Column of Honor: 06.23.07
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 06.23.2007
AUSTIN ARIES! Danielson and McGuiness have intentions on the ROH World Title. AUSTIN ARIES! The summer of who? AUSTIN ARIES! Dayton, OH Results. AUSTIN ARIES! 6/23 Pay Per View Preview. AUSTIN ARIES! Honor Culture. AUSTIN ARIES!
The Ram Returns: Austin Aries Spotted in Dayton
Has Austin Aries been freed?
On the same weekend that Ring of Honor released its Good Times, Great Memories DVD which featured the last appearances of Austin Aries, Christopher Daniels, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, SHINGO, Allison Danger and Colt Cabana in one of the largest talent loses in one fell swoop during ROH history, one of those wrestlers made a shocking surprise return.
Austin Aries appeared in the front row of last night's show in Dayton, Ohio. After The Resilience of Matt Cross and Erick Stevens has just suffered another devastating loss to the No Remorse Corps. NRC leader Roderick Strong was not done with his night, and cut a promo on The Resilience and Austin Aries. Out of nowhere, who should show up, but the former leader of The Resilience and one of ROH's most venerable alumni in Austin Aries. Roderick Strong made some comments about Aries, but his mic was soon cut off and Aries, instead of charging the ring and engaging in an altercation with Strong and his crew, instead walked off and out of the building.
A lot is uncertain as of press time, but what should be absolutely clear is that this is the beginning of a new twist on the NRC-Resilience angle. It seems to be that Aries is still entangled in his TNA dispute. He cannot or has not returned in an official capacity to ROH. Yet by the very nature of doing this angle and by even showing up at an ROH event, Aries' contract status may be wrapped up sooner rather than later. ROH wouldn't risk any litigation by TNA at this point, especially when their biggest moment, their debut on PPV, is weeks away.
Going on the assumption that Aries and Ring of Honor have worked out some sort of agreement with TNA, I will speculate that Aries will very soon be returning to ROH in an in-ring capacity. ROH may perhaps stretch out this situation of Aries "stuck in the middle" between his legal problems and his desire to return to ROH in order to extract revenge on the No Remorse Corps and his old tag partner Roderick Strong. A return in this or any similar capacity will do wonders for the faction warfare storyline which had seemingly wavered in the absence of its major protagonist. We could be dealing a refreshed and jazzed up stable war, with the returning hero coming back to right the wrongs put against him.
Whatever has happened, the "Free Austin Aries" movement is seemingly having an impact and is stronger than ever. The movement must continue to mobilize and spread the message—get Austin Aries back to Ring of Honor and wrestling inside a ROH ring!
On the Comeback Trail
Everyone in Ring of Honor wants a ROH World title shot and the opportunity to dethrone Takeshi Morishima, but no two may make a better case for it than Nigel McGuinness and "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson.
Danielson has been racking up the wins since returning to wrestling action following his sabbatical in early 2007due to his shoulder injury. It started with his return open challenge at Reborn Again, where he tortured Shane Hagadorn and then gave it to Hagadorn's mentor Adam Pearce. While Danielson invited himself into the No Remorse Corps-Resilience six man tag match that night where he was on the losing side, he was never officially tagged into the match.
Since then, Danielson has been on an impressive winning streak. He teamed with Morishima against KENTA and McGuinness, forcing KENTA to tap out to the Cattle Mutilation for a second time in his career. Danielson has wins against Jimmy Rave and McGuinness (in a highly touted match that will air on the second Pay Per View in September). Last night he and McGuinness were victorious against the NOAH All Star team of Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji.
Danielson has not only been winning, but he's looked just as awesome and unstoppable as he was at the peak of his ROH World title run in 2006. No one seems to know the answer to defeating Danielson and his win streak is continuing to grow with every ROH event. It took Homicide both a Cop Killer and a monstrous lariat that tilted the former champ head over body to win the ROH World Title. It may take even more than that this time around to stop Danielson's comeback to title contention.
One man does stand in Danielson's way of an ROH World Title shot. Of course that man is someone who he has been linked with inexorably since April of 2006. It is his tag team partner from last night in Dayton, Nigel McGuinness who has been the gray cloud following Danielson's sunny day. McGuinness may have as much of a case for a title opportunity as Dragon.
While the spiky haired Brit does not have quite the win tally that Danielson has acquired over the last two months, he does have the edge on the former champion in one respect. McGuinness has the edge on battle experience against Morishima. He knows what it is both to team up with Morishima, to team against him and to fight him in a singles match. McGuinness took on Samoa Joe and Homicide with Morishima as his tag partner during Fifth Year Festival: Chicago. There he won the match for his team by lariating Joe into unconsciousness. It was back at April's This Means War II that McGuinness teamed up against Morishima with his longstanding NOAH partner "The Anarchist' Doug Williams. Nigel once against got the pinfall with the lariat, this time on Morishima's partner Chris Hero. Nigel lost with KENTA as his partner to Morishima and Danielson at the Respect is Earned Pay Per View (soon to air) but just last night he was responsible for the win against Morishima and Marfuji. Once again, the lariat was there for him as his weapon of choice.
In addition to these tag wins, McGuinness has also won some important singles matches. He may have taken the loss to Danielson at the June 9th show, but McGuinness took out Chris Hero at Supercard of Honor II
It was McGuinness, not Danielson that found the way to defeat the domineering ROH World champion. Certainly on points alone this gives him a claim on a future title match. That win plus his previous title match against the champion at Fighting Spirit give McGuinness the experience edge and the inspiration to go for it all.
There are many possibilities as to who can take out Takeshi Morishima for the ROH World title. Lest we forget that Claudio Castagnoli and Brent Albright have earned title opportunities. Each man will vie for the right to be called champion at the two Death Before Dishonor V shows.
However, it seems to me that when title matches are concerned, Danielson and McGuinness continue to return to the top of the list. It may be the lariat that undoes Morishima, or it may be the comeback of the former champion that is fulfilled by submission victory with the Cattle Mutilation.
ROH Results: June 22nd, 2007 in Dayton, OH
Matches
-Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated Irish Airborne via pinfall using the package piledriver / brainbuster.
-Chris Hero won a Gauntlet Match which also involved Delirious, Jimmy Rave, Adam Pearce and Pelle Primeau. Order of Elimination: Rave defeated Primeau via submission with the heel hook; Delirious defeated Rave; Delirious defeated Adam Pearce; Hero defeated Delirious via pinfall using a "twisting cravate DDT."
-Brent Albright defeated BJ Whitmer in a No DQ match via pinfall after Albright reverses his weight on an exploder suplex through a table.
-The No Remorse Corps of Roderick Strong and Davey Richards defeated The Resilience of Erick Stevens and Matt Cross via pinfall. Strong used a Gibson Driver to pin Stevens.
-Lacey defeated Serena Deeb via pinfall with a implant DDT after interference from Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew tag partner Rain.
-KENTA defeated Rocky Romero via pinfall with the Go 2 Sleep in an awesome match
-ROH All Stars "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness defeated NOAH All Stars of ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji. McGuinness gets the pinfall after the Jawbreaker lariat on Morishima.
-ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe retained the titles by defeating Matt Sydal & Claudio Castagnoli in a two out of three falls match. First Fall: Mark Briscoe pinned Matt Sydal after a moonsault. Second Fall goes Mark Briscoe pinned Claudio after a cut throat driver.
Angles & Issues
-After losing to Brent Albright, BJ Whitmer snapped and violently attacked ROH student Mitch Franklin. No word yet on if this was a heel turn or simply Whitmer taking the frustration of his losing streak out on someone else.
-The aforementioned Aries angle occurred. Aries was in the crowd as a fan for a while before the angle with Roderick Strong occurred. Reports have him actually engaging the fans and openly talking with them during the show.
-Daizee Haze saved Serena Deeb from a further beatdown from the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew. It looks like a tag match may be in the works here.
-Davey Richards turned on his former mentor KENTA. The beatdown was on until Delirious and The Resilience ran in for the clear out.
-Return Date: November 30th, 2007
The Summer of…?
Summer is a monster season for ROH, giving us unforgettable moments (CM Punk's title win and heel turn that led to the unpredictable return of "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels; the ring bell inadvertently ringing during a close two count when Samoa Joe defended the ROH World title against Daniels) and breathtaking visuals (Homicide nailing Nate Webb with a Cop Killer onto a barbed wire board to win the ROH vs. CZW war, McGuinness head butting the ring post during his Unified match against Danielson). The cliché of events "heating up" in the wrestling company is actually quite the truth. It seems every year that someone comes through with huge performance after huge performance during these months.
2005 was officially dubbed the "Summer of Punk" due to CM Punk's farewell tour and subsequent title win which through fans off balance and created some of the most exciting shows in the history of ROH. 2006 could conceivably be called the "Summer of the Dragon" due to his holding off challenge after challenge to his title. His unification of the Pure title with the World title was a first ever feat. Danielson truly seemed unstoppable at the time. It was also the "Summer of ROH" since Ring of Honor finally conquered the CZW forces at Death Before Dishonor IV thanks in part to the efforts of Homicide.
The summer will belong to someone in 2007, the question is who? Will it be the "Summer of…"
Bryan Danielson?
As mentioned above, Danielson keeps racking up the wins and not only gets the big win on ROH's first PPV broadcast but also on its second. No one else besides McGuinness has been positioned as strongly as Danielson going into the summer months. A title shot by late August may be a possibility and if so he may be able to do what no one else can do—defeat Takeshi Morishima.
Nigel McGuinness?
Already featured during the Johnny Fairplay piece on VH1, McGuinness's popularity is surging to new heights. He is being positioned as the number 1 or 1A main event restler in the company. The big win against Morishima last night provides that extra lift to his profile. ROH may be ready to take that next big step for McGuinness—the ROH World title.
Takeshi Morishima?
Let's not forget about the champion. Morishima has been unstoppable in singles title defenses. Sure a few wrestlers have gotten close here or there to winning the title from him, but not close enough because the title is still in his possession. Keep in mind that ROH is going to Japan for a two night stint and this will be Morishima's big opportunity to show the Japan crowd just how far he's come as ROH champion. Morishima must lead from the front in these matches. Hopefully Gabe will build the shows around him and how he interacts with all the talent. I think there is a huge selling point to be made of Morishima bringing ROH with him to Japan.
If Morishima retains his title all throughout the summer, that is even more reason to label this his summer.
Brent Albright?
The fans keep waiting for Albright's big break out moment and it could be coming very soon-August 11th to be exact. If Albright is able to wrest the ROH World title away from Morishima, he makes a huge name for himself on the independent scene in America and possibly in Japan. Can he do it? Right now he is engaged in a constant warfare with BJ Whitmer, so if that is a distraction to him, perhaps not. He does have a good chance though as he matches up well physically with the champion.
Chris Hero?
Hero broke his singles losing streak in ROH last night by winning the Gauntlet Series (although he did wrestle only one match) and defeating Delirious. Is this the sign of bigger things to come? We'll know more after tonight, when he takes on McGuinness. If he can pull off the win against the guy who just won against Morishima, Hero is an instant contender. Hero still has his entourage of Sweeney, Toland and Dempsey that provide a good base for his actions, but no real movement has occurred in his issues with Claudio Castagnoli. I keep waiting for their relationship to break down into a full out feud and it doesn't happen. The "Race To The Top" tournament that takes place during the summer may be key to getting Hero to that next level.
The Briscoes?
The tag team champions have been as dominant (and maybe even more so) than Morishima. The Briscoes have looked awesome and continue to retain their title against stiff competition. They are the newly crowned kings of the two out of three falls match. Their rivalry with Kevin Steen & El Generico is coming to a head over the summer, and if they can get past those two tough contenders, then it may be the "Summer of the Man Up".
Kevin Steen & El Generico?
Meanwhile, if Steen & El Generico can take advantage of their opportunities (of which they are sure to receive several throughout the summer), then they may just take out The Briscoes on their way to becoming the new ROH World Tag Team champions. It could be their summer to plant themselves as THE team to beat in ROH.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 06/23/2007 Heading into tonight's show in Chicago:
ROH World Champion—Takeshi Morishima (champion since 02/17/07, 9 successful defenses)
Next Defense:: ? (opponent TBA), 6/23/07, Chicago Ridge, IL
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)
V.7 defeated BJ Whitmer via pinfall / backdrop driver (05/12/07 New York, NY)
V.8 defeated Jay Briscoe via pinfall / backdrop driver (6/08/07 Roxbury Crossing, MA)
V.9 defeated Roderick Strong via pinfall / backdrop driver (6/09/07 Philadelphia, PA)
ROH World Tag Team Champions— Jay and Mark Briscoe (champions since 03/30/07, 6 successful defenses)
Next Defense: Kevin Steen & El Generico, 6/23/07, Chicago Ridge, IL
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)
V.4 defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal (5/12/07, New York, NY)
V.5 defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero) (6/09/07, Philadelphia, PA): 2 out of 3 falls- 2 straight falls
V.6 defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal (6/22/07, Dayton, OH): 2 out of 3 falls- 2 straight falls
ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
Card for Japan ROH Show Leaked, then Announced. That Wacky Internet!
WHUPS! Dragon Gate's USA website leaked what is at least a partial card for the ROH show in Osaka Japan, actually the second show on the tour. Then ROH confirmed the card in a press release for their website.
ROH 7.17.07 Japan Card:
1. Nigel McGuiness vs. BJ Whitmer
2. Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave
3. Grudge Match: Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong
4. Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid, Matt Sydal vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Delirious
5. Dream Match: CIMA, KENTA (NOAH) vs. Davey Richards, Rocky Romero
6. ROH Tag Titles: SHINGO Takagi, YAMATO vs. Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe
A couple of things to note about what's listed here. This is a Dragon Gate sponsored card, so that's why what is announced has a heavy proclivity towards their roster. The featured matches have Dragon Gate wrestlers fighting for the ROH tag titles, or Dragon Gate and NOAH teaming up to form an All Star team of KENTA and CIMA to take on ROH's heel team in the NRC. Matt Sydal and Jack Evans have toured many a time in Dragon Gate and that's why they get featured in the mid card matches. Meanwhile, NOAH gaijin stalwarts in Danielson and McGuinness get undercard matches against Rave and Whitmer respectively. Not that there's anything wrong with those matches, but they are not the featured attractions for the DG card. Naturally, attention must be paid to who the DG fans favor. I'm sure the same will be done for the 7/16 card (which so far has been kept under wraps) as it is a NOAH centered card.
Takeshi Morishima is not yet in a title match or even listed on the card, despite a great chance of his still being champion after tonight's Pay Per View taping in Chicago. He should presumably defend the title on the 7/16 show and hopefully he does the same for this show as well.
ROH Talents in Japan NTV Tournament
Credit to NorhBayFan001 who posted this on the ROH message board. It details the ROH talent that will be participating in the NTV Cup, a round robin tag tournament that features some parejas incredibles (dream tag partners):
The fixtures will be spread across the tour. Every match will have a 30 minute time limit, with 2 points will be awarded to the winning team of each fixture, 0 points to the losing team, 1 point to each team in the event of a time limit draw and and 0 points to each team in the event of any other finish.
At the end of fixtures, the team with the most points will be awarded the first NTV Cup champions, with a playoff occuring in the event of a draw. To begin the fixtures on a bit of a lighter note, a battle royal with all participants in the NTV cup participating will be held on the tour opening 6/30 show.
NOAH, 6/30/07
Tsukuba Kapio
1. NTV Cup Participants Battle Royal
NOAH, 7/1/07 (NTV/G+)
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1. NTV Cup: Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Iifushi vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe
NOAH, 7/2/07
Isezaki Civic Gymnasium #2
1. NTV Cup: Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Iifushi vs. Bryan Danielson & Davey Richards
1. NTV Cup: KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Iifushi
2. NTV Cup: Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe
I know some more knowledgeable Puro fans (such as Matt Adamson and Matt Short) are probably into the Marufuji / Iifushi combination, but I freaking love KENTA and Ishimori as a pair here. Ishimori has been sort of relegated to the mid card or lower card of NOAH shows, but I think he has the potential to be right up there with KENTA as a junior heavyweight wrestler who can succeed against the top flight competition in NOAH. Danielson and Richards teaming up is interesting, because they don't have much interaction within the ROH universe. They seem to be more along the lines of the "invading gaijin" team than anything else really concrete tying them together. Also of note here is the last match of the round robin series is a rematch of the Match of the Year Candidate mind blowing tag encounter from January 2007. Suzuki and Marvin bested The Briscoes for the GHC Jr. Tag Team Titles, and now the rematch could very well decide the NTV Cup series.
Gabe Sapolsky Addresses ROH PPV / DVD Layout
This was posted to the June 15th newswire as a late add, but it does answer a ton of questions as to what is happening with future ROH product releases:
To answer a few questions here using the 5/12 PPV taping DVD as an example:
1) The PPV and show DVDs will be the same, there will not be two seperate releases for a PPV taping or "director's cut" re-releases of shows. For instance, 5/12 will feature the PPV and then the other matches on the live 5/12 show will be bonus matches. There will also be exclusive promos as a bonus that will not appear on the PPV, but be on the DVD.
2) The DVDs of the PPV shows will be released one month after the final first run showing on every PPV system. For instance, the final first run showing of "Respect Is Earned" is 7/20 on iNDEMAND. This means the DVD will be released on 8/20.
3) There will be no delay in the normal release schedule of non-PPV taping show DVDs. We fell a little behind due to a lot of first time things we encountered in producing the first PPV, but this will not be a problem in the future and we will be back to getting the releases out faster ASAP. In fact, 6/8 production is almost complete.
I hope this clears things up. Thank you, Gabe
I think it's a very good call NOT to do two releases of the same show. I hate when movie companies come out with a "extended" cut or special edition of a film just a short time after releasing a regular edition on DVD. It's the worst kind of double dipping and makes me feel like an idiot as a consumer for having to buy the same product twice. ROH is making a good move here from a consumer relations standpoint.
The result is that some shows may have a match taped for PPV missing from the card, and that upsets continuity buffs and completists. I am definitely someone who likes things done in a certain order, but at this point it's the lesser of two evils. It also resolves a bit of the "ROH of two worlds" sentiment that could have made things more confusing A split in the PPV and DVD storylines would raise questions and could prove complicated if not snipped in the bud right now.
Gabe Sapolsky seems to have a plan as far one continuity for the company. That means that Danielson-McGuinness goes with the September taping and not on the card it was originally scheduled. I think the reorganization of the continuity will undergo a few small growing pains in the short terms, but should be cleared up and make sense in the long term.
It's also a positive to finally know how the DVD releases of PPV shows is going to go, and that we don't have to wait too much longer than is absolutely necessary to get PPV shows. It was usually a six week wait for shows from live run to DVD release. With the delays of the past month it has actually stretched out to eight weeks (how it was back in 2004 and 2005). May 12th to August 20th is a fourteen week wait period, which is still a very long wait but nowhere near as much as some had feared. With the 6/8 show in production and figuring the normal six to eight week waiting period, that places that show's street date as 8/8/07. Maybe ROH will release the PPV show and the 6/8 and 6/9 shows at the same time?
The one major negative is that fans are going to have to make a decision: should they watch the non PPV shows if they do get released out of order. If this pattern follows, then the 6/23/07 Chicago taping, which will air 9/1/07 with its last debut date of 9/20/07, will be released on 10/20/07. It's a four month wait. That's a lot to ask of even the most hardened fans. I know that when I collected comic books, I did not want to read the parts out of order. You don't want to watch the middle of a movie and then go back to the beginning. The same applies to wrestling DVDs on a staggered release date.
PPV Reorganization Be a part of history this Saturday in Chicago when ROH tapes its second PPV. Chicago is one of ROH's most historic towns and now all the Chicago area fans can show the entire United States what ROH is all about. The show will be formatted somewhat differently than ROH's first PPV taping. The entire first half of the event will be ROH's second ever PPV taping. After intermission will be several matches that will be taped exclusively for the DVD release of the show/PPV. This will include Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA "Glory By Honor V: Night 2" rematch and a grudge match pitting Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, Tank Toland & Bobby Dempsey. You need to be there live to see these matches a few months before anyone else.
It looks like ROH learned a small but important idea from the first PPV taping—get the PPV matches done first so that you can have the crowd at its hottest point. The NYC PPV taping suffered if anything from mixing and matching the PPV and non PPV matches. By the end of the night the crowd was not as hot as it could have been for the Delirious-Strong and the tag main event (although the latter definitely has the crowd going big time).
By splitting the PPV and the non PPV matches into two halves, not only are you guaranteeing a solid to incredible reaction from the crowd, but in effect you are giving the perception of more value for the consumer dollar. In effect, you are giving the fans in attendance two shows for the price of one. Now the decision to hold Hero-McGuinness and Danielson-KENTA off the PPV makes sense. These matches will keep 99% of the fans in attendance for the second half, because there are (at least) two marquee matches that fans will want to see. Crowd energy can also be rebuilt and readied for the second half of the show main events. I expect Danielson-KENTA will be much more of a lock to blow the roof off the building even though it's going to come after the excitement of a PPV show and a long night of wrestling.
Snap Crackle Pop, BJ Whitmer One more match has been signed for the PPV portion of this Saturday's Chicago show. BJ Whitmer is looking to redeem himself and get his career back on track. Naomichi Marufuji wants to move into ROH World Title contention. It will be BJ Whitmer vs. Naomichi Marufuji this Saturday in Chicago!!!
Now that Whitmer has gone off the deep end, we should take note on how much it plays into his match on PPV. Will this be "super baby face" Whitmer like we saw at the 5/12 tapings? Will Whitmer lose, only to see him go "Incredible Hulk" and snap again, this time on PPV?
This is Ladies Night and The Feelings Right SHIMMER action has been added to both this Friday's event in Dayton and this Saturday's event in Chicago. Dayton on Friday will see singles action as Lacey takes on Serena Deeb. Saturday in Chicago will see tag action with Lacey & Rain vs. Daizee Haze & MsChif. The SHIMMER tag will be on the non-PPV part of the Chicago taping.
Now we have the reason for Daizee Haze's run in to save Serena last night in Dayton. I like the use of the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew as a tag team within ROH and that we're seeing more than Lacey, Haze and Sara Del Ray in action (at least in the mid west). It's a shame Allison Danger is gone (well, for now), because the Dangerous Angels tag team of Del Ray and Danger were being pushed earlier in the year. I could have easily seen those two teams doing war in an ROH ring. Chicago is SHIMMER's home base, so hopefully the ROH fans are going to give their support to the women here.
Wacky Races Commence, Cue Muttley's Laugh There is more information on the 16 man tournament discussed in the article on the main page of ROHwrestling.com. The "Race To The Top Tournament" will prove who has the strength, stamina and endurance to rise to the top of the card. It will take place over two shows. 7/28 in Edison, NJ has been announced as the first location. The first five participants have been announced and they are Kevin Steen, El Generico, Mike Quackenbush, Davey Richards and Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney. We'll have much more news on this first of its kind tournament in ROH next week.
As most dedicated readers of the column will know, I am a huge mark for tournaments, so I'm very excited to see this one occur. It has a specific and intended goal, and that is to legitamitze and to validate the newer talent and push one or two of them to the next level in the quickest and most sound way possible. Of course, this is presuming that the wrestlers who make it to the finals do so with the effort of a Roderick Strong or Austin Aries at Survival of the Fittest and not say, Dragon Soldier B. I like all five choices so far for the tournament, and I like Chris Hero as the early favorite to win the whole thing.
Hero's Sandwich
Welcome back again, my Hero-ites, it is your icon, your idol, your HERO, Chris Hero and I. I am writing this week's message almost immediately upon my victory in the Gauntlet match tonight here in Dayton, Ohio, which is sort of like my adopted hometown. I write this now, as more than 15,000 Hero-ites are waiting for my arrival at a local watering hole, that is paying yours truly quite handsomely to come down, and spend some time with the "ham and eggers", as Bobby Heenan would have said so well. This week, I have a few important things to discuss, but very little time, so I will have to keep this short and to the point. You know the old saying, "time is money", and time is short, so here we go.
First, I would like to speak on tonight's match. I found it to be insulting that the ROH powers that be put me in a match so early on the card. I mean, aren't you supposed to keep the BIG NAMES on the card until the second half of the show? What shoddy booking. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Gabe Sapolsky is possibly one of the most overrated bookers in wrestling today. Sure, he does some very interesting things, but even a blind squirrel can find a nut on occasion. Maybe someday, Cary will learn that I am a great booker as well as wrestler, and give me the chance to show the world what a great mind I am. In my opinion, I could be the next Dusty Rhodes or Vince Russo, and you know you want some of that. Also, for tonight's match, I would like to say a few words about my competition. How dare they put me in with such bottom feeders like Primeau, Pearce, Rave, and Delirious? Haven't I beaten all of these guys before? OF COURSE I HAVE. I've beaten everyone at least 20 times as it is. Sure, it was fun beating up on Delirious again, but it's getting a bit old, you know? And look at the rest of those dopes. Primeau? Midget. Pearce? Tub of goo. Rave? Curtain jerker. If I had lost this match, I think I would have had to either quit ROH, or even hang up my boots. You can all breathe easily now, especially you, Ari. We all know just how much you love the in ring styling of Chris Hero.
Onto the second topic at hand. I have been told that my match with the wanker, McGuinness will not be on the second ROH pay-per-view. ROH's management has insulted me for the last time, damn it!! I have threatened to set my Hero-ites on ROH, and now, the Hero apocalypse will begin. You watch. The buy rates for the first two ppv's will be lower than those for the Jerry Springer ppv's that are offered on most cable services. Its unconscionable that Gabe and Cary are so short sighted to make their biggest star their biggest enemy. I am so powerful, and so influential with the wrestling fans in the United States that I can single-handedly destroy the future of this company. People ask me all the time "if you're so powerful, why are you still an independent wrestler?" To that question I answer in a very concise way. No one can afford to pay me what I am worth over a long-term contract. Not the WWE, not TNA, and especially not ROH. However, I am willing to accept show-to-show paychecks from ROH, because, as I've told you before, I am the highest paid worker in ROH today. Once again, I must lament the fact that ROH has snubbed me on the PPV, but its okay. Chris Hero will have his day. Just you wait.
Now, onto Nigel McGuinness. It's almost an insult that I have to beat up on this second tier talent again. I'm starting to feel sorry for him, because from what I've seen, all he does is finish his night staring at the lights. Who has he beaten? NO ONE. Did you see Danielson own him every time they step into the ring? Now we all know how I own Danielson, so imagine what's going to happen in Chicago tomorrow night? I'd be surprised if Nigel emerges from that match without a serious or career threatening injury. I have created a game plan for this match that is second to none, and I am so confident that I will be victorious that I am going to make sure to stay out as late as possible tonight, just to make the match fair. Nigel, as I've said before cant even carry my gym bag to the venue every night, so tomorrow night should be like child's play. It would almost be as easy as if I was wrestling the corpulent scribe of this column in the ring. What a joke.
Lastly, I want to address a question that I have been hearing over and over again lately. "What do you think about the Austin Aries situation?" You want to know what I think? I think Aries dug himself a big hole, and deserves to stay in it. Besides, I don't know if he could climb out of it, given his diminutive stature. Too bad for Austin, they say. Yeah, right. Too bad he opened his big trap and got in trouble. Who does he think he is? Jeff Jarrett? I think Aries got what he deserved, and I hope I never have to see him back in the ROH. He's another joke to me, an overrated talent, who I could beat with my arm tied behind my back.
And on that note, I will take my leave for another week. I will be back next week to dissect my easy victory over McGuinness and to set the stage for the summer of Hero. This has been your weekly dose of enlightenment; this has been your Hero's Sandwich. Sayonara, suckers!
Honorarium
The One Liner Edition:
-You can't spell "honor" without "R" "O" and "H"…coincidence? Or sneaky plot by wordsmiths?
-What if the "Race to the top" Tournament an actual race? Who would win? You know, Bobby Dempsey has been getting some endurance training from Tank Toland. He did run around the track at Roxbury Crossing. Delirious does a lot of running laps around the ring, so you know he would be up for it. You know who I'd be worried about? El Generico. Dude wears a cape, and if he catches a good wind, he could take off and fly his way on to the finish line.
-Who named the Greco-Roman knuckle lock? Did the Greeks and Romans really fight that way? You know, you'd think they'd be more into, spears and flaming swords and all that. Like you see in the movies. Not what you'd see during Hogan-Warrior from Wrestlemania VI.
-Eddie Kingston perpetually looks like he's falling asleep.
-Colt Cabana made his debut on OVW getting squashed by Mike Kruel. What was interesting was his nick name—BOOM BOOM Cabana. So either Cabana is going to sideline as a stripper…or HE BLEW UP VINCE MCMAHON'S LIMO! It all fits together now!
-CM Punk vs. Chris Benoit: a dream match for ROH fans is happening this Sunday on the Vengeance PPV. It may single handedly get me to purchase this one. One more dream match for Punk on ECW is left that hasn't been touched yet: Punk vs. The Miz. Time to get a REALITY CHECK!
-What makes "The Anarchist" Doug Williams such an anarchist? When has he done anything resembling anarchy? He's a baby face for god sakes!
ROH Preview: June 23rd, 2007: Chicago, IL for ROH's Second PPV
Frontier Fieldhouse
9807 Sayre Ave.
Chicago Ridge, IL 60415
Pay Per View:
ROH World Tag Team Title Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe (if still champions) defend vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
This is going to be chaotic and violent and oh yes, stiff as hell. Both teams have a compelling grudge against the other. Steen and Generico took The Briscoes to the limit in their debut as a team in February. Then they pinned Mark Briscoe in a non title tag match in April (Mark was not scheduled originally to take part in the match). The Briscoes meanwhile, are furious that Steen has taken advantage of Mark Briscoe's head injuries. They have tossed him around and put him on his head multiple times without regard for the concussion he sustained in March. Some would argue that if Mark Briscoe's injuries were that bad, that he should stay out of action. However, Mark has manned up and continued to defend the ROH World Tag Team titles with his brother Jay. After a gruling tag defense against Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal on the 5/12 PPV taping, Steen threw down the challenge and the result was a massive pull apart brawl that had the fans in attendance going nuclear in their shouts. This match up is still very much fresh and exciting and that feeling should come across live and in person. The Chicago crowd is very much pro-Briscoes so they should get a ton of support in this title defense. Conversely Steen will get a ton of heat for being a bully and taking the advantage against The Briscoes. Ultimately, this match (and the pre taped Danielson-McGuinness match) will be worth the price of the second PPV.
ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima Will Defend The Title!!!
Like his first title defense on PPV, Morishima puts the title up for grabs against an unspecified opponent. While all of the matches on the NYC card were withheld, BJ Whitmer issued the open challenge answered by Morishima. This time around, the open challenge seems to be from the champion. Right now, given the already signed matches and the roster list, there are three prime candidates to receive the title shot: Roderick Strong, who received the last title shot and came close to winning on 6/9. He also has a PPV victory against Delirious from Respect is Earned to use as collateral and visible proof of his qualifications to receive a title shot. Claudio Castagnoli has a title shot in his back pocket and is a strong challenger to any title. He may want to cash in his opportunity earlier than scheduled in order to make the most impact. Brent Albright may also want to do the same. Delirious was also discussed as a possibility on the ROH Roundtable we do here at 411, and I could still see it happening despite the loss in the Gauntlet series last night. My money has switched though to Roderick Strong getting the shot and Morishima successfully defending the belt on his way to Japan.
Special Challenge Match
Naomichi Marufuji vs. BJ Whitmer
Marufuji gets another Pay Per View showcase match. On the Respect is Earned show, he successfully moved past the challenge of Rocky Romero. Now I expect he does the same here with Whitmer. It appears as if this could be a clash of styles, but people may be surprised, especially if Whitmer brings some newfound anger and aggression.
************
Non Pay Per View:
"Glory By Honor V: Night 2" Rematch
Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA
Obviously THE big match to close out the night. These two have great chemistry against each other and the American fans just eat it up. Their history goes back to 3/25/06 Best in the World, where Dragon got destroyed by a Go 2 Sleep. Dragon also lost to KENTA in a three way with Samoa Joe in June of 2006. Dragon defended his ROH World Title against KENTA by making him submit to Cattle Mutilation in September 2006. KENTA won the unofficial rematch in Japan for NOAH. Dragon then tapped KENTA out again at the Respect is Earned PPV tapings. Now we are back to U.S. soil and another singles encounter between the two.
Expect this to go about the same as the other matches—meaning a solid building up of the match to a fever pitch. KENTA's strikes are still some of the most intimidating in the business. The major difference is that Danielson's shoulder seems to be close to 100 percent and at any rate is far healthier than how he was back in September or December. Danielson is not intimidated by KENTA and I think KENTA should be worried about being submitted yet again. He needs to build his submission defense and try to nail a big concussive blow in order to win the rematch. Otherwise Dragon takes another chapter in this rivalry.
Grudge Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero w/Larry Sweeney, Tank Toland & Bobby Dempsey
Hero believes that he owes McGuinness for both the losses he sustained at Supercard of Honor II and This Means War II as well as the embarrassment his good friend Johnny Fairplay suffered at the hands of everyone's favorite Briton. Hero has a cadre to which he may use to help him achieve those ends. Look at it this way—McGuinness is outnumbered four to one in this match (five to one if you count Toland for two people and six to one if you count Dempsey as two). Hero has seen McGuinness's best and taken his best shots. McGuinness hasn't seen Hero's biggest moves. If Nigel wants to win this one, he needs to both outsmart Hero's entourage and outlast Hero's offense. He's done it before and he can do it again.
SHIMMER Tag Team Match
Lacey & Rain w/ Jimmy Jacobs vs. Daizee Haze & MsChif
This attraction tag match was set up over the course of last week's newswire and the events of last night in Dayton. Lacey and Rain work a good heel tandem and have great team psychology. Haze and Serena have mutual goals but little experience teaming with each other. That's the key for me here and what will ultimately cost the faces the win.
Plus more with:
-No Remorse Corps of Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
-Claudio Castagnoli
-Matt Sydal
-Jimmy Rave
-Brent Albright
-The Resilience of Erick Stevens & Matt Cross
-Delirious
-Adam Pearce with Shane Hagadorn
-Pelle Primeau
-Plus more to be added!!!
I did this last time and got SHUT OUT, but that's not going to stop me from making an embarrassment of myself…AGAIN. So, therefore, without further ado, here are some bold and fearless PREDICTIONS about how the rest of the card will shake out. If I'm lucky, I won't have to make fun of myself for getting it all wrong next week.
ROH World Title Match: Takeshi Morishima vs. Roderick Strong
Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Matt Sydal
Erick Stevens & Matt Cross vs. Jimmy Rave and Adam Pearce (w/ Shane Hagadorn)
Delirious vs. Pelle Primeau vs. two ROH students / try outs
Honor Culture
As many of you may or may not realize, wrestling concepts seem to tie together interestingly to real world concepts. Many names of moves for instance, are allusions to peoples, places or things. Wrestlers might have nicknames or personalities that tie into other cool snippets of socity. ROH is no different. So on a regular basis, I will check in with a dose of the Honor Culture and show you where these lines between wrestling and the so called "real world" cross over. For example:
Culture Lesson 3: Trimming A Lawn With A Daisy Cutter
In ROH, a Daizee Cutter is a move performed by Daizee Haze. It works as a sort of variation "Acid Trip (Dudley Dog) / Stunner" combination. Haze traps her opponent's head with her arms in the position one would do a cutter move. Then she rebounds off the turnbuckle and as she and her opponent fall downward she jars her opponent with a stunner chin breaker. Haze often uses this move as a means of escape from a sleeperhold or chinlock. She is then free to move on to her finishing moves, including the dread Heart punch / Yakuza kick, and Mind Trip move.
Credit: onlineworldofwrestling.com
In the Mainstream, a Daisy Cutter is something completely different but just as explosive. Taken from Wikipedia:
A daisy cutter is a type of fuse designed to detonate a bomb at or above ground level. The fuse itself is a long probe affixed to the weapon's nose, which detonates the bomb if it touches the ground or any solid object.
The purpose for a daisy-cutter fuse is primarily to maximize blast damage on the surface of a target. A bomb with a conventional fuse will often be driven deeply into the ground by the force of its impact, limiting the range of its blast. A bomb with a daisy-cutter fuse will detonate before it has a chance to penetrate the ground, allowing its energy to spread over a larger area. For this reason daisy-cutter fuses are often used to clear foliage and vegetation, such as for the purpose of creating landing points for helicopters.
Culture Connection: The Haze may be all about peace, love and understanding, but there is only war, destruction and detonation with a real Daisy Cutter. Is that the irony of the move or is it just a crazy and clever wordplay?
Going Home
Ringtones
Tyler Barker is in asking for more recommendations for ROH shows.
I am a new roh fan I bought crowning a champion and really liked it if you can you give your top ten roh DVDs of all time and the year so I know what is worth buying thanks Tyler
I just did a "Desert Island DVD" feature in my column a few weeks back. Those had my personal five selections of all time great shows. They were, in chronological order:
Death Before Dishonor I
Manhattan Mayhem
Joe vs. Kobashi
Glory By Honor V Night 2
Final Battle 2006
To that I'd add:
Reborn Night 2
Death Before Dishonor II Part 2
Nowhere to Run
Punk: The Final Chapter
Better Than Our Best
Fifth Year Festival: Finale
ZV writes in with some praise, a suggestion and a very important question:
Hello!
I'm a reader of your column since it began and nowadays it's one of the only non-Csonka columns I look into on 411, so big props to you for making it fun!
(though it grew a bit large. It could use a table of contents with links to different parts, so it's easier for your loyal readers to pick their parts of interest)
Anyway, there's one thing that I've been wondering about and didn't notice an answer to (if there was any).
Who writes the Hero's Sandwich? Is it the real Chris Hero? 'Cos if it isn't, I'm worked all right.
cheers,
zv
Thanks very much for the big compliments on the column. Larry might get jealous though! That's one for me Larry C!
Yeah for some reason, these columns tend to just grow in length, even during the weeks where I intend to keep it reasonable, it just happens. A table of contents may be a good idea for ease, but not when I want everyone to read as much of the column as possible! I'll see what i can do with the idea though. John Meehan does a contents section at the beginning of his Saturday news, so maybe I'll adopt his format. I'll make some sort of adjustment for next week's column.
As far as who writes the Hero's Sandwich, I can never tell. I've been sworn to secrecy and in fact I don't want to risk a lawsuit (again) or losing my column (again), so we'll just leave it at that. However, I hope you enjoy them as much as "Chris Hero" enjoys writing them.
**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 **Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter One (Samoa Joe / Eddie Kingston, Larry Sweeney / Bryan Alvarez, Josh Ambercrombie / Austin Aries, Hydra / "Old Timer" Jeff King) (NEW ADDITION)
**Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter Two (Alex Shelley / Low Ki, Mike Quackenbush / Tiger Mask IV, Human Tornado / Josh Ambercrombie) (NEW ADDITION)
(full list returns next week)
Fight Sports Midwest is a new NWA affiliate independent that runs out of Portage, Indiana. Chapter One, is obviously the first show. The event is held in a hockey rink, so the area is bright and clean and everything comes out good on video, although even with a very decent sized crowd for an indie promotion (225 was the official number), it seems like it's a bit too big for what they're aiming for. Dave Prazak and Joey Eastman provide commentary for most of the DVD and do a good job of it. Eastman in particular is a fun listen and gives just as good as Prazak on the mic.
Samoa Joe-Eddie Kingston was the main event of the first show and while it's a quick match, it packs a lot in for its time. Joe is absolutely vicious with his kicks and Kingston comes out the better for taking them and continuing onwards in the match. It is one of those matches where one can get elevated even in a losing effort. Obviously Figure 4 Weekly fans recognize the name Bryan Alvarez and this was his first match against Larry Sweeney after the two engaged in an Internet shoot video war that saw Sweeney offer Alvarez $7,500 and a shot at the Tex-Arkana TV title. Now Alvarez is a smaller and thinner wrestler and is more known for being a writer than a wrestler at this point of his career. However, the video and the live promos help to convince the fans in attendance and those watching at home that Alvarez not only knows his stuff but also stands a chance against Sweeney. It's a very solid and enjoyable match and room is left open for more. I should also mention Josh Ambercrombie as one of my newfound discoveries (although people have been talking him up for a while now). If you watched WSX, you might better recall Ambercrombie as Josh "Jugs" Raymond (part of the Trailer Park Boys), but his non WSX gimmick is something else. Dude comes out to "The Right Stuff" by New Kids on the Block (never thought I'd EVVVERRR mention them in a column, but there it is), and has this strange and awful Zubaz looking patterned short tights. He also has a mustache gimmick and is stroking it every chance he gets. Wait. That didn't come out right. Moving on. The gimmick works really well with Aries as his opponent, since Aries is likewise groomed.
Chapter Two has the better top matches and more names, but the undercard matches are also weaker than Chapter One. The entrances are mostly cut down as well (maybe to mask a smaller crowd or just a directorial choice gone wrong) and that is a bit disappointing because I'd wanted to see the full entrances for guys like Shelley, low Ki, Tornado and Quack. Shelley and Ki is a MUST watch. These two worked hard against each other here—I am NOT shocked to see that TNA has not put these two against each other, because one its TNA, but two because these two have great chemistry. Tornado vs. Ambercrombie is another fun match and Tornado's chasing Ambercrombie around the venue is a comedic highlight. Kingston-Joey Ryan is a delay fest but also very humorous and entertaining, but I ended up fast forwarding through a bit of it. I also fats forwarded through Joey Mercury-Arik Cannon, mostly because I'm not a Cannon fan. Tyler Black took on Marty Jannetty in the semi main event and while Jannetty kept up, it was more depressing and sad to see this match than anything inspirational. Jannetty has so much talent and had so many opportunities to be involved in WWE during the last few years, that to see him doing the independent scene now is upsetting.
The main event of Quack and Tiger Mask IV is good but not as good as anticipated. Quack is very knowledgeable about how to wrestle and interact with international talent, but Tiger mask seems to be either off his game or goldbricking his effort in the match. Quack's post match promo is very good and plays off the results of the match. Overall I'd recommend these shows as a pick up from smartmarkvideo.com, with the caveat that some matches will be skippable and not your cup of tea. The marquee matches and the entertainment value of seeing guys like Jeff King, Hydra, Tornado and Ambercrombie make the purchase worthwhile. Ultimately, I'd wait for a sale to pick these up but I would tell you to get them.
I'll discuss a new CHIKARA pick up next week in the column!
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) 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)
All Star Extravaganza III (ROH vs. Dragon Gate 8 Man Tag, Strong / Evans, Mochizuki / Richards, Cabana / Sydal / Hero / Pearce, Homicide / Daniels)
Supercard of Honor II (CIMA, SHINGO and Yokosuka / Dragon Kid / Saito / Mochikzuki, Strong / Aries, Whitmer / Jacobs, Evans & Doi / Richards and Romero, McGuinness / Hero, Daniels & Sydal / Delirious & Jay Briscoe) **Fighting Spirit (ROH World Title: McGuinness / Morishima, Jay Briscoe and Erick Stevens Mark Briscoe / El Generico & Kevin Steen, Evans & Delirious / Strong & Romero, Claudio / Romero, Cabana / Williams) (NEW ADDITION)
This section needs your help! If you want to recommend some good independent wrestling to your fellow internet readers out there, drop me a line for the column.
ROH @ 411 This Week
Samuel Berman and company (including myself) handle the analysis and predictions for the 6/22 and 6/23 shows in the ROH Roundtable.
Stuart Carapola concludes his four part look at Ring of Honor in 2006 with his new edition of That Was Then. Then Sammy blows up Stu's limo.
Wait, Stuart has come back and will go toe to toe with 411 reviewer Jacob Ziegler in this week's Buy or Sell.
Brad Garoon continues to review SHIMMER and looks at the newly released Volume 8. It's still on my to be watched pile.
The Briscoes squish Irish Airborne in this week's Independent Mid Card as brought to you by Mr. MAN UP himself, Samuel Berman.
Honor Bound Links
Alex Mattis begins to cover the world of independent wrestling beyond and sometimes including ROH in his new column The Best of the Rest. If you missed this the first time around in the deluge of columns and are a fan of CZW, PWG or IWA:MS, definitely check this one out.
Joe Estee covers the Keys to the main event of WWE Vengeance. 411 also has the Vegeance Roundtable preview (of which I also contribute) and Leonard Hayhurst's PPV preview.
Stuart Carapola covers the week in ECW and TNA in Friendly Competiton. He and I are also on the same wavelength about what happened with Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal this week.
Rob Halden, as always goes on Idiot Patrol and comes up with a doozy in this week's You're an Idiot.
Weyer places the Spotlight on the McMahon "death" situation.
Bayani layeths the Smackethdown on Smackdown in this week's Truth B Told.
Ask 411 about Steve Cook, Ask Steve Cook about 411.
(credit to subculture for the logo)
The 52nd day of his bondage. The time is getting closer…
Quick music recommendations: Paramore Riot!, The White Stripes Icky Thump, The Travelling Wilburys Collection, The Mooney Suzuki Have Mercy.
Time to get outta here as its been another long one this week. Next time out, PPV results and reaction, another week of Honor Culture and more ROH and independent coverage than anywhere on my particular block in Brooklyn, New York. See ya everyone.
