Column of Honor: 08.02.08: Death Before Column of Dishonor III Part One

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 08.02.2008

My cable box died and while I don’t have a review of Respect is Earned 2 just yet, I do have all the news and information coming from last week’s PPV taping and last night’s show in Manassas, VA! Plus the full card for ROH’s first show of ’08 in Japan, thoughts about ninjas and more!

The cable in my house decided not to work about five minutes before the start of "Respect is Earned 2" on PPV. It hasn't cooperated since, which means a call to the cable company very soon…terrific. So apologies for not having a write up on the PPV, but regardless this is a PACKED edition with plenty of thoughts on recent shows, news on the return trip to Japan and a lot more. Welcome to the Column.



Ring Toss
-ROH Results: ROH PPV Taping in Detroit, Michigan, July 26th, 2008
-ROH PPV Analysis: Pros and Cons and Outcomes
-ROH Results: Manassas, Virginia, August 1st, 2008
-ROH Call
-ROH News
-My Fave Five
-Honorarium
-ROH Money Players of the Month: June & July 2008
-ROH Stockmarket
-ROH Preview: Death Before Dishonor VI at Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC
-Honor System
-Ringtones
-Independent Buy In: SHIMMER Volumes 17 & 18
-Get with the pROHgram
-ROH @ 411
-Honor Bound Links

ROH Results: ROH PPV Taping in Detroit, Michigan, July 26th, 2008

Matches

Preshow
-Ernie Osiris, Kyle Durden & Alex Payne defeated Rocky Fontaine, Ninja White & Ninja Yellow.
-D-Ray 3000 defeated Shane Hollister in a glorified squash.

Main Show

-Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated Mitch Franklin & Silas Young via pinfall with the Doomsday Device on Franklin.
-Erick Stevens defeated Shane Hagadorn in a Four Corner Survival match that also included Delirious, & Ruckus via a Doctor Bomb for the pinfall.
-Kevin Steen defeats Necro Butcher in an awesome brawl with a Package Piledriver.
-ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness retained his title by defeating challenger Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall with the Jawbreaker Lariat.
-Silas Young defeated Kenny Omega via pinfall with a moonsault.
-The team of Roderick Strong & Naomichi Marufuji defeated the team of Sweet & Sour Incorporated of Chris Hero & Go Shiozaki. Strong pinned Hero.
-Bryan Danielson defeated Tyler Black via submission with the MMA Elbows. At one point the ring rope broke from the force of a Tyler Black powerbomb.
-Ruckus won a fifteen man Honor Rumble to earn an ROH World Title shot in Manassas, Virginia. Entrants: Bobby Dempsey, Kyle Durden, Jay Briscoe, Erick Stevens, Claudio Castagnoli, Ernie Osiris, Necro Butcher, Bushwhacker Luke Williams, Mark Briscoe, Ruckus, Rhett Titus, Sara Del Rey, Alex Payne, Delirious, ROH champ Nigel McGuinness. Eliminations: Durden by Jay Briscoe, Williams by Necro, Necro eliminated by Briscoes, Mark Briscoe eliminated by Ruckus, Dempsey by everyone, Jay Briscoe by Nigel, del Rey by Stevens, Osiris by Delirious, Delirious, Stevens, Titus by Delirious, Payne by Nigel, Nigel by Ruckus.


Angles & Issues

Age of Power: Jimmy Jacobs refused to defend the belts on the PPV despite challenges from The Briscoes and later on from Kevin Steen & El Generico. The. Briscoes hit the ring and take out AotF who tried to escape but Aries cut them off and attacked them. Later on Aries resurfaced and claimed he wanted Jacobs but instead is attacked by Tyler Black and MsChif. Jimmy came to attack Aries with a hook The locker room broke it up and after Steen says that he wants a tag title shot he is attacked by Necro Butcher leading into their singles match.

Limited-Time Offer: Larry Sweeney tried to offer Naomichi Marufuji a spot in The Inc. but is given the finger instead. Sweeney & company try to run away but they are blocked by Lance Storm! He is the special enforcer for the tag challenge to keep Sweeny in line. After that match Storm puts over Strong but gets attacked by Sweeney. Storm turns the tide and puts on the single leg Boston Crab (Canadian Crab, really) until Hero attacks him.

Going for Broke: The force of a Tyler Black powerbomb was such that the top ring rope broke! The match continued on despite this incident.

PPV Havoc!:: At the end of the PPV, Aries jumped Jimmy Jacobs and they brawled around the ring in a vicious fight (they may have been scheduled to wrestle a match but the ring crew was busy fixing the ring). They bring out the superladder and fight to the top, when Necro Butcher comes out with a chair. Here it becomes a morality play where both Aries and Jacobs try to convince Necro to hit the other person. Necro throws down the chair in frustration and looks to leave, then comes back and pushes both over the ladder and through the tables. Necro claims that he doesn't need either of them and leaves them both in the rubble (that's a hell of a way to end a show mind you).

Honor Rumblings: Nigel McGuinness entered himself in the Honor Rumble, claiming that he would win to prevent anyone from challenging him in Manassas. Claudio was announced as an entrant, but he did not come out, as to sell the storyline that he left the show (and ROH) after losing the PPV title match against McGuinness. Bobby Dempsey did a ton of comedy spots, including rolling up into a ball at the behest of Larry Sweeney so he wouldn't be eliminated, as well as being lured by wrestlers with a hamburger. Yes.

Return Date: January 30th, 2008


PPV Analysis: Pros and Cons and Outcomes

Pros:

Nigel's Streak Continues: Nigel McGuinness has not only been booked to look as a dominant champion on Pay Per View, he's also provided some of the best matches on the show. McGuinness delivered in the main event of "Driven" against Danielson, and from "Undeniable" onwards has been involved in the World title match on the show. His match against Austin Aries at "Rising Above" was great drama and action, everyone has oohed and ahhed about the match against Tyler Black (and yes, the attention has been on Black's breakout performance, but it takes two to tango), delivered a solid title match against Go Shiozaki at "Respect is Earned II" and now once again comes through when he is needed in what was hailed in reports as a great match against Claudio Castagnoli. Now even though it was taped fourth on the card doesn't mean it won't be put in the main event position, as that is exactly what was done for the "Rising Above" match against Aries. The focus on McGuinness as champion has helped to stabilize the division and thus far has guaranteed at least a good and more often great match for the PPV.

The Jacobs-Aries Feud Continues on PPV: The first inkling PPV fans had of the war between these two was on the "Respect Is Earned II" tapings when Aries teamed with Danielson to fight for the ROH World Tag Team Titles. Now the Aries-Jacobs feud has been incorporated more wholly into the PPV, with the beginning and ending of this taping focused on angles based on their grudge. The Necro Butcher issue, which had been developing on the recent live shows and internet recaps came to a head at the conclusion of this show and the PPV, if it doesn't end with the title match, will likely end with the strong visual of Aries and Jacobs being pushed off the ladder and Necro walking away as his own man. As long as the announcers catch the PPV fans up to speed on why Necro is so conflicted and fully paints the picture of why he pushed both off the ladder, then this will be an effective use of the "B" angle from the Aries-Jacobs feud. Another positive is that we are picking up again on more continuity from PPV to PPV, as not only does the Jacobs-Aries feud continue, but Danielson and Tyler Black continue their issue from the previous show.

Stevens Resurrected After looking godawfully dumb in angles involving Sweet & Sour Inc. on two straight PPVs (Rising Above / Take No Prisoners) and losing on three straight PPVs (though impressing in his last loss, the Fight Without Honor vs. Strong), Erick Stevens needed to be rebuilt and fast if he was going to be effective for a PPV audience. Stevens won the FIP Heavyweight Title again two weeks ago in a strap match that was described as bloody and brutal, so with that win comes a bit of protection. Stevens gets the win, pinning Shane Hagadorn after brutalizing him in the match. It could have been a stronger win considering Ruckus and Delirious have more rep, but it's a good start towards refocusing Stevens.

Guest Starring Lance Storm as the Serious Neighbor Mr. Lance: I don't know if Lance Storm had to be convinced to become part of an angle on the Detroit show or whether or not he had so much fun in Toronto he wanted to do it again, but the ROH PPV is going to be much better for his participation. Getting involved in an angle against Sweet & Sour Inc. was a terrific choice, because Sweeney & Hero look like jerks for messing with Storm and that leads to a terrific pop for Storm's comeback and gives the rub to Roderick Strong and Naomichi Marufuji (now that's an all-star trio).


Cons:

We Are Young, Heartache to Heartache We Stand: Silas Young was done a disservice in being teamed up with Mitch Franklin and jobbed out on PPV in a squash against The Briscoes. Any one of the other students, new or old, could have stood the loss. Young is over with the crowds and could be a good key to ROH's mid card in the future, but jobbing him out on PPV was needless. He got a win back in a match Kenny Omega (which was actually the one match I predicted right last week, go me!) but PPV-only customers won't be seeing that match—that will likely be saved as a DVD bonus match.

Ruckus? Seriously, Ruckus?: No offense to Ruckus, because I actually like him in the ring, want him around in ROH and enjoy his teaming with Jigsaw, but I have to say, not only did his win in the Honor Rumble come out of nowhere, but I don't see how anyone would have possibly bought into a title change happening in that match in Manassas. Granted, Danielson & Aries vs. Motor City Machine Guns was the money match of the show, but you could do much better than McGuinness vs. Ruckus for the ROH World Title match. Or, just put Nigel in a tag match of some kind against Ruckus & Jigsaw (presuming he was ready to go). Now, I didn't mind ROH not putting in so many main event talents for the actual rumble match…although, you would think that EVERYONE, regardless of whether or not they wrestled previously, would be interested in the possibility of winning a title match. I mean, Austin Aries or Jimmy Jacobs, even injured, didn't want some of that? Claudio, looking for one last shot at redemption? Instead we get Bobby Dempsey, Ernie Osirus and Alex Payne in the match…yikes.

Hell, you know what? I WOULD rather have Bobby Dempsey in a title match against Nigel McGuinness. The ridiculous and sublime nature of such a match would be awesome.


ROH Results: ROH in Manassas, Virginia, August 1st, 2008

Matches

Preshow
-Ernie Osiris & Bobby Shields defeated Ninja White & Ninja Yellow via pinfall when Osiris holds the ropes.
-Dirty Sanchez & Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne defeated John Kermon & Cordova via pinfall. Payne over Kermon with a perfectplex.
-Sean Denny defeated Mitch Franklin via pinfall with a backslide.

Main Show

-Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated Adam Pearce & Shane Hagadorn via pinfall with a springboard doomsday device.
-Pelle Primeau defeated Rex Sterling via pinfall with a roll up.
-Delirious defeated Rhett Titus via submission with a Cobra Stretch.
-Roderick Strong defeated Necro Butcher via pinfall in a relaxed rules match with a Gibson Driver.
-The Motor City Machine Guns of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin fought TEAMWORK of Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries to a twenty-five minute draw.
-Brent Albright defeated Chris Hero via pinfall with the half nelson suplex.
-ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness retained his title by defeating Ruckus via submission with the London Dungeon.
-ROH World Tag Team Champions Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black retained their titles by defeating Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji when Black pinned Shiozakl after a Pheonix Splash


Angles & Issues

Albright's Rage: After the Briscoes tag match, Brent Albright rushed out to clear out the ring of Sweet & Sour Incorporated's presence. He would once again engage The Inc. by brawling with Adam Pearce after his own match.

"Uh Oh, she said the F-word": Daize Haze told Delirious that he's a "good friend" after he defeated Titus and protected Daizee from Titus.

Shelley & Aries: Regeneration Next: The main attraction of Machine Guns vs. Danielson & Aries went twenty minutes (why it was a 20 minute time limit was questionable considering it had been billed as the main event of the show, but it did lead into the angle at the end of the show). Aries and Dragon had their finishers on when time expired. applied. The crowd asked for five more minutes and since this was a face team vs. face team they actually did get five more minutes of wrestling which ended when Shelley and Aries were maneuvering in and out of the Border City Stretch and Last Chancery.

The Age of the Fall attacked the Machine Guns but Aries came in for the save them off. Aries then appealed to his once-upon-a-time partner in Generation Next to put the bad blood of their past history behind them. Shelley emphatically says no and leaves with Sabin. HOWEVER..after The Age of the Fall's tag match and both Aries and Shelley have gotten their hands on AotF, they realize they have a common enemy and do decide to let bygones be bygones. Aries and Shelley are at a truce!

The YKO Kid: Chris Hero has been calling himself the Young Knock Out Kid in building up his reputation of the power behind his strikes.

Return Date: January 16th, 2009


Match reports have the best matches being the Machine Guns vs. Danielson & Aries as well as the main event tag title match. Strong vs. Necro was also said to have been impressive and brutal physical action. Sterling vs. Primeau was given a negative review.


ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 08/02/2008

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 23 successful defenses)
-defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Manhattan, NY, 08/02/08

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)
V.17 defeated Vic Viper, London Dungeon (06/14/08, Tallaght, Ireland)
V.19 defeated Keith Myatt and Lionheart, (06/20/08, Doncaster, U.K.)
V.20 (title for title) defeated NWA Champion Adam Pearce, Jawbreaker Lariat (06/27/08, Dayton, OH)
*match later reversed via DQ, both men keep their respective titles.
V.21 defeated Kevin Steen, Lariat off Turbuckle, (07/25/08, Toronto, ONT, CN)
V.22 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, Jawbreaker Lariat (07/26/08, Detroit, MI)
V.23 defeated Ruckus, London Dungeon (08/01/08, Manassas, VA)

**

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: vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe, Tokyo, Japan, 09/13/08

V.1 defeated Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson (06/07/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.2 defeated Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji (08/01/08, Manassas, VA)

**

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 Re-recognized in this column 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: Erick Stevens (since 07/19/2008)
-defeated Roderick Strong via pinfall to win the title in a strap match.
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 consequences of Necro Butcher's decision
-The Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes
-Sweet & Sour Inc. "Corporate Takeover"
-Brent Albright vs. Sweet & Sour Inc.
-Roderick Strong wants payback on Sweet & Sour Inc. for Richards' betrayal of the NRC


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


ROH in Japan to Feature Kensuke Sasaki, other big names

A tour poster of ROH's journey to Japan from September 13-14 was released and available to fans in attendance at last week's shows. You can check it out an image of the poster below. On that poster there are the faces and names of many of the Japanese talent scheduled to appear on the show. An ROH press release confirmed these names for the Septmber 14th, 2008 show at Differ Ariake, including: Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru, KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji, Kota Ibushi and Kayashi Miyamoto. Also pictured in the poster but not mentioned in the press release were Taijii Ishimori and Takeshi Morishina.

Kensuke Sasaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima wrestling in an ROH ring is pretty big news, although not as major as if they were to take the plane ride over and wrestle on mainland America for the company. Hopefully they get matched up with the top guys in ROH, meaning Danielson, Aries or McGuinness, but knowing the divide between heavyweight and juniors there I'm taking a wait and see attitude. It's good to see that ROH is getting some of the major NOAH names on their card including KENTA on an ROH show for the first time since the end of 2007. Kanemaru has been lighting the charts in the Jr. Heavyweight division and Kota Ibushi is fresh in the mind of ROH fans after a very successful four show stint in April. Miyamoto I'm not sure about, but he seems to be from Zero-One Max (or at least has wrestled for them) and was the tag partner of Steve Corino' "young boy" in Ricky Landell.






Full Card for ROH's First Japan Show of 2008 Announced—Danielson vs. McGuinness and Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes to Headline

ROH also announced a full card for their September 13th show at Differ Ariake, featuring wrestlers from Dragon Gate. Here is the line up:

ROH World Tag Team Title Match (if Jacobs & Black lose the tag titles on 8/1 another stipulation will be announced for this match)
Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black defend vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe

ROH's #1 Rivalry Comes To Japan (Non-Title)
ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson

ROH Grudge Match
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards with Larry Sweeney

Dragon Gate Rules Six Man Match
Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & BxB Hulk vs. El Generico, Dragon Kid & ???

ROH vs. Dragon Gate
Austin Aries vs. Ryo Saito

ROH vs. Dragon Gate
Eddie Edwards vs. Yamato


McGuinness and Danielson fight in a non-title match, so that saves me the trouble of having to figure out the whole Danielson's run to the title situation. I will never complain about these two being booked against each other because its been spaced out over the course of several years (not say, five out of six months in a row like Undertake vs. Edge, which is admittedly a good match usually each time out) and these two cook up match of the year quality efforts each time out. I still am a bit perturbed when it comes to the handling of the PPV vs. non-PPV situation.

There is something to be said for giving ROH fans fresh matches featuring stronger crossover action between ROH and Dragon Gate with the top guns of the company, but there is also something to be said for giving the Japanese fans a taste of what ROH can be at its very best. The Danielson vs. McGuinness match is exactly that.

I'm up in the air about The Briscoes receiving a title match so soon after mark has returned from injury. They are definitely refreshed after their break and Jay going singles (or teaming up with Aries), but this very much telegraphs The Briscoes winning out their way through August on the way to justifying the title shot. Plus, it's long past time for Kevin Steen & El Generico to rise to the occasion, and The Briscoes vs. Age of The Fall issue is going on a year now.

I'm shocked to see BxB Hulk relegated to a six-man tag match, especially after headlining the recent Dragon Gate PPV by fighting SHINGO (still remember to caps lock) for the Open the Dragon Gate title. Unless maybe SHINGO will be a surprised third man on the opposition team, although that really wouldn't work given Dragon Kid and El Generico are pure-faces and SHINGO is total heel right now.


Return Dates For Manhattan and Virginia

According to tickets.com, the next return dates to Virginia will be January 16th, 2009, while the next show in the Hammerstein Ballroom will take place on December 27th, 2008. This date strongly hints that this show will be the location for Final Battle 2008, which would make it the third year in a row for that major show to take place in NYC and the fourth in a row for the Tri-State area.


Alhambra Blues

According to 411, Philadelphia's New Alhambra Arena (The old ECW Arena) tried to secure Ring of Honor for several dates, but as of now ROH has only committed to a September 20th date.

Ring of Honor has been loyal to the National Guard Armory location for quite some time now and has seen very good attendance figures at that venue. Although, with the troops being activated, I would think keeping the New Alhambra as a plan-B back up from now on would be right way to go.


Pearce to Receive Red Belt in Manhattan

The National Wrestling Alliance sent out the following press release:

Charlotte, NC (July 31, 2008) – Earlier this summer, the National Wrestling Alliance® launched the NWA™ 60th Anniversary Celebration to be celebrated by pro wrestling fans and Member Promotions worldwide. In keeping with our yearlong theme and in honor of our 60th Anniversary, the NWA has recreated the legendary 'red' World's Heavyweight Title Belt to award to the holder of the most prestigious title in wrestling history, the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion.

The original 'red belt' was presented to then-champion Harley Race by NWA president Sam Muchnick in 1973, and was the original incarnation of the current 'Dome Globe' or "Famous 10 lbs. of gold." Jack Brisco and Giant Baba also held the "red belt", before disappearing from public view.

The new 'red belt' will be presented to our current champion, "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce, prior to his August 2, 2008 title match with challenger, Brent Albright, to take place in New York City. The NWA champion will then hold the title during the remainder of the 60th Anniversary celebration.



Now, is this a new belt for Adam Pearce, or will it turn out to be a new belt for the new champion in Brent Albright? I guess we'll only have to wait until tonight to find out the answer to that one.

More interestingly, doesn't that belt...seem a little bit.. familiar? Like I've seen it somewhere else...








Ring of Honor brings PPV to Boston, "Glory" to Philadelphia

Attention fans in Boston!!! ROH is bringing a PPV taping to Boston at the beautiful Boston University campus on September 19th. This will be the biggest ROH event to ever come to Boston. Now it is New England's chance to show everyone what ROH in Boston is all about. The first match for PPV taping #9 in Boston will be announced next week.

Don't worry Philadelphia we haven't forgotten about you. ROH is set to return to Philly on 9/20 at the New Alhambra Arena (formerly ECW Arena). This show will be "Glory By Honor VII" so you know we are coming to this historic building with both barrels firing. We'll have much more news for this event starting next week in the ROHwrestling.com Newswire.

This is good news for Boston and Philadelphia fans looking to be kept in the loop for big time ROH events. The Boston crowd has been resurgent since 2007 and has consistently enthusiastic crowds. They were asking for a PPV and they get one. Glory By Honor is one of ROH's big four shows and something major is always in the works for these shows. Last year, Phialdelphia played host to "Glory By Honor VI Part One" where Mitsuhara Misawa had his first match inside an ROH ring and where Chris Hero laid down an impromptu challenge to Nigel McGuinness. You can probably trace back McGuinness' past since then to that moment.


Do or Die for King's Kingdom

Kenny King is looking to make an impact when he returns to ROH on 8/15 in Cleveland and 8/16 in Chicago. He has demanded top competition and ROH officials have answered. 8/15 in Cleveland will see King immediately thrown into the fire as he tests himself against "The Best Wrestler In The World" Bryan Danielson. It won't get any easier on 8/16 in Chicago as King faces Kevin Steen. How will King fare against two of ROH's best? Will he do or die?

The last time Kenny King fought Bryan Danielson was at Motor City Madness 2007. Danielson whupped him fast and furious in that one. I don't expect much to have changed within a year, although perhaps King will get a bit more time to shine and show his wares (more on him later in the ringtones section). I have to say Cleveland is getting a bit of the shaft here with a Danielson match that while it should entertaining certainly won't be on the level of other major Danielson matches in recent history.


Storm Thanks ROH

Lance Storm has written a column about his weekend in ROH. He says "Thank You" to ROH, but we can't thank Lance enough for his contributions. He unselfishly, for no pay, served as an invaluable veteran presence in the locker room giving advice and sharing his knowledge. Check out Storm's thoughts on his ROH weekend here: http://www.stormwrestling.com/072808.html

Storm has become the unofficial internet ambassador of ROH…he keeps talking up the positive aspects of the company and gives back to the wrestlers as well as to the fans attending the Toronto and Detroit shows last week. For that I have nothing but thanks to send back to Storm.


ROH Home Theatre Station

ROH Videowire: July 31st, 2008



Daizee Haze, on the ROH Podcasts, claims she is trying to claim she is trying to make him change his "thrust is a must" ways. By the looks of things, she may have ended up with more than she bargained for.




No, Mike Adamle is not on the list this week.

1. CM Punk & William Regal: Stiff in ring action, and these two supposedly are friends! Its probably the toughest Punk has looked since becoming champion and he was getting his ass handed to him for most of it.
2. Tomko: For leaving TNA. Best of luck to him wherever he goes, whether it's in Japan or back to WWE.
3. Santno Marella & Beth Phoenix: The true odd-pairing of the century, but boy are they an entertaining couple. It's like 90210 all over again watching these two with their askance glances and "what the heck just happened?" kisses. MORE I say, MORE!
4. Chris Jericho: Y2J is cutting some of the best promos in the business right now and this new "I've grown up and you haven't" take on being a heel is awesome. He has the look, the persona and the heat right now to be a great heel champion. He threw his name into the hat for getting a title match so I'm hoping that comes to pass.
5. Motor City Machine Guns: Can't wait for tonight when I get to see them live vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico.


Honorarium

-Ninjas! Ninjas are in Ring of Honor! Seriously…why didn't anyone think of this before? I wholeheartedly approve of the use of ninjas in Ring of Honor…and if I didn't, I know most likely they would come and find me, and dispatch of me…and I wouldn't even know.

Now I want to know, do these ninjas have three other ninjas associated with colors who have machines in the shape of animals that can connect with the other machines in the shape of animals to form one massively large robot that can defend the Earth against evil?

-Yes, I was one of the people who thought that Bryan Danielson would be the one to fight CM Punk on Monday Night Raw. "Hottest free agent who is a superior technical wrestler"…well that pretty much fit him to a "t". Although I did have several other prime suspects in mind, ranging from ROH wrestlers like Nigel McGuinness and Claudio Castagnoli (given the recent storyline of his leave from ROH it would make sense that he had signed a contract and then the 8/2 match would have been his farewell) to the possible debut to Colt Cabana to the return of William Regal. As it turned out it was Regal and they had an awesome match.

Two months ago I wrote that I didn't believe that WWE should be sponsoring ROH or anything like that and I still maintain that thought. Yet there I was waiting to mark out for the possible WWE appearances of ROH allowing its wrestlers to appear on WWE TV and seeing some history being made, ala the ECW invasions.

-I'll also be the guy to admit, that yes, I goofed on 411's Wrestler of the Week awards as it concerns Alex Shelley. He won CMLL's Gran Prix Tournament and several other TNA wrestlers went over various talents from Mexico. This is pretty much a rarity and very unexpected…so rare and unexpected that I didn't even know about it until after I submitted my votes. Had I known, he definitely would have been included. Yes, this was the receipt for TNA putting over Team Mexico in the X-Cup, but its still a mighty feather in the cap for Alex Shelley and a good opportunity for him to expand his reputation and his reach to Mexico and the Lucha Libre genre.

-On my birthday and within a span of twelve hours I heard the following phrases on ESPN's Around the Horn and on broadcast radio in reference to OTHER sports and promotions: "Hell in a Cell", "Smackdown", "Summerslam", "Put a Figure 4 Leglock on your choice of music". I was stunned.

-Kurt Angle, sit the fuck down before you get hurt even more!

On that note, the second half of this week's column is coming right up!