The Best Of The Rest 3.20.08: Volume 36 - ROH's Latest Triple Shot, Whitmer vs. Jacobs and More
Posted by Alex Mattis on 03.20.2008
ROH's triple shot is in the books, while BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs are yet to write their last chapter. Random tidbits from, the wrestling world and more here on "The Best Of The Rest!"
Hello and welcome back to "The Best Of The Rest." What's happened since we last met? Well this past weekend's triple shot proved to be historic for the company, Mirko Cro Cop has gotten back to his winning ways, and we're one week closer to WrestleMania. This week I'll look at ROH's show from this past weekend, BJ Whiter and Jimmy Jacobs taking it to the next level, and random news tidbits from the wrestling world. Let's get to it!
Thoughts ROH's Triple Shot
This weekend proved to be bigger than many expected for the company of Ring Of Honor. Movie projects, debuts, an unlikely title challenger, and three solid nights of wrestling. Let's break down the three nights of action.
Night 1
The weekend kicked off with Claudio Castagnoli pinning the ROH champ Nigel McGuinness in a four way match also involving BJ Whitmer and Erick Stevens. Next up we had Delirious defeating Necro Butcher to advance to the four way match, to determine who get the title shot on the third night of the weekend. Also at the show Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries took out Ruckus and Jigsaw. It was here that we saw Eddie Kingston in the crowd distracting Ruckus, his intentions weren't quite clear but would come to be known later on in the weekend. Go Shiozak was the next to advance to the four way on Sunday when he was victorious over Brent Albright.
The night also saw Kevin Steen and The Age Of The Fall pick up some W's.
Night 2
On the second night of action Claudio Castagnoli beat Davey Richards to advance to the four way. The Vulture Squad of Ruckus and the recently unmasked Jigsaw defeated Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn. We got another appearance by King here. Not a good night for the Hangmen Three as the other half of the faction in Brent Albright and BJ Whitmer lost to the Briscoes. In a cool submission moment, Danielson and Aries made Nigel and Shiozak tap out simultaneously to win their tag team contest. Tyler Black became the final man to advance to the four way when he defeated Erick Stevens. Kevin Steen racked up another win and The Necro Butcher picked up a big win when he won a four way over Delirious, Eddie Edwards, and Roderick Strong. The four way match up was set and now we go to…
Night 3
*PPV SPOILERS* The night kicked off with the four way contest to see who would get the title shot later on in the night. Tyler Black surprised a lot of us when he won the match over Claudio, Delirious, and Go Shiozak. Before we got to the Black-Nigel match we got some other action. Kevin Steen picked up yet another win over ROH veteran Roderick Strong. The Vulture Squad get another win over the Hangmen Three. Here we saw King with BLKOUT by his side, come to make his intentions know. He told Ruckus he had to choose between the Vulture Squad or BLKOUT. Do I smell faction warfare? Again? The Briscoes picked up a win over the AOTF. We found out that Larry Sweeney now owns the Hangmen Three. Bryan Danielson took out Austin Aries, and is still on a quest to regain his title. Then it was time for the main event. The unlikely challenge of Tyler Black turned out to be huge one for the champ Nigel McGuinness. Tyler got a huge chance to show what he is made of here, and he didn't waste it. I don't think that Black is going to continue to main event, but the ROH fans now have a different opinion and a new level of respect for this member of The Age Of The Fall.
BJ Whitmer Vs. Jimmy Jacobs: The End?
The feud that took both of the wrestlers involved to a new level, may finally come to an end on April 12th as the two are set to lock up in a no-ropes barb wire match at IWA-MS's April Blood Showers 2008. This has been a feud that has spilled all over the independent circuit, much like Homicide-Trent Acid back in 2003. With the intensity and sheer violence of the matches these two have had, it is easy to forget that they were once the tag team champions of Ring Of Honor. This was still during the days of the goofy "HUSS" Jimmy Jacobs. Throughout their title reign Jacobs ongoing obsession with Lacey became more apparent. It was this obsession that led Jacobs attacks on Whitmer follow their title loss. This feud and series of matches are regarded as a contributing factor to why Jimmy Jacobs is now at the top of the heap in ROH, and truly legitimized his career and proved his toughness. Their now legendary cage match at SuperCard Of Honor II, is looked at as one of the best matches in ROH history and one of the best performances of the careers of both men. That match alone result in some bad injuries and a lot of blood loss. That was a cage match; I have no idea what is going to happen with no ropes and barb wire. This should be a very, very violent match but what it will have that most "deathmatches" these days don't have is a great story told.
Random News Tidbits Morrison Fills Final MITB Spot:
We recently had the Money In The Bank match a WrestleMania lose a major participant in Jeff Hardy, but now with John Morrison filling in for Hardy I think we are in a better spot than we started. Being one of my personal favorite in the E, I believe that Morrison has all the makings to be a real star in the future. But I get the impression that he knows he's not going to rise to the top anytime soon so he does the best he can where he is at. Sometimes that means a standing SSP, a corkscrew moonsault, etc. whatever he needs to do to look the best he can. That being said, this is a great scenario for him. He is in a match that is known for insane bumps, and is a perfect match for people like Morrison to display their athleticism. So expect John to make the best of this golden opportunity that fell into his lap.
Angle Vs. Joe: Back To Wrestling
I recently read online that TNA was going to take Karen Angle out of the story surrounding the Joe-Angle match at Lockdown. Then we got the whole "separation" angle, no pun intended, on iMpact and now we're back to wrestling. If this is finally going to be Joe's title victory, then this is a great move on TNA's part. Making the focus all about the one-on-one aspect will make the win bigger for Joe. Having this match built around the whole "who is the better man?" question will make Joe's up and down road to the title seem all worth it, and that he was the best man all along. They can also add the element of with the cage Angle has "nowhere to run, and no one to help him." This should be a great match, as it is hard for these two not to deliver. I'm not going to call Joe to win the title as I have about 367 times before… and each time I've been wrong.
The Stoppage:
-Mirko Cro Cop has ended his losing streak following his TKO victory over Tatsuya Mizuno at the DREAM event in Japan over the past weekend. It wasn't the highlight reel KO that Cro Cop is known for, but still is a win, a win that he needed badly. It's not like he put away anyone of note, but he looked aggressive and refocused. I've heard two rumors regarding the high kick master's next fight, one of which is that he will be facing Hong Man Choi… The other, much better option, is a possible fight with Sergei Kharitonov. Sergei is one of the top heavyweights out there not employed by the UFC, and a fight between him and Cro Cop could be quite something. I'd love to see it happen as it would be a hard fight for both, and I think it could result in some serious fireworks.
-It was a rather slow news week in the MMA world, but the injury bug struck again as Spencer Fischer had to drop out of his fight with Marcus Aurelio at the incredibly stacked, Fight Night Event. Too bad as it was a must win situation for Spencer, this isn't a good sign for him right now.
-And on a closing note, the UFC announced the next fight for Sokoudjou. And it'll be against Kazuhiro Nakamura at UFC 84. I'm going to be very interested to see if Sokoudjou is the real deal, and his loss to Machida was just the ol' "octagon jitters" or if his KO's over lil' Nog and Arona were just flash knockouts.
Alright that's it for me, everyone take care and I'll see you back here next week. I'll be back next week with a full preview of the biggest event of the year, WrestleMania.
Feedback as always is welcome at slash_632@hotmail.com or with the comment box below. Also don't forget to check out myspace.com/alexmattis411 and add me as a friend.
*This Week's YouTube Sendoff*
^Mark Hunt is a mad man^
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