Column of Honor: 01.17.09: Rising Above the Occasion

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 01.17.2009

McGuinness vs. Danielson and Aries vs. Jacobs highlights the ROH Rising Above 2009 Pay Per View. A full review is inside, as well as results from last night in Manassas, VA, ROH lookalikes and a new logo!

The big criticism as of late has been my logo…that is was ugly or some such nonsense…BUT I listen to my readers and so I went out and hired some help…well I didn't really pay for the help, but it was help nonetheless. So let's see what you think about this one!



Thanks to Jarrod Westerfeld for the new design. Welcome to the Column.

Ring Toss
-ROH Results: January 16th, 2009 in Manassas, VA
-Rising Above 2009 Report
-Honored News
-ROH Call
-My Fave 5
-Honorarium
-ROH Lookalikes
-Get with the pROHgram
-Ringtones
-ROH @ 411


ROH Results: January 16th, 2009 in Manassas, VA (via ROH message board)

Matches

Pre Show
-Ernie Osiris & John Kermon defeated Dirty Sanchez & Andy Ridge via pinfall when Osiris pinned Ridge with a spike double arm DDT.
-Grizzly Redwood defeated Ninja Pink via pinfall with a top rope axe handle.

Main Show

-Brent Albright & Erick Stevens defeated Damien Wayne & Chris Escobar via pinfall with a half nelson suplex and clothesline combination on Escobar.
-Rhett Titus vs. Sean Denny ends in a no contest as Bison Smith (!) runs in and destroys both men
-The Necro Butcher defeated Delirious via pinfall with a Tiger Driver.
The American Wolves of Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards defeated Jay Briscoe & Roderick Strong via pinfall on Jay Briscoe after a superkick /german suplex combination after Sweeney hit Jay with a boot.
-Jerry Lynn defeated Austin Aries via pinfall by dropping down on a sunset flip.
-Jimmy Jacobs defeated Bryan Danielson by rolling through the Triangle Choke in to a bridging pin. Fantastic match with Danielson's right knee being Jacob's target throughout.
-Tyler Black defeated Nigel McGuinness via pinfall after a superkick.

Issues & Angles

-Daizee Haze talked Delirious out of spiking Necro Butcher after his match.

-Austin Aries was reported to have new tights, new music (Weezer's "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived"…which is hellaclever, but I don't know if it's the best song for him) and new facial hair, shaving off the beard and leaving just a mustache. Aries claimed he would explain things in a manifesto he would soon deliver.

-This is the second time Jimmy Jacobs has defeated Bryan Danielson in a single match, whereas Tyler Black has never done so.

-Tyler Black puts himself in position for a title shot with his win against McGuinness.

-Return Date: June 12th, 2009


ROH Rising Above PPV Review

-From Chicago Ridge, IL

ROH World Tag Team Titles: Kevin Steen and Generico (c ) vs. The Briscoes **

I was very impressed by Jay's promo—more than just "Man Up" this and that. He spoke for a good minute with vim and vigor about how Steen and Generico hadn't impressed them. Kevin Steen and Generico's entrance is just the ole chant portion of Bouncing Souls Ole I guess due to property fees. They don't want to fight The Briscoes injured because it proves nothing…but The Briscoes hit them from behind. The Briscoes spend the early part of the match catching Generico off guard by trying to provoke sympathy with Mark's injury then beating them down. Mark's injury is almost a blessing in disguise because it forces them to tone down their offense and actually go to the nitty and gritty style they stated they would use in their recent promos from the summer. The crowd calling along the three counts for Generico in Spanish is a particularly nice touch. They bite big time on Steen's frog splash from the top. Steen hits Mark in the knee and sinks in the Package Piledriver for the win. Jay and Kevin jostle afterwards and it ends up going back in a big time pull apart.

-Interview with Claudio Castagnoli about his Four Corner Survival match. I don't like how they are mentioning events like Castagnoli stomping on Danielson's head and the events of Bound By Hate without showing clips of them. That's an immediate difference between the previous PPVs and this one under the new booking direction. On the positive side is the picture in picture usage, as when Larry Sweeney and Sara Del Rey are shown in an inset as they head down to the ring—a bit of Scotty Goldman on Smackdown action (remember that one time?) as they are in two places at the same time on one screen.

SHIMMER Women's Athletes Title Match: MsChif (c) vs. Sara Del Rey ***

MsChif might seem to be a good fit in the emo / goth style of The Age of the Fall, but not when she wrestles like a babyface, as in this match. I guess it's a problem that Tyler Black no longer has to work through in his matches. She pulls out an octopus stretch and reverses direction and that's too awesome not to appreciate. Del Rey is the clear heel here and actually dominates much of the action, including an awesome Lion Tamer that is then bridged back into an ungodly position, from which MsChif then uses her flexibility to maneuver out of and pound down on Del Rey. MsChif just has some sweet moves in this one and comes off as really cool and someone you can get behind and cheer for. There are some awesome back fists that look like they connect solidly and we get a small scream—not too much of that in this one just yet and you'd think she'd use it more often because that's one of her calling cards. Del Rey uses an ultra bending Dragon Sleeper and slams MsChif down to the turnbuckle to just about kill her…then a German with a bridge for two. Gory Special reversed into the Code Green for a close two. A desecrator results in a reversal for two. Green Mist is ducked and then the axe kick of DOOM! Del Rey doesn't go for the cover but rather attempts the Royal Butterfly. It's reversed into the desecrator for three. I tend to like competitive women's matches and this certainly was one—finally a worthy SHIMMER match on an ROH Pay Per View.

-Promo with Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black as Jacobs gives his final words before the I Quit match with Austin Aries. Jacobs claims he manipulated Aries to get to this point.

-Recap of the Necro Butcher promo where he cuts a babyface promo talking about providing for his family. The teaser on the bottom says he is returning to Pay Per View soon.

Four Corner Survival: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Silas Young vs. Sami Callahan vs. Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne *1/2

The match is built around Claudio bullying everyone around at various points and the other three faces trying to slow him down and to show him up but to little avail. Claudio plays the heel by interrupting Callahan and Young's scrum and blasting Young with a big boot. Callahan shows some fire and quickness (but not the unstable character he usually portrays). Claudio soon dominates. The Chicago crowd is pretty funny with their "hey" chants here but really that's made by Claudio's pouting and whining about their chanting. Prazak, Leonard and Nigel McGuinness on guest commentary do a good job discussing how that could be a distraction but how Claudio should want to shut them out and press on. Nigel calls Payne "Sugarnuts" and well, I don't really want to think about the connotations of that one. Claudio's military press impresses as does Callahan's three move combo of kicks that end with a short chin breaker / stunner. Claudio gets the long heat segment on Chicago's favorite Payne, but other than the crowd and Claudio's interaction it's not so interesting, but certainly loud. Hey, whatever works. Payne comes back and he and Young play ping pong on Castagnoli… then Sami tries to get involved with the cannonball outside and Claudio grabs him and does the ol' Samoa Joe toss (but not the "ole" Samoa Joe toss) into the guardrail. Think the spot from CM Punk matches. Young slips up on his nip up attempt and recovers to go for his trademark headstand Arabian press. Claudio tags him during the headstand and Young completes the move onto Payne. Claudio gets rid of him and thinks Payne is easy pickings…sugarnu…sugarti..Sugarfoot avoids the Ricola bomb, flips under him and gets a top rope bulldog. Claudio gets the Ricola for real and the crowd "hey's" along for the three count. A decent mid card match.

Claudio wants to add to the punishment and gets the chair ready for the dreaded Pillmanization. Bryan Danielson comes out to stop anything before it happens and they have a stare down, perhaps hinting at a further confrontation on Pay Per View. The really unfortunate part of this is that there are no good shots of Danielson's face during this important face-off. It is pretty disappointing considering the new cameras and angles should have picked up on more than his profile.

-Recap of the Sweet & Sour Inc. vs. Albright, Strong and Stevens feud.

Sweet & Sour Inc. (Chris Hero, Davey Richards & Go Shiozaki) vs. Roderick Strong, Brent Albright and "Crazy" Ace Steel **1/2

ROH just goes right into the ring…no special entrances for anyone here, much less the returning Ace Steel, who probably got a great reception from the hometown Chicago crowd…BUT TOO BAD NO ONE PUT IT ON PAY PER VIEW! I mean come on, ROH, that's just ridiculous. Steel hasn't been in ROH in years, much less on PPV, who out of the first time viewers knows who he is? Steel comes off as "just a guy" that no one knows about when he should come across as a returning ROH veteran. This is pretty much the same good hard hitting action between both sides that I've seen for quite a while already…but it's not spectacular nor anything that is distinguishable from any of the other matches like this one. Strong works in his suplex into gutbuster move that I personally dig, so that's a plus. Prazak finally gets into the history of Steel, Punk and Cabana in the Second City Saints, five minutes into the match as they build a long heat segment around Steel. Shiozaki uses his superkick of death and acts like a jerk, which is fun to watch. LOOOONG beat down with Hero and Go tagging in, then Steel gets a nice dragon leg sweep and the hot tag to Strong who clears house awesomely, then gets a nice belly to back / neckbreaker combo with Albright, who gets cute by using a swinging backbreaker himself. Strong gets a three on one beat down for the attempted knock out and pin. Albright is in for the last minute save. Steel gets some time to come back and show off and then its Strong vs. Richards one-on-one in a short but intense back and forth showdown. Strong has Richards beat but Sweeney distracts the ref and Hero nails Strong in the back of the head with a chair, putting Richards on top and getting the heck outta dodge while the ref counts three. Some good exchanges on the back stretch of the match, especially from Strong and Shiozaki at several different points helped redeemed what I thought was a mundane start. Still, ROH needs to get these guys more over in the initial moments we see them on camera and showing more entrances would help to do that.

-Aries vs. Jacobs package that recaps the feud, which has been shown before in several recent matches between the two including the dog collar chain match from Bound By Hate.

I Quit Match: Austin Aries (w/ ? ) vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/ Tyler Black) ****1/2

This, like many blow-off grudge matches in ROH, especially those involving Jimmy Jacobs, brings back and inserts many of the memorable moments or spots from previous bouts in the feud. It's the full circle style moments that really hit home the hardest, like the use of the End Time and the reversal exchanges into the Last Chancery set up with the knees and the reverse chinlock submission, the table set up diagonally outside the ring and the use of the chain to bind the two wrestlers. It's just in the nick of time that ROH has the new camera work because they needed every bit of it for this one to capture the wild and chaotic back and forth of both men duking it out in their finale. They fight all over and around the ring—beforehand the camera may have missed something important, but this time, they are everywhere they need to be when they need to be there. Interestingly enough, like with several other matches on the card, there is a considerably noticeable chant for the heel in the match. It's kind of weird to hear some of the crowd chant for Jimmy Jacobs when he's been so hated this whole time during the feud…especially in the Chicago area…but that's the ROH crowd for you. You can never quite figure them out. Jacobs again uses the strategy from the dog collar match, wrapping Aries to a stationary place (in this case a chair) to immobilize him and then attack him and Aries is nearly defenseless.

Then…out of the abyss and back from the dead, Lacey comes back (to a huge babyface pop, and that's quite the shock given most of her career in ROH has been spent as a heel) to help save Aries, just like the first night back in Chicago when Jacobs had Aries prone with a chair in hand. This time though Lacey has a towel to stop the match…but has second thoughts…and Jacobs again has the railroad spike and threatens to slice Aries open ala Return Engagement. Lacey slaps Jacobs and that buys Aries enough time to fight out of the chains and fight back, beginning the intense comeback. Aries returns the favor from Bound By Hate when Jacobs tied him to the turnbuckle and gets the missile dropkick into the corner. I love when Jacobs gets Aries into the End Time and then uses Aries knees and Last Chancery combination against him…that's the kind of ultimate indignity that fuels these kinds of feuds. Then there is the moment that Aries looks to launch himself from the corner to the outside but Jacobs stops him by throwing a chair, that hits Aries right in the jaw. It's one of the sickest moments of the match, maybe one of the craziest thoughts about how to use one in a wrestling match. I like how Todd Sinclair asks each man when appropriate if he wants to give up and both men just give a simple but effective "no", no expletives like "kiss my ass" or "go to hell", just a plain and simple declination spoken in a determined voice…occasionally muffled by a chain around the throat. Ultimately Aries makes the big comeback, including a brainbuster on a chair, the last Chancery, then a crossface and repeatedly stabbing Jacobs with his own railroad spike. The plan was for Black to throw in his towel when things got out of hand so that he doesn't have to suffer the insult of saying "I quit" to a hated enemy. As Black is about to do it, Lacey steals the towel from him and Jacobs is forced to say those two simple words, five letters—"I quit". This was a fantastic finish to the feud and actually equals the brutal dog collar match they had at Bound By Hate.

Lacey walks to the back with a smile on her face, but Aries is wondering where she is going. Jacobs meanwhile is furious at Black for not following the plan, and berates him until Black walks out on him in frustration.

-Video recap of the Danielson vs. McGuinness feud.

ROH World Title Match: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Bryan Danielson ****1/2

This is apparently the ninth time these men have fought and Prazak noted that Danielson has won four times, McGuinness twice and there have been two draws. Of course these two men met in the main event of "Driven 2007" in what was my pick for match of the year. There is an awesome panning shot with the Danielson as the streamers pass by over his head as the crowd cheers "The Final Countdown". There may be no finer moment than that one at ROH wrestling shows right now.

Dragon gets a couple of kicks early on that put Nigel off balance but it doesn't unnerve the champion. Both men stick to grappling and leverage exchanges early on. The crowd loves the "wrestling" show Danielson puts on in maneuvering body parts and then stomping right on them. Danielson's knee is hurt going into this bout as Prazak notes and Nigel gets an almost low kick, maybe a "receipt" of sorts for the first few seconds of the bout. Kudos to Prazak for spending a considerable amount of time on commentary going through their rivalry, even mentioning the Epic Encounter 2 / Gut Check hour draws in 2006 as the turning point in Danielson's Title run.

The match picks up in speed a bit as Danielson ducks under a McGuinness closeline attempt and gets a big boot. He goes for a kick but McGuinness ducks. Danielson follow McGuinness outside and gets a huge high knee into the ring barricade. Back in the ring Danielson stomps down repeatedly on McGuinness (Danielson-Morishima)…. I love that spot. McGuinness ducks a charge and sets up for his corner kick / lariat…but in a variation attaches Danielson's leg to the ropes and throws him down, jarring Danielson's already injured knee. That's a huge turning point for the match and McGuinness goes right to work for the next few minutes on weakening the knee, including doing Danielson's own patented surfboard stretch and knee jam on him! McGuiness does a unique standing figure four for extra torque then pulls back for the pinfall attempt for two. Spinning toehold and figure four leg lock add to the pressure on Danielson. The crowd powers Danielson through to reversing the hold and roll over to the ropes… but McGuinness holds it until a four count from the ref…because he does have until five you know.

European uppercut exchange lead to the and irish whip volley and Danielson gets the kitchen sink, kick to the back and kick to the chest to knock McGuinness down. Dragon stikes McGuinness in the body and head, but McGuinness reverses position and gives him some throat thrusts. Headstand attempt by McGuinness is blocked and Danielson pulls him down with the ankle lock (awesome), using the ankle to get right into the bridging German Suplex (Danielson-Nakajima)! Two count on that and Danielson floats right into the Crossface Chickenwing (love that move). McGuinness fights to a standing position and they chain positions back and forth, into the pinfall roll up volleys (Danielson-Marufuji) for several two counts.

McGuinness ends the Dragon rally by heading right back to the knee, then picking him up for the momentum European from the corner. Blind lariat is ducked…right back into the Chickenwing! Excellent flow to this bout. McGuinness sinks down but he gets the ropes and Danielson breaks…but then kicks the champion's back like crazy. The ref warns Danielson and while his back is turned, McGuiness chop blocks the knee!

It looks like McGuinness is going for the off with his head lariat, but no, he hangs Danielson on the ropes only to let him droop down and catch his knee on the top turnbuckle, turning it into an ugly position where Danielson can only hang on and struggle to free himself. THEN McGuinness gets the lariat off the top turnbuckle for a close two count. Spinning toehold and Danielson kicks him off to the floor. Danielson gets a dropkick between the ropes and Danielson is ready to fly! Springboard senton to McGuinness! That looked great. Danielson and McGuinness fight down the aisle, but when McGuinness goes for a chair, referee Todd Sinclair steps out to remove it and push Nigel back to the ring. BUT we get a picture in picture of Claudio Castagnoli coming out from backstage and attacks Danielson with a chair while the ref is dealing with Nigel!

The referee is counting out Danielson, who is seemingly knocked out. The crowd is rabid for Danielson to get up, but he is not moving. Then "Sugarfoot" Alex Payne comes out to return the save from Danielson earlier! He drags Payne back to the ring and helps him just barely beat the count! The crowd gives Payne a cheer in reception, then gets right behind Danielson. Right into a lariat! TWO only! McGuinness floats into a half crab and Danielson is bloodied and hurt. He is in that move for almost a minute but finally reaches the ropes!

McGuiness positions Danielson in the corner and goes for the momentum European one more time, but Danielson blocks and goes for his running flying soccer kick…it connects but hurts Danielson just as much. Both men are back up and they exchange European upper cuts, Danielson wins the volley but McGuinness attempts the Jawbreaker Lariat, but Danielson counters it by grabbing the arm and moving him into a cross armbreaker! Leonard says "what a counter!" and I agree. Danielson into the triangle from there and McGuinness is fading. Danielson adds the elbows to the top of the head (which he wouldn't do in New York back in February '08 but NOW will do here). McGuinness maneuvers back up and frees himself, switches to the half crab but only momentarily and Danielson gets the small package for another close two count!

Heabutt by McGuinness, lariat ducked under and Danielson with the crucifix for two, kicked out of but right in position for the trapped MMA elbows! They land flush but he can only get a few before he tires out! That is a brilliant touch and a new one for the feud. But Danielson gets a second wind and again pounds down! Pinfall, two and nine tenths! Right into the Cattle Mutilation! McGuinness is thinking about it but not tapping and he begins to stand up. ..Tiger suplex by Danielson for two, right back to the submission but Nigel escapes and maneuver into a reverse suplex to Tower of London! He almost missed the rope to do it but he got it in time. Both men are up… Danielson runs right into the lariat. TWO! These two have worked the crowd up big time. Now it's McGuinness with Danielson's elbows…dastardly. Danielson fires back up and McGuiness forearms him to no effect. Danieslon slaps Danielson and a roaring elbow. headbutt by McGuiness stuns Danielson, then another one, almost inadvertent to the back of the head… McGuinness with the JAWBREAKER LARIAT. DANIELSON FLIPS HEAD OVER HEELS! McGuinness with the tight hooking of the leg and we get one, two, three! McGuinness retains!

What a match this turned out to be, again finding an excellent pace that picked up at the right time and giving the fans a hell of a ride to the finish. It's amazing that these two can come together and create terrific matches again and again.

Final Score: 8.5

This year's edition of Rising Above, like most ROH PPVs, is an instant recommendation. You can't go wrong with some of the best wrestlers like McGuinness, Danielson, Aries and Jacobs going all out when it counts the most and delivering. You couldn't ask more of these men than the kind of matches they had on this Pay Per View. Along with a solid undercard and new camera work that expands what the fans see and experience this ends up being another worthy go round for ROH on Pay Per View.

The double main event takes up the last full hour of the Pay Per View. Both matches lived up to and (in the case of Aries vs. Jacobs) even surpassed expectations. That means ROH again delivers quality wrestling in the ring that is worth the money you spend on the show.

These new cameras and production do a great job with establishing shots, but I wish they were used more frequently. Not only do they have better video quality than the handhelds, but they provide unique visual angles rarely seen in professional wrestling, and that could be all the difference in production for a fresh, must see presentation.

In addition, ROH still needs to work on providing smoother transitions from one match to the next. I think full entrances for everyone, not just the main event players, are the solution. Full entrances not only will help to get over the personalities of the wrestlers but it also provides some "breathing space" between the wrestling action. ROH Pay Per View is a jam packed two hours of wrestling action, but sometimes you need a few minutes just to reset yourself and get ready for the next match. Even some of the packages ROH uses in between the real matches are nonstop presentations of high spots, strikes and dramatic moments. If ROH can space those out better, then perhaps I wouldn't feel so wiped out after watching one of these shows. And if it's a matter of paying rights fees for the music, just go with instrumentals and non-mainstream music for the Pay Per Views and use the regular entrance music on non-PPV shows.

Then again, if that's my major complaint at this point, the Pay Per Views can't be doing that badly…

---

Honored News

Aries to Deliver Manifesto, Fight Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Title in Edison, New Jersey

From a story on the ROH website: Following the ROH event on Friday night in Manassas, VA, Ring of Honor officials were finally able to get a word with Austin Aries concerning his recent actions. The conversation was brief, and Aries demanded an live interview segment on the Edison show. Aries wants to address several topics that have come up since Final Battle. With many in Ring of Honor, along with its fans wondering what's going on in the head of Austin Aries, officials reluctantly agreed.

It looks like we'll finally get a peak inside Aries' head after the events of the Rising Above PPV and Final Battle 2008. It's the same night he fights for the ROH World Title against Nigel McGuinness. Aries defeated Tyler Black at Final Battle to earn a title shot and after a few weeks of uncertainty and lack of communication, Aries contacted the officials at ROH and said he would cash in his shot on this show. Looks like it could be quite the big night for Austin Aries, or Austin A**hole as the kids are calling him these days.


Mark Briscoe Undergoes Surgery

From the ROH Newswire: We received disheartening news late last week in reference to Mark Briscoe's ailing knee. It appears that he will be sidelined for much longer than originally thought. Jay Briscoe stated that, "(Mark) has been told that they need to shorten the ligament behind his kneecap and tighten the ligaments on the sides." It seems that medical personnel may in fact need to harvest the ligament tissue needed for the procedure from cadavers. We've been told to expect him to be out of action somewhere between 4 and 6 months, depending on his recovery and the rehabilitation process.

I've actually been expecting the other shoe on this to drop for some time. Briscoe has been fighting hurt for a while now and that does him no good. It's better for him to get the surgery now, heal it properly and come back when its appropriate than for him to keep limping to the ring and going at it with an increase chance of being even more injured.


Aries-Black Backstage Kerfuffle

The Wrestling Observer reported that Austin Aries and Tyler Black had a heated backstage argument at the 12/30 show in Philadelphia that nearly got physical, but that Jimmy Jacobs calmed the situation down and everything is alright now. It was one of Aries' first times in his new more prominent backstage role on the Friday shows. To me, this is a relatively minor story in and of itself, because even though many wrestling companies try to portray things backstage as nice and calm, of course there is still plenty of politics and heated exchanges that happen that we as fans are not privy to. What is more surprising to me is that this news actually got out and was reported all over the place as opposed to being kept quiet. We would rarely hear about backstage arguments or fights in ROH under Gabe Sapolsky—not that they didn't happen it's just that the news of them didn't break. ROH officials might want to keep backstage news such as who the new booker or contributors to the product are on the down low, but that doesn't seem to be happening.


Talent Updates for the Orlando, FL Rescheduled Shows

ROH's cancelled shows from Florida in early October were rescheduled for February 6th -7th and now that time is getting closer some talent has been announced for the shows. Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Steen, El Generico, Bryan Danielson, Jerry Lynn, The Necro Butcher, Roderick Strong, Brent Albright, Erick Stevens, Jimmy Jacobs, Delirious, Kenny King, Chasyn Rance


New Matches for January 30th in Detroit, Michigan and January 31st in Chicago Ridge, IL


-The Detroit show will be called "Motor City Madness 2009", the third show in that series.

January 30th, 2009:
Bryan Danielson vs. Rhett Titus: Rhett gets his biggest…largest…hugest…(damn, stop thinking about sexual double entendres) test when he fights "the best wrestler in the world". Titus has been showcased in lower card matches, but if he does well against ROH's marquee name, that could say a lot for his future in the mid to upper card in the year to come. Or…he could get smushed and smashed to pieces. Either way would be fine, and fun.

Brodie Lee vs. Necro Butcher: This rematch from The French Connection show hopefully gives us more brawling action that these two can deliver on…but perhaps with a cleaner finish than from that show. Brodie Lee is still a part of The Age of the Fall and so this continues the AotF vs. Necro storyline.

As a quick aside, it seems more and more like The Age of the Fall is no longer about a revolution but rather about who Jimmy Jacobs can manipulate in order to do his bidding. Not that there is anything wrong with a stable and a mastermind like that in the world of professional wrestling.

January 31st, 2009:
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kevin Steen: Claudio Castagnoli's challenge has been laid out for 1/31 in Chicago, and it's a unique one. "I want to show everyone first hand the superiority that I possess," said Claudio. "My skill is unmatched. My stature as an athlete is unparalleled. And in Chicago, I will showcase my European grit and my championship potential, and that is why I challenge Kevin Steen." ROH Officials did not expect that, as Steen and Generico are defending the World Tag Titles the previous night in Detroit. We are currently waiting to see if Steen will accept the match.


ROHdds and Ends

-From the ROH Newswire: This Saturday night in Edison will feature the first Lumberjack Strap Match in ROH history with Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens versus The American Wolves of Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards. It was a match that Strong demanded as a way to keep the S&S Inc. crew from running away; lumberjacks surrounding the ring with leather straps in hand certainly serve as a deterrent. "There won't be a way for the Wolves to get away." said Erick Stevens, "Trapped inside the ring, surrounded by people just waiting to whip them, anywhere they go they are going to get hurt. I owe Sweet & Sour for trying to break my arm, and the payback starts Saturday night!" Roderick Strong added, "And the payback won't end until we get them inside that steel cage in Chicago in just a couple weeks!"

- From the ROH Newswire: ROH is happy to welcome two Chicagoland veterans to pre-show competition on the 31st. Egotistico Fantastico and Deryck St. Holmes, Esq. will face off in singles competition, and ROH officials are excited to see what these two tremendous talents will bring to the ROH stage.

Ego has appeared on a few ROH preshows before, while Deryck St. Holmes is a name from the Chicago area. I seem to recall CM Punk mentioning him in a few of his ROH shoot interviews, but I'm not sure.

Kayfabe Quote of the Week: "I got it bad, man, and Sweeney's boys will pay for what they done. But Mark being on the shelf don't mean I've lost my purpose. It may even be a blessing in disguise, because now ROH will have to face me as a singles wrestler." –Jay Briscoe


ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 01/17/2009

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 32 successful defenses)
-defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense:vs. Austin Aries, Edison, New Jersey 01/17/09

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.18 defeated Keith Myatt and Lionheart, (06/20/08, Doncaster, U.K.)
V.19 (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.20 defeated Kevin Steen, Lariat off Turbuckle, (07/25/08, Toronto, ONT, CN)
V.21 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, Jawbreaker Lariat (07/26/08, Detroit, MI)
V.22 defeated Ruckus, London Dungeon (08/01/08, Manassas, VA)
V.23 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black & Claudio Castagnoli (08/02/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.24 defeated El Generico, London Dungeon (08/15/08, Cleveland, OH )
V.25 defeated Jimmy Jacobs, Jawbreaker Lariat (09/14/08, Tokyo, Japan)
V.26 defeated Roderick Strong, (09/19/08, Boston, MA)
V.27 defeated El Generico, roll up, (09/20/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.28 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Go Shiozaki, El Generico & Kevin Steen (11/07/08, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
V.29 lost via disqualification to Necro Butcher (11/08/08, Markham, Ontario, Canada) Champion retains on a DQ.
V.30 defeated Bryan Danielson, Jawbreaker Lariat (11/22/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V. 31 defeated Jerry Lynn, pin using ropes (12/06/08, Nashville, TN)
V.32 defeated Naomichi Marufuji (12/27/08, Manhattan, NY)

**

ROH World Tag Team Champions—Kevin Steen & El Generico (champions since 09/19/08, 3 successful defenses)
-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. American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) Detroit, MI 01/30/09

V.1 defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe (11/08/08, Markham, Ontario, Canada)
V.2 defeated Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (11/21/08. Dayton, OH)
V.3 defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe (11/22/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.4 defeated Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (12/27/08, Manhattan, NY)

**


Top Feuds & Pairings:

-What is going on between Aries and Jacobs?
-Tyler Black's face turn
-Jerry Lynn vs. Nigel McGuinness
-Claudio wants to make a comeback
-Brent Albright, Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens vs. Sweet & Sour Inc.
-Daizee Haze wants to save Delirious and restore her name.
-Necro Butcher continues his war against Age of the Fall


ROH Home Theatre Station

ROH Videowire: January 13th, 2009


Prince Nana selling on the New York City street may be one of the most awesome touches to a character I have ever seen. If anyone has ever lived in or visited NYC, you know that street vendors are EVERYWHERE in Manhattan hustling their wares. Nana went out into the real world, interacted with real people (and Ernie Osiris) and it was brilliant! This is why ROH is sometimes compared with ECW—guerrilla camera tactics like this.

Rising Above Trailer 3:

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1. Shawn Michaels: The old dog still has it in him to go twelve rounds with the champ. I love it. Michaels may be visibly showing signs of his age and is slower in the ring than ever, but the man can still weave a fantastic match together. He and Cena have shown over the years that they have some great chemistry and their match on Raw this past Monday proved it once again. The end run of the match with those two out of nowhere superkicks was visual poetry.
2. Jack Swagger: I have to say I am presently surprised that Swagger has developed this far, this fast in his tenure in WWE. You just never know with these new characters and pushes if they will stick. Swagger not only has an effective presentation of his wrestling ability, but he also has the physical and visual presence to make an impact on the fans and television audience. I would have liked a longer run for Matt Hardy as ECW Champion, but four months is a dog's age in WWE time. Swagger as heel champion with Hardy, Finlay and Dreamer chasing him should make for some solid television. I just wonder…if Danielson had signed a contract with WWE when he had that dark match a few months back…would this be the spot he would have filled?
3. Austin Aries & Jimmy Jacobs: Both men went all the way with their characters in their feud and it ended up paying off huge with fantastic matches and some memorable mental chess games. All of their singles matches have been intense and well presented, including the final showdown on PPV> The "I Quit" match ended up being my favorite of the week.
4. Randy Orton: The Legacy has truly been formed…and if people aren't watching out for them, before you know it they could be the top heel act in the company.
5. Lacey: It was nice to see her again, one more time, if just for a brief few minutes. Her presence tied up a major loose end of the Aries-Jacobs feud. Sometimes having that sense of finality will make all the difference in the end and I think it did here. I believe Lacey wanted to focus on school (correct me if I'm wrong) and that's very laudable, but as a strong female character (and a solid wrestler) her presence in ROH and SHIMMER was very important. There was a void that was created in ROH when she left that hasn't been filled yet.


Honorarium

Thoughts on Adam Pearce's First Shows, The French Connection, Bound By Hate and Escalation: Well, the sky isn't falling. As many have gathered from reading various reviews around the net (and here at 411 with J.D. Dunn's reviews), the new ROH isn't all that far off from the old ROH (for now anyway). The newest DVD releases begin the Adam Pearce run of shows and for the most part, the product has stayed the same. Yes there is the insertion of the count out rule and shorter matches in the first half, but really when it comes down to it, this is still a wrestling promotion that I want to watch. I want to see the wrestling matches from this company and I want to see what happens. As long as ROH continues to get me to want to see the developments in the angles and see their talent wrestle in the marquee matches, they'll have me as a fan. Of course, there are certainly some issues and nitpicks to talk about, and they'll come in turn.

The major criticism as far as I see it is the increased interference, or really I should say the post match occurrences. I feel there are way too many things happening after the match for my liking, whether a run in or post match beat down. ROH has done this in the Gabe era, usually as a way to chain together segments. However, it seems to happen a lot more often than it used to and not just to link one match to the next but as an exclamation point to every feud. When you do that every time, some of the effectiveness of what you do with post match action is lost.

The major problem with the new formatting of the shows may end up being the same problem ROH has always had to face when producing so many DVDs. Some shows will be much better than others and therefore much more worth purchasing. The French Connection and Escalation are solid shows that as a whole present a good and solid product, but lack that one match that really makes you want to buy the DVD. They are not bad shows, not even Escalation which came under fire on the message board recently as being horrible and the worst one in Dayton in quite some time. I believe that is why ROH included the Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Black match from Chicago as a special feature on that DVD as opposed to the Rising Above DVD when standard operating procedure has been for bonus matches from the same event are usually included on the same DVD as the PPV. It was a smart move, because whether you bought it for Joe vs. Black or not, you also had a full show to watch, and it wasn't the worst show in the world that some had been calling it. It just didn't have that marquee match (aside from the main event, more on that one in a second) that hooked you on buying the show.

The matches on that DVD are good enough (even The Irish Airborne match, albeit that was a righteous thrashing by The Briscoes), but some of the finishes were criticized and rightfully so. Its fine to do a count out or a DQ or a screwy finish once in a while, but that card was loaded with them (in particular the ending to Strong vs. Hero was harmed badly by the messy execution of the idea they were going with in the SnS Inc. interference ). ROH also caught flak for changing the booking of the title match during the show itself. Prazak and Leonard tried to justify it on the DVD but I don't buy it. The three way match was good and no doubt well worked among Aries, Black and McGuinness, but would have been ramped up to that extra level had the title been on the line.

The highlights of The French Connection include Danielson and Aries vs. The Age of the Fall and Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong. Despite having seen AotF vs. Team Work multiple times on previous DVDs all four men manage to make it fresh again by wrestling the match with a new in-ring story (well it is a bit of older school wrestling psychology, but its new at least for this feud)—that being that Jacobs doesn't want to get in the ring with Aries on the night before their dog collar match. As a result, Tyler Black spends the majority of the match in the ring against two men with whom he has excelled and it becomes a bit of a showcase for the soon-to-be-turning face Black. When Aries and Jacobs finally do lay hands on each other, the result is worth the wait. Meanwhile, Strong vs. Richards is a grudge match where both men work hard and fight harder against each other. It actually may be a better match than the one they had in Japan, which I liked quite a bit.

The major difference in presentation is one that ROH has actually used before—the roving reporter trying to get interviews with the talent. I actually like Kyle Durden in this role, and it provides a bit of levity and a different spin on things like what is going on in the locker room. It reminds me of the Robbie Dawber stuff from OVW, which I liked a lot.

The main event four way elimination is thirty minutes of essentially Steen and Generico vs. McGuinness (and oh yeah Shiozaki is in there too). The Steen and Generico show is a fine one to watch and in front of their countrymen its even better—the curtain call with the fans where Steen gets Generico to inadvertently insult himself is cute (but only if you know French and can understand what he's saying). Ultimately though, the DVD isn't a must-see and can easily be skipped without any real repercussions to the story. That's not a good thing for the DVD product and purchasing structure.

Bound By Hate is THE pick up to get out of the first three shows in the new ROH era. It's a great card with three must see matches backed up by an above average and (most importantly) fun undercard.

The best match on the show is actually right in the middle—the Aries vs. Jacobs dog collar bout. It actually may be one of the best dog collar matches in ROH history and there have been quite a few important ones during that time. Right from the start when Jacobs ambushes Aries this is just a brutal and bloody occasion, one you can't turn away from. I loved the strategy of Jacobs not putting on the dog collar and using it to drag Aries all over. He eventually ties Aries to a turnbuckle post and leaves him in a completely vulnerable position, one he uses to press the advantage. Aries then makes the come from behind rally and bloodies Jacobs to even the score. Jacobs is brilliant in wrapping the chain around Aries throat before he goes to the End Time—it's the little touches like that which make all the difference in presenting a dog collar match. These two were clearly thinking about how to use the gimmick to their best advantage. Later, Aries wraps the chain around his knee, gets the brainbuster, brutal knees and the Last Chancery to finish it.

Danielson vs. Black vs. Omega received quite a bit of positive reviews and "you must see this match" style quotes from fans in attendance. It is quite the coming out party for Omega (and Black you already know about). I loved seeing these three interact with each other and provide some unique moments and situations. I'd give it three and a half stars, not quite the four or four and a half some would give (as on a list of top fifteen matches of 2008 done by PW Torch). But it's definitely an eye opener for more than one reason.

After asking for Brodie Lee and being able to see him on DVD, boy was it ever worth it. Lee did great in his two appearances and I'm glad he is being booked for more shots. ROH needs a big man like him to contrast with the other wrestlers on the roster, but he also has a unique and exciting presence in the ring which makes him different enough to warrant inclusion on a regular basis.

The main event was another excellent bout between Steen & Generico and The Briscoes, made even more praiseworthy because now we know Mark was fighting through his injury at the time. It's a throw down that recalled the height of their frenzied tag bouts in 2007. I have to question the decision of having Steen and Generico run in to save Necro Butcher when they deserved their own entrance and the huge pop that comes with it in their home country. I think the fans tired out with the last two matches and you can tell in their reactions. They should have been way more up for Steen and Generico vs. The Briscoes than they were and perhaps they could have been had there have been a more straightforward entrée into the match as opposed to the moshpit of bodies that came out between it and the McGuinness vs. Necro match. I hate to utter the letters "T" "N" and "A" when it comes to that style of over doing run ins, but well, there you go. Nonetheless the match itself stands as a strong, must see match.

Bulked by a nice Lynn vs. Richards opener a good rough n tumble tag bout between Strong & Stevens vs. Sweet & Sour Inc. and of course Grizzley Redwood doing his thing, Bound By Hate is a damned great DVD and the one to buy out of the first three shows. If you want to see Black vs. Joe, of course you should also buy Escalation.

Looking at the adjectives I've used in this write up is a bit disconcerting—"good enough", "solid", "not as bad as others have said". This is not the kind of description I'd want of Ring of Honor shows—average and mundane. That is the problem with ROH right now I believe—the shows are either very average but consistent or outright excellence. Even with a new booker, its hard to escape that dichotomy.

I love to go back to the movie High Fidelity, so here is yet another reference. There's a moment in the movie where main character Rob Gordon is describing his relationship with his estranged girlfriend. He is having a problem reconciling that the relationship isn't full of explosions and spectacular highs and lows, but rather that his relationship is solid and good. He seems to be coming to terms with the fact that a relationship with someone else settles into a territory of comfort where you just get a "good" feeling from them. I think that is where some fans, maybe even including myself, are currently at in their feelings about ROH. There is nothing wrong with watching a solid, consistent and quality wrestling show and that is Ring of Honor. ROH should be striving for consistently good and quality shows and more often than not they deliver in that regard.

However, I get the feeling ROH should be striving to be something more…and that fresh feeling of being on the "cutting edge" as they were just a few years ago isn't something they are going to get back to any time soon.


-One of the aspects I've really enjoyed about Claudio's heel turn is his bouts of going out of control and having to be restrained by the locker room. It's clear the crowd enjoys this too, because they pop like crazy whenever he throws some fools around who are trying to send him to the back. However, Claudio's heel turn, aside from his matches with Bryan Danielson, hasn't been the great renaissance it should have been. So what if Claudio was a good guy again, but had a temper that was repeatedly triggered by some asshole heel? Then we could see Claudio at as the fiery face that occasionally flips out and gets the crowd excited to see him kick some ass?


-Thinking about it, shouldn't they have called the DVD "Meet Joe / Black"? WAH WAH WAHHHHHH…

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ROH Lookalikes

Every so often I like to think about the idea of "celebrity lookalikes"…or even just non-celebrity lookalikes. It is true that many of us look at least a little like someone else out there in the world. Doppelgangers, twins from different mothers, whatever you want to call them, when you see your "other" in the world, there is no denying some sort of strange, physical connection between us members of homo sapiens. Well, it's once again time to see who in Ring of Honor or the world of professional wrestling at large might have a brother or sister they didn't know about…or maybe even a clone! Time for… ROH Lookalikes!



Cheerleader Melissa & Paula Cole
"I don't wanna wait" to see Raeesha Saeed unmasked as Cheerleader Melissa so she can kick some ass for real in the TNA Knockouts Division. Paula Cole encouraged us all to find out where all the cowboys had gone, but Melissa's version of encouragement doesn't come in a song or even a cheer, but rather a footstomp to the floor and a Kudo Driver to the opponent's head and neck. Looking at the similar jaw line, and even the eyes and eyebrow shapes, you'd have to think there is some sort of unexplained bond between these two empowered ladies of entertainment.




Bushwacker Luke & Tony Kornheiser
Pardon the Interruption…but WOOOOOOOOAH! YEAAAAAAAAAAAH! The lovable New Zealander Sheepherding wackadoo and ESPN's favorite curmudgeon may not be able to understand each other in a conversation, but they certainly seem to be on the same visual wavelength. The question they might be asking each other is "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"




Jimmy Jacobs & Pete Wentz
It isn't just the emo-look that these two share, or that both got into a girl's pants by playing the emo look (well okay Jacobs and Lacey were just a storyline, but then again, maybe so is Wentz & Ashlee Simpson) Now it's true that Jimmy Jacobs prefers a thick set of facial hair these days and Wentz goes clean shaven…but look at that top mop! Eerily similar! Maybe both went to the same underground Lemon Tree or something. Or to Sephora to trade some guyliner tips. In the recent issue of Blender magazine, Wentz actually compared himself to wrestlers: "Being famous is like being in the WWF. When we (Fall Out Boys) first came out, I was Hulk Hogan. Kids loved me. Now I'm more like the Undertaker. The thing people don't understand is, the boos are the same as the cheers to me. I just love to wrestle." I think maybe Wentz should have John Cena…or really, Jimmy Jacobs.




Tyler Black & Jesus Christ
Sorry if I'm being blasphemous to some, but I think Homicide had it right when he called T.B. by J.C.'s name. The hair, the mustache and beard, the skinny frame and the seemingly fast popularity both achieved in a short amount of time…c'mon you tell me there's nothing suspicious about that! Oh and one of Black's finishing moves just happen to be called "God's Last Gift". How would he be able to receive God's last gift if it wasn't some sort of birthday present from his pops? And how about the "rising after three days like a" Phoenix Splash? Referencing the resurrection in your move set is a dead give away you are the second coming…and not of CM Punk.

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Going Home

Get With the pROHgram:

February 2009: "ROH Classics" on Direct TV begins to provide 10 hours of ROH programming per month.

Early February 2009: Final Battle 2008 should be released on DVD.

March 14th, 2009: ROH DEBUTS in Indianapolis, Indiana as the second night of a double shot with the St. Louis area (Collinsville). ROH runs the Indiana State Fairgrounds for a 7:30 PM show. Tickets are already on sale through the rohwrestling.com website.

March 20th, 2009: ROH RETURNS to the Pittsburg, PA area running the Court Time Sports Center in Elizabeth, PA. That is where the IWC (International Wrestling Cartel) usually runs their shows.

April 3rd & 4th, 2009:ROH debuts in Houston, Texas running during the Wrestlemania 25 weekend, including a matinee on the 4th.


Ringtones

Maybe it's Xavier coming back to Ring of Honor. How excited would everybody be then? That would blow people's fucking minds!! Anyways, is there anybody here who could write a column on Pro Wrestling Guerrilla? Ask around for me. Excellent Column.

Posted By: the dude (Guest) on January 10, 2009 at 07:32 PM

Hey I asked for Xavier to come back to ROH action at least one more time a few months back during my X Marks the Spot column. Then! We could do that London vs. Xavier rematch! Yeah! As for a PWG column, the closest we get is Bayani's Truth B Told, as he often covers the promotion and previews their big events. Let's ask him!

Ari, even despite the crappy banner, your column remains one of the best on this site; it's good to see effort being put in, especially considering how long you've been covering the subject. Let's hope with ROH stepping up some production efforts with this potential TV deal, you can do likewise with your banner.

Posted By: Chungles (Guest) on January 10, 2009 at 07:33 PM

Chungles, I need your opinion on the new banner ASAP!

Man, I can help but feel unmotivated to watch their shows after seeing those tacky trailers. There, I said it.

Posted By: MIKEYWHIPNECK (Guest) on January 10, 2009 at 07:53 PM

The Aries vs. Jacobs one was a bit of a mess but I think the Danielson vs. McGuinness package was right on the money.


Great column. I get you mean man... about the "what if?" thing. Its sad how so many guys that made names for themselves in ROH won't be around if (and when!) they get a TV deal. I really hope Danielson never leaves. I've always considered him to be the heart and soul of ROH. If he left they'd never be the same.

Posted By: Whoblehwah (Guest) on January 10, 2009 at 08:54 PM


Danielson and McGuinness right now are the heart of the company and if either leaves the impact at this point would be huge, no question about it. However I think Tyler Black is coming along real fast and if ROH plays it right he could be the next guy we talk about in that kind of context—the "it" guy and cornerstone of the company.

I wound up going to Ring of Homicide 2, and I was ringside. I have to say, it WAS an amazing show, the only downside was Claudio breaking off half my toenail slamming someone into the barricade (which jammed into my foot, causing my toenail to go vertical) making me miss Tyler Black vs Jerry Lynn. x.x

Posted By: mx729 (Guest) on January 11, 2009 at 02:29 AM

That seriously sucks—Black vs. Lynn was really good!


ROH @ 411

Larry Csonka has the play by play report for Rising Above available on the site right now.

Samuel Berman and Larry Csonka go mano a mano regarding events in ROH in this week's 411 Buy or Sell.

It's a HUGE week of ROH reviews on 411. J.D. Dunn is back at it again, rampaging his own reviews of recent ROH shows including Driven 2008, Return of the 187, Ring of Homicide 2, The French Connection and Bound By Hate. Check em all out.


That will do it for this week's edition! Next time out—results from Edison, New Jersey and we go back to December's ROH action for the final Money Player and Stockmarket report from 2008. Thanks for reading!

BROOKLYN! NANA!
--Ari--