wrestling / Columns

Column of Honor: 08.04.07 Death Before Column of Dishonor II Part Two

August 4, 2007 | Posted by Ari Berenstein

Welcome back to Part Two of this week’s column.

ROH-mor Patrol: Oddsmakers

Okay, in addition to Project 161 there are a few rumors out there in ROH-land that I thought we’d get taken care of but in a very PTI inspired manner! So this week, I’m going to introduce Oddsmakers: ROH-mor edition. What I’ll do is take the top rumors of the week and then give a percentage chance that this will occur as well as an explanation as to my percentage. However, I thought why do this alone… so I got a little help from a few friends!

Welcome in from 411wrestling.com, the writer of The Independent Mid Card, Samuel Berman!.

Also from 411wrestling.com, the writer of Friendly Competition and the man who lays down the Burning Hammer, Stuart Carapola!

Finally we have my ROH show attending brother in arms and frequent column contributor, Chris “The Mick” Miccio!

Let’s Play!

1. The % chance that Samoa Joe will be back in ROH sometime during 2008.

Ari Berenstein: 20% Right now Samoa Joe has both every reason to stay in TNA and every reason to leave TNA. He hasn’t been taken care of in the way most Joe fans would expect—not that he hasn’t won titles—but rather, with respect for his character. I’ll just flat out say it; over the last few months Samoa Joe has often been made to look like a fool, very gullible and weak, especially up against Kurt Angle. On the other hand, by the end of the month he could very well be undisputed champion of, well, every championship in TNA plus the “IWGP” champion. At the same time we keep hearing the news every week of a new wrestler debuting in TNA, many of which are former WWE wrestlers who immediately come in and are treated as main event star talent. This leaves less room and less attention for Joe. Right now if Joe does not renew his contract with TNA, he could go to WWE or dare ROH fans hope, back to ROH. Entering this week, I wouldn’t have thought there was a place for Joe in WWE due to the increased role and popularity of Umaga. The “Samoan Bulldozer” may be even more successful than Joe at this time. Joe would come in as a clear number two behind Umaga and would have to work to prove his worth. However, with the numbers on the WWE roster dwindling every week, WWE may welcome him with open arms, if just to have the “numbers” for their roster.

I would love to see Joe back in ROH. It would mean ROH boosting its profile and possibly garnering more Pay Per View and DVD buys. Plus, Joe has always been a huge part of the heart and soul of the company and it would be good to see him come home. However, it would mean a significant pay cut (even with ROH spending money on contracts for its talent) at least initially. ROH has also become very used to the idea of a world without Joe and can exist without him. Can Joe come back to ROH and just reassume his place at the top of ladder? How would the rest of the talent making in roads to the main event react to that? The toughest factor is that this would also be looked at as a failure by Joe to make it through to the mainstream. To go back to where he was—would that be perceived as a downturn in his career? The odds are not in favor of Joe making his way back to ROH, despite the fact it’s probably his best move if he doesn’t win all the TNA titles and his contract runs out.

Samuel Berman: 6.5% I could go on and on about how silly a business decision TNA made by limiting its performers from wrestling for the top two Independents in the United States, but it would just fall on deaf ears at this point. The reality is that even though TNA isn’t completely viewed as a viable option by WWE employees yet, as Dave Meltzer confirmed on ESPN.com the other day, and even with morale in the TNA locker room dropping in recent months, that Joe has to see being on national television as a better long-term plan than appearing on every Independent show he can get booked on. TNA has shown over the years that it’s just rigid enough to not budge on its policies to keep this one low. I mean it took Daniels almost a year-and-a-half to appear again, and that’s when ROH wasn’t even ‘competition’ with their Pay-Per-View deal. As long as ROH is on PPV, which they look to be for the long haul with the expected success of Respect is Earned, then this stays predictably low. Can’t go higher than like 6.5% here.

Stuart Carapola: 5% or lower. The minute ROH made the PPV announcement, they pretty much guaranteed that no TNA contracted talents will appear on ROH shows ever again. Samoa Joe isn’t just under contract, he’s one of their top guys and, even though he’s not always booked the way internet smarks would like, TNA recognizes what they have in him. The only way he’d ever be allowed to return to ROH is if he somehow winds up no longer working for TNA, and I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that TNA will let that happen. I could see them taking somebody like a Jay Lethal or Matt Bentley and not thinking it’s such a big deal letting them go and seeing them pop up in ROH, but Samoa Joe is a different story entirely, and I think that if Joe is in TNA and not ROH right now, it was his choice to be there, and it’s in TNA that he’s likely to stay.

Chris Miccio: 15% Well, this is a tough question because I’m always hopeful that Joe will return, however, I’m also a realist. TNA has so much more financial power than ROH, and that’s going to be the deciding factor. If Joe is willing to accept less money for better matches, then that’s great. But in reality, Joe is an independent contractor who needs to make as much money as he can, before his body gives out, or the WWE comes calling. Sure, the booking he’s had to endure in TNA has been atrocious, but haven’t we all had those times at our jobs, where the day to day kind of sucks, but the paycheck makes it otherwise worthwhile? With that in mind, I’d have to say that the percent chance for him to return to the ROH for an extended period in 2008 would be small, maybe 15%. Now for a one time, dream match kind of shot? I’d say 50%. I actually hope that the dream match is somehow connected to the answer to the third question.

2. The % chance that “Project 161” is an actual angle done by / through ROH.

Ari Berenstein: 75%. I would have had this as far, far lower a percentage at the beginning of the week, but information is coming out rapidly concerning the connections between those who own the websites for abusedsociety.com and ROH. I am retaining a healthy bit of skepticism as I do with everything nowadays, but away from my journalistic responsibilities (insofar as not being a real reporter and just an ROH honk on the ‘net) I do personally believe this is an angle.

Samuel Berman: 100% Is there really any doubt here? Every mention of the thing gets ripped off of the forums EXCEPT for the ‘official’ ones that have links to the website and an associated AIM account. This is a no-doubter in my mind, and frankly I’ll be infinitely more shocked if this turns out to be a big hoax than if it ends up being an angle. Now WHICH angle is the big issue, as I’m holding out for it to be the fallout from Jimmy Loves Lacey, but if it ends up being the presumed union of Adam Pearce, Jimmy Rave and BJ Whitmer, I’ll be alright with that, too. They could even go an entirely different direction with it, which would also be fine. I mean let’s face it, from Jimmy Loves Lacey going back to Chris Hero’s first appearance in Ring of Honor, ROH hasn’t been hesitant to use the internet as an underground marketing tool. We’ll obviously see where all of this goes, but this is absolutely 100% from me.

Stuart Carapola:100% This is 100% certain to be ROH working the internet fans, and anybody who actually believes that somebody’s really out to get ROH and/or Gabe Sapolsky and family is a complete moron. For one, if Gabe Sapolsky and his family were really being harassed, why would he go bitching on the damn ROH message board and send messages to the guy that way? What would more likely happen would be that he would go to the cops (as he’s said he has) and the cops would tell him to just not do anything and let them handle it. Gabe going off and doing his own thing during an ongoing investigation would probably greatly hinder that investigation and be something he’d be warned against doing. Furthermore, the “messages” have been referencing kayfabe stuff such as the names of stables instead of office members, who would presumably be the real targets if this were a real stalker. As much fun as it is to sit around thinking about a real psycho out there doing horrible things such as handing out flyers, defacing mirrors, and posting pictures of Gabe and his wife on the internet, this whole thing just screams work, and if it isn’t then ROH’s fandom has produced the lamest psycho in stalking history.

Chris Miccio: 0% Project 161? What’s that? I have no idea what you’re talking about. There hasn’t been anything about it on the ROH message boards, so I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I did talk to my friend Gabriel, and he said it’s very real, so I’ll have to side with him. With that in mind, I’d have to say that its 100% not done by ROH. Ari, could you give me some questions that I might know how to answer? I know you and your Internet gremlins are like the cool kids in school, and have all these inside jokes, and you like to feel so much smarter than the rest of us, but would you at least preface the questions that you ask a guest to answer with a review segment? What shoddy journalism. And here I thought you were my friend. I feel so abused and underutilized.

3. The % chance that Mitsuhara Misawa will wrestle for ROH by the end of 2007.

Ari Berenstein: 25% This rumor has not let up since last year and that is why I have my percentage as high as twenty five percent. Dave Meltzer and Zach Arnold have reported Misawa will be wrestling for ROH in November. Misawa has wrestled in America in the twenty first century before (most notably for Harley Race’s Midwest promotion WLW) and an appearance for ROH cannot be ruled out, especially given the tight connections between NOAH and ROH. I always have my personal doubts about this actually coming to pass and I won’t actually believe it until I see it. That said; let me point out the following: Muta, CIMA, Kobashi, Morishima. If these guys can make their appearance in ROH, then Misawa is not out of the picture. There’s a chance he will be here. A one in four chance actually.

Samuel Berman: 0% Let me be clear on this: ZERO PERCENT. There is absolutely no way that Misawa appears in Ring of Honor by the end of 2007. The time to have it happen would have been on the first Japan shows, and with those having come and gone, there’s no real opportunity for him to appear. I suppose he could debut at Final Battle just as KENTA did two years ago, but from my seat the question is ‘why would he?’. Misawa in Ring of Honor would be cool, but I think that people expecting a Kobashi-like event (at least in terms of match quality and event atmosphere) will just end up being disappointed. Regardless, IF Misawa ever wrestles for Ring of Honor, and that’s a BIG, BIG ‘if’, it will be when the company returns to Japan and not on American soil.

Stuart Carapola: 20% I’ll say that there’s a 20% chance of this happening. If you’d given me until the end of 2008, I’d say the chance would be higher, but gotta go by what I’m given to work with. There’s a part of me that thinks there’s no chance they’re ever going to get Misawa in ROH, but then again if you’d told me they’d get Kobashi two years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long already), I’d have never believed you. However, the Kobashi deal really opened the door for the ongoing relationship between ROH and NOAH, to the point where a NOAH talent is now the ROH World Champion. I think Misawa coming in is possible, but the main question that springs to mind would be who he would be matched up with? A lot of names have departed the company, and there’s not really many left that are top stars on the level of being believable working with Misawa. Danielson and Nigel, that’s about it. I don’t know that NOAH would allow a Morishima-Misawa match to be blown in ROH, but I don’t know all the politics over there. All I’m saying is there’s other factors involved here than just whether he’d be willing to do it.

Chris Miccio:100% Misawa. In ROH. First, let me say that would be awesome for the company and for American wrestling fans. Just the thought of having Misawa, the most influential man in the current world of PURO in an ROH ring makes me insane with anticipation. Now, the question is what are the odds that he will actually do this? In my estimation, the odds are very good, if not a proverbial lock. With that in mind, I’d say the odds on this happening are 100%. Misawa has to realize how much exposure ROH has given the talents from NOAH, and repay them for their help in generating a significantly larger amount of interest in NOAH and its young stars, like KENTA (always caps), Marufuji, and most importantly, Morishima. I just hope it’s in New York City, so that I can be there to see it live. ROH, please don’t give this match to Chicago or Detroit. NYC is the best place for an event of this magnitude. That’s just my 2 cents.

There you have it, the consensus is that Samoa Joe may not return to ROH anytime soon, Project 161 is an angle and Misawa is NOT a few months away from his ROH debut.

YOUR WINNER? That’s right; once again it’s Michael Wilbon! Tony always says he wins this game, but it’s really Wilbon and it’s not any different this time.

Big ups and thank yous to Sam, Stu and Chris for agreeing to do this with me this week. Now onto our more regular features.

The Black T-Shirt Squad

Four new T-shirts from Ring of Honor were released last week, ensuring that every ROHbot’s later Summer and early Fall fashion will be filled with ROH apparel. Well, maybe…maybe not. IS this new crew of 100 percent Cotton worth your hard earned bucks? We shall soon see in this new edition of The Black T-Shirt Squad.

Austin Aries “A / Inverted A”

Description: Austin Aries is back…and that means so is his merchandise! Or… “Moichandizing” as Yogurt would say. This logo was Aries’ most recent trunk design and had yet to be placed on a T-shirt. It’s a stylized A in black and red border followed up with an inverted letter “A” in red with black border. No apparent printing or design on back of shirt.

Hip: The A / inverted A is a favorite logo of mine and a simple yet modern design. Who doesn’t like vectors and polygons? PYGMIES! That’s who!

Zip: The choice of color for the logo is a bit garish, especially pressed onto a heather grey shirt. The shirt is also a bit flat in terms of a first shirt for Aries—nothing declaring his return or why he’s that important to ROH.

Wear or Tear?: It’s a decent enough shirt, but I was expecting more. I would say if you can get the Aries “Wrestling Machine / Gears” shirt, gab that instead, but it’s no longer available in the ROH store.
Grade: B-

Chris Hero “Superman Logo”

Description: Up in the sky…faster than a speeding opponent, more powerful than Morishima, it’s a bird, it’s a plane…NO! It’s YOU in a Chris Hero “CH” logo shirt! This is a take on one of Hero’s better known shirts, with the Superman homage in blue / yellow / red for the man who hails from Metropolis. And his name ain’t Cark Kent.

Hip: Superman and Comic book nerds will know exactly where you’re coming from with the shirt. You’ll be the hero of the local Super Fans. The logo is pretty damn spot on too, even down to the curls of the letters. Also very hip for those whose initials actually start with “C” and “H”.

Zip: Hero released the shirt with his initials spelled out on the back and more of his “wonder” egotistical-isms. This shirt doesn’t have anything on the back, which will be a disappointment to those looking for some inspiration from the Hero of Heroes.

Wear or Tear?: ROH pretty much got it right with this one. Of course, Chris Hero would say he did all the work for them already and what took them so long to sell his merch? I’d suggest you also pick up the very smart wrestling fan-tastic “Chris is Awesome (CLAP CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP) shirt. Get it? Chris is awesome? A take off of the this is awesome chant…man that would DEFINITELY piss off the ROHbots in the crowd. It’s also very hip for those whose name actually is Chris.
Grade: B

Bryan Danielson “Still the Best”

Description: Danielson gets his first new shirt since his return from the shoulder injury. The shirt makes sure you know one thing—that Danielson is “Still the Best (Wrestler in the World).” Danielson’s shadow strikes a pose to show off the guns, while a globe design of the world is behind him. How symbolic. All we need is him lifting the globe like Atlas.

Hip: Maroon is the color for Danielson and this is his second shirt in a row in that color and in this general design. It works for the shirt and it fits his style very well. The globe design is quite striking and reminds me of the architecture outside the 59th Street station in Manhattan.

Zip: The font for the words is a tad appalling…can’t we get anything better than that? It’s also the second shirt in a row that doesn’t sport Danielson’s face…he has expressed in interviews his aversion to merchandise in the first place, so I can only conclude his socialist leanings are preventing from anyone seeing his visage! This is also the second Danielson shirt in a row that does NOT include the “I have until 5!” catchphrase. To which I say-ROH GET ON THE BALL ALREADY!

Wear or Tear?: Definitely wear if you are a fan of Danielson. This one seems to be the best of the new bunch.
Grade: B

Delirious “Chemical Imbalance”

Description: Want to let your friends and the whole public know just how certifiably crazy you are? Well Ring of Honor has JUST the shirt for you! Delirious gets his second ROH shirt and it again takes advantage of the unique design of Delirious’ mask. “Delirious” is placed vertically with weirdo font to throw off everyone. You’ll see how many people turn their heads to the side to read just what word that is on your shirt! If that wasn’t enough, you’ll let everyone in on your little secret—you are on Prozac because you are “chemically imbalanced”! Don’t be surprised it you find yourself in a mental ward soon after putting this shirt on!

Hip: The Delirious mask is faithfully represented and represents the cool factor of the character.

Zip: Sure, green is the color associated with the masked man, but it’s a bright “Secret of the Ooze” green…a green that would make Kermit the Frog say “it’s not easy being green, but thank god I’m not that green!” Hey…Kermit the Frog meets Delirious…that’s a hell of an idea…book it Gabe!

Wear or Tear?: I can’t recommend you wear this shirt in public, but I don’t think its that terrible that you should tear it up either. Recommended only for wearing at wrestling events. At least there you’ll find right in with the rest of the insanity.
Grade: C

There you have it—the last word on the newest ROH shirts is “average”. They could have done much better with choices of logos and colors and such, but none of them are offensive enough that you would get beat up by your sister if you wore one. I’ll be back for more T-shirt reviewing when the wrestling fashion world needs it most, but for now, this meeting of The Black T-Shirt squad is adjourned!

Honorarium

-Speaking of T-shirts, I received a “Watchu gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?” shirt from my friends. I’m still trying to figure out what I did to piss them off.

-I can’t tell you how much of a boon YouTube has become. Well actually I can. I wanted to go see Sara Bareilles in concert at Bowery Ballroom, but I waited too long and tickets were sold out. Sara wasn’t headlining, but I expect she was the reason for the sell out because she has a higher profile now comparable to the other acts that were on the bill. Well anyway, one day, ONE day passes and footage from the show is already up on the YT. It’s not complete songs or a complete show, but it’s good enough for me right now to make up for the disappointment of not being able to be there live.

-Good on Danielson for winning the PWG championship last weekend. Danielson is easily one of the top independent talents out there right now, but not only can he back it up in the ring but he can back it up with the trust of promotions. He is champ of PWG right now. He may be the new NWA Heavyweight champion after the results of their tournament finishes up. Finally, come August 25th, 2007 Danielson may be once again and the first two time ROH World Champion. That’s some indie star power right there.

– Late P161 PURE speculation:

-An anonymous emailer who did not wish to be identified wrote to me and said that he engaged in a conversation with Honor161 and was left a message soon after Jimmy Rave had been released that simply stated “Rave”. I don’t have any clue if that means anything significant or if it’s just something that was “in the know” at that point. Take it with a grain of salt.

-If you look at the current listed roster for the September 14th /15th shows, Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Rave (which would be obvious given his “firing”) are all NOT yet listed as appearing. Now, they’re not listed for DBD V either, BUT they are listed for 8/24. AND 9/15 IS show # 161…

-What if Project 161 is not a reference to 9.15, but rather code. The 16th letter of the alphabet is “P” and the first letter is “A”. PA = Pennsylvania. PA is the site of night 2 Death Before Dishonor V on August 11th. What would be the most DISHONORABLE thing that could be done on that night? An attack by an abused society without honor?

The Money Players: June and July 2007

Who are the money players? In the sports industry, money players are the athletes who are making the right plays at the right moments.

In wrestling, the concept of the money player is not all that different. The wrestler who has a great match or gives an impressive impression upon the audience ups their worth to the wrestling promoter. While you may be helping your team, you are also helping yourself and your career.

So once a month here at Column of Honor, I’ll be looking at some of the money players in Ring of Honor. We’ll also see who’s hot, who’s not, who’s making those key plays and who is dropping the ball, so to speak.

Money Players of the Month—June 2007

Bryan Danielson (AMER)

-Danielson returned to Ring of Honor in May, but it was really in June that he came back to full form before his five month absence. Matches against a variety of opponents from Jimmy Rave to KENTA showed that Danielson still had a diversity of skills. Danielson’s main event match up against KENTA was widely heralded and perhaps just as good as their first match at Glory By Honor V Night 2, my pick for COH Match of the Year for 2006. Not to mention what is also being praised as a possible MOTYC in his match against McGuinness, which took place 6/9 in Philadelphia and will appear at the second Pay Per View. Danielson was huge money in June and had the matches we all wanted to see.

Money Players of the Month—July 2007

Claudio Castagnoli (CAST)

-The Race to the Top Tournament winner had been “heating up” (NBA Jam reference Ol’ School yeah) over the last couple of months with exciting performances in singles and tag matches. Now by defeating four men in a two night tournament, Claudio has etched his name in ROH history. Claudio and El Generico made each other in Edison, NJ. Now Claudio is both the most money making man and the money player of July’s events.

Previous Money Players:
May 2007: Jay & Mark Briscoe (BRSC)
April 2007: Colt Cabana (COLT)
March 2007: BJ Whitmer (WHIT), Jimmy Jacobs (HUSS), Jay and Mark Briscoe (BRSC)
February 2007: Samoa Joe (SAMO)
January 2007: Homicide (HOMI)

ROH STOCK INDEX

Breadwinners STOCK UP!

Takeshi Morishima (MORI): Still the leading most man in ROH and the champion. Morishima has had a quiet July but he is a favorite for stock portfolios and a proven earner. He faces tough challenges ahead but seems confident enough to make it through August as champion.

Claudio Castagnoli (CAST): Catasagnoli’s win guarantees his stock holder more dividends. His product is incredibly hot right now and the industry buzz says that Claudio could be the next ROH World Champion. With the extra gold, Claudio’s stock would rise even higher but even for right now Double C’s stock is definitely valuable.

El Generico (GNRC) and Kevin Steen (KSTN): The number one contender’s for the ROH World Tag Team Titles continue to impress the ROH faithful. They have great matches in both the singles and tag divisions. Generico may have been looked at as a weaker link prior to July 28th, but now he and Steen are going through the roof. Stock WAY up!

Mike Quackenbush (QUAK): Mike Quackenbush was a well known commodity that finally made its debut in the ROH marketplace in June. Quack hasn’t won a ton, but investors are impressed with the response he gets from consumers. Name value is important as is customer satisfaction and Quack is a stock that has both of these factors. It’s a highly speculative stock but cash in while you can.

Austin Aries (ARES): Austin Aries had one of the largest turnarounds in stock market history. Going from threatened to be dropped from the stock index completely to being one the hottest commodities of the month—that needs to be celebrated with some champagne. Aries and his new brand name product The Resilience has also begun to affect the competition, the NRC. Their losses are the gain of Aries and The Resilience.

Delirious (DELI): A huge win for Delirious against Roderick Strong in Japan helped Delirious make a big turn around this month. His stock had been slumping for a while but the win curtailed that trend. Quarterly reports are going to be helped by increased market penetration with Japan fans and especially female 18-24 year olds, who can’t help but get enough of the green machine.

Loss Leaders STOCK DOWN!

Nigel McGuinness (NIGE): McGuinness won a title shot but then lost the title match. In addition he has looked second place next to Bryan Danielson and that has some market watchers nervous. Market confidence is a huge thing these days and even the perception of weakness of failing to make quarterly goals is enough to put you in this category.

No Remorse Corps (NRCP) / Roderick Strong (STNG): Major, major losing streak here for the NRC and especially their leader Roderick Strong, who takes the largest fall here. Strong lost not one but TWO major matches to his rivals and that has stock holders selling off their shares and quickly. The NRC may make a comeback, but its hard to tell. The Resilience presents stiff market competition and when these two brands go head to head, their may only be one winner.

Trendsetters

Tank Toland (TANK): Toland’s new aerobic service company is taking off and his list of star celebrity clients (rumored to include Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway) is impressive. Toland’s enterprise is setting the trend for personal fitness and the stock market loves entrepreneurs raising the bar. An entertaining investor’s report also helped to put much confidence in this one.

Jay & Mark Briscoes (BRSC) It takes a lot to walk away from the money for a higher cause…but Jay and Mark proved that you can do that and live to tell the tale. The stock market may not condone walking away from guaranteed money, but it cannot be denied that the brothers set a trend. Roderick Strong and Delirious soon walked away from the money as well for a greater cause than money—personal enmity.

Future Outlooks

(+) POSITIVE: Austin Aries (way up), Adam Pearce (up), Jack Evans (up), Erick Stevens (up), Tank Toland (up)Takeshi Morishima, The Briscoes, El Generico, Kevin Steen, Bryan Danielson, Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Hallowicked, Pelle Primeau, Chris Hero, Brent Albright, Claudio Castagnoli,

(/) NEUTRAL: Nigel McGuiness (drops), Roderick Strong (drops), Davey Richards (drops), Rocky Romero (drops), Gran Akuma (drops) Delirious, Jimmy Rave, Matt Sydal, BJ Whitmer

(-) NEGATIVE: Matt Cross, SHINGO, Jimmy Jacobs, Shane Hagadorn, Irish Airborne, Ricky Reyes

Out of the stock market: PAC

Penny Stocks
Looking for a cheap bargain? This is the place to speculate on the next possible big things…but look out; there could also be a few duds here.

–More than a penny for your thoughts
Pelle Primeau (PPRM)–Improves every show. Recently had a very good match against Eddie Edwards and the upset win against Whitmer was compelling.
Shane Hagadorn (HAGA):–Needs to keep on Dragon’s robe so no one can see his face.
Irish Airborne (IAIR)
M Dogg 20 “Matt Cross” (MD20)–Needs to start sticking some landings.
Tank Toland (TANK)–Funniest fitness trainer since Hanz and Franz.

–Still just one cent
Trik Davis (TRIK)
CJ Otis (OTIS)
Jason Blade (BLAD):–Out with an injury.
Eddie Edwards (EDED):
Eddie Osirus (EOSI)–Has he recovered from the loss to Del Ray yet?
Mitch Franklin (MFRN)
Bobby Dempsey (BDEM)
Rhett Titus (TTUS)
Alex Payne (PAYN)

Closing Thoughts / Ring the Bell: The closing bell is rung this month by Claudio Castagnoli, who leads the pack of all stocks this month. Approaching Trump like mogul status, Claudio makes the moves that make the man. A very busy stock market this month and next month is not going to slow down any at all. Depending on who walks out of the month as champion the stock market may be approaching record highs.

Hero’s Sandwich

Yeah, here we go again, with another edition of the Hero Sandwich. As you can probably tell, I’m not in the greatest of moods this week. If I get another email mocking me, and my early exit from the Race To The Top Tournament, I think I’m going to snap. You’re all a bunch of mean people, and you’ll get yours someday soon. Thank god for the fact that my contract with Sweet & Sour Inc. comes with a health care plan that includes sessions with a therapist. This is the first time in my entire wrestling career that I am questioning my in ring abilities. Lucky for all of you loyal readers and supporters that my razor sharp wit and opinions have not gone away, so let me begin my weekly rant on the world of pro wrestling, specifically, that of ROH. My time is very short this week, as I have a session with Dr. Toland in a little while. Yes, Tank is not just a great physical trainer, but he’s also a licensed analyst, and I need the mental training now more than ever. Sure, I still know that I’m the best wrestler alive today, but now, I just need a little boost of confidence.

First on the agenda this week is the man who cost me the tournament, El Generico. Now, I’ve held my tongue about this tool on many occasions, but now, I can no longer do it. How can this dolt beat me? He doesn’t even know where he comes from! He’s a Canadian who acts Mexican. Where is the sense in that? Are you kidding me? And have you ever seen this guys ring attire? The blue on his mask doesn’t even match the blue on his tights. How unprofessional is that? And that cape? What’s the story with that? Does he think he’s a superhero? He better think again, because I’m the only superhero in ROH these days. You know what the biggest insult of the whole thing is? He cheated to beat me. He totally hooked my tights, and that fact in and of itself angers me to no end. I would never take a shortcut to win a match, and you all know that. I am a true competitor who would never sink that low, and all I can say at this point is that Generico will pay for this at some point down the line.

Now, I have to take on that Swiss Idiot, Claudio Castagnoli. I guess I should congratulate him for winning, but you know what? I just cant say that, and if you thought that I would do that, you’re all a bunch of idiots, in my opinion. Claudio is the most undeserving winner of a tournament in a long time. I guess anyone can win a tournament in ROH if they face mediocre adversaries such as Quack the hack and Jack Evans. Of course he’ll win facing people like that. I could hear all the marks in the crowd popping for his stupid European uppercuts, and it made me absolutely sick to my stomach, so much so that I started believing that I was going to vomit backstage. In time, I’ll have my revenge on that idiot, and then everyone will know who the best really is. Enjoy your win, Claudio. It’s the last one you’ll get for a long time.

Now, onto my next order of business. So, the rumor mill (ROH Message Boards) has been spinning this week with the speculation that ROH has big project on tap for the end of this year. Two words. Mitsuharu Misawa. Now, this news got me interested, especially considering how slow a week it’s been on the ROH message boards. If this comes to pass, I would love to volunteer to me the man who takes the legend on in a one on one match. I think I have earned that right at this point. Sure, he’s a sixty year old man, but I’d have no problem giving him the beating of his life, and sending him back to Japan with his most humiliating one on one defeat. Now, what I need is for all of you to start posting on the board that I, Chris Hero should be the man for that match. I hear that Gabe really reads the threads on there a lot, so let’s send him a powerful message, okay? Hero vs. Misawa means money. You all know it’s the match you want to see, an epic confrontation if you will.

And on that note, I will take my leave for another week, but before I go I would be remiss if I didn’t congratulate my favorite Polynesian eating machine, Samoa Joe, on the occasion of his wedding. From what I hear, he ate the entire wedding cake in one bite. Amazing. I can’t wait to see Kurt Angle demolish him at that next PPV. Not that I’ll pay to watch it, but you know I’ll see it, if you know what I mean. Until next week, this has been your weekly dose of enlightenment; this has been your Hero’s Sandwich. Sayonara, suckers!

-CH

ROH Preview: ROH Death Before Dishonor Night 1 August 10th 2007—Roxbury Crossing, MA

8:00 pm belltime
Roxbury Community College
Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Ctr
1350 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02120

Non-Sanctioned Boston Street Fight
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico

The ROH Tag titles are NOT on the line here, so the obvious booking indication is that Steen and Generico defeat The Briscoes to lay claim to a tag title opportunity in late August. Expect a lot of hard shots and brawling around the track center and some innovative and sick moments from both teams.

ROH World Title Match
Takeshi Morishima defends vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio Castagnoli has been built up thanks to his tournament win, but does he really have what it takes to take out the champion? The latest video wire would attest to that, showing Claudio training harder than ever. Claudio may think he’s prepared, but no one is truly prepared for what Morishima brings to the match once the bell rings. Claudio will have to weather the storm, wear down Morishima and take advantage of opportunity after opportunity in order to get Morishima weakened to the point where he can win the title. Morishima is a known quantity but at the same time, his power can override any strategy used against him. His backdrop driver and lariat are the great equalizers if he gets into trouble.

Grudge Tag Team Match
Austin Aries & Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero

Will the NRC vs. Resilience feud be joined in full here? Aries is back with his unit and now there is an even numbers game and an even playing field. If The Resilience has a shot to win, its because Strong is on a pretty significant losing streak, while Aries is riding high off of the momentum of his return to ROH.

Pure Wrestling Rules
Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Rey, Tank Toland & Bobby Dempsey

Nigel McGuinness was Pure Wrestling champion for nearly a year and he knows the rules of this match format better than anyone. However, McGuinness does not like Hero, Sweeney or any of his ilk. If he is not too careful, his temper may get the best of him in this one. Each man would need a strong win to rebound after disappointing performances last week.

Special Attraction Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal with Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Rey, Tank Toland & Bobby Dempsey

This was the match originally scheduled for 6/9/07 in Philly that was scrubbed when Sydal went down with an injury. It’s Sydal’s flying ability vs. Danielsons newly revamped and improved ground / submission game. Danielson has Sydal’s money, so you’d think that be extra motivation for Sweeney’s free agent player. If Sydal doesn’t win here, he may never convince Danielson to give him his money.

Special Challenge Match
Jack Evans vs. Davey Richards

These two had an excellent face vs. face match at Glory By Honor V Night 2, but here the lines have changed and Davey’s bad attitude is pretty much in the face of Jack Evans. The big pimpin Evans will have to press Richards hard, because Richards loves when the momentum of a match is in his favor and when he is winning.

SHIMMER #1 Contender’s Match (Winner Receives Title Match On 8/11)
Lacey vs. Daizee Haze

These two have fought on many occasions and have had good to great matches against each other. Hopefully they will break the ROH show streak for average and below average women’s matches. A SHIMMER title match is on the line for the next night, so expect Sara Del Rey to make her presence known.

Plus more to be announced with: Brent Albright; Delirious; Matt Cross; Jigsaw; Eddie Edwards and others!!!

Going Home

Ringtones

Mark Kohn has his responses for Respect Is Earned:

I just watched the ROH PPV. I have to tell you in advance that I have
started to ween myself off of wrestling, mainly WWE. I am really getting
into UFC and putting my purchase power there. But after reading some reviews
I thought $15 isn’t too much. I must say, it reminded me why I love ROH in
the first place. In WWE and to some degree TNA (Hard Justice main event
being a good example) tag team wrestling is not respected. But ROH proves
again how much they respect and support quality tag team wrestling. The tag
title match was amazing tag team wrestling. I make this point because I want
my tag teams to perform tag team maneuvers, sequences. Not just be two guys
who are called a tag team. Another thing I loved was that I saw new moves
pulled out by Mark Briscoe and Matt Sydal. Being as I have seen many of
their matches, that always brings me joy.

I was highly impressed with Morishima. They mentioned he was 290. His
performance and even the moves done to him like Whitmer’s suplex and KENTA’s
power slam showed me that a man his size can bring the goods in the ring and
that ROH cares more about his skill level than the fact that he is a big
man. I know Joe is a good example of this. I do wonder how tall he is. As
Joe was always said to be about 6 feet. As opposed to the unfortunate
Smackdown title match that had two huge men who are very limited mainly
because of their large build and one who can barely move let alone wrestle.
Vince and his disturbing fetish for tall big men has really killed a lot of
my enjoyment of WWE. But thank goodness ROH exists to show that quality,
exciting pro wrestling is alive and flourishing.

Agreed on the weening off of WWE and for me it’s also TNA…I do not have my heart set on watching these shows any more. Not only are they usually substandard in presentation and quality, but really, there’s not too many people out there on either company’s shows that I want to see (and the guys I want to see in TNA usually don’t get their due or enough screen / match time). All the guys I’m into right now are on the independent scene and in ROH and that’s where I put my purchasing power. I go to my bro Chris’s house to see UFC Pay Per Views and enjoy the hell out of those. Great action, great presentation, UFC long since became where it’s at.

You make a great point about the tag team division in ROH. Even in featuring two top teams (and then the stables), you’ve got enough there to really show some good stuff. The two tag matches on the PPV were terrific and will rank right up there with the best of 2007.

While he could sue a bit more flair in his personality, there is no question Morishima is getting it done in the ring, providing dramatic and quality main events for people to see.

Frequent emailer John Mabery has started his own blog filled with ROH related analysis and goodness. check him out at http://romabery.blogspot.com/.

Not to toot my own horn here, Larry Csonka wrote in to tell me that the Respect is Earned Podcast I did with he and his wife has become his podcasts most downloaded show of all time. Thanks to Larry for inviting me on and thanks to all those who decided to download and listen to my shpiel. Hope to do it again in late September for the second PPV, Driven.

**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)
**UWA Hardcore: Hour of the Dragon (Ultimo Dragon / Black Tiger, Chris Sabin / Josh Prohibition, Mike Quackenbush / Claudio Castagnoli, Tyler Black / Josh Ambercrombie)
**Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter One (Samoa Joe / Eddie Kingston, Larry Sweeney / Bryan Alvarez, Josh Ambercrombie / Austin Aries, Hydra / “Old Timer” Jeff King) **Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter Two (Alex Shelley / Low Ki, Mike Quackenbush / Tiger Mask IV, Human Tornado / Josh Ambercrombie)
**CHIKARA: Rey De Voladores (Chris Hero / Claudio Castagnoli, Chuck Taylor / Lince Dorado, Cheech & Cloudy / F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus), Chuck Taylor / Ricochet / Pac / Retail Dragon)
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 8 (Sara Del Rey / Mercedes Martinez, Daizee Haze / Tiana Ringer, Nattie Neidhart / Portuguese Princess Ariel, Allison Danger / Lufisto)

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)
**The Battle of St. Paul (ROH World Title: Morishima / Aries, FIP Title: Strong / Daniels, Delirious / Stevens / Romero / Evans, Albright & Pearce / Homicide & Cabana/ ROH World Tag Titles Ultimate Endurance)
**Good Times, Great Memories (ROH World Tag Team Titles: Briscoes / Murder City Machine Guns, Roderick Strong / Jack Evans, ROH World Title: Morishima / SHINGO, Austin Aries / Rocky Romeo, Adam Pearce / Colt Cabana, 6 Man Mayhem: Deliirous, Quackenbush, Hallowicked, Jigsaw, Akuma, Primeau)
**A Fight at the Roxbury (Four Corner Survival: Quackenbush / Hero / Castagnoli / McGuinness, ROH World Title: Morishima / Jay Briscoe, El Genercico / Matt Sydal, Steen / Briscoe, Danielson / Rave)

CHIKARA add ons soon…I’m awaiting a shipment.

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

Brad Garoon fills us in on FIP new releases with New Year’s Classic 2007.

Of course, you know This Means War II

Garoon and Ziegler also contribute their very positive review of Fighting Spirit

Honor Bound Links

Marsico is in with The News to Start Your Weekend and Meehan follows close by with the Saturday News Spectacular.

Samuel Berman and The Independent Mid Card goes off the boards this week, switching from ROH to Fight Sports Midwest (currently ?able status) and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tank

411 Buy or Sell is Puro and Lucha this week.

Rob Halden still thinks you’re an idiot…man, he is not moving from that position.

Michael Weyer tells you exactly why Angle and Joe went wrong. I agree with him completely.

Bayani Domingo makes it reign…now…must resist urge to make the reference…

Alex Mattis gives the rest of the independent scene serves with some tea and biscuits. Or maybe not.

It’s all right Cook, it’s all right.

It’s been one of my longest columns ever, you’re damned right this piece is over. Time to get on out of here and kick some butt in the Real (read: NON ARG) World. Next week, Death Before Dishonor V results for night 1 and a preview of night 2. Peace out, protect knowledge.

Brooklyn! DAH EM BAH SEE!
–Ari–

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Ari Berenstein

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