Column of Honor 06.14.08: Return of the Fall / No Subsidies, Thanks

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 06.14.2008

Bryan Danielson’s match in WWE, Jim Ross’s comments about the situation that made me angry, the NWA Heavyweight Title comes to ROH as Adam Pearce fights Nigel McGuinness title for title, and a look at Age of the Fall coming out of their slump to reclaim the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Plus: Money Players of the Month and the ROH stockmarket!




Ring Toss
-Return of the Fall
-ROH and the NWA Heavyweight Title
-ROH Results: June 7th, 2008 in Philadelphia, PA
-ROH Call
-ROH News
-My Fave 5
-Editorial: ROH Should Not Be Subsidized By WWE
-Money Player of the Month: April & May 2008
-ROH Stockmarket
-My Two Cents with Chris Miccio
-Name That Tune
-Ringtones
-ROH @ 411

Return of the Fall

I was watching Batman Begins on television this week and I got to the point where Thomas Wayne says to Bruce, "why do we learn how to fall?"

The answer is "so we learn to pick ourselves up." The Age of the Fall have done just that.

The Age of The Fall picked themselves up from their own fall, a very personal one, and once again rose and claimed victory over the Ring of Honor tag team division. They turned a month's worth of emotional pain, loss and chaos into the fuel for the fire of ambition, work and achievement. I may not like them, you may not like them, but their efforts last weekend in winning the tag team titles have to be respected.

Ring of Honor and Tyler Black in particular took the momentum that he gained from a fantastic showing at the last Pay Per View. They took the extra attention for Black's efforts and brought him up another level. Then he won the ROH World Tag team Title, gaining the deciding fall in the tournament and being the one to take his momentum and make it work into a workable and concrete result.

Jimmy Jacobs, who has been suffering through plenty of anguish thanks to his new nemesis Austin Aries, felt immeasurable vengeance thanks to his winning the belts. Not only did he become one of the most winning wrestlers on the ROH roster with five ROH World Tag Team Championship reigns to his credit, but he also was able to stick it to Aries. He was the one who caused Aries to lose his cool one minute into the Semi Finals of the tag tournament. He was the one who broke Aries down mentally to the point where it costs him and Bryan Danielson the opportunity to walk out of Hartford the new champions.

Jacobs is most definitely in Aries' head now. While Aries wouldn't come out and admit as much in a recent sit down interview for the ROH Videowire, its evident in his actions and its evident in his body language just how much Jacobs is affecting Aries mentally. Aries has vowed to make Jacobs pay for what he did to Lacey—the lover's triangle that came out of nowhere and exploded in everyone's face. Jacobs anger for Lacey cheating on him resulted in some sort of attack outside of Lacey's gym, but both Aries and Jacobs refuse to go into any specifics about the situation. Aries flat out will not hear anything about the situation nor take any questions about the issue. All he will say is that he is now aware what Jacobs is capable of—and indeed, he does.

All the fans now know what Jacobs, Tyler Black and the rest of the Age of the Fall are capable of. They can take down the top two wrestlers in the promotion through mental warfare. They can defeat the best tag teams in the division through physical warfare. The Age of the Fall have found their groove again, and now that they have regained the power they lost earlier in the year, their rise to the top of Ring of Honor will be even more difficult to stop.


ROH and the NWA Heavyweight Title


The presence of the NWA Heavyweight Title returned to the world of Ring of Honor last week. The contents of the briefcase that Sweet & Sour Inc.'s senior executive Larry Sweeney gave to Adam Pearce in agreement to join The Inc. were finally revealed. As it turns out Pearce knew what was in there all along--something that belonged to him--the NWA Heavyweight Title belt.

Adam Pearce won a tournament last year to crown a new NWA champion after the NWA board regained control of the title and usage of the belt from TNA. Ironically it was a tournament most felt longtime ROH wrestler Bryan Danielson was slated to win. Unfortunately a broken orbital bone suffered during a match against Takeshi Morishima forced Danielson to pull out of the finals of the tournament. Adam Pearce replaced Danielson and won the belt. He's held onto it ever since.

The mention, display and use of the NWA NWA Heavyweight Title actually wasn't an unprecedented move. It has been used and even shown on Ring of Honor programs before, including most recently Christian Cage making a special appearance in 2006 to work an NWA champion vs. ROH champion tag match (How We Roll). AJ Styles has also appeared on ROH programming as the NWA-TNA champion, including defending the title on one occasion (vs. Chris Sabin at WrestleRave).

Fans had been suggesting even since the beginning of Pearce's run with the NWA belt that ROH should recognize the NWA title and use the prestige (and there could be an argument that maybe you would put that word in quotations) from the title to add some more marquee value to the shows. However, the company remained mum on the title both in reality and in storylines. That is, until the briefcase. Until Pearce merged his Hangmen 3 with Sweet & Sour Inc. The price of the agreement? That Sweeney use his leverage and influence as the top agent in the company to force ROH officials into recognizing the NWA Heavyweight Title.

Now the story is such that Sweeney's group, ever increasing in membership and in negotiating power, has done exactly that for Adam Pearce, or should I say NWA Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce. The power play has created immediate dividends, as now ROH has been forced into a position where it places the ROH title and the ROH champion in competition with the NWA title and the NWA champion. Nigel McGuinness, who at this point in his ROH career has no love lost for anyone or everyone, is now in the position to play hero and defender of the pride of the company. The question, though, is does McGuinness really want to do that?

**

Likewise, the question, from a non kayfabe storyline point of view, is does ROH really want to do this? Meaning, that is, the use of NWA title in storylines. They may have started something small and ultimately inconsequential to the overall history of ROH. On the other hand, this could be the precipice of something huge or something that cannot be backed away from. The NWA title is the leverage piece for Sweeney's hostile takeover, a story that could soon dominate the entire card, given the fast pace he is adding on new talent to his ranks. This could be a program that takes the upwards of the rest of the year or more to work out, and all that time conceivably would have Adam Pearce spotlighted on top, as the NWA champion, or even as a dual ROH-NWA World Champion if he wins the match against McGuinness in Dayton.

In using the NWA Heavyweight Title, ROH legitimizes its presence, adding prestige and influence to one more title belt to the independent scene already filled with a plethora of top independent promotions and belts. The ROH World Title is the top prize in the modern independent era (2002 – present) and yet here is a belt with roots going back a hell of a long ways in wrestling history. Could the NWA champion defeating the ROH champion change the perception of the ROH Title in the independent scene? It is possible. In a way, this is almost a similar side effect that was seen in the CZW war, where CZW wrestlers and the promotion itself were elevated by its constant presence in ROH for over six months in 2006. Will the NWA or its heavyweight title also receive a similar boost in recognition and attention from this feud? And is that even for the best for ROH itself?

Of course, once again looking at the CZW feud comparison, once the storyline was over it was up to CZW to take advantage of the added attention and possible gain of new fans. They didn't quite get the job done in that regard. For NWA, the possible benefit for a crossover program with Ring of Honor remains to be seen, or taken advantage.

The belt vs. belt and hostile takeover storylines do have several boons for the current members of the Ring of Honor roster. First of all, it gives a new program for Adam Pearce, a man who until recently had been stuck in the muddle of Sweet & Sour Inc. The merger of Hangmen 3 into The Inc. didn't immediately boost Pearce's visibility and usage within ROH. In fact, it may have initially been a step backwards. He went from leading a faction of bruisers to being the number two or three man on a larger super group. This NWA title gives Pearce something he can hang his hat on, and not only that, but the defections of BJ Whitmer and Brent Albright leave only he and Shane Hagadorn as the remaining members of the Hangmen group within The Inc. Pearce has a major spotlight on him for the foreseeable future.

The usage of an "outsider" belt, like the CZW title before it (and even the NWA-TNA title before it) also boosts the storyline of the Sweet & Sour Inc. "hostile takeover". It shows fans just how far Sweeney would be willing to go to get his men the best possible deals and situations within the company. From a leverage perspective, this is a perfect move for Sweeney to make. Although the NWA is far from being hated on the level of CZW back in 2006, the fact that Sweeney as a heel is using another company's belt to make a play for power in ROH could help to create that fracture within the minds of ROH fans. It would be enough to say that this title is better than the ROH World Title, and that could get on the fans' case.

Although it does remain a mystery to me why ROH didn't use the FIP Heavyweight Title for the same purpose as the NWA Title. Roderick Strong has resisted Sweeney's overtures until it backfired on him with the defection of Davey Richards. What if Strong accepted the offer and Sweeney used the FIP title to flush out the ROH champion? Strong had made intentions on the ROH World Title with this very same reasoning earlier in the year, so I don't see why it couldn't have been done here again.

Ultimately, this may just be a short term program, but something tells me that this long wait for the big reveal of the briefcase means this will be a longer term storyline. The NWA title could benefit greatly from smart usage in storylines, especially with Sweeney holding out his talent if ROH officials wouldn't grant Pearce certain privileges due to his championship status. It remains to be seen what ROH gets out of this whole deal, if anything at all.


-ROH Results: Respect is Earned II PPV Taping June 7th, 2008 in Philadelphia, PA

Matches

Pre-Show

-Mitch Franklin & Shane Hagadorn defeated The Osirian Portal of Amasis & Ophidian.
-Rhett "Addicted to Love" Titus defeated Top Of The Class Trophy holder Ernie Osiris via pinfall to win the Trophy and become top student.

Main Show

-Kevin Steen & El Generico defeated Ruckus & Jigsaw via pinfall when Generico pinned Jigsaw after a Swanton & Splash combo.
-Claudio Castagnoli defeated Davey Richards via pinfall with a lift into a European uppercut.
-Brent Albright, Delirious & Pelle Primeau defeated Sweet & Sour Inc. of Chris Hero, Adam Pearce & Eddie Edwards via ref stoppage as Albright uses the headlock and knees to debilitate Edwards.
-FIP Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong defeated Erick Stevens in a non-title Fight Without Honor. Strong pinned Stevens after a superplex off of a huge ladder through a pair of tables.
-ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness retained his title by defeating Go Shiozaki via submission with the London Dungeon.
-ROH World Tag Team Champions The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black retained their titles by defeating challengers Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson. The match at one point was restarted after a double DQ. Tyler Black pinned Danielson after two Small Package Drivers and a Phoenix Splash.
-DVD Bonus: Jigsaw defeated Eddie Kingston with a double stomp off the top rope.
-DVD Bonus: Necro Butcher defeated Jay Briscoe in a falls count anywhere match.


Issues & Angles

Injury Report: During the Erick Stevens & Roderick Strong match, Erick Stevens broke some ribs and both men came out with some injuries. Strong missed his booking with PWG because of injuries from this match. McGuinness' chest was also busted open thanks to Go's chops.

Gold Briefs: Adam Pearce nailed Brent Albright with the briefcase after the six man tag match. Pearce revealed what was in the box and it wasn't Gwyneth Paltow's head, it was the NWA Heavyweight Title.

Davey's Strong Declaration: Strong won the Fight Without Honor and afterwards Larry Sweeney for a third time over the last few month came out to the ring and asks Roderick Strong to merge the NRC with Sweet & Sour Inc. Strong again says no and Davey Richards come out to ask Strong to reconsider. Strong still says no and Davey blow blowed Strong using the ropes, pulling off his NRC shirt to reveal Sweet & Sour Inc. Shirt. Richards has officially accepted a position with The Inc.

Triple Threat Date: Delirious once again asks Daizee Haze out on a date, and again is interrupted by Rhett Titus. Titus apologizes to Daizee about his behavior, acts like a gentleman and asks for of all things, a three way date with them all to work things out. Haze says "yes" millions of men around the world slap their foreheads in disgust.

Road to the Title: Danielson makes his way out after Nigel's win and demands a title match on PPV. After Danielson loses his tag title match and is pinned by Black, Nigel McGuinness tells Danielson that he will not receive another title shot until Dragon beats everyone Nigel has. Presumably that means on PPV and likely means Dragon will fight Tyler Black and Go Shiozaki on upcoming shows (he already beat Austin Aries at Take No Prisoners and Nigel beat Aries at Rising Above—smart continuity there).

-Jigged Out: Jigsaw may have beaten Kingston in a bonus match, but BLK OUT had the last laugh as they beat down Jig after the match.

-Marking Out: Mark Briscoe once again made his presence known despite his injury as he helped Jay Briscoe during his match against Necro, but this time the help didn't work as Necro won.

Return Date: September 20th, 2008


ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 06/14/2008

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 15 successful defenses)
-defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Upcoming Defenses::
a. vs. Vic Viper, Tallaght, Ireland, 06/14/08 (for Irish Whip Wrestling)
b. winner of (b) defends vs. IwW Champion Mandrake (title vs. title) , Cork, Ireland, 06/15/08 (for Irish Whip Wrestling)
c. vs. Darren Burridge, Doncaster, UK, 06/20/08 (for 1PW in England)
d. vs. NWA Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce (title vs. title), Dayton, OH, 06/27/08

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)
V.8 defeated Tyler Black, London Dungeon (03/16/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.9 defeated Larry Sweeney, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/22/08 Crystal River, FL)
V.10 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/29/08 Orlando, FL)
V.11 defeated Erick Stevens, London Dungeon (04/11/08 Boston, MA)
V.12 defeated Kevin Steen, roll up holding the ropes (04/12/08 Edison, NJ)
V.13 defeated Kevin Steen, Jawbreaker Lariat (04/19/08 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.14 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, London Dungeon, (05/10/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.15 defeated KENTA and BJ Whitmer, Jawbreaker Lariat to Whitmer (05/15/08, Tokyo, Japan)
V.16 defeated Go Shiozaki, London Dungeon (06/07/08, Philadelphia, PA)

**

ROH World Tag Team Champions—The Age of the Fall (champions since 06/06/08, NEW Champions)
-won an eight man, single elimination tournament on June 6th in Hartford, CT to determine new champions

Next Defense: TBD

V.1 defeated Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson (06/07/08, Philadelphia, PA)

**

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)
Belt Reactivated as of 06/07/08 as both Hero & Del Rey are bringing them to ROH events.

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: MsChif (since 4/26/2008)
-defeated Sara Del Ray via pinfall with the Descrator DDT to win the title
Top of the Class Trophy (for ROH Students): Rhett "Addicted to Love" Titus (since 06/07/2008)
-defeated Ernie Osiris via pinfall to win the trophy.

**

Top Feuds & Pairings:
-Bryan Danielson's road to an ROH World Title Shot
-Nigel McGuinness defends the belt against top contenders
-ROH and the NWA Heavyweight Title
-Austin Aries / Jimmy Jacobs
-The Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes
-Sweet & Sour Inc. "Corporate Takeover"
-Roderick Strong wants payback on Sweet & Sour Inc. for Richards' betrayal of the NRC
-Jigsaw vs. Eddie Kingston (Is Ruckus with The Vulture Squad or BLK OUT?)


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

Bryan Danielson Works Dark Match at WWE Raw

The headline heard round the world and crushed the heart of ROH fans. Okay, well I won't be so dramatic, but the facts are this: this past Monday, Bryan Danielson wrestled in a dark match against Lance Cade for the WWE Raw tapings in Oakland, CA. Danielson won the match with, of all things, the Cattle Mutilation submission. Visual proof soon surfaced and along with the news caused uproar among ROH fans on the internet that Danielson would soon be leaving for WWE.





Initially, ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky gave a no comment "on everything" to Mike Johnson of PWInsider concerning Danielson's appearance on a WWE show and what that meant to his future in ROH. Then in the new edition of the ROH business notes section of the website, Sapolsky included this newsbit.

-Bryan Danielson worked a dark match for WWE last Monday with the permission of Ring Of Honor.

Okay, so now we're getting somewhere. This blurb a sort of a face saving measure for ROH regardless of whether or not they knew about the appearance before hand or if, like ROH fans, they were caught unawares. Hell, it may have been just a quick heads up from Danielson on a cell phone, who knows?

It is interesting that Danielson went over Cade in that non WWE contracted talent rarely goes over contracted talented in these dark matches. Unless, that is, there is interest on WWE's side for that talent. There are a few other sidebars to that notion that I don't see mentioned elsewhere. One being that ROH, if they did know and approve of his appearance on Raw, may have stipulated or negotiated to have Danielson go over in his appearance. Or, since Danielson trained with Lance Cade back at the Shawn Michaels academy oh so many years ago, Cade may have said the hell with it and asked to be able to put over Danielson. Cade may have wanted to spotlight his former classmate for old time's sake.

What does Danielson's appearance mean for his future in ROH? Well…not much for now. Danielson has current plans to wrestle in Mexico for AAA, including a six man tag match at Triplemania working with Jack Evans and Teddy Hart (*just reading the flash results from this and Danielson's team lost as a part of a three way elimination match with Evans taking the fall). According to the Wrestling Observer, Danielson is also planning an extensive run in England over the summer. He's also booked on ROH shows throughout the summer and is under contract to ROH for another year. Although, if WWE wanted to, they certainly could try to buy out his contract (see below for my editorial on Jim Ross's comments about this situation).

There have always been rumors about when, not if Danielson would go to WWE. Like many others before him, it is inevitable he will leave ROH at some point to go elsewhere. Some have predicted doom and gloom for ROH should that day come. As I always say when a top talent leaves the promotion, the death of ROH because of the loss of just one talent, even Danielson, is not too likely. There are plenty of wrestlers on roster and out there on the independent scene who can come and create excitement for ROH. It's just that its hard to find someone out there right now who can match Danielson's incredible wrestling ability and his connection with the ROH fans. Danielson's loss, like Joe, like Punk, would be a difficult one to deal with.


Pearce vs. McGuinness; Title vs. Title in Dayton

Larry Sweeney has brought the NWA World Heavyweight Title to Ring Of Honor. Adam Pearce has been NWA World Heavyweight Champion since 9/1/07. There is an article on the main page of ROHwrestling.com with more info. The first match involving the NWA World Heavyweight Title has been signed and it is unbelievable. History will be made as the NWA Title and ROH Title collide. 6/27 in Dayton will be ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce in a Title vs. Title Match!!! Holy cows, that's really happening on 6/27 in Dayton.

Well, first of all, don't let Danielson get anywhere near those holy cows.

Is there a possibility of a title switch for either belt? Absolutely. Just don't get your hopes up for it. There are more than enough "outs" to this match besides a clean finish and a title switch. We could get a time limit draw, a DQ in either direction or even the chaotic no contest finish where we see a huge brawl develop between the forces of ROH and Sweeney's men. I vote for the last option—I think that would be really cool. It's been a while since ROH had an out and out uncontrollable brawl end their show.


Possible Return to Japan Planned

According to the Wrestling Observer newsletter, the company isn't doing the usual summer shows in the U.K. as in years past, which would indicate that even though the crowds were enthusiastic and large, that the expenses of going abroad made it not pay off. But they are planning on going into Japan again in the fall, which indicates the first tour ended up being successful.

I'm actually a bit shocked by this news, as a trip to Japan seems to me to be even more expensive than the one to the U.K. Maybe they're going off-peak? ROH's Japan DVDs received a lot of interest and they were unique presentations. I though the Tokyo show was very good, but felt the Osaka show was weaker in production and value. The trip this time would have to be made without Matt Sydal and Jack Evans, who were very popular with the Dragon Gate audience. However, since Chris Hero, Davy Richards and Rocky Romero in addition to other wrestlers now have made more trips to Japan since last year, the Japan crowd will likely be familiar with more of the ROH core roster.


Eddie Kingston May No Longer Be In, But There is Jerry Lynn

According to PWInsider, Eddie Kingston was only booked with the company for the two shots this weekend, but obviously that could change.
.
We have a special match signed for 6/28 in Chicago. ROH officials were very impressed with Jerry Lynn's performance earlier this month in FIP. Lynn told them he wants to see if he still has what it takes to make it in ROH. He will get that chance in a major way on June 28th. Chicago will witness ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. Jerry Lynn in a non-title match.

Via ROH: As of this moment, Jerry Lynn is only scheduled for the 6/28 Chicago date. It is possible Lynn will be added to more shows.

As I've written many times in the past, I would love to see Kingston booked on a more long term basis. I do think it's the right call to go booking by booking though considering the King is just beginning to get back into the swing of things in the wrestling world. There's a ton of potential for this BLK OUT / Vulture Squad feud to continue, even if its only within the confines of the Philadelphia tour stops. This news also would explain why Jigsaw went over in their non PPV match-as it helps Jigsaw more to get a win right now against a guy who wasn't booked past this weekend than the other way around. Plus he did get his ass kicked a ton by Kingston and company after the match to leave the whole thing hanging and a good "in" to continue issues down the road.

Jerry Lynn has always been someone I liked to watch wrestle going all the way back to the series of matches with Rob Van Dam in the original ECW. He manages to keep in great shape, wrestles quality matches that show he can keep up with today's faster young wrestlers and he has a great veteran mind for the business at this point. I would whole heartedly encourage ROH to continue to book him, as he also provided added name value to the shows at a time where they might need that extra boost for ticket sales.

It should also be noted that Lynn's last appearance in ROH was in a match against McGuinness last occurred for ROH during At Our Best in March of 2004. Lynn beat McGuinness then to earn a Pure title shot that was never cashed in.


Putting the Kobashi on Flair

ROH was close to having Ric Flair as a special guest on the 8/2 Manhattan event. However, the deal is now not possible. If ROH had secured Flair attempts would have been made to get Kenta Kobashi to the event so that Kobashi and Flair would have the opportunity to shake hands in front of the crowd. There are no talks of Kobashi returning to ROH.

Flair was pulled out of the recent NWA anniversary show, where he was supposed to be inducted into their Hall of Fame. WWE put the kibosh on that, as I'm sure they ultimately put the kibosh on Flair appearing in ROH. I don't disagree with them about it either as they have the right to do so since he is still under WWE contract. Really, this was more than a pipe dream if anything. ROH has done a lot to bring together the best and the legends of the business, so they may have pulled it off and may one day still, but really, nothing much to this story other than a "what if this really happened" wondering. And no talks about Kobashi coming in also means that this would have really been one of the longest long shots.


J-Train a No Show, Richards NOAH Where to be Found

More from PWInsider: Julius Smokes missed his bookings this weekend and has not been in contact with ROH, so his status is up in the air right now.

Davey Richards will be touring with Pro Wrestling NOAH and staying in Japan between tour this summer, so he's done here for awhile. My guess is Larry Sweeney will claim responsibility for sending him to Japan as a way of depriving ROH and their fans the chance to see Richards.

I've looked in all the bars in Brooklyn and unfortunately have not seen any sign at all of J-Train. Seriously though, I'm hoping both that nothing seriously wrong occurred and that this was just a one time deal. J-Train definitely has his naysayers, but I'm a fan. I find him very entertaining.

Richards being gone for a while does help tie into the Sweet & Sour Inc. mentality of driving up the price through hold outs. My guess is when he comes back he, Romero and Strong will have a lot of interesting "talking" to do.


New KOCH ROH DVD Released

KOCH Vision will release ROH's next two DVDs into retail stores everywhere on July 8th. Call your local FYE and Best Buy to tell them to carry ROH's next releases. The next ROH DVDs from KOCH will be:

"Best In The World"
1. Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi- New York, NY 10/01/05
2. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi- Detroit, MI, 3/30/06
3. KENTA vs. Austin Aries– Chicago Ridge, IL, 6/24/06
4. Samoa Joe vs. Kikutaro with Mick Foley– Elizabeth, NJ, 2/19/05
5. Bryan Danielson vs. Lance Storm (ROH World Title Match Chicago Ridge, IL, 4/01/06)
6. CM Punk vs. Terry Funk- Philadelphia, PA, 9/20/03
7. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Naruki Doi & Shingo (ROH World Tag Team Title Match- Liverpool, UK, 3/03/07)
8. Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico (Race to the Top Tournament Finals– Edison, NJ, 7/28/07)
9. Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH World Title Match- Edison, NJ, 4/14/07)

"Greatest Rivalries"
1. CM Punk vs. Raven (Dog Collar Match– Elizabeth, NJ, 7/19/03)
2. Samoa Joe vs. Homicide (ROH World Title Match– Wauwatosa, WI, 7/23/04)
3. AJ Styles with Mick Foley vs. Jimmy Rave (Styles Clash vs. Rave Clash Match– Lake Grove, NY, 9/17/05)
4. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong (ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Liverpool, UK, 8/12/06)
5. BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs (Steel Cage Match– Detroit, MI, 3/31/07)
6. Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries (3rd Match In The Best of Three Series– Philadelphia, PA 11/2/07)
7. Adam Pearce, Ace Steel, Colt Cabana, & BJ Whitmer vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Super Dragon, Necro Butcher, & Spyder Nate Webb (Team ROH vs. Team CZW Anything Goes Match – Dayton, OH, 4/28/06)
8. Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens (FIP World Heavyweight Title Match– New York, NY 12/30/07)

Well, the "Rivalries" DVD, like the "Bloodstained Honor" set, focuses on the apex of some of the greatest feuds in the company, although some of the matches on the back end (ROH vs. CZW and Strong vs. Stevens) aren't exactly the climax of the feud. They're still fantastic quality matches. The matches to get this DVD for are of course the awesome Punk vs. Raven dog collar match (especially since they're likely to include the post match angle with Raven, Punk and Tommy Dreamer) the Whitmer vs. Jacobs match which is a no brainer must see, and the Briscoes vs. Aries & Strong title match from the UK, which was one of my top matches of the year for 2006. Plus Joe vs. Homicide in their feud ender, which were very good violence and a satisfying conclusion to their feud. In my mind, both of these DVD sets are can't miss for new fans and those looking to fill in the blanks of their ROH collections.

Well then. These are some of the best choices to make for these matches and amazingly there are still plenty of great matches after these two DVDs are released for more compilations. I have to say I'm very impressed with the selection of matches and with the strategy ROH is using to choose what goes onto the DVDs. There is a heavy spread of matches from 2003 to 2007, so that fans that don't have the older DVDs can pick up these and receive a nice spread of the best from the early years. Then ROH did the smart thing by also including recent matches with their current top tier talent like McGuinness and Castagnoli. That way wrestling fans who pick up these DVDs can see what the current wrestling product for ROH has to offer.

I'm also shocked as hell that they are putting the Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi singles match on the "Best in the World" DVD. I thought for sure they would put the tag match from Unforgettable on the compilation instead. Kudos to ROH for putting this much talked about match in the package, considering they could have left it off and let people continue to buy the "Joe vs. Kobashi" DVD to be able to see it. Danielson vs. Storm is also a very smart choice for that DVD, as is including Styles and Sydal in a tag match.


Marufuji Added To Virginia & New York Shows

We already know that Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin will be special attractions for 8/1 in Virginia & 8/2 at the Hammerstein Ballroom and that Lance Storm will be a special guest on 7/25 in Toronto and 7/26 in Detroit. Now another big special attraction has been added to those events. Naomichi Marufuji will have a one week tour of ROH. He is now signed to compete in Toronto, Detroit, Manassas and Manhattan!!!

Marufuji is always welcome in my book. He provides tight and consistent quality matches against a variety of opponents. While he rarely loses, he entertains and wows the crowd, so it's more than worth the price to get him on the show. Let's hope for an ROH World Title match against Nigel McGuinness (if he's still champion) in a play on the GHC Heavyweight Title match from "Glory By Honor V Night 2".


There Will Still Be No Remorse

There was a shocking turn of events last Saturday in Philadelphia. Davey Richards violently left the No Remorse Corps by attacking Roderick Strong. Richards has joined Sweet & Sour Inc. and hired Larry Sweeney as his agent. This will be covered in the next ROH Video Wire. Strong now finds himself at war against Sweet & Sour Inc. We do not know where Rocky Romero stands. Strong insists that he will keep the No Remorse Corps going without Richards.

Larry Sweeney says he wants to eliminate Strong quickly. He will send Chris Hero after Strong on 6/27 in Dayton. It is official that it will be Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero when ROH returns to Dayton.

Sweeney is making a lot of enemies and now Sweet & Sour Inc. will be faced with two of them in Chicago on 6/28. In fact, now the ROH athletes are unifying against Sweeney. Chi-Town will see Roderick Strong & Brent Albright team up for the first time as they take on the Sweet & Sour team of NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce and a mystery partner. We'll have more on the mystery partner next week as right now Sweeney isn't showing any cards.

Someone else suggested it on the ROH board, but can you imagine a NEW No Remorse Corps with Strong, Erick Stevens and Brent Albright? The carnage all three men could deliver would be awe-inspiring. I'm having flashbacks to the Triple Threat back in ECW. I would hope they would all be faces, as I love watching good buys go out there and play wrecking crew. Meanwhile Strong vs. Hero is a solid mid card match to get the Strong vs. The Inc. feud into gear and my guess is that the tag match on 6/28 will be well received as a grudge match.






1. Rick Astley: Maybe the best "worst" moment of WWE Raw in history. That is covering a lot of ground too…
2. Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi: They went out and had a total non stop action match with the Motor City Machine Guns. While I really shouldn't applaud TNA for getting something right that they are supposed to get right, the awesome quality of this match cannot be denied. They very fact that these two teams were wrestling got me to "Cross the line" for a week and tune back into Impact (not saying I'll stay there though). Yoshino is fast (understatement of the year). So is it okay to vote for these guys for Wrestler of the Week now that they were on TV?
3. Motor City Machine Guns: The other half of the best tag match of the week. Now I'm even happier I get to see them live and in person on August 2nd at the Manhattan Center. I will say this—their entrance music in TNA is atrocious. It sounds like they're part of a boy band or something.
4. Evan Bourne/ Kofi Kingston : The face team on the SECOND best tag team match of the week, and their opponents were Shelton Benjamin and MIKE KNOX, so that's saying something. At first I didn't like the name change for Matt Sydal, especially since it didn't make any sense given he was called "Matt Sydal" about a hundred billion times last week (and Adamle got it right! I'm still in shock), but hey, a name is just a name and the fact is he got a win here. He was able to do the aerial moves he is capable of and did so in spectacular fashion. I even enjoyed the wacky pure babyface promo Kofi Kingston is also a hell of a lot of fun. If WWE treats both of these guys right, they will be able to get a ton of use out of them and they could end up being VERY popular once all is said and done.
5. Kelly Kelly / Victoria : The girl is starting to get it…although a lot of it was definitely with the help of Victoria leading the way. I give her a ton of credit though for that huge bump at the end of the match.


Editorial: ROH Should Not Be Subsidized by WWE

These were Jim Ross's comments on Bryan Danielson's Dark Match from Raw: "I watched ROH's Bryan Danielson wrestle in Oakland and I told any one who would listen that the young man is a keeper. Great work ethic, unique skills, lots of character, and he wrestles like he is a "star" which is not something all wrestlers can do. I wished Bryan good luck as I left the arena in Oakland Monday and he went back to speaking with Shawn Michaels which can't be a bad thing for Bryan. The WWE might be well served to help subsidize the ROH as they seem to be one of the most viable entities when it comes to developing talent."

Well, first of all, it's nice to hear all those great compliments about Danielson. He has been given so much respect from wrestlers and people within the business for a long time and it is well deserved. Its good to know that people out there recognize talent and can praise it, even if its not in their own backyard.

However… I have a problem with the latter portion of Ross's comments, specifically the last sentence. WWE should "Subsidize" ROH? Um thanks, but no thanks Jim Ross. Everyone who remembers old school ECW knows what the word "subsidize" really means: we'll pay to compensate for taking away your biggest stars and taking away your top draws. Meaning signing Bryan Danielson and then anyone else whom WWE fancies until ROH officially becomes the WWE minor league feeder system, or extinct.

Hey, it happened with ECW, with Tazz and The Dudleys and others before them leaving the promotion for the greener pastures of WWE. It's happened with ROH talent being signed and used by WWE over the years, including CM Punk, Paul London and Matt Sydal being signed to contracts. The difference being that he latter three had to work their way through developmental to get to the big time and there was no guarantee to get there. Tazz and The Dudleys walked out of ECW and into the bright lights of the main stage of WWE. ECW couldn't respond to the losses of so much of their major talent in such a short period of time. With all or most of the major departures, there was enough time and foresight to be able to replenish the roster, to find the next big program. Among other major reasons, including no doubt, the lack of capital and problems between Paul Heyman and TNN management, this led to end of ECW in early 2001.

If ROH were to go through what ECW went through in this time period, they would fare just as well as ECW, which is to say, not very well at all.

I'm sure ROH could use some extra money, but I'm also sure that the short term gains would only be met by longer term negatives, meaning being under WWE's thumb and being treated as "little brother" and not your own man. Now of course, WWE is the number one wrestling promotion out there in terms of size, reach to audience and profit. This is unquestioned and not my point. I just don't want WWE coming in and flaunting it in my face that they've got the money, and one way they would do that is to "subsidize" the company. ROH has been independent under one owner or another for almost seven years. I would hope to think that those behind the scenes at ROH would be confident enough in themselves and their ability to put on great shows that they wouldn't accept WWE's money and keep their DIY aesthetic.

Before anyone goes with the "Well, wouldn't YOU take their money if they offered?" I'd have to be honest. It's a very tempting offer. Who knows what I would do in their shoes? I'm not. I'm a fan on the sidelines and from my perspective, I wouldn't want to be beholden to anyone else and wouldn't want to feel that a larger organization could just come in and steal talent and feel entitled to it at that just because they're giving me an "allowance". So I would say no if I were in ROH's position and as a fan of the company I am hoping that they would too.

The moniker "fiercely independent" was once slapped on the back of one of their T-shirts. I'm hoping ROH stays true to that mantra, regardless of threats of talent losses.

Maybe I'm being naïve. Maybe I am naïve. Maybe I don't quite get what the "inside" of the business is all about, here on the outside of the rail. Maybe I don't get it. It doesn't matter. Regardless of naiveté or ignorance, this comment and the use of that word just rubbed the wrong way and as a result I'm pissed off and angry about it.

Bryan Danielson, once his contract runs out for ROH, is free to sign with anyone he wants and do what's best for his career. That is his right and I would not presume to say he shouldn't sign with WWE. Just don't call him a "keeper" if he isn't yours yet. And don't play "big brother" with Ring of Honor when ROH is its own "man".


The Money Players: April / May 2008

Who are the money players? In the sports industry, money players are the athletes who are making the right plays at the right moments.

In wrestling, the concept of the money player is not all that different. The wrestler who has a great match or gives an impressive impression upon the audience ups their worth to the wrestling promoter. While you may be helping your team, you are also helping yourself and your career.

Let's see who's hot, who's not, who's making those key plays and who is dropping the ball, so to speak in Ring of Honor.


Money Players of the Month— April 2008

-The Motor City Machine Guns (MCMG): Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin were the money draws for both ROH shows in Detroit and Chicago. They meant money in every sense of the word. Their in ring efforts matched their previous visit in ROH last year and helped put The Age of the Fall over the top. Fan excitement increased due to their appearances and that led to a clamor for more from the Guns in ROH.

Money Players of the Month— May 2008

-The Age of the Fall / Jimmy Jacobs (AOTF): Okay, so they didn't have the best month as far as winning matches as seen by their losing the title match against Jay Briscoe and Austin Aries in Manhattan. They didn't even have the best months in their personal life as seen during the massively public break up between Jimmy Jacobs and Lacey that almost threatened to tear AotF apart. However, these guys were money as far as being compelling and intriguing characters. They were the ones to watch in May, to see how they would respond to the drama between Jacobs, Aries and Lacey. ROH fans were engrossed in the You Tube videos and ROH videowires. The story was interwoven with segments on the internet and the final video, the Ode to Four Horsemen—was creepy and yet a guilty pleasure.


The Money Players of 2008:
May 2008: The Age of the Fall / Jimmy Jacobs (AOTF)
April 2008: Motor City Machine Guns (MCMG)
March 2008: Dragon Gate
February 2008: Kevin Steen (KSTN) & Go Shiozaki (GOGO)
January 2008: Erick Stevens (CHOO)


ROH STOCK INDEX


Breadwinners STOCK UP!

-Nigel McGuinness (NIGE): The ROH World Champion continues to be a bull in the market, thanks to his streak of victories and title defenses. He also has an established presence in international markets. He has lined up many business partnerships in England and Ireland that will allow him to defend the ROH title overseas. Nigel is making money, defending the title and living it up all this month on the stock market.

-Roderick Strong (STNG) : Strong wins the feud against Erick Stevens, at least as far as within Ring of Honor. A fantastic win against Stevens set up a strong third quarter for the FIP Heavyweight champion. A minor setback was Richards' leaving the fold of the No Remorse Corps, but Strong has vowed to continue with the NRC brand name and that had led to a stabilization of investor concerns…for now.

-Jigsaw (JSAW): Surprisingly enough, Jigsaw has backed up his word, every bit of it, when it comes to his rivalry with Eddie Kingston. A win is a win and Jigsaw defeated Kingston cleanly, thus upping his stock value and giving a second (or third) life to his run within ROH.

-Brent Albright (ALBR) : This stock takes a massive leap with a roar and a bunch of suplexes! Albright is throwing around the competition and investors are taking notice. You can call it bandwagon jumping, or getting in at the right time, but the stockmarket is bullish on Brent right now.


Loss Leaders STOCK DOWN!

-Claudio Castagnoli (CAST): Castagnoli is a money making man, but even the money makers can go through a bit of a slump. After losing his shot at the ROH World Title, Castagnoli has lost some momentum and has hit some "cash flow" problems. His stock took a hit this time around, but don't count this stock out by any means. He may rebound in the third and fourth quarter.

-Erick Stevens (CHOO) For the third PPV taping in a row Stevens comes up on the short end of the stick. The train might be running out of the steam, surprisingly. Investors are not happy with the spending decisions Stevens is making and how he is going about before during matches being distracted by outside factors.



Trendsetters

- Infusion of CHIKARA Cash: Eddie Kingston, Jigsaw and The Osirian Portal. All made appearances and impact this past weekend in ROH. All either former or current students within the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory. CHIKARA has some terrific young talents and its great that ROH is continuing to give some of them the opportunity to work shots for ROH. Hopefully some of the best and brightest from that promotion continue to make waves over here in Honor land. Maybe one day we'll get Lince Dorado and Chuck Taylor in as well.

-The Veteran Influence: Lance Storm and Jerry Lynn returning to make appearances within ROH has investors excited. These two veterans of wrestling know what it takes to get the job done. There's a lot they can do to teach the younger wrestlers in the company. That ultimately trickles down to the profit margin of each wrestler and helps to revitalize the stock market.


Future Outlooks

(+) POSITIVE: Chris Hero (up), Austin Aries (up), Adam Pearce (up), Brent Albright (up), Jigsaw (up), Rhett Titus, Nigel McGuiness, Jay Briscoe, El Generico, Kevin Steen, Go Shiozaki , Naomichi Marufuji, Bryan Danielson, Roderick Strong, Davey Richards,

(/) NEUTRAL: Claudio Castagnoli (down), Rocky Romero (down), Delirious, Eddie Edwards, Shane Hagadorn, Jason Blade, Sal Rinauro, Kenny King

(-) NEGATIVE: Erick Stevens (down), Julius Smokes (down), Hallowicked (down), Tank Toland (down), Bobby Fish (down), Ruckus, Matt Cross, Jack Evans, Pelle Primeau

Added: Rhett Titus, Jason Blade, Sal Rinauro, Kenny King
Dropped: Human Tornado, Takeshi Morishima

Found on the Black Market: Age of the Fall (Black and Jacobs trading very heavily), BLK OUT


Penny Stocks
Looking for a cheap bargain? This is the place to speculate on the next possible big things…but look out; there could also be a few duds here.

--More than a penny for your thoughts
Pelle Primeau (PPRM)
Shane Hagadorn (HAGA)
M Dogg 20 "Matt Cross" (MD20)--Fidel no esta en casa… A donde esta?
Julius Smokes (SMOK)
Jason Blade (BLAD)
Eddie Edwards (EDED)--Sweet & Sour power lifts Edwards out of the penny stocks and into play.
Rhett Titus (TTUS)--addicted to love and addicted to winning, as his trophy win proves.

--Still just one cent
Eddie Osiris (EOSI)--losing the Top of the Class trophy to Titus is a tough pill to swallow.
Mitch Franklin (MFRN)
Bobby Dempsey (BDEM)
Alex Payne (PAYN)
Dingo

Closing Thoughts / Ring the Bell: A whole lot of moving and a shaking going on in this edition of the stock market. Some former winners have seen a dry spell while some surprising long shots are making headway into the marketplace. It's an exciting but unstable time to be on the market and futures are shaky, so be careful with your investment portfolio.


My Two Cents with Chris Miccio:

And away we go again, its that other week, so that means its time for me to rant again, so, without any further ado, lets get right at it.


1.Steenerico are still not the champs --- so, when I heard that the best team in ROH one again didn't claim their "birth right" if you will, I pondered the idea of beginning a boycott of all thing ROH as a result. Maybe it's because of the fact that Jimmy Jacobs was on the other side of the result, or maybe it was just because it made no sense to not give Steenerico the titles. They are obviously the best tag team in the company, if not the entire independent wrestling world, and to have them ALWAYS in the role of the "chaser", well, it's getting somewhat overbearing. What else do they need to do to finally have Gabe book them to win the belts? Or is Gabe thinking about splitting them up for singles runs, which in my humble opinion would be the 100% wrong move. Sure, both of them can be top-flight singles guys, but why try and fix that which isn't broken? The fans love them as a team, so give the fans what they want, which are the straps around their waists. It's just really starting to get me agitated that they can't even get a quick run. Maybe Gabe sees them much in the same light as Steve Austin was back in the day, where he really didn't need the belt to get over, but even he got to wear some gold from time to time, and even gets to play the role of the hunted once or twice. I just think that we all deserve to see if Steenerico have what it takes to wear the belts. I know they're no Briscoe Brothers, but hey, aren't they better than Jacobs and Black? You know the answer to that, so I'll stop while I'm ahead on that topic.

2. Bryan Danielson works a WWE dark match --- this was one of those priceless moments where all the crazed ROH-bots really made me laugh so hard that I nearly pee'd my pants. It was as if the sky was falling or that the "zero hour" had finally arrived for all of mankind. The man that holds the highest position of esteem in ROH sunk to an all time low point by willingly accepting the opportunity to show the powers that be in the WWE what he could do in the ring. I can hear the cries from the rank and file ROH-bot: "OH MY GOD!?!!?! WHAT WAS HE THINKING? HE DIDN'T GET APPROVAL FROM US TO DO THAT!!!" Well, my friends, Bryan Danielson is a professional wrestler who is looking to get as far in this business as anyone else who has ever laced up his or her boots, and not to demean ROH (which is without a doubt, the best WRESTLING PROMOTION in the United States today), the WWE is the big time, and who wouldn't want to at least have that opportunity? Anyone who says they wouldn't want that shot is kidding themselves. That would be like working all your life to become a professional baseball player, making it to the Triple-A affiliate of a major league team, and then turning down the call up from the big league club. When you get into a business like pro wrestling, just like in any other sport, you always shoot to be the best, and that's what Danielson was doing that night. If they gain interest and he can parlay that into a deal with the WWE, I'll be the first one to congratulate him, wish him all the best, and then thank him for all that he has done for ROH. We were all able to do that for Joe and Punk, so why not for Dragon as well? I hope he gets whatever it is that he wants, because he has more than earned it through the work that he has already done. We as ROH fans need to stop thinking so selfishly and realize that the guys we go to see are just like us, especially in the fact that if we had a chance to get a better job, with better benefits, and a much larger paycheck, we would all jump at the opportunity. Its time we stop holding guys like Dragon to a higher standard than we do for ourselves.

3. The demise of Matt Hughes --- now, if you know me at all, you know that I have no love for Matt Hughes. I've told Ari a million times that I respect Hughes and his abilities, but I just cant stand the man, that smirk, and the attitude that he's better than anyone who has ever stepped into the cage. So, last weekend when Thiago Alves, albeit in a catch-weight fight, destroyed Hughes, I was on top of the world. Finally, someone had stepped into the cage and truly bullied Hughes, and gave him a bit of his own medicine. Now, to make my year complete, all I'll need to see is Matt Serra beat Hughes, and I'll know that 2008 was one of the best years in my life. Maybe I'm a bit too hard on Matt. Maybe I should give credit where credit is due. Well, too bad. I can't stand Matt Hughes, and I really do enjoy watching him get beaten up. I'm sorry if that makes me a bad person, but I'm cool with it, as I already know I'm destined to burn in the fiery pits of hell.

4. The Million Dollar Mania Promotion --- wow. What a joke. Things are that bad for Vince and the family that they have to resort to giving away money on live TV? And then to see what it did for the ratings? Maybe that will send the powers that be in Stamford a message saying that its all about the in ring product, and not in the bells and whistles that they love so much. Sure, I registered to win, but you know what? As someone who has watched WWF/E productions for over 20 years, I figured that I should win because of all of the shit sandwiches that I've been forced to eat over the years. At least I should get the money back for buying all those PPV's, even of the In Your House variety. I don't know. If free money isn't doing it, I guess there's only one place left to go, and that's naked Diva pudding wrestling in High Def. I even think Ari would tune in for that!

And on that note, I'll take my leave. I'll be back in two weeks with more of my thoughts on all things wrestling (and MMA) based, so I'll catch you then. If you liked what I had to say or not, feel free to let me know what you think. Email me at [e-mail]. Have a great two weeks, and I'll catch you next time.


Going Home

Name That Tune Week 37

Clue: BoLA
Lyric:"Wit tha sure shot, sure ta make tha bodies drop / Drop an don't copy yo, don't call this a co-op"

Again, no winners this week raging against the name that tune machine. This was "Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine, the theme song of the Havana Pitbulls.

There are only FOUR more weeks of Name That Tune! So let's make the last few weeks count and play Name that Tune! for this week, June 14th, 2008!

Clue: four leaf clover
Lyric: "What's so new about what you're saying? / It's a new generation with the same sad song."

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

Cmments from last week's column:

Wow the Osirian Portal is getting a try out match already? I'm glad
the best young team in Chikara is getting some recognition.

Posted By: Matt Short (Registered) on June 07, 2008 at 03:48 PM

With a terrific gimmick concept, good charisma and solid in ring work despite their young age, its no wonder these two got a pre show match. They were well received in their CHIAKRA home base of Philadelphia.


Hooray for the Portal getting an ROH shot, but likely they're still to
young.

You should make a column of CHIKARA too, you seem to love it.

Posted By: Kawadafan83 (Guest) on June 07, 2008 at 05:40 PM

CHIKARA is awesome, but it takes a lot of time to do just this column in and of itself. I wouldn't want to do another column and half ass it, especially about a wrestling company I like so much. Still, I will definitely think about doing a feature or two about them in the future. If I could only get over my mental block of finish my write up about King of Trios for the Independent Buy In!


Hero and Del Ray were carrying the Intergender Tag Team Title belts at
last night's show.

Posted By: Chris (Guest) on June 07, 2008 at 06:23 PM

Thanks for the info Chris, I've updated my ROH Call feature as a result. I'm looking forward to a more serious Heor & Del Rey just tearing it up against mixed company.


Ari, I don't know about you, but after seeing what they did with the
tag titles on Friday, I'm about ready to cross the line of sanity and
hide in a closet somewhere until I catch up with PWG to say that's
better than ROH. As it stands, I'm off the hibernate.

Posted By: Jarrod Westerfeld (Registered) on June 08, 2008 at 03:13 AM

Your thoughts echo Miccio's. While I'm definitely feeling the air let out of the tires due to Steen & Generico not winning the belts, I understand and accept what happened. It just means when Steenerico finally do win the belts it will mean that much more. I'm thinking Canada would be a great time to do it, if not then perhaps in Manhattan early August. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility for Age of the Fall to win, so again, I'm not all that upset with it.


I hope they re-do the headlock match, when Claudio and Bryan were on
the NWA show here I asked them both about it and they both said it
was a joke/experiment but the way they manipulated the crowd while
doing very little is just staggering to me.

Posted By: scott (Guest) on June 08, 2008 at 08:52 AM

I'm sorry, but wht was the 10min headlock match? Ill be front row for
this match and I've never heard of this. Someone, plz help. Thank
you.

Posted By: ROHawkeye (Guest) on June 09, 2008 at 02:59 AM

The 10 minute headlock match happened in PWG Enchantment Under the Sea on March 20th, 2006. It featured a match almost entirely composed and built around both men doing headlocks and escapes of out headlocks. As Scott notes, it was a rib / experiment of sorts to see how a crowd would react to a match built around one of the simplest of wrestling moves.


ROH @ 411

411 Buy or Sell gives you another look at the NWA title in ROH and CHIKARA's Young Lions Cup.

J.D. Dunn has lapped me in reviewing Bedlam in Beantown. I haven't gotten up to it yet.

Dunn also reviews the KOCH compilation ROH DVDs. Read his look at Bloodstained Honor and Stars of Honor.

Bayani writes a ton more about Bryan Danielson's future in this week's Truth B Told.

Tim Livingston gives his take on Ring of Honor, focusing on Nigel McGuinness as the ROH World champion.

That's going to do it for this week—next time around it's the return of the BLK T-Shirt Squad and a 100% cotton dream match—Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe! Plus I have a ideas for a few minor adjustments and additions here and there and I'll be debuting them soon. Thanks as always for reading and have a great weekend!

BROOKLYN!
-Ari-