Column of Honor: 12.02.06
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 12.02.2006
ROH announces its first 2007 UK tour, Chicago Spectacular full cards announced and 12/8 previewed, 11/25 Edison, NJ results, A Requiem for GLF, Cityscapes, Cleveland’s bad rep, Daniels and Sydal are anything but the Apocalypse as tag champs and I have Carpal Tunnel syndrome.
ROH Results: Edison, NJ 11/25/2006 Matches
-Brent Albright defeated El Generico via submission with the crowbar / fujiwara armbar.
-Shane Hagadorn defeated Bobby Dempsey when he used brass knuckles to gain the pinfall.
-Delirious defeated Jason Blade via submission with the cobra stretch.
-Jimmy Jacobs against Whitmer went to a no contest in a bloody affair.
-FIP Champion Roderick Strong retained his title by defeating Shingo via pinfall by using a Gibson Driver on a chair.
- Matt Sydal and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels became NEW ROH World Tag Team Champions by defeating The Kings Of Wrestling of Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Sydal reversed the KRS-1 into a pinfall.
-Nigel McGuiness defeated Jimmy Rave via pinfall with the recoiling lariat.
-Davey Richards defeated Austin Aries with the Brock Lock submission.
-Samoa Joe and Homicide defeated The Briscoe Brothers in an Elimination match. Joe and Homicide each hit a Muscle Buster and a Cop Killer on a Briscoe for double pin.
Angles and Issues
-Daizee Haze and Lacey continue to heat up their rivalry in ROH when during the Jacobs v. Whitmer match Haze ran in and beat the heck out of Lacey!
-Apparently Nigel McGuinness began to put over Jimmy Rave after their match against one another. Nigel claimed he used to think Rave sucked, but he had come around and respected him now. Then when Rave's back is turned, Nigel threw toilet paper at Jimmy as a joke and Rave absolutely went bananas. Both men had heated words for the other, until Christopher Daniels of all people broke up the battle of words. Shortly after Rave was spotted with his bags packed walking out of the side entrance of the building, and Nigel was looking for Rave and seemed apologetic. Now, apparently this was done very convincingly as it snookered in a whole bunch of fans in attendance and on the message board who thought it was a shoot. Of course this is a continuation of the work, as the latest ROH video wire shows the whole confrontation.
-Daniels and Sydal claimed they would be fighting champions in the ring and that the belts were now in the right hands.
-Mark Briscoe once again stole the show with an insane move—this time he performed a shooting star press onto Joe and Homicide from the top of the STAGE SCAFFOLDING. That is quite impressive (and freaking insane, maybe insanely stupid) because the scaffolding bar that ROH has is not that wide, so balancing yuourself on that thing would be a tough achievement.
-After the main event. Homicide invited everyone to come to his part on December 23rd in NYC. Joe reminded him that he would be facing HIM, after Joe took the belt from Danielson on December 8th.
Honorarium
-It's baaaa-ack!
-Why hasn't anyone picked up on this before? TNA… Mike TeNAy…it just seems to be too much of a perfect fit if you ask me.
-City skylines have been featured now on three ROH DVD covers—Manhattan Mayhem, Ch-Town Struggle and now Motor City Madness. I think these are great—they come out very clean and very striking. If these covers were in media outlets, they would catch the eye very easily. The wrestlers positioned in front of the skyline make it seem that these guys are the main attraction in that city for that night and that is very important. That and because they look like a bunch of Godzillas about ready to stomp all over the skyscrapers. I'd almost go so far to say that these are beautiful covers, but then when you look at the faces of Jay and Mark Briscoe, you realize that beautiful is not a word that goes easily with them.
-I didn't really want to touch on The Green Lantern Fan incident from last week and the entire hullabaloo from the last few days with the so called "shoot" from either a fake or the real GLF on DOI…but I will anyway. I'll make it quick. For those who don't know, the story is muddled but the basics are GLF was asked to leave after the show in Long Island had ended. When he didn't leave, he was thrown out. He then snuck back into the venue only to be thrown out again. At the Edison, NJ show, he was not allowed into the building. A few days back, a poster on DOI named "the green lantern fan" tore ROH apart with his story on the incident, but many claimed this either was or wasn't the real green lantern. Then the real GLF posted on ROHwrestling.com that the post on DOI wasn't from him, but those threads were soon deleted.
Not to say that the whole thing from beginning to end hasn't tickled my funny bone; I've enjoyed this is a very perverse way. However, there is something to be said about IWC members (message boarders and myself included) throwing rocks at glass wrestling rings. I think that's how the metaphor goes anyway. We are all fans, which is short for fanatic. To be a fanatic means to go wild and crazy about something, and as wrestling fans, sometimes we do that. Sometimes we go overboard in our obsessions, say by collecting EVERY ROH DVD out there. Or attending as many shows as we can and trying to become a part of the show. The point being, can any of us really look at ourselves in the mirror and not admit that at some points our fandom for wrestling goes farther than most other people out there? We are after all, on the internet, commenting in columns and message boards for crying out loud. There's nothing wrong with it at all mind you, but the problem is that some people forget who they are—just a fan. I can't say since I was not there, but maybe GLF forgot that fact. Yet if so, maybe the people who trash on GLF also forgot. Like I wrote several months back in this column, everyone is a mark, and all ROH fans are ROHbots in some way—neither or which is a bad thing. It's just that you can't forget who you are. You are a fan, a mark, a ROHbot, a customer. But just a fan, just a mark, just a ROHbot, just a customer.
Only some of them wear Green Lantern shirts at EVERY SINGLE SHOW.
Then again, this is still America, and no one can tell you what to or what not to wear--unless you go to a school with a uniform code, or are in a business with a dress code, or you are in the NBA and are told to wear suits or you are in WWE and not Undertaker or John Cena.
There's nothing wrong with having fun during a show so long as you try to be respectful of others. The problem comes when the people who run the show ask you to fix certain behaviors, either before or during the show. They have that right. They also have the right to make sure everyone leaves when the show is finished. If you ignore that or try to get past it, there are consequences that have to be paid.
Geez, that was MUCH longer than I had intended.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 12/02/2006
ROH World Champion—American Dragon Bryan Danielson (champion since 9/17/05, 34 successful defenses)*, **, ***
ROH World Tag Team Champions—Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal (champions since 11/25/06, NEW ROH TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS)
*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.
***Dragon retains the title in defense of ROH title in Connecticut on 9/30/06.
ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
ROH in the UK – the sequel
ROH has officially announced their return to the UK. A press release indicates that they will do two show back to back the Liverpool Olympia on March 3rd and 4th, 2007. These shows have been moved up from previous estimates of April and instead of one show in Liverpool and one in Broxbourne, they are now going to just run Liverpool on this trip.
From the newswire: The details of ROH's return to the UK have been released. ROH will return to the Liverpool Olympia, home of the "Unified" event, for two nights on 3/3/07 and 3/4/07. Tickets are priced between £85 and £12.50. Tickets go on sale on 12/13 at ROHwrestling.com. Tickets can also be purchased via the official ROH box office in the UK starting 1/15 at 2pm. The phone number is 0151 206 0190 (lines are only open between 2pm and 10pm, Monday to Friday). ROH is stacking the lineup for the UK return.
An additional release mentions Samoa Joe, Mark and Jay Briscoe as well as Delirious as the first four wrestlers booked to the tour.
I agree with the move to do two shows in Liverpool on this trip, as the show looked really professional and had a tremendous atmosphere that translated well on tape. Broxbourne had a hot crowd and a fun show, but the venue left something to be lacking in the aesthetics department. Hopefully in the future, on one of these trips ROH will expand to run in the heart of London, England. It would be as big a deal as ROH running Manhattan right near Madison Square Garden.
Chicago Spectacular –Full Cards Announced, Packed Shows
Here's the full slate of matches via the ROH website for the huge, colossal, gigantic, spectacular ROH two night Chicago Spectacular in—where else?—Chi-town.
ROH Preview: The Chicago Spectacular, Night 1—Chicago Ridge, IL 12/08/06
Frontier Fieldhouse
8:00pm belltime
World Title Steel Cage Match
Bryan Danielson defends vs. Samoa Joe
This is the biggest match since Danielson / KENTA from September and there is a very good feeling that there is a chance of a title switch, coincidentally just like Danielson / KENTA in September. Joe has been dabbling his feet back in the main event scene for a few months now and has been a steady challenger for Danielson's belt. If he beats Danielson for the title it puts a fork in the Road of Homicide. It wouldn't necessarily be a hot shot to do the switch here, as Joe has been almost there for months now, and Joe-Homicide has always been a winning combination with a rich and deep back-story to play on. Joe in a cage match has always been golden for ROH. Look for a great fight from both men, perhaps both men bleeding. Danielson fights KENTA tonight in a rematch of their GBH night 2 show, but barring any major injury in that match I expect Danielson to pull the win out against Joe one week later.
Grudge Match
Colt Cabana vs. Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey
Cabana is back in his hometown and ready for revenge…for stealing Jacobs lady…hmm, shouldn't that be the other way around? Well Cabana did get kicked in the balls you know…that's a pretty lousy thing for Jacobs to do! Anyway, Cabana dumped Lacey to the curb and now she wants revenge too…and She Wants Revenge is the name of a band as well. …Right. Anyway expect lots of Cabana goofiness to get into Jacobs head and maybe a surprise turn or two in the match before Colt pulls it out in his hometown.
Dragon Gate Rules
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Shingo & ROH World Tag Team Champion Matt Sydal
DG rules mean no tags are necessary, almost like a Scramble tag match. Sydal must feel he and Shingo have Dragon Gate in common and that will work out well between them, but I'm pretty sure Shingo has his own agenda. He wants to hurt Roderick Strong, and that might just get in the way of Sydal finally picking up the win against his former stable mates.
Special Challenge Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave
This time, it's personal. Seriously, both of these guys have good chemistry with each other and the angle certainly is helping pull Rave back up to the upper card. Nigel has come so far over the last year and he is riding a huge and renewed wave of popularity. That said, Rave has something to prove against Nigel and I expect Rave to score another huge win to shove it back into Nigel's face.
Four Corner Survival
ROH World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels with Allison Danger vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Davey Richards vs. Matt Cross
This 4CS match was added last week and it's pretty damned cool combination. Whitmer is the heavy hitter, Richards is the young upstart, Cross is the high flying daredevil and Daniels is the respected and able veteran. Since Daniels is newly crowed tag champ I almost expect someone to get the win on him in order to set up a future tag defense.
Special Challenge Tag Team Match
Delirious & Ace Steel vs. Adam Pearce & Shane Hagadorn
Two crazies in Delirious and Steel getting together…I can't believe it took THIS long for it to happen! Since Delirious and Steel aren't permanent partners, I expect Pearce and Hagadorn to steal it. It should be a fun one while it lasts though, if just to see how Steel and Delirious interact with each other and then befuddle the competition.
Special Attraction Match
Homicide vs. Brent Albright
It says a hell of a lot that this match is listed so far down the card. When Homicide vs. Albright is second on the card (although it may not go on second), you KNOW you're packed deep. Albright is relatively new so I expect a good challenge from him and a hot crowd in support of both men, but Homicide will ultimately put Albright away as he gets back on track in singles wins on his way to the 12/23 title match..
Bonus Tag Team Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Irish Airborne of Dave & Jake Crist
The Briscoes have had their way with Airborne in the past, upset win from Fight of the Century during Ultimate Endurance aside. After losing the feud against Joe and Homicide, they could use a win here to stabilize their standing in the company and begin their upwards trek through the tag ranks towards an inevitable title shot.
Plus more with Kikutaro, Daizee Haze, Tank Toland, Pelle Primeau and others!!!
EIGHT MATCHES signed and you still have KIKUTARO returning to fit onto the card as well as Tank, Pelle and Daizee. How sick is that?
December 9th:2006—Night 2:
Note: Card is subject to change depending on who Delirious picks as his partners for the six man match and what goes down on the first night. We promise to bring the best show possible to close out "The Chicago Spectacular." ROH doesn't hold anything back in Chi-town. Here is the current card:
ROH World Tag Team Title Match
(This Match Is Guaranteed To Happen)
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal, with Allison Danger, defend vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
Six Man Tag Team Main Event
ROH World Champion (if retains on 12/8) Bryan Danielson, Jimmy Rave & Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey vs. Delirious & 2 partners of his choice (it can be anyone on the card)
Strap Match
Homicide vs. Adam Pearce
Grudge Match #1
Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe
Grudge Match #2
Davey Richards vs. Jay Briscoe
Special Challenge Match #1
Colt Cabana vs. Shingo
Special Challenge Match #2
Nigel McGuinness vs. BJ Whitmer
Bonus Attraction Match
Ace Steel vs. Tank Tolland
Six Man Mayhem
Kikutaro vs. Dave Crist vs. Jake Crist vs. Matt Cross vs. Pelle Primeau vs. Trik Davis
Plus Daizee Haze, Shane Hagadorn and others!!!
Chicago, I am now officially jealous. These two nights are freaking unbelievably packed with hot matches, grudge matches, fresh matches and main event quality matches. These cards boast the best combinations of talent for matches in quite some time.
Required Reading Make sure to check the main page of www.ROHwrestling.com for three new articles on the World Tag Title change, Brent Albright and last weekend's results. There is some news in all these articles.
It was announced in the article on the World Tag Team Title change on the main page of ROHwrestling.com that Dragon Gate has signed for a title match on 12/22 in Hartford, CT. It will be Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. Shingo & a main event Dragon Gate star that will be announced during the second week of December. If Daniels & Sydal are still the champs, they will put the belts on the line.
The same article also announced that Claudio Castagnoli's final ROH date will be 12/23 in Manhattan. We have no news on Castagnoli's opponent(s).
ROHwrestling has lots of good articles, in that PWI kayfabe sort of way in that they enhance the main programs going on with subtle bits and pieces of news info sprinkled in.. I know that many are anticipating Hero vs. Claudio for Final Battle but instead a "Hero's farewell" to Claudio has been announced, which may indicate they will not fight each other. This could be a "Rock, This Is Your Life" type segment or it could be an angle where Hero ends up ripping on Claudio, leading to an impromptu match. Although if the latter is true, I'd think not advertising a singles match between the two would be a mistake—as that would certainly add ticket sales to people interested in seeing the match.
Rave and Nigel Have Issue Over Tissue
There was an incident between Jimmy Rave and Nigel McGuinness last Saturday. It will be documented on the next ROH Video Wire. In ROH we let the boys settle things in the ring. It will be Rave vs. McGuinness on 12/8 in Chicago.
Well, it's certainly not as forced as Booker T's feud with Edge over a shampoo contract.
Final Battle Becomes More Final
Here is the current lineup for ROH's return to the Manhattan Center on 12/23:
ROH World Title Match
Bryan Danielson/Samoa Joe 12/8 winner defends vs. Homicide with Julius Smokes
Dragon Gate Rules
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Delirious vs. Matt Sydal, Shingo & a Dragon Gate main event star
Grudge Tag Team Match
BJ Whitmer & Colt Cabana vs. Jimmy Jacobs & ????
Chris Hero's farewell to Claudio Castagnoli
Plus: Nigel McGuinness, Jimmy Rave, The Briscoes, Christopher Daniels, Davey Richards, El Generico, Adam Pearce, Brent Albright and more to be announced!!!
It looks like Sydal's pursuit of Aries and Strong is not yet over, not even with the two tag matches at the Chicago Spectacular. Another mystery partner remains in the Jacobs match—and this may very well end up being whoever becomes Lacey's bounty hunter. Generico is locked for 12/23 so it will be great to see the Generic luchadore live in action once more.
Now it's time for Hero's Sandwich
This…can't be happening…Claudio and I…lost the Chikara tag titles…lost the CZW tag titles…and now the ROH titles?
Why? Why is this happening to me? What did I do? I was a hero to millions! Why me, why now?
I'm melting…melting…
I have to go. I'm out of here.
This has been Hero's Sandwich.
The Apocalypse is NOT Happening Today
The End is not near.
Once a month, this is my place and my time to tell you all out there why Ring of Honor is still doing a-okay and why even set backs are not necessarily the end of the world for the company. If I can find some reasons why the ROH fans shouldn't be apoplectic about the company's situation, I'll put it here. Once a month I'll comment on the talent roster of the company and other items of note that will help all you negative Nancy's get over your big bad dose of Ilhonoraphobia—the fear of losing Ring of Honor.
Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal as ROH World Tag team Champions = Not the Apocalypse
I've been reading many derogatory comments on several message boards after the Christopher Daniels-Matt Sydal tag title win, mostly commenting on how awful a choice they were to be the new tag champs and how they were a "boring" team. Since when does one of the year's most improved high fliers and one of the most solid and sound wrestlers constitute boring? I know everyone is entitled to their opinions, but that is one hell of a wrong opinion.
The tag win by Daniels and Sydal makes so much perfect sense that Mr. Perfect were he still alive would watch that match and go "now THAT'S PERFECT!" First of all, you have Matt Sydal—who has not only stepped up his game tremendously since January of '06 but has in the ROH storylines has been actively involved, to the point of obsession, with winning the ROH tag gold. He finally accomplishes that goal with this win and with a partner who compliments his abilities quite well. Yes, he still looks like Opie's love child, but that's hardly something that can be changed—what, would you want him to try to grow a beard and wear all black to give him a more rugged "Heelish" appearance?
As far as Christopher Daniels goes, he has been one of the most stable and consistent wrestlers in both ROH and TNA. In TNA especially Daniels has been a god among men (or make that a fallen angel among me), with some darling matches this year up against Samoa Joe and in tag competition with AJ Styles. In the Ultimate X match against LAX this past September, his leap to the X cables was fantastically exciting as much as it was suicidal. I don't know how you can watch that match and not be captivated by his performance. Putting issues of whether or not he should have made that leap of faith aside it was perhaps one of the most compelling wrestling performances in TNA this year.
People have complained, including myself in this column, of the lack of direction in the booking of Daniels in Ring of Honor this year. He has floated a bit aimlessly, from one less fully formed feud to the next (Whitmer, Claudio). In pairing up with Sydal and heading to the top of the tag division, Daniels now not only has a purpose in ROH but also a newfound direction. He is now in a position where he gets some increased attention and new storyline possibilities now exist for his character (and for Allison Danger) because he and Sydal are at the top of the heap.
Other complaints go towards those wanting The Briscoe Brothers to win the titles. I'm all for another Briscoes title reign, but to go from heel champs to heel champs under the circumstances is nonsensical booking. It's more logical (and faithful to previous ROH booking) for a babyface team to end the reign of terror spawned by The Kings, and then have a heel team take title from the faces, perhaps under controversial circumstances. It just wasn't yet time for The Briscoes to win the belts.
I love to have storylines and plot lines come full circle and complete itself—and these men winning the belts accomplishes all that and more. Not to mention that they put on very good to great tag matches to boot. They were given the ball in the main event at the Long Island show on the 24th of November and from many reports of the show, it looks like they scored a touchdown. My guess is that they're going to score with that ball a few more times between now and presumably when The Briscoes come a calling for the belts.
Going Home
Ringtones
gilesl22 writes in about the Cleveland venue situation:
First Off, Your column is cool. I personaly have been a ROH fan for about 3 months. I already have 6 ROH DVDs, and a ROH T-shirt. I live in Cleveland, So my first live ROH event was Survival of the Fittest( It was the best wrestling event I've been to in my life). I do have 1 problem with ROH. I think SOTF is going to be the last event in Cleveland. I think this because I sent an email to ROH asking them, when will ROH come back to Cleveland? They emailed me back and said, " there will be no more ROH events in Cleveland, there will be events in Dayton". I WAS SO PISSED OFF when I heard this. In your opinion, Do you think Cleveland is a bad place for ROH?
I was completely surprised when ROH announced it was going to stop running shows at Grey's Armory. From watching the DVDs and looking at the quality of the venue and the number of people in attendence, it certainly looked like a fine place to run shows. The armory itself had a nice look to it with some unique featues like the balcony, which was used more than once to spruce up the presentation of angles (Jacobs singing to Lacey, Claudio's interruptions).
The one thing I did note was that the crowd generally came off quieter than other venues, especially during Danielson v. Aries from "Enter the Dragon"--but since that was the first show I didn't think all that much of it. Other than that I thought the crowds were fine, the reactions were good. The one thing I keep hearing is that ROH was not happy that the attendance wasn't increasing, especially given that they held one of their bigger shows there in SOTF. However, I think holding steady at the levels they were doing should have been good enough to continue running shows in Cleveland, especially when ROH is considered a DVD / video product in the first place.
Also keep in mind that ROH has been expanding big time over the last year, and they may be trying to rotate different locations in and out to see what works best. They added back St. Paul and Boston, they're decreasing the number of shows they run in Long Island and so on.
I can't say I blame you for being pissed considering you're a new fan and all and then all of a sudden they pull out of a place you can get to. I think if you want to voice your frustrations, emailing ROH was the right way to go, but you should also get on the ROH message boards if you can so it can get around for debate.
For the third week in a row (a new record!) we hear from reader JustinShaq:
yo Ari, just wanted to let you know my appreciation for writing about me in the Column of Honor. Can't wait to watch GBH5 night two. One question Jack said he was coming back for some gold who do you think is gonna be his tag partner. Also if you want to find out about the King of Europe tourney go to this website http://www.koecup.com--should be the f'n bomb.
Peace,
Justin
I actually didn't get to write you (and a few others) back this time around so I have to apologize to you and a few others—I like to get responses back as quick as possible but sometimes real life takes over and that's what happened this week. If Jack comes back for gold I actually think he may get a few shots at the FIP title, currently held by his former tag partner and Gen Next stalemate Roderick Strong. Both men had a tremendous main event at the FIP event appropriately dubbed "Strong v. Evans", so it would definitely tie in. If he were to go for the tag team gold, surprisingly enough I could see him reforming his team with Strong of all people, presuming that Aries is occupied by a singles feud. If not Strong, Davey Richards would work well since he is also a similar style powerhouse grappler that would mesh well with the flying skills of Evans. Everyone should click on the King of Europe website as the concept looks really great and hopefully the execution can live up to the hype. 16 companies with one representative each in a tournament, and ROH, TNA and PWG are all going to be involved.
**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)
**UWF-TNA House Show July 22nd, 2006 (Monster's Ball Rematch: Samoa Joe / Rhino / Abyss, Jay Lethal / Alex Shelley / Daniels and Styles / James Gang)
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 5 (Daizee Haze / Rebecca Knox 2 out of 3 falls, Sara Del Ray / Mercedes Martinez No Time Limit, Allison Danger / Cheerleader Melissa)
**ROH Death Before Dishonor IV (CZW vs. ROH Cage of Death, McGuinness / Strong, Dutt / Danielson)
** ROH Fight of the Century (ROH World Title: Joe / Danielson, KENTA / Richards, Daniels / McGuinness / Lethal / Castagnoli, Ultimate Endurance)
**ROH Unified (ROH World vs. Pure Title: Danielson / McGuinness, ROH World Tag Team Title: Aries and Strong / Briscoes, Cabana / Hero, Richards / Rave)
ROH @ 411
The Honor vs. Extreme crossover concludes in this week's The Week In Hardcore. For the final week I take over Stu's column and spend most of it discussing ECW news and Survivor series results, but if you've been following that column for the last few weeks you know what's been set up in the column…ROH vs. ECW in a 5 on 5 Extreme Survivor Series Elimination match. What would happen if Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Homicide, Christopher Daniels and Delirious went head to head against Rob Van Dam, The Big Show, Bobby Lashley, Sabu and The Sandman.? Check out the column to find out!
Mike Campbell is in with a look back at ROH's Fourth Anniversary Show. I love reading Mike's work because he goes so in-depth with his analysis, but reader beware, he is super critical and maybe one of 411's harshest judges of match quality. Dude rated the main event of these match (Styles and Sydal vs. Aries and Strong) three stars when before the summer I had it in my top 5 matches for the year.
Well, the return to the UK was announced this week, so it's serendipity that Brad Garoon and Jacob Zeigler cover ROH's Anarchy in the UK event, featuring not one but two ROH title defenses by Bryan Danielson
Honor Bound Links
For fine comic genius at its best, check out Derek Burgan's latest gimmick table over at Wrestlecrap.com, where he creates new wrestling board games—true uproarity.
Speaking of high comedy, the ECW December to Dismember Roundtable, where the ECW PPV does indeed get fully dismembered.
Bayani tells the Truth every week…he is not Pinocchio…well, at least, not with his nose…maybe that's why he never lies to the ugly girls, he doesn't want them to think he's got a thing for them.
Sat and Uncle Trunx as always do a great job with the High Road / Low Road column, this time concentrating on Batista v. King BOOK-AH from Survivor Series.
Michael Weyer shines the spotlight on the AWA…and Verne Gagne's bald head.
That will be that which will be that which will be that for this week, which will mean that I'll be back next week with the November ROH stock market, Chicago Spectacular coverage and much more.
Final Column 2006-4 Weeks and Counting. Last year I had a top 30 matches of the year…now the list is more like 100. Last year I had the NYC transit strike allowing me to work on that list…this year…man, I'm screwed.
