Column of Honor: 07.12.08: Third Anniversary Celebration Column Part Two

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 07.12.2008

Thoughts on FIVE Ring of Honor DVDs, including Take No Prisoners, Injustice, Tag Wars 2008, Return Engagement and Southern Navigation. Plus, Chris has five cents worth of opinion about ROH, WWE and UFC and then I look back at three years of writing this column.

You know, Ring of Honor'sTthird Anniversary Celebration lasted three shows... but luckily enough for me, this is the second and last part of the Column of Honor Third Anniversary. And I don't even have to put Jimmy Rave over!



...JIMMY RAAAAVE!


Ok, I did it anyway.


Honorarium

Thoughts on:

Take No Prisoners DVD & Bonus Matches

I went back and took another look at the Take No Prisoners PPV portion of the DVD to see how it translated from broadcast to DVD. Usually the video quality has proven to be better on the DVDs of the shows as opposed to when you see them on cable. As I noted in my review, production was my number one problem for this show, especially the hot white light issue that ROH just cannot seem to solve. I have harped on this issue long enough that kind of feel like Larry Csonka when he would constantly post about how TNA needed a drug testing policy. Unfortunately, while the DVD transfer provides sharper picture quality, the format can't do anything about the spotlighting issues. That has to come from the set up at the event itself.

Looking at some of the bonus matches on the DVD, Dingo takes on Davey Richards in what you would ostensibly think was a throw away squash match, but ends up quite the little competitive match between the two. It's more of a "jobber to the stars" match where the guy who is going to lose gets to shine a whole lot before getting the crapped kick out of him. And that's what happens here, but in entertaining fashion. Lenny Leonard also gets in a "Dingo Ate Your Baby" reference just as I was thinking that wanted to use that line in my thoughts about the match. Either great lines think alike, or…well, dingo ate your baby.

Ruckus & Jigsaw get off to a shaky start in their tag match against Hangmen 3 but they pull it together for a fun comeback sequence. More important is the Eddie Kingston appearance, which was much shorter than I thought it would be but still good while it lasted. It's a shame more couldn't be done with this issue and it now appears to be too far behind ROH continuity to do much else about it.

A great bonus on this disc is the use of the much talked about and praised GHC Heavyweight Tag Title Match between The Briscoes and Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura. I really like how The Briscoes are presented in their appearances for NOAH…they are the tough American wrestlers who don't back down from their opponents and put up a hell of a fight to get to the win. The Japanese crowd proves as usual to be very quiet for these matches right up to the end. I was popping for the match right from the start though and never felt the match go overboard or become boring. The Briscoes do some excellent isolation sequences as well, making sure Marufuji is in the ring whenever possible because they want to avoid the power and brute force of Sugiura. Good commentary from Prazak and Leonard (they have regained their groove on the most recent DVD releases, with a touch less of hyperbole and a touch more of insight into what's going on within the ring). While most fans who will see this match will come away remembering the fantastic finish (Marufuji reversing the Springboard Doomsday in mid air to convert into the Shiranui for the pin), there is plenty to like about this one as a whole. Not the top candidate for match of the year, but certainly a must-see for any ROH fan…and added onto a PPV show that had two terrific main events make this DVD an easy purchase for even the more casual ROH followers.


Injustice

I give full credit to El Generico for even attempting to compete with Jack Evans in a dance off. It doesn't last long, but Generico performed remarkably well, which means either the rest of the world is catching up to Mr. You Got Swerved or Evans needs to get some new moves and some more mojo with his opening break dance routine.

We rarely see the turnbuckle brainbuster on ROH DVDs, so I was a bit shocked to see Generico use it in the match, much less the opening contest. It gets a hell of a reaction though.

The next few matches are decidedly opening show and decidedly mediocre. I'm not sure why Mitch Franklin gets to be competitive with Jigsaw, who comes out the worse for it in this match. Squash matches are supposed to help get over the person doing the squashing, not the other way around. Eddie Edwards is just off joining Sweet & Sour Inc. and he is still lacking any distinct personality. In fact, ever since he joined The Inc he has sort of been swallowed into the background of the faction as opposed to getting some shine off being a part of it. It takes me forever to remember who he is when I seem him amongst the gaggle of Inc. wrestlers. At least when he was on his own he was cardboard that stood out.

I could hear Brent Albright calling spots during his match against Delirious from home. As in, I probably could have heard the spot being called on the DAY of the show from home, not just on video.

This was the second part of a four show swing for DDT wrestler Kota Ibushi. He was very good overall in his matches, creating some very entertaining matches against Davey (from Bedlam in Beantown) and here against Claudio, ac well in a tag match against The Briscoes and then against El Generico. Let's deal with all of these appearances together. I preferred his match against Claudio the most (I've heard others say the match against Davey) due to how both men are able to keep up with each other and using the obvious size difference to create some disparity within the match. I enjoyed watching all of the matches as a whole, but watching the four of them together within a short time span (maybe a week total) exposed some of the flaws in Kota's matches, i.e. their predictability. I get the distinct feeling that Kota was lucky in that his tour was set for two weeks; therefore fans would not have been able to see his work on ROH DVD. The cities he wrestled in (Boston, Edison, Dayton, Chicago) are far enough away from each other that it attracts different audiences with slightly lower cross over than say, going from Edison to New York City might create. Therefore ROH fans in each city were reacting to Kota's spots tremendously each time, whereas I, watching from home, could spot when Kota was going to go for his trademark sequences like the missed kick to standing moonsault or the top rope moonsault landing on the feet to standing moonsault. It's a bit like Jack Evans used to be in his matches circa 2004-2005…you knew what was coming and you knew when to expect it. The good thing of it is that this was Kota's only set of appearances for the year; if he is kept to minimum tours every year or so, then he won't be so overexposed as to create a backlash. Let's just hope that should a return trip is in his future (and I would definitely want to see him again given the strength and quality of his matches—true good upper card featured bouts), he decided to vary and freshen things up a bit. I mean, at some point that regular, beautiful moonsault should hit someone.

The first Kevin Steen vs. Nigel McGuinness match was a tremendous effort by both men filled with the best kind of blend of story telling using two interesting personalities and very good, back and forth wrestling action that showed the match could have feasibly ended in a title change were it not for Nigel's cheating ways. It's a four star encounter in my book and easily at that. I really enjoyed Steen's efforts on this show, from his promo earlier in the night that declared the dividing line between the champion and him as the challenger, all the way to the main event. There he bridged the focus between mocking Nigel for his "annoying" patterns of attack—particularly using the ropes as a swing to mock the jawbreaker lariat—and being the serious and edgy character Steen utilizes most often as a heel. Steen had to be careful not to be too comedic, so the temper tantrum at the end and having to be pulled apart by the ROH locker room shows just how seriously Steen's character could take becoming ROH champion. McGuinness holding the ropes justified the reaction and gave the crowd even more to react to—this transitioned into the Nigel vs. Claudio challenge that would ultimately lead to the title match in Manhattan.

The Briscoes won their fifth ROH World Tag Team title on this show. I did not like that they won the titles at this point and made mention of this in previous columns, but I have to say that the match kept my attention the whole way through and had that nice and intense big fight feel. The fans' reaction to the title switch was warm but not hot, but they were definitely supportive of the match itself and of the babyface win.


Tag Wars 2008

The rise of Rhett Titus and the attention given to him from this show is encouraging. ROH has been trying to find the right places to fit the students in and slowly but surely they have done so. Shane Hagadorn, Bobby Dempsey, Pelle Primeau and now Rhett Titus have found their character and their role within the company and have been working on making it compelling viewing. I'm addicted to watching Titus in particular take this character and apply it in the storyline with Delirious. He is also showing competency in the ring and his match here against Silas Young is solid and enjoyable viewing.

I was VERY impressed by Jigsaw vs. Joey Matthews. I wasn't expecting a lot, but they gave a very physical match. Matthews was almost downright sociopathic in his mannerisms and in his violent offense. Good, stiff stuff in a short match but one that I would have no problems breaking out again to watch down the line. Matthews is slowly but surely becoming a backbone of Age of the Fall and these attraction matches.

The Steen vs. McGuinness rivalry gets turned up a notch due to the verbal volley they launch at each other right before the tag match. Its funny to see El Generico try to hold Steen back and vice versa and Castagnoli for his part just looking befuddled and ready to get on with the match Steen & Generico vs. McGuinness & Castagnoli reads great on paper and they execute the match as well as you'd figure.

The Delirious vs. Necro Butcher match was the one where some of the ring attendants and referees were caught in the crossfire and got absolutely messed up during the fight (as part of the match). I loved it and thought it freshened up a match combination we'd already seen. I'd have to say maybe a babyface turn would help keep Necro fresh at this point, because he's already become demystified as a presence in these kind of matches, but fans can still love him and appreciate him in sort of the same role that Cactus Jack played in WWE—take those massive bumps and big brawls and keep on coming back for more.

The main event of the show lives up to its billing—as the fight Jimmy Jacobs and Alex Shelley have been waiting for…I do have to say the promo Jacobs does early on in the DVD doesn't live up to the way he wrote about the feud on the internet. The stakes and motivations were very clearly and specifically addressed in those blogs, but they get danced around here a bit and get in favor of sending out his men on several missions and splitting viewer attention for that.

The match itself is set up in a very interesting fashion…Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin have the decisive advantage in the first half to two thirds of the match…really dominating Age of the Fall and showing that they mean business. Then slowly but surely Jacobs and Black start to turn the tide in their favor and work on Shelley. The finish with Jacobs slipping into The End Time is fantastic.


Return Engagement

This show opens up with a compelling match between Aries and Silas Young, which again shows to me that Young is ready for a full time gig in ROH in that he kept up with Aries's fast pace and intensity the whole way through. Then we get the start of a show wide angle between Aries, Jacobs and Lacey. The crowd's reaction to all of this really helps here…as they support Aries and deride Jacobs for not being a man about things, which really helps to sell his overall breakdown throughout the show. I love Jacob's line about not touching his stuff, as that becomes the real cornerstone of the feud. He was about to find out that it was already too late for that kind of warning.

Hero & Albright vs. Pelle & Claudio is another match that shows me more focus is being paid to the ROH students. This match up to the face comeback was all about Pelle, either coming through or winning on Hero by using his momentum to create the advantage or taking a whupping and persevering onwards through the match. Claudio's help in propelling Pelle with the headscissors was a nice touch.

Steen working out (but not really) was also a good little thing that sets up the rematch against McGuinness.

I'm still on the fence about Ashley Lane in the ring, but with her looking like mini-Torrie Wilson and coming out to music by Paramore, I'm starting to be swayed in her favor.

I'm sorry to have to return to a minor criticism of Ibushi, but his match against Generico has been given positive attention, especially for one moment, the matrix to kick to German suplex on Generico. The crowd went nuts live for that one, and I can't entirely blame them…its just to me it seemed to be a bit of an overreaction. This section surely doesn't compete with the "Matrix Minute" between Low Ki and Amazing Red from back in '02, doesn't even come close. I also felt the match took way too long to get into gear at the beginning of the match, with the slower feeling out process not really working for me and feeling like it was just a stretch for time. The match also had a lot to live up to since it came immediately after Briscoes vs. Machine Guns II (which I'll get to in a minute) and I have to give credit for them working the crowd back into it at such a response level, but it didn't have the same impact on me watching from home.

The Steen & McGuinness rematch for me is just a notch below their first one. Steen focuses more on using the sharpshooter as a finish but Nigel wades through the pain and sets up his own game plan that pays off by the end of the match. I agree with reports that the crowd wasn't into Steen as much as on other shows. In fact Nigel had a pretty sizable cheering section here.

The end of show bumper with Daizee Haze and Delirious pays off a lot of the interplay they've had…unfortunately Delirious gets overenthusiastic about the massage from Daizee and well, it ends sooner than he'd want it to…I can make a pretty good ED joke there, but I want to stay classy on my third anniversary column.


Southern Navigation

The picture on the cover, with Morishima leveling Rocky Romero with a forearm and Rocky's eyes rolling back, is awesome. A perfect shot.

Chris Hero vs. Pelle Primeau opens the debut in Virginia and Sweeney provides a very good heell explanation as to why his guys are in the first half—he wants to leave the state as soon as possible. Bravo to Sweeney for saying that as it sets the tone right away to have his guys booed in this town. For his part, Pelle keeps it surprisingly competitive before Hero knocks him out with the elbow and big boot. Hero is using simpler offense to get over the fact that any strike can get the win and it seems to be working, especially against the lower card wrestlers. The question is will that hold up against the bigger guns of the promotion?

ROH looked to use some of the local talent from this area for their matches, including Sean Denny, Rex Sterling and Damian Wayne. I have to say, unfortunately, that I didn't like what I saw out of them. Denny had a nice cannonball like kick, but ultimately he and Sterling don't seem any different than any other lower tier ROH student working on the shows right now. As for Wayne, I had seen a pre show match with him before and I remember liking it…but this time around, not so much. He seems totally out of place in the four corner survival against McGuinness, Albright and Castagnoli. He was likely purposefully playing dumb in the match as far as selling and getting caught by the other guys, but his overall presence in the ring was too awkward and well, I was disappointed by the match in the end.

We get some mic distortion which makes it hard to hear Aries talk about Age of the Fall, which is a shame since from what I could tell it was a good promo. I like how Stevens wouldn't take no for an answer about their scheduled match, until Aries had no choice but to fight him. The shorter match these two had made sense to me, because Aries would have wanted to get it done with as quickly as possible in order to focus his attention on Jacobs and Age of the Fall in the wake of the attack on Lacey.

Jay Briscoe cuts a good promo about getting revenge for Mark being injured by AotF, but unfortunately is placed right after the Aries promo, so it can't compare to Aries' narrative and pathos about his beef with them.

I was not a fan of the Necro Butcher vs. Jack Evans match on this DVD…they nailed it back in December in New York and this one didn't come close to living up to the previous match.

Necro Butcher's involvement in the Jacobs vs. Briscoe match continues to progress how it can be perceived that Necro is being used and manipulated by Jacobs. I really liked this match between Jacobs and Briscoe and thought the ending with Jacobs dumping Briscoe onto the chairs with the DDT into the End Time was a fantastic visual. He has really gotten a lot of mileage with that finisher this year.

I also like that Jacobs is becoming more androgynous in some of the attacks he's done as of late. In this match he does the testicular claw, which of course draws the "homo" chants from the male crowd… that combined with his kissing of Aries in Chicago (kiss of death) is enough to suggest that Jacobs is definitely losing it as a result of the loss of Lacey.

The picture on the back of the DVD box shows Danielson kicking the heck out of Black, which looks really cool. Interestingly enough, the building in Manassas has a set up that includes a hallway all around the upper deck, with windows that you can look through to watch the action in the ring below. In this picture, there are a ton of people lined up behind the windows looking on…and you can see even in this picture how captivated they are by that match.

It was a heck of a match; just as good as their first match from Breakout…that, like the Steen vs. McGuinness matches is going to make it hard for me personally to decide where they belong in the end of year lists. I think I like the first match a touch more because of the disrespect factor that began the whole series…the slaps to the face stand out as a very declarative moment. The lack of respect by Black is still there at the end of the second match, which helps to keep the issue between the two alive for future matches.

Believe it or not, but Takeshi Morishima actually shows sparks of a personality other than a bruiser big man in the NOAH vs. NRC six man tag. The way he dismisses each member of the NRC when they try to attack him is funny. The stacked tower of NOAH guys squishing the NRC guys is also entertaining. A lot of action in the main event, as truly would expect a fast paced six man between these guys, lots of spots, lots of back and forth (nearly 30 minutes worth). It's almost like eating to excess as far as taking in the quality of action these guys provide. Marufuji in particular shines through with his awesome kicks. As it would turn out, this was NRC's last big stand as team, and now both Go and Davey are on the same team, signed to Sweet & Sour Inc.

I also find it amazing that Morishima was cheered on as a face in Virginia and then just the next night the fans wanted to see Necro hand him his lunch. NYC is still waiting on Danielson vs. Morishima and I think the residual dislike of Morishima there carries over from 2007.

-I have to say this, I am impressed with Shane Hagadorn. He had truly adapted his heel lackey character to fit in with Sweet & Sour Inc. He dresses in nice clothes, wears a tie and is every bit the heel he was under the tutelage of Adam Pearce. He and Shayne Hawke have come up with something terrific, which is, when you are a lackey to another more experienced wrestler, the best thing you can do is to emulate them in terms of clothing, behavior and style. It annoys the fans to no end.


My Two Cents with Chris Miccio

So, from what I hear, it's the 3 year anniversary of Ari's massive Column of Honor, so I think we should all just stand up and give the man a hand for the amazing ROH coverage and insight that he has offered to all of us over the past few years. Not from a completely biased perspective or anything, but I think it's fair to say that Ari is the foremost authority on ROH on the Internet, and should be treated as such. There is no other columnist out there who discusses the ROH like Ari, with a true love and obvious understanding of ROH and of the world of pro wrestling on the whole. Thanks, Ari, for all you do for us as fans of professional wrestling, especially those of us who love ROH. I also personally want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of this column on a regular basis. What began with me jumping on, as a part of a "rib" project, has become something that I enjoy doing, and I thank you for giving me a forum in which I can express my opinions as well. Happy anniversary, buddy, and here's a wish for many more. Now, enough of the sappiness, lets get down to what's caught my eye this week in the world of wrestling or MMA. Let's get to it.

1. The Evolution of ROH over the past 3 years --- since this is an anniversary type column, lets take a look at how the landscape of ROH has changed over the past 3 years. Many performers have come and gone, such as Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Christopher Daniels, A.J. Styles, Homicide, and Colt Cabana, but after all that, the ROH still stands tall. I think everyone who has read Ari's column over the past few years has had a moment or two where they have thought out loud "can ROH take the departure of (insert name here) and keep on going?" Well, as we have all come to see, the answer to that question is obviously yes, and it's because of rabid supporters like Ari that it has. I will admit that I have at times lost interest in the product (or in wrestling on the whole), but its because of people like Ari, the true believers, if you will, that a company like Ring of Honor survives the departures of these talents. Think about all that has happened since the COH started. The influx of great foreign wrestlers. The constant restocking of the shelves of ROH with the best that the independent wrestling world has to offer. The building of a product that is in many ways, far superior to the ones being produced by the mainstream wrestling companies, with all the money that they can pour into their product. ROH in essence is still very much a "Mom and Pop" type organization that has grown on an annual basis, whether into the world of pay per view, selling "Best of" DVD's in mainstream retail locations, as well as successfully showcasing their roster in new markets such as England, Japan, Las Vegas, California, Virginia, and soon, into Toronto, Canada. Three years ago, we all knew the loop of shows. Now, the sky is the limit for Ring of Honor, and once again, I have to give so much of the credit to people like Ari, who support the product in ways that simply buying DVD's can't compete with. This column, in my opinion, biased as it might be, is the best source of ROH information on the internet today, and I know that when people need to know what's going on in ROH and why it's happening, they come to Ari to find out. I'm so glad that Ari brought me into this whole equation, because its only led me to a level of enjoyment in pro wrestling that I hadn't had I a long time. ROH, over the past 3 years has taken all the best things from the history of pro wrestling and mixed them with all of the most cutting edge new aspects of the business to create a product that is so unique that all of the other wrestling promotions around the world have been forced to stand up and take notice. Even if the "lifts" are subtle, we all know that they are stealing ideas from ROH, and in some ways, that says more than anything. Onward and upward to both the ROH and the COH over the next 3 years!

2. CM Punk as World Champion --- now, I never thought that I would see the day that both Samoa Joe and CM Punk would be the champions of TNA and the WWE respectively, but when Punk won that belt, as excellently described my Ari last week, I knew that all I had supported over the past 6 years was worth the effort. One more example of the mainstream promotions copying what ROH had already done or known, and that was that these two wrestlers were more than talented enough to be top of the marquee guys, not just on the Indy circuit, but on the big stage as well. I hope that Punk's reign lasts throughout the summer (or at least until Summer Slam), but any way you look at it, it's an awesome thing, to see him with the big gold belt of Flair wrapped around his waist. I know that both Ari and I bemoaned his departure to the WWE back in the day, and I doubt that any other reader of this column would have said otherwise, but this is one of those times where I'm glad that I was totally wrong about something. Congratulations, CM Punk, the first man to hold both the ROH and WWE World Heavyweight Championships.

3. The HBK-Y2J Feud --- now this is one thing that has really made me want to watch televised wrestling again. I don't remember the last time that Chris Jericho has been so "on" in everything that he does. Maybe it was back in the WCW days when he was working with Dean Malenko, or maybe in the early part of the century when he became the first Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, but now, in this series with Shawn Michaels, he's unbelievable. Over the years, its been said that HBK could carry a broomstick to a 4 star match, now I cant wait to see what he can do with a wrestler that is more than capable of pulling out a 4 star match himself. I know I've talked about this storyline before, but I just think that it deserves this much attention. If you're not watching this, you're really not a true wrestling fan. If you don't want to watch the rest of the show, that's okay. Invest in a DVR; because it's more than worth it, just to see these two go at it.

4. ROH's development of new stars --- I'm speaking mostly about Tyler Black here. In the matches of his that I've seen, Tyler Black is quickly becoming one of the finest in-ring performers that ROH has welcomed into the fold in many years. He can work many different styles and fits perfectly in the ring with all of the top guys in the company. Can he have a 4+ star match with Brian Danielson? Check. How about with Austin Aries? Yup. Nigel McGuinness? You know it. This young man is the future of ROH, if not the entire wrestling industry, and I don't even feel bad about saying that. He has the look, the chops, and the overall package to be one of the best, so to you Tyler Black, I say thank you for what you've done, and I'm waiting patiently to see what you will do in the future. The sky is the limit for this guy.

5. The Forrest Griffin – Rampage Jackson Fight --- now, I know that many different people have many different opinions on this one, but all I'll say about it is this: damn. That was one of the most evenly matched fights that I have ever seen, and in a lot of ways, can agree with both sides in the debate over the decision. Do I think that Forrest deserved to win by that big of a margin on the scorecards? No, I don't. When Ari and I watched the fight the next night (we couldn't watch it together live or else my girlfriend might have killed me, considering it was our one year anniversary), I had the fight scored like this. Round 1: 10-8 Jackson. Round 2: 10-8 Griffin. Round 3: 10-9 Jackson. Round 4: 10-9 Grifffin. And Round 5: 10-9 Griffin with the final total equaling 47-46 Griffin. At worst, in my opinion, it was a draw. I'm glad that Forrest won, don't get me wrong, but I really can't wait to see the rematch for this one, and it should happen as soon as possible. Forget Forrest facing Liddell or Machida. Get him back in the cage with Rampage, and settle it out. I know I'll be watching, wont you?

Well, that's it for this week. Once again, I just want to say congratulations to Ari on the 3rd anniversary of the COH, and wish him many more, because if he doesn't keep doing this, how will I know what Jimmy Jacobs is doing? I'll be back in two with my thoughts on the ROH's debut show in Canada, shows, and with my thoughts on the UFC Fight Night special, as well as the Affliction "Banned" Pay Per View show, and anything else in the world of pro wrestling that needs my attention. And on that note, I'll take my leave. 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

Honor System: following what's naughty and what's not in ROH:

Honorable
|
doing your best to free Bobby Dempsey from an oppressive situation and encouraging him to stand up and be his own man.
|
not calling out Bobby Dempsey on the amount of weight he has not loss since he joined up with fitness guru Tank Toland.
|
fans chanting for Bobby Dempsey in support of his appearances for ROH.

|
throwing Bobby Dempsey under the ring when the fans chant his name.
|
breaking Bobby Dempsey's heart by slapping him and beating him up when you were supporting him before you sold out for money and a makeover.
|
making Bobby Dempsey apologize for something that was your fault in the first place…and intimidating him enough to come back to your corporation to continue to be the fall guy.
|
Dishonorable



Name That Tune Final Tunes

Last week I gave a trio of tunes to end the playlist for this interactive column feature. Let's take a look at what we had…

1. Clue: WCW Monday Night…
Lyric: "rests his head on a pillow made of concrete"

2. Clue: leather and plaid
Lyric: "One goes to the morgue and the other to jail / One guy's wasted and the other's a waste"

3. Clue: BANG!
Lyric: "Here we are now / Entertain us"

The answers:
1) "Evenflow" - Pearl Jam (Chris Jericho's WCW entrance music)
2) "Come Out and Play" - The Offspring (Raven's ECW entrance music)
3) "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana (DDP's WCW entrance music)

This Week's Winners (listed in order of entry)
Gillan Borum, who wants to self high five. Indeed.
Ben Lawrence
soulpower—one of the column's legends of Name That Tune, glad to see he's in for the last one.
Holski--["Smells Like Teen Spirit'] IS an ROH theme because Raven used it during his 2003 run with the company, though many others would associate it with ECW)
Chris Gorst
R0bVanCram-what? no Come as you are rip-off for his WCW times?
jimmy

Ah yes, I knew I was missing one for the ex WCW theme set, but there you go… good recall on your part VanCram!

With that, we close the book on Name That Tune, at least for now. We got through 40 weeks of it, but let's face it; it was becoming significantly more and more difficult to come up with new themes, as I used the familiar ROH themes a long time ago. I wouldn't be averse to NTT returning in the future, but it was time to shelve it. However, the games are not yet over! Next week I debut a new game for reader response and interaction!


**The Independent Buy In**

2008
**CHIKARA "Cibernetico & Robin" (Torneo Cibernetico: Kings of Wrestling vs. Dorado's Luchadores, The Olsen Twins / Cheech & Cloudy, Quackenbush / Donst, The Colony / BLK OUT ) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA "Brusied" (Kingston / Donst, Campeones de Parejas: F.I.S.T. vs. Incoherence / Castagnoli / Taylor, The Colony / Brodie Lee & Olsen Twins, Cheech & Cloudy / Osirian Portal ) High Recommendation
**Pro Wrestling NOAH "Special Budokan Double Shot"7/15 & 9/9/07 (Determination League Semi Finals & Finals, NTV Cup Finals)High Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 (Castagnoli / Williams, Evans / Pac, Black / Shelley, Aries / Strong, PWG Tag Titles: Generico & Steen / Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka)Medium Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2 (CIMA / Tornado, Steen / Butcher, McGuinness / Richards, Kid / Yokosuka) Low Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 (the entire show) High Recommendation
**Shimmer Volume 11 (Sarah Stock / MsChif, Sarah Stock / Cheerleader Melissa, Sara Del Rey / Cindy Rogers, Nikki Roxx / Lacey, Daizee Haze / Malia Hosaka, Allison Danger / Hosaka)High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 12 (Del Rey / Lacey, Del Rey / Sarah Stock, Haze / Lacey, Portuguese Princess Ariel / Josie / Nikki Roxx / Portia Perez, Melissa & MsChif / Lexie Fyfe & Hosaka)High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 13 (Melissa / Portuguese Princess Ariel, "Dark Angel" Sarah Stock / Daizee Haze, Portia Perez / MsChif, Del Rey & Roxx vs. Rain & Lacey, O'Neal vs. Melissa) Medium Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 14 (SHIMMER Title: Del Rey / Lacey, Nikki Roxx / Amazing Kong, Two out of Three falls: Allison Danger / Cindy Rogers, Portuguese Princess Ariel / Amber O'Neal) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA The Battle of Who Could Care Less (Incoherence & Tim Donst / BLK OUT, Claudio Castagnoli & Equinox / Hero & Hawke, Lince Dorado & Pantera / Olsen Twins, Quackenbush & The Colony / F.I.S.T. / Osirian Portal) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA The Sordid Perils of Everyday Existence (Campeones de Parejas: Incoherence / Cheech & Cloudy, Lucha de Apresta: Chris Hero / Equinox, F.I.S.T., Ellis, Ryder / Quack / Donst / Super Smash Bros.) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA Chapter 11 (Hallowicked / Kingston, Colony / Super Smash Brothers & Shane Storm, Tex-Arkana Title Match: Alvarez / Sweeney, Quack, Trik Davis & Helios / Shayne Hawke & The Osirian Portal, MIYAWAKI, Hasegawa & Pantera / Cheech & Cloudy & Delirious) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 15 (SHIMMER Title: Sara Del Rey / Amazing Kong, Daizee Haze / Sara Stock, Cheerleader Melissa / Alexa Thatcher, Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew / Ariel & Josie, Sereena Deeb / Jetta) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women's Athletes Volume 16 (SHIMMER Title Two Out of Three Falls: Sara Del Rey / Sara Stock, Amazing Kong / Cheerleader Melissa, Daizee Haze MsChif & Eden Black / Lacey, Rain & Jetta, Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews / Ariel & Josie, Sereena Deeb / Jetta) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Two Eyebrows Are Better Than One (Castagnoli, Lince Dorado & Ophidian / Quackenbush, Donst & Amasis, Kingston / Storm, Colony / F.I.S.T., Moravian Greyhound / Zombie Plantain / Hydra)Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA King of Trios Night One (Colony / Go, Nakazawam Shimizu, Osirian Portal & Mecha Mummy / Quackenbush, Storm & Skayde, Cheech & Cloudy & M.C. KZ / Quackenbush, Storm & Skayde, Delirious, Hallowicked & Helios / The Cartel) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA King of Trios Night Two (Player Uno, Stupified & El Generico / Cannon & North Star Express, Lince, Pantera & Incognito / Los Ice Creams & Glacier, Sweet & Sour Inc. / F.I.S.T. & Taylor, Donst, Gulak & Sumner / Fabulous Three / ) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA King of Trios Night Three (KOT Quarter, Semi Finals & Finals, Tag Team Gauntlet) High Recommendation

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


Get With the pROHgram:

July 25th, 2008 – Toronto, CAN: Kevin Steen vs. Nigel McGuinness: Steen gets his hands on McGuinness one more time and its in front of a favorable home country fanbase.

July 26th, 2008 –Detroit, MI ROH's Eight PPV Taping: A lot of storyline directions and the future of title programs are going to be revealed through the course of events on this show. It's an important one to keep an eye on.

August 1st, 2008: "Respect is Earned II" PPV: The seventh PPV offering from Ring of Honor features McGuinness vs. Shiozaki for the ROH World Title and Age of the Fall vs. Danielson & Aries for the ROH World Tag Team Titles. From Philadelphia.

August 2nd, 2008 - Manhattan, NY: Four Corner Elimination Title Match: New York was owed one of these matches and now we get to see it happen, with either McGuinness or whoever wins the ROH World Title putting it up for grabs against Tyler Black, Bryan Danielson and one more to be announced.


ROH @ 411

411's Buy or Sell looks at issues within ROH, PWG and CHIKARA.

J.D. Dunn rolls out the reviews for Southern Navigation and A New Level.


A Look Back at Three Years of Column of Honor

I just want to say that while I appreciate Chris's amazing words about me and this column, there are plenty of other writers out there on the internet landscape that are great at writing about Ring of Honor. Derek Burgan and Rob Naylor in particular know a hell of a lot about ROH and I am always entertained by their write ups and / or insights. The Cool Kids (and former 411 writers) of Jake Ziegler, Brad Garoon are relentless in their reviews of the product and along with Sam Berman began a terrific podcast that succeeded in all of the areas in which I utterly failed at mine (production and audio quality! I gave it a shot though and don't regret it at all). J.D. is 411's ROH reliable reviewer now and his is A+ material. Aaron Glazer over at Inside Pulse has done a fantastic job of late writing about topics that produce a whole lot of discussion on the ROH message board. A ton of credit goes out to them and others writing about ROH for spreading the word and keeping the name and the knowledge about the quality of the product out there.

I think what got me here was my passion for Ring of Honor. ROH restored my passion in professional wrestling and kept me going as a fan. I still watch WWE and go back and forth between enjoying it and barely tolerating it, but without discovering ROH in early 2003 its safe to say I would not be watching WWE or any kind of wrestling at all, much less writing about it for three years worth of columns.

Over the last three years I really enjoyed the feature writing I have done, in particular my write ups on the Generation Next vs. Embassy war (The Casualties of War, Alex Shelley Buys In, Steel Cage Warfare), the ROH vs. CZW trilogy of columns (WAR!, BETRAYAL!, VICTORY!), my trilogy on the Nigel McGuiness-Bryan Danielson-Takeshi Morishima triangle and my column on Nigel winning the ROH World Title. I also put a lot of heart into the history of ROH in New York City piece, the Jimmy Jacobs feature and the CM Punk column I did just last week.

I really enjoyed doing the breakdowns for the Survival of the Fittest tournament…fantasy bracketology is a fantastic route of escapism. As long as ROH does the SOTF tournament, I'll cover it. And get my predictions wrong.

The Project 161 / Age of the Fall story was amazing to cover as it happened because aside from those involved, it was a complete guessing game. You knew something was happening but you weren't sure exactly what. The online clues were fantastic, and the amount of interest (and a copy cat poster or two) helped to carry out a great story, one that was ultimately fun to report on. Plus, I was able to use secret codes and such in the column. Wait…what?

Then there was the Chris Hero debacle…which sucked for me at the time and I definitely learned my lesson from that…which is why you have also stopped seeing appearances from "Delirious" and "The Briscoes' Guide to Manning Up" around the same time. I miss being wacky and expressive in that method but I think I've been able to find other features and ideas to make up for it. All told though, I'm still a Chris Hero fan even after. One day he'll be ROH champion!

The Final Column specials have run for three years now (2005, 2006, 2007) and it's simultaneously been my greatest works and my greatest curse as far as being a writer. It takes the better part of a month to plan out and then write out the multi part column—and that can be hell on my social life (hahahahah! Okay, sorry, just self deprecating) and my typing fingers. I've been lucky enough to have some great 411 writers involved in the process and enjoy reading their perspectives on the company.

Okay, so maybe there was a bit of nostalgia and career retrospective after all.


That will take care of three years worth of Column of Honor. Next week I'll give my thoughts about the "A New Level" show from Hammerstein and add some new CHIKARA DVDs to the Independent Buy In. Thanks for reading the column and for your support and feedback. It's always meant a lot and always will. See everyone next time.

BROOKLYN! DA EM BAH SEE!
--Ari--