411 ROH Roundtable Preview: Boston & Philadelphia - 6/8 & 6/9
Posted by Samuel Berman on 06.07.2007
The 411 staff takes look at this weekend's ROH shows, featuring a Kings of Wrestling reunion, the return of Mike Quackenbush, and a huge weekend for the Briscoe Brothers!
Hello, loyal readers. Welcome to 411Mania's Ring of Honor Roundtable Preview where this week we will be looking at this weekend's impending ROH action from Boston and Philadelphia. This weekend is a big one for the Briscoe Brothers, as Jay will face ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima on the first show leading to an ROH World Tag Team Title defense against the reformed Kings of Wrestling on the second event. Before we get to the preview, let's look at this week's contributing staff:
With introductions out of the way, here are our predictions for this weekend's shows. Cards are complete as of Monday, 6/4.
FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007 – ROXBURY CROSSING, MA
Matt Sydal vs. El Generico
Matt Adamson: This should be a nice little match. I hope that a loss for either doesn't hold them back as I see a great future for both of them and hope they both maintain an awesome spot in ROH. As far as who I am picking, that'd be El Generico because he's gotta stay strong. I'd hope ROH would consider his place in PWG in deciding this, but every promotion for itself really, so who knows.
Winner: El Generico
Michael Bauer: Tough breaks for Sydal lately. Daniels is gone and WSX folded. So he has got to make it as a singles guy, and I think he can. This is a great place to start and with Generico being a tag team guy himself, he could easily pick up the win here.
Winner: Matt Sydal
Stuart Carapola: Even though Generico's getting a push right now and is in line for a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Title, Sydal's a top star for the company and I don't think he's going to lose here.
Winner: Matt Sydal
Jake Ziegler: It looks like Generico will be playing a bigger role in ROH in the near future, so it would be nice to see him get a big singles win. However, Sydal is perpetually pushed so he may still go over here, but I'm feeling an upset here.
Winner: El Generico
Brad Garoon: This is a toss up, but I'll give the edge to Sydal. Generico's other half will probably defeat and beat down Mark Briscoe to put more heat on their upcoming tag title match, and Sydal really needs a boost to get him onto something new.
Winner: Matt Sydal
Samuel Berman: Generico's not established as a single yet in ROH and I don't think Sydal's going winless on the weekend.
Winner: Matt Sydal
411 Staff Picks: Matt Sydal (4-2)
Four Corner Survival: Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush
Matt Adamson: Sweet mother of pearl! This match has the potential to be one of the best Four Corner Survival matches in a long time. If people were crying that ROH lost too much of it's talent when they and TNA severed ties, look no further than this match. This entire show is stacked and the fact that they could even do this match is testament to their roster not being too depleted. Oh, the winner, I bet you wanted to know my opinion about who is going to win. Well, in Japan soon, ROH will be running a couple shows. One of them is headlined by Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness so I'm told, and my guess is that Nigel is our next ROH champion. This will be one of those matches that elevates him to that level going into the title win. I know, I'm a bit ahead of myself and fantasy booking again, but it sounds damn good to me.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Michael Bauer: This will be a fun match. Hero and Claudio reunite the very next night, so tag team goodness should ensue. But no matter what, who needs the momentum the most? How about the person facing a mystery opponent the next night and is the one true legit person to defeat Morishima? That would be Nigel.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Stuart Carapola: Of course the interesting thing to see about this match is how the Kings Of Wrestling are going to interact one night before they reunite and challenge the Briscoes for the World Tag Team Title. I don't know that either of them will be involved in the fall, however, I think it's more likely that Nigel goes over Quackenbush.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Jake Ziegler: I'm not usually a fan of four-ways with nothing really on the line, but there's at least some interesting back story here. Nigel and Hero have been feuding, and Hero and Claudio are of course linked. Throw in Quackenbush as a wild card and this could be pretty good. I think this could be a night of upsets.
Winner: Mike Quackenbush
Brad Garoon: This is one of the more stacked and storyline-driven four corner survival matches. Quackenbush could use the win to gain some footing in ROH, but Hero, Nigel and Claudio all have issues with each other. Hero and Claudio have big things coming up the following night and will probably main event the show, so I'm guessing that Nigel gets the win over Quack to get some momentum before facing Sweeney's mystery opponent.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Samuel Berman: I want to think this is the coming out party for Quack, especially after the reception he got a month-and-a-half ago in Chicago Ridge. He's sadly probably the biggest long-shot to win here, as they could easily go with either Hero or Claudio pinning the other to set up TENSION for Saturday's title match. Nigel's also pretty much always a threat to win in ROH. That said, I'd like to see him lay down for the new guy, with Quackenbush continuing his cross-promotional series of big upsets.
Winner: Mike Quackenbush
411 Staff Picks: Nigel McGuinness (4-2-0-0)
Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen
Matt Adamson: I don't really know who to pick here, but I've decided to go with Mark Briscoe. I know that Steen and Generico have a match with the Briscoes soon, and one would expect a Steen win to set that match up, but I'm going to go against that and say Mark picks up the singles win.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Michael Bauer: This match has been a long time coming and could possibly steal the show for the pure hatred they have shown these guys having. Jay will probably not win in the main event, but Steen needs this win to keep his team in the tag team title hunt. I'll go with Steen on this one, but this is possibly the toughest match to call for the entire weekend.
Winner: Kevin Steen
Stuart Carapola: I expect this to be a brutal fight to put over what a heartless SOB Steen is. I think Steen's going to go over and will probably try and hurt Mark while he's at it.
Winner: Kevin Steen
Jake Ziegler: Steen is really getting over as a heel at Mark's expense, and I'd like to see that continue here. Plus I'm going with a theme here people.
Winner: Kevin Steen
Brad Garoon: I have a feeling this will be another very storyline-intensive match. If I were a betting man I'd put money on Steen beating Mark and reaggravating his head injury. This will accomplish two things; it will put more heat on the eventual Steen/Generico vs. Briscoes title match and it will also make a title change against the former Kings of Wrestling more likely. Good things all around.
Winner: Kevin Steen
Samuel Berman: As big a fan of the Briscoes as I am, I actually haven't been into Mark's singles matches over the last year or so. Hopefully this will be one of the better ones, as I think Steen's more than game for a pure brawl. It might almost be neat to see them do a garbage-style brawl akin to the old ECW.
Winner: Kevin Steen
411 Staff Picks: Kevin Steen (5-1)
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave
Matt Adamson: I don't see Rave getting the win here, but since he is one of those guys that has signed with ROH, so I know they won't want him to look weak. Not much more to say here.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Michael Bauer: Danielson has come back on fire and Jimmy Rave is the latest to declare himself as a true RoH wrestler. And while Rave has been doing good himself lately, could anybody honestly pick against The American Dragon?
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Stuart Carapola: Jimmy Rave has no damn heat/doo-dah, doo-dah/Jimmy's heat is long long gone/It's time to job
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Jake Ziegler: Come on, I can't pick against the American Dragon. I'm sure it's not long before he gets a shot at regainin his title, so a loss here doesn't become him.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Brad Garoon: As much as I liked this match when it happened back at 4th Anniversary Show I've got to say I'm not nearly as interested now. Rave's heel act bores the crap out of me and I'm not sure what they're trying to get out of Danielson right now. I don't really know what else to say except that I don't think Rave is ever going to be in a place where he should be beating Danielson.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Samuel Berman: Danielson over Rave is pretty much ALWAYS a safe prediction in ROH.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
411 Staff Picks: Bryan Danielson (6-0)
Delirious, Matt Cross & Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
Matt Adamson: Strong is going to have an ROH title match the following night, so of course he is going to need to look strong going into it. Did I just give away my pick for the main event of this show? I did, didn't I. Well, look for Strong and friends to get the win here, the good ol' NRC. Is there really any other option?
Winners: Strong, Richards and Romero
Michael Bauer: Strong either goes for a title or defends a title the next night, so he needs to look strong. And while Cross and Stevens have done decent work together so far, Delirious is no Danielson. The way I see it, the No Remorse Corps need to be kept strong for a potential shot at the tag team titles themselves, which is something nobody has thought of apparently.
Winners: The NRC
Stuart Carapola: The Resilience has been the NRC's bitches this entire feud, and I don't know that Delirious is going to make a better partner than Aries.
Jake Ziegler: I don't think Delirious is taking over as leader of the Resiliance, so I don't think it's time yet for Cross and Stevens to get a big win. I think when they reveal who the leader of the group is they should get a big win over the No Remorse Corps, so until then I see a win for the NRC.
Winners: The No Remorse Corps
Brad Garoon: Delirious really needs to shit or get off the pot as far as this feud is concerned. Either join the Resilience or have your blow of match against Roderick Strong and be done with it. Someone needs to gain some serious ground in this feud, and if I were the man in charge I'd have the whole thing blown off at Death Before Dishonor. Since that's still a little ways away I think the NRC will go over here and put someone on the shelf for a show or two.
Winners: Strong, Richards & Romero
Samuel Berman: I think Roderick has to stay strong if he's facing Morishima on Saturday, so while I'd like to pick the faces to go over here, I think we end up seeing Roderick exploit Delirious' ongoing head injury to earn another No Remorse Corps victory. If the Resilience wins, it'll be with a decision over Davey.
ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Jay Briscoe
Matt Adamson: As much as I would love for Jay Briscoe to pick up the win and the title here, I just don't see it happening. The Briscoes are heavy into the tag title scene now and are dominant champions, I can't imagine them having both ROH titles. Someday Jay will be a great champion, and I hope he ends up sticking around ROH long enough to make something like that happen, but for now, the tag ranks are where he is, which in ROH is about as important as the singles ranks.
Winner: Morishima
Michael Bauer: Great setup here. Morishima tries to get tag team gold and fails, so a Briscoe bro goes after his title. No problems here. This will be a decent match as both men can play the power game. But let's be honest here. Briscoes are the faces of the RoH right now and can't stay that way as individuals. They need to be tag champs and this wouldn't help.
Winner: Morishima
Stuart Carapola: This is going to be fun. I highly, highly doubt that Morishima's going to lose here, but he's going to get a really tough challenge from Jay Briscoe, and I expect this to be a hard hitting affair for sure. Can Jay give him the Jay Driller? I'd like to see him try.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima
Jake Ziegler: As much as I like Jay Briscoe, I just don't see him being the man to dethrone the alleged monster Morishima. Jay plays a dynamite babyface-in-peril as he proved against Samoa Joe a number of times, so I think this will be a really fun match.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima
Brad Garoon: This match should be very good, hopefully in the mold of the Joe/Jay matches from 2003 and 2004. Much in the way that Mark will probably be beaten up by Steen, I can see Jay take a beating from Morishima here, giving the former Kings of Wrestling a big edge heading into their 2/3 falls tag title match the next night. The champ should plow right through here.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima
Samuel Berman: Nothing would make me happier than having the guts to pick Jay Briscoe to win here. While others might disagree, I think Jay has the potential to be a very good singles champion. He's consistently good (and often excellent) in the ring, he's underrated on the microphone, and he's able to face off realistically with everyone from smaller, high flyers to huge, bruising super-heavyweights. Oh, but he's going to lose.
Winner and STILL ROH World Champion: Takeshi Morishima
411 Staff Picks: Takeshi Morishima
SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2007 – PHILADELPHIA, PA
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw
Matt Adamson: Sweet! This match is going to be loads of fun. Havin Quack around in ROH is about the greatest thing ever and a match involving him, Steen and Generico will just be loads of fun. Steen and Generico have that big title shot coming up, so I'm looking for them to get the big win here.
Winners: Steen and El Generico
Michael Bauer: I'll keep this one short and sweet. Who's in line to get a tag team title shot? Yep, despite the fact that them as a tag team makes no sense what-so-ever.
Winner: Steen and Generico
Stuart Carapola: Let's see, top contenders to the ROH World Tag Team Title vs a couple of jobbers from CHIKARA. I wonder how this'll play out...?
Winner: Kevin Steen & El Generico
Brad Garoon: This is a match that would be more likely to occur in PWG or Chikara than here, but its nice to see a little diversity in ROH. Steen and Generico have a feud with the champs going, and Quack and Jigsaw are just getting their feet wet. The result shouldn't really be in question, but the right there ought to be fun.
Winners: Steen & Generico
Samuel Berman: Again, I'd like to pick Quack, because I think his performances are going to be off the charts this weekend. However, unlike my emboldened selection for Friday night, I've got to go with the upcoming title challengers here, just for common sense reasons. Jigsaw's awesome, by the way.
Winners: Kevin Steen & El Generico
411 Staff Picks: Kevin Steen & El Generico (5-0)
Four Corner Survival: BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Brent Albright vs. Erick Stevens
Matt Adamson: Another match to evidence that their roster isn't that thin. Each of these guys has good about them, and reason to win this, but the question is, who will it be? Whitmer is the company guy, that while not exactly fascinating on the mic, he can work a solid brawl. Rave is basically the same, but wrestles a more new school style. Albright is the mat technician and is my pick to win, because I drew his name.
Winner: Brent Albright
Michael Bauer: This match has the got the makings of a slugfest all over it. All of these guys, except Rave, are bigger than the average RoH wrestler and can pack a hell of a punch. Stevens is out of place here since there is no NRC and Jimmy Rave I just can't see matching up to the other three. That leaves Whitmer and Albright, two men not even on the card for Friday Night. No offense to Albright, but the company man should get his due.
Winner: BJ Whitmer
Stuart Carapola: Albright's got the most upside out of these four, I think he's going to kill Whitmer or Rave and win.
Winner: Brent Albright
Brad Garoon: This is a match of three bruisers and... Rave. This should be a very hard-hitting match. Rave, Whitmer and Albright are all in need of direction, and Stevens is in an angle unrelated to the other three. Very tough call here, but I'm going to guess that Whitmer pin Rave leading to a feud between the two.
Winner: BJ Whitmer
Samuel Berman: I mean are there four less connected wrestlers in ROH? This has ‘Rave gets his alleged heat back' written all over it, but hopefully they have the confidence in Stevens to put him over a veteran.
Winner: Erick Stevens
411 Staff Picks: Brent Albright or BJ Whitmer (2-2-1-0)
Matt Cross vs. Davey Richards
Matt Adamson: I'm feeling like singing here. No idea why, but I really like Richards. I've probably said this before, but he needs to get pushed up the card. A win here will aid in that effort.
Winner: Davey Richards
Michael Bauer: Part one of two in the NRC vs. whatever they are called now looks to be the bigger mismatch of the two. Cross is getting better each time out, but Davey Richards is miles ahead of him and should get the win here.
Winner: Davey Richards
Stuart Carapola: Remember what I said earlier about The Resilience being the NRC's bitches? Same applies here. Matt Cross is going to get abused by Davey Richards here en route to another NRC victory.
Winner: Davey Richards
Brad Garoon: The battle of fight vs. flight. I'm sure this isn't what Cannon had in mind when he came up with his theory. The match should be very good however, and I see Cross getting the upset win leading to a beating from the NRC.
Winner: Matt Cross
Samuel Berman: They eventually HAVE to give Cross a big singles win, right? Right??
Winner: Matt Cross
411 Staff Picks: Davey Richards (3-2)
Delirious vs. Rocky Romero
Matt Adamson: This match ought to be really fun. Something tells me anything can and will happen here. Trying to choose a winner here is like picking lotto number. It's just that hard to figure out. Well, my pick goes to Delirious as he's done well lately, and well, somebody who isn't the World Champion has to go over the NRC tonight, right?
Winner: Delirious
Michael Bauer: Part two or two in the NRC vs. whatever they are called now will be very entertaining since it is Delirious after all. The NRC has to lose sometime to these guys and this is the spot to do it in as they really don't look bad in losing a match that doesn't involve Roderick.
Winner: Delirious
Winner: This has the potential to be a lot of fun, as I think Romero's a good straight guy to play off of Delirious and his goofy antics. This is a tough one to pick, but I think Delirious is going to take this one, though I don't know if he'll tap Rocky.
Winner: Delirious
Brad Garoon: Yeesh, talk about a clash of styles. Don't know what to say here really other than that Romero needs a big win heading into a match against KENTA coming up and Delirious needs more motivation to even keep fighting against the Corp.
Winner: Rocky Romero
Samuel Berman: Now THIS is where you give the NRC its win for the night. Delirious is in an almost constant state of being super-over with the fans, so a win over him actually means something in their eyes. Romero could use a bit of that rub heading into bigger matches down the line.
Winner: Rocky Romero
411 Staff Picks: Delirious (3-2)
Nigel McGuinness vs. Larry Sweeney's Mystery Opponent
Matt Adamson: I have heard or read nothing about who will be the mystery opponent, but I don't think it matters here. Hell, I don't even know if this is some huge joke. Nigel is the man, and the man will get the win. I hope it's a big surprise though, I like surprises.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Michael Bauer: I have no clue who it is, but if it supposedly is Nigel's toughest task to date, it's not Tank Toland. Still, Nigel needs to go over and this looks more or less like a one time gig for whoever he faces.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Stuart Carapola: Impossible to call since I have no idea who the opponent is. Let me throw out a guess...um...John Walters? It's supposed to be someone from Nigel's past, right? I have no clue.
Winner: Larry Sweeney's Mystery Opponent
Brad Garoon: I have absolutely no idea who the mystery opponent could be. If I'm going to guess I'll go with Xavier, since he seems to be the go-to guy for this kind of thing. I'm not confident at all in that theory but I do think Nigel will win regardless of who his opponent is.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Samuel Berman: With me having Nigel losing the night before, he'll obviously pull out a victory here. Reading the ROH Boards has left me thinking that the most likely opponent, given all that we know about Sweeney, Hero and their outside alliances (and the fact that Claudio is already wrestling in the tag title match) is the Necro Butcher, though I have little-or-no actual faith in that guess.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness.
411 Staff Picks: Nigel McGuinness (4-1)
411 Staff Consensus Prediction for McGuinness' Opponent: No Consensus
Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal
Matt Adamson: As much as I like the idea of Matt Sydal winning here, I can't see it happening. This is another rebuild type match for Danielson on his way back to the top. If Sydal wins it, instant awesome, but I just can't see it happening, not yet at least.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Michael Bauer: This should also be another great match as Sydal is one of the few people who I think can keep up with the Dragon for a long match. Sydal gets his win on Friday and Danielson continues to roll on.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Stuart Carapola: Match of the weekend right here. Sydal's improved a lot and has scored a lot of big wins, but I still don't think he's anywhere near Danielson's level. Danielson will make him look like a million bucks, but he goes over in the end.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Brad Garoon: Another clash of styles here, but this could be quite entertaining. This could and probably should be the start of a trial series for Sydal. Danielson should beat him but inspire him to keep trying to fight against the top wrestlers ROH has. The angle is working for Nikki Roxx in SHIMMER, and as long as they don't rush it it could really get Sydal over as a main eventer.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Samuel Berman: A lot of people wondered why Sydal never got a shot at Danielson during his title reign, but I really think that he wasn't ready for it at the time. Now, Sydal has gained a lot of credibility due to his overseas exploits and is at the very least conceivably a threat to Danielson. I mean, he won't actually beat him or anything, but this should at least be a little competitive.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
411 Staff Predicts: Bryan Danielson (5-0)
ROH World Tag Team Titles, 2/3 Falls: Jay & Mark Briscoe (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
Matt Adamson: This match has MOTYC written all over it. If everything goes how I imagine it will go, we will be seeing magic as far as wrestling is concerned. I love the Kings of Wrestling and if they win here I won't be sad, but a little confused. If the Briscoes win here, they will look unstoppable, but is a good thing. If The Briscoes have a good long title reign, it will help that title, which changed hands far too often in the months before they won it. Here's to hoping for a legendary match and a permanent Kings of Wrestling presence in ROH.
Winners: The Briscoes
Michael Bauer: I have to agree with Matt here. This could be a MOTYC and quite possibly will be RoH's Match of the Year. The Kings of Wrestling need to be put back together for more than just one night and believe it or not, I think the only way that happens is with a title change. Yes, The Briscoes should keep the titles as well, but then you leave them needing the Iron City Saints to come in or you have nothing after Steen and Generico. This way, the tag titles can be kept in the forefront without needing a new team to be imported or making random mixed teams. The only way I keep the titles on The Briscoes is if the NRC is coming up to take them away, and while it is a great idea, I don't see it happening.
Winners and NEW Champs: The Kings of Wrestling
Stuart Carapola: Then again, maybe this could be match of the weekend. The match between these two teams at Final Battle 2006 was one of my favorite matches of the entire year, and going 2 out of 3 falls gives them the opportunity to do even better this time around. I don't think the Briscoes are going to lose since they're building to Briscoes vs Steen & Generico at the Chicago PPV, but I think the real question is how Hero and Claudio will work together in this match and what their relationship will be like afterward, especially considering that they haven't feuded or anything since the split.
Winner: Jay & Mark Briscoe
Brad Garoon: If there's one thing I've learned when it comes to the World Tag Team Titles it's that just because the champions have future title shots lined up doesn't mean they are going to retain the titles to that point. The Briscoes have Matt Sydal and Steen/Generico coming up, but the Kings could definitely take the belts here. These teams have great chemistry, but I don't think Hero and Castagnoli will be able to get along long enough to win the titles. Even with what I'm guessing will be a pair of banged up champions, I think that Hero and Claudio will come to blows, finally leading to a feud between the two.
Winners: The Briscoe Brothers
Samuel Berman: Bring on the fun. I liked both of their matches from the end of last year, and this one is going to absolutely steal the month. I admire Bauer's guts in going against the grain to pick the Kings (and heaven knows I'm a HUGE KoW fan), but the Briscoes just have way too many great matches left on the horizon to drop the titles (again) yet.
Winners and STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions: Jay & Mark Briscoe
411 Staff Picks: Jay & Mark Briscoe (4-1)
Either the ROH World Title or the FIP Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Roderick Strong (c)
NOTE: FIP TITLE IS ON THE LINE ONLY IF JAY BRISCOE DEFEATS MORISHIMA ON 6/8, OTHERWISE THE ROH WORLD TITLE IS ON THE LINE
Matt Adamson: This is going to be for the ROH title and will be another notch in the title defenses belt of Morishima. If Roderick is the guy to take Morishima down, color me shocked, because I just don't see it happening.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima
Michael Bauer: So I am going with the ROH World Title in the line here and Roderick is a legitimate contender to take it from him. So why won't he? Maybe it's because Morishima needs the title on his waist for when the Ring of Honor goes to Japan. Maybe it's because Ring of Honor's second Pay Per View taping is in two weeks and any title change should happen on one of those shows. Or it could just be that I am praying too hard and Austin Aries will come out to stop Strong from winning. Either way, the champ will still be the big man.
Winner: Morishima
Stuart Carapola: Well, I think we can pretty much rule out the FIP Title being on the line here. I was hoping they'd save the Roderick match for later in the title reign, but whatever. Roderick can hit hard, but in addition to being a big, bad motherfucker, Morishima's also shown he can take a beating. I think Roderick's in over his head on this one.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima
Brad Garoon: The FIP title will not be on the line here as Morishima will surely retain over Jay Briscoe. This should be another very good match, as Roderick's style meshes well with Morishima's. I don't expect it to be much more epic than any of Morishima's past defenses, as we all know the big upcoming feud for the champion is against Nigel.
Winner: Takeshi Morishima
Samuel Berman: The ROH World Title will be on the line, and it's staying where it is. Some will say I'm out of line on this, but I think they missed the boat on Strong as ROH World Champion. If they were going to give him the belt, it should have been during Wrestlemania Weekend 2006, when he lost to Danielson in a 55 minute classic. It's akin to Chris Jericho in the WWF. Remember when he won the title from Triple H for about 5 minutes and then they ended up waiting so long to actually give him a World Title that when he eventually won one, he wasn't the white hot act that he could have been? I think we've reached that point with Roderick. He's still a great competitor and a main event player for the company, but I can think of five guys without breaking a sweat that would make better ROH World Champions right now than he would (for the record, my list goes Delirious, KENTA, McGuinness, Hero and Jacobs). Long story short, Morishima retains.
Winner and STILL ROH World Champion: Takeshi Morishima
