Column of Honor: 03.08.08 Rising Above PPV Report & More!

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 03.08.2008

Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries is early match of the year, Ibushi matches announced, Sweeney segment is back and more reaction to Jigsaw’s unmasking.

"Somebody should get in contact with ABEAR 729 (I believe that's his name) he writes for 411 mania and maybe Gabe could talk him and the other writers into doing some better promotion for ROH PPV's. Ari Berenstein writes the most awesome ROH articles every Saturday and I love reading them while I'm at work in the morning on weekends."

Thanks to kaz on the ROH message boards for the glowing praise of my work. It just takes that one compliment to make a relatively crap week feel that much better.

Welcome to the Column.



Ring Toss
-Rising Above and Beyond Review
-ROH Call
-ROH News
-My Fave 5
-ROH Preview: March 14th, 2008 in Dover, NJ
-Name That Tune
-Ringtones
-Independent Buy In
-ROH @ 411
-Honor Bound Links

Rising Above and Beyond

My thoughts remain mostly the same after watching the end of the fifth Ring of Honor Pay Per View as compared to attending the show live. The matches that I thought were awesome live turned out to be awesome on PPV, and the matches that were okay or just average remained so on my television screen. Overall this remains an incredible strong PPV effort and there are plenty of great matches (and great reasons) to purchase this PPV.

The major differences between seeing Rising Above live and on TV are the added backstage segments and the upgraded post production, which signal a significant improvement in how ROH deals with the moments in between its greatest strength, which is the in ring action.

I'm giving the Ring of Honor production team a big thumbs up on this Pay Per View. They have stepped up the effort to provide something extra on these shows. It was seen in the "story arc" of the different tag teams and factions like Kevin Steen & El Generico, The Briscoes, The Age of the Fall, The Hangm3n and The Vulture Squad. It was seen in the use of split screens, wipes, more and enhanced replays (including the use of slow motion and blurring, which were excellent touches that should not go unnoticed). ROH also seemed to decide to involve more actively their more recent camera upgrade, the second stationary camera that provides an over the shoulder, three quarters perspective of the ring. Mixing in more of these shots helped the viewer get in "closer" to the action and it made the fighting pop out and come alive.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries in the ROH World Title match translated very well to the small screen, but not perfectly. Don't get me wrong, all the incredible top of the line in ring action was there, as was the drama of Nigel's horrific injury that saw him lacerated above his right eye and diagnosed with a concussion after the match. Yet I don't think ROH could bring to the fore the full insanity that was the crowd's reaction to the match. Yes the crowd was loud and boisterous and they came through that way during the entire show (with a few notable exceptions), but this was certainly on another level. The hatred some fans felt for Nigel during the show was palpable, intense and almost irrational. On the other hand, Nigel's fans were right there to counter the impact of these naysayers, rushing to the emotional aid of Nigel in his moments of need with chants of "Nigel!" On tape, it wasn't the same as being there live and in the moment, although it may be unfair to say it should have felt the same considering the uniqueness and oddity of such a moment during a live wrestling show.


This is the fifth ROH Pay Per View and the fifth time we get to see commentator Dave Prazak's "awed because we're on PPV" face. I wonder how he can stretch those jaw muscles far enough…Kevin Steen loves the camera and strangely enough, the camera loves him. He is a tremendous personality and one of the best at really coming through the camera, even on a smaller promo like this one…I still don't know how Brent Albright got Delirious's green mask (the HM3 never took it from the green (red) guy, just took it off him). Maybe he special ordered it from highspots.com or something…We get special sound effects and the theme for the show is Slayer's "Raining Blood"…

Brent Albright vs. (Red) Delirious (**¼) : A fun and fast match…Delirious explodes right away with the red mist in an awesome start…an overhead Belly to Belly nearly kills Delirious…Albright audibly calls out to Delirious "Move!" as he heads up to the top…and sure enough, as Albright comes crashing down, Delirious moves. I think deaf people and dogs heard that one…Delirious uses the Panic Attack knee strike and it careens Albright into the turnbuckle at an incredible velocity…ouch. Delirious uses the Ricky Steamboat finish of rolling up an opponent off the body slam for the pin, but the Hangm3n attack after the match, leading into our next match.

Tag Team Scramble: Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black) vs. The Vulture Squad (Jack Evans & Ruckus) vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Hangm3n (Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer) (****): What a freaking awesome match. It was an early highlight of the night live and it translates so well here. Its just under eight minutes, but what everyone did was so crisp and clean that by the end of it you're left with one of the stronger impressions from these kinds of matches. Kevin Steen and El Generico attack the HM3 to save Delirious, which makes sense given their backstage segment and how they were interrupted by Adam Pearce, and the previous PPV where Steen rejected his offer…A hysterical moment comes during the AotF promo as Jacobs asks the NYC crowd to "stand up and be counted" and everyone starts to SIT DOWN instead. The dive sequence is excellent and Jigsaw (with a mask…ahem, ahem) really stands out in this moment, his moment by flipping over J-Train to the floor…The action just floated and transitioned so effortlessly and the action was so great that I cannot and could not recap it all if I tried…Steen & Pearce go at it to a very good reaction…they both have similar body types, which makes for a crazy wacky "fun house mirror" effect. This is Pearce's first official match on PPV and viewers get a good sense of his offense here, as Pearce has "leveled up" with a one handed spinning chokeslam and of course uses his trusty piledriver to do damage. I can't forget to mention Evans and Ruckus with their double Capoiera kicks, which looks sweet! Kevin Steen and El Generico have some of the best spots in this one, scoring with a double yakuza and a stacked samoan drop. Steenerico score with the package piledriver into the brainbustah for the pinfall….then we get replays! Excellent!

Speaking of excellent, The Briscoes have their best promo ever with Jay Briscoe leading the way talking about the past shows, the Age of the Fall attacking them and how they have two fronts to deal with on this PPV, defending the betls against the NRC and beating up the Age of the Fall.

Lacey vs. Sara Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze(**): We closed the last match with Lacey's reaction, which was not happy, then come back to live action with her in a match. Excellent and logical transition that was not the way it was live but makes it seem as if Lacey stayed behind and wanted some in ring action….this was an okay match, but not one of the better women's matches with these three that I've ever seen. It was a minor disappointment to me live, but it comes through decent on TV. The major highlight was a deathlock by Del Rey onto Lacey while Haze simultaneously applies an octopus stretch onto Del Rey. Then Haze connects to Lacey with an arm stretch….Daizee Haze's monkey flip into X-factor almost hangs her into the ropes on the ricochet. Maybe its time to stop doing a move if there is high risk of it hurting you as well…Haze's stomp double senton is clean and looks cool…Del Rey gets the double royal butterfly but can't hold onto it, which leads to a clear out by Haze. Haze goes for the Mindtrip (Snapmare Driver), which looks great if sold properly, but Del Rey doesn't go down witrh the move fast enough and it looks slow and awkward. A second Mindtrip onto Lacey looks much better (Lacey always sells the move well) is enough to finish the match.

Erick Stevens vs. Davey Richards (**1/4) : Initially the crowd comes off much better than they were live…but when Puder makes his appearance the crowd dies for the match and all the heat is on Puder…which now sounds ridiculous, because Puder is gone from the company now (unless there are some sort of plans to bring him in just for the next PPV). The match is also really designed a bit off as Richards gets the face style comebacks and there only smaller claps for Stevens and his comeback (not the only time this happens on the show). Stevens ends up putting on a chin lock, which as a face he should never do since that puts the heel in a comeback position. We get a rough edit to Puder and his fetching young lass next to him. Stevens gets a cute moment in as he shouts out "Hammertime" before unleashing a powerful polish hammer onto Richards. Richards' enziguri near the ropes is an awesome killer move, but its no sold to get to Steven's trademark throw powerslam, which is frustrating. The finish is Stevens distracted a SECOND time by Puder's presence, which means he has the brain of an elephant in this one, and Richards uses the distraction to hit a long distance missile dropkick, floating into the 14:59 Kimura for the tap out. I enjoyed the move for move, but hated the overall themes of the match….Stevens redeems himself with a very strong face promo and Sweeney counters by convincing Puder to go to the back and not fight. He calls the NYC crowd scumbags and they still cheer for him, which maybe goes to show you why all the controversy of the past two weeks has occurred. Sweeney threatens to win Claudio's contract and bring it to Vince, just like Matt Sydal. A pic of Sydal being bought out here at Driven would have been appropriate, but it wasn't shown.

Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli (Claudio's ROH contract on the line) (***): Claudio chases Sweeney, leading to him getting caught and outnumbered by Sweet and Sour Inc. He clears out Tank Toland and Bobby Dempsey, but Hero attacks from behind and we start the match proper…both men have impressive moments here, but there is also a looseness that you wouldn't expect from the grudge match nature. Hero's first big offense is an impressive springboard into a back senton, all in one motion from outside the ring to inside…later on there is an interesting Cravate codebreaker. We get some edits around this time...Hero gets an "overrated" chant but smartly puts it on Claudio and Sweeney follows suit. The mark of an excellent heel right there…Claudio's offense is to counter with his European uppercut offense, including standard, top rope and springboard varieties… A few awkward moments in this one that are good in theory but not in execution: Hero winds up in the chicken fight position on top of Dempsey's shoulders and Claudio topes into Hero, but there isn't a lot of space where they are at ringside and everyone sort of just slumps over. Didn't look too hot. Then there was the counter out of the Riccola bomb into the slowest hurricanrana ever. Yikes. The finish is Claudio going for the Alpamare (spell it right J.D.!) Waterslide, but Hero turning it into a Cravate with a body vice (the "Cravice" as Prazak terms it). Claudio deadlifts Hero from that position into the Riccola Bomb. Impressive effort of strength and good for the three count.

The Briscoes prepare as Age of the Fall appear in another section of the building and claim they will find Jay & Mark right now. Necro gets talking time (!) and terms The Briscoes "chicken farmers"…well, that's a "pot, kettle, black" moment if there ever was one…he also promises to go all "West Virginia style" on them…I don't even want to know…

Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (***1/2): This is just a crazy fight from moment one. Danielson is busted open quickly and he just looks like a sad, hapless heap for the rest of the match. Morishima totally dominates until Danielson gets into a flying kick and then hits a flurry. The back drop driver and lariat combo look deadly and there is an excellent slow motion replay of it…there is a series of mounts where Danielson looks to ground and pound, while Morishima reverses into the guard and it goes back and forth like that. This is relaxed rules, but Morishima gets in a few blatant low blows (payback for Danielson's attack at Glory By Honor VI Night Two) and pushes the referee down for the DQ. Morishima looks to continue the punishment, but the refs come to stop him. Morishima just starts busting out fists on them in what Prazak calls an "unprecedented" moment. Morishima then lays out Bryce Remsburg with the back drop driver and it is awesome! The crowd is so angry with him after that one, but here comes Danielson with the ring bell hammer to attack and he goes after the eye (like Morishima did to him at "Driven"). He screams out "I'm gonna blind the son of a bitch!" The match in and of itself ranks well below the Manhattan Mayhem II match and the GBHVI N2 match, but the insanity of the post match was so great and had so many layers to it. Danielson emerges very bloody but victorious. He gets over more for taking an ass kicking here and being dominated, unbelievable.

The HM3 are backstage and its Albright who does the talking, chewing out the rest of the HM3 and demanding they take out the Vulture Squad. Pearce agrees with this. Meanwhile we are shown The Vulture Squad "chillaxing" (that's what the kids are calling it nowadays) in their lounge area.

ROH World Tag Team Titles (2 out of 3 falls): The Briscoes (c) vs. The No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero) (***):Leonard plugs the rohwrestling.com message board and The Briscoes vs. Colt Cabana & CM Punk from Death Before Dishonor II weekend in the same breath…bonus points there. ..This is another match where the crowd is clearly deflated and although there are a good amount of claps, the reactions are not nearly the level they were before (this match was the last one taped for PPV on the show and placed second to last here). The action is back and forth and competent enough, but at an hour plus of this sort of match style, even I'm beginning to feel tired of it… The Briscoes when they are on , are damned on, but in this one, it felt like everyone was hitting their best moves and then moving on. Mark has an excellent moment in going for the hot tag as he gets a jumping diving moonsault and then uses the momentum from the landing to fall backward into Jay. It would have been an awesome moment…had there not been several and frequent tags in the moments before hand. Rocky Romero has some good intensity and good personality in this match and the NRC get cute by stealing the Briscoes' trademark double shoulder blocks. First fall is an NRC win thanks to a chain of big moves ending with a Gibson Driver. Mark Briscoe gets a jackknife pin out of Strong's Gibson Driver attempt to win the second fall. The third fall starts off well with a double stand off, but ends abruptly with a Spike Jay Driller (admittedly awesome looking). Prazak sells just how fast a match can end, but really that's just a good cover up for the fast finish. Again, good action, but overdone.

ROH gets very high end with a four way split screen of all four factions looking for each other. Very West Side Story meets Mario Kart 64.

ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Austin Aries (****¾): There is a unique little moment between Nigel and Aries backstage before the match. Aries was there for Nigel to celebrate and respect his accomplishments at "Undeniable", but they are at odds now that they are fighting it out for the title…Aries vs. McGuinness was insane live and on tape, a little less so until the huge moments, but everything comes together so well as a wrestling match and an ROH TITLE match that the match is almost perfect unto itself. It's interesting to note that Aries is wearing the same tights he wore when he defeated Samoa Joe for the ROH World Title at Final Battle 2004. Also of note is Lenny Leonard acknowledging how some of the fans have begun to turn on Nigel and in fact that is exactly how he says it, almost putting them to blame (and well, they are). Technical wrestling early on and both men seem to acknowledge they'll be working on their opponents arm: Aries will go for the biceps injury and Nigel's submission offense has always been primarily focused on the arm and shoulder, so that's what he'll go with. The plancha from behind hits Nigel full on and boy is it as brutal as it looked at the show. Aries is sure to dig in a bit deeper by screaming out "Don't worry about these people, worry about me!" We get an instant replay and you can see that the impact on Nigel was immediate. The referee embracing him on the outside was so different that it became slightly disturbing. Aries takes control of the match and keeps things going and Nigel recovers from the impact to get back into the wrestling of the match. Nigel is definitely off kilter with his balance, but counters moves like the Aries dropkick. Aries just kicks Nigel hard instead. Aries tries to go with another "heat seeking missile" plancha, but Nigel blocks it with an excellent European and transitions it to a SICK Tower of London to the outside. Both men look like car crash victims. Soon after, Nigel has perfect timing on a boot to block an Aries corner dropkick and gets his inverted suplex into the Tower of London for a close two. Aries gets his elbow corner flurry but gets caught with an EPIC lariat from off the top rope TO THE FLOOR. Jesus. Aries recovers and comes up with a brainbuster onto the steel barricade. Jesus again. In the ring, Aries scores with a flurry of fists and forearms, kicks away Nigel's arm resting on the ropes and seamlessly goes into the brainbuster. He missed the 450 Splash as Nigel again has perfect timing in getting the knees up (it looks devastating). Nigel tries the London Dungeon arm submission, but Aries smartly rolls up for two, brainbuster then the Horns of Aries looks to end the match, but Nigel is too close to the ropes. There is a slap exchanges, then elbows, Nigel careens back to the ropes for the Jawbreaker, but Aries meets him with a FLYING LARIAT and the crowd goes insane! Horns of Aries again, but Nigel gets out of it, hits a Northern Lariat and Aries tucks his head back just in the nick of time before he gets seriously hurt. He goes for the arm trap submission, but Aries kicks him off and the Nigel hits the Jawbreaker as Aries spins around just in time to get devastated with it. He flips all the around from the impact and crumples the mat. Nigel get the pinfall in one hell of a dramatic match.

We get GANG WARS! All the major stables plus Generico & Steen come out to plaaaay-ay. I read elsewhere that Necro used a POTTED plant to attack people, but I must have turned my head away because I missed it. I'll have to go back and check later on. Now "Raining Blood" once again plays over what we see on screen, but unlike the Whitmer preparation skits from War of the Wire II, this time the music seems appropriate and fits quite well with the chaos and insanity of what we're seeing with all these people fighting it out. Mustachioed man from ringside makes a cameo (!) as does "Sugarfoot" Alex Payne, as they are hapless and helpless as to what they see before them. Then they run away. I can't blame them.

The PPV ends with a harrowing shot of Nigel, nearly catatonic and unmoving in the locker room. The look in his eyes is a far gone one.

Overall: The main event title match of McGuinness vs. Aries completes "Rising Above" and seals the deal on another excellent Pay Per View. That match, the tag scramble and the Morishima / Danielson encounter are all must see moments of the show, while the undercard matches are a good base that helps to round out the card. I was very impressed with the improved production and special effects elements used to help smooth out the rough edges. This feels more like a "complete" Pay Per View than any previous show, or maybe its that it finally feels like an ROH DVD has been successfully translated into to PPV format.

There are some definite criticisms I have, largely the same as when I attended the show. I thought the Puder segment was unnecessary and ultimately distracting to the Stevens vs. Richards match. The Briscoes put on a typical Briscoes match, but the crowd had seen too much by that point to really get into all the back and forth action. I'm glad that the ROH World Title match was placed in the main event position. I think the best way to look at this PPV is as a building up from one moment to another until we hit the crescendo, which is the title match and the gang war showdown.

Rating: 8.5


ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 03/08/2008

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 7 successful defenses)
-defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense:: vs. TBD, Philadelphia, PA, 03/16/08

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)
V.3 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (12/29/07 Manhattan, NY)
V.4 defeated Go Shiozaki, London Dungeon (wristlock submission) (01/20/08 Tokyo, Japan,)
V.5 Steel Cage Match: defeated Chris Hero (01/25/08, Dayton, OH)
V.6 defeated Roderick Strong, Jawbreaker Lariat (01/26/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.7 defeated Bryan Danielson, London Dungeon (02/23/08, Manhattan, NY)


ROH World Tag Team Champions—The No Remorse Corps (Davey Richards & Rocky Romero) (champions since 01/26/08, 1 successful defense)
-defeated Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black) in Chicago Ridge, IL to win the championship.

Next Defense: TBA

V.1 defeated Ruckus & Jigsaw (02/23/08 Manhattan, NY)


Sweet & Sour Incorporated Presents The Intergender Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Of The World —Chris Hero & Sara Del Rey (champions since 01/12/08, 2 successful defenses)

Next Defense: TBA

V.1 defeated Ernie Osiris & Alexa Thatcher (01/12/08, Edison, NJ)
V.2 defeated Kyle Durden & Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne (01/26/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)


FIP Heavyweight Champion: Roderick Strong (since 02/16/2008)
-defeated Erick Stevens via count out to win the title (FIP title can change hands on count out)
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:
-Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
-The Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes
-Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. No Remorse Corps
-Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong
-Austin Aries & Age of the Fall / Lacey vs. Sunny
-Sweet & Sour Inc. "Corporate Takeover"
-ROH vs. Dragon Gate (upcoming series in Orlando, FL)



ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed

Morishima wins GHC Heavyweight Title

On March 2nd at the Buddokhan, Takeshi Morishima finally won the Global Honored Crown Heavyweight Title by defeating Mitsahara Misawa. The GHC title is NOAH's top title and this win is what many were expecting to be an inevitability for Morishima for years. The problem was, in three previous efforts attempting to defeat Misawa he came up empty handed. It just seemed like a title wouldn't ever happen, that this win and ascension would happen down the line, but not in the present.

When the March 2nd title match was announced, most took it as the signal that the time had arrived for Morishima to win the title. Morishima has been in the spotlight in the world of independent wrestling fort he better part of two years now. His ROH World Title win allowed for a larger awareness of who he was in the American public as well as the opportunity to season him for what it would be like to be the champion and top man in the company.

While this "passing of the torch" occurred with Morishima dominating Misawa throughout most of the match, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that this may not be a lengthy run for Morishima. If this is true, I find that appalling and ridiculously short sighted on the part of NOAH. This is the moment they have been waiting for and anticipating and now they have finally pulled the trigger on their young big man to become their signature heavyweight. I know they look for Kobashi to try to make a grand comeback and help to lead the company to new heights, but he is obviously not at the condition he used to be and you can't count on him to be your breadwinner. Its time to put the focus on Morishima and make him "the guy". I really do hope they do not "Marufuji" his title run, that is, give him a very short title run.

Assuming the mantle of GHC Heavyweight champion means taking on a greater workload in NOAH and that also means a reduced role in Ring of Honor. That Morishima would be making less appearances in ROH this year was already known by a great deal of fans, but this cements the idea. It means we may have to wait a while to see more of the awesome Morishima vs. Danielson feud that has been so well executed since August of 2007.


ROH to Show Sweeney Segment

After stating that the Larry Sweeney / Allison Danger / Bobby Dempsey "alleged" "rape" angle would not see the light of day, ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky did an abrupt about face this week and stated that the segment would indeed be included on the "Sixth Anniversary Show" DVD. Sapolsky stated that he got heat from his wife at first, but when he went back and saw the segment he reconsidered and believed it should be included to let everyone judge for themselves what had occurred.

Well, I pretty much argued for this very thing happening in 411's most recent podcast—include the segment and let the rest of the fans see for themselves, if they so choose, what actually went down. Some will say that Sapolsky is taking advantage of the controversy and buzz to drive up sales and well, that's probably true. However, the damage has already been done as far as what people have criticized ROH for doing with the promo, so in my opinion it just makes sense to go for it and include the segment anyway. As I said last week, you can't argue with the truth of the actual events and once people see it with their own eyes they can confirm for themselves whether or not it deserved to generate so much controversy.

Just a further irony is that after sixteen pages of criticizing and complaiung on the ROH message board about the segment, with this announcement came a deluge of support for Gabe Sapolsky and ROH. How they never should have caved in the first place and how it wasn't all that bad. Funny how that is. My opinion on that matter is that an apology was definitely the right way to go about defusing the situation, but that they should have still included the video on the DVD.


Ibushi Matches Announced

This information comes hot off the presses from the message board:

Kota Ibushi, one of Japan's most exciting high-flyers, will have a special one week tour of Ring Of Honor in April. This will be Ibushi's only ROH appearances. You will not get a chance to see this incredible and dynamic talent live again.

Ibushi comes to ROH from the DDT promotion. He blew away ROH officials when they saw him live at last July's NOAH Budokan Hall event in Tokyo. The bout witnessed Ibushi, as a special guest, steal the show. His unique arsenal won over the Budokan Hall crowd in a match of the year caliber bout that saw Ibushi team with Naomichi Marufuji to take on KENTA & Taiji Ishimori. Ever since that time ROH officials have been trying to book Ibushi for special appearances here in the United States.

ROH officials wanted to book Ibushi in dream matches that would give the fans the most action and highlight Ibushi's immense talents. Ibushi's ROH tour will see him compete in these bouts:

-4/11, Boston, MA: Ibushi vs. Davey Richards
-4/12, Edison, NJ: Ibushi vs. Austin Aries
-4/18, Detroit, MI: Ibushi & TBA vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
-4/19, Chicago, IL: Ibushi vs. El Generico

Ibushi will also be available for autographs at all four shows. There will be authentic Ibushi merchandise available.

If you notice Ibushi is being given uppercard opponents but especially ones that will suit his style and will create exciting matches. I think the Aries and Generico matches in particular will generate the most positive response.


Team-Work to Feast on Vultures

Fans are buzzing about the latest ROH Video Wire at www.ROHvideos.com and what happens with Jigsaw and his mask. Julius Smokes now wants to give his Vulture Squad team of Jigsaw & Ruckus their toughest test. It will come on March 14th in Dover, NJ when Jigsaw & Ruckus face the duo of Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries!!! How will the new Jigsaw and his partner Ruckus fare against two of ROH's greatest?

How will they fare against Aries and Danielson? Well, let's just say that Jigsaw better be prepared to put that mask back on because he's going to want to cover his head in shame after being destroyed by those two. I just don't see how Ruckus and Jigsaw can win here unless they do another fluke Aries loss, which would suck.


Dover, Dover, Come on Over

We have another match to announce for 3/14 in Dover, NJ. It is a loaded Four Corner Survival with some hard-hitters pitting ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. Erick Stevens vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. BJ Whitmer.

Joey Matthews wants another shot at Kevin Steen after their bout at the 6th Anniversary Show. Matthews says he will approach Steen with more intensity next time. Steen welcomes another chance to beat Matthews on his road to a title shot on 4/12 in Edison, NJ. Steen vs. Matthews rematch has been signed for 3/15 in Dover, NJ.

I'm not surprised to see McGuinness in the Four Corner match, as these shows in Dover don't really seem to have a need for a distinct one-on-one match up for the title in the main event. Claudio is in the match, which I find interesting because I peg him as the favorite to win the number one contenders spot in the tournament that weekend. Steen vs. Matthews wasn't altogether that impressive in NYC, but it was a decent enough undercard match. I assume they'll look to do better on this one.

"Classic" Colt Cabana to be Locked in a Vault

"Vaulted Classics" are coming to ROHvideos.com. We'll have more info soon.

…Oh, is that not what they meant?

Well, okay in all seriousness this seems to indicate that ROH is going to do the smart thing and start to use its now massive video library of past show. Hopefully these matches will be available for free so that prospective fans will be able to watch them and get an idea about the quality of ROH action.


Briscoe Brawl

Jay & Mark Briscoe have returned from Japan where they took GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Suguira to the limit at last weekend's Budokan Hall event. ROH will add this match as a bonus item on a future DVD. As soon as The Briscoes landed they vowed revenge on The Age Of The Fall. They want TOATF on PPV in a No Rules Tag Team War. Jay & Mark Briscoe will battle a TOATF team when ROH tapes PPV on March 16th in Philadelphia. The Briscoes promise the damnedest fight you'll ever see on PPV. It is unknown who will represent The Age Of The Fall as Tyler Black and The Necro Butcher are both in the mini-tournament to determine who will challenge Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Title in the main event of that show. ROH officials are having a hard time putting together an advance card for the PPV due to the mini-tournament that weekend.



That's the finish to the match from Japan. If its that's good at the end, well, its gonna be a must see. So, now the Briscoes vs. Age of the Fall will get a proper match on PPV, although neither team is currently champion, so that will have to be shown or explained somehow.


Orlando Occurrences

"Supercard Of Honor III" on March 29th in Orlando, FL keeps getting bigger and bigger. Now the greatest rivalry among Florida born and bred talent has been added to the card. This rivalry has turned into a blood feud of epic proportions. Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens has been signed for March 29th!!! The stipulation will be announced after the next FIP show on March 22nd.

"Dragon Gate Challenge II" on March 28th in Orlando, FL just got even bigger. The main event has been signed. At "Live In Osaka" last July the No Remorse Corps lost to the super powers team of Bryan Danielson, CIMA & Naomichi Marufuji. That team was historic as the aces of ROH, Dragon Gate and NOAH joined forces. Now the NRC want a rematch. ROH, Dragon Gate and NOAH will once again join forces on March 28th in Orlando. It will be CIMA, Go Shiozaki & NRC's greatest ROH rival Erick Stevens vs. the No Remorse Corps team of FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong & ROH World Tag Team Champions Davey Richards & Rocky Romero!!!

There will be a ROH fanfest in Orlando, FL at the Orlando Jai-Alai. It will be Saturday, March 29th, from noon-3pm with free prizes and autograph sessions. The location is Orlando Jai-Alai on 6405 S US Highway 17/92 in Fern Park FL. 32730. You won't want to miss the "Hit The Wall" contest with ROH wrestlers.

Strong vs. Stevens in the FIP home state of Florida makes perfect sense to me, especially now that it seems the Strong vs. McGuinness rivalry is going to be toned down because of Nigel's heel turn. I like the idea of continuing the blood feud in Florida and its good continuity to boot. The NOAH / ROH / Dragon Gate all star team is pretty impressive, with speed and size representing on their side. Go Shiozaki could be a breakout of this one.

Now…Jai Alai? Jai Alai? I have no idea what that is about…do you even know how to play Jai Alai? Is this like a cult sport favorite of the ROH locker room? Weirdness…but at least it's a fanfest of sorts for ROH fans to meet the wrestlers. That's always welcome in my book. Just… Jai Alai…really?



My Fave Five

I wanted a new feature in the wake of the middle of the column being vacated and this is what I came up with. These are the wrestlers on my fave five list right now. What that means is that I really enjoyed their efforts and performance in one way or another. This is different from the Wrestle of the Week feature because I am including the wrestling DVDs I watched over the last week, not just mainstream TV or PPV. Also, I'm measuring personal enjoyment, not determining who had the "best week ever".

So who's in my fave five this week?

1. Incoherence & Incoherencito (Cheech & Cloudy) When these two teams fought against one another for the CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas at the recent "The Sordid Perils of Everyday Existence" event, they tore the house down with a fantastically hilarious first fall and an action packed finale. Cheech and Cloudy dressing up as Delirious and Hallowicked is a fantastic idea and lets hope it is reprised somewhere down the line. I loved the mirroring sequences they did with each other and the reaction of Delirious…even HE was confused as to what was going on!
2. Bryan Danielson: The man is just so awesome and so beloved. He gets over no matter what he does at this point.
3. The Colony: What a fun team these three are. Work Ant, Soldier Ant and Fire Ant each have their own distinct ant-like personalities and their own signature moves. When they combine their efforts and do triple teams, they have at least one hundred times the strength of normal wrestling ants! I love the "ants go marching" powerbomb / neckbreaker (Triple X's old finisher), the triple dropkicks into the corner and especially the ant formation splash.
4. Nigel McGuinness & Austin Aries: A fantastic effort by two top talents. Watching the PPV and reliving this match made me once again realize just how good these two are. Aries is on the roll of a lifetime right now in the ring in ROH matches.
5. Hydra: who has upped his hilarity factor to infinity by coming out to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" and dancing just like Amy in that video. The robe and the bodysuit underneath complete the comedy package. At "Two Eyebrows Are Better Than One", Hydra even went inter-species as he took on the Zombie Plantain and the Moravian Greyhound. A fantastic oddity of a match.


ROH Preview: March 14th 2008 at The Baker Theatre in Dover, New Jersey

8:00pm belltime
41 West Blackwell Street
Dover, NJ 07801

Tag Team Grudge Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Joey Matthews & Tyler Black with Lacey

The Briscoe are on the warpath again and looking for more blood out of Age of the Fall. They are doing this by themselves and without any back up, but that is dangerous considering just how many wrestlers have joined in with AotF over the last few months. They'll have to brawl fast and hard and keep the action going if they want to keep Black and Matthews off balance. Meanwhile Age of the Fall will be looking to hurt The Briscoes in any way possible. I wouldn't be surprised to see Daizee Haze or perhaps another women's wrestler here somewhere to counteract Lacey.

Qualifying Match For 3/16 Four Corner Survival
Delirious vs. The Necro Butcher

Two "monster" characters going at it in this one. I expect Necro to continue to be massively over with the crowd, but I don't expect a negative reaction for Delirious. It should be fine to see these two go back and forth and use their unique characteristics to add layers into the match up. My prediction is Necro Butcher to win the match and head into the four corner finals at the PPV.

Qualifying Match For 3/16 Four Corner Survival
Go Shiozaki vs. Brent Albright

This is an intriguing match up because if Go wins then he makes a PPV debut in a contenders match. Meanwhile Albright has been consistently featured on PPVs and is seen as a brutal and remorseless power man who can wrestle and suplex you down. Go has the tools to make this a fighting effort and I've no doubt he and Alrbight will get the crowd into their back and forth fight. My prediction is Brent Albright to use the Half Nelson Suplex twice in a row to knock out Go and take the win.

Special Challenge Match
ROH World Tag Team Champion Davey Richards vs. Kevin Steen

Steen is on the build to a ROH World Title shot on 4/12 in Edison and I think he is going to be very well protected until then. Yes, Steen and Generico are also headed towards a tag title shot against the NRC, but I'm thinking Steen out attitudes Richards here in the opening volley of matches. The in ring action should be very good in and of itself but I think Steen's popularity and reach with the crowd is going to help put this one over the top.

Special Tag Team Attraction
Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs. Jigsaw & Ruckus with Julius Smokes
This on initial appearances looks to be a total mismatch and a potential rout. If Dnaielson is in the ring he is going to be giving a wrestling clinic. There is no way that The Vulture Squad is going to be able to match him on that level. Jigsaw and Ruckus may out fly Aries and Danielson, but then again, maybe not. Aries and Danielson have their own trademark aerial moves and they will match up well and maybe even out-do the V-Squad in that category. An upset could be in the cards, especially with what looks like a new push coming out of Jigsaw being unmasked, but I think the crowd is not going to bite for it should that happen.

Non-Title Four Corner Survival
ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Erick Stevens vs. BJ Whitmer

This isn't for the title, but McGuiness is going to be a marked man anyway. I look forward to seeing how a heel McGuinness will act in front of a non-NYC crowd. It will go a lot towards determining where he is headed. Castagnoli should be matched up as the main opponent here for Nigel, but Stevens shouldn't be overlooked. He will make things interesting and probably have a few moments of excellence. And BJ Whitmer…well…um…yeah. We'll see.

-Plus: Roderick Strong of No Remorse Corps; Larry Sweeney; plus more to be added!!!

-Special taping of scenes for the movie The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke!!!

I'd suggest the ROH fans attending the 3/14 and 3/15 tapings exercise two things: a bit of class and a bit of patience when it comes to The Wrestler tapings. No one should be surprised going into this event as to what will happen. You're going to get a wrestling show, but you're also there as the "extras" for a wrestling movie. Shooting a movie, much less an action movie, is a very long and trying process. It could take hours to do a small scene, much less the "major, climactic" scenes ROH has been hyping as what will be taped on these shows. Understand that the ROH shows are there because of The Wrestler filming and not the other way around. Let's not show the worse angels of our nature by being rude or classless fans.

For their sake, I hope ROH officials have thought long and hard about how the filming will go down. Will it be first? Last? In between the two halves of the show? I would strongly suggest the first two options and NOT the last one, because I have no doubt in my mind there will be complaints about getting back to the ROH show and chants of "boring" and even worse if that happens. Let's hope everything is explained to the crowd as best as possible and that all goes well with the shows.


Going Home

Name That Tune Week 25

Clue: Detroit
Lyric: "You'd give your soul but it's just too little too late."
What's the name of the song and the artist?

Who shot the Sheriff? Not Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns? Well, there's no physical evidence of such, but hey Shelley did come out to "Six Barrel Shotgun" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club back in the day. Who got this week's tune?

This week's winners (by order of receipt):
soulpower—after a few weeks off the top spot, soulpower reclaims the number one position this week.
Jay2kWinger
Chris Gorst
Mitchell Rose

Thanks to those who wrote in to answer and congrats to you. Now its time for Name that Tune! for this week, March 8th, 2008!

Clue: Steve Austin
Lyric: "Will she now /Run for her life in the battle that ends this day?"
What's the name of the song and the artist?

Send in your answers here and if you're correct I'll list your name in next week's column!


Ringtones

Jay2KWinger in addition to being on this week's NTT list, wants to discuss a veritable potpourri of items.

First, the lyric is from "Six Barrel Shotgun" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, formerly the entrance music for Motor City Machine Gun Alex Shelley, hence the "Detroit" hint. (And I'm almost tempted to score tickets to the Chicago show and fly out to stay with my aunt and uncle, so I can see the Good Times, Great Memories rematch.)

Regarding other things:

~ Jigsaw Unmasked: I agree, unmasking was a bad move for the Masked Vulture. For one thing, he's got a very bland-looking face, for another, maybe it was just the lighting, but it looked almost like Jigsaw had a lazy eye. And you know, maybe they will go the face-paint route. I mean, ROH fans are tolerant of masks (Delirious and Hallowicked, for example), I don't see why they'd find face-paint objectionable. Of course, predicting the likes and dislikes of indy wrestling fans is a hazardous thing.

~ Heel Nigel: I had a feeling the heel turn was inevitable, simply based on fan reactions. There's only so long you can avoid turning someone face (or quasi-face) when confronted with overwhelming support for a wrestler, and there's only so long you can avoid turning someone heel for the opposite reactions. The fan support just wasn't with Nigel after his recent string of injuries (was it right that the fans did so, is a debate for another time, and by someone better with words and arguments than me), and turning Nigel heel -- especially if he can get the same heel vibe as during his Pure Title run -- at least salvages things somewhat. In addition, now the fans can boo and chant derogatory things at him ("Nigel's fanbase falling down, falling down, falling down..." for example) without feeling too guilty about it. (And I can now wear my "Arrive. LARIAT. Leave." shirt to PPV #6 without feeling bad.)

~ Hero's Sandwich: It's funny. For some reason, I had this feeling that the Sandwich was all a put-on. I mean, as busy as Hero is, he has time to read the column of a, no offense, internet dweeb, and then compose this elaborate reply with GINORMOUS FONT STYLES and whatnot? Slightly plausible, sure, but still highly suspect. The "Column of Hero" weeks should have been a dead giveaway, now that I think about it.

~ Kevin Steen: Steen is just great. Since his face turn, he's got the right combination of in-ring skill, on-the-microphone talent, charisma, and schtickery to catch on, and I'm glad that ROH is starting to realize he's got major potential to break out this year.

~ Zomg raep: Not having been present at the 6th Anniversary Show to see the angle go down, and now that ROH is "suppressing" the footage so the angle doesn't get airtime after the negative reactions it got from some vocal fans, I can't comment on the Allison Danger/Bobby Dempsey/Larry Sweeney "rape" angle. From what I hear, though, it probably wasn't any more distasteful than, say, having your company's world champion dry-hump a mannequin on national television, or, say, having your company's world champion fall down in his underwear like a goof while his (mildly retarded?) lackey somehow gets "married" to his wife. Was it in bad taste? Again, not having been there to see it, I can only speculate, but even if ROH were to choose to acknowledge it and play it up in the future, I wouldn't think it was any worse than some other angles I've seen go down.

~ Let's Go Shiozaki: I wonder if it's too much to ask for a "Go's Gonna Kill You" chant at future shows with Go?

I think the idea of face paint is the right way to go if they want to do an unmasking…it will provide a more interesting and a tougher look for Jigsaw, who's going to need something to stir the imagination. Besides, face paint has not really been done before in ROH for a regular wrestler, so it would be unique and different for the promotion.

Okay first of all re: Nigel—that T-shirt—awesome idea. Hey, even I can have a sense of humor about the lariat debate. Now here's the thing about the heel turn (and I'll explain this in full in a later column)…I'm okay with the heel turn because now fans know for sure how they should react and who they should side with in a match that Nigel wrestles. I would however, disagree with the notion that Nigel was getting a majority of heel reaction…its not true. If you listen to the reactions he receives on the DVDs where he is champion, there is an undercurrent of boos but almost always (with the exception of the GBH VI N2 interview) the fans create loud cheers for him, shout and support him and seem to want him to win. Even the Rising Above PPV and Final Battle 2007 shows, the supporters of Nigel won out in showing their support. I don't think Nigel HAD to turn heel, or at least full heel, but I'm not up in arms about it.

Your point about the Hero's Sandwich is mine exactly. How people thought it was the real deal I still don't know, especially if you followed the series of segments over the last year. I mean maybe Hero would devote his time, but how about "Claudio" or "Sweeney". And would he really write a full column? Of course not. The quotations in Hero's name should have been a dead giveaway but there were plenty of other signposts as well (the lawyers of Con'em, Fleece ‘em and Sue? How can people miss out on that one?)

Again though, to the readers who were taken in, I'm sorry about it. I just hope you enjoyed reading them and got a laugh or two out of it.

I look for Steen to be tag champion by the middle of the year and if the momentum keeps going in his favor, he could be the candidate for top face (next to Danielson that is) for the rest of 2008.

Wrestling is usually in bad taste. The more fans ignore that fact the more they get smacked in the face with it everytime something morally objectionable happens. You know, aside from the depiction of half naked men using violence to solve problems.

I like Go, but I'm not 100 percent sold on him in the upper card. I hope they take it nice and easy as far as his use and push in the promotion.

Mark Kohn jigs things up:

Hey Ari,

Watched the ROH video wire and I have to say I agree with you. Seeing Jigsaw's face at the end, made me think hey that could be me. Minus the tats and wrestling skills but none the less makes the coolness of jigsaw, nothing now. There have been great masked wrestlers from the many tiger masks, Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit), Rey Mysterio, Juvi Guerrera, and even Black Tiger (Eddie Guerrero). Hell in Mexico it is all about the masks. Their epic storylines and feuds end in mask vs. mask matches which have some of the biggest crowds. There are more than enough average looking guys in ROH, that adding one more does nothing for them. While there is Delirious and his recent angle with the Red mask and even El Generico. It seems to me, (as a comic book fan - not surprisingly) you had some really cool ideas, before complete de-masking. I loved the two face idea. It might be tough to pull off, but it could have been like the Heel Steen, Face Generico team but in one person. Not sure how it would have played out, but it could have been interesting. Lastly, the point you made about the storyline reasoning behind the unmasking was just stupid. It's as if Smokes said, the reason we have lost so many matches is because you Jigsaw, wear a mask. When stated out right and not with all the crazy lines and charisma Smokes uses it does seem rather illogical, that was the reason for all the losses.

Thanks for the positive feedback about my take on Jigsaw. I mean, there just has to be a better solution that a complete de-masking. I have the sad feeling that it's not going to work out, but I'm hoping for the best. Blaming Jigsaw, the third man on the team, is pretty ridiculous. There are two other men on that team, so someone else better owe up to the responsibility…like say the supposed leader, Jack Evans?


Luke has more to say about "Chris Hero" and Jigsaw:

Just wanted to say I'm sorry about Chris Hero cravating (I think I just made that up) "Chris Hero" into submission. I always enjoyed that portion of the column, but I guess all good things must come to an end. I hope the real Hero was cool about it, at least. I still can't believe anyone thought it was the real person.

I guess it's too much to hope that "Larry Sweeny" takes over that portion of the column.

Also, I completely agree about Jigsaw. Unmasking him this way makes it seem like such an unimportant thing. I feel like they really dropped the ball on making this a memorable angle to make fans care about Jigsaw. Hopefully he can turn out to be more than just another skinny, flippy guy.

Well, he didn't threaten a lawsuit, so that's fine by me. He did say he thought it was funny, so I'll take that as a compliment. Obviously though he wasn't happy to learn of it, but he was professional and even tempered about it. Again it was just a series of parodies and honestly it's not anything too different from what SNL or South Park does. I should have made it more clear, but really, again, the signs were all there. In the end, I just hope everyone took it for what it was worth and enjoyed it while it lasted.

Being just another "skinny, flippy guy" is going to be Jigsaw's biggest problem. Let's hope that he finds something that will work for him to stand out. We'll start to find out on March 14th.


**The Independent Buy In**

2008
**CHIKARA "Cibernetico & Robin" (Torneo Cibernetico: Kings of Wrestling vs. Dorado's Luchadores, The Olsen Twins / Cheech & Cloudy, Quackenbush / Donst, The Colony / BLK OUT ) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA "Brusied" (Kingston / Donst, Campeones de Parejas: F.I.S.T. vs. Incoherence / Castagnoli / Taylor, The Colony / Brodie Lee & Olsen Twins, Cheech & Cloudy / Osirian Portal ) High Recommendation
**Pro Wrestling NOAH "Special Budokan Double Shot"7/15 & 9/9/07 (Determination League Semi Finals & Finals, NTV Cup Finals)High Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 (Castagnoli / Williams, Evans / Pac, Black / Shelley, Aries / Strong, PWG Tag Titles: Generico & Steen / Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka)Medium Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2 (CIMA / Tornado, Steen / Butcher, McGuinness / Richards, Kid / Yokosuka) Low Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 (the entire show) High Recommendation
**Shimmer Volume 11 (Sarah Stock / MsChif, Sarah Stock / Cheerleader Melissa, Sara Del Rey / Cindy Rogers, Nikki Roxx / Lacey, Daizee Haze / Malia Hosaka, Allison Danger / Hosaka)High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 12 (Del Rey / Lacey, Del Rey / Sarah Stock, Haze / Lacey, Portuguese Princess Ariel / Josie / Nikki Roxx / Portia Perez, Melissa & MsChif / Lexie Fyfe & Hosaka)High Recommendation

I have a whole bunch of DVDs to induct onto the list here, but no time or column space to do so. So next week, hopefully we'll bring back the Independent Buy In Spectacular!


This section needs your help! If you want to recommend some good independent wrestling to your fellow internet readers out there, drop me a line for the column.


ROH @ 411

Larry Csonka provides another play by play review of ROH Rising Above.

JP brings us the business side of ROH looking to expand its markets in this week's Wrestling News Journal.

ROH and the independents are covered by Larry C. and Michael B. in this week's 411 Buy or Sell.

Bayani Domingo takes a further look at Jigsaw's unmasking, and moreover how wrestler's connect with the fans in this week's awesome Truth B Told.

Jarrod Westerfield talks more about ROH and the "rape" segment in his Viral Dose.

Brad Garoon begins his takes on the SHIMMER Title tournament shows with a review of SHIMMER Volume 11.


Honor Bound Links

You can check out some more of my writing with this week's 411 Fact or Fiction.

Chris Landsell looks at submission finishers in his The Way I C It column.

Samuel Bermanlooks at Jack Evans vs. Super Dragon from PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006 in this week's Independent Mid Card.

Sforcina looks at the evolution of the WWE video games.

The Seventh Dimension: ARRRGH Matey!

John Meehan does an insanely detailed look at the numbers of Wrestlemania.

Michael Weyer rejects retirement! Rejects it I say!

Steve Cook is the Ask Jeeves of this website, minus the butler suit.


Next week's column is going to be more action packed than a movie filled with Ninjas, cowboys and guns for hire. I'll have my capsule reviews of the latest SHIMMER and CHIKARA DVDs, results from the first night in Dover and a preview of that weekend's shows, including the PPV taping.

BROOKLYN!
--Ari--