Column of Honor: 12.01.07: Are You “Man Up” Enough? Part One
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 12.01.2007
Why “Man Up” was one of the best PPVs of the year if not THE best, the Ladder War, The Resilience finally became what they should have been, the 411 Podcast review, ROH results from last night in Dayton Ohio and Hero is as irrepressible as ever. Maybe even more so.
Did you anyone catch the license plate of that truck? Yesterday was a day of ups and downs and downs and ups, ending with one of the biggest ups, that being the "Man Up" Pay Per View, which we'll get to in a minute. It was indeed time to "Man Up", so I did and now here we are.
Welcome to the Column.
Ring Toss
-Are YOU Man Up Enough?
-Man Up Podcast
-ROH Results: Dayton, OH 11/30/07
-ROH Call
-ROH News
-Hero's Sandwich
-Honorarium
-ROH Preview: Trios Tournament 2007
-Classic Promos Month: Week Four
-Name That Tune
-Ringtones
-The Independent Buy In: WSX
-ROH @ 411
-Honor Bound Links
-OUT
Are YOU Man Up Enough?
Ring of Honor's "Man Up" is as close as you can get to a perfect Pay Per View.
That is not a lie, or an exaggeration from a so called "ROHbot" fan. That is the unmitigated truth. The two hours of wrestling flew by like it was nothing and it was filled with near non-stop action. This show had matches that started out very good and only became better as the matches went on. There were very few if any valleys and almost a constant run of peaks. Not many PPVs have such a ferocious pace as this one, but this was also ROH's best PPV in terms of production, video and audio quality. The show actually looks solid and consistent and you hear everything the wrestlers and the commentators have to say. So this show is worth the money in every sense of the word.
The third PPV for ROH was a show that also was a climax of what had been set up on the first two shows. The Briscoes finished up their feud against Kevin Steen and El Generico, which had been established at "Respect Is Earned" and elaborated upon in a hectic match at "Driven." Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima finally tied it up in a match on PPV, as set up by Danielson being laid out by the champion at the first PPV and then winning the number one contender ship at the second. The No Remorse Corps had it out with The Resilience. Clips of Adam Pearce establishing The Hangmen 3 and attacking Delirious were shown. BJ Whitmer turned heel out of frustrations from losing on the last two PPVs. And Sweet & Sour continued to irritate, to annoy, and yes, to entertain the audience with their antics.
It was fitting then that after The Briscoes had successfully gone done and "Manned Up" and defeated Steen and Generico is a crazy, sick, let me repeat, SICK, ladder war, a new storyline began that gave viewers a reason to tune in next time. Gabe Sapolsky has learned well from the feet of the master—Paul Heyman. Back in ECW, Heyman was incredibly effective in bringing long standing feuds to a terrific final climax, but then as soon as right after the final bell had sounded going right into the next issue. He most notably did this with the Tommy Dreamer-Raven feud, where after three long and hard fought years Tommy Dreamer finally, finally FINALLY had defeated his arch nemesis. Yet Dreamer's triumph in victory was short lived as the lights went out…and when they went back on Jerry "The King" Lawler was in the ring laying him out! It was a shocking debut that you wouldn't suspect would have occurred, but it led right into Dreamer's next feud. So it was here with the debut of The Age of the Fall.
The Age of the Fall formation was in fact shown on PPV. Gabe can be quite sneaky—in a previous newswire he stated that he would not show a bloody and beaten Jay Briscoe being pulled up to the top of the building nor the bloody promo conducted by Jimmy Jacobs due to its content not being an exemplification of what ROH represented with its product. However, he never said anything about not showing the formation of the group in and of itself. So when we still had shots of the Age of the Fall masked thug interrupting the opening proceedings, I admit to feeling a bit confused. Were they foreshadowing their debut on the next show? I wasn't sure what was going on. Later on during the Ladder War, ROH put on screen the image of two masked thugs in the crowd standing over a fallen and prone Briscoe brother, watching and waiting.
Then after the ladder match had concluded and the PPV seemed destined to go off the air, here came the screeching sounds of Lacey's voice over the PA. In came Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black and Necro Butcher to confront Jay and Mark Briscoe. We were show Necro's neo-classic line "I told you that if you let me out of this cage I was going to pile the bodies to the sky." AotF attacked The Briscoes and the show went off the air as Jay was hog tied and about to be pulled upwards to the ceiling, or maybe to the very sky that Butcher had mentioned. It was a fitting cliffhanger, but also a smart one. Fans will have to buy the DVD to see the complete segment and Jacobs' promo and casual ROH PPV buyers will have to wait until January 2007 for the next show to find out what happens next.
Let's look back at some of the matches and highlights from this show:
I really liked the Prazak and Leonard open—it looked and sounded totally professional, if a bit busy with all the wrestlers filing in and also the masked man run in. Nigel and Claudio's promos were solid and effective at getting over their goals in the match. Nigel wanted the title shot ("my dream is not dead"-wow, nice phrase!) and Claudio wanted to take out Hero. Larry Sweeney also did one of his classic promos on the run, including a huge belly laugh which is quickly becoming his calling card as much as "12 large, brother!" In about 30 seconds he got over that he helped take Matt Sydal over to "Vince" (WWE) and that Chris Hero was next to benefit from his services. He also had on a Bluetooth wireless headset, which is a stroke of genius. It's the little pieces that add onto the establishment of the characters of these wrestlers.
1. Four Corner Survival: Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Naomichi Marufuji: I loved this match so much, from the beginning to the end. I don't know if it's the mark in me speaking, but I was marking out for just about everything these four did in the ring. The action was constantly going and everything worked from one segment to the next. Marufuji's superkicks remain some of the best in the biz right now. The close saves at the end were on point as wrestlers pushed each other out of the pin, not just stomped them one time. I thought this was just as great an opener as the Driven six man, maybe more so. I had a smile from ear to ear watching this one. ****1/4
Danielson cut a promo about his eye injury, and they showed clips of the first match from Manhattan Mayhem II—YES! ROH is now not just using the current shows on sale to push the storylines on PPV, but actually showing clips of matches and moments from them to impress upon fans at home what has been going on in between PPVs. Danielson came of age with his promos by mid 2006, but it needs t be repeated here—he can talk very well and while he may not be the dramatic monologue king like Jimmy Jacobs, he can tell an effective story with his words that makes you feel for him. Danielson talked about what his mom and dad each thought of his brutal eye injury. His mom "never saw that part of wrestling" and was fearful for his well being. Danielson considered hanging it up but then he talked to his dad, who told him "this is the life you always wanted." Danielson said to Morishima that "you're not going to take it away from me. Tonight is NOT your night!" Excellent key phrases that helped sell the idea that this was not just a title match, but that this was also personal.
I thought the new entrance video insets, with the wrestler's logo and their "Goal" was a huge step up from the horrific color clash intro videos they were using on the first two PPVs. Hey, its a show that actually helps fans figure out who is who, what they are fighting for and why. Who would have thought that would work?
2. The Resilience vs. No Remorse Corps Series: Matt Cross vs. Rocky Romero: Prazak and Leonard quickly remind everyone about the NRC vs. Resilience issue and the importance of Aries returning to ROH at the last PPV, even showing a brief clip from his return. Amazingly The Resilience received a ton and I mean a TON of streamers, which made them come across as hugely over and bad ass. Aries and Strong conducted pep talks with their teams as they decided the "batting order" of the series. Aries talked about strategy and what to look for in the ring to Cross, while Stevens pumped Cross up by being all macho. WOW, THIS type of storyline development is what Faction Warfare should have been about all along. If you look at this series as a microcosm of the whole storyline, you'd come away thinking this was one of the hottest stable wars in the history of wrestling. In reality, this has been one of the more underwhelming and disappointing feuds in ROH this year and it pains me to say that, but it's the truth.
Regardless, this was an incredibly spirited contest. It was short but fast paced, featuring some terrific hard strikes from Romero and Cross's trademark athleticism and acrobatics. This match showed in just a few minutes that this issue was indeed a "war" between two sides. They went non stop, with Romero setting up the match ending KO by staggering Cross with two different running knee strikes to the jaw. It was also fun to see the return of the "John Woo" flip out (CM Punk used it a ton) as I mark out for that move. ***
It was a good heel move by Strong to wait for Aries to announce himself as the second participant in the series…and then ducking out to avoid fighting his rival and former partner.
3. The Resilience vs. No Remorse Corps Series: Austin Aries vs. Davey Richards: A longer match that had Richards go toe to toe with Aries and actually had him in danger for quite a bit. The match began as more technical, but quickly turned into another fierce back and forth struggle of strikes and impact moves. Richards has also become a good heel, as he declined to hit a flashy flying move in favor of a simple double sledge to the outside. The mark of a good heel is not to give the fans fancy moves so as to keep the good guys shining, and Richards did that but also looked very good in the ring. He nailed a brutal looking wristlock northern lights suplex into a brainbuster variation. Another terrific small touch was that Aries did his flying moves from the babyface corner, where Erick Stevens would back him up and he didn't have to worry about any NRC members blindsiding him.
I also liked that the initial sick kick that sets up the brainbuster / 450 combo was teased and set up differently than expected. It's good to have some variation in the execution of the move. Plus Aries didn't use the stroke, so that's another huge plus in my book. Aries picks up the win and the series is tied at one. ***3/4
4. The Resilience vs. No Remorse Corps Series: Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong: The match was more methodical and slower paced than any of the other matches previous to it, but that is almost a good thing because the show needed a slower paced match to break things up. This was a story of the veteran heel leader vs. the somewhat naïve and inexperienced but powerful babyface. Strong and Stevens have done a ton of good stuff down in FIP, so I was expecting at least a solid encounter, and by the end of the match we got much more than that. The chop and forearm battles in the beginning of the match were just brutal. Stevens demonstrated his power by using a great looking Oklahoma Stampede. It was also about this time we heard the line of the night from an ROH fan who shouted out "You're going bald Roderick!" Wow, way to hit a man when he's down dude. Another great production detail: there was a ton of close ups on this PPV, including here where we saw Stevens and Strong grimacing severely after each blow.
I was a bit upset about the superplex no sell by Erick Stevens, but then it led into an insanely sick flying kick from Roderick Strong that was as perfectly timed as you can get. You saw Steve's knee buckling (and the commentators pointed it out) and you could see it as a clear turning point in the match. The finish saw both men fighting it out for positioning and the advantage on the top rope. I had flashbacks to the tremendous two out of three falls series between Paul London and Bryan Danielson at The Epic Encounter, where both men fought frantically for several minutes on the top rope in order to ensure that the other wrestler could not execute their top rope move. Strong and Stevens did so here, and Strong won out by hitting a very impressive splash mountain, followed up by a short and tight Gibson Driver for the pin and the win in the series. ***3/4
The Four Corner Survival from Caged Rage showed PPV buyers the formation of The Hangm3n Three. This was fine, although I was a bit disturbed to hear Pearce say the phrases "doing me the favor" and "BJ" almost right in a row.
5. ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Bryan Danielson: Some people were making the wisecrack that Danielson looked like a pirate with his eye patch on, and I guess he was out to get the trea-surrrre—the booty that was the ROH World title. I've come to the conclusion that these two should just fight on every ROH show from now until the end of time. They had quickly brought out the best in each other. Morishima looks really inspired in his matches against Danielson, maybe thanks to the very clear big man vs. little man delineation. These bouts may be the modern equivalent of Vader vs. Sting. Danielson's technical strategies in this match were to execute MMA style submissions, but continually being bullied out the ring or brought down before he could finish the job. In particular there were several submission spots, like the triangle choke and the sleeper that were quite effective. Danielson's spectacular ability to transition into viable finishing moves at the end of matches was put on display here, as the Tiger Suplex into Cattle Mutilation into the upright stomps into the triangle choke plus ILLEGAL (in UFC anyway) downward strike elbows left me breathless. I was convinced the match was going to end right there—and I had read the spoilers! Morishima didn't hulk out of a top rope move, so that also made me very pleased. Tremendous wrestling storyline, tremendous wrestling and the finish went back to the eye injury. The commentators smartly pointed out that the patch had come lose early on in the match, although the gauze underneath was still intact. Then when Morishima pulled off the gauze, the crowd heat was right there. It's unfortunate that Danielson had to seriously and legitimately hurt his eye, but boy did that add to drama of the whole situation. ****
6. ROH World Tag Team Titles: Ladder War: The Briscoes (c) vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico: First the bad news: its wasn't perfect. I can't give it the full five stars, because there were very clearly some edits made in the match and obvious ones at that. It minimizes the flaws we see on screen but it also shows that there was something awkward that needed to be excised. The finish to the match was also clearly botched, and I can't ignore that in favor of universal praise. Steen did a MAN UP job of covering up for Jay not being able to unlatch the belts. He realized what was happening fairly quickly and got back up to the ladder, sold his injuries but still trying to get back up top. "This match is NOT over yet!" Prazak shouted, which was also an incredibly smart move to cover for the botch and add drama. The match was over…wasn't it?
So yeah, this match was SICK. You'll hear many different adjectives similar to that one, but simply put, it's the one that best fits. You had chairs flying all around, Generico kicking everything that moved and then bouncing around like a superball when he wasn't, blood, ladders being thrown, people falling through ladders, sandwich through ladders, flying off ladders. For the first ever ladder rules style match in ROH, they did a tremendous job paying homage to past ladder / TLC matches of the past and then adding their own twists and turns to the style.
The match was structured to subtly up the risk factor of the ladders by adding more and slightly larger ladders —well until we got the honking freaking huge super ladder. "That's a maintenance ladder! That's not supposed to be used in this match!" shouted Dave Prazak (spellchecked word: Prozac) in abject horror. Yeah, surrrrrre, Dave, because there just happens to be a giant maintenance ladder around inside EVERY venue ROH runs during EVERY show. The ladder has been there every show since the beginning, fully set up and to the side. Come on bro, that line was just ludicrous. If you believe that maybe you need to invest in swampland down in Florida.
If there is one spot that needs to be shown over and over and over again, it's the Springboard Doomsday Device by The Briscoes THROUGH the opened super ladder. Wait, let's back up the truck, let me repeat that. Not over the ladder, not under the ladder, not to the side of the ladder. THROUGH the ladder. That took an untold amount of balls and guts from all four men involved. Someone could have died or been cut open incredibly badly right then and there. Fortunately they weren't, and fortunately these four men weren't all that injured with the exception of Generico who was out for only a few weeks after this match due to I believe a thigh injury. This was a risk-reward match—The Briscoes, Steen and Generico took high risks, and it paid off with high rewards.
I can't do justice to the play by play, so check out Larry Csonka's report if you want to the scoop on all the big moves.****3/4
When it comes down to it, this PPV was about having the ability to "Man Up!" enough—and I mean that in every aspect. From the effort of the wrestlers individually to the matches themselves to the bettered production values, ROH has indeed Manned up here on their third PPV. I give this, like all ROH PPVs, my highest recommendation. Man Up gets a 10 out of 10, no question.
411 Podcast: Man Up Review
If you want more of my takes on the PPV, then check out myself, Larry and Christi Csonka breaking down the PPV. In addition I made sure we did a healthy dose of "Dear Christi" questions, to satisfy the legion within the Christi-an Coalition.
+++
411's back with another huge podcast broadcast! Larry and the Wife have returned to breakdown the ROH Man Up PPV, with the Column of Honor's Ari Berenstein as their special guest! The three discuss Danielson almost being blinded as Morishima retains the ROH Title, the NRC outlasting the RESILENCE and the Briscoe's MANNING UP against Steen and Generico, as well as the debut of the Age of the Fall in what was another great PPV effort from ROH!
Check out the latest podcast of Larry and the Wife below! TO STREAM: Simply press the play button on the podcast player. TO DOWNLOAD: Right click on the DOWNLOAD HERE link below and then save the mp3 file to your computer.
Matches
-Claudio Castagnoli defeated Seth Skyfire via pinfall with the Riccola Bomb.
-Delirious defeated Adam Pearce in a Falls Count Anywhere Match with a cobra clutch THROUGH the bars of the scaffolding rig used for the lighting (!)
-Chris Hero defeated Jigsaw via submission.
-For ROH "Undeniable" (4th PPV): ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe retained their titles by defeating challengers The No Remorse Corps of Davey Richards & Rocky Romero. Jay Briscoe pinned Richards after the Springboard Doomsday Device.
-"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson defeated Necro Butcher by submission to the Cattle Mutilation in a relaxed rules match
-ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness defeated Silas Young in a non-title match via submission with a new keylock / camel clutch hold.
-Davey Richards defeated Erick Stevens and Human Tornado in a three way dance. Richards submitted Tornado with the 14:59 keylock armbar.
-Austin Aries defeated Roderick Strong 4 falls to 3 in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.
-The Vulture Squad of Jack Evans & Ruckus won the four team, NON-TITLE scramble that also involved The Briscoes, The Hangm3n of Brent Alright & BJ Whitmer and The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black were the other two teams involved. Evans pinned Mark Briscoe.
Angles and Issues
Holding Out for a Hero: Nigel returned to action earlier than anticipated. After the match match McGuinness cut a promo. Who should interrupt him but Chris Hero and all of Sweet & Sour Inc. who berated him and then attacked him. Nigel took out Tank and Bobby but Hero suckered him and went to work. Claudio Castagnoli hit the ring for the save. It was announced that Hero will fight McGuinness at the next Dayton show.
No Matwork: Apparently all the mats and protective coverings surrounding ringside were pulled out for the Necro Butcher vs. Danielson match. OUCH! I imagine it will get over the large amounts of pain these two had to withstand to keep fighting.
Questionable Attire: Nigel was said to have his gear on during the intermission autograph signing. Hmmm…why would he have his gear on…?
Call Out Dave-yyyyyy!: Apparently it was Erick Stevens' idea to get Davey involved in his match, as he called him out.
Scorecard: How Aries Won The Iron Man Match: Fall One-Aries hits the sick kick and gets the reverse neck Muta Lock for the submission Aries up 1-0. Fall Two—Aries reverses the Stronghold. Aries up 2-0. Fall Three—Strong pins Aries with the Gibson Driver. Aries up 2-1. Fall Four—Strong immediately submits Aries with the Stronghold. Match tied at 2 falls apiece Fall Five—Strong gets his knees up to block a 450 Splash by Aries and gets the fall. Strong leads 3-2. Fall Six—Aries wins via submission. Match tied at 3 falls apiece. Fall Seven. Aries earned the final fall by knockout with a knee to the head. Aries wins the match 4-3.
Return Date: January 25th, 2008
Thanks to RunningKneeStrike for his report of the show from the ROH message board which helped fill in a ton of blanks.
ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 12/01/2007
ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 2 successful defenses)
Next Defense:: Austin Aries, New York, NY 12/29/07
V.1 defeated Jay Briscoe, wristlock submission (10/21/07 San Francisco, CA)
V.2 defeated Chris Hero, wristlock submission (11/02/07 Philadelphia, PA)
*Due to injury, Nigel McGuinness's future defenses up through Final Battle 2007 (12/30/07) remain questionable and subject to change
ROH World Tag Team Champions— Jay and Mark Briscoe (champions since 03/30/07, 18 successful defenses)
Next Defense: TBA, likely vs. AotF in New York, NY on 12/29 or 12/30/07
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
V.7 defeated El Generico & Kevin Steen (6/23/07, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.8 defeated Jimmy Rave & Genki Horiguchi (7/17/07 Osaka, Japan)
V.9 defeated SHINGO & Susumu Yokozuka (7/17/07 Osaka, Japan)
V.10 defeated "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness (7/27/07 Long Island, New York)
V.11 Steel Cage Match: defeated. Kevin Steen & El Generico (8/24/07 Hartford, CT)
V.12 defeated Kevin Steen & El Generico (8/25/07 New York, NY): 2 Out of 3 Falls – 2 straight falls
V.13 defeated Austin Aries & Matt Cross (9/14/07 Detroit, MI)
V.14 Ladder Match: defeated Kevin Steen & El Generico (9/15/07 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.15 defeated Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero (11/02/07 Philadelphia, PA)
V.16 fought The Age of the Fall to a double disqualification (11/3/07 New York, NY)
V.17 No DQ match: defeated The Age of the Fall (11/3/07 New York, NY)
V.18 defeated Davey Richards & Rocky Romero in a match taped for PPV (11/30/07, Dayton, OH)
FIP Heavyweight Champion: Roderick Strong (since 11/10/2006)
SHIMMER Champion: Sara Del Rey (since 6/2/2007)
Top of the Class Trophy (For ROH Students): Ernie Osiris (since 11/02/2007)
Top Feuds & Pairings:
-Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero
-Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
-Roderick Strong vs. Nigel McGuinness (FIP / ROH title rivalry)
-The Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes
-The No Remorse Corps vs. The Vulture Squad
-The Vulture Squad vs. The Age of the Fall
-Delirious / Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Albright, Whitmer and Adam Pearce (The Hangman's Three)
-Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli
ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed
No More Ladder War?
In an article on ROHwrestling.com, booker Gabe Sapolsky explained that the Ladder War match on the Man Up PPV would be its first and only appearance in ROH. Citing the immense dangers and risks of the style of match and that he didn't want any of his wrestlers to try to top what was an already super risky match, Sapolsky claimed the match would never happen again.
So it this the truth or just hype for the ladder match to sell buys? How about a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B? I will praise Gabe immensely—no other booker has ever given us such candor and insight into what it takes to do that kind of job in wrestling. He consistently writes messages and entries on the ROH website and on the message board where he says how he feels. I think there is quite a bit of remorse from Gabe about putting his wrestlers into higher risk matches. That I believe is a huge reason why the TLC style match between The Vulture Squad and NRC was cancelled (see below). He is trying to minimize the risks of his men being hurt in the ring due to unnecessary risks and that should be applauded.
You get that Gabe means what he writes. Of course, as booker there is always a little bit of hype you have to put in to help sell your show and generate excitement. Knowing this is a unique, one of a kind match and the "only" time (we'll see) you can catch a match like this in ROH adds to the value of buying the PPV. It puts the show over the top.
Three years ago Homicide vs. Steve Corino fought in a brutal no ring ropes barbed wire match at War of the Wire It was to be the huge capper on their violent feud. There was not supposed to be any more barbed wire matches in ROH after that. Then in 2006 BJ Whitmer fought Necro Butcher in another no roped barbed wire match at War of the Wire II. Will we get a repeat of this very same pattern? I wouldn't say never, not ever in professional wrestling. You know what? It's fine if this high risk match is done every several years or so, for a feud that really matters. If its fits in, I'd have no problem seeing this match type again.
Brooklyn Street Fight Match Cancelled
There has been a lineup change for "Final Battle 2007" on 12/30 in Manhattan. The six man pitting No Remorse Corps vs. The Vulture Squad is off due to some lineup reshuffling. All six individuals in that match will still be in action in Manhattan. Already signed is what looks to be a unique and wild match as Jack Evans takes on The Necro Butcher!!!
I can't say for sure what caused the change in booking, but I would speculate that this is connected to a change in Gabe's booking philosophy about high risk matches. Now I know that Evans vs. Necro will also be violent and brutal but there is a huge different between getting hit with a stiff punch and falling twenty feet from the air off a ladder and down to the ground. There's no question that in the first case you'll be hurting when you get up in the morning, but at least its 100 percent you'll be getting up in the morning.
I do have to say as a Brooklyn native I am upset that my borough has been stripped of the privilege of having a fight named in its honor. I also think it's harsh to just pull off the six man tag match since TVS came off looking like chumps last time in NYC and Smokes rode them pretty hard. They needed to win a big one when they came back to redeem themselves. I would guess that maybe we get some form of tag match between NRC and Vulture Squad and hopefully they can do it then.
Nigel Available for Autographs…and Wrestling?
ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness will be available for autographs in both Dayton and Chicago this weekend. He will be signing any item purchased at the ROH merchandise table.
Here and now is where I'm starting to wonder, starting to see from the other side of the grass. You know, the other side of the glass that said Nigel's injury was a "work" in order to generate sympathy for him and do something different with the championship position. If Nigel was so hurt, how is it that he wrestled on November 2nd in Philly…and just yesterday in Dayton? Will he wrestle tonight in Chicago? I wouldn't say its out the question in the least.
This is almost like the Bryan Danielson eye injury situation in that Nigel wasn't supposed to come back until later down the line, at the NY shows, but he's back earlier. Maybe he was checked out by the doctors and they gave him the okay to test himself out. Either way I still feel uneasy about wrestlers returning form major injuries way before schedule. Take the extra precautions to be fully healed. ROH doesn't need and shouldn't want people to wrestle a non-title match if they're not good to go.
Final Battle 2007—Looking for a Fourth Man
The Four Man Elimination World Title Match set for "Final Battle 2007" in Manhattan is taking shape. Larry Sweeney already got his lawyers involved and has been able to put Chris Hero into this bout. We know the winner of the Nigel McGuinness/Austin Aries World Title bout on 12/29 in Manhattan will be in the match. Now former World Champion Bryan Danielson has been added. We will have the fourth name next week for this epic World Title clash.
Hero is worming his way into every title shot possible—and it's a brilliant storyline move. He's pressing hard and by inserting himself or finding ways to get title matches he remains a constant threat to win the title. Danielson has worked his way back into contention for a title shot AND this match comes one year from the point of him losing the ROH World Title. It would be excellent symmetry for him to win it here. In fact, it definitely seems very possible to have a title change on the fifth PPV or during Final Battle. Maybe even two changes back to back—now wouldn't THAT be a shock? For the first time in a while, there is massive unpredictability in the title picture. I like that a lot; it keeps me hyped and anticipating what's to come.
Pearce's Plot
Adam Pearce is a man that knows opportunity. He has stated that the "Trios Tournament 2007" this Saturday in Chicago is the perfect opportunity for The Hangmen Three. Pearce has already thought about cashing in the tournament's prize. Each member of the winning team will get to book themselves in any match they want. Pearce has stated that he has a match idea that will give The Hangmen Three all the power in one night. He will not reveal what it is until "The Hangmen Three win this tournament in that stinkin' city of Chicago."
"All the power in one night"? Well unless he's going to fight Cary Silkin for the ownership of the company (please God no) then Pearce is referring to a match where the World and Tag Titles would be on the line. So maybe HM3 vs. the World Champion and the Tag Champions (at this point it would McGuinness and The Briscoes), where the winning team gets the gold? Hmmm…that's vaguely reminiscent of what TNA did with Angle and Joe…but then again I actually liked that concept (one of the very few I enjoyed in TNA this year).
Big Business?
Look for a big business announcement from ROH soon.
Ah you gotta love ROH and their superfragacalalisticexpialadociously vague "major announcements". What is "big" anyway? Is it that Bobby Dempsey is going to get a discount a supercuts? A new table hockey….errr…table (…awwwwkwarrrrrd….) in the locker room? To quote Tom Petty, "I need to know!"
Hero's Sandwich
Here we go again…. It's the time you've all been waiting for, its time for the Hero's Sandwich! It is I, your icon, your favorite commentator on 411mania.com and the single greatest professional wrestler ever born, CHRIS HERO to drop some knowledge on you yet once again. I'm going to have to keep this week's lesson short as I am just about to leave this hellhole called Dayton for a far more civilized and modern city, Chicago, for tonight's big Trio's Tournament, which we all know that I'll win, so I don't even have to get into that this week, right? However I do still have plenty to talk about from this week in the world of Pro Wrestling, so, let's get down to business. By the way, I've made a unilateral decision here at the Sandwich. Since I'm so much bigger that just the ROH, I'm going to start giving you all my humble, but totally correct opinions on all wrestling issues, not just the ones that are ROH related, so brace yourself wrestling world. Now the "eyes of a HERO" are focused on ALL OF YOU, not just the people of the Indy scene, but the entire landscape of Pro Wrestling, if not beyond. I'm going global, so no one is safe!
First I want to talk about the events of last night. In my scheduled match with that masked moron, Jigsaw, I was victorious, as we all knew that I would be. He really is no competition for me, and I almost felt bad for him, having to face me in a one-on-one competition. It must be tough having to step between the ropes knowing from the second you come inside that you stand absolutely no chance of winning. I've never been in that position, so I wouldn't know, but I'm sure most of you at home reading this know all about it since that's how you must feel each and every morning when you step out of your front doors to head off to your automaton-esque, cubicle dwelling lives. It's just sad when people become that beaten and broken. I would tell you to follow my example and do what you truly want to, but then I remember that none of you are even remotely like me. I don't want you to have your puny hopes and dreams dashed, so just continue to trog through your empty lives, only really living when you watch me best my opponents on a DVD or even better, live and in person at a undoubtedly sold out wrestling event. Ahh… I digress, so back to last night. My favorite thing about last night was how behind me the crowd was. Yeah, right. What a bunch of "Johnny-come-lately's". Now you all love me, huh? Well, let me tell you all a little secret. I DON'T CARE!!! I understand why you want to do this, but to be painfully honest with you, like I said before, I DON'T CARE if you cheer me or boo me, just as long as you pay me, its all good.
It was great giving that beating to the "One Armed Bandit", McGuinness last night. He might be the dumbest man in the world, falling for the oldest trick in the book, being so easily distracted by Tank, Larry and Blobby so that I could jump him from behind and give him a horrible beat down. Even Danielson with his one eye could have seen that coming. It felt so good to hear that wanker scream in pain, and then give me exactly what I wanted, another guaranteed World Title match. Doesn't he see what he's getting himself into? The next time we fight, I'm going to rip that busted and broken arm right off his scrawny frame, and beat him about the head and neck with it. He's defenseless these days, so, in my opinion, he's about as easy pickings as a turkey on Thanksgiving. I'll reiterate what I've been saying for months now, which is that I will be ROH World Champion sooner rather than later. If I don't win the belt in New York City in December in that Four Way match, I now know that I'll be taking that belt back to Metropolis on January 25th, 2008. The only downside to last night was that the Swiss Idiot, Castagnoli, stopped me before I could finish the job on McGuinness. The next time he sticks his nose in my business, I think I'm going to have to break it. I've tried to shift my focus from that curtain jerking non- talent, but he continues to try and ride my coattails to the main event of the show, so now its time for me, or Larry, to put an end to that. If I don't end his career at the CHIKARA show in State College, Pa. On December 9th, me and Larry will on December 29th in NYC when we force him to leave ROH forever. This is shaping up to be one of the greatest months in my life if everything goes to plan. I win yet another tournament, get rid of that Swiss Idiot, and I capture my first ROH Title, all within 30 days. Don't you wish your lives were as good as mine?
Now, onto some non-ROH related wrestling news. I tuned into Raw this week for the first time in a long time, and what did I see to my surprise? Chris Jericho has returned to the squared circle. It's nice to see a talent like that return to the business, but I must say that I'm somewhat disappointed with him. He doesn't need to pander to the fans, and should take a page from yours truly and tell them all to "just shut the hell up". In all honesty, Jericho has always been a favorite of mine, what with the fact that he combines various wrestling styles into his repertoire, but it's a shame that he's just another corporate tool of Vince McMahon. If he really wanted to prove himself as a wrestler, he'd do it against someone like me, not against a non-talent like Randy Orton. What a shame to watch that show and see all of those halfway decent talents wasting away in that wasteland called the WWE. It's really a shame, but you know what? I don't care. I'm the man in every other wrestling promotion in the United States, as well as being the most demanded talent in EVERY international wrestling promotion, so I guess its better for everyone that those guys remain locked down by the "E". Good luck, Jericho. I hope you win the WWE Title from Orton. When you do, I'm making an open challenge to you. Wherever and whenever you want to get your ass kicked, just let me know and I'll be there. Like everything else, it's just a matter of time and if you're willing to step into the squared circle with a REAL wrestler.
One last thing before I wrap up for this week. So, I've heard that Hulk Hogan is getting a divorce. I actually felt bad about this for like a nano-second. It's always sad when love goes bad, so I wish the Hulkster all the best. Without knocking him down by talking about his complete and total lack of wrestling skills, I'll say this. Without the things he did for this business in the 80's, none of us would be here doing this today, so, just keep that in mind. Even without knowing how to work a match, he revolutionized this business, and turned it into a world full of great things like giant stiffs in the ring, not to mention the vast quantities of performance enhancing drugs. Thanks, Hulk; you really made this place so much better for everyone. On a lighter note, if Brooke Hogan needs some consolation during this difficult time, I think my schedule is free for the next little while, so, I think she should call me, and find out what a real wrestler, as well as a real man is all about. I'll make her forget all her problems, if you know what I mean. Twelve Large, right Larry?
With that in mind, I must take my leave yet once again. It's off to the "windy city" for tonight's show. I'll be back in quick seven days with the post mortem on my victory in the Trio's Tournament, as well as any other brilliant insights that I feel like offering to you at that time. By the way, I hope you easily amused morons enjoy the new animated picture at the start of the column. I hope it wasn't too much and that it didn't distract your attention from the meat of the column, but I figured that since I'm first class, I needed to have first class presentation with my segment, so I hope you liked it. Well, not really, because even if you didn't, it doesn't matter to me. With that in mind, I bid you farewell for yet another week. This has been your weekly dose of enlightenment; this has been your Hero's Sandwich. Sayonara, suckers!
Chris Hero everyone, Mr. Congeniality. Thanks Chris…
