Column of Honor Special Edition: 01.05.08: The Double Standard and Hypocrisy of Certain ROH Fans

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 01.05.2008

If you want blood, you got it.

My Frustrations with the ROH Fans:

Fair warning to my readership, this time around, you may not agree with everything or anything I write.

What I'm here to write about today is fan hypocrisy and especially some of the things I overheard and saw over the last weekend at the Ring of Honor shows.

Sometimes I don't understand certain ROH fans. Hell, as this week has proven on 411 and the comments section of the Year End Awards sometimes I don't even "get" any wrestling fan that is on the internet. There is the constant knit-picking, the spoiled behavior, the knocking of wrestlers because they do one thing or another that you don't approve of and on and on. All of it is needless, senseless and ridiculous.

Now don't get me wrong, there were plenty of great moments of fan support over the two shows that were Final Battle Weekend '07. There were many instances of crowds being very much into the action. However, there were moments of severe frustration on my part because of the clear hypocrisy of the fans in attendance, especially in how they treated certain wrestlers and certain matches. I can't ignore them or look away and not write my feelings about them. This is my obligation, but I need to write this, because it is my own catharsis on this topic. I have major feelings of anger and disappointment in certain fans who attend shows and react negatively, treat some matches apathetically or follow mob rule mentality because they think it makes them cool. I admit, this sort of stuff gets to me and ultimately I need to put down what I feel on paper so that I can move on from it, at least until the next time I hit the red line and go on a major rant.

Here are five incidents that speak to what I'm angry about and underline a fatal double standard in ROH fans in attendance at the Rising Above and Final Battle 2007 weekend.

Double Standards

1. The Cold treatment of Erick Stevens until the Puder Incident: Erick Stevens made his return to ROH for the Rising Above PPV to face Davey Richards, who was the man in storyline who took Stevens out. Boy was this match as cold as ice. Stevens got no pop for his return, no "welcome back" chant that almost everyone who comes back to action on any independent wrestling show receives. ROH also made the mistake of not giving him any promo time to explain why he was fighting Richards. This was wrestled as a normal wrestling match and the crowd, after watching several matches that were fast paced and spot oriented, going crazy for the big moves…sat on their hands and did nothing. No support for Stevens, no insults even for Richards. I was flabbergasted. I tried to clap, I tried to cheer, but soon found I was just about the only one who even gave a damn. So I gave up and watched the rest of the match amidst the stoney silence of the crowd…until Daniel Puder.

Even worse in my mind was the reaction Daniel Puder received…for simply being there. Here were Richards and Stevens putting on a very competent match, not a spectacular one but by no means horrible, but Puder was getting all the attention and all of the heat. The buzz of conversation in my area and I'm sure all around the Manhattan Center was "Hey…there's Daniel Puder…look at the girl he's with…look at that, they're sitting him down in the middle of the stage." All the while Stevens and Richards are beating on each other to little or no response.

2. Reaction to Daniel Puder's Presence in ROH: Speaking of let me say that I tried to ignore Puder in that moment as much as possible. NOT because I don't want him in ROH., but because I wanted to support the match that was going on. Now, was Puder's entrance and attention getting part of the "angle" of the match? Sure, but the disparity in reaction was clear. ROH fans felt it was more important to react negatively to Puder's presence rather than positively support the efforts of Stevens and Richards in the ring.

Chants of "you can't wrestle" and "you can't fight!" emanated throughout the arena. Clearly these fans…these "smart" fans who as the thought goes are supposed to know everything about everybody did NOT watch Puder's run in OVW. Nor probably have they watched any of his MMA fights. I have seen him wrestle in OVW and he was decent (though not spectacular) in the ring. While I haven't seen any of his MMA fights I do know that he is currently undefeated in MMA competition. I don't care who he was matched up against as far as quality of opposition…going undefeated still means something—he CAN fight.

So while the fans occupied themselves with giving Puder the heat, chanting that he can't wrestle and he shouldn't even try, here they were IGNORING two wrestlers in the ring who could wrestle…and who could have even told a hell of a story in that ring, if anyone had even given it half a chance in the first place.

Why were the ROH fans not being open minded about Daniel Puder in ROH? Who knows how good this guy actually is in the ring—just because the guy's reputation is one way doesn't mean that's what he actually brings to the table. But that's not what some ROH fans want to hear—they just want to hate because he's different from the preconceived notions of who should and shouldn't be allowed in ROH. This makes me even more mystified when you take into account the fan reactions to…

3. Reactions to Bushwacker Luke & Sunny.. The first thing I heard when I walked into the main section of the venue, where Sunny was positioned behind an autograph table, spoken by a random fan: "I'd do her so hard." Wow. Great. ROH fans—the last bastion of chivalry. At least they didn't kill the opening women's three way with "show your tits" chants. They were receptive, but not really vocal, but then again, the NYC fans the last year have hardly been the most positive in their reaction to women's wrestling, so anything is better than nothing.

Another moment of clear hypocrisy came when Sunny did the post match angle with Lacey. It's funny how quick we are to critique WWE for their Divas and yet when Sunny comes in, we react just the same as those WWE fans would have. I'm not above it, hey I cheered for her over Lacey, but isn't it funny that Lacey was pointing out the very point of view of women's wrestling fans, yet she was booed out of the building, just because she was a "heel"? Of course, as we'll get to, Age of the Fall were given a very nice congratulatory chant when they won the titles the next night even though they were the heels. Nice.

As for Bushwacker Luke, he came out for ten seconds of work and got one of the greater pops of the evening. Hmmm…how interesting that was to hear, when just a few moments later Richards and Stevens would get NO reaction for throwing down massive strikes on each other. Even better was ROH, the home of great professional wrestling with fans who throw down and reject the WWE style of "sports entertainment" , and here they were, 1,200 + fans at NYC and a very large majority of them were doing the Bushwacker pose. Was it fun? I'm sure. Was this wacky moment something you just might find on Monday Nights as a nostalgia segment? You better believe it.

And note that I'm not saying that Luke should have been booed out of the building or that any one shouldn't have done the arm swinging pose. For the record I did not pop for Luke on the first day, but I did cheer for him returning for revenge against The Hangmen Three the next night. I'm saying that ROH fans better take a good look in the mirror as we enter 2008, because what we sometimes say we are against, we often support when it occurs in ROH.

Of course that's another thing that bothers me about some fans—for supposedly being so smart, not many ever seem to think. It's the mob rule mentality that gets to me every time, especially concerning the negative chants. So many on the message boards have derided the "This is Awesome" chant and several times during the Rising Above show you could see people try to start the chant but it didn't take. Yet Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli mess up just a little in an Irish whip-leapfrog exchange, THEY RECOVER INSTANTLY and have moved on five moves ahead and there is this HUGE "You Fucked Up" chant that comes through the crowd. It lasts for at least another minute and I could even hear some people on the ground floor STILL chanting it two minutes later…and I was up in the balcony!

Tell me, why is there no great opposition to the "You Fucked Up" chant? Just because some A-hole chants that, do others have to pick up on it? I'd rather take an evening filled with "This is Awesome" chants as opposed to the you fucked up chant, because at least the former is born out of a genuine appreciation for what a fan is witnessing as it is happening.

4. Cheers and chants of "Age of the Fall" when they won the tag titles after drowning them with boos all weekend: The fans have expressed their opposition to the Age of the Fall, by booing them at shows. No one has dressed up in black or worn black bandannas to support them over the last few months, and responses to blogs from the Age of the Fall website have gone down in number. Aside from Necro Butcher, whom the ROH fans have suddenly taken to as their next tough guy hero, Jacobs, Black and Lacey got booed all weekend in NYC. All throughout the match the fans were heavily favoring The Briscoes, enjoying them beat down Jacobs and Black. Then all of a sudden, they win the match in admittedly spectacular fashion and the fans start cheering for them? They start chanting "Age of the Fall"? What the hell?

I mean, yes the match was excellent and the finish was a dramatic one, but how can the fans all at once, all of a sudden forget that The Briscoes were the heroes and The Age of the Fall were the bad guys? Did they all suddenly "convert" to the AotF mindset? Of course not. So why was there a majority of fans chanting for them and only a minority of fans booing the moment and supporting The Briscoes for their effort even in defeat? Maybe you can get lost in the moment, but how about remembering the storyline and actually being disappointed that ROH has now lost a measure of control. In storyline, this is not a good thing, but the ROH fans didn't seem to care.

5. Reaction to Nigel's injury compared to reactions to Joe's injuries that took him out of Final Battle 2006: Oh man does this one ever get to me. You see one year ago, at Final Battle 2006 in the very same location that this year's Final Battle, Samoa Joe came out to ringside, hurt. The night earlier he said he tripped over some bad booking, but we really know his knees were worn out. Joe came out, explained he couldn't go, was sorry to the fans for it and promised the next time he was in NYC he would fight for us fans. NIGEL DID THIS VERY SAME THING back during Glory By Honor VI and he did it again last Sunday. As a result he was branded a cry baby and mocked by a certain number of fans. Did the ROH fans give Joe shit for not being able to perform back at Final Battle 2006? HELL NO! The pop for Joe was very loud and everyone seemed to look up to him and cheer for him, even when he said he wouldn't be wrestling. Why did Joe not get any backlash but Nigel did? What's the difference between the two situations? Is it because somehow Joe is "cooler" than Nigel? More "bad ass"? Is that even a good reason?

Was it because the fans didn't get to see a title match like was advertised? Okay, so fans were promised a title match at Final Battle 2007, but hey, the card says "subject to change" and when it does ROH almost always comes through on giving something better than advertised. The four corner match was altered but was no worse off in quality because Nigel wasn't in there. In fact it's almost better for the booking that Nigel WAS pulled out because now ROH has a big build to the match against Bryan Danielson in February.

I can understand wanting to see a title match and not getting it, but Nigel wasn't advertised for action at Glory By Honor VI and we still got a hell of a card here in NYC. Yet he was still harassed by fans…not the ones who were on line to get an autograph from him during that show, mind you, but they were still there.

Could it be that the real reason Nigel is being booed now is the same reason that Christopher Daniels outlined in his farewell promo back in April of '07? Yes, Daniels was actually spot on when he accused the ROH fans of losing their faith in him. This is exactly what seems to be happening with the fans and their reaction towards Nigel. And why? Why lose their faith in someone when they see him busting his ass so much every night and then it figuratively and literally tears him apart that he can't perform because he's injured? So yes, some ROH fans, you have lost your faith in Nigel and it stinks that you have done so. You crucify him and you gave up in him for no good reason. You built him up in your minds, just to tear him down, like society does of all its celebrities and athletes.

And speaking of Nigel McGuinness and the fans...

The Nigel McGuinness Crisis

Message to the Nigel Hater Nation, yeah you know who you guys are. You were such tough guys last weekend. Wrong. You guys were low class, end of story. Especially you guys up on the side of the balcony with your "Bleedats" and your "Fuck You Nigel" and your "Same Old Shit" chants thinking you're so cool because you can coordinate chants like you're a cheerleader putting on a routine. You all looked liked a prattling pack of hyenas. Fuck you Nigel? No…FUCK YOU.

You guys really thought you accomplished something huh? Well guess what? You lost! Sure, you got your ten seconds of a "Fuck You Nigel" chant out there and it may end up audible on PPV, but you still lost. See you were audible for ten seconds, but the fans who were chanting in support of Nigel and in general support of the match will be audible for the next thirty seconds afterwards. In fact, EVERY time you guys tried to spread the hate, you were countered by all of the ROH fans who weren't going to put up with your bullshit. In a way I should thank you for making me and them chant even louder than ever before in support of Nigel.

You also lost in the long term, because Nigel McGuinness is STILL the champion regardless of what you think of him. Your hatred of one man has not affected the long term booking of ROH. You don't have the power to screw over his career by chanting negative thoughts and you certainly won't influence the people in power because you can synchronize three words in a timely and rhythmic fashion.

Not to mention that one of the guys up there was a complete and true asshole by putting himself in danger, jumping on top of the narrow balcony railing and throwing his arms in the air like a retarded chorus leader. You idiot, you could have fallen head over heels and hurt yourself really badly. My friend stated he would have laughed his ass off had you done so. Me? I don't want anyone to get hurt, but good goddamn that was just about the stupidest thing you can do up there. How about you stay in your seat and hate from there, as opposed to risking breaking bones and your probable death? Again, people just don't think.

By the way, you know what's the same old shit? Chanting "same old shit". Wow, how fucking original What's next, if "Nigel Wins, We Riot" signs? Let me get out my sharpie right now.

Finally, you guys are hypocrites. I saw you all marking out for all the huge moves in the match, plain as day. The suicide plancha from Aries. the Tower of London on the outside, the strikes and combos. You all chanted "ROH!" when the action picked up. You all couldn't help but get into the match. You should know by now that it was both Aries AND Nigel who did that, who got that reaction out of you. They got you guys, they got YOU good.

Then we have the fans' reaction to Nigel not being able to wrestle on the Final Battle show. The fans chanting "Drop the Belt"—what would YOU have done? Would you have given up a huge opportunity to be champion, to make extra money, to gain more of a profile in the wrestling world…because the fans chanted that you should give up? WOULD YOU GIVE UP? How would you feel if you did? I bet you'd feel pretty shitty about it. Conversely, How did you feel if this were a situation like Shawn Michaels after he "lost his smile" and gave up his belt without a fight? Would you want Nigel to do what Shawn did? And even so, you don't think you would have ridiculed him? So I think you should have a bit of understanding why he didn't just drop the belt.


Dismantling the Myth of Nigel as a One Move Wonder

ENOUGH of this "Nigel does too many lariats" / one move wonder bullshit. Are you kidding me? EVEN if it were true that Nigel is a one move wonder, which in a minute I will prove once and for all he is not, do you KNOW how many wrestlers have been successful in the past with one or two moves? Hulk Hogan. Goldberg. Steve FUCKING "Stone Cold Stunner" Austin. And it goes on and on and on.

Besides Nigel McGuinness has at least TWO moves he uses frequently—the lariat and the Tower of London. Hey, where are the whiny bitches complaining that "Nigel does too many Tower of Londons" in his matches? Why aren't there any Nigel McTower of London jokes?

So at the least now we're at the point where Nigel is a TWO-MOVE WONDER. Of course that is also ludicrous both on the surface and once you peel the onion back. OF COURSE Nigel has more than one or two move and any person who is able to count (which apparently it seems the HATerZ cannot do so, even with their nine fingers) would be able to realize that. In fact, let's count right now.

1. Lariat (ooooooo!)
2. Tower of London
3. New Arm Submission
4. That Arm Submission (another arm submission he uses)
5. Hammerlock Armbar Trip
6. Forearm Volley in the corner
7. European uppercut
8. Headbutt
9. Super / Thrust Kick
10. Headstand to Mule Kick
11. Soccer kick / downward forearm combo
12. Plancha to the outside

12 moves and that's just off the top of my head. But he's sure a one move wonder that Nigel McLariat.

MORONS. No one in ROH is a "one move wonder".

Anyone remember the shoot interview with Raven where he explains that as a wrestle he only ever had four major moves and was able to work entire matches around them? The moral of the story is that it's not HOW MANY moves you have or even HOW MUCH you use a move, but rather it's HOW you use the move effectively in a match. Do Nigel's lariats look impressive? Absolutely. Do fans bite on just about every one of them as a possible finish, thus making the match more exciting? Indeed they do. Does Nigel have one version of the lariat that is absolutely, almost one hundred percent unbeatable once it's used? Check-the Jawbreaker Lariat.

I've said it before and I've said it again---Nigel's finisher is NOT the lariat, it's a specific version of the lariat—the off the ropes rebound jawbreaker lariat. Some of the more "smarter" fans like the Nigel hater nation, for all their wrestling fan brain power and "knowledge" still cannot get this through their head. It's the same as when Claudio Castagnoli would use his running European uppercut to finish some of his ROH matches in '07. WHERE WERE THE "SMART" FANS WITH THEIR "CLAUDIO DOES TOO MANY EUROPEAN UPPERCUTS" complaint? Even though Claudio would use regular Europeans in the same matches—no uproar. No "Claudio McUppercut". Why was BJ Whitmer never taken to task for throwing too many exploder suplexes? His finisher is the PUMP HANDLE variation of the Exploder, but no "Same Old Shit" chants for him. No "BJ McExploder" handle. You know, that Chris Hero, he sure uses a lot of cravates…but you know what, I haven't heard ANYONE give him hell for using the Hangman's Clutch in the same match as a cravate or any variation of that move. No "Chris McCravate". Double standard? Just a bit

Is it Nigel's fault that everyone bites on the lariats as a possible finish? Is it is his fault that because the move looks so vicious that everyone thinks any one of them could be the end? This is actually a GOOD THING, because it helps him accomplish his job, which is to make the fans believe that at any possible moment he could win the match. What should he do—make his lariats look weak? Would us "SMART" ROH fans then not take to the message boards deriding Nigel for his shitty looking lariats? "Oh man, how can ANYONE believe what he is doing will end the match—he throws too many weak looking lariats? He really needs to throw them harder; until he learns to work he should be nowhere near the ROH World Champion!"

Right…right…right.

I hope one day Nigel does one of the following—does a match entirely composed of lariats…or does an entire match without throwing one of them. Wouldn't THAT throw everyone for a loop?

But at the bottom line of it, Nigel shouldn't have to do anything like that, because he doesn't have to change anything about himself or the way he works his matches just because some fans have a problem with seeing one move done over and over and over again.

Speaking of, where is the vitriol for the fucking roll up pinfall?


Responsibility, EVERYBODY, Look It Up

ROH needs to give Nigel McGuinness a chance to make it through as champion, no matter what the naysayers whine and bitch and moan about, either on the internet or at the live shows. At the worst he is making his required once every month title defenses in storyline terms, which has been traditionally accepted as the champion's burden. Nigel is making defenses and retaining the title and if he properly takes care of his injuries he should be good to go for the next title defenses in Dayton, Chicago and back in New York.

Fans need to rethink their expectations about what wrestling is and is not inside the ring, even the ROH fans who have been so open in the past but nowadays can't seem to give anyone the benefit of a headlock and armbar sequence. If you want to cheer high impact wrestling but boo when the wrestlers get hurt from it and won't appear then you are in fact hypocrites, ignorant or uncaring.

Maybe in some way its ROH's fault—a blessing and a curse for the quality product they have put out all year. Maybe the crowd has changed their expectations since the debut on PPV. Aside from Danielsom vs. McGuinness, almost all of the matches on the three PPVs that have aired have featured non stop action, move after move, and very little technical wrestling at a slower pace. Has ROH conditioned the fans that have seen PPV that this is what they're going to see every time out in every match? It's an impossible burden and expectation to put on the wrestlers, because it can't be like that. You can't have a five star match every match just like a baseball player can't hit a home run ten times out of ten. It's physically and emotionally impossible to fulfill those expectations. Yet since ROH has tried to put its best foot forward on every PPV, when they put these fantastically fast paced and great quality matches out there, fans think "this is what's on every ROH show". The fallacy of this is obvious, not every show is a PPV show but ROH must deliver each one as if it is. Yet every ROH show is different. It can't be like the PPVs every time out and it's unfair to the athletes to expect as much, even if it's just for their own health's sake.

The Briscoes went out there for the Rising Above PPV and did chain wrestling in their match against Romero & Strong—it was fantastic to see them show off that they could go out here and wrestle a technical style. The reaction was tepid at best. If The Brisoces went balls out and started killing people with impact move after impact move, I think the crowd would have gone rabid. Yet two years ago at the very first show in NYC at the New Yorker, fans applauded and went crazy for both technical wrestling and the high impact matches. I don't like where we've come to at this point in fan reactions, to the point where we can't even applaud chain wrestling in a match unless it winds up in a stand off or transitions into some high risk move.

It made me mad to experience the moments during the Rising Above taping when one or two fans would scream in the most annoying of manners "more action" when honest to goodness WRESTLING was taking place in the ring. Just because someone isn't flying around or breaking their neck on a high angled move doesn't mean there isn't "action". How about giving guys like Marufuji, Richards, Stevens and Strong a chance before you catcall? Fans have become more and more childlike in NYC over the last few years, all "me me me" and if they don't get what they want then in no time flat they turn on the match. It happened with Davey Richards vs. PAC back in August. Luckily enough this weekend there were other fans who did support matches like Richards vs. Marufuji and Stevens vs. Strong, which both started off cold and silent but were given them the chance to tell their tale in the ring. The wrestlers brought the moves when they counted and when all was said and done, BOTH of those matches earned and received standing ovations. How about that? When you watch and shut the hell up, these guys deliver.

I do think its time for universal stance to be made on concussions in wrestling, but at least within ROH. If you get one on the first night of a double shot you sit out the second night. Plain and simple, no exceptions. No one gets to be a hero here. Fans and wrestlers alike have begun to realize the impact of concussions on wrestlers and other athletes, so now its time to treat the issue with maturity and responsibility. Fan disapproval be damned. We need to educate those who boo a wrestler when it's announced that he can't wrestle that a negative reaction is the absolute wrong call. It smacks of disregard, insensitivity and a short sightedness on the part of the fan who boos this decision. Sure, you didn't get to see Nigel wrestle on December 30th, 2007, but maybe if he sits out that match then we can see him wrestle at a mostly healthy status throughout most of 2008 .He should be sitting out most of January too, but it seems he won't do that, because on the long and the short of it, Japan means big bucks for him and he needs to make money to make a living.

Wrestlers need to be more aware and take care of their injuries. They need to asses their situations and they need to be smart enough not to wrestle the day after a major injury. There's a difference between getting cut on the arm and having to be stitched up and getting hit in the head and concussed and wrestling the next day. There is playing hurt and then there is playing injured. The former is noble and somewhat necessary in any line of work; the latter is stupid and ultimately career damaging, especially to a professional wrestler.

Right now more than ever before there is a need for the positive fans that goes to the ROH shows to take up for ROH and the wrestlers. As much as I may have slammed the ROH fans here for their hypocrisies I know there is still a huge chunk of fans who cheer and root for these guys and really do appreciate that they put on the show they do. Unfortunately these days there is a large and ever growing block of fans at the shows who don't give a shit about all that and go just to be rude at all the inappropriate moments. To the former group of ROH fans, I say please bring the positive vibe and energy to every ROH event. Show that it's more important and more fun to cheer on the wrestlers than it is to heckle them for every minor thing that someone thinks they do wrong. Chant "This is Awesome" to your heart's content and give a dirty look when someone chants "You Fucked Up." Remember to have fun at the show but don't fucking go in there to ruin everyone else's.

Nigel fans, this too is your call to action. If you love him so much and want him to continue to be champion, cheer your asses off for him at the show. Don't be apathetic or tired when he appears—cheer for him, clap for him, and root him on. I think McGuinness finally got the picture when the majority of the fans were shouting so loudly in support for him during Final Battle 2007—that you're still out there and you won't go away. However, his fans need to think oft his as a war…this split crowd isn't over and right now, more than ever, he needs you to continue to cheer him on.

Nigel McGuinness underwent some major catharsis with that interview he did at Final Battle. He told the fans that supported good wrestling he would fight for them. He told the fans who were booing him to screw off. I think he meant it to be the end of the story, but obviously its not. Next time in NYC he fights Bryan Danielson, who is beloved in NYC. He gets the biggest reactions, bigger every time out, especially in his wars against Morishima in NYC. This may be the most split crowd by far, or it may be all out support for Danielson. Meanwhile the story should have been that McGuinness finally gets his long awaited win against Danielson and the crowd rejoices because he proved himself and earned the victory. Now what happens if and when he wins that match, I don't know.

Who would have ever thought ROH would have its own John Cena syndrome to deal with?

After all of that, I just know that ROH fans and maybe wrestling fans in general have become way too steeped in our own pretensions, our own preconceptions of what should be done in a match and who should be allowed to wrestle for this company or that and who should not do what move. We're forgetting what it means to just go to a show and have fun. Thank god the family in front of me at Final Battle 2007 didn't forget.