Column of Honor: 09.09.06
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 09.09.2006
Marufuji is the new GHC champ! Plus: tons of ROH News including Dragon’s shoulder, Glory By Honor V night one preview, Cryme Tyme and Teddy Hart enters the Ring of Shame. Now that’s a column!
I never know how to open these columns until I write the opening. So, hello. I guess that worked well enough.
BREAKING NEWS: Naomichi Marufuji: New GHC Champion
In breaking and somewhat shocking news overseas in Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH, the Global Honored Crown (GHC) Heavyweight championship changed hands when Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jun Akiyama to become only the tenth champion to hold the belt (source: ROH message boards). Akiyama seemed to have a strangle hold on the GHC title and established almost complete dominance in his title run. Marufuji, who had a largely successful tag team run with KENTA throughout the last few years, had been performing incredibly well in singles competition throughout the last year, even against the big guns of NOAH such as Kenta Kobashi. Speculation has been ongoing about this title match and if Nao could become the new GHC Heavyweight champion—a lofty position for someone who really had the look and build of a Junior division wrestler. Lo and behold, Marufuji won with the Perfect Inside Cradle in 27:29.
Marufuji, whose international reputation has increased dramatically over the last few years, has wrestled twice in Ring of Honor. He lost to current ROH World champion Bryan Danielson at Final Battle 2005 and was part of the winning team with KENTA against Danielson and Samoa Joe back in March. Marufuji was set to return to the ROH ring against Nigel McGuinness, who himself had begun to establish an international reputation by wrestling in NOAH. Now the stakes of the match are raised, and the amount of eyes turned to New York City on September 16th for Glory By Honor V Night Two has increased. Even if this match isn't for the GHC title, this is still a match with a ton of added atmosphere and importance, both in the US and back in Japan.
The line up for the show also echoes the card of Final Battle 2005, where Dragon defended his ROH title against Marufuji and KENTA put his (at the time) GHC Jr. belt up against Low Ki. Now Dragon, Marufuji and KENTA find themselves in similar situations nine months later, champions and challengers all. Excitement and anticipation for the showdowns to come may officially begin.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 9/9/2006
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
Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson saw another doctor yesterday afternoon. Danielson has two tears in his shoulder and it is also possible that he has a tear in his chest. It was recommended for Danielson to get surgery, which would put him out for at least three months. However, physical therapy could work and heal the injuries instead of surgery. Danielson now has 100% more mobility in his shoulder than he did last week. Danielson asked the doctor if he could still wrestle. The doctor said that he would not suggest for Danielson to wrestle, but that he is not going to say that he physically can't wrestle. So what does all this mean? Danielson will wrestle, however he will take a lighter schedule for the time being. This means that Danielson's 9/15 World Title Match vs. Austin Aries has been postponed. The 9/16 World Title Match vs. KENTA in Manhattan, NY at ROH's debut at The Manhattan Center is 100% on and will take place. The KENTA match was signed before the Aries match, which is why ROH officials decided to postpone the Aries match. Danielson insists that he will work through the injury while he heals with physical therapy. The doctor did say there is a chance any of the tears could become significantly worse during the course of a match. If this happens Danielson will definitely need surgery, but the injury would not be career threatening. We will have words from Danielson about this whole situation in the next ROH Video Recap, which will be out next week.
Since the Danielson vs. Aries match for 9/15 in East Windsor, CT has been postponed we are going to rush a first time ever in ROH match onto this show. This is a match that ROH officials were actually hoping to save until 2007, but we realize that you fans in New England deserve something special. "Glory By Honor V: Night 1" in East Windsor, CT on 9/15 will see Austin Aries vs. Davey Richards. Aries actually requested this match. Richards defeated Jack Evans in the Generation Next last stand match on 7/29 in Cleveland causing Gen Next to lose the final match that they wrestled under that name. Now Aries wants to test Richards to see if he really is the future of ROH. Aries vs. Richards rounds out four main event matches on 9/15.
ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson will still be in East Windsor to make a special appearance on 9/15. Also added to the show are Ricky Reyes and the returning Dunn & Marcos.
Well, this is wrestling for you—trying to manage the pain as opposed to solving it. By putting off surgery to go through physical therapy instead, Danielson takes a calculated risk that his shoulder won't get any worse. I don't know about you, but two shoulder tears and a possible chest tear, that doesn't sound like minor issues. "100% more mobility" than the week before is an interesting line—because how messed up was his shoulder the week before? That could be mean a little or it could mean a lot depending on the condition. I know there have been quite a few writers on 411 who have expressed concern over wrestling injuries and taking the appropriate steps to treat them—and with the issues that happened with Kurt Angle in the past two weeks I think everyone is hyper sensitive to these issues. I do have to say that when news of Danielson and BJ Whitmer's respective injuries were announced, my mind did go to Kurt Angle as well. Will the amount of effort in wrestling that these guys do in the short run hurt them in the long run? As an outsider looking in, I can't say for sure. It's not my shoulder and it's not my knee and I can't demand it of Danielson or Whitmer to take time off—it's not my place. I can say I am more concerned about this kind of stuff than I was before.
As far as the title match postponement for Aries, that is a slight disappointment. I'm sure for the fans of Connecticut would have loved to see another addition to the storied Danielson-Aries rivalry. The replacement match of Aries-Richards is fine— this match actually just occurred in PWG last week and reports had this as a good match. It's a big match up but not as big as it could have been had ROH waited to put it on in 2007. However, since ROH had a choice to make, they decided to pull the trigger on it now.
The addition of Reyes and the now part time Ring Crew Express will round off the undercard. RCE are a fun guilty pleasure and the last time they wrestled as a team they had an enjoyable match against The Rottweilers
Corino and Homicide: Together Again A huge match has been signed for ROH's return to Philadelphia on 11/4 at the PA National Guard Armory. At the last Philadelphia event Homicide said he wanted a singles match against Steve Corino and now he has it. You will see Homicide vs. Steve Corino on 11/4 in Philly. These two have been rivals since 2002 and now they will settle things in Philly. The stipulation of this match will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Steve Corino will make his return to the Boston area on 11/3 when ROH finally returns to Braintree, MA.
Corino has also been booked for Chicago, so that night and the appearance in Braintree should all lead up to the fifth round for the P-man himself and the Notorious One. Homicide v. Corino is indeed one of the most far reaching rivalries and may be like the feuds of Funk-Rhodes and Lawler-Dundee where it just keeps going and going for many years without any resolution whatsoever. Until these two actually come out in the ring, shake hands and put their issues away, I will look at this match as just the latest, violent chapter in their war. Interestingly, this is also Homicide's first wish coming true, which shows that at least Jim Cornette is a man of his word. Even if he harbors a grudge, he still gives Homicide what he asked for in his first wish. Trouble is, he may wish to take back the wish if Corino gets the better of him in this match.
Survivor: ROH Participants Announced We have the entire field for "Survival Of The Fittest" on 10/6 in Cleveland, OH. BJ Whitmer is now out of the tournament due to his ankle surgery. The 12 participants are now: ROH World Champion and the first SOTF winner Bryan Danielson, last year's SOTF winner and ROH World Tag Team Champion Roderick Strong, the man who has been in the final two of both SOTF and ROH World Tag Team Champion Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, Davey Richards, Jimmy Rave, Matt Sydal, Delirious, Colt Cabana and a graduate from the ROH Wrestling School. These 12 men will compete in six single matches in the first half of the show. The main event will see the winners compete in a Six Man Elimination Match. The winner will get a future ROH World Title shot. The epic rematch of Danielson vs. Joe has already been signed for the first round.
Well, the eleven main show wrestlers announced put together means this will once again be an incredibly strong field for the tournament. This is the second year that the twelfth man in will be an ROH student. I'd love to see Shane Hagadorn or one of the Dempseys in the spot since those are the guys who have shined the most in the last year of pre show matches.
Whitmer was an early favorite but his injury puts him on the sidelines. With Danielson vs. Joe, you have a Hogan-Andre like match up with two main event guys colliding and somebody will have to go. You'd have to consider Aries a favorite to make it to the finals, as well as Davey Richards. He has been the king of the tournaments this year, racking up the ECWA Super 8 and the PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006 last week.
One small criticism is that I would have liked to see some new blood from outside ROH involved in the tourney (like how Milano Collection AT made his debut last year) but these eleven wrestlers have been the solid core of the ROH roster in 2006 and deserve the slotting in the brackets. And one final note, there's just two more weeks until my SOTF preview begins!
Pure Nonsense The Pure Title might be retired, but ROH will keep the Pure Title rules for gimmick matches. If two technical wrestlers are in the middle of a rivalry they can settle their feud in a Pure Rules Match!!!
If you're keeping the Pure rules stipulations alive as a possibility, then why the need to eliminate the Pure title? Pure rules only occurred during these title matches, so while I did and do like these matches, I don't get it.
Former Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness is not discouraged after losing the belt in Liverpool. McGuinness is training harder than ever in preparation for his match against Naomichi Marufuji on 9/16 in Manhattan. McGuinness, who is a regular in NOAH, sees this as the biggest match of his life. A win here would raise his prestige in both ROH and NOAH. Something to keep an eye on is that Marufuji is receiving a GHC Heavyweight Title Match this weekend against Jun Akiyama in Japan. This is Marufuji's shot at the most important title in Japan.
And indeed, now this match HAS become one of the biggest matches of Nigel's career. McGuiness has had a career year as far as performance in the ring and his promos have improved along with it-so this is the cherry on top of the sundae.
BRUNO! You all know by now that legendary hall-of-famer Bruno Sammartino will be at the ROH event on 9/16 in Manhattan when ROH debuts at the Manhattan Center. Sammartino will be available to meet the fans. This is sure to be a special night as the Manhattan Center is in the shadows of Madison Square Garden, where Sammartino had some of his most famous matches. There is something special about Sammartino in Midtown Manhattan. There is now only one question. What will Sammartino do on the live ROH event? Will he step foot in a ROH ring? If he does what will be the capacity? We will have the answer later this week or early next week right here in the ROHwrestling.com Newswire.
Bruno in an ROH ring would be absolutely nuts…sure, lots of wrestling legends such as Baron Von Raschke and Bill Watts have been inside the ring, but Bruno's credentials and ties to wrestling's past run ever further. I can't imagine Sammartino involved in an angle in the way that the Baron was involved with Generation Next back in 2004, but an in the ring talk with the fans would be something to behold.
The NOAH Contingency "Glory By Honor V Weekend" will almost have a convention like atmosphere. NOAH stars Takeshi Morishima, Muhammad Yone and Takashi Sugiura will be in both East Windsor and Manhattan and available for autographs although they will not be wrestling. It is no secret that ROH officials want to book Morishima. It will be interesting to see what happens when Morishima first steps into a ROH building next weekend.
These appearances are maybe more important than Bruno's for the long term ramifications of Morishima, Yone and Sugiura wrestling in matches for ROH. If they like what they see, maybe they get more involved than just signing a few ‘graphs.
The Change has Arrived…New Bedsheets The new ROHwrestling.com is here!!! We want to thank you for all your support. You made the new website possible.
ROH debuted it's redesign for it's website a few days back—sporting a "Steel Frame" image style and a few new graphical features such as a image / news slide show that TNA and WWE have sported for a while now. Certainly this adds more sizzle to the steak but really all the main features of the website have remained. The biggest additions seems to be the upcoming inclusion of a roster page (long requested by fans) and the video content will now be imbedded within the website. I thought there was nothing wrong with the old look, but it is good to get a make over every few years just to keep things fresh. Hmm, yeah, I'm regretting that last sentence. Moving on.
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match We have a new match for "Glory By Honor V: Night 2" in Manhattan. We talked above about the Generation Next last stand match. Now we have another singles match as a result of that eight man tag. Just added to 9/16 is a one-on-one match as Jack Evans takes on Davey Richards!!!
10/7 in Detroit will see some SHIMMER action including the return of MsChif.
Jesus, a Fiddler on the Roof reference of all things…anyway, Evans v. Richards I'm down for and since it's in NYC the crowd is going to be majorly hot for both men. NYC loves its Jack Evans. MsChif back in ROH is way cool—she's one tough d.o.b.
…Now it's time for Hero's Sandwich
Yes, it's me, your Hero, Chris Hero, and I'm back once again in this stinkhole of a column… in fact, the only reason I'm still here week after week is to help save this sinking ship of coverage. Why does this "writer" still have a job reporting the news on an "internet website" when he should be out at his real job serving Slurpees at the local 7-11 is beyond me. Look at what this guy does—copy and paste the news? What kind of effort is that? No no no, your hero, Chris Hero, gives one hundred, no ONE MILLION percent effort wherever he goes, and he is never copied and never pasted. I am an original, once in a lifetime individual and the fact that I write one paragraph and include it in the middle of all this nonsense is proof enough that soon enough, I will also be up for sainthood. Thank you very much for your time, which is worth less than two nickels rubbed together, and of course I will see all of you Hero Worshippers next week, right here, for more of my brilliance!
This has been…Hero's Sandwich.
Honorarium (formerly Short Takes)
-I'm happy with CM Punk's treatment so far in ECW. It seems to be solid and fair. He's getting a nice amount of television exposure each week, involved in either a match or a promo. With a constant presence on the ECW show, Punk will become more accepted and understood—and that will lead to increased pushes. As a fan, I'm aware that patience is a key for Punk's career in WWE—the more time he puts in and if it's with a high and consistent level of effort, he'll make the move up the card. He even seems to be entering his first real feud, with "The Reject" Shannon Moore. I'm confused though; does slapping Moore and calling him a poseur make him a heel? I would assume the opposite, at least by reading 411 and the internet, where Emo is hated. Readers, I need your help sorting this out!
As an aside, can Moore really call himself "The Prince of Punk"? I thought that phrase was owned by TNA…can we expect a lawsuit or two real soon?
-Pro Wrestling Guerilla's Battle of Los Angeles 2006 was by all accounts THE happening of the US indie scene last week. Three days of action packed wrestling with guys like Roderick Strong, El Generico and Necro Butcher getting tons of praise for their work in the tournament and throughout the weekend. In addition, the Dragon Gate contingent of CIMA, Dragon Kid and Genki Horiguchi demonstrated their prowess once again on American soil. There were also a few scary moments, including scary bumps from Jack Evans and an apparent concussion by Super Dragon which caused the tourney to be shaken up a bit. Davey Richards won the whole thing and defeated CIMA in the finals.
To make Bayani Domingo happy, I will say right now based on reports and descriptions this is looking to be an automatic inclusion to the Independent Buy In list. PWG is already taking preorders for the three night tourney on DVD, including a price break if you get all three. I'd also like to mention Bryan Alvarez of Figure 4 Weekly wrote an amazing novella about his experience traveling and attending the shows. The account was published as part of his F4W newsletter which if you'd like to read you'd need to buy a subscription ($6.95 per month but you get tons of stuff with it like excellent audio shows and THE BOARD). Seriously this is one of the finest wrestling related reads you'll get—and I've been reading wrestling content on the web for almost nine years now, so that's a legit recommendation from me. Stories about Roderick Strong, M Dogg 20, Colt Cabana and Mama Top Gun Talwar, plus in depth descriptions of the tourney as behind the scenes stuff.—you can't go wrong with that.
-Cryme Tyme…Yes, I know it's racist. I know it's an awful, awful stereotyping of Black people as thugs and criminals. Yes, WWE is about three years too late in its "SNL" like satiric commentary on the Thug lifestyle. Yes, I know its WWE just basically asking for a public asswhupping by the NAACP. Yes, I know the spelling of the words "Crime" and "Time" are incorrect and as an English teacher I'm seething inside. However, I couldn't help but love this segment and here's why—"BROOKLYN! BROOKLYN!" I'm sorry readers, but with that one word repeated two times, I was totally down with Cryme Tyme. As you know, I'm a Brooklyn boy through and through and I love this borough for its positives and even with its negatives. When these guys shouted out not just the Borough but also "Parkside" and "Flatbush", well I just marked the hell out. Maybe it's not the same for someone living on the West Coast, but since I know these areas (also Flatbush Avenue cuts across most of Brooklyn) it was just that little added touch that really sold me on them. They may be the worst wrestlers in the world, but it won't matter to me. And just the fact that they "shouted out" their peeps was realistic—believe me, this shouting out nonsense happens all the fucking time. And the WWE announcer dude, who was so obviously white he was whiter than me, well that just made the whole thing one step over the top. "YOU MUST BE STRAIGHT TRIPPIN!"
-Anyone catch Mike Tenay calling the LAX squash—"COP KILLA,,errr. GRINGO KILLER!" Heh. Faux pas!
ROH Preview: Glory By Honor Weekend Night 1: 9/15 East Windsor, CT
Sports World
226 Main Street
East Windsor, CT 06088
Glory By Honor is Ring of Honor's traditional late Summer / early Fall spectacular and this year is no different. Past GBH's have seen such amazing moments as the first and only one on one Low Ki v. Samoa Joe match in Ring of Honor, Joe vs. Daniels for the ROH title, Punk vs. Funk, Mick Foley's debut and Bryan Danielson's title win. This time around, ROH celebrated a weekend worth of shows, each headlined by four big main even style match ups, including a few dream match ups. This is what has been announced so far for night one of the event, to take place in Connecticut:
Tag Team Dream Match
KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
KENTA has had his troubles with the Briscoes for a few months now, including losing a his first match in an ROH ring in a tag match teaming with Davey Richards (Richards took the fall). Now KENTA brings in his long time tag partner and now NEW GHC heavyweight champion to fight off the "Man Up!" tandem. This has been a dream match a long time in coming (although personally I'd love to see KENTA and Nao fight against Aries and & Strong) and will also up The Briscoe's reputation in Japan no matter if they win or lose. I foresee lots of sickening moves and bumps, a frenetic finishing sequence, and the non redneck Japanese contingent picking up a main event victory in night one.
First Time Ever In ROH
Austin Aries vs. Davey Richards
When Richards was making his name and the buzz was being generated for him coming to ROH, everyone compared him to Austin Aries. Indeed, Aries and Richards have a similar build and a similar style. Each has a certain "snap" and sharpness about their movements and moves in the ring. As far as personality goes—Richards has shown to be serious, confident in his own abilities yet humble. Aries is a flashier guy, confident in himself but also more willing to show his awareness of it in his encouragements to the crowd. When these two face off, there will be wrestling, there will be fighting, and ultimately there will be a winner.
One On One
Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong
Joe and Strong have fought elsewhere, including FIP and I believe also in IWA: Mid-South. However, this is the first time these two will wrestle in Ring of Honor, and it's a match highly anticipated by those fans. Joe has rarely lost this year, but Strong managed to pin him in a tag title defense. In fact, Joe has been stymied from winning the tag titles this year multiple times—it has to burn him that Strong has been a large part of the reason why. We may surely indeed be in store for a chop for chop battle, and it will rule. These two also use the leaping running boot, so if we get a sequence with that it will also rule. So basically what I'm saying is that this match should rule.
Special Challenge Match
Christopher Daniels vs. Nigel McGuinness
These two fought when the Pure title was on the line, now it's bragging rights and ranking rights at stake. Nigel has been featured heavily in recent programs while Daniels continues to be out of the ROH spotlight. One man faces the GHC champion the next night, the other does not. Take a guess who wins this one.
Also signed: Delirious; Jack Evans; Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey; Irish Airborne plus more to be announced. NOAH's Takeshi Morishima, Muhammad Yone and Takashi Sugiura will be in attendance both nights and will be available for autographs.
Delirious and Jack Evans…now THAT would be an interesting tag team to see in action. Also, although he's not on this list, Colt Cabana's myspace lists him as scheduled for both this show and the next night in NYC.
The Ring of Shame:
While I remain one of the more positive Ring of Honor homers on this here website, I have to admit…sometimes ROH has gotten it wrong. While I usually choose to look on the sunny side of all things honorable, once a month I will take a look at an incident or a match that has occurred in Ring of Honor that…well, wasn't quite honorable. In fact, these incidents are far from what I expect out of Ring of Honor, but more like a company that was named…Ring of Shame. Hence, I give to you the column of honor equivalent of Wrestlecrap, the headshaking, fist wagging, embarrassing moments in ROH history, all bound together in one volume known as The Ring of Shame.
By the governing body of the New York State Honorability Commission, elected into the Ring of Shame for September 2006…and this was a long time in coming:
Teddy Hart Jumps Onto People
Ah Teddy. Teddy, Teddy Hart.
One more wrestler that seems to polarize the internet and the wrestling world at large. Some people think he's an ingenious wrestler for the new age and others seem to think of him as looney tunes. Me, I say he's got tons of potential in him, but also tons of moron-it is in him as well.
Hart's reputation and past actions (including jumping off the top of a basketball hoop) has been covered in other columns and websites. Really, what makes him important, err shall I say infamous enough to get him into the Ring of Shame here is one well known incident in a Ring of Honor show back during one November night in 2003.
At Main Event Spectacles, Hart was involved in the first ever Scramble Cage match, contested as a tag match. Hart was teamed up with Jack Evans in a match ultimately won by The Backseat Boyz. Things went about as smoothly as possible in a chaotic environment such as a multi man cage match.. However, it was after the match where things went haywire and sent Mr. Hart into the very, very bad graces of the ROH locker room.
Even though the match was finished, Teddy Hart, superstar to be of all superstars, was not. Hart proceeded to climb up the Cage to the platforms set up where people could dive off. And…he dived off…onto the wrestlers, who were not aware or ready for Hart's impromptu flight plan. Wrestlers such as The Carnage Crew were visibly upset at Hart's actions and after he crash landed on top of them they proceed to beat the shit out him with punches and such. Amazingly enough, Hart went back into the cage and did ANOTHER dive. And hurled.
Oh yes, rare is there a public act of vomiting in a wrestling ring (I think the only other one I can remember was Shane Douglas in TNA back when they were doing weekly PPVs), but our boy Teddy was a part of one. In the coup de grace, Hart then "performed" a moonsault from the top of the cage to the ring as a "tribute" to Owen Hart.
In the words of Napoleon Dynamite: "Idiot!"
Hart was kicked out of the locker room as a result of his actions, although Hart later claimed that he was concussed during the match and didn't remember what or why he did what he did. CM Punk would also call out Teddy on this incident and the fallout surrounding it in a memorable internet write up. This led to heat between the two, although in the Samoa Joe / CM Punk shoot interview in 2004 Punk stated that he and Hart had buried the hatchet. He also said it was just Teddy being Teddy.
Amazingly, Hart made another appearance in Ring of Honor, during the At Our Best show as part of the six man match. As he ran around the ring during his entrance, he told the fans, "If you cheer for me I will die for you." Grrrrrreat. There's nothing like pimping out your own possible physical imperilment in order to gain cheers and applause. I will admit thought that Teddy impressed that night, including a beautiful shooting star elbow drop, which is still quite insane to see played back on video.This match would be Teddy's last in ROH.
Maybe this tale is old hat to some readers and maybe it is just Teddy being Teddy, goofy, looney, in his own world. And in fact, we should let Teddy be Teddy, he has that right. However, there is no excuse for putting other men (and yourself) in harm when they are not aware of it happening AND when the match is over. For this reason, welcome Teddy Hart into the Ring of Shame. Welcome home.
**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)
**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)
ROH @ 411
Stuart and I form the Unholy Alliance of Ring of Honor commentary when we team up for That Was Then: ROH in 2005 Part 2. Stuart put a ton of effort into it, so even if you hate him for his AJ Styles column, still check it because he does these history columns right.
Garoon and Zeigler form The Dynamic Duo of Ring of Honor commentary and they are back to review In Your Face which had the KENTA / Danielson / Joe three way match. They really dig that match too. They also fail to mention ME visibly getting pushed out of the way by Claudio Castagnoli in his entrance (because Ring of Honor is all about ME ME MEMEMEMEMEMEME, hahahahahah…erm…
…sorry…so sorry).
J.D. Dunn is the One Man Gang Wrecking Crew Powers of Demolition Pain…of Honor…all wrapped up into one reviewer. He amazingly tracked down the Midnight Express Reunion Convention Card and dared to watch it (yikes). He gives high praise to Midnight Express Reunion which in my opinion has the best Samoa Joe-Bryan Danielson match around.
I guess he ran out of languages to translate his column title. The World According To Ron. The last one... I think I'm going to cry **sniffle.
And before I shed anymore tears of sorrow, let me get the heck out of here…but I'll be back next week for Glory By Honor V night one results, an in depth preview of night two, another reason why the Apocalypse isn't coming to ROH…and more…maybe. So in the words of Cryme Tyme, BROOKLYN BROOKLYN! Shout out to my boys in Mill Basin and Park Slope!
