Column of Honor: 05.12.07
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 05.12.2007
American Dragon flies again. Will honor be earned tonight? Also, a look at last night’s ROH “Reborn Again” card and why ROH is leaving itself open during this new era of honor.
Welcome everybody and hello again.
Right now I'm sick as a dog. Allergy season has reared its ugly head and is kicking my ass, big time. On top of that I came down with a cough and a sore throat, so triple whammy there. Needless to say that like Edge last night, I cashed in my own proverbial Money in the Bank by using a sick day from work to recuperate. I'm not all that much better, but there is no way in hell I am missing attending tonight's show in Manhattan. The first Ring of Honor Pay Per View is here and you'd have to pull off some of my limbs before I'd consider not attending the show. Don't get any bright ideas now.
So you'll have to forgive me though if this column is short on original writing. It's a lot of copy and paste and news reporting this week, but that will happen when there is so much to report about. Now excuse me as I sneeze into this tissue.
Son of the Return of the Dragon
Two years and three days ago, "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson walked out of ROH and "quit" the company when he failed to win the ROH World title, at the time held by Austin Aries.
Danielson took four months off and came back with a vengeance, winning the ROH World title in his first match back (from James Gibson). Danielson went on to have an epic year and four months long title run. However, in August of 2006, wrestling a two out of three falls match against contender Colt Cabana, Danielson separated his shoulder.
It was a serious injury that Danielson should have immediately taken time off and perhaps undergone surgery to repair the damage. However, Danielson was needed as champion. His program was about to run headlong into Homicide's quest for the ROH World Title, which had been building up for several months and was clearly an important moment in ROH history.
Danielson grinned and bore out the next four months of injury and pain. He dropped the title in Manhattan in front of Homicide's very partial hometown crowd. One of ROH's most anticipated title changes in history had just occurred. Danielson did what was needed of him.
Now Ring of Honor sets out on its new era, an era that now includes pay per view and does not include many of its more wrestlers well known talent roster. ROH finds itself needed the American Dragon once again and maybe now more than ever.
Danielson took a few months off to rest and rehab his injured shoulder. He did not opt to have surgery and thus came back to the squared circle, much faster than fans anticipated. While ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky had it right on target when he set Danielson's return for May, Danielson had been wrestling frequently throughout the month of April, doing extensive tours for Pro Wrestling NOAH over in Japan. He came out on the winning side during those matches more times than not.
Now, in a manner very similar to the events of two years previous, Danielson is returning, out of the blue, back to his home promotion. The Dragon has returned and is breathing fire once again.
ROH currently has less than a stacked deck of roster talent, and Danielson is one of the few original main event players who are still with the company. He was in the main event of the first ROH show, Era of Honor Begins, and he remains one of the most credible main event level talents ROH has on staff. Danielson claims to be "The Best Wrestler in the World." He can back it up with his incredible talent in the ring. He is no doubt one of the top notch technical wrestlers currently working inside a squared circle. However, he is much more—he is a very good striker, a good brawler and he can even go to the air and perform death defying moves when needed.
Danielson found a very nice persona on the microphone during 2006, mixing arrogance about his talent ability with a fire and a steady voice unseen in years previous. The stick work really came together for Dragon and it has proven invaluable in pushing angles and storylines. His antagonism of Samoa Joe, for instance, gave new life to a rivalry that had been longstanding and stable for many years.
The best thing about Danielson right now is that he can play both the face and the heel roles so well. This will be invaluable for the next year as Ring of Honor sets to introduce its product to as many new wrestling fans as possible. He can convince anyone to hate him with his cockiness or make anyone believe in him when he demonstrates his steadfast determination to stand up for what is right. Above all else, Danielson wants to prove that he is what he says he is—the best in the world.
Now that he is the flagship of Ring of Honor, the ball is in his court to do exactly that.
As ROH heads into its first pay per view card without a signed match, the one thing for certain is that The Dragon has returned. His opponents better respect him in the ring, or else they should be prepared to get their heads kicked in.
ROH Results: "Reborn Again", Hartford, CT 5/11/07
Matches
-Jimmy Rave defeated Pelle Primeau via submission with the heel hook.
-Daizee Haze defeated Nikki Roxx.
-Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated Jason Blade and Eddie Edwards
-Claudio Castagnoli defeated Bobby Fish
-"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson defeated Shane Hagadorn via tap out.
-"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson defeated Adam Pearce via tap out.
-No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, and Rocky Romero defeated "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and The Resilience of Erick Stevens and Matt Cross. Richards pinned Cross.
-Tank Toland defeated Mitch Franklin.
-Naomichi Marufuji defeated Matt Sydal.
-KENTA defeated Delirious.
-ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes retained their titles by defeating BJ Whitmer and ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima. Mark Briscoe pinned BJ Whitmer
Live Results and Impressions
Thanks to dedicated CoH reader Paul for sending in these results and thoughts from last night's show: He's got your look at all the angles and issues that took place during this show.
Pre Show
a) Bobby Dempsey & Rhett Titus over Alex Payne & Ernie Osiris
b) Mitch "A For Effort" Franklin over Nick Steele
(I forgot, so I stole them off the ROH forums :) )
Main Show:
They announce Nigel has a bad back and can't wrestle. I spoke with him a bit during intermission and he said he's seeing a doctor tomorrow to see if he can get clearance. He was sitting at the merch table and he looked fairly upset and in a pretty good amount of pain. If he works tomorrow, he's a trooper.
BJ Whitmer then came out and offered to be Morishima's partner. Whitmer had Chris hero level heat. It started with our section, but by the end of the match the whole place was booing him. Briscoes then came out and called Whitmer out on it, then beat him down and Morishima makes the save with a back drop driver.
Jimmy Rave beat Pelle Primeau with the heel hook. Surprising reaction for Rave as he got a pretty good pop.
Daizee Haze beat Nikki Roxx. Pretty good shimmer match. Sara Del Ray comes out after the match and says "good win kiddo", pats Daizee on the head, and walks out. People were really confused by this.
Steen and Generico beat Eddie "Die Hard with a Vengeance" Edwards and Jason Blade with a Brainbuster from Generico Really entertaining match with the local guys getting some decent time to show their stuff. Generico cut his back and looked to be in a bit of pain. Steen and Generico were ridiculously over.
Claudio beat Bobby Fish. For me and the rest of the crowd, this was the most fun we had all night. They had 10 minutes or so, and we kept throwing out every single fish joke we could possibly think of. It then came to the point where any time Fish did anything, we yelled out "FISH!" and began dueling with the Claudio "heeeeeeeeeeys". Absolute comedy as during a high spot, we yell out "FLYING FISH!" This will make for an amazing DVD match.
Final countdown hits and its Shane Hagadorn pretending to be Danielson in a robe. I could tell it was him as I saw his boots, but most people didn't notice until he got in the ring. He and Pearce toy with the crowd and call out Danielson.
Danielson beats Shane Hagadorn with an armbar type submission. God I loved every minute of this. Watching Dragon beat the hell out of Hagadorn is worth the price of admission alone. Pearce jumps Danielson after the squash and apparently Dragon was in a gauntlet and we weren't told.
Danielson beats Adam Pearce with a knee type submission. Another basic squash, but WAIT! IT'S NOT OVER YET! The No Remorse Corps comes out and Roderick offers Dragon a spot and of course, Dragon turns them down. No real surprise there. Resilience comes out and we have yet another impromptu match!
NRC beats the resilience and Danielson when Davey Richards used a butterfly brainbuster (I think) Good match but for some reason, Dragon wasn't even tagged in. If you're going to put him in this match, why not at least use him? Either way, the crowd rode Davey and Roderick pretty hard as expected. Nothing really special to note.
Tank Tolland beat Mitch Franklin in a squash.Only thing of note was someone realizing Tolland looked like a more buff version of Bobby Fish and then realized we could team then and call them "Fish Tank". Good times folks, good times.
Marufuji over Sydal with a Sliced Bread (Ari's Note: when Marufuji does it, it's called the Shiranui!). Match of the Night for me. Pretty fast paced with a bunch of high spots. Some good technical wrestling in the middle part of the match. It had a great pace and as expected, they had tremendous chemistry.
KENTA (GOTTA CAPITALIZE!) over Delirious with GO2SLEEP! Another great match. Delirious played the comedy great by yelling at KENTA saying "NO KICKS!" It was pretty funny. After about 7-10 minutes of it, they got serious and put on a really great back and forth match.
Briscoes over Morishima / Whitmer when Mark hit the shooting star press and then Jay covered Whitmer. I was shocked at how much heat Whitmer had. This place just genuinely did NOT like him. They went so far as to give Morishima a standing ovation when he accidentally clotheslined Whitmer (which led to the finish of a jay driller followed by a SSP). The crowd was riding him really hard.
Overall, it was a great show, with a mixed crowd reaction. Place was pretty full being setup for anywhere between 400-500. I'd say 400 is a good number (we had about 500 seats setup). The crowd was a typical CT crowd as we cheer for and boo whoever the hell we want. We cheered Rave and booed Whitmer. Crowd was kind of quiet at times, but I think it wore itself by the time the show ended. Overall, it was a great show and they said they'd be back August 24th.
Column of Honor Analysis:
Honor, We Have A Problem—Two, Actually.
1) Nigel's Back Injury / Whitmer in the Main Event: Depending on the extent of this injury, this could be a minor bug in the system or a major, major problem. Nigel is one of the major players in this new ROH and without him, there will be a definite hole left in the upper card. This also exposes a major problem that can really hurt Ring of Honor in the next year or so: injuries to its contracted talent. ROH has taken a risk by signing a definitive money contract to several of its wrestlers, which is a great thing all things considered…unless that person becomes injured. Then the contract becomes money committed and the ability to replace the talent with another high level talent comes into question. Nigel was in the main event on the 5/11 show and by all account would have played a major role on the pay per view, also perhaps in the main event. While Nigel may yet perform tonight, he is a question mark for the show. If other wrestlers go ddown and out for the count due to an injury, there isn't that deep a talent reserve to go to as substitutions. What happens (and hopefully not) if Danielson's shoulder is reinjured? If Roderick Strong sustains a concussion? If Mark actually succeeds in killing himself with a Shooting Star Press? Yes these are worst case scenarios, but ROH officials and fans should be very concerned about them. ROH stuck its neck out with the PPV announcement and TNA cut them off from booking their talent. While many believe ROH can go without them, the name value of the TNA talent cannot be denied. It won't be easy for casual (or even hardcore) fans to accept, say, Erick Stevens substituting for Bryan Danielson in a main event situation. The injury to McGuinness is a wake up call to everyone out there that ROH is not where it used to be as far as its roster depth.
Nigel's replacement for the 5/11 show, BJ Whitmer, is a source of controversy. He is the definite next generation Tommy Dreamer. He puts his body on the line, but he gets heckled and disrespected by a section of fans because they don't buy him as legitimate. Whitmer in my opinion is one of the weakest promos out there, but as far as in the ring, he has proven himself, albeit in a very niche type of match. When fans check out the falls count anywhere match vs. Jacobs from the Fifth Year Festival: Finale, people are going to go crazy with praise and superlatives. However, that is indeed where Whitmer's strength lies—hardcore matches and grudge feuds. I still can't buy BJ Whitmer as a main event talent, and quite frankly, neither can many others, no matter how hard he is pushed to be as such. His title matches, against Samoa Joe in 2003 and Takeshi Morishima in 2007, were less than spectacular and represented some of the weakest outings in the runs of each respective champion. The Hartford, CT fans turned on Whitmer when he was clearly positioned in a baby face role and that is no surprise to me. I'd probably expect that to happen anywhere
2) The Weak First Half Under card: While early show reports rate this as a fun, above average show, my concern (aside from the changed main event) resides in the first four matches on the card. Rave in a squash match, a SHIMMER match, a match with Eddie Edwards and Jason Blade and Claudio in a squash match. This is a very weak, weak under card on paper. Yes, the under card is not as important as the upper card and main event (for obvious reasons) but when the main event has been changed, you have to look towards other reasons to justify a purchase of the DVD and that comes through the under card. Past the entertainment of yelling "Fish!" out during a Bobby Fish match, the lack of depth of the roster has yet again been exposed. While I have no doubt that the booking will combine these talents into great matches for the larger shows, including the New York stops, it could put a major crimp into the "B" level shows such as Connecticut, Dayton and the like.
Am I overlooking Danielson's return? Marufuji and KENTA back on the cards in marquee matches? No, not at all. Obviously these are going to be the selling points to purchase this DVD. All three of these men (and their various opponents) came through as needed. However, Danielson had to pull triple duty tonight. Doing this repeatedly is not smart. It would be similar to letting Andy Pettite throw for three straight games on a starting pitcher depleted New York Yankees team. Also, if Marufuji and KENTA had not been booked on the show, the quality of the upper card might have been affected more definitively. That said, things are not as bleak as all that. I'm not going to go all "Chicken Little" or "The Apocalypse is Happening Today!" However, this is something to keep an eye on in the future.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 05/12/2007
ROH World Champion—Takeshi Morishima (champion since 02/17/07, 6 successful defenses)
Next Defense:: ?
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)
V.3 defeated Nigel McGuinness via pinfall / backdrop driver (4/14/07 Edison, NJ)
V.4 defeated Austin Aries via pinfall / backdrop driver (4/27/07 St. Paul, MN)
V.5 defeated SHINGO via pinfall / backdrop driver (4/28/07 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.6 defeated KAZMA via pinfall / backdrop driver (05/06/07 Tokyo, Japan)
ROH World Tag Team Champions— Jay and Mark Briscoe (champions since 03/30/07, 3 successful defenses)
Next Defense: ?
V.1 Ultimate Endurance: defeated Pelle Primeau & Mitch Franklin, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw, Hallowicked & Gran Akuma (4/27/07 St. Paul, MN)
V.2 defeated Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) (4/28/07 Chicago, IL)
V.3 defeated BJ Whitmer and ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima (5/11/07, Hartford, CT)
ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
Notes from the Observer
Like the title says, here are some notes from Dave Meltzer and the Wrestling Observer, commenting on some of the fallout from ROH's decision to run Pay Per View:
Samoa Joe has been booked to return in August and October to challenge current ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima. These plans were scrapped in the wake of the move to PPV.
Many fans had speculated that Joe would be back later in the year to make special appearances and fight Morishima in a rematch, as well as some other NOAH wrestlers. Mistuharu Misawa has even been rumored to make an appearance for ROH, fighting Joe in a huge match in New York later in 2007.
TNA has been okay with ROH's decision and was going to let talent appear on ROH shows (just not on PPV), that is until they read the contract and saw the plans for expanded growth, DVD and merchandise sales. TNA then pulled the plug as they consider them competition now.
Not all that much a surprise here. It was ROH's choice to forgo booking the TNA talent instead of booking them for the (non televised) undercard. However, it was inevitable that TNA would have eventually ended that agreement as well. Now ROH has to go with that decision, for better or for worse.
Austin Aries (Starr) will probably leave TNA, but TNA might renew his contract and thus force Aries from returning to ROH.
The worst thing in the world is to force someone to work where they don't want to work. Yet, to use another sports comparison, if TNA let Austin Aries go to ROH after his numerous complaints about the product, it would be like the Oakland Raiders letting Randy Moss go to the New England Patriots after his boisterous complaining and antics during the course of the post season. Why reward bad behavior by allowing the complainer to go elsewhere? It doesn't make sense from a business standpoint. Hopefully, something can be done from a business standpoint in the negotiation of a contractual release. I'm sure all parties involved would be better off.
Pro Wrestling NOAH is happy that ROH is on PPV and "has given its blessings."
Of course, NOAH wrestlers on American PPV only helps their cause that much more. With KENTA, Marufuji and Morishim all set to be featured prominently on the show, this is a win situation for NOAH.
The Briscoes and Nigel McGuinness were contacted by TNA last week, but were signed to ROH contracts.
Too little, too late guys. Nigel had a brief cup of coffee with TNA in the form of a tryout match against Sharkboy a year or so ago, but nothing was ever followed up on that. And again, this goes to show you how cutthroat the world of professional wrestling can really be. ROH is going to have to be very vigilant with its contract situations so that one year from now they don't lose their guys to seductive offers from the likes of TNA or WWE.
Along with Danielson, McGuinness, The Briscoes, Strong and Richards, Jimmy Rave has been confirmed to being signed to an ROH contract.
15 is the new number of wrestlers signed to contracts, although all their names have not been revealed as yet (we played the guessing game last week).
Homicide Comments on ROH / TNA
This in from the recap of an interview of "The Notorious 187" by the Monday Night Mayhem radio show crew:
Homicide wanted to clear the air & the entire situation, as to how it will be affecting him in the near future (as he himself said, "he was going to bite is tongue for no one")...He spent the past few days leading into his interview with The Mayhem doing a lot of reflecting, especially what he did in his time in Ring Of Honor. He feels that if ROH does well with their PPV's, they have the potential to get some form of television. For five years, he competed with ROH, the independent company. With their move, things are much different for them now as an entity. His current contract says he is with TNA, but he would like to have ONE more match in Ring Of Honor, with a strong possibility of this Saturday night in New York City -- without the cameras & not on Pay-Per-View. His preference of a match: himself & BJ Whitmer vs. The Briscoe Brothers -- the other three being "the most underrated guys in the world." He does not blame TNA for this decision at all whatsoever. From a business perspective, they are "making the right move." He is "bummed out" now, but hoes to get a call sometime in the coming hours to make some sort of appearance for Ring Of Honor -- even if it's a farewell speech. If he does come back down the road, he will "give some hell to that company." You never know what might happen in the future.
How awesome would a farewell speech or even a farewell match be tonight in New York? It would be a great surprise and a treat for his hometown and his ROH fans. That said, I don't put much stock in this being more than one wrestler's pipe dream. Unless TNA is willing to do some public relations repair with the ROH fans by allowing Homicide onto the card and unless Gabe is willing to do it (and thus take some of the attention off of his new direction), this will not happen.
Shelley Says Goodbye, In His Own Way
Alex Shelley, currently of TNA wrestling, found a very clever and entertaining way to say goodbye to Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, two of his frequent independent stops over the last several years. He blogged it out.
Seriously, this may be one of the coolest ways a wrestler has said goodbye to a company and Shelley certainly has shown he has a way with words. His general conceit is to treat the departures as if he were breaking up with a girl. Genius. Shelley reminisces about all the good times and a few of the ups and downs in each promotion. He comes across as very grateful for the opportunities that each promotion had given him, including wrestling dream matches.
Shelley is either crazy or he doesn't care about the repercussions from TNA about the upbeat manner or positive comments he gives to each promotion. You'd think his current "girl", so to speak, might become a bit jealous based on all the sweet talk he put down on his former paramours ROH and PWG. Shelley has never been one for playing other's games at backstage politics—he does things his own way.
Talented Talent to Display Their Talent Matt Sydal has been added to 6/8 in Boston and 6/9 in Philadelphia.
The updated talent rosters for 6/22 in Dayton and 6/23 in Chicago have been released. Matches will be announced next week although we already know that Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA will take place in Chicago. Signed for both Dayton and Chicago are: ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima; ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe; Bryan Danielson; KENTA; Naomichi Marufuji; Nigel McGuinness; Kevin Steen & El Generico; BJ Whitmer; Brent Albright; Lacey with Jimmy Jacobs; Adam Pearce with Shane Hagadorn; Jimmy Rave; No Remorse Corps of Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero; Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney & Tank Toland; Jimmy Rave; Delirious; Matt Sydal; The Resilience of Erick Stevens & Matt Cross; plus more to be added!!!
Here's a look into the future of ROH's roster. Now, previous comments about talent roster aside, this looks like a damn good lineup. Barring injuries and other commitments, ROH may not be in such a bad place after all.
Hero's Sandwich
Once again, I, Chris Hero welcome you to the best part of this miserable column, I welcome you to the Hero's Sandwich. This week's missive will be short and sweet, as I am in a horrible mood. This week I will air my grievances against Ring Of Honor. The list is ever growing; as I seem to be getting short shrifted each and every week by the management of ROH, and it is about time that they know how I feel about them. In addition, all of the points that I will make here this week will be immediately forwarded to Mr. Cary Silkin and Mr. Gabe Sapolsky so that they can understand my current position. If my points are ignored, I will be forced to seek a legal remedy to solve my current situation. Let the facts speak for themselves.
1. I have been repeatedly left off of this year's major shows. Yes, it is true that I have had other major bookings, all around the world, but I have been made to feel as if I am unwanted by the owners and operators of ROH.
2. I have not been offered one of the 15 full time, guaranteed contracts by the ownership of ROH Wrestling. How can I, Chris Hero, not be the number one choice on the list? I am an internationally recognized superstar who brings a legion of loyal supporters with him to every show. Chris Hero means money. Chris Hero puts asses in seats. Wake up and smell the coffee.
3. Because Chris Hero means money, it's incomprehensible that I would be left off the card for the very first ROH Pay Per View event taping. Do they want to go down in flames? Is Cary trying to go on a one way trip to bankruptcy court? A show of that magnitude needs Chris Hero. A city of like New York begs for Chris Hero. Pay Per View was made for Chris Hero. Who will they be showcasing on this PPV? Morishima? What a fat slob. McGuinness? What a hack. Danielson? Who even cares about that has been anymore? This oversight on the part of the ownership of ROH is unconscionable, and must be rectified as soon as possible.
4. I am no longer the highest paid wrestler in ROH. That is a blatant violation of the contract that Larry Sweeney negotiated for me a few months back. They have also taken away my private dressing room. That is the straw that broke the camels back.
5. That goof Mike Quackenbush has gotten additional bookings, while I haven't. What's wrong with this picture? I have beaten Quackenbush a thousand times, and they choose to use him instead of me? What are they thinking?
6. Claudio's short haircut. If you haven't seen it just yet, it's an atrocity in and of itself. We all knew he was a Swiss Idiot, but now, he looks like a dog with a shaved ass. And how did HE get a full time ROH contract? He is such a lesser talent that yours truly. A crime against humanity I tell you.
7. ROH will not be able to give HOMO-cide and Chris Daniels a fair send off. Oh, wait, I actually agree with that one. See, TNA is actually good for SOMETHING.
8. ROH would rather use imported talents than real American talents like me. I am light years better than KENTA and Marufuji. I would dominate any of the Dragon Gate midgets 6 days a week, and twice on Sunday for good measure. And Morishima? We all know that he's just plain ducking me and that ROH is letting this happen.
If you don't understand my point of view at this point, you're either a mental midget, an ROH apologist, or just plain blind. Its about time that ROH realize what they have in Chris Hero, and that if they're not careful, I might just have to take my ample talents elsewhere, and in turn, single-handedly cause the downfall of ROH wrestling. It's up to you, ROH and ROH-bots. It's also up to you, Hero-ites. Make a big stink. Boycott ROH live shows. Ignore the July 1st PPV. Do whatever it takes, and force ROH to put me back on the card. And on that note, I will take my leave for another week. This has been your moment of enlightenment. This has been your Hero's Sandwich. And for all you Hero-ites, do as Bob Marley said "Get up. Stand up. DON'T GIVE UP THE FIGHT." Hero-ites, you know exactly what I mean. Until next week, sayonara, suckers!
…This Has Been Hero's Sandwich.
ROH Preview: RESPECT IS EARNED—5/12/07, Manhattan, NY
7:30 pm belltime
Manhattan Center (Grand Ballroom)
311 West 34th St.
New York, NY 10001
(212) 279-7740
The first pay per view is here and the hype is on full swing. But don't forget the fact that this is all going down in my hometown of New York, NY and ROH has never run a bad show here. Hell, they've never run anything except for a "very good" show anywhere in this city over the last two and half years. Two years ago, ROH ran its very first event in this big wrestling town. Some of you may have heard of it; it was called Manhattan Mayhem. That show became one of the most talked about shows in the history of ROH and one of the most purchased shows due to its quality.
Can ROH bring the goods again? They have a changing, somewhat depleted roster, but for all the things that have happened over the last few weeks, I do think they can still have a great show. A bang up show. They have always delivered here. Now, they need to deliver just as much as and even more so than when they first showed up in the Big Apple.
Around the corner from the Hotel New Yorker, where it all began for ROH in New York, it all begins again. The Manhattan Center has gone three for three as far as hosting huge, must see and must buy shows. Now ROH has to do it all over again.
********
There is no official card for tonight's show. However, I thought I would take a fun and different tact and give my own prognostications for tonight's card. Here are my predictions and a bit of reasoning behind each one. Next week, we'll see how right on (or how horribly wrong) I actually was in booking the card.
ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima II
-This one seems obvious enough given previous booking. McGuinness lost to Morishima at the Edison, New Jersey show but it was a close one, with Nigel giving the champion a hell of an effort. Nigel asked for a rematch and his track record should qualify him well enough to get it. To main event the Pay Per View we need a really good one on one match up, and these two can bring that to the table. ROH would be able to feature both of these men, their top men, in a prominent role. I wouldn't expect the title change in this rematch, but perhaps Nigel could win the belt down the line in a final match against the big man from Japan. Nigel's back injury places this prediction in question. Hopefully he can work through the injury and tough out what should be one of his shining moments in his ROH career.
ROH World Tag Titles: The Briscoes vs. KENTA / Marufuji
-If ROH wants to highlight its great tag team matches on the debut show, well then it just has to put two of the greatest tag teams of the 21st century together one more time for this tag title match. As the story goes, KENTA and Marfuji are long time tag partners in NOAH, at one time dominating the Junior tag division. While they have gone their separate ways in singles wrestling over in Japan, they remain booked together as a team right here in ROH. They are a cohesive unit, utilizing excellent timing and double team strikes in order to get the advantage. The tag champions are no slouches either. Jay and Mark do absolutely whatever it takes to get the job done. When these two teams last fought at Glory By Honor V Night 1, it was to settle a score between KENTA and The Briscoes. KENTA and Marufuji won that encounter. Now this match, should it take place, would be about competition and the tag team titles.
Bryan Danielson vs. Rocky Romero
-These two last fought back at Steel Cage Warfare and it was a very good match that showed these two could mesh well in style. That encounter mixed in strikes and submissions, with Dragon ultimately using the half crab for submission (as a call out to special guest Lance Storm). Returning to action after a several month's absence, Danielson needs someone he can pair off against in a competitive match on the PPV in order to demonstrate his talent and get him ready for another run at the main event (not immediately, but soon). Luckily enough, last night in Hartford, Danielson got into it with the No Remorse Corps. Romero just happens to be a part of said group. Therefore I'd say this match just became that much more likely.
Delirious and Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong and Davey Richards
-Delirious still has a grudge against the No Remorse Corps for the massive head trauma he sustained at Fifth Year Festival: Philly. Stevens wants revenge for the power bomb to the guardrail he sustained at the hands of the NRC back in Edison. The rest of the NRC need a match, so let's put them all together and have a heck of a grudge fight.
BJ Whitmer vs. Brent Albright
-Unresolved issues between these two? A "Tables Are Legal" match seemed to deal with that, but such violence and chaos deserves one more encore, in the very city where these two have done their dirtiest to each other. They have thrown each other through tables, but no on Pay Per View. Let these two fight it out one more time and show the world how good these guys can be against the other.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tank Tolland (w/ Larry Sweeney)
-The Claudio-Sweeney-Hero triangle seems to have fizzled out and quite frankly I don't know why, considering there is so much that can be done with it. If I'm booking, its time to kick start that issue back up and there's no better way to do it than to send Hero's personal trainer after the "Most Money Making Man" to "warm him up" for Hero. Say with a few kicks to the head and a powerslam for good measure. Of course, super agent to the stars, "Sweet n Sour" Larry Sweeney will be there to oversee quality control.
Throw in a few more undercard matches ( with Rave, Steen & Generico and Pearce) along with a SHIMMER match (Sara Del Rey will be in attendance) and you've got a hell of a jam packed card. After tonight, Will I be Nostradamus or NO-stradamus?
Going Home
Ringtones
Dan has some criticism over one of my comments last week that Cary Silkin is a better businessman than Paul Heyman
I disagree with your assessment about Cary Silkin and Paul Heyman. Back in the 1990's, UFC and Extreme Fighting were being banned across the country. Only WWF and WCW were on Pay Per View, ECW was being compared to UFC, and could not get on ppv. Silken is one of hundreds today. Women's Extreme Wrestling, Carmen Elektra's Naked Women Wrestling, Japan Hardcore Wrestling, the list goes on and on.
But back in 1995, 96, and 97, taped pay per views were not accepted. Only live ones were getting on the air. And they weren't accepting ECW.
Heyman paved the way for everyone else. And he did in an environment in which both WWF and WCW were far more powerful than WWE and UFC are today. Neither Vince nor Bischoff wanted Heyman on ppv. ROH's ppv deal is a 6 week tape delay, 2 hour show. So are all the others.
Heyman broke new ground, changed the entire industry. As for the bankruptcy, I think Heyman lasted a lot longer than anyone else would have. TNA has lost over 50 million in 6 years, while Heyman stayed alive, and only had a paper loss of 7 million when ECW folded. WCW lost 80 million that year alone.
UFC lost 33 million before it made any money. Vince cost NBC over 65 million on the XFL, and cost his shareholders the same.
I enjoyed your article, but disagree very strongly on the merits and demerits of Paul Heyman.
You know what? You're right. You made some very good points as well as had some good statistics that you included in the email. I was being too loose and flip in my writing and undersold the ability of Paul Heyman. He definitely had a tough go of it and given the circumstances did the best he could to survive. I do think that he made a bunch of dumb mistakes as far as his deal with TNN and negotiating advertising and timeslots. He also was headstrong, maybe a bit too headstrong for his own good. However, from an overall perspective, I will give him a ton of respect as both a businessman and as a booker.
I will say that I think Cary Silkin has done a phenomenal job with ROH as a company. It takes a lot to be profitable and ROH made it to that point. You can't say that about TNA or a lot of independent wrestling companies nowadays. He is taking a risk now with PPV and perhaps that will change things but for now, he stabilized the ship so to speak and along with Sapolsky kept the company going and successful.
**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)
**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)
**SHIMMER Volume 7 (Daizee Haze/Cheerleader Melissa, Mercedes Martinez/LuFisto, Sara Del Rey/Nattie Neidhart)
**Chikara King of Trios Night Two (Sabin, Shelley and Dutt vs. Quackenbush, Jigsaw and Shane Storm / Hallowicked, Cheech and Cloudy vs. Lince Dorado, Pantera and Sicodelico Jr. / Olsen Twins vs. Miyagi and Yago / Quack T-Shirt Squad vs. Boyer and 2.0)
**Chikara King of Trios Night Three (Pantera, Lince Dorado & Sicodelico, Jr. vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Shane Storm / Kings Of Wrestling vs. Kudo, Yoshiaki Yago & Miyawaki / Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Shane Storm vs. Kudo, Yoshiaki Yago & Miyawaki / Ricochet vs. Claudio Castagnoli / Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray / Mokujin Ken vs. Mecha Mummy / Matt Sydal vs. Hallowicked)
The ROH List
Fifth Year Festival: NYC (Samoa Joe / Morishima, Homicide / Rave, Briscoes / Cabana & McGuinness, Albright / Whitmer, Evans / SHINGO / Xavier / Jacobs)
Fifth Year Festival: Philly (Homicide / Morishima, Sydal & Daniels / SHINGO & Evans, Briscoes / Generico & Steen, Castagnoli / Aries, McGuinness / Perkins)
Fifth Year Festival: Chicago (Morishima & McGuinness / Joe & Homicide, Cabana / Jacobs, Strong & Richards / Aries & Cross, Daniels & Sydal / The Briscoes, Albright / Castagnoli) Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool (Joe / McGuinness, ROH World Tag Team Titles: The Briscoes / Doi & SHINGO / FIP Title: Strong / PAC, 2/3 Falls: Delirious / Matt Sydal) (NEW ADDITION) Fifth Year Festival: Finale (Joe / Homicide, Fight Without Honor: McGuinness / Rave, ROH World Tag Team Titles: Doi & SHINGO / Richards and Strong, Sydal / PAC, Falls Count Anywhere: Whitmer / Jacobs) (NEW ADDITION)
ROH reviewers J.D. Dunn and Mike Campbell debate the issues of ROH in the new edition of 411 Buy or Sell.
Samuel Berman plays the role of Jim McLaughlin with 411's own "McLaughlin Group"—the ROH Roundtable. Read our predictions about last night's show and then see what we think about the possibilities of pay per view. NEXT QUESTION!
Bayani looks at the aftermath for TNA, ROH and PWG in the last seven days in his new edition of Truth B Told.
Some new ROH video reviews for y'all: Garoon and Ziegler follow the 2007 season with their run down of January's Battle of the Icons event. Let's just say the Jimmy Rave vomiting incident stays with them for a while. Hell, I don't blame them.
It's been a super busy week of writing for me on 411, as I took a step into my old pond at the Music Zone. That is a super strong zone with tons of great writers, do check it out. I'm particularly proud of the first concert review I've done in a few years, for was for a Ted Leo and the Pharmacists concert I attended last week. I also participated in the Music Roundtable and did Fact or Fiction for the week as well. My thanks to Mitch Michaels for the invitation and for making me still feel welcome in the 411 zone in which I started out over three years ago.
The weekend news crew is here. John Meehan gives you the Saturday news Spectacular. Meanwhile, Nick Marsico will offer you spare tickets to the ROH PPV tonight if you are real nice to him. Check out his News To Start Your Weekend.
Steve Cook always has a place in my heart with his Ask 411 Wrestling.
Samuel Berman with the Independent Mid Card of PWG's Scott Lost vs. Davey Richards.
Ok, time to skedaddle. I've got to take some medicine, get a nap in and then bring plenty of Kleenex with me to the show tonight. Next week of course I'll be back with results and impressions and other fallout from the PPV tapings. I'll be getting back to some of my other column features as well, perhaps a new "Dear Delirious" or some such deal.
Be well, enjoy the weekend!
Brooklyn! DAH EM BAH SEE!
--Ari--
