA / Aries, ROH vs. CZW, Briscoes / Rave and Kennedy III)
**IWC Summer Sizzler 3 (Shirley Doe / Dennis Gregory IWC World Heavyweight Championship, Delirious / Troy Lords IWC Super Indy Championship, Kings of Wrestling / Rickey Reyes and John McChesney, McChesney / Shima Xion, Burning River Brigade / Cleveland Mafia / Gambino Brothers Moving Company IWC Tag Team Championship)(NEW ADDITION)
While Ring of Honor has it's huge seven month inter-company battle, International Wrestling Cartel, another Pennsylvania run wrestling company. was also going through some factional strife. A civil war broke out between wrestlers who chose to call themselves the Unholy Alliance and those wrestlers patriotic to IWC and booker Norm Conners. The Unholy Alliance consisted of then IWC Champion Shirley Doe, Hentai and "The Bastard Son of 1,000 Corpses" Sebastian Dark (wow, just judging by the nickname, what a horrible childhood he must have had). Early in IWC history Hentai and Dark were mortal enemies, as were Dark and Doe. However, they eventually came together to form a terrible trio (adding hired muscle here and there) that tried to undermine IWC from within. They had the power and the influence, especially with Doe being the 18 month reigning IWC champion and Dark and Hentai at some points possessing the IWC tag straps. The major opposition holding the line against these men were guys like Dean Radford, a former IWC champ, Jon Bolen, the muscle man who was discovered in TNA's Gut Check 2004, and even Sterling James Keenan, once a despised heel but someone who came to the aid of a company where he had made his name. The lead face at this point is Dennis Gregory, an IWC veteran and hometown Pittsburgh boy (and it shows—his colors are black and yellow—same as the Steelers).
IWC sometimes brings in a couple of big name indy stars to bolster their roster, but aside from Reyes, Hero, Claudio, Delirious and Larry Sweeney, this card is mostly filled with the IWC regulars. Yet the card is solid and most of the matches are average to above average in quality. And there is a ton of matches here and some really entertaining ones as well, including The Kings vs. Reyes / McChesney. The Triple Threat tag team match is also very good, and I mean you have got to love a tag name like the Gambino Brothers Moving Company—so awesome. In addition, there are several singles matches that advance the IWC vs. Unholy Alliance storyline towards its penultimate and ultimate chapters (which occurred in multi man tag matches at IWC Uncaged Fury and IWC No Excuses 2), so it's pretty easy to pick up what's going on and why. Not only that, but this disc is worth picking up for having quite a few title changes (although I won't spoil the who's and how's). The lone disappointment is the "Eye of the Hurricane" match between Larry Sweeney and Jason Gory. It's basically the equivalent of a WCW Hardcore match with tons of silly and harmless weapons around the ring aside from one or two cute moments, it's just blah. Sweeney and Gory can go however, and they have some great ability, so you shouldn't judge them on the quality of this match alone.
You can usually get the IWC DVD's through iwcwrestling.com or rohwrestling.com at very reasonable prices. I already have IWC No Excuses 2 in the hopper, and that has the big cage match in the IWC vs. Unholy Alliance feud as well as AJ STYLES vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE. Now that's an intriguing singles match up—one that we haven't even seen in TNA yet. I'll give you the word on that show when I get to it.
**FIP Impact of Honor (Aries & Strong / Fast & Furious ROH Tag Team Title Match, Bryan Danielson / Colt Cabana ROH World Title Match / Davey Richards / Shingo Takagi, Steve Madison / Erick Stevens) (NEW ADDITION)
As always, I have to think very carefully about recommending FIP shows including this one. Historically the first half of these FIP events are very weak, but are then saved by either strong marquee match ups or a must see main event. The price break on FIP DVD's (usually about 5 bucks cheaper than ROH) usually helps to offset this issue. Impact of Honor follows the established pattern but there is an added attraction for ROH fans, especially those of you who are completists. This show in particular, taped on June 10th of this year, focused heavily on Ring of Honor style match ups by showcasing two ROH title matches. The ROH World title match featuring Danielson vs. Cabana occurred in the middle of Cabana's title contendership. It's a solid enough match although below their usual work in the ROH rings. Danielson's current role as confident heel champion is much more accepted here than it has been in ROH, so there is a good amount of heat for the match. The ROH World Tag Team titles are on the line in a great dream match with the team of Jay Fury and Jerelle Clark trying to go move for move with Aries and Strong. This match in the main event and it delivers; I'd say it's probably the best match on the card and comes the closest to delivering the feel of an ROH match. Elsewhere, Davey Richards continues to impress, this time matching up against Shingo Takagi, who's Bloodfall move looks far more impressive here than in previous American releases. Finally, Erick Stevens and Steve Madison almost steal the show here as these former tag partners begin a one on one issue. Stevens in particular has picked up his game and I was impressed with how fans took to him. I don't think either would look out of place in a main show ROH match.
ROH @ 411
Hey, I finally get to plug Steve Cook again! Cooky-baby actually subbed in for Jullian Williams by doing a Top Ten column about wrestlers you can't see on television. Cook with some positivity about ROH by actually including a number of wrestlers from the roster. There's even a certain champion that is head of the class on this list, proving his moniker true ONCE AGAIN. Oh and it's that's not enough link-teasing for you, Cook is awesome enough to including plenty of links to materials and videos, including Joe vs. Necro and some Chris Hero footage. So what are you waiting, for, GO! Click now!
Brad Garoon gives you the review of FIP Impact of Honor, which is mostly positive. However it's a thumbs in the middle leaning down from him for SHIMMER Volume 4, which you heard my arguments in favor for the video above. Just further evidence of a long established Column of Honor conspiracy theory that Garoon is on the take from The Embassy.
Garoon and Jacob Zeigler also reviewed ROH Destiny this week.
J.D. Dunn has the retro ROH review of the week with Scramble Cage Melee. Can you really locate a melee in a cage? I'd have to think melees couldn't be contained in such a restrictive environment. I mean, look at Pier six brawls, and that's at least outdoors and free range. Now THAT is a Melee!
Honor Bound Links
Weyer's Shining a Spotlight on Hogan and Flair…AHHH, turn it off! turn off the spotlight! I'm blind!
Wait…maybe I should have saved that joke for when he does a column on Mae Young and Moolah. Oh well.
Bayani gave a must read breakdown of this weekend's Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Battle of Los Angeles 2006 tourney. Although some matches have shifted again due to injury, the Internet's Toast of the West Coast gives the participants and the brackets great attention and effort. Although…his tourney preview is going to get blown away by my Survival of the Fittest 2006 coverage. Oh yeah.
Stu books Hogan v. Austin in That Was Then. I don't know, fans have been talking about this match for years; I have to say I think it will turn out to be wrestling's version of GNR's Chinese Democracy. Hopefully we'll be back for part two of the ROH in 2005 feature for next week.
LaFave on Getting Over Smackdown. Oh believe me Mike, I've gotten over it a LONG, long time ago.
Ryan Byers writes about the dearly departed fed MLW
I jumped the gun on the Glory By Honor V preview…I'll do that NEXT week, starting with Night 1 in Connecticut. Also next week, the Ring of Shame returns and adds another entry to it's ill hallowed halls.
Still to come, the second annual Survival of the Fittest three part preview—that starts on the September 23rd edition of Column of Honor. I had an absolute ball doing this last year, and I'm going to go all out in covering this year's tournament as well.
Until next week, enjoy your return to school or to work or to whatever source of industry or profession you have chosen. Brooklyn!
--Ari--
