Column of Honor: 12.28.09: Final Column 2009 Part Two

Jerry Lynn Lives the Dream, Wins ROH World Title

Jerry Lynn had failed at his first major opportunity to win the ROH World Title at Southern Hostility in December 2008. After that match champion Nigel McGuinness would tear into Lynn, telling him no one in the back wanted to wrestle him because they didn’t want to be responsible for ending his career. That sent Lynn into an angry tailspin, confronting Nigel backstage about the speech. A series of vignettes would play on the following videowires with Lynn explaining his career and his desire to prove he could still win the title. Lynn would gain another opportunity to fight for the ROH World Title at Supercard of Honor IV, where he unseated Nigel McGuinness. He would only hold the title for about two months, but in that time Lynn fought all comers and worked to prove it wasn’t how old you were, but how much effort you put into your career that told the story of your success.

After his title run concluded, Lynn was uncertain about his future in the company. However, he continued to feud with Aries and his associates Kenny King and Rhett Titus. He also attempted to mentor Tyler Black, pairing up with him in several tag matches against the cocky duo. Unfortunately Lynn’s neck was injured in a post-match melee when King and Titus spiked him down on his head with a piledriver. Lynn has been out of action ever since, but looks to make a comeback in 2010, including heading for some payback against King, who remains remorseless about what he did to Lynn.

Austin Aries—First Two-Time ROH World Champion, Greatest Man That Ever Lived (And That’s a Fact, Jack)

Meanwhile Austin Aries, fresh off blasting Tyler Black with a steel chair at Final Battle 2008, lashed out at the fans for only wanting to see him bleed and shed blood, while they moved on to hero worship the next “flavor of the month”. He claimed the people were sheep and unworthy of his favor. From now on, Austin Aries would be out for himself. He rechristened himself “A-Double” and proclaimed that once he unleashed his “manifesto” the entire world would be changed. Fans never did get to know what that manifesto was all about, but it was clear that Aries’ attitude change was here to stay. He referred to himself as “The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived” and sought out to prove that moniker correct on every show.

Aries’ relationship with his former bitter enemy Jimmy Jacobs was a weird one—it was clear there was no love lost for the last six months worth of bloody battles, but they put those differences aside for short bursts of time so that they could focus on common enemy-Tyler Black. Both men hated each other, but despised Black even more. Although they teamed up with each other in tag matches against Black and his partner of choice, they also wouldn’t hesitate to push each other around, even coming to blows on several different occasions.

Aries has been the leader of men before—becoming the head of Generation Next in 2004 and forming The Resilience in 2007. However, he admitted outright that project was a failure because he was looking out for himself and didn’t care enough about his partners. That’s why he was looking for men who had that same mentality. He found them in Kenny King and Rhett Titus, who were as arrogant and egotistical as him…almost, and who were as driven to become the best in the professional wrestling business as him…almost. Aries became their mentor of sorts, but always kept enough distance between he and them so that he could continue to place priority on himself.

That attention to self would pay off in June 2009 when he defeated both Jerry Lynn and Tyler Black in New York to become the first-ever two-time ROH World Champion. It was a history-making achievement in that it took seven years for there to be a repeat champion. Aries would remind anyone as much as he could of his accomplishments. Aries would create the “A-Double L-Double” (“Austin Aries Lucky Lottery”) as a way to guarantee his second title run wouldn’t go the way of the first (whose downfall came from the lofty ambitions of a hectic title defense schedule). Aries would pick the names of twenty-or so lucky contenders who if picked would receive a title shot against him. This led to some “interesting” title defenses against the likes of Grizzley Redwood or Alex Payne. Most believed this lottery wasn’t on the up-and-up (despite Aries’ clear transparency—he even let the fans choose which hat he would use to pick names!) and Black outright challenged its legitimacy on HDNet. He would pick a name out of the hat, only for it to be blank. Aries lit the paper on fire and Black was scorched for his troubles. Jim Cornette would eventually put an end to the “A-Double L-Double” by instituting the “Pick 6 Series” as a more evenhanded method of determining challengers to the title, placing skill above “luck”.

The Black vs. Aries feud continued to rumble onwards, with Aries insisting that for as good as Black was in the ring, he couldn’t get the job done against him. Aries proved to be right when he milked his way to a sixty-minute draw at Final Battle 2009, once again stymieing Black’s efforts to become “Next World Champ”. In doing so, Aries extended the length of his title run past his first championship.

Down “Fall”: Delirious Freed, Black Gains Vengeance, The Age of the Fall is Over

As defections mounted, it was clear that The Age of the Fall was fighting itself in a battle for its very existence. Jimmy Jacobs had dumped his former partner Tyler Black, for both going soft and losing the vision of the whole project. Jacobs also harbored a grudge against Black for not being supportive of Jacobs’ in his feud against Austin Aries. Black was demolished by Jacobs and Austin Aries and was on his own. Meanwhile Necro Butcher had long seen the light of day about Jacobs and his manipulations, but Delirious and Brodie Lee were still loyal to AotF. Delirious in particular had regressed to an animalistic expression of his personality. While he and Jacobs sometimes quarreled, Jacobs would lead him around and treat him like a dog, in need of patience, love and training, to be broken in and finally made to serve his master. Daizee Haze was making every endeavor to try to stop Jacobs and free her friend Delirious.

The war between the two sides waged on throughout the beginning of the year, until finally, as Haze was put in the line of fire, Delirious snapped free of Jacob’s brainwashing and saved Haze from peril. He and Jacobs battled it out, with Delirious violently smashing Jacobs with his Panic Attack knees multiple times. Haze and Delirious hugged to a great ovation and finally Delirious was his own man again. Haze would help Delirious to rediscover the competitive spirit that could move him onwards and upwards in the ranks to an ROH World Title shot. Both Delirious and Necro Butcher would find vengeance against their former leader in Fight Without Honor matches on both the DVDs and on HDNet.

Meanwhile Black and Jacobs met in the ring several times, with Black reminding Jacobs of how far The Age of the Fall had in fact, fallen from its original missions. Black had the upper hand on Jacobs in the first-ever HDNet main event, rolling him up out of the End Time submission for the win.

As the months wore on, Jacobs appeared aimless and increasingly out of sorts. Black had the fans chant “Disappointment” at him when he failed, even chasing him out the building to that lovely tune. Jacobs retaliated by stabbing Black with a spike in Chicago. That led to the two-match series finale that would settle the feud. Jacobs won the first blood match at Manhattan Mayhem III, using his superior intellect to gain advantage. He attacked Black before the match began and destroyed him with a giant railroad spike. The bell rang and immediately rang again to end the match, meaning Jacobs had won against Black in one of the fastest “official” matches in ROH history.

Black would win their last one-on-one in a steel cage match in Detroit at Violent Tendencies, although it appeared that Jacobs would get the final word in when about thirty men in Age of the Fall garb rushed the ring, climbed the cage, swarmed Black and carried Jacobs above their heads. Was The Age of the Fall reborn again? Apparently not, because when Jacobs again tried to attack Black the next night in Chicago, Black rebuffed the attack and stood tall. Jacobs blamed his men for not getting the job done, but then they all defected, leaving Jacobs truly a solitary soldier, a man without an army. Jacobs ran away from the building, leaving through the front door in tears. Jacobs has not been seen in Ring of Honor ever since.

photo credit : chino905

The Wolves vs. Steen-erico

There are some teams that are just made to fight each other—The Midnight Express and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express; The Bulldogs and The Hart Foundation; Kevin Steen & El Generico and The American Wolves fit such as mold. In 2009, they spilled the better parts of their body, sweat and tears over ring canvasses across the Ring of Honor circuit. It was a grudge born out of The Wolves hunt for the titles and their disregard for anyone in their way. Meanwhile, Generico and Steen wore their heart on their sleeves and their pride as champions ensured they would be locked in a dangerous struggle with Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards throughout the entire year.

The year began with Steen & Generico defending the titles against The Wolves—as Richards and Edwards had already cast the first stone with a backstage assault on Generico’s knee. In fact, the knee would be the proverbial “Achilles’ Heel” for both Generico and Steen, as their hard-hitting style wore out the patella throughout the year. Edwards and Richards just gave those knee problems a final push down the stairs with their constant attacks during these matches. Generico and Steen fought back valiantly against the chicanery of The Wolves (with Hagadorn in tow as well to provide unhealthy doses of distraction).

Steen and Generico were initially successful in these title defenses against The Wolves and it seemed they had put the feud to rest at Seventh Anniversary Show in a no-disqualification match. However, The Wolves would not live with defeat and struck back after the match with a horrific chair attack on both men. The feud would continue, because The Wolves had sparked Steen’s ego, and he wanted more chances to hurt Richards and Edwards for what they were doing to both him and Generico.

The Wolves finally won the ROH World Tag Team Titles on the HDNet program in a Tables Are Legal match. They sent Steen head over heels to the outside of the ring and through two tables, then smashed Generico with a Doomsday Ace Crusher through a table to earn the pinfalls. The Hunt was over and The Wolves were leaders of The Pack.

Steen & Generico would received several opportunities to reclaim those titles, with Steen even receiving a few shots with other tag partners when Generico was out on the shelf due to complications from his knee injuries. The Wolves bested Steen & Generico and now it seemed they were the dominant team in the feud. Steen & Generico were given one more opportunity to earn a title shot in a non-title match against The Wolves with the stipulation being that if they lost they could never receive another title shot against the champions. Steen & Generico pulled the match out and not only won a title shot, but were allowed to pick the stipulation.

Steen begged ROH officials to set up a Ladder War, one of ROH’s most dangerous matches, between the two teams in order to bring the feud to a satisfactory conclusion for all involved. Although initially reluctant, the match was granted by ROH and was to be held at Glory By Honor VIII. Before the title match, however, tragedy struck for Eddie Edwards. He and Steen were fighting in Boston under street fight / no disqualification rules. Edwards leaped out of the ring at Steen with a flying tope when Steen smashed him in the face with a chair. Edwards landed awkwardly and immediately clutched his right arm. He had destroyed his elbow and now seemed unlikely to wrestle the match.

Still Edwards persevered in what continues to be one of the most amazing efforts to wrestle with an injury in ROH (barring maybe Danielson’s efforts in his sixty-minute draw against Colt Cabana in August 2006). He wrestled the next night and did what he could…and it was enough as, despite some massive damage taken by both sides, The Wolves retained their tag titles in a violent finale of crashing tables, ladders and chairs.

Hero vs. Kingston—The Long Chase

Then there are the feuds that go beyond the confines of just one wrestling promotion and instead follow the wrestlers from company- to-company, persisting in intensity and vitriol over the years and past any normal bounds of reason. Chris Hero versus Eddie Kingston is one such feud.

Simply put: these guys hate each other.

These guys are complete opposites in appearance, lifestyle, attitude and motivations. They are, as Bryce Remsburg often remarks on commentary regarding rival wrestlers, “different page, different chapter, different book.”

Chris Hero was the cocky, arrogant son of a gun who became a top flight physical specimen. He wanted to win above all else and didn’t care how he did it, but would love if it happened by his hands (or in his case, elbows). Kingston was the stocky street tough hood with a heart that pumped a thick mixture of black and gold. He lived with the pain of his life and still continued to survive and tried to reach the next goals in his wrestling career.

As the story went, while both men feuded in several different independent promotions (particularly in CZW), Kingston believed that Hero had purposely blocked his path into Ring of Honor. Hero got their faster, made his mark and perhaps exerted some influence on the decision makers to ensure that he never would have to deal with Kingston there. Meanwhile, Kingston scratched and clawed his way to gain that chance to make it on the ROH roster. He received his best chance with several appearances on HDNet television, wherein he beat up the tomato-cans ROH put in his way. Yet, his constant statement of intent was a match against Chris Hero.

“That Young Knockout Kid” was determined to avoid fighting Kingston at all costs—bluntly telling the viewers that he was much too good for that and he had long since past moved beyond their issue. Yet Kingston refused to let the matter die out—attacking Hero backstage when it seemed clear he could not gain his attention any other way. The backstage attack provoked Hero to agreeing to a match in New York City for Glory By Honor VIII.

That match alone was not enough for “The Last of a Dying Breed”. He wanted to prove that Hero had no honor. He knew that Hero was using his lucky green elbow pad as a loaded foreign object to win matches. The elbow pad was supposedly handed down to him as a gift from the late Mitsuhara Misawa in Japan, but it proved timed and time again to play a big role in his victories. Kingston bided his time and finally struck a blow in return for those who had been the victim of these attacks. He snuck out to ringside during Hero’s marquee match against Pro Wrestling NOAH’s junior heavyweight sensation KENTA. When it seemed like Hero was readying to blast KENTA with that elbow pad, Kingston swooped in and took it away from Hero. That distraction led to Hero subsequently losing the match. Hero left the ringside area in a rage, demanding that Kingston return the stolen property.

The showdown in New York City was a gritty back-and-forth endeavor for both men, with Hero striking Kingston repeatedly with his elbows but Kingston showing some wrestling skill in using a vast array of suplexes to wear down his enemy. Kingston was on the verge of victory and about to strike Hero with the loaded elbow pad when Hero struck first with another loaded elbow pad, his “golden elbow”. It was enough to knock out Kingston for the pinfall. This time it was Kingston who exploded in anger, throwing down tables and chairs at ringside.

Kingston had been embarrassed in his own hometown—in his first appearance there for ROH no less. He wanted one more match in New York City to prove to his family and to all the fans that he could in fact defeat Hero in a match. Again, Hero said that he was done with Kingston, past all that and moving on to bigger and better things. However, Jim Cornette interceded and put one more match together, although he would allow Hero to choose the stipulation. Hero selected a “Fight Without Honor”, the anything-goes match in ROH that is typically the end to a rivalry. Hero hoped to defeat Kingston one more time and finally put this whole matter behind him with one-hundred percent certainty.

At Final Battle 2009,”The Last of a Dying Breed” refused to die out. He survived a hellacious beating, including an insane powerbomb that was propped in between the turnbuckles to form a makeshift platform. That Eddie Kingston survived such a killer move galvanized the entire crowd around him for the rest of the match. They wanted him to win as much as he did…well, almost. Kingston would finally prove that he could defeat Chris Hero and that he belonged in Ring of Honor.

The Inc. Goes Bust

Larry Sweeney was busy making deals and making money for Sweet & Sour Incorporated, but along the way he made several enemies who wished to see him pay for his transgressions against them. Larry Sweeney purchased Brent Albright’s contact in the deal to consolidate The Hangmen Three, but Albright rebelled from Sweeney’s control. Sweeney convinced Davey Richards to defect from the No Remorse Corps to his agency with the lure of more money, more opportunities and more respect. NRC leader Roderick Strong vowed to get even with both Richards and Sweeney for his part in dispersing what was arguably the most powerful and successful stable in ROH during 2008. Likewise Erick Stevens had refused to be bought out by The Inc. and became the victim of a gang attack.

All three men came together with the common interest of dismantling Sweet & Sour Incorporated. It all came down to a Steel Cage Warfare match with Albright, Strong, Stevens, Jay Briscoe and Ace Steel against a Sweet & Sour team made up of former and current members, including Adam Pearce, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Tank Toland and Bobby Dempsey, who found himself the subject of constant abuse by Sweeney and his men and had never raised a hand or a voice in protest. Brent Albright and Roderick Strong would do their best to convince Dempsey to break away, but despite the taunting and degrading abuse, Dempsey felt like he couldn’t do any better but to be a part of the group.

Finally after the match who saw Sweet & Sour Incorporated dominated by their opponents, Bobby Dempsey had his opportunity for retribution. As Sweeney and his men once again attempted to place the blame of failure at his foot, Dempsey struck back. He blasted Shane Hagadorn and Larry Sweeney, delivering a devastating Death Valley Driver onto his former boss. Finally, Dempsey had become his own man and The Inc. had received a taste of their own medicine.

Larry Sweeney would soon disappear from Ring of Honor and The Inc. would go bankrupt. However, from the ashes of one agency would arise an opportunity that one man would seize. Shane Hagadorn had become Larry Sweeney’s understudy, an agent-in-training, so to speak. Hagadorn “inherited” Sweeney’s former clients, The American Wolves, Chris Hero and Sara Del Rey. Over the next months he would become their manager—their guide to the top of the company. He was a constant presence in their matches and would gloat and smirk in the background of their promos, reminding fans that he was succeeding above and beyond any of their expectations. Hagadorn had become a manager of champions.

Danielson vs. Black on HDNet-Three Matches to Determine the Best

One of the early featured rivalries of the HDNet series would be a reprise of the much-heralded 2008 series of matches between Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black. The initial breakout of Black’s career came during a match against Danielson in January 2008. However, Black could never quite pin or submit the “Best Wrestler in the World” in their series of singles matches. So when ROH needed some quality main event contests to define the early stages of their television show, they went back to the Danielson vs. Black series. Once again, defeating Danielson would prove to be quite the mountain to climb. Their first match would end up in a time limit draw and their second in a double count out when both men had battered each other too much to make it back inside the ring. All that led up to their final match in the series, when Black fought back against Danielson’s great wrestling game plan. Black would defeat Danielson with God’s Last Gift (small package driver) in a lengthy contest to show the world he could step up and become the main man of the company.

Strong, KENTA, Jay Briscoe – Sparring Partners, Main Event Talents

Nothing sparks a partnership like healthy competition, Roderick Strong and KENTA found that out firsthand this year. Strong would be KENTA’s first opponent on HDNet and they would push each other in that match, both learning from the experience. Strong and KENTA would then team up on several occasions afterwards, pairing their skills and talents in order to seize the opportunity to win the ROH World Tag Team Titles from The American Wolves. They came ever so close to doing so, giving The Wolves perhaps their toughest title defense as they both poured on their offense and had The Wolves reeling before eventually coming up short of the win.

KENTA’s injury late in the year perhaps cut off what could have continued to evolve into a health sparring rivalry, much like Strong had against Jay Briscoe in their three-match series earlier in the year. Strong and Briscoe were friends backstage, but very competitive at that. They would have an excellent back-and-forth match to open Stylin’ & Profilin’, both men proving their competitive spirit could push them further towards success. There was a rematch at Tag Title Classic and the rubber match on an episode of HDNet. Regardless of who won or lost, both would be drinking beer together after the show. However, if given the chance, I’m sure Strong would remind Briscoe and the fans that he won the series, two matches to one.

Sonjay Dutt—Playa For Your Love

When Sonjay Dutt returned to Ring of Honor in the early spring, it was believed he had come back to the fold in order to prove to the wrestling world at-large that he still had the skills and wrestling ability to succeed in the ring. As it turned out, however, his true motivations were far more…visceral. After losing a match against Delirious, Dutt would turn his focus of attention to Daizee Haze, Delirious’ special friend. He wasn’t subtle about his intentions at all, making a pass at Daizee and then later after another match where he proved successful against Delirious, smacked Haze right on the lips with a Bollywood kiss that didn’t miss. Haze slapped Dutt in disgust. Dutt would hurt Haze right back, stretching her in the camel clutch. Delirious has been on the warpath ever since, looking to get a piece of Dutt in retribution, but never fully succeeding. It appears that “The Playa from the Himalaya” is back in action, and he has only just begun to play the field in Ring of Honor.

Colt Cabana & Necro Butcher vs. The Embassy—Embarrassment was a “Boo Boo”

Colt Cabana made a grand splash in his return to ROH during Seventh Anniversary Show. The only problem? He did it at the expense of the return of Jimmy Rave. In doing so, not only did he embarrass the newly rechristened “Crown Jewel” of The Embassy, he also showed up Prince Nana’s big moment of glory. Nana vowed that Cabana would regret his decision, and spent a good chunk of money attempting to get payback for that moment of inglorious shame. Nana would first bring in a “hired magnum” in Joey Ryan to deal with Cabana. However, Cabana continued to get one over on The Embassy and Joey Ryan, well, he showed a lot of ass, both literally and figuratively.

Meanwhile, Prince Nana also had a problem with Necro Butcher, who had come to the aid of Grizzley Redwood when the “littlest lumberjack” had been jacked of his shoes and lumber at the hands of Ernie Osiris, Nana’s henchman and footstool. Necro was soon mixing it up with Jimmy Rave, but he did not prove to be as successful as Cabana in throwing off The Embassy. Rave destroyed Necro’s leg in New York and continued to follow up on that point of injury in further encounters.

Cabana and Necro would join forces along with Brent Albright and Grizzley Redwood in order to chop down The Embassy and settle their grudges. Cabana’s team would fight The Embassy in two different eight-man elimination matches. Each team split one win apiece, with Cabana surviving three-on-one odds to get his hands on Nana and his hand lifted in victory. However, Nana would have a measure of solace by winning the rematch in Canada. He would help Joey Ryan pin Cabana by smashing him with how own crown. Yet Cabana would once again come back from defeat by using that same crown to defeat Ryan in a singles match the next night.

Meanwhile, Grizzley Redwood with have his own redemption by teaming up with Necro Butcher in a tag match on HDNet against Ryan and Nana. Osiris would be forced to shave his beard by virtue of losing that match. He was forced to sit in the middle of the ring and endure some severe emotional distress. Interestingly, Osiris would turn that defeat into a positive by learning from both Nana and Embassy associate Claudio Castagnoli. He would begin to dress more suavely, you could even say “Very European”.

Necro Butcher would have his revenge on Rave and Nana by unleashing hell on Jimmy Rave in a dog collar match in Chicago. Necro would make Rave bleed and suffer by dragging him into walls and sending him crashing into chairs and guardrails. “The Crown Jewel” has been missing in action ever since the humiliating loss.

The following are strange but true moments in ROH this year…things that make us go “hmmm”…

-Ernie Osiris stealing Grizzley Redwood’s shoes…and his log of wood.
-Steve “The Turtle” Weiner wears his gimmick in the audience during the Danbury, CT show.
-Colt Cabana playing Scrabble and an obviously masked Adam Pearce sitting behind him, arms crossed.
-Virgil meeting up with Prince Nana at a wrestling convention and both hitting the town for shrimp cocktail.
-Both Austin Aries and Kevin Steen picking up “ABC” gum from the canvas and putting it in their mouth.
-Kevin Steen kisses Colt Cabana on the lips after his heel turn, then a fan at ringside.

-Delirious chops down trees with Grizzley Redwood and is taught Judo by Atsushi Suwada.
-Prince Nana sells candles and “valuable information” on the New York City sidewalks.
-Larry Sweeney references Alec Baldwin’s monologue from Glengarry Glen Ross on an edition of the ROH Videowire.
-El Generico “flies” through the magic of green screen, then gets put down by Kevin Steen (“Don’t forget the therapy I paid for…you’re a man!” (ROH Videowire).
-El Generico and Bryan Danielson hugging it out at Proving Ground 2009 Night Two.
-Kevin Steen “proposes marriage” to Davey Richards, referencing a fan who popped the big question to his girlfriend earlier in the show. Steen then reneges:” No! Wait a minute! I hate you and you’re a bitch!”
-Jimmy Jacobs: emo pirate. Crowd chants “ARRRRR” whenever he does anything in the ring.
-Colt Cabana’s “The Art of Selling” vignettes with Brent Albright as the loveable meathead sidekick.
-Rasche Brown being … Rasche Brown.
-Fans chant “Hepatitius”. Steen: “It’s funny because it rhymes with your last name!” (Insanity Unleashed)
– “I see you lookin at me fat boy, don’t eat me.” Kenny King, same match (Insanity Unleashed)
-Colt Cabana plays orchestra with the crowd. (Take No Prisoners 2009)
-Rhett Titus sings his own theme song in the middle of a Danielson vs. King match (Contention)
-Austin Aries calls Detroit “Detroilet”. (Violent Tendencies)
-Austin Aries to Joey Ryan: “You wax my mustache and I’ll wax yours.” (Violent Tendencies)
-The crowd assisted abdominal stretch during the Team Cabana vs. The Embassy eight-man elimination tag match (ROH on HDNet).
-Kevin Steen’s commentary during his match vs. Super Smash Brothers—”He’s fast! He’s fast!” “I’ll kill you… oh no!” (Death Before Dishonor VII Night 2)
-The “You Beat Bowser” chant at the end of the match when SSB scores the upset win over Steen & Generico. (DBD VII Night 2)
-Jimmy Rave tries to attack and cover Jerry Lynn during the Toronto Gauntlet while being deluged with toilet paper. (DBD VII Night 2)
-Colt Cabana calls Joey Ryan a “cutie pie” and does a “BOOO routine” where he calls Todd Sinclair his best friend. The crowd boos Todd, who then replies “why would they do that?” (DBD VII Night 2)
-“Taste the Rainbow” after Kenny Omega calls Aries’ tights a “Skittles Package”. (DBD VII Night 2)
-The first half of Nigel McGuinness’s farewell promo in Chicago, telling stories of the road.
-Colt Cabana’s “Boom / Hey” interaction with the crowd. (The Final Countdown: Chicago)
-“Bobby hitting him like he owes him…food.” –Chris Hero during DCFC vs. Payne / Dempsey at The Final Countdown: Boston
“I’m Claudio Castagnoli! I wear a suit!” – Claudio on the 12/23/09 Videowire

10. Final Battle 2008: A bloody but determined Bryan Danielson and the Godzilla-like Morishima brandishing the iconic chain that was used during the match—a contrast in pictures that works well to sell the show.
9. Caged Collision: Not only did this have a really cool “cage mesh” graphic design that surrounded the DVD box art (and the wrestlers involved in the Steel Cage Warfare) but the title font using the lock to substitute for the letters “a” and “o” was excellently executed.
8. The Homecoming II: Colt Cabana takes center stage on his first show back in Chicago since returning to ROH. The Chicago bulls-eyes surround him and welcome him home.

7. Stylin’ and Profilin’: Regardless of the result of Ric Flair’s short stay in the company, there was a ton of initial excitement. One of the coolest visuals was seeing Flair in an ROH arena, and even better was Flair “stylin’ and profilin'” on the cover of this DVD.
6. A Cut Above: The first of three covers involving someone rearing back on an opponent in either a Boston Crab or a Sharpshooter. A bloody but refusing to stay down Roderick Strong –the effect made even more dramatic by the two-tone color.
5. Insanity Unleashed: The very title of the show is portrayed by the madness of Jimmy Jacobs tearing apart Delirious, ripping at him.

4. Never Say Die: On the front a black-and-white photograph of Steen suffering in a cloverleaf, with the only coloration being the red blood from his forehead. Now that’s a nice touch. On the back its Chris Hero putting the bad mouth to a downed Jerry Lynn. Now that’s good drama.
3. Death Before Dishonor VII Night One: A terrific photo of Lance Storm getting the better of Chris Hero, with Bet Hart’s Sharpshooter in Canada. In addition, one of the more interesting layouts for the title block gives the DBD VII set one of the more professional and stylistically mature appearances of any DVD release.
2. Death Before Dishonor VII Night Two: Chris Hero. Intense primal scream. Minutes before the main event bout against Lance Storm. Real cool.

1. Injustice II: An image that evokes the memories of the cover to Amazing Spider-Man # 50, with a back profile that connotes loss and sadness (although in AMS 50, Spidey’s face is turned the other way). “The War is Waiting” catchphrase on the back of Black’s shirt also adds to the thematic of the controversial battle between him and McGuinness that takes place that night. The blood spatter adds that final touch of violence and danger. It might be one of the more controversial matches of the year, but in my opinion there is no controversy about it being one of the most creative DVD covers.

It’s time once again to revisit last year’s prognostications and see if those prognoses were proficiently portrayed or if my prominent proboscis is extending past its protuberance due to a profound predilection for mendacity. Word.

Predictions from 2009:

-Tyler Black will win the ROH World Title at the next ROH PPV taping in Chicago.

No. The Pay Per View in question was Caged Collision, where Black won a four corner survival match to earn a future title shot, wanted to cash it in, but was blocked by Jacobs and Aries. He didn’t win the title on that show.

-Ring of Honor finally announces a TV deal, whether it’s with HDNet or another network.

DING DING DING! Just a few weeks into the new year ROH announced its deal with HDNet.

-Contracts will be up in April or May of the year…and at least one person will leave to go to TNA or WWE.

DING DING DING! As it turned out, while it wasn’t an immediate departure, both Danielson and McGuinness would be the ones leaving.

-ROH will sign Paul London to a contract later in the year and after he has felt he had enough time off from wrestling.

No. In one of the most perplexing non-events of the year, Paul London never even so much as made one return match to the promotion where he built his name in 2002-2003. This, despite wrestling several times for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in Reseda, California on multiple occasions.

-Daizee Haze WILL save Delirious from The Age of the Fall eventually, likely by kissing the man-lizard and awakening him from his insanity.

Half Credit. Haze eventually did help Delirious to realize that he was being used and abused by Jimmy Jacobs. However, there was no “kiss that didn’t miss”, but rather, a “hug with a whole lotta love.” Come to think of it though, Haze is now in Delirious’s corner, but I don’t think they ever went out on a date. Not even to Nobu, which is a shame since that is quite the eatery.

-The Briscoes will decide to split the team up and pursue singles action. They will remain babyfaces and will reform their tag team by the end of the year, making another serious bid to win the ROH Tag Titles.

Half Credit. Yes, Jay Briscoe did have a lengthy run as a singles competitor in 2009, but that was only because Mark became injured again and was forced out of action. The Briscoes did reform in the summer, and received a title shot at Final Battle 2009.

-Mickey Rourke will make a guest appearance at an ROH show to second Jerry Lynn in a match.

No. Amazingly, Rourke DID appear in the wide world of professional wrestling in his promotion of The Wrestler, but it wasn’t for the promotion where the concluding scene was filmed. No, instead, Rourke went mainstream to WWE, where he allied with Ric Flair and several other WWE Legends as they bore down on their major antagonist Chris Jericho just in time for Wrestlemania XXV.

-Sami Callahan and Kenny Omega will become regulars in ROH in 2009.

DING DING DING! Both men received regular bookings throughout the year, with Omega being an unmitigated success for the promotion.

-Meanwhile, Prince Nana will be back at least one more time. Also, returns for: Human Tornado, Cheerleader Melissa, The Christopher Street Connection, Pelle Primeau, Brodie Lee and the tag team of Cheech & Cloudy.

DING DING DING! Nana’s reappearances built up to his reformation of The Embassy (and the return of JIMMMEE RAVE, who I did not predict).

As for the other names listed, three out of six for Half Credit Tornado is scheduled for next year in LA, Melissa and the CSC were no’s, Pelle Primeau made a cameo on a recent ROH Video Wire feature, Brodie Lee was back for several appearances on HDNet (but has since stopped receiving regular bookings) and Cheech & Cloudy have indeed rode the waves back onto the shores of ROH with appearances on both HDNet and on the DVD circuit.

-Debuts for: Tajii Ishimori stateside on an ROH show, Da Soul Touchaz, Alex Koslov and The Young Bucks.

Two out of four for Half Credit Ishimori was in the plans for 2009 under the Sapolsky regime, but not in the Pearce book. Da Soul Touchaz continue to be an underrated babyface group and could have easily found feuds in the beginning of 2009 against the likes of The Age of the Fall or Sweet & Sour Inc. However, they were not brought in at all. Koslov debuted for ROH during the Wrestlemania weekend shows and returned just last week for the Virginia / New York double shot. The Young Bucks made their debut, easily broke through with the fans and have become mainstays in the promotion. They are serious title contenders for 2010.

-Christopher Daniels is the only major names of TNA wrestlers who haven’t returned to ROH yet. In 2009 he will do just that.

No. Unfortunately, The Fallen Angel was never reborn in ROH, although he did find a career resurgence in TNA under his own name. In fact, we haven’t seen any TNA contracted talents appear for ROH ever since they landed their television deal.

-Finally, three words: SEXY CHUCKY TAYLOR! He’s gotta make it in one of these days…

No . Apparently, he doesn’t have to make it in one of these days, but he appears to have evolved his career elsewhere for 2010…

So all told… about five out eleven correct for just under a 50% prediction rate. Just like last year, I’m about half-right with my predictions for what happens in the next year. Coincidentally I’m also only half-right in any debate I have with friends and family. All that in mind, let’s say we stare at goats a bit and make some psychic-projections about what will happen next year in ROH.

Predictions for 2010:

-Ring of Honor will hold at least one show live—not just on internet Pay Per View, but also on televised Pay Per View.
-The company will not die (as many predicted this past year and that didn’t happen).
-Davey Richards is the next ROH World Champion.
-Kenny King is the next breakout ROH wrestler and will main event at least one show in 2010.
-Joey Ryan’s buttocks will become exposed at least ten times throughout the year. Colt Cabana will be responsible for at least three of them.
-Hulk Hogan is about to change the landscape of TNA in 2010 and I think some wrestlers will be fired or asking for their release soon afterwards. I’ll predict that TWO current TNA wrestlers will jump from TNA to ROH, although they may not necessarily be wrestlers who previously worked in ROH.
-Steve Corino will add at least two more men besides Kevin Steen to his menagerie of manipulation.
-Returns for: Jimmy Rave (he’s just biding his time), Naomichi Marufuji (back from injury, will serve the “KENTA” role for the year), Kota Ibushi and The Carnage Crew!
-Debuts for: The Colony (Fire Ant and Solider Ant only), Vin Gerard, Malachi Jackson, Brandon Gatson, Johnny Goodtime and Jerome “LTP” Robinson, likely during the LA weekend; Canadian Ninjas of Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews, and I’m really going out on a limb here, but I’m gonna say that given their relationship with AAA, Jack Evans and Teddy Hart will appear for ROH during Wrestlemania weekend ’10.
-Finally, four words: ROUND ROBIN CHALLENGE RETURNS!

That brings us to the end of the ROH Yearbook for 2009. BUT! We’re not done with Final Column 2009 by a long shot. Up next is PART THREE: The Voice of the People. That will be available tomorrow. Thanks for reading and see you then.