Column of Honor 03.14.09: Ghana Slumdog Millionaire

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 03.14.2009

Prince Nana is back on top of the world and Ring of Honor only has itself to blame. Plus, results from Collinsville, including Ric Flair’s physical altercation against Nigel McGuinness! Plus, breaking news on Naomichi Marufuji’s injury, thoughts on JBL, Eddie Kingston, Jay Briscoe, the HHH / Orton house invasion fiasco, does ROH need a secondary title and THE defining moments of ROH in 2004!

Column of Honor is the sound salvation…Column of Honor is cleaning up the nation…you better do what you've been told…you better listen to the Column of Honor.

Welcome to the Column.



Ring Toss
-Ghana Slumdog Millionaire
-ROH Results: Collinsville, IL March 13th, 2009
-Honored News
-ROH Call
-My Fave 5
-Honorarium
-Seven Years of ROH: Defining Moments of 2004
-Get with the pROHgram
-Ringtones
-ROH @ 411
-Buy or Sell Quickies


Ghana Slumdog Millionaire

If only they had just left him come back to work for them. At pennies on the dollar, he would have been worth it. They could have given him whatever menial labor job they wanted—from setting up and taking down the ring to washing the "boys'" tights to passing out flyers for the next show outside the venues.

Now, Ring of Honor has a real problem on their hands.

Prince Nana walked back into the spotlight just four months ago when he interrupted an ROH event in Connecticut. He was a broken, humbled man—defeated by losing the princely riches of the kingdom of Ghana. He was reduced to becoming a taxi driver as well as supplementing his income by doing odd jobs, even panhandling information pamphlets on the city streets. Nana only wanted a second chance, another opportunity to make good on the American Dream. He begged Ring of Honor officials to let him come back to work for them. He would do anything they wanted—anything.

"No" was the answer he received. Not just once, but over and over again. Time after time that Prince Nana hopped over the rail to get the attention of Cary Silkin or any number of ROH employees, he was told no and escorted out of the building. The excited chants of "Nana, Nana" by the fans in attendance echoed through the venues loudly and clearly, but Silkin and ROH still put the kibosh on any return to action for Prince Nana. He was obviously not welcome back.

Now the fans have what they wanted all along—to see Prince Nana back in Ring of Honor—but they and ROH officials may have gotten more than they bargained for. Nana is back and in the glorious form of old—haute couture threads, crown and head dress, money galore and oh yes, the shrimp cocktail too.

You see, if Nana was only allowed to walk in though the front door, he wouldn't have been forced to leverage his way into ROH. If only he became gainfully employed by Ring of Honor, he would have never gained the opportunity of a lifetime afforded by the current global economic process. All thanks to the blissful ignorance and stubborn politics of the office, Nana found the way to his salvation. Now he doesn't have to beg anymore. He doesn't need to run in through the crowd. He can just saunter in through backstage, down the ramp and to ringside, with his new client in tow.

Prince Nana is now a manager once again, taking on the massive wrecking machine of a man known as Bison Smith. It was a master plan to use the massive power of Smith to bulldoze his way through the ranks of ROH competition straight to the "heart" of ROH—Bryan Danielson. Smith attacked Danielson viciously, including planting ROH's brightest star with a concussive powerbomb onto the ringside floor. Nana knew that if he targeted the valiant Danielson, he could reel in the biggest catch of all. "American Dragon"'s foolish pride and desire to prove he was the best would get him back to ROH—because Nana represented Smith, and if Danielson wanted to fight Smith, he'd have to go through Nana to do it. Finally, ROH officials would be forced to deal with Prince Nana through direct negotiations.

As if Nana needed any more leverage to work his way back into ROH, the global economic crisis paved the way for his true return to form. According to a statement by Nana earlier in the week (See below), Nana and perhaps even the nation of Ghana has benefited from President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan. Nana received extra funds to rebuild the business of The Embassy—including hiring Ernie Osiris as his personal go-fer. Nana's new cash flow means that he once again has the capital necessary to build a massive stable capable of striking fear and terror through the ROH roster. As if having Bison Smith in his pocket wasn't enough, who knows who else will become part of this new Embassy program.

Prince Nana's return is a true riches-to-rags-to-riches story. This story could have had a vastly different ending, far more beneficial to ROH, its officials and its roster. Now there is a new chapter to write and the signature of the book (along many checks to his clients) will be written by Prince Nana, the Ghana Slumdog Millionaire.

ROH Results: ROH Results: Collinsville, IL March 13th, 2009 (via the ROH message board)

Matches

Pre Show:
-Grizzly Redwood & Aaron Scott defeated Sigmund & Sean Schultz.
-Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne defeated Travis Sawyer.

Main Show:

-Roderick Strong defeated Jay Briscoe via pinfall after reversing a victory roll.
-SHIMMER Women Athletes Champion MsChif retained her title by defeating Daizee Haze.
- Austin Aries defeated Kenny Omega, Silas Young & Claudio Castagnoli in a Four Corner Survival Match when Aries pinned Omega after a brainbuster.
-The team of Sweet & Sour Inc. of Chris Hero, Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards (w/ Larry Sweeney) defeated the team of ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen & El Generico & Bobby Dempsey via submission. Richards made Steen tap to the Texas Cloverleaf.
-The team of Kenny King & "Addicted to Love" Rhett Titus defeated the team of Irish Airborne of Jake & Dave Crist via pinfall with the combination powerbomb & blockbuster.
-"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson defeated Bison Smith via count out.
-The team of Tyler Black & Jerry Lynn defeated The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious when Black pinned Delirious after Jacobs hit Delirious with a chair by accident.
-Brent Albright defeated Ring of Honor World Champion Nigel McGuinness via disqualification when Claudio Castagnoli attacked him. Nigel and Claudio double teamed Albright until RIC FLAIR made the save, throwing punches and chops. Flair raised Albright's hand afterwards.

Angles & Issues

(write ups in italics courtesy ROH message boards)
-The Ballad of Delirious Part One: Jimmy Jacobs told Delirious in the post-match of the SHIMMER Title bout that he needs to deliver in a major way tonight or bad things will happen...Jacobs tells Daizee to stay out of things and that she wants to hurt Delirious. Jacobs then threatened to spike Daizee.

All is Flair: Flair says that he and ROH are "one." Says that the next HBK is in the ROH locker room and puts over the locker room. Nigel interrupts. He welcomes Flair and says ROH is the hottest thing in wrestling today. Nigel indicates that he won't say that Flair is not one of the best wrestlers ever...but rips him as a husband and a father! Flair says he'll bring Reid Flair to ROH to challenge Nigel. Flair tells Nigel that to be the man, he has to prove it in the ring. Flair said he'd bring Reid in "next week."

-After the six man tag match, Sweet & Sour Inc. continued to attack Steen with chairs but Generico saved his partner and ran The Inc. off to the back.

-Ballad of Delirious Part Two: After the tag match, Jacobs was about to help Delirious up, but then shoved him down. Daizee came out to make the save and gets spiked by Jacobs! Jacobs then went to spike Delirious, which was blocked. Delirious hits a Cobra Suplex, spikes Jacobs (!) and hits 5 Panic Attacks! Daizee slowly rises and jumps into Delirious' arms and they embrace and hug. ~!

Return Date: October 9th, 2009

Thoughts on ROH in Collinsville: It looks like Ric Flair's appearance in ROH was a success through and through with increased attendance and Flair participating in multiple segments of the show. I am afraid that some will look at the top two matches ending in a count out and a disqualification and go "oh look at how Ring of Honor has changed—unclean finishes in the main events!" However, if you look at the purposes those finishes served, I find it perfectly justifiable to end the matches that way…AND the crowd was given a major "happy ending" when Flair threw down on McGuinness and gave the rub to Albright. It didn't take long for him to get physically involved in the action huh? I am really liking that he broke out some punches and chops on Nigel McGuinness, because not only does it guarantee more follow up between the two, but it also creates a similar situation that we saw in 2004 between CM Punk and Ricky Steamboat (see below) with unofficial "encounters" (as opposed to matches) between the two and likely involving other wrestlers. Yes, some naysayers might be pointing out that it took all of one segments before Flair was able to insert his son Reid into the mix (mentioning he would bring him to the ROH show "next week"), but really, can you blame him for trying to get his son involved in the business, and in a higher profile situation such as this? I can't—and hey, it could be worse. DAVID Flair could be coming in instead!

The one disappointment for me coming out of this situation is that it seems that ROH moved away from putting Flair and Larry Sweeney together in some in-ring segments. They were hinting at that direction with the first Flair promo but it seems like they have moved away from that.

I am also happy to read of movement in the Delirious and Daizee Haze angle—with Delirious finally throwing off the yoke of Jimmy Jacobs and being happily reunited (at least it seems so) with Daizee Haze. This was a storyline progression a long time in coming—in fact it had seemed like it was a bit stalled out on recent shows. Now The Age of the Fall is just down to Jimmy Jacobs and Brodie Lee, so unless Jacobs taps some new blood for his movement, it could be we are seeing the downfall of AotF.

Otherwise this reads like a very strong show from top to bottom, beginning with an aggressive match between Strong and Jay Briscoe and some really strong combinations and finishes for the remainder of the undercard.


Honored News

BREAKING NEWS: Naomichi Marufuji injured, Out for Six Months

Just coming in is the news that Pro Wrestling NOAH's Naomichi Marufuji has suffered an ACL injury and will be out of action for six months. Marufuji oftentimes makes appearances for Ring of Honor, last showing up to challenge ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness at Final Battle 2008. Marufuji was not one of the NOAH / Sasaki Office talents announced for the Wrestlemania weekend shows.


ROH Works With Booker T Charity During Wrestlemania Weekend

Ring of Honor is happy announce a working agreement with Booker T, the Booker T Fights for Kids Foundation, and the "Legends of Wrestling" Fanfest, taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center on April 3rd in Houston. This is the same venue that will house the two ROH events that weekend. General Admission Booker T Fanfest tickets are free to anyone who has already purchased a ticket to the April 3rd Ring of Honor event at the Convention Center! This is sure to be a wonderful time for wrestling fans in the Houston area; for more information, please visit www.bookertlow.com.

I have more on this in my "Buy or Sell quickies" section, but I will say that this is a great move for all involved. Hopefully it will motivate some of the fans who will attend the ROH show to attend these signings as well and pony up a little bit of dough for charity. At the very least you may get to ask Kevin Nash about his shoe size or ask Amy Dumas out on a date. Bayani Domingo where are you for the easy lay-up joke?!?


Preview of ROH in Indianapolis, IN March 14th, 2009

Dream Tag Team Main Event--ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness & Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black & Jerry Lynn: McGuinness & Aries fought in a pair of excellent title matches last year, but you can file this under the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" category. Maybe Aries can convince McGuinness to grow a mustache as a show of team solidarity. Black and Lynn have sparred recently as well, but since they're the good guys, they showed respect to each other afterwards and have the beginnings of an alliance working. It should be interesting to see who scores the fall if it's to be a babyface victory to cap this show off. Both Black and Lynn are the most likely to challenge on the next Pay Per View taping so a win here may telegraph that direction.

World Tag Team Title Match--Kevin Steen & El Generico defend vs. Kenny King & Rhett Titus: Steen & Generico have actually been champions for quite a while already (dating back to September of 2008), but aside from combinations of Age of the Fall and The Briscoes haven't really defending against a diversity of opponents. King and Titus got a bit of a lift from recent undercard victories, and this is their first really test to see if they can be the top dogs of the tag division. They do have something together as a team, but if it's enough to be tag champions, I don't know. Winning here would be a major upset, but it's not unheard of for there to be major shifts in the tag ranks. That said, I think Steen and Generico pick up the win, but may get ambushed by the American Wolves post match.

Three Way Match--Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega vs. Claudio Castagnoli: Danielson and Omega are no strangers to wrestling each other in three way matches—they last did battle in such a match this past November (the third man there being Tyler Black). Castagnoli still has lingering hurt feelings I'm sure over losing his feud to Danielson, and he for sure is bitter over losing to Kenny Omega in the opening match of Final Battle 2008. It would be incumbent upon him to not allow Danielson and Omega to team up against him. He'll need to be smooth and swarthy during his in ring maneuvering, perhaps allow Danielson and Omega to fight against one another and take opportune advantage to pull out the win.

Special Challenge Match--Jay Briscoe vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney:Briscoe wants to give Sweet & Sour Inc. hell to pay for injuring his brother (in storyline), and he's going to the head of the class with Mr. YKO, Chris Hero, who is back with a vengeance. Hero has looked really good in recent matches with ROH and I think the recent Japan tour did him a world of good. Briscoe has looked really good in his singles matches as of late. I think we'll be in for one hell of a bout between these two, although I wouldn't overlook Larry Sweeney providing a Sweet & Sour dose of chicanery.

Grudge Tag Team Match--The American Wolves of Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards with Larry Sweeney vs. Brent Albright & Roderick Strong: This would be another match where ranking and positioning in the tag division will become apparent based on the result. Strong and Albright are an off and on team while the Wolves are the main antagonists right now and are on their way to a tag title bout in Manhattan next week. To me that spells out a Wolves victory, but stranger things have happened.

Only five matches have been announced, so that leaves room for a few more additions, including involvement from Bison Smith, Silas Young and more.


Economic Stimulus This!

Prince Nana has finally answered the request by ROH officials to ascertain how it is that he has seemed to resurrect himself from squalor. Nana commented, "What do you know about economic stimulus, you fools! Do you imbeciles not know how Mr. Obama proposes a combined $50 billion to avert looming job cuts in vital industries like my Embassy? I had to stop my operations for many, many, months and assume menial jobs to weather financial storms in this nation. But as anyone with a noodle knows, the world economy follows closely that of the United States – even my beloved Ghana. When Mr. Obama declared $25 billion would be allocated to prevent cuts in health, education, housing, and heating assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees at the state and local level, I rejoiced, because now my power will surpass that which has been seen before! My Bison will destroy Danielson, and even my new associate, Mr. Osiris, is now seeing the fruits of his labors!"

I have no idea what this means or how this explains Prince Nana getting his riches back, but all I have to say is thank god for Barack Obama because it means PRINCE NANA IS BACK! DAH EM BAH SEE FOR-EVAH!


Match Additions for Shows in Elizabeth and Manhattan

March 20th, 2009: Elizabeth, PA

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jerry Lynn: Both men are perpetually on the ROH upper card these days, so while there really isn't a "beef" between the two per se, this is certainly an interesting match to look at for positioning and contendership status. Lynn did pin Castagnoli during the tag team main event at Wrestling at the Gateway, so there is some built in history to play off. I'm sure Nigel may not be that far away from this bout as well, since he has closer ties to Claudio these days and he and Lynn have unfinished business.

Brent Albright vs. Eddie Edwards: Richards is teaming with McGuinness in the main event to the show to fight KENTA and El Generico. That leaves Edwards in need of a singles match. Coincidentally Albright needs someone to smash right in the face. Therefore, we get this match. This one smacks of "undercard" and some of those type of matches have been simply average. However, ROH keeps plugging Edwards in these sorts of situations where he can "break out", so maybe one of these days he'll actually do it.


March 21st, 2009: Manhattan, NY

Revolution Rules: The Age of the Fall (Jacobs & ??? & ???) vs. Team Black (Tyler Black & ??? & ???): A new match type which is a variation of Ultimate Endurance was announced this week to continue the feud between Jacobs and Black, although the explanation given seemed incredibly roundabout and confusing. Basically this is an elimination tag match with every fall containing a different stipulation. The way the previous fall was decided cannot be used to win the next fall, i.e. if you pinned someone, then the next fall cannot be won by pinfall. Countouts will be allowed but there will be no disqualification. As Don West and Mike Tenay might say ‘its really quite simple". Hopefully the fans in attendance won't get confused by the multiple rules because this certainly could be a cool new twist on elimination matches…but then again it could be a complete clusterfuck if not executed well. I'm intrigued but I can't say that this doesn't have a high degree of backfire built into it. Unless the Delirious face turn is short lived or somehow a swerve, then I'd expect to see him as a part of Black's team for this one.


ROHdds and Ends

-ROH completed production work in Denver for the HD Net television show. Bryan Alvarez informally reported on one of his recent radio shows that he had received some initial impressions about Mike Hogewood's performance on commentary. Well…we pretty much are going to get what was expected out of a man who had virtually no experience in calling professional wrestling. I agree with Alvarez's assessment that at the least ROH has a good advantage in that because the shows are taped in advance, if Hogewood makes a mistake or needs clarification, they can at least stop the recording and redo that section of play-by-play. I'm hoping Prazak and company can help him along fast enough that he gets the idea quickly. These are looking to be good shows in the ring and all the word has been the video quality has been top notch. I'd hate for the shows to be negatively affected because of poor commentary. Although, like ROH booking under Adam Pearce, I am willing to give Hogewood benefit of the doubt, at least for now.

- The Ring of Honor world title will be on the line in Houston during the April 3rd show. It should be noted this is the first of the two shows that weekend, the second of which being the Pay Per View taping. I'd expect a title match for that show as well, but few details until we actually get to that date, because announcing anything now would likely spoil the next few weeks of shows that take place in between then and now.

- From the newswire: "The Young Knockout Kid" Chris Hero and Larry Sweeney have been scouting talent as of late, and have been very impressed by the resume of freelance lucha talent, Incognito. "Here's a guy with tremendous upside," said Hero. "He's got the athleticism, heart, and obviously tremendous skill. He just needs direction." Sweeney added, "Sweet-N-Sour Incorporated has been very successful in guiding foreign talent in ROH, and we've been looking to spread our reach into Mexico and beyond." ROH officials have learned that Sweeney has been in contact with Incognito about a "Sweet-N-Sour Audition" of sorts, apparently to take place in Houston when ROH debuts there on the weekend of April 3rd and 4th.

- From the newswire: The arrogant Sterling James Keenan impressed ROH officials at the ROH on HDNet television tapings, and will appear in suburban Pittsburgh on March 20th in singles competition. Well, this newsbit won't make ROH fans happy, since SJK seems to be on their permanent "S" list.

-From the newswire: The first names confirmed for the second set of Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet tapings are: Roderick Strong, The American Wolves – Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards with Larry Sweeney, MsChif, Tyler Black, The ROH World Tag Team Champions – Kevin Steen and El Generico, and the Dark City Fight Club! The tapings will take place on Thursday, April 9th and Friday, April 10th at the Arena in South Philadelphia. Don't miss out on the opportunity to be a part of history as ROH brings real professional wrestling back to television! Although the tag titles could change tomorrow or in New York, it's good to know that Steen AND Generico will be on these shows. Hopefully they will be featured together as the tag champions or at least in tag action. Generico is an awesome face and I think would be a welcome addition to the television program.

- From the newswire:Larry Sweeney has been telling people close to him that he's got two very special opponents in store for Bobby Dempsey, as Dempsey has two contracts leftover from when he was under the representation of Sweeney. The first matchup takes place as part of ROH's Seventh Anniversary on March 21st in the Hammerstein Ballroom. "That fat slob is going to pay dearly," said the Super Agent. "Ain't no doubt about it. There ain't no doubt at all." ROH officials are unclear as to when Sweeney plans on making Dempsey live up to the second of the contracts.

-Kayfabe Quote of the Week: "Tyler Black is blinded by the sheep that mindlessly chant his name. As is Necro. These are prime examples of the kind of weakness that the revolution is pledged to eliminate. Black wants his revenge? He wants it at the 'scene of the crime'? Well, I know I'll have Brodie Lee at my side, and if need be, I'm sure Austin Aries could be persuaded to fight fire as well. But we shall see if Tyler Black is willing to meet my demands, because that is the only way he'll ever get another chance to exact the revenge his shallow soul desires." --Jimmy Jacobs


ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 03/14/2009

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 37 successful defenses)
-defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. KENTA, Manhattan, NY 03/21/09

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)
V.33 fought to a time limit draw vs. vs. Tyler Black (01/17/09, Edison, New Jersey)
V. 34 defeated El Generico, London Dungeon (01/31/09 Chicago Ridge, Illinois)
V.35 defeated D-Lo Brown, Jawbreaker Lariat (02/07/09, Orlando, Florida)
V.36 Four Way Elimination Match: defeated Tyler Black, Jimmy Jacobs &Jerry Lynn (02/27/09, Danbury, CT)
V.37 lost via disqualification to Brent Albright (03/13/09, Collinsville, IL) Champion retains on a DQ.

**

ROH World Tag Team Champions—Kevin Steen & El Generico (champions since 09/19/08, 5 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:a- vs. Kenny King & Rhett Titus, Indianapolis, Indiana, 03/14/09
b- vs. American Wolves, New York, NY, 03/21/09

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)
V.5 defeated American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) (01/30/09, Detroit, MI)

**

Top Feuds & Pairings:

-What is going on between Aries and Jacobs?
-Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs
-Tyler Black has a title shot "in his back pocket"
-Jerry Lynn vs. Nigel McGuinness
-Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright
-Bobby Dempsey's trail of revenge against Sweet & Sour Inc.
-Prince Nana is once again a manager
-Daizee Haze wants to save Delirious.
-Necro Butcher continues his war against Age of the Fall


ROH Home Theatre Station

ROH Videowire: March 10th, 2009

---

1. Edge: The man's body language and facial reactions to what is happening to and around him are top notch. His performance during the contract signing for the main event to ‘Mania was perfect, especially the smoldering look of anger and hatred when John Cena revealed Vickie and Big Show have been involved in a big smoochdown. No doubt that he, Orton and Jericho represent a trifecta of awesome heels in WWE right now.
2. John Bradshaw Layfield : As I wrote during this week's Wrestler of the Week poll, JBL deserves a huge vote of praise and a "thank you" from independent and mainstream wrestling fans everywhere due to his sponsorship (some report buy in / purchase of) Ohio Valley Wrestling. OVW is one of the best wrestling schools in North America (with the CHIKARA Wrestle Factory and Storm's Wrestling Academy following close behind) and it was in huge financial trouble, having lost television in its own hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. JBL did the right thing, the good thing, for both the wrestling world and himself as a businessman, by saving OVW. Unbelievably, JBL, who was once the scorn of the IWC, could be the man who helps keep the lifeblood of independent and mainstream professional wrestling going in the years to come.
3. Tyler Black: is still doing some crazy athletic moves in the ring that is impressing the hell out of me. He is hitting enziguris and dives from angles that shouldn't be able to happen.
4. Super Smash Brothers and Cheech & Cloudy vs. Los Ice Creams & 2.0: I'm trying to finish up the last bunch of CHIKARA DVDs from the 2008 season and I came across this match from this "Armdrags to Riches". It was an incredibly entertaining match, both from a comedy perspective and due to the action. All eight men play off of each other really well based on both the characters they all portray and what is being done in the ring. For instance, Jagged steals Cheech's beach towel and we get a fantastic chase sequence around the ring (I kept waiting for C&C to provide retribution by snapping the towel at him, but alas it was not to be), then later Cloudy follows up, amazed at an out of nowhere pinning sequence done by Jagged. Los Ice Creams are also right on in this match, lulling the tecnicos into sympathizing with them by crying when they are hit. Then they do RUDO tactics! Awesome.
5. Jay Briscoe: Jay has been refreshed as of late and it once again a hell of a lot of fun to watch him in the ring. You can really tell he's feeling it too, because he really kicked it up a notch during the Full Circle / Injustice II double shot weekend. His recent promo on the videowire also shows that Jay is often under looked when it comes to talking up his matches. Whether its unleashing a bevy of curse words or sounding (relatively) cogent for a Briscoe, Jay can definitely get himself over via promos.


Honorarium

-Nigel McGuinness is now seventeen months into his title reign and making a serious bid to run down Samoa Joe for the longevity record. I honestly did not see that happening back in 2007, although I had hoped for a long run for Nigel. Given the slew of television shows already recorded with him as champion and a Pay Per View or two on the way, I'd say there is a very good chance he will smash through Joe's run or at the least come incredibly close to it. I ‘m going to love to see Nigel McGuinness vs. KENTA, but if I'm being very realistic then I know in the back of my head the next best chance to see if the title will change hands is going to be in Houston April 4th at the PPV taping. I said way back when that I thought the days of the ROH World Title changing hands anywhere else but on a Pay Per View show was pretty much over. There's only been one ROH World Title change since then, but I don't see much to change that perspective. As I wrote earlier, Black and Lynn have the best shot of being the next champion, so if either one of them gets the shot in Houston, then I'd expect the title change there. If not, then Nigel heads back the next week into the television tapings as champion and since they tape six weeks at a time per weekend, that means Nigel would get to around nineteen or twenty months as champion. Interesting times ahead no doubt, as we see if Nigel makes ROH history or not.

-I have to give a lot of praise for the last two weeks of ROH videowire footage. Not only is their video quality top notch, but the content over the last two weeks has matched that quality as well. We've been able to see some excellent promos, from Chris Hero's return from Japan (filmed in a nice touch with a backdrop of boxing posters) to Bryan Danielson in front of the Rocky statue to Jay Briscoe rising to the occasion and delivering an awesome promo outside his home. I think more than ever the ROH wrestlers are benefitting from this format, because they are able to do more promo work now and it helps to get over their character and their personalities.

-I am also noticing the cameras at the shows picking up even more dialogue from the wrestlers than ever before (likely due to the upgraded equipment). That has allowed for some nice subtle touches to the work in the match. For example, Brent Albright giving the verbal smackdown to Rhett Titus for stalling out during the early part of their match at Injustice II.

-ROH has updated their roster page with new pictures and added bio information here. It's a step in the right direction considering how barren the roster page used to be. Although I did like those roster video packages they used to do a few years back and haven't done for a while. I doubt they could or even should do new ones until they settle out the new theme songs, but when they do I think there could be something worthwhile in creating some new "best of" clips of their roster in that format.

-EDDIE KINGSTON promo on the latest videowire! Hell Yeah! And he's going after Hero, which should be an excellent feud to bring back and use in ROH. ROH could use a wild card in Kingston…he brings that something "extra" unpredictable… that same something I felt when Homicide used to come barreling down ringside. The feeling was there that at any moment out right chaos could happen. At the very least, somebody was going to get fucked up. King may not have the best physique and he may not be the best technical wrestler, but that's not what he is about and that's not what he brings to the table. He doesn't have to provide those aspects of professional wrestling because there are others on the roster that already can take care of that. I just want Kingston to be Kingston, knock some heads in and cut some excellent promos. I'll be a happy camper with that.

-I have really enjoyed Randy Orton's heel act over the last few months and though he really broke through to that ultimate level of "heel" character when he punted Vince McMahon in the head (and a few weeks later did the same to Shane and gave Stephanie the RKO). I even thought the build to HHH vs. Orton had been pretty well done (not as great as it could have been, but it still had tons of heat and a lot of history to play off). All that being said, this past week's closing segment of Raw where Hunter invaded Randy Orton's home was the most ass-backwards, freaking stupid and insulting segments of the past year. I hadn't felt this feeling in a while, but I did feel embarrassed to be a wrestling fan and watching the show at that moment. From the "acting" (quote enquote) of Orton's "wife" to the horrible camera angles that screamed "FAKE" and set up to the random people running around the house, this was perhaps the first time in a long time that NOTHING was good about a WWE angle. At least when Triple H chased down Orton and Priceless two weeks back it actually looked somewhat believable. There was nothing believable about this segment.

-I am hoping beyond hope that Steve Austin IS coming back to wrestle Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania. WWE is in San Antonio on Monday and with Flair coming back, it could be a really well executed plot twist to see Flair introduce Austin as the man willing to fight Jericho. I'm not going to be able to watch Wrestlemania 25 live as it happens because I am attending a friends' wedding in Florida, but I have to say I'm not really sorry to be missing it right now. Austin vs. Jericho would pretty much be the only thing that could change that thought.

-I showed the Cactus Jack "anti-hardcore" promo from the original ECW in 1995 to my English class as a part of a lesson on dramatic monologue. Needless to say, some of them walked away very scared and frightened by Foley's words. One student (a girl who doesn't watch wrestling) actually thought he was legitimately psychotic and needed professional help. The look on her face when I told her Foley was actually married, a father of four and (relatively) normal (well for a wrestler) was priceless.


Seven Years of ROH: Defining Moments of 2004

Every week for the next month I'll be presenting some of the most memorable and important moments throughout the past seven years of Ring of Honor history. This isn't meant to be a ranked order, nor can it possibly contain every great moment that happened throughout that year. However, when you think about Ring of Honor for that year, these events certainly come to mind.

Therefore, in no particular order:

1. Formation of Generation Next: When ROH needed new blood in 2004, they got in spades when Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans stepped to the forefront. They became top heels in no time due to their insistence on interrupting the show, stealing "spots" on the card for their own needs and refusing to take "no" for an answer. Their first night together was the first of many examples of such a philosophy, as they took over the show, threw out the original "Generation Next" tournament format, christened their group by that name and then won a dramatic eight man tag against The Briscoes, Jimmy Rave and John Walters. Shelley and Aries had declared their team's intentions and there was no going back.

2. Samoa Joe and CM Punk go to an hour draw…twice: The rivalry that likely saved ROH at the time—bringing with it more awareness of the great wrestling on the shows and being the catapult for Joe and Punk eventually to sign with TNA and WWE respectively. Punk and Joe went out there and just wrestled for an hour…and each time it was great. The first time was one of the more pleasant surprises out there, and the rematch in Chicago where it seemed like Punk could win the belt had higher expectations but paid off perhaps even more than the original.

3. Homicide and Low Ki form the Rotweilers: Homicide snapping on Samoa Joe by throwing a fireball at him may have been unexpected, but even more so was Low Ki turning his back on everything he had held dear in ROH over the last two years. The epitome of what honor and fighting spirit stood for was now a part of a fear-inducing brital squad bent on tearing honor down to pieces. Together, Homicide and Low Ki wreaked havoc on ROH along with the Havana Pitbulls and Julius Smokes.

4. Austin Aries wins the ROH Title and breaks the streak: Of course probably one of THE most defining moments of the year came right at the very end when Austin Aries dethroned Samoa Joe as the ROH World Champion with a thrilling sequence of moves that has since become one of his trademarks. Aries had impressed earlier in the year with his Gen Next group and in the near 90 minute two out of three falls match against Bryan Danielson. It was clear he would be a champion sooner rather than later, but to win it in such a landmark fashion was really remarkable. A defining moment in Aries' career and ROH history.

5. Second City Saints win the ROH Tag Titles in Chicago: CM Punk and Colt Cabana had the hometown Chicago fans in the palm of their hands as they fought The Briscoes and won the titles (Reborn: Stage Two). Punk and Cabana had been heels at the time, but they were welcomed in as heroes for winning the match. It was the great chemistry between the two that made their rise to the top undeniable. The Briscoes were great competition for them as well, not just in this match but also in several rematches throughout the rest of 2004.

6. Mick Foley puts the fire spray to Prince Nana and The Embassy: Glory By Honor III was largely an "okay" show that will be remembered more for the offbeat shenanigans involving Mick Foley more than anything else. Foley's appearance attracted a huge welcoming committee of wrestlers, from Generation Next to Prince Nana and The Embassy. Foley wanted to come to the show to enjoy the action and put over the wrestling, but his jolly good time was ruined by being ambushed and attacked. Foley fired back, ironically using a fire extinguisher to stop the attack as well as give Prince Nana whatfor. It was a nice and fun way to end the night.

7. Ricky Steamboat and CM Punk go toe-to-toe: It was all about respect, or rather the lack of it that Punk had for Steamboat or anyone else in ROH at the time. Punk felt that Steamboat had not properly refereed his Pure Title match against AJ Styles at ROH At Our Best, and that led to Punk pushing "The Dragon" too far. Punk called Steamboat an old man and went to attack him, but Steamboat was on the hop and fought right back, including giving some vicious chops to Punk before he cleared out. There would be several more "encounters" between Steamboat and Punk, which was a close to a wrestling match as Ricky could get due to several legal reasons.


Also in 2004: The Second City Saints sent Christopher Daniels packing by injuring him with a Pepsi Plunge through a table; AJ Styles won the Pure Wrestling Title in an eight man tournament at the Second Anniversary show. Unfortunately he would only defend the belt once before being restricted from returning to ROH and the belt went on hiatus; Dusty Rhodes and Ox Baker had a brief reigniting of…whatever it was that they had back in the day; Rhodes would actually return to the ring to help the Carnage Crew defeat Special K during a Scramble Cage match; Samoa Joe passed the one year mark by defeating Jay Briscoe in a bloody cage match; Round Robin Challenge III saw the ROH Tag Team Titles change hands three times in one night; ROH held the show Generation Next outdoors under a tent—a first for ROH; The Prophecy won the first ever Ultimate Endurance match; Bryan Danielson won the first ever Survival of the Fittest tournament, defeating Austin Aries in the final fall of the six-way final match; Doug Williams won a mini-tournament to win the newly rechristened Pure Title, defeating Alex Shelley; The Second City Saints and The Prophecy waged brutal war in a Chicago Street Fight; The Midnight Express & Jim Cornette reunited, taking out Prince Nana and the surprise return of Ricky Morton!; Jushin "Thunder" Liger made two very special appearances, including a singles match against Bryan Danielson and a tag match teaming with Samoa Joe vs. Danielson & Low Ki; Samoa Joe and CM Punk had their final encounter for the ROH World Title, ending when Joe choked Punk out in a thirty plus minute match; Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette dueled on the mic and in terms of managerial skills; Austin Aries and Roderick Strong kicked Alex Shelley out of Generation Next.

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Going Home

Get With the pROHgram:

March 21st, 2009:ROH debuts on HD Net at 8p.m. EST. ONE WEEK AND COUNTING.

April 17th, 2009: "Caged Collision" debuts on Pay Per View, with Steel Cage Warfare between Team Albright and Sweet & Sour Incorporated as the main event.

April 17th, 2009: ROH returns to Montreal, Quebec Canada

April 18th, 2009: ROH returns to Markham, Ontario, Canada

June 12th, 2009: ROH returns to Manassas, Virginia, with Ric Flair making a special appearance.


Ringtones

im been watching roh since final battle 2008 and i have a qustion dose roh need a 2nd singles titles

Posted By: Wrestlinghero (Guest) on March 07, 2009 at 05:50 PM


A second ROH title has been a point of many of a discussion on the message boards and also in this column. I have always felt that ROH abandoned the Pure Title too soon and that it was actually growing into its own during the McGuinness run. The belt was made at that point and could have been transitioned to any one of a number of different wrestlers at the time (Delirious, Cabana, etc.) to continue to get the belt and the wrestlers over. Then ROH began to incorporate title belts from other companies (FIP, SHIMMER, later NWA) to a mixed bag of results. With ROH television now a reality, I think it would be a terrific idea to restart a "Television" title, specifically to be defended on the ROH HD Net show. That way ROH can get around the telegraphing of World or Tag Team Title changes while giving the HD Net viewers something "more" to draw them into the product—the knowledge that a title could change hands on that program certainly would intrigue viewers. So yes, I think ROH does need a secondary title, and even more so now that they have expanded their roster to incorporate more wrestlers from the independent scene and they have the platform to use such a title belt effectively.


Is it so hard to believe that some people just don't like Ric Flair very much? The half-assed, mailed-in promos he cut on the video wire haven't done much to inspire confidence either. I'm not completely against having Flair on some ROH shows, I know ROH is doing it in hopes of bringing new fans to their shows, but I can't say that seeing old man Flair strut around and say "woo" a million times in a ROH ring is very interesting to me.

Posted By: Rusty Shackleford (Guest) on March 07, 2009 at 07:51 PM

What you call half assed and mailed in others would call classic Flair style of promo work, hell classic wrestling promo work that wrestlers used to do when doing stand-ins for multiple shows. You repeat the name of the town over and over again as well as your opponent and you try to do it in an exciting way that gets the viewer wanting to go to see the live show. Flair's promos have always had a bit of the stream of conscious in it, especially this past decade, we've seen that once he goes over the "red line" that he could say just about anything and make it passionate and entertaining (see the "Fire me! I'm already Fired!" line he screamed at Eric Bischoff). Maybe it's just me as a Ric Flair fan, but I'd love to see Flair strut around and say "woo" anywhere, but especially in ROH.


Dude, Flair said in his most recent WWE DVD that he hadn't even sat down to watch his classic series with STEAMBOAT until a year or so ago.

Now, that might or might not be a bullshit statement, but it just proves the fact that the guy doesn't sit around his house watching wrestling DVDs. I mean, why would he?

Excellent column as always Ari, I almost wanted to stand up and cheer after that opening rant, but I wonder...wouldn't your efforts be more productive if you ranted against the stupid dumb fuck comments around HERE rather than the ROH message board? Somebody around here needs to stand up to this shit.

Posted By: The REAL MP (Guest) on March 08, 2009 at 01:00 AM

I sympathize but it would be like trying to put out a forest fire with a water pistol. Having a flame war between the 411 writers and the commenters serves no real purpose but to get over the commenters (although I have been guilty in the past of letting my temper get the best of me). As I've written previously though, I tend to just laugh at the idiocy of certain commenters and move on. There's nothing that can really be done on our parts to change their mind about how they feel about ROH or any independent product (for example); they have to change their own minds.


Nice column. Flair's appearances will be good for ROH.

But let's get to the truth. Flair is not coming to ROH on a friend's recommendation. He is coming because they are paying his booking fee. There is a long list of appearances that he has made and will make. He is not going to indy shows based on someone telling him it is a good company.

For all of his bashing of "stunt man" wrestling in his book, he would put over CZW if Danzig paid his fee.

Posted By: Fred (Guest) on March 09, 2009 at 05:24 PM

Well, I have no doubt that if the money is good and the check clears, Flair will be there wherever he is booked. Again, I don't have a problem with that, because it's his right to earn a living how he sees fit. However, let's not ignore that this deal is beneficial to ROH as well. As we have just witnessed, ROH is going to reap the benefits with increased attendance, likely increased DVD sales and hopefully winning over more fans.

Flair in CZW…now THAT I'm intrigued to see. As far as that "stunt man" comment goes…come on man, Flair was doing hardcore matches in WWECW with the Big Show…the dude took a shot at Foley but I wouldn't believe that he has a problem with "hardcore" at all…the man has bled buckets in street fights over the last thirty years enough to prove that much.


ROH @ 411

Check out this week's 411's Buy or Sell for commentary on Dragon Gate, PWG and ROH. Speaking of which…


Buy or Sell Quickies

Every week I'll look at the Ring of Honor related 411 BoS questions and if I'm not participating give my own spin on the topic, in three sentences or less:

-Kenny King and Rhett Titus should be nowhere near a Ring of Honor Tag Team Title match: Sell. If no one's noticed, let me tell you that King and Titus are starting to gel together as a team. They understand their gimmick and work it very well. Besides, ROH needs some heel teams to challenge Generico and Steen that aren't named "American Wolves" and "Age of the Fall".

- Despite any courting by Sweet N' Sour Inc., Incognito will not join forces with Larry Sweeney: Buy. Just because I find it unbelievable that Sweeney would be courting him in the first place.

- Bison Smith will defeat Bryan Danielson in their first one on one meeting in Ring of Honor.: Not going to give an answer here since we already know what happened.

- Ring of Honor is making a great decision by having a working agreement with Booker T's Legends of Wrestling FanFest: Buy. Any good will is good good will to me. Besides, all the little things are lining up, such as both events being held at the same show. I'd actually like to see some of the ROH wrestlers appear on this program to do some charity signings.


Like sands of the hour glass, we have run out of time. Next week, defining moments of 2005, results from Indianapolis and Elizabeth, PA, a preview of the Seventh Anniversary Show in Manhattan and much more.

BROOKLYN! And of course...NANA!
--Ari--