Column of Honor: 12.13.08: Part Two: (Don't) Kill Ari

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 12.13.2008

Alex Shelley gets "Classic" Promo month treatment, thoughts on ROH Glory By Honor VII, CHIKARA's ratio of comedy to serious action, and spotting my name in mainstream television shows, for better or for worse.

"Classic" Promos Month 2008: Week Three

Last year I presented some of the older school ROH material in the form of some of my favorite "classic" promos. I'm doing it again this year. When I write "classic" I don't necessarily mean "the greatest promos ever" (although some of these may end up qualifying), but rather some of the interviews and vignettes that may have been swept up due to the ever-present onward march of time. These are quality promos that I enjoyed back then and still think a lot about even now.

Alex Shelley Tells His Tale—ROH Manhattan Mayhem (May 7th, 2005)

(Alex Shelley is leaning down, backed against the corner of a wall)

"So this is what it's come down to…I don't even get to change in the locker room. I'm not a part of the Ring of Honor locker room. Despite what people might think, I'm one of the guys who helped build this company, and I don't even get a spot (throws down his boot) in the damned locker room.

(takes a deep breath) Two years ago, at the Murphy Rec Center, in Philadelphia, I made my Ring of Honor debut. I made my debut, with a guy who's going to be on the ECW Pay Per View next month [Tony Mamaluke], and the Ring of Honor tag team champions [Whitmer & Jacobs]. But did I win? No. And to be honest with you, I didn't even make an impact.

But I learned something. I learned that Ring of Honor was a promotion that I wanted to call home. This is what I wanted to be my home promotion. Ring of Honor was something I wanted to put everything on the line for, so for the next eight months (deep breath), I sweat, and I strived and I tried to get a spot in Ring of Honor, to earn a spot, but that was something that I learned…was a foregone conclusion. Because in late January of 2004, when I was this close to securing a spot (pats his neck and shoulder)… I broke my collarbone.

I broke my collarbone…and any chance I had of making it on this roster…flew out the window. So what could I do? Absolutely nothing. I had to sit home and heal for the next three months, but I did more than that. For the next three months (pulls down his eye with his finger), I kept my eyes open…and I saw untapped potential in three undiscovered talents. Three diamonds in the rough…Roderick Strong, Jack Evans and Austin Aries, who I saw with my own eyes make a huge impact at the Super 8 tournament.

And I thought to myself, earning spots never got me anywhere. I'm going to save them…I'm going to save them from mid-card purgatory. My God, I have to. So, the four of us united, one year ago, and formed Generation Next. And the goal of Generation Next (puts hand on the wall) was to get to the top. To get to the top as a unit, as one group. And we were the most ambitious athletes in this company. But that same ambition (covers his eyes with his hand), it blinded us… (wipes his face)and it made us do things that when I look back on them now, I‘m not particularly proud of…but it showed our drive…and it showed how bad we wanted it.

And at Final Battle, that pride showed through. That drive, it came to fruition. Austin Aries, beat the unbeatable. Austin Aries pinned Samoa Joe for the ROH World Title. And I do mean "world" title, because since he's had it, he's defended it across the globe, against all comers. Adding and piling on more prestige to that Ring of Honor World Title. The Ring of Honor World Title, that some say, should have been rightfully mine.

He changed, just like a TV channel at Final Battle, when he booted my ass out of something I created. And tonight, in Manhattan, I get my chance to take that title back, to show him that what he was doing was wrong all along. He can't cut anymore corners. He can't get out of this one. He can't cheat. He's got to get in the ring with me. And I'm going to show him, I am better than him (leans back against the wall and sniffs his nose).

Personal Jesus? (crosses himself and lightly shakes his head no) I've always said I'm God-fearing, but tonight, I don't know.

(the camera pans back and Shelley puts his head down)


Why It Works: This is one of Shelley's best promos in ROH and his shining moment as a face—explaining the road he took to get to his title match with his former partner Alex Shelley. He is calm but has an inner anger that is stewing, borne out of a thirst for winning the ROH World Title and paying back Austin Aries for what he's done. It shows in his comments about how Aries took what should have been his, and how he was booted out of his own group.

Shelley is also able to show his recognition that what he did was wrong, thus differentiating himself from the rest of Generation Next. He wants to redeem himself for what he did beforehand, and winning the ROH World Title would do that for him. At this point, he is so ostracized from the locker room that he has to get dressed separately from them…he is left all alone to talk through and deal with his problems by himself. This is his statement to the effect that if he can show Austin Aries how wrong Aries was in his actions, that he can somehow redeem himself to the rest of the locker room….yet at the heart of his words is still a focus on himself…on his situation, on his self-pity for what has happened.

What is real effective about this promo are the subtle movements and body language that Shelley has throughout. He starts the promo leaning back against the wall, kind of slumping in a nonchalant or apathetic manner. I know it was probably coincidence, but the symbolism of literally being backed in a corner doesn't escape me. Even better are the small hand gestures and facial ticks Shelley uses which demonstrate his state of mind—beaten down and beaten back, but not giving up. I especially loved when he pulled his eyes down and then later covered them with his hands. Shelley's face is dominant in the shot, and you do get to concentrate on his eyes and the non-verbal cues contained within their expression.

As it would turn out, this would just be a pit stop on Shelley's road in ROH…soon he would sell out to Prince Nana and The Embassy, finding comfort and money in a group that would accept him and his need for revenge against Generation Next. This would lead to an interesting double turn, where Shelley's selling out and Aries's refusal to do the same would turn him, Strong and Evans face. They had already been receiving a huge amount of cheers even though they were heels, so it seemed like the right thing to do.


Honorarium

-I had a quick look at Smackdown this week and caught Vladmir Koslov's backstage promo. He stared up at nothing for a good fifteen seconds. Maybe he is cousins with Festus or something.

-Austin Aries's post match reaction to losing to Tyler Black in Nashville as well as his promo taped for the newswire seems to suggest something of a double turn for both men. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Aries to go heel right now, especially considering he's technically been a baby face since Fall of 2005. Three years is quite the long run. Aries left and came back in 2007, missing only two months but when he came back it was as a "conquering hero" who had fought back against the oppression of TNA. There was no way he was or should have been booked as a heel in that scenario-no, you milk that kind of reaction from the fans for all it is worth.

Then it seemed like at the end of last year when Aries lost his title match against Nigel McGuinness at the Rising Above tapings that he was going to go down a darker path. The heel turn was teased in the beginning of the year with Aries acting sullen and refusing to shake hands when he lost. Jimmy Jacobs tried to manipulate him into joining The Age of the Fall, but Aries saw Jacobs for his hypocrisy, and that fueled the next eight months worth of storylines, all with Aries working as the babyface. Although, what kind of babyface steals another man's girl and rubs it in that guy's face… well, Aries has always been the face with a "redass" attitude. I think the fans actually liked to cheer for Aries even when he displayed that kind of behavior because they lived vicariously through his actions. Now we've come to one year later and Aries defeated McGuinness and Black in a three way and is openly outspoken about getting a title shot. The loss to Black seems to lead to a subsequent rematch, but I would love to see it come full circle with a McGuinness vs. Aries bout and once again having Aries becoming bitter, but this time uncontrollably so. Jacobs's character may have been right about Aries "dark side", but it could be that only Aries himself could unleash it. I'd think that be an excellent plot twist.

-Who on earth have Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin pissed off backstage to get the kind of treatment they've been getting over the last several months? From being forced to wear the turkey suit to being humiliated by Mick Foley to freaking Jeremy Borash? Even if this enacts a heel turn, I don't know what TNA is thinking by constantly embarrassing these two, who could be some of their best draws if they pushed them to the top of the tag division. This scenario is completely different from what ROH did with Rhett Titus, considering that was the punch line to several months of the storyline and it was ONE time. Shelley is being rubbed in it every freaking week. Well, at least they'll be perfectly justified when they ditch the Frontline, but if this isn't cutting off your nose to spite your face I don't know what is.

-I've been watching reruns of NCIS on USA, getting into it through my uncle who watches the show religiously. They had a multi part storyline involving a double agent for Israeli Mosad and Palestinian Hamas named Ari. He ends up killing one of the regular characters and so the NCIS unit head Agent Gibbs plans to kill him in retaliation. The title of these shows is called "Kill Ari". I was not pleased with these developments. I may have to reconsider watching this show, if just out of protest.

Ari is actually a rather common name in Israel, although there seem to be about a million different ways to pronounce what is a really short, three letter name. I prefer the hard "R" variation, like you're saying the letters "R" and "E" in sequence. "ahR-E". "Ari". Pretty easy huh? Well, not when you can be called air-y" "Ay-re", "Ar-I", "Artie", "Avi" and so on. Couple that with my last name and its multiple variations and it's been a pretty party these twenty eight years of life.

Ok, enough self pity.

-Glory By Honor VII Thoughts: I have to disagree with loyal reader seaneb14 when he stated in the comments last week that this show was a pass. I think the Nakajima vs. Danielson and McGuinness vs. Generico bouts alone make this a worthwhile show. Whether or not it's a "must-buy" depends on your mileage on the other matches, but I enjoyed most of the whole card with the exception of the Strong & Vulture Squad vs. Sweet & Sour Inc. match.

The main event Steel Cage Warfare match was nowhere near as good as the original, and at times the match was downright slow and sluggish and surprisingly sloppy and seemingly not well synchronized (ALITERATION BABY). On the other hand, when that match picked up during moments of huge brawling (and this was most evident when the timed entrances were complete and everyone had come out). I think the elimination of Necro Butcher was okay but not really well-thought out considering he was the most over man in the match and the crowd was chanting for him well into the later stages of the match when he was long gone. If anything Necro should have been in there for as long as possible, maybe being the next to last elimination before the double pin of Jacobs and Black. The Daizee Haze incident I felt was well played and well shot, with the vide capturing the horrific moment and Jacobs' reaction to seeing just how deep he had gotten to Delirious. The Briscoes I felt did a great job in being the point men for their team. It was their match and their vindication to earn. I felt they had a great and fiery final comeback, didn't take too long with it and hit the double finisher sequence for the pin with good coordination and good timing.

There's been some criticism of Claudio's work in the match against Kensuke Sasaki. You could tell the crowd was not feeling this bout, whether it was Claudio's extended heel work or whether they didn't want to support a foreigner. Sasaki to his credit was busting his butt to get the crowd to react, even doing a frankensteiner and an (awkward looking) flying closeline. I liked his hustle and his effort and I didn't even mind Claudio's slowed-down offense (but the slower variant of his song has to go because it makes my ears bleed). The crowd just wasn't going to go above a certain level of reaction to the match.

Pearce vs. Albright II couldn't live up to its predecessor in terms of drama and crowd reaction but I think it was still a really good match and what they did to get the title off of Albright was fine, with Pearce defeating Albright with his own move. These two match up very well against one another—good compliments in the ring.

Kevin Steen is as usual his great and entertaining self on this DVD, adding several soon to be classic one-liners as well as interactions with El Generico. He can be quite the effective motivational speaker, the Canadian Tony Robbins if you will. Add a really good Steen vs. Shiozaki match and a hot opener with Lynn vs. Kenny King and I don't see why you shouldn't add this onto your shopping list. Certainly there have been a few turkeys this year for ROH DVD, but this isn't one of them.


Going Home

Ringtones

Adam Baugess wants to know more about CHIKARA and the ratio of comedy to serious action in the promotion:

Mr. Berenstein,

This e-mail is just to ask a couple of quick questions of you. First off, thank you for your efforts with the Column of Honor on 411mania, it is one of my favorites on the website since I am a fanatic about the indies. However, my question to you is regarding the list of DVDs from CHIKARA that you recommend in your column.

As a general rule, I have avoided buying CHIKARA stuff ever since I saw how
silly (and in my opinion, stupid) the promotion was. I am a more serious
wrestling fan who enjoys the in-ring product portrayed a serious sporting event (such as old ROH and Puroresu). However, I have greatly soured on ROH since Pearce became booker and have been discussing the CHIKARA show "Style &
Substance" with my friends.

We are all huge Claudio Castagnoli fans and the only reason I'm interested in
the show is the Castagnoli/Lee cage match, since I heard it was a serious
blowoff to a feud. My question to you pertains to the other matches on this
show. From what I've gathered CHIKARA has good in-ring action, but is just very silly outside of it. Therefore, I was wondering if you could give a very new CHIKARA novice a recommendation from a comedy standpoint. I figured since you recommended it the in-ring action must be good, but I was just wondering how overpowering the comedic stuff is. If you could give me any feedback at all it would be most appreciated. Thank you again for your time and your efforts writing the Column of Honor.

It's really hard to recommend much of the CHIKARA DVD series to you based on what you have written to me about your preferences in professional wrestling. CHIKARA is overall a family friendly (well, except for Eddie Kingston) promotion based on having a product that is overall fun and light-hearted. Although that by no means suggests that they don't do heavy and serious angles. The Vin Gerard unmasking and heel turn, the return of Colin Delaney, Mike Quackenbush and his struggle with former partner Shane Storm (now STIGMA) and the formation of the UnStable all combine to form the most serious main event angle in CHIKARA history. The Brodie Lee vs. Claudio Castagnoli angle has also been super serious, as the angle quickly got the two to the point of a blood feud and included lots of bloodshed, fire and massive pull apart brawls. The Eddie Kingston vs. Lince Dorado feud from this summer is also pretty heavy, with Kingston beating down Dorado and Dorado refusing to give in, leading to some pretty sick moments in and out of the ring where they fight each other.

I guess you could say then that CHIKARA does light hearted moments on the undercard and then reserves the upper mid card and main events for the serious situations. It's a scenario I've long advocated to have ROH implement, at least a little bit on their shows. Although I guess that's not what you'd like to see happen on ROH shows, I feel a bit of comedy does a world of good on shows, because it gives the fans a breather. You can't be super serious and super focused on the in-ring action all the time, because then everything starts to feel the same.

I would recommend Style and Substance for sure if you'd like to sample just one CHIKARA DVD. It is a show that is a climax of angles for a few reasons, one of course being the final Castagnoli vs. Lee match, the other being the formation of the UnStable and the last being Kingston absolutely snapping on the crowd and Lince Dorado. The show is probably a demonstration of CHIKARA at its best, in a professiional looking venue, with the New Alhambra stage set up. Although the Philly crowd is hit or miss at CHIKARA shows, they're pretty with it on this one and help support the matches. The wrestlers are pretty much on point for this show, although since most are students, you have to realize that on some shows they will look sloppy, nervous, out of place or rushed at points. The wrestling isn't as refined as you would generally see on an ROH show, with the exception of the real veterans such as Quack, Castagnoli, Delirious and the like.

I've always enjoyed the "characters" of CHIKARA like The Colony and The Super Smash Brothers. I think that's what makes the CHIKARA universe unique and enjoyable...and if you just sit back and watch their act you can tell that they all put a huge and serious amount of effort into making their characters what they are and the matches entertaining. The Colony in particular have stepped up their game both in character usage and from an in ring perspective. I don't see anything wrong with using characters like these, the bent on world domination Ultramantis Black, the naive and childlike man monster Hydra, the Egyptian time travelling duo of The Osirian Portal and so on to create a unique wrestling universe. Especially when it's backed up by the veterans to solidify the upper card.

I'd say give this show a try and if you like it, I haven't seen it yet but maybe also look into "The Global Gauntlet" because that is a cross-promotion event with CHIKARA wrestlers fighting wrestlers from Big Japan and will likely minimize the comedy and will be more focused on the athletic and serious side of wrestling. The "Tag World Gran Prix 2008" is the same format but with a cross over with WxW in Germany.


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
**CHIKARA Deuces Wild (NWA Jr. Heavyweight Title: Mike Quackenbush / El Pantera, UltraMantis Black / Tim Donst, Young Lions Cup: Helios / Lince Dorado, Colony / Osirian Portal, Robbie Ellis / Ice Cream Jr.) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA Passion and Persistence (Brodie Lee / Claudio Castagnoli, Campeones de Parejas: Incoherence / F.I.S.T., Quackenbush, Shane Storm, Cheech & Cloudy / Mitch Ryder & Shayne Hawke, Larry Sweeney & Robbie Ellis, Hydra / Chuck Taylor)High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Grit & Glory (Castagnoli, Sonjay Dutt & Pantera / Quackenbush, Jorge Rivera & Turbo, Campeones de Parejas: Incoherence / Osirian Portal, Storm / Kingston, Vin Gerard/ Lince Dorado, Colony / Fabulous Three, Hydra & Tim Donst / Super Smash Brothers, Gran Akuma / PSYCHO, Daizee Haze & Chuck Taylor / Sara Del Ray & Bobby Dempsey)High Recommendation
**CHIKARA AniversarioMA (Atomicos Increibles: Mike Quackenbush, Cheech, Stupified & Worker Ant / Cloudy, Player Uno, Soldier Ant & Shane Storm, Brodie Lee, Mitch Ryder & Shayne Hawke / Incoherence & Claudio Castagnoli, Chuck Taylor & Gran Akuma / Turbo & Lince Dorado, El Pantera vs. Jorge Rivera , Osirian Portal / 2.0) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA AniversarioCT (Osirian Portal / Shane Storm & Mike Quackenbush, Super Smash Bros. / Cheech & Cloudy, Hydra & Tim Donst / Los Ice Creams, F.I.S.T. / The Colony, Brodie Lee / Claudio Castagnoli) High Recommendation
**FIP Cage of Pain II (Cage of Pain II, Roderick Strong/Larry Sweeney, Delirious & Hallowicked & Jigsaw/BxB Hulk & YAMATO & Jack Evans, Erick Stevens/Necro Butcher) High Recommendation
**FIP Redefined (Erick Stevens/Roderick Strong in their best encounter in FIP or ROH, Austin Aries/Davey Richards, Nigel McGuinness/Necro Butcher, Shawn Murphey/Heartbreak Express, Sal Rinauro/Tyler Black) High Recommendation
**CZW Deja Vu 3 (No Rope Barbed Wire Match: JC Bailey/Necro Butcher, El Generico/Super Dragon, B-Boy/Nate Webb, Ruckus & Mike Quackenbush/Kings of Wrestling) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 17 (Sara Del Rey & Allison Danger / MsChif & Cheerleader Melissa, Lacey / Sara Stock, Mercedes Martinez / Wesna Busic, Amazing Kong / Ariel, Daizee Haze / Cindy Rogers) High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 18 (Amazing Kong / Wesna Busic, SHIMMER Title: Sara Del Rey / MsChif, Cheerleader Melissa / Sara Stock, Mercedes Martinez / Cindy Rogers, Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew / Ashley Lane & Nevaeh) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VI Night 1 (Fabulous Three / The Colony, YLC Semi Final Six Way Elimination, Sami Calahan / Vin Gerard, Jimmy Olsen / Stupefied, Amasis / Ultimo Breakfast) (NEW ADDITION) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VI Night 2 (YLC Semi Final Six Way Elimination, Storm & Quackenbush / Super Smash Brothers, Worker Ant / Chip Day, Johnny Gargano / Marshe Rocket, Neo Solar Temple / Soul Touchaz, Ophidian / Turtle ) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VI Night 3 (YLC Finals: Fire Ant / Vin Gerard, Brodie Lee / Drake Younger, Eddie Kingston / Soldier Ant, Osirian Portal / Bobby Dempsey & Sara Del Rey, Fabulous Three / Soul Touchaz, Jimmy Olsen / Lince Dorado) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Tragedy & Triumph (No DQ: Brodie Lee / Castagnoli, Vin Gerard / Fire Ant, Storm / Quackenbush, Eddie Kingston / Lince Dorado, Osirian Portal & F.I.S.T. / Super Smash Brothers & The Colony) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA La Loteria Letal (Vin Gerard vs. Colin Delaney / Mike Quackenbush & Pinkie Sanchez, Larry Sweeney & Claudio Castagnoli / Pinkie Sanchez & Mike Quackenbush, Icarus & Ultimo Breakfast / Tim Donst & Helios, Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen / Shane Storm & Eddie Kingston , Colin Delaney & Vin Gerard / Mitch Ryder & Halcom Guerrero, Icarus & Ultimo Breakfast / Lince Dorado & Jimmy Olsen)(NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA Style & Substance (Cage Match: Claudio Castagnoli / Brodie Lee, F.I.S.T. / The Colony, Vin Gerard & STIGMA / Mike Quackenbush & Tim Donst, Osirian Portal / Cheech & Cloudy, Kingston / Dorado, The Best Around & Order Of The Neo Solar Temple / Hydra, Helios & Incoherence ) (NEW ADDITION) 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:

Right Now: New ROH releases include "The French Connection" and "Bound By Hate", the first ROH shows booked by Adam Pearce.

January 16th, 2009—Manassas, VA: ROH returns to the Virginia area for the first show of the new year.

January 16th, 2009: Rising Above 2009 Debuts on PPV with McGuinness vs. Danielson for the ROH World Title.


ROH @ 411

411 Buy or Sell looks at Roderick Strong winning the Strong Style tournament, Low Ki ever coming back to ROH and more.

Chris Lansdell discusses the wrestling education in ROH and other promotions in his new column If I Can Be Serious For a Moment.



Honor Bound Links

Scott Slimmer with some interesting thoughts on kayfabe vs. reality in his Don't Think Twice column.

Mathew once again brings his obsession with Victoria to bear in this week'sEvolution Schematic.

Mike Chin looks at the influence of Celebrities in Wrestling.

Bayani looks at the Hardys and other brother pairings in this week's Truth B Told.

Mike Weyer spotlights the clichés in wrestling.

Dan Torkel passes out his TORKEYS in this week's Brooklyn Brawlin'.

The elder statesman of the wrestling zone, Ronny Sarnecky, looks at the Slammy aftermath in this week's Piledriver Report.


That will do it one more time (we're gonna celebrate and dance for free) for this week's column. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll see you back in seven with the final classic promo of the year and a preview of Final Battle Weekend.

Final Column 2008 Countdown: 2 weeks to go!
Brooklyn!
--Ari--