Column of Honor: 03.24.07
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 03.24.2007
Dedicated to ROH Dedicated this week, with in depth thoughts and matches you shouldn’t sleep on from that event. Also, a look at Chikara King of Trios 2007 in the Independent Buy In list. All that plus a preview for 3/30 in Detroit and news on KENTA and Danielson’s possible return.
A Brooklyn Tale
There it was, lying down on the street, not five feet away from me. A formulated black plastic, flat side down and spoke side up. So many other pedestrians had already passed it by on this early and cool Tuesday morning, oblivious to its presence. In truth, I would have passed it by as well were it not for a chance downwards look to the grey cement pavement. Of course there was a deeper meaning to this object being found in this very borough, one with which even now I am coming to grips with an understanding, albeit slowly. It was almost as if this location was chosen by some untold higher power, as if this four pronged, black plastic implement was waiting for this particular moment to reveal itself to this particular writer.
It was a revelation I had to document, for the posterity, for the irony and for the sheer serendipitous pleasure of the moment.
I bent down to look at the object and contemplated whether or not to pick it up. It was an instant of opportunity—as if it were destiny to possess such an item of vast power. Yet, doubts crept slowly into the mind, issues of worry that plunged into the brain, stabbed violently into the cerebrum, perhaps by the very instrument on that city street.
For one, who knew the secret life of this object of unwieldy force? Where had it been previously before it landed on the Brooklyn concrete? In whose possession had it issued violence from its sharp points and crevasses? If so, would my fingerprints be the only marks left on such an item, perhaps to inadvertently connect me to some crime I had not and would not ever commit? This was indeed a troublesome thought.
Then there was the matter of time. It was always the enemy and it was always running out. Even now, there were mere minutes left to reach the objective of this particular amble. This was not a pleasant diversion upon which I happened to discover the precious treasure, but rather a walk with a keen meaning and a definite purpose. For while the synthetic tool was but five feet away from my person, I was also but a short distance away from the destination that lay ahead, the abode of my occupation which stood in the background. This was a hulking mass of an edifice whose machinery was as cold and as emotionless as the weapon which lay before me.
If I were to tarry longer to marvel and to wonder at this unclaimed prize, I would be risking a tardiness of my own. After chastising so many of my own students for being behind schedule, it would be my own delay which would create an undoing in the classroom. Yet not to stay and to look upon the peculiarity of this ignoble utensil with a kind of attentive admiration would almost be as criminal as the viewings of cruelty and bloodshed I had seen others of its ilk commit at the hands of the remorseless men who did vicious battle in the squared circle.
The seconds ticked on, a decision reached and confirmed. Resigned to my fate, I let out a sigh and walked onwards to the edifice of education. I left behind the object of my morning fortune, untouched and set in the street. I knew that while it could prove useful once inside, there was no real way to consent to its presence, much less to rationalize to myself or to others why it was in my possession were it to be discovered.
Cold and neglected, the ghetto fork once again found itself alone on the Brooklyn sidewalk, a beggar of its existence.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 03/17/2007
ROH World Champion— Takeshi Morishima(champion since 02/17/07, 2 successful defenses)
Next Defense: Nigel McGuinness, 4/14/07 Edison, NJ
V.1 defeated BJ Whitmer via pinfall / backdrop driver (2/23/07 Dayton, OH)
V. 2 defeated KENTA via pinfall / backdrop driver (3/04/07 Tokyo, Japan)
ROH World Tag Team Champions— SHINGO and Naruki Doi (champions since 03/03/07, 1 successful defense)
Next Defense: Jay and Mark Briscoe 3/30/07 Detroit, MI
V.1 defeated Roderick Strong and Davey Richards pinfall / top rope Doi 555 (3/04/07 Liverpool, UK)
ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
KENTA set to return to ROH KENTA is set to make his ROH return on May 11th in Hartford, CT and May 12th in Manhattan. KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji already give both these shows a huge NOAH presence.
KENTA's return is nothing but great news as far as I'm concerned. He made his mark on the company last year and had some very good to great match ups with the likes of The Briscoes, Aries, Strong, Joe and Danielson. It was said that he wouldn't return to Ring of Honor until late in 2007, so to see him back by early May is a pleasant surprise, especially since I was only expecting Marufuji to be there. According to one of my readers, Connecticut is huge on Japanese talent, so both men are sure to receive a nice reception there. Of course, New York City is the big show and I expect the roof to come off for these guys. As far as potential match ups, there should be some interesting directions to take these guys. You could team them up for a tag match or have them take on some men in dream singles matches. Or, what if Morishima remains champion and returns on these shows to fight each of his fellow wrestlers from NOAH right here in the good ol' USA?
Speaking of Returns… The days are counting down for Bryan Danielson's return to ROH.
Danielson has a bunch of dates in Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH and then it seems like the return for May will be a reality. It should be interesting to see his placement on the roster, as the order of things has shaken up a little following the departure of Samoa Joe and the crowning of Takeshi Morishima as ROH World Champion. I wouldn't be surprised to have Danielson come in and immediately challenge for the title, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see Danielson walk in the reigning NWA Heavyweight Champion and defending it in ROH, as he is set to fight in a tournament for that belt.
D-Town Damage Control Two new matches were announced for March 30th and 31st in Detroit in a main page article on ROHwrestling.com last week. "All Star Extravaganza III" on March 30th will open up with a ROH trademark match. It will be a Four Corner Survival pitting Matt Sydal vs. Colt Cabana vs. Adam Pearce vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney. This one is sure to kick off the weekend with some exciting action.
A grudge match has been added to "Supercard Of Honor" in Detroit on March 31st. Homicide wants the match and now he has Brent Albright one-on-one. Albright took a payoff from Bryan Danielson and tried to injure Homicide's shoulder last December. Now Homicide is focused on teaching Albright a lesson.
The international media will be in full force at both the 3/30 and 3/31 Detroit events. In addition to seven of Dragon Gate's top stars, Dragon Gate's top prospect will also be on the events. YAMATO is set for his ROH debut and will be on both shows. He is considered the top rising star in Dragon Gate and he will be watched carefully by the Japanese contingent.
I guess YAMATO has to be capitalized as well. My comments of the Four Corner Survival are below with my ASE 3 preview. Albright and Homicide is a logical enough rematch given how the shoulder injury played into Homicide's title match. It also ties up some loose ends from that storyline; hopefully in preparation to start another chapter in Homicide's run in Ring of Honor.
Cleared off Waivers BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs will both be forced to sign waivers before their Steel Cage Match at "Supercard Of Honor II" on 3/31 in Detroit. ROH officials fear the lengths that these two men will go to in order to try to cripple each other.
I like this little storyline touch. It's always a nice reminder that there are some real consequences that take place in a match of this magnitude. No wrestling company would want to suffer the lawsuits and legal proceedings of two wrestlers who have injured each other so terribly. Whitmer and Jacobs can now tear each other to pieces and be happy about it, and ROH officials will get away scott-free. It's genius!
Dream Team! A tag team grudge match has just been signed for 4/14 in Edison, NJ. The No Remorse Corps of Roderick Strong & Davey Richards have been making a lot of enemies lately. They will be faced with two of them in New Jersey. It will be Strong & Richards vs. Jack Evans & Delirious when ROH returns to New Jersey.
Evans and Delirious have been a pairing I have wanted to see happen for a while now. While I don't necessarily think Delirious fits in with any of these three particular sides of the Generational War, he does have huge grudges against Strong and Richards. That means natural team ups with Aries and Evans in tag matches so that he can look for revenge.
Also, in a bit of non-news, ROH has a new sponsor in Detroit Beer Company. Right now, CM Punk is crying himself to sleep knowing everything he worked so hard to accomplish in ROH has been undone.
Hero's Sandwich
**DISCLAIMER** The words and thoughts of "Chris Hero" do not necessarily reflect those of Column of Honor, its staff or that of 411 and its staff.
To: The Managing Editor, 411mania.com
Re: Mr. Chris Hero
CC: Mr. A. Berenstein, writer, The Column Of Honor
To Whom It May Concern:
I am sending this certified letter to the lead writer of this column, Ari Berenstein and to the owners and editors of said website, 411mania.com on behalf of my client, Mr. Chris Hero. In last week's segment, my client was threatened with violence by said author, which is in clear violation of his working agreement with this website. Mr. Berenstein has been in clear violation of the rules that he was forced to accept over 2 months ago on multiple occasions, and therefore, it is due to these violations that my client, Mr. Hero will not help in the boosting of readership, and will not contribute his opinions until the situation is made right. Mr. Hero will not currently seek monetary damages, but does demand a formal apology from Mr. Berenstein and the proprietors of this website. Mr. Hero also demands that Mr. Berenstein be suspended from his authorial duties indefinitely, or until he issues the requested formal apology. If these demands are not met, and Mr. Hero's contractual agreements are continually infringed upon, we are prepared to file a breach of contract tort, in which we will undoubtedly win total control over 411mania.com, and garnish Mr. Berenstein's wages from the Department of Education of the City Of New York. If any of the parties named in this brief have any questions, please feel free to contact me, or one of my partners. Hopefully, this will not have to be dragged into court, but let me assure you that my client is more than willing to fund a protracted legal proceeding against you. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Mr. I. Fleecem, Esq.
Senior Partner, Conem, Fleecem, and Sue Attorneys at Law
…This has been Hero's Sandwich.
Well, of course it had to come down to this. My lawyer has advised me to stay quiet on this situation until we resolve the dispute through legal channels. However, I will say this. Mr. "Hero" promised physical violence first and I sought merely to defend myself against such heinous actions. Then he takes the coward's way out by using litigation as his weapon. I said I was ready for a drawn out legal proceeding and I am. So bring it on Mr. "Hero", I'm waiting. I'll see you in Brooklyn Supreme Court!
Honorarium
-The ROH Dedicated Edition-
-For the second month in a row, Boston was a very good crowd. They were into the show and stayed hot at the right times for most of the show. A bit quiet during the two main events, but for the most part they were enthusiastic about the product and that is important to consider in that Ring of Honor has confirmation that they should continue to tour in that area.
-The new trend for professional wrestlers is to demonstrate proper hand dexterity… that is, by flipping fans the middle finger. At least twice the new and improved camera system caught the wrestlers giving the one man salute. Davey Richards, cheered as a face in his match against Rocky Romero, did it when a fan—correction one fan—called the match boring. The rest of the crowd was there for them, but one fan calls the match boring while he holds a chinlock over Romero and there it is...hidden behind his front hand, but I caught it…tsk, tsk Davey. Homicide did it too during his match, when initially there was a great amount of support for him (In Boston no less, go figure!), but when one so called Hero fan made a disparaging remark towards him, there it was again. Shame, shame, ROH wrestlers, flipping the middle finger isn't very "professional" now, is it?
Next time some fan antagonizes you as a face, just give him the mental middle finger, not the actual one. Or imagine him in his mother's basement, playing Elder Scrolls and pretending not to care that he doesn't have a girlfriend. You'll feel much better that way…and still come off as a babyface to the rest of the crowd.
-This was the event that Daizee Haze took a hellacious bump and ended up with an egg-sized knot on her head. Boy was that one sick move after another she took in that match. She really gave her all in the six man tag match, including a manly bump, errr, make that a womanly bump, off Albright's German Suplex. …and the senton spot through the table? Sick. Give much respect to Haze for going through with it all.
-The improved audio and video system began to be implemented at this show and you could immediately tell the difference between this show and others. The show looks great, with far less white light shining on the wrestlers and the audio is 100 percent better. You could hear everything everyone said. ROH was true to their word in these improvements. Even better was that the wrestlers came through loud and clear both on the mic and off, so that when they made their entrance and smack talked to the mobile camera, you could hear every word, crystal clear. This lead to some great captures of comments from guys like Romero, Evans and Hero upon their entrances and during their matches. Chris Hero's match with Homicide for instance, plays off so much better when you can hear all his chicken heel antics and commentary.
-Jack Evans returned at this event and as soon as he came out, he addresses the camera and basically says that if you're an ROH newbie, you need to have your friend who is showing you the DVD to tell you about "the man, the myth, and the legend of Jack Evans." This was a priceless comment that was made even better by Jack immediately going into his break-dance routine inside the ring.
-It takes a lot to set up a one off match and make it seem important, and Sweeney and Hero did exactly that by jumping Homicide after his victory speech that began the DVD. Sweeney as the distraction was perfect and Hero just nailed this big boot into Homicide's face that looked brutal because it caught Homicide off-guard.
-The winner of the most pretentious entrance music since Steve Corino left goes to…Jason Blade. A fire truck siren playing over dramatic opera music is just way too much for anyone. Not to mention the fact that Blade is a very under card wrestler right now in ROH and the pretentiousness rises to hysterical lengths. This is not to say that Blade doesn't have the potential to break through, but most people wait until they actually do that before using showy entrance music.
-See, now Jimmy Rave's entrance music fits the man so well. "House of the Rising Sun" tells of a man corrupted by a house of ill repute until he is left with nothing. The song wraps around Rave's "sour milk" attitude and demeanor quite well.
-Homicide was very over in Boston, which blows away my mind, especially when considering his love for the New York Yankees. Yet, maybe its not so unbelievable that he was well received because I actually saw a guy in the crowd with a Yankees jersey on! This whole idea is so weird given that the next night in New Jersey the crowd was cold as ice for the 187 and yet New Jersey has often been the place where Homicide is very well received.
-I have to say I was so impressed with Homicide's reaction to being a champion and especially how J-Train supported him and the idea that they were the champions now. The enthusiasm that he shows with the newfound recognition that he is the champion, including a great quote when the fans showered him with streamers—"aw shit, we got streamers!" THIS is the enthusiastic baby face Homicide I have been waiting to see and something that could have been played off for a long while—being happy to be champion until someone gets a little too personal, hits a little too close to home and that's when the darker side of Homicide would have to come back.
-J-Train is very effective in his role here as manager and motivator. He energizes Homicide and keeps him focused on the goals at hand, reminding him that he is the champion now so he should "dictate the pace". Another great quote during the Hero match, "squeeze him like a pimple." The man should be put in a three way insult contest with Jim Cornette and Jerry "The King" Lawler.
Meanwhile, Chris Hero pulls a card out of the Bryan Danielson playbook by having ring announcer Bobby Cruise make a public announcement for the fans to behave themselves. His statement of "How can I perform up to my capabilities?" almost made me spit up my drink.
Later in the Homicide-Hero match, some fan defies death by flopping Hero's hair when he is down by the barricade and can't see. Homicide was raining down strikes on Hero so Hero was distracted and couldn't see how took a swipe at him. This fan was obviously a man with a death wish because Hero is renowned for shooting on people in the crowd who physically touch other wrestlers, much less himself. Sir, if you're out there reading this, you should be breathing a huge sigh of relief and patting your wallet because you don't have to pay for added medical expenses.
Let's face it; Hero was the man of the hour. It was the Chris Hero show. I don't say how anyone can call stalling "dull" when Hero is carrying on like he was...and with Larry Sweeney to play off to boot. This was pure heel shenanigans at its finest, and if people believe that is what made the match boring...well, I have to shake my head at that. You can criticize the match because Homicide wasn't given much offense to work with and there were a few moments where moves weren't so tight, but to slag the match for the opening five minutes of heel comedy is missing the point. Hero had to antagonize Homicide and J-Train enough to get them to fight back to win the match.
Don't consider the above an apology though, just being honest in my analysis.
-The Briscoes vs. Aries and Strong match was a bit of a mess and all considered probably a misfire. Too much back and forth, too sloppy and not as tight as other Briscoes matches during this timeframe. Back when it happened, I understood the idea was to put The Briscoes over strong with the two fall straight scenario, but with hindsight being twenty-twenty, I think Aries and Strong should have picked up a fall with the sick kick, wheelbarrow slam and 450 Splash combo. As it was the ending came off on video quite abrupt. Prazak was correct in describing the crowd as stunned by the finish—they were not expecting the ending at that point. I don't think that's a good thing at all. It was a bit of a downer to end the DVD, but overall I really did enjoy the show.
Don't Sleep On…
Everyone has been talking about the slew of incredible moments and matches from the Fifth Year Festival and all the great matches and angles coming up in March and April. However, with two new video releases right now from the month of January there are a few matches that are going to get lost in the shuffle when they really should be praised and observed. Here are a few of the matches that you shouldn't sleep on that took place before the Fifth Year Festival.
1/26--Davey Richards vs. Rocky Romero (ROH Dedicated): The opening match of 2007 is going to be pretty hard to overlook, since it will be the first match most ROH fans will watch on the Dedicated DVD. However, this match bears inclusion due to the intensity of the match and the memorable visuals of strike exchanges and body slams on the floor. Rocky takes a spectacular bump into the crowd after a sharp kick from Richards. There are heated exchanges of slaps and strikes in the crowd and its great to see Richards interplay with the amped up crowd. The fans are certainly appreciative of how close they are to the action. Also of note is Richards excellent selling of strikes and blows, especially to the head. He has this awesome glassy eye reaction to getting hit very hard. It's a bit different that the "heat" comes late in the match with the leg injury, but since that becomes a direct link leading to the finish I'm okay with it. Come to this match for the strikes, stay for the submission.
1/26 Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuiness (ROH Dedicated): Sure, everyone is looking forward to their much praised singles match from the 3/3 event in Liverpool, but don't forget that these two had their first match of the year on the Dedicated show. The match is very well done in its own right and it can work as a nice preamble to the Liverpool finale of the Joe-McGuiness series. Joe dominates the early part of the match with his strike oriented offense. Then Nigel finds an opening with the arm and exploits it. I'm not as big a fan of Nigel's arm work as other parts of his offense (i.e. the crazy lariats and such), so I wasn't exactly thrilled watching the first half of the match. However, the action picks up with a beautiful chain sequence that leads to a the reversal of the STJoe sequence (brought in from their match all the way back to The Future Is Now which leads to Nigel's great thrust kick. From there it's all aces, with the story becoming the now standard but nonetheless gripping question of "how much offense can Nigel take and keep coming back?" The answer will surprise you. I don't want to spoil anything, but looking back at it, the finish also surprisingly foreshadows the 2/16 encounter with Takeshi Morishima.
1/27 Aries, Strong & Evans vs. Delirious, SHINGO and Davey Richards (ROH Battle of the Icons): I was at this show live but unfortunately I don't remember all the details about the match. The one thing I can recall was that it was a very fun match and the wrestlers did a great job to keep it fun and to keep it moving. The other major thing I can remember is the great "six year old child" reaction Richards makes during the pose down sequence. Delirious and SHINGO do this goofy pose down and then Richards gets in on it. They shake their heads no at Richards and he gets this great look of sadness in him. Then he kicks the snot out of Jack Evans and Delirious and SHINGO come around on him and give him the thumbs up. Be sure to check this match out and keep it in your mind later in the year when tabulating the list of great matches of 2007.
ROH Preview: All Star Extravaganza III: 3/30/07—Detroit, MI
Let's get an early preview of the first night of action for Ring of Honor during the Wrestlemania weekend double shot. Both nights have been loaded with marquee and special attraction matches, so there is a lot of hype going into it and a lot of hope that these shows can compare to last year's vaunted double shot of Supercard of Honor and Better Than Our Best.
Michigan State Fairgrounds & Expo Center "Michigan Mart"
March 30th, 2007- 8:00pm belltime
1120 W. State Fair Ave.
Detroit, MI 48203
-The legendary Bruno Sammartino will be at the March 30th event only and he will be available for autographs!!!
My great idea would be to have every time Bruno makes an appearance, have all the ROH roster come out to pay their respects, and then someone gets into a fight with someone else over who gets to go backstage first. Do this EVERY TIME, with two new wrestlers each time and it would be one of the greatest running jokes ever. Or the most ludicrous, take your pick.
Eight Man All Star Dragon Gate Rules Match
Austin Aries, Delirious, Rocky Romero, & Claudio Castagnoli
vs.
CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, & Ryo Saito
Apparently the Dragon Gate team makes pretty decent sense for its current storylines. Meanwhile, it looks like Ring of Honor officials held some sort of raffle and picked its team out of a paper bag. Aries and Delirious actually have some history as they have fought CIMA back at Final Battle 2006. Romero and Claudio aren't natural fits, but heeeeey, they'll probably make for some good strike exchanges with the Dragon Gate team. This is a match where the winner isn't necessarily the most important so much as the action that occurs inside the ring bears out some exciting action.
World Tag Team Title Match
Naruki Doi & Shingo defend vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
Doi and Shingo scored what has to be considered a minor upset by unseating The Briscoes during the brothers' first defense of the titles. Not only do dem country boys have to suffer through that humiliation, but the Dragon Gate team can claim one more defense of the title than them. If Jay and Mark can't get the job done here, they may have to start their quest for the titles all over again from the bottom of the pack.
Former Partners Collide
Roderick Strong vs. Jack Evans
Jack didn't want this rivalry to escalate into violence, but the time for negotiations and treaties has long since passed. Now, Evans must fight his way to the top of this feud. To do that, he'll have to take on his former tag team partner and the current FIP Heavyweight champion. Strong will no doubt seek to target the legs and back of Evans in order to ground ROH's best high flier. Evans has his well known "rubber band" like limbs, and he is going to need to put them to the test like no other time before in order to survive the butt kicking Strong intends to put on him. Whether or not Strong will call on his fellow partner in the No Remorse Corps has yet to be seen, but Evans does have his new Muscle Outlawz partner in Naruki Doi on hand for this event. If push comes to shove, perhaps we see the Dragon Gate contingent make its mark on this match as well.
ROH vs. Dragon Gate
Davey Richards vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
I just recently watched a few videos off of Youtube featuring Mochizuki and I have been quite impressed. Mochizuki is a highly capable wrestler and someone who can match kicks with Davey Richards. I'd expect a "kick vs. kick" style match from these guys, ala Richards' match last summer against KENTA. This could get very intense and heated given both men's tempers and "never say die" attitude.
Special Attraction
Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide
What happens when you are told by TNA that you can't use certain wrestlers with any regularity? You put them against each other in a decent work rate match without much of a storyline. Okay, so these two did fight in a three way dance of ROH wrestlers who were on the original show, but other than that, there's not much heat to the pan. It should still be a finely wrestled match and will entertain the fans, but you get the feeling these two could and should be doing so much more right now than this.
Anything Goes Mixed Tag Team Match
BJ Whitmer & Daizee Haze vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Lacey
It says "Anything Goes", but what that really means is "which female wrestler is gonna get crippled during this one?" I mean, look at the body count: Lacey was spiked by Whitmer at Chicago Spectacular: Night Two. Mercedez Martinez nearly got her head ripped off by BJ Whitmer back at International Challenge and Jacobs and Albright played "Whack-a-Mole" with Daizee Haze's head at Dedicated. Shouldn't someone be pressing charges now? Where are the accusations of women beating by Vicki and Chavo Guerrero? Oh wait, wrong company.
Four Corner Survival
Matt Sydal vs. Colt Cabana vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney vs. Adam Pearce with Shane Hagadorn
This could be a lot of fun or a bit of a mess. Cabana is great with the comedy interaction and I'm sure Hero, Sweeney and Pearce will be more than willing to play along with it. Sydal is a bit of an interesting choice here because it makes for three heels, unless he backs down a bit from the overly cocky and petulant child act he has created for himself over the last few months. I'd say Chris Hero picks up the win here as he settles back into more regular competition for ROH, but I don't pick people who are pursuing legal action against me.
Plus: Nigel McGuinness, Brent Albright, Pelle Primeau, YAMATO & more!!!
Amazingly with a card this stacked, McGuinness and Albright aren't even booked for their official matches! Hell, just match them up against each other at this point. Pelle once crowd surfed in Detroit…can he do it again? The Magic 8-Ball says "highly unlikely."
Going Home
Ringtones
It's always great to hear from some of my regular readers and this week an email comes my way from Mark Kohn:
Hey Ari,
I have noticed that the WWE ring is much larger than ROH and TNA rings. I am
guessing the venue where the companies perform might be the main reason. As
ROH and TNA right now only perform in small capacity type venues, so there
is no space to use a ring the size, the WWE uses. During the two ROH shows
in England in 2006, the ring looked even smaller than normal.
My question is if ROH used a ring the size of the WWE would this improve,
worsen or not affect the quality of ROH wrestling?
Keep up the great work.
Mark
Hey Mark, you're partially right. Most independent companies use smaller rings than the WWE. They range anywhere between 16 X 16 feet (really small, mostly seen in England and Europe) 18 X 18 feet (medium) and 20 X 20 feet(WCW size). The smaller rings make the action as well as the wrestlers moves faster than WWE matches because there is less space to cover from one end of the ring to the other. This is also why when cruiserweights such as Rey Mysterio and Psychosis made the jump to WWE they often seemed a bit off, somewhat slower and less high flying than they were in their WCW prime. Therefore, if ROH jumped to WWE regulation size (22 X 22 feet) you'd most likely see a bit of a decrease in the quality of some matches, but most noticeable in scramble style matches or high spots. More technical and ground game matches would likely stay about the same.
Personally I tend to hate the really small rings (most often seen in England and Europe) as it just seems to me completely off from a visual perspective compared to here in America. But a ROH ring seems just right.
**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!
2007
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night One (Strong / Romero, CIMA / Cross, Deliirous / Generico, 8 Man Tag)
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 6 (MsChif / Melissa Last Woman Standing, Rebecca Knox / Allison Danger Pure Rules)
**PWG Hollywood Globetrotters (Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong and Jack Evans; Cape Fear (El Generico and Quicksilver) vs. Arrogance (Chris Bosh and Scott Lost); B-Boy vs. Frankie Kazarian; Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin.)
**PWG Beyond The Thunderdome (Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. AJ Styles and Chris Daniels); Cape Fear vs. Arrogance; Joey Ryan vs. Chris Sabin)
**PWG Enchantment Under The Sea (Cape Fear vs. Briscoes; Matt Sydal vs. B-Boy; Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. Arrogance; Austin Aries vs. Kevin Steen)
**wXw World Lightweight Tournament 2006 (Ares / Baron von Hagen, Pac / El Generico, Quackenbush / Roudin, 5 Way Tournament Match)
**ECWA Super 8 Tournament 2001 (Danielson / Low Ki, Danielson / Reckless Youth, Low Ki / Billy Fives, Danielson / Spanky)
**ROH FWA IPW:UK Frontiers of Honor 2 (Sydal / Richards, Cabana / Burridge, JC Thunder / Nigel McGuinness, Danielson / Brookside / Stone)
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night Two (Necro Butcher/Super Dragon, Hero/Horiguchi, Evans/Castagnolli)
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night Three (Generico / CIMA, Hero, Claudio, Necro, Romero / Cabana, Quicksilver, M-Dogg 20, Delirious, Generico / Sabin, Richards / Strong, Evans/ Horiguchi, Richards / CIMA) **Chikara The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance (Quackenbush / Akuma, Steel / Steel, Sweeney / Kingston, Hair vs. Mask: Jigsaw / Icarus) (NEW ADDITION)
**Chikara King of Trios Night One (Order of the Neo Solar Temple / Los Ice Creams, Miyawaki, Yago & KUDO / Iron Saints, Sweeny, Eliis and Ryder vs. Neo Solar Temple POSEDOWN, Shima Xion / Nobutaka Moribe) (NEW ADDITION)
Here we have a pair of Chikara DVD's for recommendation. First of all, The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance is a belated addition (I discussed the DVD a few months back). Now… oh boy…what do I say about this DVD?
If you are someone who wants to watch wrestling for the pure "workrate" factor, this is not the show for you. If you are not the type of fan who can get into the fact that an insect-like evil doer, a fat man in a skull mask, a narcissistic septuagenarian and a wrestling ape can all co-exist in the same universe, then this is not the show for you. If you like production values and a show that doesn't look like it was taped in your grandma's basement, then this is not the show for you.
However, if you are someone with a great sense of humor and a willingness to laugh at the ludicrous, then this DVD is for you. If you want to see some of the newer up and coming young wrestlers doing their thing, which oftentimes is quite cool, then this DVD is for you. And if you want to see the stiffest and hardest headbutt since Nigel McGuinness hit the post at Unified, then this DVD is for you.
If you like watching homosexual characters sodomize and practically rape non-consenting adults, then this DVD is also for you. If you would like to see the first wrestler with full out "bitch tits" who can work (I'm not even counting Kamala), then this DVD is also for you. And if you'd like to see a sixty year old man perform the sexy party dance, then this DVD is also for you.
This show is a combination of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the so goddamned terrifying you want to repress your memory after watching it.
Beginning the "new season" of the year for Chikara, King of Trios is a three night tournament that places sixteen teams of three men each (hence the word "trios", which means "tripod" in Spanish) in a battle to be, well, the king. Although I don't think the winners received crowns, so its sort of like those King of the Ring tournaments that took place during the years when it wasn't cool to put the cape and tiara on.
Anyway, there is so much going on during this DVD besides the tournament action—maybe a bit too much considering the length of the show and the cast of millions. I guess this means you do get some value for your money, because you get the most diverse ensemble cast since "Cop Rock."
Even before the matches begin, there is the "Hydralock" Challenge brought to you by that hysterically insidious insectoid Ultramantis Black and his man monster Hydra. Ultramantis calls in the "hydraulic" challenge (possibly to avoid potential lawsuits from one Chris Hero, uh I mean Chris Masters). Who takes the challenge but the sixty plus year old Robbie Ellis! Things get suspicious though when Ellis cries out that he has not been paid enough to do the jobsky, which brings out Ellis's partners in "Sweet and Sour" Larry Sweeney (working as a babyface tonight and doing a great job at that) as well as Mitch Ryder (but without the Detroit Wheels). This grudge dispute can only be settled one way—a POSEDOWN! More hilarity ensues and you just have to see it to believe and to enjoy.
Nick Marsico was right. Los Ice Creams are awesome. You have to just appreciate their dedication to the gimmick, as well as the appropriate names of their trademark maneuvers. The Ice Cream Sandwich, for instance, is just flat out awesome. Of course their entrance music is exactly what you would expect—the ice cream truck music. Faaaaaantastic!
2.0 (Jagged and Shane Matthews) fights Shanesaw (Shane Storm and Jigsaw) in a non tournament tag match. The match isn't all that great shakes, but Shane Matthews and Jagged do display a ton of charisma. I was thoroughly entertained by their heel antics and they could make a great wacky pair of characters on a sitcom.
Things go WAAAAAY left of center when Dino and American Balloon make their Chikara entrance. Dino is a gay wrestler who's deal is to feel up and pat down as many fans and wrestlers as he can during his match. Oh, but it gets better (or worse, depending on how you look at it) as this guy's trademark move…is to KISS his opponents (oh yes!) and therefore put them to sleep (because they can no longer breath in any oxygen, I guess). He also tries to sodomize his opponents at every turn (oh yes!), which leads some very excruciatingly awkward moments for poor KUDO. Then we have American Balloon, certainly not the fattest big man who ever wrestled, but he has one thing that others did not…bitch tits! Not only that, but his entire gimmick AND his offense is based around that very fact. Yes, let that sink in for a while.
So overall, the Miyawaki, Yago and KUDO vs. Team DDT match may be one to miss, or to see, depending on how you look at things. I know that I almost lost my lunch several times during this match, but the fans in attendance for the show seemed to get a big kick about it.
Now that I've grossed you out, let me try to get things back on course by discussing some of the other highlights from the show. Miyawaki, Yago and KUDO continue to impress in matches. KUDO has this awesome Tony Jaa like flying double knee from the top rope, which just needs to be seen to be believed Yago has a great Scott Hall like leather vest (and similar body structure) and has some of the hardest punches and strikes I have seen in quite a while. Finally, Miyawaki does this tremendously sickening but awesome headbutt onto one of the Iron Saints (Thomaselli brothers) in the KOT tournament quarterfinal. They show several replays of the move, including one without commentary and the thud you hear of skull to skull contact just has to be seen to be believed.
I haven't seen many Shima Xion matches in a while, but I was very impressed with his improvement in the ring. He's developed his body a bit and slowed down his movements in the ring enough so that every move he does has a lot of meaning behind it. He also demonstrated some funky cool new maneuvers out of a head scissors and arm drag positions. Things are coming along nicely for him.
Sad to say I don't see altogether that much in Ricochet just yet. I've seen him wrestle a handful of matches including taking a sneak peak at Night Three of the Trios Tourney when he fought Claudio Castagnoli in what was a highly touted match. In that match he did some incredibly cool high flying matches, but he also killed himself two times (which is two times too many) included when he crashed and burned and landed right on his neck. I won't deny his flying abilities, but at this point he has a lot to learn. He needs a ton of work on psychology and body awareness and he needs to slow down enough so that he doesn't break his body in half.
This was also the first time I was able to see anything at all from Chuck Taylor, who of all people sounds and acts like Jon Heder in Napoleon Dynamite. His comedy heel act is a nice interplay with Akuma and Icarus, who are the deadly serious members of The Kings of Wrestling. I haven't seen enough in the ring to make a judgment (his time in the ring during the two KOW matches was limited) but for now he gets a thumbs up from me.
So overall, if you're into some good comedy and want to be entertained, you'd do fine picking this and the other two King of Trios shows up from smartmarkvideo.com. It's not the greatest five star matches you'll ever see, but it's worth the money regardless. I'll get to the other two nights in future editions of the column.
If YOU (yes, YOU!) would like to contribute your own additions to the Indy Buy In list, contact me and let your voice be known!
ROH @ 411 This Week
J.D. Dunn finished up his run of shows collectively known as "The Summer of Punk" with the current MMA loving punker's curtain call in ROH Punk: The Final Chapter…well, you know, until he made another curtain call in February of 2006.
Garoon and Ziegler review the Thanksgiving double shot of Black Friday Fallout and Dethroned, both of which in themselves could be considered entire shows that you shouldn't sleep on.
Samuel Berman goes back in time to Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles in the Independent Mid Card, for the first time, for all time…well…not quite so much. Their match would get better than this, but it was decent enough regardless.
Sat and Uncle Trunx go High Road / Low Road for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Stuart Carapola proved his own manliness big time in the staff forums (500 pound bench press…no lie! Oh yeah, he did something else quite impressive.). He also extols the manly virtues of getting bit by a snake while managing to stay Macho…Man, in That Was Then: True Feats of Manliness. Also check out Friendly Competition for this week's update on TNA and ECW.
Like Tony Schivone at the end of Monday Nitro, we've totally and completely run out of time folks! I'll be back next week, with results from the first ROH show from Detroit, MI and a preview for the second night. Enjoy your weekend everyone.
