Column of Honor: 10.04.08: Faith and Loyalty in Being a Wrestling Fan

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 10.04.2008

The on and off and on and off fandom between me and WWE and TNA, Vince Russo's role in that and how I stand ROH’s recent decision to postpone their Florida shows. Plus, the top ten most successful tag team champions in ROH history, palindromes and LAX comes to Ring of Honor.

Welcome to the Column. Can you run down to the corner store and get me some milk?



Ring Toss
-A Matter of Faith and Trust
-ROH Call
-ROH News
-My Fave Five
-Honorarium
-Top Ten Most Successful ROH World Tag Team Champions
-The Song Book
-Ringtones
-ROH @ 411
-Honor Bound Links


A Matter of Faith and Trust

I've been thinking about, as I sometimes do, my placement as a wrestling fan. How, over the last several years, my allegiances have changed from between WWE and TNA. The last two years I've "crossed the line" back over to WWE, despite some of the more unforgiveable actions regarding the use of Eddie Guerrero's death in 2006. I said back then that I was "done" with watching WWE, that their low-class behavior and remorseless attitude (not to mention relatively poor matches and angles) were too much for me to take. Of course, like the wrestler who says he is retiring and comes back to wrestle "one more match" over and over again, I was back watching WWE at least to some extent by late 2006 / early 2007. Now I'm back full force into the product, watching Raw, ECW and even this past week a full episode of Smackdown--which I've missed regularly for the last three years because even I have better things to do usually on a Friday than watch wrestling.

Rewind back three years and check out some of my posts on 411 and The Wrestling Blog and you would find I was swinging a lot of support and praise for TNA. Even though Jeff Jarrett had a death grip on the NWA Heavyweight Title, the show, the angles and the wrestlers themselves were all pretty much top notch quality and worth my money and my support.

What changed? Or should I say, who returned? Well, in two words, Vince Russo.

I really liked WWE (then WWF) under the Attitude era, in part helmed by Vince Russo. It didn't have the best in-ring matches, but it was entertaining and fun to watch. You were kept guessing by what would happen next and there were plenty of good wrestlers who were reaching their peak (Austin, Foley, Rock, Triple H). Wrestling was popular again and wrestling and South Park were constant topics of conversation in high school.

In 1999 WCW began its decline with the overuse of the nWo and nonsensical storyline ideas. Then Russo jumped ship from WWE to WCW and a funny thing happened. WWE only got better in terms of angles and matches, but WCW was becoming even worse as a television show. Now, I know a number of different bookers had control of the sinking ship from 2000-2001, but the one thing I can clearly remember was being turned off completely by the fact that Vince Russo was on WCW television as this big "power to be", even wrestling against Ric Flair and fighting for the WCW World Heavyweight Title. I was disgusted and not interested at all to watch, not even when Booker T, who I had been a huge fan of since his breakout run in singles won the big title. My television stayed glued to Raw on Mondays—who cared about what happened on WCW?

Rewind six years to the start of TNA and Vince Russo with the book. I was not buying the weekly Pay Per Views, but I was following the results online…and boy was I not impressed. People dressed as penises, Bananas in Pajamas, weak excuses for hardcore matches and a remake of the evil heel authority figure angles with the S.E.X. angle. No thanks.

I've always despised wrestling angles that make no sense and insult the intelligence of the viewer. Yes, its' wrestling and yes, some suspension of disbelief is involved. However, I certainly can't extend myself to the level of disbelief that required someone to follow the storylines and swerves in WCW circa 2000. I can't and won't do it now for TNA. Vince Russo, among others, was partly responsible for that mindset. It's the same thought I had when TNA began and the same thought I had when he was once again brought in to book the company in late 2005. Vince Russo on screen or off equals my television turned off. Vince Russo booking TNA helped me decide to abandon purchasing TNA Pay Per Views monthly (even though sometimes I didn't have to since I watched at friends' houses) into not buying ANY TNA shows at all. I don't even buy their DVD or T-shirts anymore. It's my way of taking a stand against a product I don't support.

That's not to say I haven't watched any TNA wrestling at all since then. While most of the time I skip their shows, I have been lured back on occasion, mostly for guest appearances from international talent, like the recent appearances by Dragon Gate's Doi and Yoshino. I also recently checked out Jarrett's return promos and clicked on to see Mick Foley's debut. I thought those were good moments, even great moments, but it also wasn't enough to get me to stick around and suffer through more nonsense booking. It's also not to say that TNA doesn't have great wrestlers. Of course they do—I would never argue the abilities of Samoa Joe or AJ Styles, whom I thrilled to watch when they were in ROH. Christian Cage is still awesome, and the women still have the chops to do something good with the division. It's just that for the most part the endless swerves, constant run ins, lack of coherency when it comes to upholding the basic standards of wrestling (DQs in particular) and yes, the booking of Vince Russo and others in the committee bring me to the point that I don't want to watch it, so I don't.

WWE wasn't doing much better in 2003 with Triple H dominating the scene in a very boring way and big men like Nathan Jones stinking up the joint. Rewind back to 2003 and I was sick of what I saw on my television. So I found something else to watch, something better—Ring of Honor.

Yes, in 2008 we have Triple H dominating Smackdown and Vladmir Koslov, but in a way it's different. 2008 may be very under looked when it comes to great matches in ROH. I think there's been at least twenty to thirty matches over four stars in my opinion, but you tend to hear a lot less buzz about the company this year. Is it because for the first time in a number of years WWE has caught up to ROH as far as bringing the quality in ring matches? I think so. The match quality is back up as well, thanks to the efforts of wrestlers like Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Jeff and Matt Hardy and even a couple of ROH alumni in CM Punk and Evan Bourne. They have certainly gotten back their groove, and angles like Michaels vs. Jericho and Punk as champion take up the front page headlines more than ever. Since the beginning of the year, storylines in WWE have made sense and are even intriguing. It's hard to sell an alternative when the mainstream is doing so well in providing what the alternative does best.

Of course I've been a loyal fan and customer (and internet wrestling columnist) with regards to Ring of Honor since that time. That doesn't mean I have always loved everything they've ever done, or backed off from critiquing them when appropriate. However, when it comes down to it, I just have a ton more faith and trust in the company to do the "right thing" when it comes to angles and matches than I do TNA or WWE (even with a very good track record in 2008). ROH has gone through a lot of ups and downs in its history, but maintains excellent quality in the ring for their matches. Their storylines at least make sense and they have generally had the right attitude when it comes to their fan base.

That's what makes the last two weeks of news concerning the cancellation of the Florida shows (see last week's column) , somewhat harder to accept. It's one thing for talent to cancel on a date or for a show to be needed to be postponed, but it's another thing entirely to see the lack of responsibility and consumer outreach demonstrated last week. It's the unfortunate situation that an independent promotion doesn't have a lot of leeway when it comes to these things. Yes, ROH has had to cancel shows or change venues before and will again, but while many of those changes were met with patience and understanding, they also usually came with a straightforward explanation from the company itself.


ROH, in staying relatively mum and tight lipped on the cancelations (or postponement or whatever you want to call it) made it seem like they had something to hide about the Florida shows. So what if they didn't get a huge advance—why not tell us the truth if that's what it is? This was a huge mistake in customer relations and led to a number of people being frustrated and angry. I think many fans lost their patience and their willingness to understand what was going on behind the scenes in this situation.

I'm not saying that one cancellation, the loss of Adam Pearce or the switch of the Machine Guns for LAX (see below) will lead to a massive fallout and loss of fans, but in a sense, all of those together are understandable reasons for a fan to lose a bit of faith. I'm not about to stop watching ROH or buying DVDs at the moment, but I have to admit that for the first time in a long time, I am concerned.

Fans need faith and loyalty to stick around. A lack of both over the years has caused me to back off both WWE and TNA. While WWE is back in my good graces, I still find myself wondering if at any second some horrible skit or segment will make me regret coming back to their product. Meanwhile, I can't find ANY faith to come back to TNA, even with some of my favorite wrestlers from over the years on their roster, the addition of one of my personal favorites in Mick Foley and some recent decent booking. I just don't trust them to stay on solid ground regarding booking logically and treating me as a fan with respect. As for Ring of Honor, I still have a ton of faith in their product, but the last two weeks haven't helped. Still, as long as the name Vince Russo and the phrase "new booker of ROH" aren't in the same sentence, I think it will be okay...


ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 10/04/2008

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 28 successful defenses)
-defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Bryan Danielson, Chicago Ridge, IL 11/22/08

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)
V.24 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black & Claudio Castagnoli (08/02/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.25 defeated El Generico, London Dungeon (08/15/08, Cleveland, OH )
V.26 defeated Jimmy Jacobs, Jawbreaker Lariat (09/14/08, Tokyo, Japan)
V.27 defeated Roderick Strong, (09/19/08, Boston, MA)
V.28 defeated El Generico, roll up, (09/20/08, Philadelphia, PA)

**

ROH World Tag Team Champions—Kevin Steen & El Generico (champions since 09/19/08, NEW CHAMPIONS)
-defeated The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black on September 19th, 2008 in Boston, MA to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe, Toronto, Canada, 11/08/08

**

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion: Adam Pearce (since 09/20/2008)
-defeated Brent Albright via submission with the crowbar to win the title.
FIP Heavyweight Champion: Go Shiozaki (since 08/23/2008) * NEW CHAMPION
-defeated Erick Stevens via pinfall with help from the Heartbreak Enterprises to win the title.
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.
Sweet & Sour Incorporated Presents The Intergender Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Of The World—Chris Hero & Sara Del Rey (since 01/12/08)

**

Top Feuds & Pairings:
-Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli
-Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson
-Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Necro Butcher
-Sweet & Sour Inc. "Corporate Takeover"
-Brent Albright vs. Sweet & Sour Inc.
-Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards
-Delirious as a part of AotF


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

Machine Guns Out, LAX In—Homicide Returns to Ring of Honor

ROH sent word out this week that the 10/24 and 10/25 bookings for The Motor City Machine Guns of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were cancelled due to "scheduling conflicts" and that in their place would be LAX of Homicide and Hernandez.

Both men are ROH alumni, but more than anything this news is huge because it would be the return of Homicide, who was an incredibly important part of Ring of Honor going all the way back to 2002. This will be the first time that Homicide appears for ROH since May 2007 and the first time he wrestles since April of that year, when TNA removed all of its contracted performers and barred them from appearing on ROH PPVs and DVDs.

Homicide achieved his greatest success in ROH in late 2006 when he won the World Title in front of a rabid hometown New York City crowd. He had been on a huge hot streak that year with fans giving him almost "Beatles" like reactions when he entered the ring. Initially a part of a tag team called the Natural Born Sinners with Boogaloo, Homicide's singles run began in 2003 and lasted until he had to leave the company. He has pretty much gone from one of the most beloved wrestlers to one of the most hated and reviled as the leader of the Rottweilers faction and back again.

Hernandez made a solid run in ROH back in 2003 as "Hotstuff Hernandez". He was plugged in as the big man in the Texas Wrestling Academy stable, often participating in tag and six mans against The Carnage Crew and other tag teams. One of his higher profile matches came against Samoa Joe in the beginning days of Joe's ROH title run. Even then Hernandez demonstrated a wealth of talent as a big man, even jumping and flying around the ring.

Surprisingly, the second big change in the last two weeks (the other being the postponement of the Florida shows) was well received. In fact, the pulse of the message board seemed to indicate that it was better off that the Machine Guns were being replaced by Homicide and Hernandez. It wasn't just the excitement of being able to see Homicide wrestle again, but also many seemed to indicate they were getting a bit tired of the Machine Guns and an extended absence would be good for all involved.

Maybe absence does make the heart grow fonder, but personally I happen to believe this is another example of the fickle nature of ROH fans, like kids in a toy store throwing a way an excellent working toy just for a new toy because they haven't played with that one yet.

Don't get me wrong—I am happy to learn that Homicide will once again be back in an ROH ring, as he stated he hoped would happen in his farewell speech in New York City last year. However, the Machine Guns appearance had been booked for a long time already AND their matches announced. I was really looking forward to the Iron Tag concept match, but even more so for Austin Aries and Shelley to reteam once again. This would be the first time since 2004 that both would be on the same side in ROH. Their teaming up with Sabin to fight The Age of the Fall would be a great nod to the history and continuity in ROH.

The whole timing of the schedule conflict is a bit suspicious to me. I do have a conspiracy theory grounded in reality. We have heard before that TNA doesn't want its wrestlers involved in long term storylines when they book them in other companies. They prefer "dream match" bookings that are one-offs for each side. Could it be that TNA pulled these two because ROH was getting too comfortable in using them for their own angles? Not only did the Machine Guns have an over arching rivalry with The Briscoes, but Shelley's ties to Jacobs and Aries are incredibly strong and have been played up in the recent appearances for the Machine Guns. Shelley and Aries' reunion is a pretty big deal and their cancellation throws a pretty big monkey wrench into those plans.

LAX's matches haven't been announced yet, but the general wish list is a fight against The Briscoes for Edison. This is a dream match for sure, but not a unique one. These two teams are already scheduled to fight against each other on November 15th in Jersey All-Pro Wrestling.

I'm hoping that ROH decides to keep the Iron Tag concept for Danbury and just slot LAX into the Machine Guns spot. That has the potential to be a really fun match and I don't think it should be scrapped just because one of those teams has to be replaced.


**BREAKING NEWS** LAX Matches Announced

And even as I wrote all that, ROH has released this announcement concerning LAX's matches for 10/24 and 10/25:

Homicide is ready to make his return to ROH and he is bringing his regular partner, Hernandez, with him. They are known collectively as LAX and are regarded as one of the top tag teams in the world. Now LAX will finally be tested against ROH's tough and prestigious tag team division when Homicide makes his one weekend only return to ROH.

Friday night, October 24th, in Danbury, CT originally had the first Iron Team Match scheduled. We are pleased to announce that this match will still take place even though Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin won't be in attendance to participate. ROH officials have also pulled Jay & Mark Briscoe out of the match (you'll find out why in a minute). The rules for the Iron Team Match are simple. There will be four tag teams. The one with the most falls at the end of 30 minutes is the victor. The match in Danbury will pit LAX vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black of The Age Of The Fall vs. Davey Richards & Chris Hero vs. ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen & El Generico!!!

The fans have demanded one particular match from LAX. There is a dream tag team contest that they have been waiting for. They want to see two of the hardest-hitting, most intense teams on the planet fight it out. Jay & Mark Briscoe have been pulled from the Iron Team Match so that they will lock horns with LAX on October 25th in Edison, NJ. That's right, Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. LAX will go down on 10/25 in Edison. Homicide has feuded with The Briscoes in the past. Now he is bringing Hernandez into the battle. There is history behind this one!!!

So, some faith restored in ROH after all. I am very happy to see that the Iron Tag match sticks around with LAX in the match and Age of the Fall replacing The Briscoes. That way the match in Edison is completely fresh and has the spotlight all to its own. As a result of the Age of the Fall being placed in the Iron Tag match the Necro-Jacobs match has been scratched.


Driven 2008 Premiers November 14th with Steen & Generico vs. Age of the Fall

ROH will give the "Driven" name another go on Pay Per View when it presents in 2008 version on November 14th, 2008. The show was the one recently taped in Boston with McGuinness vs. Strong for the ROH World Title and The Age of the Fall vs. Steen & Generico for the ROH World Tag Team Titles on top.


Fallout from Florida Postponement includes Briscoes vs. Steenerico in Toronto

Dave Meltzer's note on the cancellations from the latest edition of his Wrestling Observer:
"The 10/10 show in Coral Springs and 10/11 show in Orlando were postponed until sometime next year. The cancellations were due to weak advances and it's been a long time since ROH has canceled shows. They did well in Orlando at Wrestlemania weekend but it's pretty clear it was mostly tourists coming for Mania and people have told me it's impossible to draw much on the Florida indie scene."

ROH has done very well for itself this year by expanding to new cities and new states, but this time the return trip didn't pan out. I still believe that even a weak indie scene (which FIP can somehow draw decent sized shows on) doesn't excuse ROH for the way they played out this situation. They didn't tell the fans the reason for the postponement and they didn't offer any refunds. ROH has changed locations and show dates in the past, but this was a pretty major one and given the amount of complaints on the board about those who already committed to buying plane tickets and hotel reservations, a refund would have been a good way to make amends.

I also believe that ROH should have gone ahead with the shows they were committed to at this point…when Ticketmaster had that snafu for the TNA show at Hammerstein a few weeks back, TNA didn't cancel the show, despite the guarantee that they would lose out on ticket sales and have lower than anticipated attendance. They also gave out free DVDs to fans who did attend the show as a make good. I have to say it, that TNA handled that situation a hell of a lot better than ROH did this one.

From an article hyping up Steenerico vs. The Briscoes: 11/8 in Toronto, Canada will see Canada's own Kevin Steen and El Generico, the current ROH World Tag Team Champions, put the belts up on the line against The Briscoes. This match was initially slated for the 10/11/08 Orlando Florida show.

ROH is moving forward with its schedule, putting some of the more important matches booked for those shows on other cards (See below). This move is actually a natural one, giving Steen and Generico a home country crowd to back them up in their defense of the belts. Since they have to prove they can defeat The Briscoes in a title match situation, the help and support of Canadians can only help them to achieve it. No news on if this will be their first defense, or if they will put the titles on the line in Danbury or Edison now that their first defense was pushed back.


Strong vs. Shiozaki moves to FIP

In the wake of Ring of Honor postponing its Florida shows, FIP moved up its Crystal River, Florida date one day ahead to October 11th. The FIP heavyweight Title match slated for the Ring of Honor show originally on 10/10 has been moved to that show. Here is the hype and background information from the FIP newswire for that match:

Roderick Strong is synonymous with the FIP World Heavyweight Title. He has held the belt on two occassions including a title reign that lasted for over one year. Now new FIP World Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki will have to defend the title against him when FIP returns to action on October 11th in Crystal River, FL (check www.FullImpactPro.com for building & ticket info).

Shiozaki won the title at the last FIP event from Erick Stevens. Shiozaki quickly earned the hatred of the FIP fans by joining with Sean Davis' Heartbreak Enterprises. Can Strong make Shiozaki's reign a short one?

"There is no way Roderick Strong will defeat Go Shiozaki," Sean Davis said. "The reason is very simple. Roderick Strong is one of Florida's favorite sons. Go Shiozaki is from Japan. Everyone with half a brain knows that anything from Japan is better than anything from Florida. Go Shiozaki will prove this on October 11th when he defeats Roderick Strong right in FIP's home base of Crystal River."

Also slated for that show will be a defense of the SHIMMER Women's Title when MsChif fights Rain and The Briscoes challenge the YRR for the FIP Tag Team Titles.

Danbury and Edison Additions include Go /Aries II

The card for 10/24 in Danbury, CT is really taking shape now. Just signed is Go Shiozaki vs. Austin Aries and if Shiozaki is still FIP World Heavyweight Champion the belt will be on the line. A grudge match has also just been signed. It will pit Jimmy Jacobs vs. The Necro Butcher.

Jerry Lynn has joined the ROH roster and is looking to climb the rankings. Davey Richards is set to return full time to ROH after spending the summer touring for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. Both men need wins to accomplish their goals. Only one will walk out of Edison with a victory. 10/25 will see Jerry Lynn vs. Davey Richards.

Go Shiozaki is looking to put together a respectable FIP World Heavyweight Title reign. He is taking on a workhorse schedule with a defense at the 10/11 FIP event in Orlando against Roderick Strong. If he is successful he will put the championship on the line against Austin Aries on 10/24 in Danbury, CT. Now he has made that weekend even tougher. If Shiozaki retains the title against both Strong and Aries he will defend it on 10/25 in Edison, NJ against The Necro Butcher. If Shiozaki loses the belt in any of these defenses all these scheduled matches will still take place.

Aries and Go had a terrific match at Final Battle 2007 that helped to legitimize Go's place in Ring of Honor. I assume they will have a very good title match with similar results here. That Go's match in Edison had already been booked seems to indicate the obvious—that he will retain the FIP title. Jerry Lynn vs. Davey Richards looks like a good match-up to me, but then again any match with Lynn right now is a good one. He comes in fresh and can wrestle a number of different wrestlers on the roster for an effective mid to upper-card attraction.




1. The Great CHARLI : A segment so awesome, even The Great Khali couldn't keep kayfabe.
2. Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli : I keep replaying that match in my head. This is one of my personal favorite matches of the year. I just really dug the false finishes right at the start of the match, but they carried the momentum of those opening minutes the whole way through. It's a shame that they will likely be teaming up more than wrestling against each other in the coming months, as I think they had found something in this match that could have been further explored down the line.
3. Santino Marella: A constant presence on my fave 5 list. I'm just hoping we get to see more of the Honk-a-Meter before all is said and done.
4. Mick Foley : You can always tell when someone is happy that they switched jobs. Foley appeared renewed and re-energized in his debut appearance for TNA this week. While I may not agree with his constant name checking of all things WWE (or Kurt Angle's "wife" comment), this was a really good first appearance for Foley and helped to get over both himself and Angle just through their interactions. It's too bad the ratings didn't go up, but that was to be expected.
5. Big Show: I have liked Big Show's return to WWE, coming in with an intriguing program against Floyd Mayweather and then being really cool as a take no nonsense babyface Although his momentum slowed down somewhat over the last few months, it picked up again with his heel turn. While he is a big man and wrestes to that style, I always thought his promo skills were pretty damned great. He has a natural ability to speak well and express his feelings, and this past Friday on Smackdown did a lot of work to get over his role as the man in charge while Vicki was out. I would normally channel surf away from a match like Chavo Guerrero vs. Mark Henry and The Great Khali, but the presence of The Big Show and both his words and his body language kept me around. Oh, and that KO punch—man. Chris Hero, eat your heart out!


Honorarium

-I'm starting to catch up on recent CHIKARA shows from the last few months, starting with June's "Young Lion's Cup Tournament 6". I've only seen about half of the first night's worth of action. I know that Sami Callahan has received some attention from other internet writers this year and he performed well at this year's Ted Petty Invitational. He even has a few pre-show matches in ROH under his belt. His match here against Vin Gerard was the first I had seen of his, but I definitely liked what I saw. He has a horror show style gimmick and his character is along the lines of some of the more unorthodox wrestling personalities in recent history (there's definitely a bit of a mix including Blue Meanie and Hugh Morrus in his act). He tells Vin right away that he's going to stab him and remove his face and use it as a mask. Its so out there that the fans have to laugh at it and that sets him apart right away from the rest of the younger field. Zits hard to get over to a new crowd, especially as a younger wrestler, but Callahan did the right thing there and it helped that he and Gerard wrestle a very good match, keeping the crowd engaged and active in what transpired. Sure, it helps that Gerard is one of the more hated heels in CHIKARA at this moment and the fans want to see anyone take him down, but Callahan has the talent to back it up past that.

-Hearing The Sounds "I Don't Want To Hurt You" as a part of GEICO commercial is still very surreal. I've been listening to that song ever since I reviewed that album for 411 a few years back. The Sounds aren't a very exposed band, so to hear it on national television still kind of throws me off. And it's the one song that the men in the band front with the vocals, otherwise it's Maja Ivarsson who takes the lead.

-Did you know that 619 is a palindrome?

Wait…Sarah Palin… Palindrome… its all connected! AHHHHHHHHH!

-Could we be on the precipice of a new rush of popularity for wrestling? "The Wrestler" movie has been the talk of all of the film festivals and the trades and now there is word that HBO is developing a series based on wrestling in the 70's called "Everybody Hurts". People were attracted back to wrestling in the late 1990's due to the "attitude", but maybe what will bring them around this time is the "realism" factor. Yes, I know that's a bit of an oxymoron considering the nature of professional wrestling, but hear me out. I think the common person is somewhat intrigued to learn what the "reality" of professional wrestling is all about—warts and all. There is something in the essence of the grittiness that you can see in "The Wrestler" that people are attracted to—they want to see the flaws in the system but also the beauty in those flaws. There may be something underneath the "work" of it all that the movie is trying to reach out to find—and I think if that is embraced, you could see more people accept professional wrestling as a worthwhile medium for arts and entertainment and the exploration of human nature.

Then again, let's hope they don't tune in during an ODB segment.

-The worst thing about Survival of the Fittest being postponed? I don't get to do my bracketology next week! How will people know just how wrong I can be when picking these things?



Top 10 Successful ROH World Tag Team Champions

Last week we covered the ten most successful World champions and this week we get to the most successful tag teams in ROH history. The history of the tag division in ROH has been one of two distinct periods—one where there is a long term, dominant champion and another when there are multiple title changes in a short period of time, sometimes on the same show (those who have watched Round Robin Challenge 3 know very well about that one). In fact, those short term runs come from some very shaky choices as champions (Special K, Carnage Crew, Backseat Boys, etc.) So is longevity the key to getting on this list? Well, as you'll see, for the most part the answer is yes. Long term or multiple time tag champions are definitely appreciated here. However, there are some teams that were short-lived and yet became some of the more noteworthy and stand out champions in the history of the tag division. One of those teams makes it pretty far up the list. So here is the Column of Honor list of THE most successful ROH World Tag Team Champions. I judged this list based on length of championship run, maximization of potential of the title reign / effectiveness of the title run, quality of title matches and how the fans viewed the champion.

10. No Remorse Corps (Davey Richards & Rocky Romero)
Now, hear me out. I know that the NRC only had two successful title defenses in their run back in the early part of 2008. However, there are several factors that place them at the number ten spot. Their title win was very impressive, coming in the form of an Ultimate Endurance victory that saw them eliminate Aries and Danielson in the finals. Their tag run also came right at the apex of the NRC's strength in Ring of Honor and helped to continue to give them good reputation even though Strong had already lost his feud with Aries. I was also really impressed with the overall presence of the NRC as tag champions . Richards and Romero worked well together in the ring and had a great "heel" attitude that made you want to see them get their comeuppance. If only we had seen a real rivalry with Kevin Steen and El Generico for the titles, they could have been placed higher. That their run was cut short and we didn't see that happen is one of the greater missteps of the year. If that doesn't convince you, then the NRC should make it here just by default over other tag teams that only had one defense like Izzy & Dixie and the SAT…and they certainly should be placed above a universally hated championship duo of Rinauro and Mamaluke. I mean NO one was gearing up to see them as champions and you can hardly call a series of lackluster title defenses as successful. The NRC had a shorter run, but were far more well received as champions.

9. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli)
2006 was the year of the Kings. Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli held three titles at the same time at one point in the year: The CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas, the CZW and the ROH Tag Team titles. The Kings were successful because of their in ring skills and their heel personalities, which both endeared themselves to a certain sect of fans and rubbed other fans the wrong way. Both were very instrumental as foils in the ROH vs. CZW war and then capitalized on that momentum by defeating Austin Aries and Roderick Strong at Glory By Honor V Night 2. Were it not for Claudio Castagnoli's decision to sign with the WWE, who knows how long The Kings would have reigned supreme on the independent scene? Their title run in ROH was cut short thanks to Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal, but for three months in the Fall of 2006, they were the team to beat in ROH.

8. The Prophecy ( Christopher Daniels & Donavon Morgan / Xavier)
The first tag champions in Ring of Honor history didn't defend an actual belt but rather a trophy that represented their accomplishments as tag champions. Daniels and Morgan ran through an eight team tournament, defeating Michael Modest and Bryan Danielson in the finals during the very first Unscripted. Under the Freebirds rule you are allowed to defend the tag titles with any member of your stable. Christopher Daniels attempted to make good use of this rule several times during his run as tag team champion by defending the title with various Prophecy members including Morgan and Xavier. While they only defended the titles a handful of times, the Prophecy used the leverage of having the title and trophy to set their agenda in ROH. They were a foreshadowing of The Age of the Fall as far as a team that used the titles more for the power that came with it rather than the prestige and honor of being champion.

7. The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black)
Jacobs and Black had a natural chemistry as the tag team D.I.F.H. as a part of the now defunct WSX promotion. They brought that team to Ring of Honor and found immediate success. Two tag title reigns are now tucked firmly into their portfolio and surely more to come if they choose to stick it out together. The Age of the Fall managed to overcome nearly insurmountable obstacles in their defenses while always complaining they were getting raw treatment from ROH officials. They did have somewhat of a point, as their first run came to an end after two Ultimate Endurance matches. However, the second time around Jacobs and Black proved they could not be denied their presence in the tag division. They successfully defended the belts against Aries and Danielson on ROH Pay Per View as well as defeating Shiozaki and Marufuji in a barn burner title match in early August. I was always amazed that while Black was and is surging in popularity as the next big thing in the company, that when the two teamed together the fans would boo both of them. It's a huge compliment to their ability to be heels, Jacobs in particular. Like The Prophecy, they used their tag team titles as power and to spread the message of their so-called social revolution. While they may have lost the titles, they made the most of their championship position while it lasted and always remain threats to regain the belts.

6. Havana Pitbulls (Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes)
Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes weren't the most engaging personalities or the flashiest combination in the world at the time of their debut and throughout 2004. However, they did enough in the ring to convince you they were bad asses you should not be messing with. The Pitbulls joined up with Homicide and Julius Smokes as a part of the Rotweillers faction and quickly showed a lack of respect for the competition in the tag division. They unseated CM Punk and Colt Cabana and went on a near six month title reign, a heck of a lengthy time as champions in the tag division for ROH. They defended the titles eight times against all comers, from faces like Maff & Whitmer to heels such as Izzy and Angeldust of Special K and Roderick Strong and Jack Evans of Generation Next (heels at the time). They were also the winners of the first Ultimate Endurance style match that had the titles on the line and retained the titles in that bout. You can't argue with consistency and longevity and that's what gets The Pitbulls to the halfway point of this countdown.

5. AJ Styles & Amazing Red
If you're looking for an idea of what Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne could do as a tag combination in WWE, you only have to look back into ROH history to witness the short but awesome title run of AJ Styles and Amazing Red. These two were a revelation as a tag team, using speed and agility to blitz their opponents. They maintained the advantage by keeping the match at high speed and the crowd embraced their efforts. Their matches against The Briscoes were a revelation and terrific supporting acts for the Raven vs. CM Punk feud and the beginnings of Samoa Joe's ROH title run that were also ongoing at the same time. This combination was also cut short due to injury, but since this was in the day of one or two shows a month, they kept the titles for almost five months. They were popular, well received as champions and helped get over both themselves and The Briscoes. Success on all counts.

4. The Second City Saints (CM Punk & Colt Cabana)
Their title reign got off to a very hot start by winning the belts from The Briscoes(ROH Reborn Stage 2 in April 2004) in their own hometown of Chicago and in front of a very vocal and supportive crowd. The victory celebration, both in the ring and in post match promos have lived on in highlight reels even today. Punk and Cabana already had the chemistry and cohesiveness even before they debuted in ROH and then their run had been defined by an off and on friendship. Cabana had joined the Second City Saints as a heel during the Punk-Raven feud. However, the really became THE memorable force in ROH with their run with the titles, setting the stage for both of them as it regards the rest of their run in ROH. They are credited with two title reigns as they along with Maff & Whitmer and The Briscoes were a part of the three way switch at Round Robin Challenge 3 in May 2004. They ended up back with the belts at the end of the night and then proceeded to hold the belts for another three months and three additional defenses. The best defense came against The Briscoes in a two out of three falls match.

3. BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs
Two of the most decorated wrestlers on the tag team scene, achieving two tag title reigns together before breaking up. Each has held the tag titles a total of four times (Whitmer has two additional reigns with Dan Maff, Jacobs has his two additional reigns with Tyler Black), making them true tag team specialists. Whitmer and Jacobs shocked a cycnical fanbase by working the big man-small man combination to good effect (their opening pose recalled the Shawn Michaels-Diesel "Two Dudes With Attitude" entrance) and quickly became one of the more popular teams in the tag division of 2005. It's true they ran the division at a time where it was at a weaker point, but they had effective in ring work and great combo moves with Whitmer using Jacobs as a projectile. Sometimes I'll long for the days where the clarion call of "Huss!" could be heard in a Jacobs match.

2. Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong)
2006 saw perhaps the greatest collection of champions—Bryan Danielson as ROH World Champion, Nigel McGuinness as Pure Champion, Aries and Strong as ROH Tag Champions. At a time when the tag division was faltering, they became the stabilizers of the division, and soon the standard bearers. You could count on them for excellent title matches, some of which stood out on their own as the main event of a show. Eighteen title defenses against many different combinations of wrestlers over nine months should speak for itself. Some of the best came against AJ Styles & Matt Sydal, CIMA and Naruki Doi and The Briscoes. Defenses in Europe and Japan helped the tag titles to obtain "World" status. Its clear that Aries and Strong did a whole lot of good for the tag division when it was under their watch.

1. The Briscoes
Five title reigns over five years (and that includes a lengthy break from wrestling) and over twenty five title defenses and hundreds of calls to "Man Up" later, we have THE most successful team in Ring of Honor history. Jay & Mark Briscoe have been in the company since the beginning and have teamed up since early 2003. Since then they have been through a number of "eras" in the company, yet remain at or near the top of the tag division regardless of influxes of new talent or the rise of different factions. Now, their tag runs have varied in terms of longevity and success. They've helped achieve stability in the tag division (their first run as champions was six months in length and stemmed a series of rapid fire switches) but also accounted for a large amount of unpredictability in the division (they were a part of aforementioned the triple switch at RRC 3, lost the titles without a successful defense in March 2007 and this past May had to vacate the titles due to injury). Regardless, each of their title victories has been memorable and well received. The Briscoes worked well as heel champions (their feud against Samoa Joe in 2003) but their best run came as super popular (and almost impossible to defeat) baby faces in 2007. Like Aries and Strong, their matches sometimes were the main event of the show and with good reason—their feuds against Steen & Generico and The Age of the Fall were tough to beat. The Briscoes had recently caught a bit of flack for relying too much on spots and becoming predictable, but they have changed up their style again, backing off the high spots in favor of a brawling style that has always been in their repertoire. It has refreshed them somewhat and brought them back into contention for the tag titles. I believe they will always hang around the top of the division, asking others to "Man Up" enough.


Going Home

The Song Book :

Still looking for suggestions for a new theme song for Austin Aries. I suggested : "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2 would be a great replacement. What do you think? Send in your picks (and a brief explanation if you wish) to here.


Ringtones

Current writer at the Cool Kids Table and frequent emailer Sean Buckelew wrote in with a thought on Aries and who else he could get to back him up in the war against The Age of the Fall:

it's been a while since I've written in to the column, been busy with my own writing duties. I was thinking about the Aries/Machine Guns Vs. AOTF match and how that will play out with Machine Guns out. I came up with something and I was wanted your take. What if the ROH website put up something where they said the match was still happening, but Aries had to find his own partners. They then run something close to the show where Aries can't seem to find any partners because he hasn't made a lot of friends in the locker room. At the show Aries comes out and says that he's actually found a couple guys who he knows he can trust and out comes Matt Cross and Erick Stevens. I actually think that the match itself would be awesome, and I can even see Cross or Stevens one turning after the match. It would definitely be good for Cross, as it would give him a spot in the company and he has a reason to be in the faction. Aries cut the Resilience short, which ended his run in the company and didn't even tell him to his face.

I'm pretty sure that ROH will either cancel the match or stick Steen and Generico in there, but I think a one shot Resilience reunion would be pretty cool and give people a good last memory of the faction instead of as the losers they were last year.

I always liked The Resilience and thought they should have been treated a lot better in the booking. They also had one of the best shirts in recent years and I'll still break that one out from time to time. However, I think the fans would view that as a major disappointment and likely would fart on the whole thing. It may be best to just scrap the match and start over. Regardless, while it may not be exactly what happens, your suggestion is certainly logical and an in-continuity solution to the problem. Cross as a heel I'm not sure I'd buy unless he was a double agent for Age of the Fall and joined their ranks as someone who "didn't get the chance" from the fans or the promotion. Stevens I don't think should turn heel right now as he and Strong could really do something together as a team fighting against Sweet & Sour Incorporated. Hell, maybe throw Strong and Aries together one more time to fight Age of the Fall on that show. If Aries and Shelley can let bygones be bygones, maybe Aries can do the same with Strong in order to take out Jacobs.

Everyone be sure to check out Sean's writing and his column For the Sake of Argument at TCKT.

Ari, love the column, even though I'm "over" ROH at the moment. I bought about 90 dvds over a year long period, but I just haven't cared for the past 6 months. It just seems to me that they are repeating matches at an excelerated speed. Storylines seem to jump the shark too quickly and seem to lack continuity. I wonder if the exact same fueds/stories were going on in TNA or the E, would they be crapped on?

One of my biggest gripes is the predictibilty as of late. I am starting to hate the long term champion as Nigel seems to win and keep winning. The lack of marquee match ups make it obvious that he will win.

Other than Tyler Black, ROH seems to have no interest in elevating any of its guys. The only legitimate challengers for the belt seem to be Aries, AmDrag, and to a lesser extent Claudio.

What do think would happen if Necro were to win the belt? Do think it would piss off enough people to make them walk away, or would it stir up the fanboys and create the "anything could happen" aura like when Punk pinned Edge? It will never happen, but it would shock the system and create a WTF moment that could spark some interest, if only to hate that Necro holds the ROH belt and want to see him take a beating and drop it.

Could you please tell me how many times the tag titles have been defended this year? They swap those belts so regularly that it makes me not care. A team wins them, defends them twice in a two or three month period, and then pass them on. Why should I care about those belts if they don't seem to?

And who cares about the FIP title? really? Is Go any better or highly thought of for winning it? Could that belt be traded around for no reason any more than it is? The Stevens-Strong fued for it was nice at first, but they washed, rinsed, and repeated it too much. Why is the FIP championship if it gets defended more often in other promotions? I think that makes it even more of a joke.

Sorry for being all over the place, but I've been wondering some these questions, scenerios, and qausi-complaints lately and I'd like to get your input.

Why get rid of Adam Pearce when you've got Ruckus, Jigsaw, the YRR getting booked? At least Pearce makes you hate him and not just do flips for no rhyme or reason. Nonsense.

Lastly, do you think Gabe should pass the book to someone for 6 months to recharge his creative juices and allow for some kind of shake up if someone else were in charge?

Posted By: thug saint OGA (Guest) on September 28, 2008 at 03:04 PM

Well first of all, I appreciate the lengthy and well reasoned arguments in your post. I absolutely agree that we are seeing repletion of matches at a faster rate than ever, because ROH is running frequent shows, but also doing them in batches so that there are several in a row. It makes it more obvious and you can point out the repetition in matches. Now, ROH has actually over the years run repeats of matches, but they were high profile series or have become well remembered because of who was involved. You'll recall of course the Joe vs. Punk series but in that same time frame you saw Joe vs. Homicide multiple times, Punk vs. Rave, Styles vs, Rave. Later on we saw Daniels vs. Sydal a number of times as well as Briscoes vs. Steen & Generico. I think high-profile series and feud should have a number of matches involving the same opponents, but where it starts to get a bit redundant is in the lower card. I don't think I ever want to see another Necro Butcher vs. Jay Briscoe match or a Vulture Squad vs. Age of the Fall match. On the other hand, Black vs. Danielson I'll take every week for a year because of who is involved and how good the matches have been.

I actually think a majority of the fans have fully bought into Nigel as champion (unlike the end of 2007 when everyone wanted him ousted) and I think most really get a kick out of seeing his matches and especially the end run where at any moment it seems he could lose the title. It's a formula that worked for Danielson's run as well.

I think Black has been the main recipient of the push to the moon for this year, but Steen and Generico have come out of this year one of the most popular acts in the promotion. Chris Hero also has been slowly winning people over with his new KO Kid act. Aries and Danielson are always going to be viable contenders for the title based on who they are and their position as near ROH legends, so even though it may seem repetitive, they'll always have that opportunity. Really, though they can back up that and deliver in the ring.

From my count, there have been eight successful defenses of the belt this year and four different sets of champions. The tag team division came under a lot of scrutiny this year and rightfully so. Too many title changes, but really not too many but the wrong timing behind the changes. The switch from Age of the Fall to NRC wasn't too bad because it made sense in that ROH pushed them too hard because of their agenda and it resulted in their loss. The switch from NRC to The Briscoes was where the problems really began and it led to a lot of discontent and confusion among the fans. The Age of the Fall only had two title defenses in their last run, but each one was important and better yet, impressive in the ring. Of course Black and Jacobs had their own singles agendas at that point, somewhat limiting their role in the tag division. I feel that now the belts are around Steen and Generico we should be back in a more stable period where the belt will be defended more often and against the top competition.

Is the FIP Title almost the equivalent of the Intercontinental or U.S. Title in WWE? Yes, I have to say yes, but with better workrate. The Strong vs. Stevens series was awesome both in FIP and ROH, but since then we've seen a regression. The quick switch from Stevens to Go Shiozaki was the likely culprit. Especially in ROH the belt just doesn't feel that important and pales in comparison to the ROH World Title. I've always had that issue with defending the FIP belt on ROH shows .

Pearce leaving also has me confused…there was plenty of gas left in the Albright vs. Pearce feud and the inclusion of the NWA title (along with the FIP title) as a part of the Sweet & Sour Inc. power play was looking to have a ton of potential. But the value of the belt was in its presence, not in its absence. Sweneey may be "blocking" Pearce's appearance from ROH shows, but the better play would be to have Sweeney & Company having half the belts defended in the company over the last few months, having it visible and throwing it in EVERYONE's face.

All that said, I don't think Gabe being removed from booking would help recharge his juices or help ROH in the short or long term. I think some ideas work and some don't, some are capitalized on and some aren't, but ultimately you have to keep going. ROH has achieved a lot under his watch and had some really creative moments and there's no need to change that even in light of some criticisms of the booking.


ROH @ 411

411 Mania was New Horizons Coverage Central last week. In addition to my late evening edition of Column of Honor with my full review and play-by-play, Larry Csonka also covers the show with his play-by-play report and the 4R's of New Horizons. J.D. Dunn gives his cutting edge New Horizons Breakdown as well.

411's Buy or Sell covers ROH, PWG, IWA:M-S and Puro this week.


Honor Bound Links

High Road / Low Road on the aforementioned Vladimir Koslov.

Bayani and Sex go hand in hand like the pictures of latina and asian chicks he posts in his columns.

Michael Weyer spotlights The Undertaker.

Mike Campbell is the only one who could possibly get crapped on for looking at the positives of the year.

Lansdell continues his reign of Lansdellery in Ask 411.

Michael O's Cheers and Jeers, the best weekend column, next to mine.


I want to send my thoughts and condolences to my great friend and Column of Honor contributor Chris Miccio and the entire Miccio family on the loss of Stephanie Giordano, Chris's grandmother.

Thanks to Adam Pearce for the correction I ran in last week's early edition of the CoH.

That's it for this week. Instead of doing a SotF '08 preview next week like I had planned… I'll come up with…something. Yeah…that's reassuring. Later everyone!

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