Column of Honor: 12.16.06
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 12.16.2006
Celebrating Chanukah with Gabe Sapolsky, lighting Menorah candles with Delirious (he converted) and spinning the Dredel with Colt Cabana. Plus: Chicago Spectacular Night 2 results, 12/22 CT preview, Motor City Mayhem and Suffocation thoughts, TNA, UFC and the Money Players for November!
Happy Chanukah and Kwanza to everyone out there who is celebrating. Eat, be merry, and score lots of presents.
Now, more about perhaps the best present in all of professional wrestling (oh man, I'm really sucking up now)…Ring of Honor!
ROH Results: "The Chicago Spectacular" Night 2 12/08/2006 Matches
-Ace Steel defeated Tank Tolland.
-Jake Crist defeated Kikutaro to win the Six Man Mayhem match, which also included Dave Crist, Trik Davis, CJ Otis & Pelle Primeau.
-Homicide defeated Shane Hagadorn in a STRAP MATCH via pinfall with the Cop Killer.
-Samoa Joe defeated Mark Briscoe via pinfall with the musclebuster and a lariat.
-Austin Aries and Roderick Strong defeated Matt Cross and ROH World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels (Non-Title).
-In a Steel Cage match, Homicide defeated Adam Pearce.
-Jay Briscoe defeated Davey Richards.
-8-Man Elimination Captain's Match: Delirious, BJ Whitmer, Colt Cabana and Nigel McGuinness defeated ROH World champion "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, Jimmy Jacobs, Jimmy Rave and Shingo. Order of elimination: Jimmy Jacobs was DQ'ed after all the chaos involving the spike. BJ Whitmer was eliminated by submission from Jimmy Rave (new leg lock submission). Nigel McGuinness was eliminated via submission Jimmy Rave with the leglock. Shingo was eliminated by pinfall by Colt Cabana. Colt Cabana was eliminated by pinfall by Jimmy Rave. Jimmy Rave was eliminated by pinfall by Delirious. Bryan Danielson was eliminated by submission by Delirious. Delirious is the sole survivor.
Angles and Issues
Sydal's Knee Changes Everything: An injury Sydal apparently sustained during the first night of the Chicago Spectacular forced a number of changes, including the main event tag title match. Matt Cross replaced Sydal in the tag match but the actual main event came from the 6 man captain's tag match with Delirious's team against Danielson's team. The match became an 8 man elimination match with Colt Cabana and Shingo placed in due to storyline elements set up in the beginning of the show. Homicide's strap match against Adam Pearce was switched to a Steel Cage match to help bolster up the depth of the card and Homicide worked double duty against Hagadorn in place of Adam Pearce under the strap match stips. Alot of changes to the show but in general they worked out well.
Delirious submits Danielson!: After a month's long rivalry that began in April at "The 100th Show", Delirious finally managed to get the biggest win of his ROH career when he made current ROH champ Bryan Danielson submit to the cobra stretch during the 8 man elimination tag. It was eight months ago that Delirious won his first match in Chicago and now he wins the main event against the current champion. Delirious heads into 2007 with a ton of momentum and possible contendership for the ROH World title.
Joe has a problem with NOAH and Nigel has a problem with that: Samoa Joe cut a promo once again challenging NOAH to send representatives over to fight him. McGuinness, who makes Japan his third home (right next to USA and England) with regular tour with NOAH, took offense to Joe's challenge and brought the challenge right back to him. They had a war of words and agreed to a match.
Lacey laced by a spike: see newswire below for more info on the terrible damage done to Lacey's face.
Honorarium
-Is Jimmy Rave getting pushed again or what? He was responsible for ALL three eliminations in the main event of the 12/9 Chicago show. He has a new submission, some big time momentum and is now once again a serious threat to the top of the ROH card. Rave is back in a big way and while I expected it to happen sooner or later, I am shocked at HOW it happened.
-I really miss Alex Shelley being in Ring of Honor. He definitely could have been a big part of the upper card / main event scene by this point if things had worked out between him and ROH. In addition to contributing to some great comedy skits in TNA, Shelley is hugely talented in the ring. As has been the case recently with most of the X-Division, he has been limited to short matches and multi man matches, quite frankly that's beneath everyone in the X Division from Shelley on down to Senshi and Austin Starr. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, TNA is only limited to an hour. But you know what? If I were in charge of that hour, I'd rather see more time devoted to Shelley and Starr in singles matches than Eric Young acting a fool and VKM segments. In ROH, Shelley and other would get more time in the ring and that means more enjoyment for me. Plus, there's no chance of seeing Kevin Nash's bare ass.
-While we're at it, get Chris Sabin back in ROH!
-Counting Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs' facial hair, the "'Macho Man'" Randy Savage look is certainly making a comeback. At least it's better than the "Ultimate Warrior" look. Delirious has that covered.
-Thanks to Defective14 over on the ROH message boards for posting my parody "God Bless the ROH." It was a spur of the moment deal but I'm happy for any reactions it got, from head shaking in embarrassment to applause and laughter to turning your head away in disgust on massive Big Dick Johnson dancing proportions. In celebration of that song I present to you this prequel parody, Shingo (to the tune of Bingo)
There was a CIMA who had a student
And Shingo was his name-O
S- H- I N G O,
S- H- I N G O,
S- H- I N G O,
And Shingo was his name-O.
Thank you, thank you, for my next song, "Have Yourself a Merry Little ROH-mas"…
No just kidding, I think I may retire from the song parody game…for now.
Just call me "Weird Ari Yankovic"
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 12/16/2006
ROH World Champion—American Dragon Bryan Danielson (champion since 9/17/05, 35 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
Samoa Joe Hurts MCL at TNA Tapings
Joe injured his knee at the recent TNA tapings just after the Turning Point pay per view. He has been diagnosed with a severe second degree sprain of his MCL. Joe was expected to appear at but not wrestle at the weekend UWF-TNA house shows. He is expected to make the new TNA tapings coming up (they are taping early before the holidays) and he will probably make it for the 12/22 and 12/23 ROH shows.
Joe has managed to fight through several injuries this year taking minimal time off to rest up and then right back to work. I think it might be smart if both TNA and ROH limit what Joe does on the shows as much as possible. I know Joe is in the 4CS (see below) on 12/22 and has a pretty big match with Nigel (see above 12/9 results) for Final Battle. However it might be the smart play for Joe to minimize his involvement in the former match and keep the match with Nigel short and tight. I'd understand it and accept it as a fan (although I can't speak for others) especially for Final Battle 2006, because the focus is on Danielson v. Homicide and Claudio's last night in ROH.
Briscoes and Rave to Tour Japan The relationship between ROH and NOAH continues to grow. NOAH just announced that Jay & Mark Briscoe will make their first tour of NOAH in January. Nigel McGuinness will also return to NOAH in January. The Briscoes and McGuinness will not miss any ROH shows. This continues the talent trading between ROH and NOAH. ROH fans have been treated to Kenta Kobashi, Naomichi Marufuji, KENTA, Go Shiozaki and SUWA while ROH has been able to send Bryan Danielson and now The Briscoes to NOAH. You can expect this relationship to only grow in 2007.
The Briscoes matches against KENTA and Davey Richards as well as against KENTA and Marufuji this past Summer have both been shown on G+ television in Japan. The added attention certainly helped their case for getting added onto the January tour. Fans will definitely recognize who they are and what they are capable of. Rave had some successful tours of Japan with Dragon Gate and now he will get the chance to tour NOAH as well. I wonder if they will confuse him with Eddie Edwards.
ZIMA! Light, crisp, refreshing. CIMA is the mystery Dragon Gate star that will be coming to ROH on 12/22 in Hartford, CT and 12/23 in Manhattan, NY!!! 12/22 will see CIMA & Shingo challenge Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal for the ROH World Tag Team Titles. 12/23 will have CIMA, Shingo & Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Delirious. These will be two state-of-the-art matches.
CIMA has done well for himself in the states, especially with his appearances in ROH in August of 2005 and the Wrestlemania 22 weekend. He also made it to the finals of PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006 and performed terrifically throughout that weekend. CIMA and Shingo is a natural fit and while it's a bit of a shock to see them get that title shot immediately, it was a guaranteed shot AND the team of Daniels and Sydal agreed they would take on ALL comers for the title.
Make it like Will Smith and Switch! There is a lineup switch for 12/23 in Manhattan. After the events of "The Chicago Spectacular," Brent Albright will now team with Jimmy Jacobs to take on BJ Whitmer & Colt Cabana. Albright sold out to Lacey's Angels last Friday. The Four Corner Survival will now have Christopher Daniels vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Davey Richards vs. El Generico.
Another huge main event match has been added to "Final Battle 2006" on 12/23 at the Manhattan Center. It will be Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness!!! It has been clear recently that Samoa Joe has a problem with Pro Wrestling NOAH. Last Saturday saw Joe call out NOAH again. Nigel McGuinness then came to the ring and said that NOAH is a place that he wrestles regularly and he takes great pride in being a part of NOAH. Nigel said if Joe has a problem with NOAH, he has a problem with him. These two have a history in ROH and it will continue on 12/23 in Manhattan!!!
Colt Cabana and Whitmer may make for a very credible tag team, and at this point they need to team up well to take out common enemies. The change to the 4CS is fine—El Generico always brings the fun atmosphere and will play a nice comic foil to Rave, Daniels and Richards. Joe and Nigel have had some solid to good matches against each other in 2005. Taking into account Nigel's seeming improvement during the back half of the year and Joe's injury notwithstanding I'm thinking this could be the best match yet.
Two House Town We want to thank the fans of Chicago for supporting us on two consecutive nights last weekend. ROH will return to Chicago on 2/24, but in a new building. ROH will be running on the other side of town at the Windy City Fieldhouse. Check ROHwrestling.com later today for all the info. ROH will still be holding regular events at the Frontier Fieldhouse. Now ROH has two homes in Chi-town. Thank you for making this possible!!!
I was a bit shocked to find out that ROH is running both locations in their Chicago area. It's certainly the first time that its been tried for ROH—after all, you don't seem them trying to run downtown and uptown Manhattan at the same time. ROH values that Chi-town location but running so many shows so close together is a risk.
Who Spiked the Drink? In a shocking incident last Saturday, BJ Whitmer accidentally spiked Lacey in the face during the main event. Jimmy Jacobs introduced the spike to the match. He was about to spike BJ when Colt Cabana caused Whitmer to gain control of the spike. Whitmer then charged at Jacobs, who moved. Daizee Haze pushed Lacey into Whitmer's path and Lacey was spiked and busted open. Word going around is that Lacey will need plastic surgery. Jacobs has gone insane since the thing he finds most beautiful in the world has been disfigured. Lacey will not be on 12/22 & 12/23 now. However, Lacey has hired an assassin to take her place. 12/22 in Hartford, CT will have mixed tag action with Jimmy Jacobs & Mercedes Martinez vs. BJ Whitmer & Daizee Haze. Jacobs has sworn that everyone involved will pay.
Do you hear that? YOU'RE ALL GOING TO PAY! And you better have Visa, because Jacobs doesn't take American Express!
Fifth Year Festival: Free Punch and Pie To coincide with UK tickets going on sale, ROH is now officially announcing The Fifth Year Festival. Last year ROH presented seven shows that all saw the company reach a milestone. Those seven shows became The Milestone Series. February will see ROH reach its biggest milestone ever. ROH will celebrate its fifth birthday!!! It will be a celebration so big and so important that it will take place over six events in a three week period. This series of shows will be known as The Fifth Year Festival. You can expect huge happenings for all these shows. The Fifth Year Festival will take place on:
-2/16/07- To Be Announced
-2/17/07- Philadelphia, PA
-2/23/07- Dayton, OH (five years to the date of the first ever show)
-2/24/07- Chicago, IL
-3/3/07- Liverpool, UK
-3/4/07- Liverpool, UK
Tickets are on sale for all these events. ROH is working on bringing the most loaded cards yet for what is sure to be a memorable string of shows. You made this all possible with your support. Thank you!!!
I think the idea for this comes from Japan where there are many "Festivals"—bunches of tour stops centered on a theme or concept. Could we see a similar concept or perhaps even a tournament run during these dates? I'd like to see it.
While it hasn't been announced, strong speculation is that 2/16 will be the return date for New York at the Manhatten Center Grand Ballroom.
The Killing Curse There is more and more talk within ROH about the "curse of Homicide" as we approach the 12/23 Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson World Title Match in Manhattan, NY. Not only has Homicide never held a title in ROH, but there seems to be a curse around all of his title matches. Homicide has lost title matches by controversial referee stoppage, countout and no contests. Samoa Joe almost had to kill Homicide on a few occasions during Joe's memorable World Title Matches vs. Homicide. No matter how Homicide has lost, it is clear that he has a curse when it comes to titles in ROH. Homicide has been in ROH consistently since day one. Five years have led to 12/23 when Homicide will either be ROH World Champion or his ROH career will be over.
I bet it pickles the diehard Yankees fan Homicide to be associated with a "curse" when it has been his hated Red Sox most closely associated with such a horror. The fact remains Homicide has not been so great in the big moment—so one must as, will he choke again or will he come through when he most desperately needs to win? We'll cover that next week in the Final Battle 2006 preview.
Once again, I have heard nothing from a certain Hero this week. I'm starting to worry…nah, not really. He can keep the ill communication for as long as he wants to; I'm happier for it.
Monday Night ROH
The wrestling television and shows that I tuned in for during the week:
Sunday 12/10/06:TNA Turning Point 2006 Over to Chris's house for the TNA pay per view, for a card I thought had very good wrestling (Daniels vs. Sabin kicked it) mixed in with some questionable booking decisions. We did not really need to see baseball players wasting time plugging a book on a PAY per view, OR Eric Young in bikini briefs, OR a "parody" of the fat oily DX dancer. Note to TNA, I do not want to look away in disgust because of what you put on your show, but I did it twice on this show.
LAX-AMW was good and the effort was there, although I hope they don't fight anymore because every time out they manage to hurt 'Cide and dammit, he has an ROH title to win in two weeks, he can't get injured before then!
Overall, the wrestling was terrific and I can live with some of the finishes (including Angle v. Joe which I thought was a tremendous match) and overall the show was fun enough to recommend. This was a MUCH better effort from TNA than the last few PPVs, reminiscent of the quality they put out earlier in 2006. Oh and AJ Styles almost died several times in a hellacious fight with Rhino; now that's entertainment.
Monday 12/11/06:ROH Motor City Madness It was a true Monday night edition of Ring of Honor as I completely skipped the WWE product in favor of ROH. I finished watching the rest of the card from this show, from the Daniels / Sydal vs. Cabana / Jacobs tag match through the wicked main event of Samoa Joe and Homicide vs. The Briscoes. The latter match is must see watching; one of the better brawls of the year and that's including the ROH vs. CZW stuff. I was glued to the screen to watch what happened next and where the brawl went from inside to outside the arena to back inside again. All these guys were determined to put on one hell of a wild brawl. Also, as hopefully many ROH fans have seen by now, the shooting star press on top the Ryder truck was incredibly impressive, even with the ROH student squad there to help break the fall (and help Mark from breaking his neck). Danielson v. Aries was another excellent bout in their series against each other and now they keep throwing little twists and turns, reversals and dodges that help create depth to their battles. It really does seem as if they are adapting to each other as the years go on. It also seems that at this point, Danielson has solved the "Aries puzzle", as he now has two straight title defenses against him.
The one negative I am starting to see, not just with the crowd at the Motor City Mayhem show but with other ROH shows, is the lack of crowd pop and participation during the matches. I am starting to see quieter crowds overalls at these shows, with less cheers and less clapping especially for the under card matches. I don't know if it's ROH overkill or just a naturally quiet crowd or what, but it may be a bit of a concern in the future. I don't ever want to tell people that they have to clap or bang on the rails at the shows, but to me it's half the fun of being there. Wrestling works in part on the Tinkerbell Principle, if you want your wrestler to keep fighting, to make a comeback, you need to clap for them to keep them alive. Less and less am I seeing that occur for the wrestlers, and it's a bit frustrating when they are having good quality performances and what they're giving out is not being given back by the crowd. Some would say it's the wrestlers who need to adjust their strategy to get the desired reactions of crowd pops and there is something to that, but when a wrestler like Matt Sydal is going through his big comeback, hitting all these awesome moves and he doesn't even get a wave of cheers, something more than the wrestler's efforts is going wrong. When I find myself sitting at home wanting to start claps and cheers where it seems very natural to do so and its not happening, I'm left puzzled and to be honest, a bit frustrated.
Wednesday 12/13/06:UFC Ultimate Fight Night This show started off slow with the Shonie Carter fight that was a bit repetitive but a decent enough fight. It really kicked into overdrive with the Karo Parysian and Josh Koscheck fights. I definitely like Karo a lot and like to watch him use his strikes and his judo—those tend to lead to fun, offsenive driven matches. I can't stand Josh Koscheck's personality but I can't deny the man's prowess—he is an absolute BEAST of a wrestler and the rest of his game is surely developing. Yeah, maybe Kurt Angle should shoot fight against Koscheck, maybe that would put the whole MMA game out of Angle's mind, permanently. I thought this show might be going over time as each of the first three televised fights went the distance but I had a funny feeling as the Sanchez-Riggs fight began that it would be short work on someone's side. Diego Sanchez absolutely demolished Riggs in a bit of a shock early in the first round. He landed an awesome punch that got Riggs down to his knees, and then in one hell of a moment, Sanchez ran the distance of the Octagon and SMASHED his knee right into Riggs's face. Yes, the man delivered an OLE KNEE! Samoa Joe would be proud. Overall it was a fun night of fights.
Friday 12/15/06:WWE Smackdown (John Cena promo, Regal / Taylor / Helms vs. London / Kendrick / Yang) ROH Suffocation (Danielson, Rinauro up through Aries / Castagnoli): Yup, I missed iMPACT. I can't even say I slept right through it this week, nope, I was just watching episodes from the second season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Hey, I've been waiting for that DVD set for years now, and I finally got it in, so I was definitely watching it. Anyways, that brings us up to Friday—and while I normally don't watch Smackdown, reading the match previews of the show, the first match caught my eyes. Paul London, Brian Kendrick and Jimmy Wang Yang—all ROH alumni—in the same match together up against the awesome Bluebloods team (which I was such a fan of back in the WCW days circa 1995) and the—well, I really don't know how to characterize Helms at this point. He's a very good wrestler and he gets to show off that talent in the ring now that he's cast off the Hurricane character, but what Jerry Lawler said about him a few years ago still sort of remains. He is plain vanilla villain, especially stacked up against the likes of Regal and SQUIRE Dave Taylor. Anyway it was a very good match and it was nice to see London and Kendrick in action again, if just to remind me that WWE still can actually value quality wrestling when it wants to do so. I should also note that John Cena cut a promo and came off infinitely more popular and well liked on this show than he usually does on Raw. Maybe its just the crowd sweetening, maybe it was just his hometown (which actually booed him back at Summerslam) or maybe its just that Cena has always looked more at home in front of Blue rather than Red.
After that match, I popped in the ROH Suffocation (Dayton OH 10/27/06) disc and watched the first six matches—way more than I had originally intended, but the show was compelling enough for me not to stop after the Daniels-Albright match and continue onwards. The Rave-Shingo match was a bit blah,. But Shingo's spinning Angle Slam move is very impressive. Dude also sports an awesome ‘stache—we're talking near Tom Selleck-Magnum P.I. like potential. Cabana's break up with Lacey is given some heavy foreshadowing as Colt seems to have taken a liking to Jacobs, even showing compassion and sympathy for the guy stuck in the dunce cap section of the love triangle.
I was impressed with Albright and Tank, not just in the ring but also for their introductory promos. Both men were very calm and confident with their promos, and each one has a distinctive motivation and direction right off the bat—Albright wants to prove he is the best wrestler, while Tank wants to prove he was not a joke while in WWE. The Daniels-Albright match was tons of fun scientific wrestling, and it was great to see the little touches that Albright's very presence brought to the match. Daniels tried much harder to put on and keep on very basic maneuvers, including using flips of the ropes, momentum and leverage maneuver he doesn't usually employ. It showed the extent to which he respected Albright's abilities. As far as Tank goes, his participation was limited but effective in the Four Corner Survival match with Hero, Strong and Mark "Cletus" Briscoe (who was sporting his new blank front teeth knocked out look, poor guy). I can easily see the predisposed against big guys ROH fan base judging him unfairly, but from beginning to end Tank was quick, smooth and confident in the ring. Finally, the Aries-Claudio match was a very good grudge match, with Aries showing off tons of fire and aggression—Aries definitely "jumps off the page" when he wrestles on ROH shows. Plus, the crucifix driver—stiff kick—brainbuster-450 combo still kicks ass.
ROH World Tag Team Title Match
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal defend vs. CIMA & Shingo from Dragon Gate
FUN FACT: Shingo and CIMA actually started the "Dragon Gate Invasion" back in August of 2005. Now both men are back together on an ROH show to fight for the ROH World Tag Team Titles. Shingo is CIMA's protégé and both men would obviously work well together. Sydal's knee is an issue and may limit what he can do in the ring. He may also not be reacting well to being stripped of the opportunity to defeat his former Generation Next teammates. Can he keep himself in the game enough mentally to help his current tag partner Daniels fend off a tough challenge from the Japanese contingent?
Non-Title Four Corner Survival Match
ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide vs. Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe
Even though it's positioned as a semi main event match, I would go so far as to say that this is an overlooked match on this card. There are some major implications for the future of the main event scene of ROH with all four of these wrestlers in the same ring. Danielson is looking to be on his way out, Homicide is on his way in, and they will be in the same ring just one night before they go one on one for the ROH title. McGuinness and Joe now have a renewed beef now that Nigel has come out on the side of supporting his Japanese home promotion NOAH. Let's not forget that Nigel was the one who took the ROH Pure title from Joe back in August of 2005, so I'm sure there are some lingering feelings there between the two grapplers. It could be anyone's match here, but if McGuinness or Joe win either one would be in good position to request a title shot for early 2007.
FIP Heavyweight Title Match
Roderick Strong defends vs. Davey Richards
Strong made it out of the FIP shows this weekend as champion, so that means his match here against Richards will be for the title. Both men are developing quite the rivalry down in FIP, and they should bring a good competitive spirit to their match for ROH. Expect some ungodly stiff exchanges of strikes and chops for this one.
Tag Team Attraction
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
This is most likely the last tag match for the Kings of Wrestling in ROH and on the independent scene and it is against one of the toughest teams out there. The Briscoes are for some the uncrowned champions of the tag division, but a win here against the former tag champs could really cement their position as contenders going into 2007. This is a first time tag match up (although I believe they have participated in triple threat tags on the Left Coast in PWG) and one of the really big dream matches left for the Kings before Claudio takes his bow.
Grudge Match #1
Colt Cabana vs. Brent Albright
Albright has been exposed as a man out for the money and right now he is taking large wads of it from Lacey. Spurned by her former lover, Lacey has sent Brent Albright to do some damage and make sure Cabana realizes he made one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Colt is actually quite glad he got out of the "relationship" with Lacey while he could, but he may have to deal with the repercussions for a while. Albright is flat out a monster of a wrestler in the ring, and he is going to be able to brutalize Cabana at will if Cabana doesn't get to work early on. Cabana needs to use his misdirection ploys and his quick wit, otherwise Albright will go to work on Cabana and will not stop.
Grudge Match #2
Delirious vs. Adam Pearce
Delirious is looking for revenge after constantly being stymied by the former Lt. Commissioner in their previous matches. Delirious will have to look out for the Manservant Shane Hagadorn and press his attack, or else Pearce, who is slumping after a loss to Homicide, will find the way to win.
Mixed Tag Team Match
BJ Whitmer & Daizee Haze vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Mercedes Martinez
Lacey throws more of her cash around and hires the dangerous and hard hitting (but soft spoken) Mercedes Martinez to go after Whitmer and Haze, who have been giving her fits of trouble. Wwhere is he getting the money from anyway? And will the Johns be paying less now that her face has been disfigured? At any rate, the focus will be on the men vs. the men and the women vs. the women. Whitmer and Jacobs are becoming the Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote (or Tom and Jerry, or Itchy and Scratchy, etc) of Ring of Honor in that they keep stepping up the level of violence against each other in order to take the other out for good. Not that they're cartoons.
Plus more to be announced next week with Austin Aries, Jimmy Rave, Shane Hagadorn, Pelle Primeau, Allison Danger and others!!!
Aries and Rave stand out as not having singles matches, so I'd pair them up against each other, or perhaps pair up Pelle with Aries and Shane with Rave for an interesting tag match.
The Money Players: November 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. 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.
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—November 2006
-Christopher Daniels (ANGL) and Matt Sydal (SYDL)
Daniels and Sydal main evented the 11/24 show and won the tag team titles on 11/25 from the Kings of Wrestling. These are huge events that shows just how far Matt Sydal has come (this is his second month sharing the bill as a money player). Sydal has stepped up his game and it is very noticeable. His promos are still a bit too "Opie" -esque, but Sydal has stepped up his in ring mannerisms as well as his interaction with the crowd. Christopher Daniels is BACK in a big way in Ring of Honor. He is once again a champion and he is making the most of his new found momentum with his in ring performance. He is also demonstrating some great tag dynamics with Sydal, and more importantly what he says in his promos and how he interacts with Sydal during matches gives the team a fleshed out, "real" feel. They are an effective working unit right now and that is what makes them money players in the tag division.
ROH STOCK INDEX
Breadwinners
-Samoa Joe (SAMO) and Homicide (HOMI): Look at who's the baddest team on the block. You know that eventually these two are heading for a collision against each other, but for right now these two are the ROH indy dream team—or to paraphrase what Homicide put it in once of his recent promos—they arethe Mega Powers of this generation. A huge win against The Briscoes and the fact that they are looking out for each other spells "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" for anyone who gets in their way.
- Roderick Strong (STNG): Strong has taken the FIP title and has run with it, not just down in Florida but also here in Ring of Honor. Strong is winning matches, keeping the FIP title around his waste and showing the world why he is a top independent talent. Strong is also calling his own shots as FIP champion, and the stock index likes wrestlers who can gain profits through such innovative means.
-Jimmy Rave (RAVE): You can't deny that Rave has done a one hundred and eighty degree turn around from his previous downward spiral. Rave has huge wins against McGuinness and Homicide as proof that Rave is back in business. Not only that, but a newfound confidence and a mean streak have really propelled Rave's stock upwards. What once was a losing stock is now gaining back ground quickly.
Loss Leaders
-Davey Richards (DAVE): Davey has lost ground thanks to repeated losses in tag team matches against Delirious. There are some concerns among the stock traders, enough for a small loss this month. However, Richards remains an up and coming talent, so this might just be a small market correction in lieu of an actual trend.
-The Kings of Wrestling (KNGS) (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli): Losing the tag team titles is about as bad a situation as you can get, apart from a team breaking up…oh wait. Claudio is gone at the end of the month, and so are the once confident stock holders who bought into a bad stock. Obviously they were misled by someone behind the scenes at KNGS cooking the books. Federal investigators should soon be conducting an investigation into the actions of Hero and Castagnoli. You know you can never trust those Swiss bankers; always trying to add extra interest in on your loans.
Trendsetters
-Brent "The Shooter" Albright (SHOT): It takes a dangerous man to perform like he does in the ring AND still be able to concentrate on number one: getting paid. Brent is reaping in the profits for using his talents to the best of his ability. Talk about Capitalism at its finest.
Future Outlooks
(+) POSITIVE: Homicide, Jimmy Rave (up) The Briscoes, Delirious, Samoa Joe, Colt Cabana, Matt Sydal, Christopher Daniels (up), Nigel McGuiness, Brent Albright, M Dogg 20 (new), BJ Whitmer, Roderick Strong (up)
(/) NEUTRAL: Bryan Danielson (drops), Chris Hero, Austin Aries, Jack Evans, Irish Airborne, Jimmy Jacobs (up) Tank Toland, Ace Steel (up) Rocky Romero (new), Shingo (new), Pelle Primeau (new)
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 Shane Hagadorn (HAGA):--loss to Homicide in a strap match takes a bit of the wind out of his sails. Irish Airborne (IAIR)—The one brother still needs to look less like Randy Orton's twin brother and they need to stop shouting "COME ON BABY!" Come on baby, that's no good. Pelle Primeau (PPRM)—Everyone loves a little Primeau in their lives.
--Still just one cent Tank Toland (TANK)--still fighting hard for a spot in ROH and doing solid work. M Dogg 20 "Matt Cross" (MD20)--impresses with every performance Dunn and Marcos (RCEX)--inactive in ROH since September 15th. Trik Davis (TRIK)--MIA
REMOVED: Jerrelle Clarke (JRLE)—MIA Jay Fury (FURY)—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?
Mitch Franklin (MFRN)
Bobby Dempsey (BDEM)
Derek Dempsey (DDEM)
Rhett Titus (TTUS)
Alex Payne (PAYN)—Chicago loves "Sugarfoot".
ADDED: CJ Otis (OTIS)
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.
Previous Balance entering November 2006: $137.66
Current Balance end November 2006: $137.40
Net Change: MINUS $0.26
Analysis and Transactions: Some stocks are starting to shake up, some for profit and some for loss. Investors are starting to worry about Bryan Danielson, and this may be the time to sell the stock (for a tidy profit) before any possible crashes with that stock due to a title loss. Also, Davey Richards hasn't done any significant movement—he just seems to be treading water with his value and there doesn't seem to be any upward movement in sight. Meanwhile, buying into Homicide some months back is finally starting to pay off as he heads towards a possible title win. So here we go with some transactions:
Current Stock Worth entering December 2006: $110.40
Cash Reserves: $27.00
DING! DING! DING!
Here's The Briscoe Brothers to ring The Closing Bell. They're MANNING UP the bell by with a double shoulder block! In the words of Lord Alfred Haynes, MY WORD! Thus we ring in the end of the Money Players / Stock market for this month with some big changes ion many categories, including my very own stock portfolio. I'll be back in Early January of 2007 to determine another months in the stock market.
Going 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)
**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 Glory By Honor V Night 2 (ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson / KENTA, GHC Title: Naomichi Marufuji / Nigel McGuinness, ROH World Tag Title: Aries and Strong / Kings of Wrestling, Samoa Joe & Homicide / The Briscoes)
ROH @ 411
Jordan Linkous gets a link because he presents one of ROH's fanbases finest wet dreams, Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Benoit! Stuart C. is in for the ride and to represent Danielson's case.
411 rook Samuel Berman begins his column The Independent Mid Card looking at one of my personal favorite tag matches of 2005, Jacobs and Whitmer vs. Strong and Evans from Manhattan Mayhem. You know, when BJ and the Huss got along, before they tried to kill each other. Sam may be new, but this guy's got good taste.
Arnold Furious reviews a shoot interview DVD with Roderick Strong! Did Strong in fact mouth the interviewer's questions for the entire program? Read the review to find out… (*mouthing to find out)…maybe.
Garoon and Zeigler hit their weekly ROH review spot with ROH Gut Check and Danielson vs. Cabana two out of three falls.
Stuart C loves a little Friendly Competition between ECW and TNA. I agree, WWE should be blown up…if we wait for VKM to do it, we'll be waiting forever…or until Kip James is done with his tanning session. Which would be forever.
SHAMLESS SELF PROMOTION TIME! It's Ari vs. Stu in a deadly game of Fact or Fiction! The loser must go to the next ROH show dressed up as AJ Styles. So Stu, get the red vinyl hoodie ready pal…
Double M brings the Saturday News, but not for much longer…again… frown. Also, I am thinking of a WWE without Chris Masters…and I am smiling the largest smile ever known to man.
I think Nick Marsico may be studying to become a criminal defense lawyer the way he is sticking to Vince Russo's side.
Sat and Trunx go High / Low Road on The Miz. I'd like to go High Road AND Low Road…punch him in the face and then kick him in the balls.
Zac Calhoun debuts with the Ripple Effect. I hope this isn't a worm hole in the space-time continuum thing; I still haven't gotten my Chanukah presents yet.
Bayani's talk turns to MVP's of the sport of professional wrestling. Ironically, there is neither hide nor hair of MVP himself.
Final Column 2006- 2 weeks and counting. The Column of Honor will present the ROH Yearbook in said column. Delirious is a shoe-in for class clown.
