The Wrestling (Hub)Bard 5.03.08: Honorable Intentions
Posted by Aaron Hubbard on 05.03.2008
A discussion of Ring of Honor's pay-per-view greatness, MANY responses to feedback, ten things to love about TNA a review of last year's Match of the Year, and a dream match between AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio!
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Wrestling Bard. It's been officially a month now. Last week, I received a record number of comments, still mostly positive, although a few were negative, but hey it's bound to happen. Thank you to anyone who posted a comment, you're input is valued here.
HOWEVER…
I do have an issue I would like to address. In order that you can figure out the issue, I will provide three comments from last weeks' column. In response to me saying that Benoit was going to be included in some of my top 10 WWE matches of all time, I knew that I would eventually get a comment along the lines of this one, by AVFC (some editing on my part):
I seriously don't get how people can still have love (for) Benoit and wish him to rest
in peace. The man murdered his wife and child, in any other form of entertainment
or sport he would be despised! Can someone please explain why its different for
Benoit? I don't hear anybody loving off the countless murderers in prisons across
our country so why should Benoit be treated different?
Okay, two brief comments here…I do have love for the countless murderers in prisons and so do many people. They are evangelists, they go to prisons and preach because they love them. Secondly, I don't see why a wrestling site would talk about other murderers…Benoit is a wrestler and a murderer, obviously he is the only murderer we would care about on 411mania Wrestling!
In reply to AVFC's comment, I wrote this, which is how I deal with the Benoit tragedy, how I can have love for Benoit, how I can forgive Benoit. (Some more editing, I made a few typos in this passionate rant.)
AVFC, I don't know if you're religious or not, but it's called GRACE. The Bible
says we should forgive others as he forgives them. God forgives ALL sin, not
just some of it. If I am to be Godly, I must forgive my fellow man, and Benoit
was human. He was no worse than you or I. We are all the same in God's eyes.
Now, off the religious rant...Benoit isn't different...he just happens to have
a legacy. Many people still talk about how Hitler was a great politician and
charismatic leader, despite all the murders he committed. How many mass
murderers have true legacies before their killing sprees? Not many, they are
just average people. Benoit is an example...the forgiveness I extend to Benoit
is the same I extend to anyone else.
It is NOT my place, your place, or anyone else on this earth's place to judge
Chris Benoit. It is GOD'S place. The man's already dead. He's paid his price in
full...quit kicking his carcass and leave judgment to He who is worthy to
judge.
Of course, this admission of my faith led to this comment from Chopper (no editing).
Ah christ, you're a jesus freak?
First, gotta complement the first sentence. It takes some serious skill to insult my faith and take the Lord's name in vain no less then THREE times in one comment. Capitalization on proper nouns? Come on, that's first grade stuff man.
It's perfectly all right to judge a man that has murdered his wife and child.
Personally, I can still watch his work and separate the man from the
performance, but that doesn't mean I'm going to honor his memory, and I
completely understand those people that don't want to hear about what a great
worker he was.
*RED ALERT! WARNING WARNING!: The following sections contains little to no talk about wrestling and discusses faith. If you do not wish to read it, please skip ahead to Backlash Thoughts. I do not want any more negative comments on my faith. Thank you.*
Jesus Freak … Why Yes I Am
To say I was insulted by this comment would be a gross understatement. Not by the fact that someone was calling me a Jesus Freak…that's a title I'll take any day. It's the condescending tone with which he speaks that bothers me. How sad is it that I cannot be open about my faith without being mocked for it?
Time to come clean…I am a Christian. I believe in God, I know I'm a sinner, I place my trust in Jesus to save my sins, I am active in my church, I am constantly striving to grow in relationship with God. My faith is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing I have. It is the very essence of my being. Many people have faith, but I am defined by it. You will not understand just how important faith in God is to me unless you know my life's story, which I do not feel like sharing on this website.
Bottom line…faith defines me. It is bound to show up in my writing at points. When talking about a dead wrestler, I am likely to talk about God. When talking about moral standards, God is my standard. The Benoit tragedy fits both of these, and Benoit and faith are linked for me. I do not talk about the Benoit tragedy without quoting scripture and using God's standards.
Expecting an Apology?
Maybe some of you think I owe an apology for posting my beliefs on here. Perhaps I do. Let's take a look at my comment in detail.
AVFC, I don't know if you're religious or not, but it's called GRACE. The Bible
says we should forgive others as he forgives them. God forgives ALL sin, not
just some of it. If I am to be Godly, I must forgive my fellow man, and Benoit
was human. He was no worse than you or I. We are all the same in God's eyes.
The first paragraph is very much how I deal with the situation. God doesn't see sin in big, small, major, minor. He just sees sin. I stand just as guilty before God as Chris. This is how I KNOW God would have me handle the situation. For those of you who share my faith, please read Mark 11:25-26.
Now, off the religious rant...Benoit isn't different...he just happens to have
a legacy. Many people still talk about how Hitler was a great politician and
charismatic leader, despite all the murders he committed. How many mass
murderers have true legacies before their killing sprees? Not many, they are
just average people. Benoit is an example...the forgiveness I extend to Benoit
is the same I extend to anyone else.
I think most people can agree with this argument. It has nothing to do with faith. Benoit is no different…people who forgive Chris are the same people that would forgive others in different areas. And yes…I meant that last statement…I forgive Chris Benoit.
It is NOT my place, your place, or anyone else on this earth's place to judge
Chris Benoit. It is GOD'S place. The man's already dead. He's paid his price in
full...quit kicking his carcass and leave judgment to He who is worthy to
judge.
This is probably the statement most non-faithful people would take issue with. In this statement I come across as a zealot, someone who is forcing my faith on other people. Well…I am "guilty" of that. I am VERY passionate on this issue, if you read Mark 11:25/26, you will see that I consider forgiveness to be a GRAVE issue. In passion for righteousness, I can come across as judgmental and holier-than-thou. Believe me, I am NOT holier-than-thou. If I came across that way to you, I am sorry that I came across that way.
However, I will not apologize for my faith, nor for being open about it, nor for posting the comment, nor for the intent behind it. Faith is bigger than this column, friends. If it happens that it's a choice between compromising my faith and continuing to write this column, I will stop writing for this site and find somewhere else.
I will NOT force my faith upon you. I am open to discussion if people wish to e-mail me, and faith will be discussed on here at times. However, I will provide a warning so you can avoid it if you wish. If me being a Christian affects your view of me as a writer, I hope you find someone more to your liking. This column will always be clean, free of sexual humor and profanity. I don't just say "Egads!" because I think it's cute.
Treat me as you treat Shawn Michaels. If my faith scares you, find another favorite. If my faith impresses you, I am glad to provide that. If you wish to ignore my faith, please judge me by my writing talents (or lack thereof) and not my faith.
After that very long rant…
Backlash Thoughts
I enjoyed Backlash quite a lot actually. It should be noted that my thoughts and ratings are completely subjective and some probably don't agree with the rest of the IWC.
Matt Hardy vs. MVP: I was expecting more. This was a good match, and a good choice for an opener. MVP's development as a worker is astounding, he's one of my favorites to watch, both for his workrate and his character. Matt's big win was long overdue. I also marked out for the video package of MVP attacking the knee (I saw that live). Still, I was expecting more. **3/4
Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero: Some sloppiness aside, I dug this match. They played the juggernaut-cowardly heel roles perfectly. The psychology was sound and the match was well done. This was my first experience with Adamle's commentary…AWFUL. **1/2
The Great Khali vs. Big Show: For the first minute, I was genuinely entertained by watching Show bump like a cruiserweight. Seven minutes later, I was hating this. 3/4* (Trash of the Night)
Batista vs. Shawn Michaels: Very good match, although it was all HBK. I like how he has transitioned from his old style to become WWE's resident technician. Batista is getting lazier in his work though, and only Shawn could carry him to a match this good. I'm also started to buy Benoit's finisher as just an HBK move: THE CHRISTIAN CROSSFACE! ***3/4
Diva's Tag Match: This was fine. I enjoyed it, I wasn't insulted. I'm glad I got to see the Widow's Peak on PPV, and Beth and Mickie are great workers. Melina, Jillian, Michelle, and Victoria are all solid in their own right. I enjoyed the little I saw of Miss Neidhart as well. *
Undertaker vs. Edge: I'm in the overwhelming minority here, but this was better than ‘Mania in my opinion. The pace was faster, it wasn't so sloppy, the flow was smoother, and the psychology was sounder. The Rated R-My gets on my nerves, but that aside, GREAT match. Also, the pre-match "I'm going to hurt you," and the post-match stretcher job made me enjoy this even more. I loved the counter sequences, and Edge desperately trying to win the title. In my opinion, this is right behind Flair-Michaels and McGuiness-Aries on the MOTY scale. ****1/2 (Match of the Night)
Orton vs. Triple H vs. JBL vs. Cena: This was a match. The opening minutes were a mess, WWE doesn't do multi-man matches as well as TNA or ROH. My favorite spot was JBL mocking Orton while he was in the STFU, only to be mocked by Orton when he was put in…THE CROSSFACE OF CROSSFACES! Get it…? What's with all the Crossfaces anyway? JBL was first to go as I figured, but Cena getting instantly eliminated by Orton made me mark out. I wasn't expecting it.
When it was down to just Hunter and Orton, I was hoping it would kick into awesome for the next ten minutes. Instead we got an eighteen minute match. Very tedious, very cliché, very boring. I just really wasn't feeling it. I'm glad Hunter got his win, he deserves it, and Orton looked strong. But this really didn't feel like a main event, and I knew HHH would win as soon as it got the final slot. There was some good to great spots in here, but it's buried in a lot of average. ***1/2
As for the ramifications? Expect MVP and Matt to have a rematch. Chavo and Kane will feud until Big Daddy V comes back for the WMOTY with Kane at ONS. Show will go on to be Taker's next challenger. Edge will feud with CM Punk and Batista before challenging Taker at Vengeance inside the Cell. HBK will feud with Jericho and have a MOTYC. Orton-HHH in a cage will be **** to make up for their lazy efforts at Backlash and Raw. Cena will bury JBL en route to the Last Man Standing Match with Orton at One Night Stand, then will feud with Chris Jericho until he wins his title back from Hunter at Summerslam.
The Dream Match
I didn't quite get the feedback on Hart-Angle that I wanted; I was hoping somebody would give it a star rating. However, as promised, here is another dream match. Last week's was all about technical wresting, this will be all about high-flying, and next week's will be all about hardcore with: Abyss vs. Rob Van Dam!
AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio
Handshake off the bat and they lock up and AJ shoves Rey off to show off his strength. Rey charges and ducks a spinning heel kick and gets a quebrada into an armdrag. Leapfrog sequence and AJ hits his PERFECT dropkick for an early 2. AJ hits a scoop slam and a knee drop for another 2 count. AJ grabs a headlock but Rey shoves him off into another leapfrog sequence and hits a reverse monkey flip and AJ rolls to the floor. Rey goes for a plancha but AJ goes into the crowd and Rey flips to the apron, CROSSBODY INTO THE CROWD!
Rey throws AJ inside and hits a springboard seated quebrada for 2. Rey punches AJ in the corner and AJ reverses a cross corner whip but eats a moonsault for 2. Rey tries a dropkick but AJ catches him and catapults him to the corner, and Rey lands on his feet and tries a crossbody but eats a gutbuster. AJ hits a snap mare and a kick to the back. He grabs a rear chinlock but Rey rolls AJ up and they do a VERY quick series of nearfalls. There was about eight of those in twenty seconds. Rey snaps off a rana for another 2. He hits the ropes and AJ catches him with a windmill backbreaker. Rey goes to the apron and AJ follows, SUPLEX ON THE APRON!
Rey tries to get back in the ring and AJ hits an enziguri to the back. AJ goes back in and plays to the crowd before hitting a Tope Con Hilo! AJ throws Rey inside and hits the Superman Forearm for 2. AJ hits a backbreaker into a gutbuster for 2. AJ works a surfboard stretch and Rey gets up and he hits a dropkick as he rolls to escape. AJ charges into a drop toehold into the ropes, 619 try but AJ dodges and Rey hits a stun gun on the ropes. He tries for a springboard move BUT AJ HITS HIM IN MID-AIR WITH THE PELÉ KICK!
AJ covers for 2. AJ hits a suplex into a neckbreaker and a springboard senton to the back for 2. AJ applies the surfboard again but he kicks Rey in the head this time and that is sick. AJ whips Rey to the corner and Rey climbs up and tries the moonsault but AJ turns around hits him with a SICK spinebuster! That gets 2 as Rey gets his feet on the ropes. AJ lifts Rey in the torture rack but Rey escapes with an armdrag and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors that sends AJ to the floor. Rey hits the ropes, CORKSCREW PLANCHA ON AJ!
Rey goes to the apron and hits a rana off the apron on AJ. He throws him back inside and drops the dime for 2. He hits the ropes and hits a basement dropkick for 2. Rey whips AJ and tries his cartwheel into a spinning rana, but AJ counters it the torture rack, RACK BOMB! That only gets 2. AJ whips Rey to the corner but eats a mule kick, and Rey hits a rolling headscissors out of the corner and a wheel kick. Rey hits a springboard into the spinning rana and AJ goes to the floor. Rey hits the ropes and slides into a tornado DDT on the floor! Rey goes inside and hits the ropes, SPRINGBOARD RANA ON THE FLOOR BY REY!
Rey throws AJ in, and he hits the springboard seated senton for 2. Rey sets AJ up top for a frankensteiner, but AJ holds the ropes and Rey lands on his feet, and AJ hits a hurricane rana. AJ charges Rey but Rey leapfrogs him, only to take the quebrada inverted DDT by AJ! That gets 2 and Rey goes to the floor, SHOOTING STYLES PRESS BUT REY MOVES AND AJ EATS THE GUARD RAIL! He landed chest first! SICK, SICK bump. Rey throws him in and hits a springboard splash for 2. Rey sets AJ up top, DRAGONSTEINER…for 2. Rey hits the ropes, but eats the discus lariat from AJ! AJ whips Rey and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before heading up top, FROG SPLASH! 1…2…NO!
AJ sets Rey up onto his shoulder for the THUNDER FIRE DRIVER…countered into a DDT BY REY! Good thing for him too, because that would have ended it. Rey tries the springboard rana again but AJ catches him and hits a German Suplex into a sit-out wheelbarrow facebuster for 2. AJ puts him in the Muta Lock and turns it over, and Rey escapes and hits a kick to the face for 2. Rey hits the ropes and AJ tries the tilt-a-whirl but Rey escapes and hits an enziguri, and he does a reverse sunset rollup with a bridge for 2 and AJ tries a German Suplex but Rey lands on his feet. He tries a rana, TURNBUCKLE POWERBOMB by AJ!
AJ tries to hit a flying forearm in the corner but Rey moves and AJ is on the ropes, and Rey kicks his legs out from under him, and REVERSE FRANKENSTEINER BY REY! Rey covers…1…2…NO! Rey dropkicks AJ into the ropes and hits the 619! WEST COAST POP…COUNTERED INTO A POWERBOMB BY AJ! He nearly killed Rey with that! 1…2…No, but STYLES CLASH! 1…2…3! AJ Styles wins!
Wow…that was really fun. Two bad Rey's too washed up to perform at that level anymore.
TNA Hate? Really?
Apparently, many found last week's column to be another generic bashing of TNA. I don't think it was, I praised TNA's work in 2005 and didn't bash it outright. So…to prove that I bear TNA no ill will, here are 10 things I love about TNA Wrestling, in what will become a weekly feature of lists of 10.
Christian Cage: I love this guy's character and his in-ring ability. He's good as heel or babyface, and I marked out watching him beat Jarrett for the title in '06. I'm glad he's gotten the opportunity to shine in TNA that he probably wouldn't have gotten in WWE.
The X-Division: When they let these guys go, they are the most exciting action on television.
Curry Man: How can you NOT love Curry Man?
The Knockouts: From Gail Kim to Awesome Kong to ODB to Cheerleader Melissa, there's a lot of talent in that division and it's consistently the best part of their shows.
Samoa Joe: The world champion that wouldn't have gotten there in WWE. Plain and simple.
Ultimate X: I love these matches. So fun, so exciting, great to watch.
The Motor City Machine Guns: My favorite tag team on the planet, with my favorite wrestler who is still alive, Alex Shelley!
Lockdown: I love the concept of an all-cage pay-per-view, it's one of the most unique shows of the whole year. Always a fun show to watch.
Sting: Sting was the first wrestler I really got into. I will always be a mark for him.
Match Quality: Excluding stupid storyline things, the wrestling in TNA is almost always better than that in WWE. The workrate is better, the moves are cooler. On PPV, you're pretty much guaranteed to get one **** match, which isn't always the case with WWE.
The other thing I love about TNA is that's it's forced ROH to push newer faces once all the established talent left after the PPV deal.
I Think it's Time to Segue to the Main Topic of this Column…
Last week I said that I would take a look at my favorite organization in the world. Well, not to sound like another IWC Smark, but, that company is Ring of Honor. Any haters are once again free to leave the column.
I would like to state that the main reason I love ROH is that it has a lot of different styles of wrestling, both in-ring and in the broader scale. Matches in ROH range from wild brawls to eye-candy spotfests to technical masterpieces to goofy comedy matches. The booking ranges from straight-forward competition like Puro or "sports entertainment" as found in WWE or TNA. I also like how they give their wrestlers the opportunity to express themselves as characters and workers, with very few limits imposed. That's why I love the company.
More importantly, ROH has a plethora of wrestlers that are in my top thirty favorites at the moment. Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Naomichi Marufuji, Kevin Steen, Delirious, Sara Del Ray, Roderick Strong, Erick Stevens, Jay and Mark Briscoe, Chris Hero, Austin Aries...I could go on, but I think I made my point. Now, if any of these guys to to TNA or WWE, I'll still support them, becase I like them on their own merits, not because they are ROH wrestlers.
The thing that has impressed me the most is how effectively they have done their pay-per-views. Everything just seems to flow from one thing to another. I can follow everything without getting confused and all the stories make sense. Not to mention the high match quality. To illustrate my point, I will give a synopsis of the five shows.
At the debut show Respect is Earned, the first thing they did was have their then champion Takeshi Morishima beat BJ Whitmir in under 4 minutes. This showcased their champion, and then they had his top two challengers in Nigel McGuiness and Bryan Danielson, and established the three-way rivalry between them that has been at the center of the shows. Naomichi Marufuji beat Rocky Romero in the first REAL match, which did much to establish the quality of matches you could expect to see in ROH. Then who had the match of the night in the Briscoes vs. Matt Sydal and Claudio, with the Briscoes winning in a ****1/4 affair against the makeshift team, only to get involved in a brawl with Kevin Steen and El Generico. Roderick Strong won a match against Delirious that established him a top level star and a great heel, and then he was attacked by Erick Stevens, setting up the Resilience vs. No Remorse Corps feud. Finally, in the main event, which did fail on some level, only being ***3/4, Danielson and Morishima beat McGuiness and KENTA, with Bryan beating KENTA to add some momentum without hurting Nigel. It established the characters and introduced us to the ROH Style.
Driven started out with a bang, with a **** match between the NRC of Strong, Romero, and Davey Richards against Delirious and the Resilence (Stevens and Matt Cross), to follow up on Strong-Delirious from the last show. This transitioned smoothly to Strong vs. Aries as Austin Aries returned to ROH in a big way. Then, Claudio and Sydal wrestled a GREAT eight minute match (***3/4) to settle their differences after being unsuccessful in winning the tag titles at the last show. Claudio got the win, then Sydal joined up with Sweeney and Hero in Sweet 'N Sour Inc. Marufuji continued his winning streak, beating Whitmir so as to continue his losing streak, which was the subject of Adam Pearce promos at both shows. Brent Albright made a statement by squashing Pelle Primeau. The Briscoes beat Steen & Generico in a **** match, but Steen would attack after the match to continue the feud. Morishima continued his dominance, defeating Jimmy Rave in a competive match, again under four minutes. Then, the rivals wrestled in a #1 contender's match, as Danielson and McGuiness wrestled the match of the year, with Dragon winning. This was my PPV of the year. On the DVD release, KENTA got his revenge on Dragon in a ****1/4 match.
Man Up tied up some stories and established others. Hero and Claudio continued their feud in a four-way match with Marufuji and Nigel, which Nigel won to continue his momentum. The NRC and Resilence had a series of matches: Romero beat Cross, Aries beat Richards (***1/2) and Strong beat Stevens (***3/4), avoiding Aries at every turn. They showed footage of BJ Whitmir joining forces with Pearce and Albright, attacking Delirious to set up his next feud. Dragon got his shot against Morishima and transitioned into a babyface, nearly unseating him before Morishima viciously attacked his eye. That match was ****. In the main event, The Briscoes beat Generico and Steen in a ****1/2 ladder war to end their feud. But then, the Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs, Necro Butcher, Tyler Black and Lacey) debuted, attacking the Briscoes in a shocking ending.
On the DVD release, we saw Sydal's last match in ROH agaisnt Delirious.
Undeniable started where Man Up left off, with Jacobs and Black beating the PPV debuting Vulture Squad of Jack Evans and Ruckus. In the first women's match, SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Ray lost to Daizee Haze. Hero avoided a match with Claudio before suffering a loss to Danielson as he looked to take out his frustrations at last month's title loss. Pearce tried to convince Steen to join the Hangman Three by attacking Generico, but Steen sided with his partner before teaming with Delirious in a losing effort to Pearce, Whitmir and Albright. Aries and Strong settled their feud in a #1 Contender's match (****1/4) with Aries winning. The Briscoes defended against Romero and Richards, who had earned that shot in my eyes by winning the 2/3 series against the Resilence in a ***3/4 match. Then, the big moment came as Nigel slayed the Dragon Morishima to win the title. Not a great match, but a great moment. Admittingly, this was the worst of the shows.
Then, at Rising Above, Delirious got a measure of revenge defeating Albright, which segued into a fantastic spotfest match between Steen and Generico, The Vulture Squad, AOTF, and the Hangman Three (***3/4). Haze got another win, pinning Lacey in a triple threat with Del Ray. Richards beat Strong, before getting involved in a war of words with Daniel Puder, which wasn't needed. Then, Claudio FINALLY got his revenge agaisnt Hero, beating him in ***1/2 grudge match. Danielson got a DQ victory over Morishima in a bloody, violent brawl to continue their issues (***1/2). The Briscoes beat the NRC again, this time with Strong replacing Richards as Romero's partner. Finally, Aries got his title shot against McGuiness in a losing effort, but after a match that both men could be proud of (****3/4).
See how everything has flowed? See how the storylines and transitions have gone smoothly and with logical booking? See the match quality? And for the price of $10-$15 a show, ROH has the most bang for your buck on PPV. I highly recommend seeing their Take No Prisoners on May 30th.
The 2007 Match of the Year
You know, admittingly, the reason I wrote about how great ROH PPV's have been was so that I have an excuse to review this match. Much like how I talked about TNA last week so I could review the triple threat.
#1 Contender's Match: Nigel McGuiness vs. Bryan Danielson, ROH Driven
First off, as much as I hate "The Final Countdown", it's great as Danielson's entrance theme. The Code of Honor is followed. They wrestle around a bit as the crowd does the dueling chants. Nigel works a front facelock and they trade holds until Nigel counters a bow and arrow for 2. Nigel gets a pair of shoulderblocks to establish his power advantage. Dragon responds by taking him down and they work some MMA style until Nigel rolls through a keylock for 2. Dragon slaps Nigel and works him over with strikes until Nigel returns the slap. This is very engrossing. Dragon hits a series of slaps but runs into the headstand mule kick from Nigel. Nigel hits the hammerlock divorce court and works over Dragon's arms with a SICK bridging submission, until Dragon counters to a straight-jacket. He works that for a while until Nigel counters with a short-arm lariat.
Dragon goes to the floor off of that. Nigel works him over with European Uppercuts until Dragon takes advantage of some plunder. He tries to throw Nigel back in but eats a rebound lariat and goes into the crowd. Nigel goes up top and hits a crossbody to the floor. He tries to follw up with a Euro Uppercut but eats a forearm and Dragon suplexes him onto the guardrail! Egads. He suplexes him on the floor and rolls him in and covers for 2. Dragon works over Nigel's back and uses a crossface. He works over Nigel with an illegal forearm...but HE HAS 'TILL FIVE! Dragon does a heel beatdown with illegal moves and strikes, until he starts slapping Nigel, but Nigel hits another lariat to stop that. Nigel does his corner Euro Uppercut and hits a superkick and a third lariat for 2.
Nigel hits his kick/forearm smash on Dragon and tries to set him up top, but his back gives out and Dragon rushes him to the corner. He hits a spinning sole kick and a kick to the side of the head for 2. They counter each other for a bit until Nigel hits a powerbomb for 2. Nigel applies a single leg crab as the crowd chants "This is wrestling!" Dragon gets the ropes to escape. Dragon avoids the corner uppercut and dropicks Nigel as he tries the headstand kick. Dragon hits a backdrop superplex for 2, CROSSFACE CHICKENWING! Nigel fights and escapes, TOWER OF LONDON! "This is awesome!" They fight to their feet, and Nigel sets Dragon on the ropes, LARIAT FROM THE TOP! 1...2...Dragon gets his foot on the ropes.
Dragon hits an enziguri and back to the dueling chants. They face off and trade slaps, and then STIFF headbutts and Dragon is busted open, LARIAT! Nigel eats a roaring forearm, tries the Jawbreaker Lariat but Dragon hits another forearm and a Tiger Suplex for 2. He tries Cattle Mutilation but Nigel rolls through for 2. MMA ELBOWS! CATTLE MUTILATION and Nigel is done. Dragon wins and the Code of Honor is again followed as the crowd chants "Thank you BOTH!"
Match Analysis: This match is awesome. They worked a ton of styles into this match, chain wrestling, MMA, brawling, cheating, false finishes, high flying, power, mind games, puro striking, submission. Just about every style was represented here. The feeling out process was a lot of good wrestling and mind games, with Dragon trying to get inside Nigel's head and force him to wrestle his match. Bryan was finally able to take advantage with the brawling. After Nigel made his comeback, the match was just nonstop action the whole time. This is the match you show people to showcase what wrestling is all about. *****
That Took a Long Time...
Well, I hope you enjoyed my longest column ever. Once again, feedback is encouraged. Have a good week.
Prepare for a lot of stupid comments from ROH haters saying that only 9 people
watch it and other crap.
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 12:18 AM
I'm not at all religious, but I believe that people should be able to follow a
religion if they want: it's no bother to me either way. In saying that, I
understand completely your past and current opinions of Chris Benoit, though I
would also like to add that his final acts have no simple explanation,
especially given what we learnt from his autopsy.
Now that's out of the way, I'd just like to say that I think you've got a very
open-minded and broad view of the wrestling world as a whole; I try to do that,
myself, but aren't always successful - which you can blame on Russo :P
Good on you for putting out an entertaining read.
Posted By: TAT (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 08:23 AM
Orton/HHH "lazy efforts?"No way,they always have great matches and
compliment each other great and this wee was no different.
Posted By: Gary (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 09:59 AM
Yep. Prepared for a lot of hate. Both for the ROH love and the faith rant. Oh
well.
Posted By: Aaron Hubbard (Registered) on May 03, 2008 at 10:08 AM
I don't Hate ROH, I have no problem with great technical wrestling, and some of
Nigel's Promos are gold, and that big Japanese guy (can't spell his name) is an
amazing big man monster.
Bryan Danielson however annoys me, He's pure gold when the bell rings but here
are the issues i've got with the IWC darling.
1. He's not entertaining talking = For a student of HBK's you'd think he'd
learn to talk, he's scary bland on promos and frankly he's so boring I can't
take it. Give him a hot Manager to do his talking, because clearly even HBK and
Regal couldn't teach him. I know that Promo's arn't the biggest deal in ROH but
they are a part of wrestling, if he wants to be a great wrestler he either
needs a "Silent Gimmick" or to learn how to talk.
2. He has some stupid moves, I'm all for him wanting to show off, but some of
his submissions are more "Look What I can do" than practical, I've
seen him lose matches because his shoulders were on the mat while He was
bending somebody backwards upside-down. I think it's cool he knows these moves
but those are such rookie mistakes that I cannot take him seriously as a
wrestler, and it hurts the realism of the match "Yes Wrestling Fake, that
doesn't mean it has to look fake!"
3. start looking cooler. He's got No Tats, no Gimmick, not even a tan or a cool
design on his trunks! I'd be all for his No Frills mentality if he put some
attitude into it (Goldberg Style) but he seems hell bent to look like a jobber,
if your going to be the best do something to demand attention! Wear a Robe, have
something flashy, have a babe on your arm, but don't end up being the most Bland
wrestler of all time and expect me to care.
Basically I love Danielson's in ring work, but his stupid moves and bland
mentality just annoy me. I'm new school I want to see cool people instead I
just see a skinny kid with talent but no motivation. He could be The X division
Champion if he just had any desire to entertain and move to the big leauges.
Instead he just stays on the Indys and seems like an unmotivated boring loser.
Posted By: Davy (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 11:08 AM
..and that dempsey and evans are the same guy, and that there are no enjoyable
personalities or memorable characters..
oh and that they've seen stuff on youtube.. which really means they probably
haven't seen a damn thing.. if Gabe wont let ROH material on Botchamania, then
Im sure hell sure as hell he will fight any cool ROH stuff on there..
yet this bland, replaceable, faceless, uninteresting, boring drones, some how,
continue to fill up the vast majority of caw spots in my wrestling games..
maybe i just like chris hero's dryness, or the subtlties(sp?) and toned down
antics of julius smokes.. or how a trained eye is needed to find enjoyment when
at a necro butcher match.. and how not having promo skills, but enjoyable
matches where you can yell and make fun of them the entire time, ala Roderick
Strong..
But you know, what really sets ROH as indy sleaze, is how for 20 dollar fourth
row seats, or the 40 dollar second row, that the guys in the ring will do
absolutely everything they possibly can to ensure that I have a good time..
sure fucking feels like it, anyway.. or spend 125~165 for fourth/second row..
and get something thats hard to see, rushed, cramped, overbooked.. thats just a
personal preference, though, when I yell "ROOOOOOOOOOODERIIIIIIICK" I
want him to hear it and cry inside, though Im sure he doesn't.. I don't like
yelling something and have it get lost in the crowd..
But for 20 bucks, Davey RIchards kicked my hand, and for 125, I sat in a
parking garage for an hour and a half..
... ramble much? its that damn green stuff i saw julius smokes pull out after
the vulture squad's match last time they were in boston..
end of the summer.. cant wait..
Posted By: RedMaiden (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 11:47 AM
faith is now taken as a joke in wrestling now, ever since wwe booked the God
storyline, ive gone numb with religion-based storylines that makes our faith
look stupid. that maybe the reason i don't have the gall to watch all the
Family Guy episodes coz i remember them making a joke out of God and Jesus
Posted By: kapengmabula (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 01:31 PM
I'm a christian as well, but after seeing the way some of them treat others,
sometimes I wish I could convert to Jedi. They seen to be in a constant peace
of mind.(It's mostly for the Light Saber though.) :-)
Posted By: Capt. Smooth (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 01:36 PM
Great column! I AM PROUD TO SAY I WILL BE A ROHBOT TILL THE DAY I DIE! Man Up
was more bag for the buck than Wrestlemania, the LADDER WAR WAS INSANE. And on
another it is hard to make a top 10 WWE match list and not have Benoit in it.
Posted By: PUCKETT (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 03:12 PM
Dear Aaron,
Of course you were offended by my post, because I intended to do the same to
you as your religious rant did to me.
Saying that we are all the same, be we murderers or average citizens, is an
offensive statement to me. And to suggest that we have no place to judge
others, because you believe your god only has that power, is also offensive and
rather condescending.
Although honestly, I find most of these religious comments more silly than
offensive. But I am of the opinion that faith is not a virtue, and having a
religious opinion does not exclude it from being discussed and potentially
mocked. To me, saying you have love for Benoit because of your god is as silly
to me as someone saying they have love for him because of his great matches.
Both arguments make little sense to me, and if presented with them in a public
forum, I will say just how silly they are.
In conclusion, believe what you want, you have every right to. And I have every
right to tell you how stupid you sound.
Your friend,
Chopper
Posted By: Chopper (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 03:33 PM
Davy, last time I checked Dragon comes out in a robe. Seems like you really know
what you're talking about. Danielson's promos have more intensity than most
wrestlers in ROH, sans Jimmy Jacobs. And as far as the big leagues, promos
aren't really at their all time high quality wise. JBL, Edge, Cena are really
the one three WWE rigt now guys getting the job done on the mic.
Posted By: Bernie (Guest) on May 03, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Jedi would be cool...
I know faith is considered a joke in wrestling...I was actually planning on
writing a column on that at some point.
Chopper, how can you watch Benoit matches if you have not forgiven him? What is
your logic?
On the subject of faith as a legitimate argument, of course it doesn't make
sense to you. If you do not share my faith, it will not make sense. It makes as
little sense to you as your lack of faith makes to me. It's a point we will
never agree on and that's fine. Can we call a truce on it?
And I did apologize for offending you...it was not my intent. My intent was to
voice my opinion, and I know I came off as a zealot. It happens.
Posted By: Aaron Hubbard (Registered) on May 03, 2008 at 10:25 PM
Yes, Gary, lazy efforts. I stand by that..they can do much better than Monday
(i.e. No Mercy).
Davy, I respect your opinion, but here's my take on those three points.
1) Yes, Danielson needs to improve his promos. However, with all the cocky
smart-aleck comments he makes in the ring ("Tap out to a WRISTLOCK!"
"I have 'till FIVE!" and "BEST IN THE WORLD!"), I think he
interacts very well with the crowds and could get over that way.
2) I think the show-offy moves fit into Danielson's character. He thinks he's
the best professional wrestler in the world and he wants to showcase his
immense moveset. Personally, I'm glad he does these because it's a kink in his
armor and allows more depth to his psychology. And remember, he's only 26, cut
the guy some slack. He usually tends to avoid those goofy moves for big
matches, anyway.
3)Benoit got over being bland outside the ring and being awesome inside of it.
And Bryan has MUCH more charisma than Benoit. He's one of the cockiest, most
self-absorbed characters in all of wrestling, but then, his ring-work backs it
up. And...he used to wear a robe, he should bring that back. He could use some
hair and a tan though. But still, he's just the best wrestler in the world,
does his character need anymore than that?
And really, I think the most limiting factor to him breaking out is his
size...he's only 180 pounds.
Posted By: Aaron Hubbard (Registered) on May 03, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Victoria is not a great worker in your mind? Wtf is that?
Posted By: Blanky (Guest) on May 04, 2008 at 03:38 PM
Aaron, we already have a truce. I don't hate you because of your beliefs, nor do
I make it a point of attacking the faithful for no reason. I was just responding
to something I strongly disagree with. I'm not going to make a point of further
insulting you or your religion, unless you bring it up first and use it in a
way that I find offensive. (By the way, I do enjoy your column, otherwise I
would have just left a nastier message and stopped reading.)
As for Benoit, I can still enjoy his matches on a purely aesthetic level, while
despising what the man became. I can watch the WM 20 main event, and still
enjoy it from a technical standpoint, but take no pleasure in Benoit's victory
the way I did prior to the tragedy. As ridiculous as pro wrestling is, it is
something of a performance art, and I do think it's possible to separate the
performance from the performer. For example, I can still watch and enjoy
Chinatown, or Rosemary's Baby, knowing full well that Roman Polanski is at
least a pedophile and at worst a rapist. I don't need to draw a personal
connection with an artist in order to enjoy their art, and as such I can still
appreciate a Benoit match, even though his real life persona is forever tainted
for me.
Posted By: Chopper (Guest) on May 04, 2008 at 08:01 PM
Blanky...I don't know...she has flashes of greatness...she just doesn't get a
chance...She's more than solid though, my bad. Very good worker.
Chopper, I think that's cool that you can seperate Benoit the performer from
Benoit the man. You shouldn't have to though. Horrible, terrible mess that was.
And to think it's almost been a year...
Posted By: Aaron Hubbard (Registered) on May 04, 2008 at 10:44 PM
On the AJ-Rey Mysterio match, a Fire Thunder Driver is a crucifix powerbomb
flipped into a brainbuster DDT. If you go on Youtube and look for AJ vs. Low
Ki, you'll get a ZERO-1 match where AJ does that move. The whole match is
spectacular actually. ****1/2
Posted By: Aaron Hubbard (Registered) on May 05, 2008 at 09:52 PM
aaron AJ also used that move in some early ring of honor shows from 2002
Posted By: xryan ricardx (Guest) on May 11, 2008 at 09:47 PM
