411 ROH Roundtable Preview: Dayton & Chicago Ridge - 1/25 & 1/26
Posted by Samuel Berman on 01.25.2008
The 411 staff gets together for a preview of a big weekend of ROH action, featuring Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero in a Steel Cage, a mystery guest member of The Age of the Fall, and ROH's third Dog Collar Match!
Hello readers and welcome to another edition of the 411 Ring of Honor Roundtable Preview. This weekend's ROH shows feature the company's return to Dayton and Chicago Ridge, complete with a pair of ROH World Title defenses by Nigel McGuinness. On Friday, Chris Hero will get his shot at the champion in a Steel Cage, while Roderick Strong will face off with McGuinness on Saturday. Erick Stevens will also defend his FIP World Heavyweight Title in a Three Way Match against both Austin Aries and Davey Richards before going toe-to-toe with Aries again in Chicago Ridge, only in a tag team match that will also feature "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and Jay Briscoe. To add even more depth to the weekend, Danielson will tangle with Tyler Black for the first time in Ring of Honor and then Black and fellow ROH World Tag Team Champion Jimmy Jacobs will put their belts on the line in Ultimate Endurance. All that, plus a special guest ally of The Age of the Fall will make his debut. Before we get to the preview, let's have a look at this week's contributing writers:
Now that the staff has been introduced, here are our predictions for this weekend's events. Cards are current as of Wednesday, 1/23.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008 – DAYTON, OH
No Disqualification: BJ Whitmer & Brent Albright vs. Delirious & El Generico
Jerome Cusson: I'll just say this is going to be a street fight and leave it that. This is kind of a placeholder since Steen is on a bit of a break. The Hangman Three need as many victories as they can get to gain credibility. I think they're a great heel group, but some fans haven't responded to them that well. I say they pick up the big deuce here.
Winners: BJ Whitmer and Brent Albright
Bayani Domingo: Damn it, when will the HM3 die already? Does anyone care about them? Are they actually selling t-shirts? This is why not ever stable can get it's members over. You end up with a stable full of WCCW throw backs. For the love of Gawd make it stop…make it STOP.
Winner: El Delirico
Michael Bauer: And the feud rolls on…. Delirious needs a win badly in this feud, as does Generico. Whitmer and Albright are the "bottom two" of the Hangman Three, so it is very possible that they take the loss here to at least give some steam back to the masked men.
Winners: Delirious and Generico
Chris Lansdell: This is going to be brutal. Much dropping on headery and fighting in crowdage will occur. Delirious and Generico are gasping for a win, and may even become a regular team. We live in hope. The promos alone would be pure gold. I can't see them getting buried totally here, which a loss would do.
Winners: Delirious and El Generico
Ari Berenstein: This is a stipulation match which should be named either at the show or right before it on the newswire. Some street fight stipulation is a no brainer. Delirious & Generico bit it at Edison when teaming with Quackenbush and that was to the YRR, who have NO rep in ROH whatsoever. Given those circumstances, how much of a chance do they stand against Whitmer & Albright? None whatsoever.
Winner: BJ Whitmer & Brent Albright
Jarrod Westerfeld: Seeing as the last time Delirious and El Generico paired up, they lost to the YRR's Sal Rinauro, Jason Blade and Kenny King, further stretching the stink-streak for Mike Quackenbush in ROH, I have to believe they take this match, at least in some whacky fashion that gets them over while still keeping the Hangmen Two and a Half looking dominant. But the end result will probably be something that favors Bart Gunn Whitmer and Gunner Albright walking away victorious and dominant, while Generic-BAH! get more sympathy for the big blow off match to this feud.
Winner: The Hangmen Two and a Half
Samuel Berman: Delirious gets his big win the next night, so he'll probably go under here.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Adam Pearce
Jerome Cusson: This is an odd match-up with no real purpose. Pearce usually serves as nothing more than enhancement talent most of the time. The rule with Claudio Castagnoli is that unless there is a very valid reason for him to lose, then he should win. He's become a big-time player in ROH, and he's at a tough spot in his career. He likely won't be ROH world champion for quite some time, but he's looked at as an important part of the roster.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Bayani Domingo: Wow, this is just…wow. Double C is quickly losing momentum in '08 and it looked like at the end of '07 he might find his way back to the top of the pile and a real dark horse as a possible title contender. He needs a win badly and so far I'm not even sure what the HM3, let alone Pearce is really doing these days. Talk about a stable that really lost focus. Basically they're the school yard bullies who pick on masked wrestlers. Wait till Snow Pea hears about this.
Winner: Dub-C
Michael Bauer: Claudio needs more good wins to cement himself as a title contender and Pearce is just floating around the masked men crusade. Looks like a win for the Swiss man.
Winner: Claudio
Chris Lansdell: This has the potential to be good. Claudio needs some momentum back and a win against the leader of a successful stable is a good way to get it.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Ari Berenstein: The big win should be for Delirious to go over Scrap Daddy in the dog collar match in Chicago, so I'm guessing Pearce steals this with either some Hangm3n help or some timely interference from Larry Sweeney.
Winner: Adam Pearce
Jarrod Westerfeld: Normally I'd give this to Claudio, but life after Hero means he has to start losing matches that normally he'd not only dominate in, but further use to build up the press around him becoming a big time eventer for the ROH World title. So instead, I think I'll go against some of my better judgment and give this to Adam "Bitch Tits" Pearce, who'll probably want to kick my head in.
Winner: Adam Pearce
Samuel Berman: Dragon Gate booking would see Pearce win this match. But this isn't Dragon Gate…
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
411 Staff Picks: Claudio Castagnoli (5-2)
Jimmy Jacobs & ??? vs. Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero
Jerome Cusson: Seeing as how they're not on the roster but they appeared on national television means this is going to be very intriguing. Also, seeing as how they're in the Midwest, this is as good a time as any to bring in IWA-MS regular and former WSX superstar Arik Cannon. He fits right in and makes a lot of sense as someone bitter toward ROH. Ultimately, it's not going to matter though as the NRC will win and earn themselves a future world tag team title match.
Winners: Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero
Bayani Domingo: I'm actually going with a non-Ex-WWE or TNA guy here and banking on the "national television" reference being WSX. With that in mind the possibilities are somewhat limited: Arik Cannon, Teddy H**t, Vampiro, Luke Hawx, and the Trailer Park Boyz (Abercrombie/Webb). While I'd love to see Abercrombie or even H**t in the stable as I really think the latter would make the AotF the UBER heel stable of all time in RoH, I think Cannon is probably a better bet.
Winner: Panic! at the Necro
Michael Bauer: I said in the Buy and Sell that I believe it is Marek Brave, but the more I think about it, the more I'm thinking that is will be bigger than ANYONE could imagine. The Age of the Fall win, especially if my second guess is correct.
Winners: The Age of the Fall
Mystery Partner: Marek Brave or Low Ki
Chris Lansdell: Low Ki. It has to be. Arik Cannon has been suggested by I really feel this is the time to bring Ki back, and the only two sensible places to put him are AotF or the Vulture Squad to reunite him with Smokes. Ki returning is likely to get a pop but that's a promo away from becoming hatred second only to Teddy Hart's return. Watching Romero and Ki trade kicks will be...fun. With Strong getting his title shot the next night though, he needs to go over here for the momentum.
Winners: Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero
Ari Berenstein: It's not going to be Eddie Kingston and it's not going to be Low Ki. For the first reason because I think ROH is going to announce a deal with Kingston soon (or at least I hope) and for the second I don't think Ki will ever be back in ROH, even though fans would love it and accept it in a second. I'm thinking Jacobs taps Tyler Black's fellow Midwestern bro Marek Brave to help fill in the gap in this one. Before Necro as pulled I had thought Age of the Fall would win this one. That said, Strong & Romero should take this one in a hard hitting back and forth contest. They will earn a future title shot with the win.
Winner: No Remorse Corps
Jarrod Westerfeld: Originally I had the feeling this would be Joey Mercury (Matthews), but with some of the hints coming in, and even with bids for attention up on YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/user/0anagnorisis0), I think it might be something that might be a bit of a curve ball – Nick Dinsmore. Think of this as paying homage to the Shane Douglas/Matt Bourne storyline in ECW, with Nick playing up his wrestling savant character shining through slightly, with just a bit more added edge to him. It's the typical mentality of ROH signing a former WWE talent, but in some instances it has turned out to work in their favor – reference Noble, Yang, and Albright.
Winner: Age of the DISCO!
Samuel Berman: I think the most likely candidates are Arik Cannon, Nate Webb, Josh Abercrombie and Marek Brave, if only because of geography. Gun to my head I'd say Cannon, but I really have no clue who the mystery partner will be. I think having Jacobs lose at this point is counterproductive, but I wouldn't put it past ROH to book things that way at all.
Winners: Jimmy Jacobs & Arik Cannon
411 Staff Picks: Jimmy Jacobs & a mystery partner (4-3)
411 Staff Consensus Mystery Partner: We have no idea…
Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black
Jerome Cusson: So we're finally following up Bryan Danielson's huge loss to Jimmy Jacobs. This will be a great opportunity for Tyler Black. I said it before, I'll say it again. If you can't have a good match with Danielson, you should just retire now. That being said Danielson will pick up a huge win for a measure of revenge.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Bayani Domingo: Um….seriously?
Winner: AmDrag Bryan Danielson
Michael Bauer: Tyler Black, your name is not Jimmy Jacobs, so you can forget about it.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Chris Lansdell: Extended squash. Thank you come again.
Winner: American Drrrrrrrragon, Bryan Danielson
Ari Berenstein: Jacobs upset Danielson back at Unscripted III, but the upset is not in the cards here. Then again, it won't be easy for Danielson, because Age of the Fall will make their presence known. This may be the spark of a larger Danielson-AotF feud.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Jarrod Westerfeld: Is it safe to bet that Dutch Sapolsky won't touch this one and utterly cluster fuck it to put over the guy that ISN'T the number one contender to the ROH World Title? Not that I have anything against Black, but unless they're going to really push for the Age of the Fall to take over, and possibly steal the World title, can we please see AmDrag go over before seeing his match with Nigel?
Winner: (better be) Bryan Danielson
Samuel Berman: I think this is going to be WAAAAAY more competitive than most of the staff does. Black is immensely talented and Dragon is predisposed to having good matches with pretty much everyone. This should be almost as good as Danielson's singles match with Mike Quackenbush over the summer, but will probably end with the same result. I actually kind of hope that Black gets a skin-of-his-teeth win here, but I'm not counting on it. Plus I'm holding onto my bold prediction for later in the weekend.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
411 Staff Picks: Bryan Danielson (7-0)
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Ruckus & Jigsaw
Jerome Cusson: Sadly, I can't see The Vulture Squad winning this match because Jack Evans is the guy that should be contending for the tag team titles. If ROH wanted to have a huge upset, I guess that would something different, but to have two guys who have rarely teamed together (and they're not a dream team like Homicide and Joe) beat the former champs seems a little out of nowhere.
Winners: The Briscoes
Bayani Domingo: Um…maybe they should try to change this to a "Spelling Bee" then RucSaw might stand a chance.
Winner: Briscoe Bros.
Michael Bauer: For those who don't know, the team is now Ruckus and Jigsaw. IN other words, there is less of a chance that the Briscoes lose now.
Winners: The Briscoes
Chris Lansdell: OK, but why? One thing is for sure, this will be a fast-paced match. The Vulture Squad are a decent unit and would probably get the nod against most other teams...but it's the Briscoes man.
Winner: Los Briscoes
Ari Berenstein: The Briscoes will have some good competition here as Ruckus and Jigsaw are a fast and exciting team. Now, The Briscoes aren't booked for the sixth anniversary show as they will tour for NOAH, so right now may be a good time for The Vulture Squad to get a bit of a rub in an upset win.
Winner: The Vulture Squad
Jarrod Westerfeld: The most dominant tag team of the past 4 years taking on the most random tandem ROH has to offer, both of whom are followers in a major stable – the safe money goes on the Southern boys.
Winner: The Briscoe Brothers
Samuel Berman: Briscoes win, but this could be for Jigsaw & Ruckus what the match in Philadelphia last February was for Steen & Generico.
Bayani Domingo: Different match, same result, Davey is getting pinned by "Choo Choo" Stevens.
Winner: Choo Choo Stevens
Michael Bauer: Erick Stevens finally walks into a match with Davey Richards where it seems impossible for him to lose. If the title wasn't on the line, it would be different, but this is a no brainer.
Winner: Erick Stevens
Chris Lansdell: This looks good. No, it looks great. Davey and Stevens cover each other's shortcomings nicely, and Aries can have a great match with a bowl of Mueslix. The continued defense of that FIP title, not just occasionally but seemingly on every weekend, is doing nothing to hurt my theory. Still, I can't see another title change.
Winner, and STILL FIP World Heavyweight Champion: Erick Stevens
Ari Berenstein: Austin Aries is on a losing streak and as a fan of his, I don't like it. Stevens is on a roll and will not lose an FIP title match until the FIP restart show in early February. The only question is does he go over Richards or Aries? My guess is Davey Richards takes the fall as Stevens gets some revenge on the man who took him out with an "injury". Aries will be out of the ring during the fall, which will frustrate him even further.
Winner: Erick Stevens to retain the FIP title.
Jarrod Westerfeld: This is the really safe way to book Stevens going over former World Champions – why didn't they do this shit before? We could've saved the Aries/Dragon victories that Stevens retained for later on in the year when he's gotten enough momentum to look like a legitimate threat to the ROH World Title. Instead we get this now, after we've seen him collect the singles victories over said former ROH World Champions. Stevens pins Richards and all is safe for Aries, who should be turning and possibly becoming a member of the Age of the Fall at some point – at least I hope he does…
Winner: Erick Stevens (Retaining FIP World Heavyweight Title)
Samuel Berman: Stevens wins because they're not moving the title again before the FIP restart. End of story. Oh, and this is the match where I think Austin Aries begins his heel turn in earnest.
Bayani Domingo: I really want Hero to win this, but since he is injured right now and Nigel is on the mend (wow, when is the last time Nigel faced someone who is actually less healthy than he is?) I'm thinking Nigel retains here. The tragedy is that this should be the crowning achievement of Hero as the Steel Cage lends itself to many shenanigans from Sweet ‘n Sour Inc. but Nigel really has no allies. I know Nigel will win, but I refuse to bet against the co-holder of the Intergender Championship of the World.
Winner: Chris Hero
Michael Bauer: Chris Hero, you deserve the Ring of Honor World Title, but you are not getting it here. It makes no sense to switch the title here and allow Nigel to have a second cage match the next night and deny Roderick Strong his chance to prove what a weak champion Nigel is.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Chris Lansdell: Before BooGate, I would have said there was no way Nigel loses here. The saids of doubt have been sown, however, and a small part of me wonders if Gabe is questioning his decision. Hero is WAY over, has paid his dues and won Survival of the Fittest, proving he could hang with the big guns, so he would be a credible champion. Thing is though, even if Gabe is starting to think about pulling the trigger, it's not going to be yet.
Winner, and STILL ROH World Champion: Nigel McGuinness
Ari Berenstein: Ah here we are, Chris Hero's moment of truth. Will Hero upset the balance of the system and win the ROH title as he's always wanted? Absolutely not, but it will be close. The simple reason is that Hero is going to NOAH and will not be at the sixth year anniversary show and there is no way ROH goes with Danielson vs. McGuinness in a non title capacity given their previous history. Hero will give Nigel and his fans some scares, but Nigel will make the furious comeback and win.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness to retain the ROH World Title.
Jarrod Westerfeld: If Nigel injures himself again can we please pull the unlucky charm off the bastard and hope that he never suffers another injury? I honestly do believe that title on him is cursed, and has led to him collecting injury after injury in matches that normally he'd work fine and walk away from with the whole experience still intact in his mind. Health over luxurious prizes and fame, I believe, especially when this is his passion and his living. Expect Hero to actually show up and do a good job, unlike his match with Dragon at Undeniable – you'd both better fucking sell right!
Winner: Nigel McGuinness (Retaining ROH World Title)
Samuel Berman: My sentiments mostly mirror Bayani's. I really don't like Nigel as ROH World Champion and I haven't been shy about sharing that opinion. Hero's fabulous and is easily one of the two or three all-around most talented guys in the company, but outside of a one night anomaly when he won Survival of the Fittest, he seems to have been just plainly mishandled. He'll lose here, which is an absolute shame.
Winner and STILL ROH World Champion: Nigel McGuinness
411 Staff Picks: Nigel McGuinness (6-1)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007 - CHICAGO RIDGE, IL
Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico
Jerome Cusson: Another re-match from the Race to the Top Tournament. This time, both guys will be fresh and not having to come off two other matches earlier in the evening. Claudio should win this match since Generico is really more of a tag team wrestler at this point and this isn't a grudge match.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Bayani Domingo: I really hope Generico gets the win here because without Steen he's kind of lost. That being said, Claudio really has more potential I think based on how he's been booked thus far and I don't think Gabe has any intention on letting the masked luchador hold a tight any time soon.
Winner: HEY!! Dub-C
Michael Bauer: It about time we got this Race to the Top finals rematch, because it really is long over due. Claudio is a lot higher up the food chain now and Generico needs Steen to be effective.
Winner: Claudio
Chris Lansdell: HEY! OLE! HEY! OLE! That should be fun...in the nails-on-chalkboard kind of way. Generico gets a rematch from the Race to the Top tournament finals, and if it is as good as that match we're in for a treat. As I have both men winning on Friday, I'll go with Generico getting revenge here.
Winner: El Generico
Ari Berenstein: Claudio is another one of those guys leaving for a months long stay in Japan and thus will not be on ROH's February shows. It's smart for ROH to put over the opponents of these wrestlers to help sell the matches next month, but this is not going to be a loss for Castagnoli. The Swiss man wins a competitive match and retains title contender status.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Jarrod Westerfeld: Life after Hero, again, but this time it's against a man whom is so over that can get over even when losing, so we can give this match up to Claudio without any problem. Generico can walk away the loser here and still get a lot of respect, whereas Claudio can't.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Samuel Berman: I'd like to see Generico pick up a big singles victory here, but Claudio seems to be on his way to bigger and better things, so he gets the win yet again.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
411 Staff Picks: Claudio Castagnoli (6-1)
Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries vs. Erick Stevens & Jay Briscoe
Jerome Cusson: Very interesting match as we have two odd teams. I think Danielson and Aries win this match and one of them gets a pinfall on Stevens setting up some sort of re-match. This has a lot of potential though with four guys at the top of their game just having a great match
Winners: Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson
Bayani Domingo: Somebody is getting turned on. You'll have to guess who on your own. It just seems too lopsided with Aries/Danielson on one side so you know something bad is going down.
Winner: Stevens/Briscoe
Michael Bauer: Honestly, I have no clue what to make of this match. Danielson and Aries just seem to be too dominant of a team to lose here, even with Aries kinda heel turn and winless streak. I think this is the one time all month Stevens can afford to lose, so I'll give him the job here.
Winners: Aries and Danielson
Chris Lansdell: Totally randomly put together as the injury bug that has plagued WWE starts to filter down to ROH somewhat. However these random matches in ROH always seem to make the talent go that extra mile and work harder to please the crowd, so this could be a sleeper MOTWeekend. I see one of Danielson and Aries pinning Stevens to add intrigue!!! to the FIP title picture.
Winners: Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson
Ari Berenstein: Aries fresh off of losing to Stevens in a one on one match and in the previous night's three way match, will do everything it takes to take out Stevens. I expect Danielson & Aries to win this one and one of them will get the fall on Stevens to help cushion the blow of losing just a few weeks earlier.
Winner: Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries
Jarrod Westerfeld: Uhm…is this a Dutch Sapolsky show? Is ROH going to continue to deliver random single wresters teaming up for the sake of filling a tag team quota on the card? Why do they always get away with this? Oh well, expect Aries and Danielson to break down and start off trying to one-up each other, only for communication to fall off and the two start going at each other, costing themselves this match, just to further an Aries/Dragon/Nigel feud for the year…if we're lucky.
Winner: Choo Choo Driver (Erick Stevens & Jay Briscoe)
Samuel Berman: This could very easily be the best match on either show. Stevens will get elevated further simply by hanging with these three guys, which is in some ways an even better way to establish him than simply putting him over Danielson and Aries. I'm torn, but Aries & Danielson are kind of like ROH's Mega Powers 2.0 (after Joe & Homicide), so you pretty much have to go with them.
No Disqualification: Mark Briscoe vs. ???
Jerome Cusson: If it was Necro in this match, I'd say he wins. As it is, I predicted Arik Cannon as the mystery opponent and I can't see him winning this match simply because he may not be around ever again. Why have a guy lose to someone if there's not going to be some sort of re-match.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Bayani Domingo: Something tells me the numbers game will play into ???'s favor. I don't think they'd go through the trouble of bringing out ??? just to have them lose to Mark. Then again since ??? is an RoH new comer chances are he'll be treated as such.
Winner: Mark "The Tooth" Briscoe
Michael Bauer: Again, it's either Brave or Low Ki for my guesses. I can't see Mark Briscoe going over the new "X-Factor" of the Age of the Fall if it is Ki. If not, he gets the win easily. I'll go with me first guess here.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Chris Lansdell: Low Ki!!!! He'll need a win here and it puts AotF in a position of superiority over the Briscoes.
Winner: Low Ki
Ari Berenstein: Marek Brave continues his two day stay in ROH by taking on Mark Briscoe…and losing. Sucks to be a mystery partner, I guess.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Jarrod Westerfeld: If this ends up being Mark Briscoe taking on Nick "The Rainman Savant" Dinsmore, this could be a fun one. Seeing as this is Age of the Fall and the Briscoes, I think we can give Mark a win here and not have any damage done to the Age of the DISCO!, though it would be rough to see the debuting Age member lose the match to Mark.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
Samuel Berman: Mark will almost certainly get the win here, but letting the mystery opponent beat him would go a long way towards establishing that individual as a future player in the company. I'm still picking Arik Cannon, but I also still have very little confidence in that pick over a handful of other guys.
Winner: Mark Briscoe
411 Staff Picks: Mark Briscoe (6-1)
411 Staff Consensus Mystery Opponent: We STILL have no idea…
Winners and still world tag team champions: Age of the Fall
Bayani Domingo: So this is the AotF against every other stable's "B Team"?
Winner: Panic! at the Necro
Michael Bauer: For the record, Whitmer is now teaming with Albright. Also for the record, the one "A" member in this match is Jimmy Jacobs. You do the math.
Winners: The Age of the Fall
Chris Lansdell: ANOTHER Ultimate Endurance? Smells like a holding pattern to me. Of the teams ready for a title shot, 0 of them are in this match. Jacobs and Black to win in convincing fashion.
Winners, and STILL ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Age of the Fall
Ari Berenstein: Another match where you have three strong challenger teams…but ultimately Age of the Fall will dominate here. The difference between this UE and the last one is that the other stable warfare teams have no beef with each other (well V Squad and NRC a little bit, but it hasn't been focused on in a while). I think everyone does their best to eliminate AotF, but it doesn't happen. First out is NRC, second out is HM3 and third out is The V Squad.
Winner: Age of the Fall to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles.
Jarrod Westerfeld: Again with this Ultimate Endurance Tag Team Scramble match? Gabe is going to come out looking like a fascist! Down with the fascism of ROH and their *racial(?) obligatory* booking team and company men! Let's see, we're going to possibly see the heels team up and kill the only faces of the match, Jigsaw and Ruckus, leading us to see Richards and Romero dropped out second, and then Jacobs and Black walking away another victory as the ROH World Tag Team Champions.
Winner: Panic! At the Necro
Samuel Berman: ROH has a history of doing a few shorter title reigns after an extended one. I don't personally think this is the time to take the belts off of Jacobs & Black, but their ‘the world is against us' storyline actually works the best if the lose the belts in short order. Also, moving things around establishes more groups in Faction Warfare as being competent competitors. Jigsaw & Ruckus won't win ROH gold before Evans does, so their out. Whitmer's a known tag team commodity, but I don't think they're going for the symmetry of him one-upping Jacobs. That leaves the No Remorse Corps, who have been around the longest and are the most reasonable team to hold the belts right now (if ROH does in fact move them. I know it's a bold choice, but I'm a bold guy. Is ‘bold' the right word?
Winners and NEW ROH World Tag Team Champions: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
411 Staff Picks: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black (6-1)
Dog Collar Match: Delirious vs. Adam Pearce
Jerome Cusson: This is the feud that just won't die. Unless there is something particularly violent or innovative done, it's really going to be just another match. Delirious wins here and hopefully gets beaten down afterward to set up the end of this feud in Manhattan.
Winner: Delirious
Bayani Domingo: Delirious has to win one of these matches to make it a real feud right? Let's hope this is the end to the feud so Delirious can go on to something that is actually...you know helping his career. This feud just doesn't end.
Winner: Delirious
Michael Bauer: Hopefully, this will allow the feud to die already and allow Pearce to move on to actually doing something worth while. Delirious is as over as anyone so he should get the duke.
Winner: Delirious
Chris Lansdell: Oh this will be brutal. The last dog collar match I remember was Raven vs Punk, and it was insane. These two are no Punk and Raven, but the heat is there and Pearce at least can work a great hardcore brawl. He's jobbing here, though.
Winner: Delirious
Ari Berenstein: Red Delirious is on a revenge roll and with a dog collar attached to him and Pearce, expect violence, craziness and lots of blood. And yes, the BLINDING CHOKING RED MIST OF DEATH~!
Winner: Delirious
Jarrod Westerfeld: Now we're talking – a feud ending blow off? This early into the year? I think I like the possibility here as Delirious fits into this element, being part dog and all…or at least I think he's part dog. He certainly does bark a lot. Anyway, so long as someone keeps Shane Hagadorn on a leash (pun totally intended), then perhaps we'll see Delirious destroy the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, sending him packing to lose to a ready for primetime Rob Conway – if we're ever so lucky.
Winner: Delirious – BAH! BAH! BAH!
Samuel Berman: Punk's Dog Collar Matches with Raven and Jimmy Rave were both great, so I have high hopes here. Pearce isn't the best wrestler around, but he ALWAYS brings it in gimmick matches like this. Delirious is also good in a brawl, so I think this will really surprise a lot of people. Think Pearce vs. Homicide in a Cage.
Winner and still ROH world champion: Nigel McGuinness
Bayani Domingo: I really hope this is a steel cage match. If Hero doesn't take the title I think Strong is just as good of a candidate. Unfortunately I don't think Nigel is dropping the belt this week. it's nothing against him, but I just think they might have dropped the ball with him as they seem to not have a real direction to go with his title reign. Still I think regardless of if this is a title match or not Nigel doesn't job here.
Winner: Nigel "in it to win it" McGuinness
Michael Bauer: This will be a title match and there is no way Nigel loses the belt before a VERY anticipated Nigel vs Dragon II.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Chris Lansdell: Something occurred to me: will we ever see another title change outside a PPV taping? It would be smart booking to get fans to buy the DVDs, but I don't think they've cemented a market yet. That said, Strong is less likely as champion than Hero, so....
Winner, and STILL ROH World Champion: Nigel McGuinness
Ari Berenstein: Not a lot of attention has been paid to this one in the wake of the Danielson and Hero feuds, but Strong remains a tough challenge for any champion. This one should be a long match and should test Nigel's endurance, but ultimately he will retain the title and move on to the sixth anniversary weekend.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness to retain the ROH World Title
Jarrod Westerfeld: Nigel's not losing his title to Hero on the previous night because Gabe heard more pops for Bobby Dempsey, so Hero has to serve out another month's detention, jobbing every match he's in – so this will be for the World Title, and as such, expect Nigel to actually walk away in full health, so long as Strong doesn't miss a chop and slap Nigel in the head. Damn Roderick and his strongest chops in the industry. Anyway, this should be a nice big man type of match, with Nigel showing off quite the power to match Strong, leading to an explosive exchange between the two, with Strong teasing victories, possibly getting the crowd behind him, all before the LARIAT! BITCH knocks Strong silly for the 3 count.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness (Retaining ROH World Title)
Samuel Berman: I happen to think that this will be a Steel Cage Match even if Nigel retains, but that's just me. Either way, this isn't the time to move the belt to Strong, who frustratingly peaked as a singles competitor about two years ago. Remember that feeling around Wrestlemania weekend 2006, when Roderick was going into his third shot at Bryan Danielson and everyone was really excited about the prospect of Strong as ROH World Champion? Do you feel that way now? I didn't think so.
Winner and STILL ROH World Champion: Nigel McGuinness
Nick Dinsmore is wrestling for IPW: UK this weekend so it won't be him. Has Marek Brave ever been on national TV? My guess is Joey Mercury. He fits all the clues, but I guess we'll find out tonight...
Posted By: ROHOrangutan (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Or possibly this is a very special ROH return as RAVEN shows up and proves that he indeed IS the father of Jimmy Jacobs.
Posted By: SMYK (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 01:52 PM
nobody has mentioned maverick matt michael shane bentley as the potential mystery AoTF member....
god i hope it's not him. hopefully it will be joey matthews....
if it is, i doubt any ROHbot will question roh hiring a noted "wellness violator" like everyone does if tna hires one..... ROHbots piss me off...
Posted By: thug saint OGA (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 03:27 PM
"Will there ever be another title change off PPV?" Probably, but it's likely that they change back before the next PPV.
Posted By: Sean (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 04:22 PM
Nigel vs Danielson II? If I can recount correctly, their next match would be VII.
Posted By: Guest#9181 (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 07:59 PM
ROHOrangutan, I was unaware of Dinsmore's other engagements, so still went with him over my previous choice in Joey Matthews. I'm not perfect, but at least I'm willing to admit that and admit when I'm wrong - and clearly I was. Good eye on that one.
Posted By: Jarrod Westerfeld (Registered) on January 26, 2008 at 08:07 PM
Damn, Berman, how did you manage to divine that title change? Lucky guess or skill? I honestly did not see that coming.
Posted By: ICTimer (Guest) on January 27, 2008 at 01:27 AM
Copyright (c) 2011 411mania.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
Click here for our privacy policy. Please help us serve you better, fill out our survey.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to our terms of use.
