Column of Honor 12.30.09: Final Column 2009 Part Four – Year End Awards!

=ROH Wrestler of the Year=

Davey Richards

2. Austin Aries
3. KENTA
4. Tyler Black

2008: Nigel McGuinness
2007: Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness
2006: Bryan Danielson
2005: James Gibson

-There are some men who are born with a beast that lies within them, just dying to break free. There are some men who are fighters who are wrestling for a cause, a mission, a goal, a lifestyle, a life. They are punching, kicking, scratching and clawing their way to a victory, in whatever way it’s defined. There are other men who are artists, who have a passion and a vision to carry them through in the creation of masterpieces—paintings, albums, books, movies, cuisine. In 2009, Davey Richards unleashed the beast within him, and it was a wolf hunting its prey. He fought his way through match after match and fulfilled his mission in winning championship gold in Ring of Honor and in other promotions. He was an artist in the ring, but he painted that canvas with the blood and pain of his opponents. Along the way, Davey Richards became the best wrestler in Ring of Honor and a strong argument can be made as well that he became the best independent wrestler in the United States, if not the world.

Richards debuted in Ring of Honor in mid-2006 with a world of potential and a ton of positive buzz from efforts on the West Coast, specifically in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Richards was immediately pitted against Jimmy Rave in a three match mini-grudge, where he immediately demonstrated what he could bring to the table—a fierce flawlessness in the way he wrestles a match, an intensity that can’t be denied and on-point execution of whatever moves he attempts to execute in the ring.

I first saw Richards live and in-person during the In Your Face event at the New Yorker in June 2006. That was the match against Jimmy Rave where various fans had thrown toilet paper way up high onto the chandelier hanging above in the room. The rolls had brought down some of the glass from the light fixture inside the ring and the ringside area. Both Rave and Richards ended up getting nicked and bloodied up from wrestling the match, but somehow both men continued to go on and finish the match. The look on Richards’ face showed pain, but it was also clear he was fueled by adrenaline, pumped and ready to go and finish the job. That was the exact moment I knew Richards was going to make something of himself in ROH.

Richards has excelled this year in both the singles and the tag team divisions, which is an extremely difficult endeavor. While the focus of the angles and storylines have come from his tag team affiliation with Edwards in the American Wolves, he has also proven that he can shine bright in one-on-one action. His marquee singles matches this year began with a spotlight bout against Tyler Black at Proving Ground 2009 Night One, where he and Black both proved that they fit in being placed in the main event position of a show. The quality of that match had fans talking about how each could be the future of the company.

Next was the utterly awesome battle against KENTA at Supercard of Honor IV, which some fans thought rivaled the just as highly praised Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels bout from WWE Wrestlemania 25. Richards and KENTA had a teacher-protégé relationship in ROH from 2006-2007, including a singles match in August of 2006 (Fight of the Century). This bout was the culmination of the antagonistic relationship they now had against each other, beginning when Richards turned heel and joined the No Remorse Corps in 2007. Both men brought the fight and the “fighting spirit”, wowing the crowd and driving them to frenzy. It wouldn’t be the first or the last time that Richards could bring the fans to a roar of visceral approval with his strikes or even with a look on his face. If wrestling is a modern day simulation of a gladiator battle, Richards was Maximus, doing battle with giants and lions and fellow warriors.

Richards further demonstrated his ability to provide the very best wrestling action in singles matches against Kevin Steen—often these were street fights or no disqualification to underscore their tag team feud. Late in the year he wrestled Bryan Danielson in the latter’s penultimate appearance for Ring of Honor. Danielson was often talking in his post-match promos about since he was leaving for WWE there was a need for someone else to step up and take the name the wrestling fans gave him—”Best in the World”. While he threw down the gauntlet to everyone and anyone on the independent wrestling scene, he specifically named Davey Richards in promos in multiple promotions as someone who he thought could take the mantle. Their match in ROH could be seen as that moment where Richards took the torch from Danielson and claimed it as his own. That bout as well as a recent title-match against Austin Aries (November 13th, 2009 from Novi, Michigan) has cemented Davey Richards’ place in the upper-tier of the ROH singles division.

Richards has been on such a roll this year that he has found tremendous success in other independent promotions as well. He became the FIP World Champion and had a very long run with the belt. He has quickly become an important player in the Dragon Gate USA promotion. He is also a co-founder of EVOLVE wrestling that will start-up in 2010 and is being used as a main-event talent there. All of this has fueled fan speculation that Davey Richards’ days in ROH are numbered or that he will have a more limited schedule for them in 2010. Richards has never cared or shied away from politics, preferring to go his own way. Whatever happens in 2010, 2009 is always going to be known as “The Year of the Wolf” in ROH, and more specifically, the year of Davey Richards.

-Austin Aries became a heel and changed his look, his attitude and some of his in-ring perspective. It took a few months for Aries to find the right balance between being too ostentatious and cruel as a heel, but when he found it, boy did it ever work. Aries hustled hard the first half of the year, with several notable promos and matches, mostly involving his newfound enemy Tyler Black. Aries really took off when he found a suitable verbal target in Ric Flair. Not only did Aries come across as major league in his face-off with Flair in March and throughout the spring on HDNet, all of that interaction paid off in his ROH World title win at Manhattan Mayhem III. Even without the physical appearance of Flair in his title match, Aries not only got over on Flair and his reputation, but he also made ROH history. He became the first-ever (and to this day only) two-time ROH World Champion. The “A-Double L-Double” (Austin Aries Lucky Lottery) angle was criticized as an easy way for Aries to defend the title (although that was exactly the point) and that it diminished the value and the expectation of an ROH World Title match. However, those criticisms have been answered with worthy in-ring performances—a title bout against Bryan Danielson on HDNet and defenses against Danielson, Davey Richards and Kenny Omega on house shows. “A-Double” has been the backbone of the ROH World Title picture and his heel promos not only want me to see someone hand him his ass, they entertained me at the same time.

-KENTA was for much of 2009 until he became injured Ring of Honor’s major international guest superstar. He had long made his bones in ROH and remains ever-over with any crowd in any city ROH runs new or old. He proves whenever he gets in the ring that he is a top-of-the-class wrestler, one of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s best of this generation (along with Naomichi Marufuji and Go Shioazki, two wrestlers who also frequently appeared for ROH in the past). KENTA was a money-draw for ROH and could always be counted on to deliver a match worthy of the fans’ attention and dollar. Aside from the previously and frequently mentioned match against Davey Richards, KENTA also provided fantastic in-ring efforts against Roderick Strong, Nigel McGuinness and Chris Hero. The Hero match in particular may have been one of the most exciting matches, non-stop action filled with heart and hard strikes. While KENTA is not likely to recover from his injury until the middle of 2010, here’s to hoping that when he does return to action that he can also return to ROH.

-Tyler Black was as much a controversial figure for fans as Jerry Lynn, albeit for slightly different reasons. Black has many supporters who believe he is the future of the promotion and want him to succeed, while others either have soured on him or believe he has been overexposed and over pushed, given too many main events and never given that one big win. That debate can be done all day, but I believe that regardless of which side you fall on, Black’s skill in the ring cannot be denied. He is NOT Bryan Danielson, a technical wrestler who can do everything. Black is more like AJ Styles, an exciting wrestler who uses his athleticism and aerial ability to provide the fans exciting matches. Like Styles, Black may lack something in the personality or promos department, but when he showed his edge, he shined through. This year Black’s best matches, the non-title bouts in Virginia against Nigel McGuinness (January) and Jerry Lynn (June), the steel cage match against Jimmy Jacobs, the three-match series against Bryan Danielson, his face-offs against Roderick Strong—all demonstrated the kind of edge and intrigue Black is able to provide. It’s my hope he finds that final piece of the puzzle and makes himself to be the best wrestler he can be in 2010.

=ROH Tag Team of the Year=

The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)

2. Kevin Steen & El Generico
3. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
4. Kenny King & Rhett Titus

2008: The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black)
2007: The Briscoes
2006: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
2005: BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs

This is the first time that a wrestler has won both the overall wrestler of the year and tag team of the year award in the same year.

– In the middle of 2008, Davey Richards had just dumped his fellow members of the No Remorse Corps in favor of “selling out” to Larry Sweeney and his Sweet & Sour Incorporated. Despite being a proud flag –waver for the NRC, Richards was often treated as the butt of jokes by Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero, their frat boy mentality deeming Richards to be the third wheel. Richards had enough and wanted both the money offered by Sweeney to jump ship and the freedom to find his own path to success in the promotion. This stoked a feud against Roderick Strong, the embers of which still burn today whenever their path cross in ROH competition.

By the end of the year Richards had formed a team with Eddie Edwards, another man who was looking to break through and make a name for himself. Larry Sweeney brought the two of them together in hopes of forming the most dangerous tag team that could rule that division. Richards had often taken after Dynamite Kid, both in his overall philosophy in the ring as well as the moves and style Kid utilized. Dynamite Kid wrestled with Davey Boy Smith in the 1980’s Stampede Wrestling and WWE, forming the British Bulldogs. Edwards and Richards took that concept and gave it an American twist. They would become The American Wolves.

The team may not have won its initial matches (losing a three team elimination match as well as a joining Go Shiozaki on the losing side of a six-man tag team match at Final Battle 2008. However, they made sure to give notice to the ROH roster that they were to be reckoned with. Richards and Edwards brutally attacked El Generico In a backstage ambush that had repercussions for the rest of the year. They injured Generico’s knee, then followed it up by attacking The Briscoes at Final Battle 2008 and doing a number on Mark’s knee as well. The Wolves began their hunt in those two bold moves.

While their first title attempts against Kevin Steen and El Generico were unsuccessful, they smelled blood in the water and didn’t relent in their attacks on either man. Steen and Generico felt hatred towards The Wolves, but that hatred clouded their judgment and they agreed to yet another title match against them, this time taped for HDNet with the stipulation that tables would be legal. The Wolves dominated the match and smashed both Steen and Generico through multiple tables, finally pinning El Generico after a Doomsday Ace Crusher through a table.

The Wolves were finally ROH World Tag Team Champions, and their run as champions would prove to be one of the most solid and convincing in ROH history. They fought against the top tag team competition in the promotion, and often the best of the singles division who decided to join together to make a stab at winning the belts. There were impressive defenses against the team of Bryan Danielson & Tyler Black as well as Roderick Strong & KENTA. All the while Kevin Steen & El Generico continued to haunt them, but they battled through and showed they were the better team.

There is no doubt that the best ROH tag team matches this year involved The Wolves. They wrestled hard and fierce matches, dominated against the best and yet were able to convince fans when it mattered that they were at-risk of losing their belts to their opponents. Their eight-month long title run is one of the longest in the history of the tag team titles. Not only did this give a huge platform for Davey Richards, but undoubtedly Eddie Edwards has improved dramatically and Shane Hagadorn, who took over as manager of The Wolves when Sweeney left, had a significant and effective purpose with the team.

It is unbelievable to think that Edwards, after years of being nothing really in the ROH undercard, now has a real and defined personality and is honest-to-goodness “over” with the fans. His decision to wrestle the Ladder War 2 match after breaking his elbow the night before was insane and yet it was a huge risk that paid off for his career. ROH decided to stick with The Wolves as tag champions during his recovery time and it has resulted in an elevation of his reputation and fan estimation. Looking back at 2009, the defining moments of the tag team division involved Richards and Edwards in some shape or fashion, and that is why they are the tag team of the year.

-For the second year in a row Kevin Steen & El Generico earned second place in the running for tag team of the year. They deserve equal credit with the American Wolves for creating one of the best tag team feuds in the history of ROH. It was born out of a simple but deeply seeded grudge, a sneak attack that started a war, and a constant supply of intensely fought and must-watch tag team contests, including different title matches with various attached stipulations.

Steen & Generico had a very respectable run as tag team champions—six months and some very convincing title defenses against the likes of The Briscoes, The Age of the Fall and a few against their rivals The Wolves. They have maintained popularity and by the end of their run as a duo had become even more beloved due to their resolve and determination in the year-long battle against Richards and Edwards. In addition, Steen & Generico also had memorable efforts on the HDNet series, becoming mainstays in the taping cycle and someone who you could depend on to provide an excellent television match.

Both men sacrificed their body in 2007 during the first Ladder War stipulation match and this year they did it again for Ladder War 2. They crashed their bodies through tables and off of ladders—in the storylines they did it for the tag team titles, but they really did it because they knew they were expected to deliver such an effort for such an important match in ROH. That kind of effort is extremely appreciated by me and others who realize more than ever the kind of damage a wrestler endures during his or her career.

Fans love to cheer and rally behind Generico and for his part, Generico responds to the fans and gives all he can. Even when he hurt his knee during the year, Generico returned to action quickly and continued to provide tremendous athleticism and entertained the fans both in ROH and throughout the independent wrestling landscape. Steen also had his share of injuries, but persevered to continue to implement his character—a tough big brother to Generico—and really provided the depth to the tag team relationship these two shared. While clearly they have broken up due to Steen’s heel turn at Final Battle 2009, Steen & Generico were damned impressive this year as a tag team.

-The Young Bucks of Matt & Nick Jackson seemed to come out from nowhere to make an impression in ROH beginning in June. However, savvy fans realize that The Bucks didn’t come from nowhere—they had made significant gains in PWG and in Dragon Gate, improving their tag team coordination and timing and earning their name in the business. Finally in June they were given their chance to prove themselves in ROH and that is exactly what they did. They have wowed and dazzled the fans in matches against Steen & Generico, The Wolves, Dark City Fight Club, Kenny King & Rhett Titus and others. While their look and style are clearly descended from The Hardy’s and The Rockers, they have taken that kind of effort in the ring and amped it up for this and the next decade. Their double team moves are pure twenty-first century high-tech, blitzing teams with moves and combinations no one would have dreamed of even just a few years ago. The Bucks have given the fans a lot of bang in just a few short months, and it was enough to get them signed to a deal with TNA for 2010.

-It’s not easy to be true blue heels in ROH, but the fans absolutely loved to loathe the team of Kenny King and Rhett Titus this past year. Titus has always been ridden by the fans (no, that’s NOT how I meant it), and his “lover boy” gimmick is a large reason for that (emphasis on large, if you know what I mean…and yes that IS how I mean it). King’s talent is undeniable—the guy can move and he has a ton of innovative moves—but it’s his cockiness and swagger that earn him the ire of the fans. Together, both are a young but dangerous team. Their pairing up with Austin Aries as his official protégés also gave them expanded visibility in the promotion, not to mention they get to hang with someone with a lot of stroke in the company. King’s cool factor could turn him face just by natural progression at some point in the future, but until then you’re going to see a lot of these two in the tag division, talking up just how great they are…and more than likely proving it.

=Worst Tag Team of the Year=–Silas Young & Alex Payne

Runner Up: Alex Payne & Grizzley Redwood

2008: Rhett Titus & Rex Sterling / The Vulture Squad
2007: Irish Airborne
2006: Matt Sydal & Friends

– There is no doubt this was one of the strongest years for the Ring of Honor tag team division, but there is always going to be some team that stands out as the, shall I say, least substantial of the bunch. Look, Silas Young is a solid talent but ROH didn’t do much of anything with him in terms of a character direction. So his teaming with Alex Payne for two matches would almost be an afterthought if it wasn’t used to promulgate a heel turn for Young…which also went nowhere. Alex Payne may be popular (and less so these days) in Chicago, but everywhere else it is plain to see he is not over. It’s not a coincidence he is both a winner and runner up for this year’s award. It’s not that Grizzley Redwood can’t be used well in a tag team situation—just look at his team ups with Brodie Lee and Eddie Kingston as part of The Roughnecks in CHIKARA. However, he and Payne together just SCREAMS “Jobber Team”.

=MVP of the Year=

Austin Aries

2. Davey Richards
3. Bryan Danielson
4. KENTA

2008: Jimmy Jacobs
2007: The Briscoes
2006: Bryan Danielson
2005: James Gibson

This is the first year that a Wrestler or Tag Team of the Year has NOT also won MVP that same year.

-When you think about the idea of “value” in a Most Valuable Player award, it is definitely what that person brings to the table for their company, but also a large part of that factor comes from the diversity of use. An MVP can be a leader or a multi-tool player. In many respects the first three of the four listed here provided both to ROH in 2009. Austin Aries became the figurehead for ROH in his role as World Champion. He was the center of attention on both the DVDs and on the HDNet series. His promos certainly drove that role, and whenever he would speak he would make you want to buy that ticket to see him get beat for the title. Then he would put on a very good match and demonstrate exactly why he was a champion in the first place. Davey Richards’ value this year for ROH is very obvious, but let me add that his being featured in both the singles and tag team division proved that he could be used in various ways to promote shows and sell tickets. Bryan Danielson was for so long “the name” of ROH—one of the founding fathers of the company and truly one of its most popular wrestlers. While he was not as highly featured on DVDs as in previous years Danielson was a primary focus on the HDNet series until the point where he announced his signing with WWE and imminent departure from the company. ROH sold a lot of tickets with Danielson’s name attached to The Final Countdown Tour and he gave them a hell of a going away present in the form of some of his best matches of the year. KENTA had such an awesome 2009 (despite his knee injury late in the year) and was one of the true highlights for ROH. He was the perfect example of a money draw and proved his value to the company with matches that were never letdowns.

=Debut of the Year=

The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)

2. Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis & Kory Chavis)
3. Sami Callahan
4. Joey “Magnum” Ryan

2008: Kota Ibushi
2007: Erick Stevens

(A note about this award: This award refers to wrestlers who debuted in ROH action in the last year, as opposed to rookies, because guys like Human Tornado who have been on the indie scene a while now should not be considered rookies.)

-When you start out of the gate with a four-star tag team match against Steen & Generico, then the next night manage to bring 2,000 fans in New York City chant your name in appreciation, that will add up to just about one of the best debuts you can have in a wrestling promotion. The Bucks would follow through the rest of the year with consistent and quality performances. Meanwhile, while they started off on HDNet with short squash match victories to showcase their high spots, The Bucks quickly worked their way up to featured matches on the show against the likes of Dark City Fight Club and most recently their best showing on television in a title match against The American Wolves.

Likewise, The Dark City Fight Club began their run in ROH with an impressive match against Steen & Generico. Their two matches in Florida set the stage for a run on HDNet where they smashed their way through jobbers and lower card members of the roster. Unfortunately an elbow injury to Jon Davis put the team out of commission for a while, just enough for me to give the nod on this award to The Bucks. However, the DCFC remain an active and very competitive team in the promotion. They play the bruiser role to the hilt and it pays major dividends.

Sami Callahan was a mainstay on the undercard on both the DVDs and on HDNet. His best match was likely against Austin Aries at Eliminating the Competition, although likely what he’ll be most remembered for is mumbling the enunciation of his nickname “The New Horror” so that is sounds like “The New Whore” to most fans who watched the early episodes of the HDNet shows.

Joey “Magnum” Ryan’s debut in ROH was set up with some awesome “guerrilla” style promos (pun intended?) where he claimed he was coming to ROH to “bring sleazy back” and “rape ROH of its honor”. Unfortunately, while he may have succeeded on that first notion, in Ryan’s role as the “hired magnum” of The Embassy he didn’t really rise to the occasion and change ROH in any way, shape or form. Regardless, it was fun to see him in ROH.

=Comeback / Return of the Year=

Prince Nana

2. Colt Cabana
3. Sonjay Dutt

2008: Jerry Lynn
2007: Bryan Danielson

-He began the year begging, pleading and cajoling for a dollar on the streets in exchange for “valuable information” while attempting to regain access into the world of Honor. He brings the year to an end with a reformed stable filled with heavy hitters and likely enough money to buy the internet. From cabby-at-night to living the high life in just three hundred and sixty-five and a quarter days—THAT my friends, is how you make a comeback. Prince Nana found himself jumping the rail on ROH shows (and likely the occasional turnstile in the NYC subway system) in order to let his voice be heard, but then came an angel of mercy known as “Barack Alabama”—or something like that—and wouldn’t you know it, overnight Nana had transformed himself from pauper back to Prince thanks to a hefty bailout.

Prince Nana used his new found money to reform The Embassy—his best chance at ruling Ring of Honor with an iron fist. He brought in the monster Bison Smith to run through the roster—and he began all the way at the top with Bryan Danielson. In March, Nana would return another Honor expatriate back to the promotion—his crown jewel Jimmy Rave. It seemed like old times with Nana and Rave bedecked in the finest threads and then wrapped around in the cheapest “bathroom tissue” fans could find at the local drugstore on the way to the shows. Along the way, Nana wined and dined with internationally cultured wrestlers such as the “Very European” Claudio Castagnoli, hired a “Magnum” in the form of Joey Ryan to do his dirty, sleazy, slimy bidding and finally, when needing more fire power, corrupted Erick Stevens with the lure of money and power to bring him into the fold.

During the last year, Nana’s men concussed a Dragon, crushed the ankle of a Butcher and generally made a nuisance whenever they could. While Nana did not lead any of these men to championships, what he did was regain an incredibly solid place for himself within ROH. Let’s face it—life just isn’t the same without Nana there to talk about shrimp cocktail and call the fans at ringside foolish pigs.

=Breakout of the Year=

Davey Richards

2. Eddie Edwards
3. Kenny Omega

2008: Tyler Black
2007: Claudio Castagnoli

This award is for which wrestler or performer “broke out” from the pack and stood out and made an impact within ROH this year

-Richards had been on many fans’ radars for much of the last three years, but in 2009 he went from third string member of the No Remorse Corps and someone who was gone for a good chunk of the summer of 2008 to a tag team champion with an eight-month long run. Richards’ true break-out moment was his singles bout against KENTA at Supercard of Honor IV, where he demanded attention be paid due to his effort in the ring. Strike after strike and the fierce will to continue on in that match captured the imagination of the fans in attendance, creating a terrific crowd atmosphere. Richards essentially delivered the best performance on an ROH show during the most important weekend of the wrestling calendar year. If you think about someone who cut a path for himself and made the most of the opportunities to get himself noticed, Richards was that man in 2009 and his tag team partner Eddie Edwards was a close second.

=Most Honorable=

Bryan Danielson

2. Kevin Steen & El Generico
3. Tyler Black
4. Jerry Lynn

2008: Bryan Danielson
2007: Nigel McGuinness
2006: BJ Whitmer
2005: Samoa Joe

This is the second year in a row that Danielson has won the award for best babyface in Ring of Honor.

-Bryan Danielson brings the best sort of babyface fire to his matches—he demonstrates the will to win against the worst of adversity. Danielson is a fighter, digging in the trenches and not just surviving against the opposition, but thriving and responding to the pain by unleashing hell of his own against those that trespass against him. You can look in his eyes in those moments of danger and you will see the kind of determination that inspires the fans to rally him onwards. The fans figuratively lived and died with Danielson in these moments, whether it was his title bouts such as the one against McGuinness at Rising Above ‘08 or in his farewell series against the likes of Aries and Richards.

More than anyone left in the company, Danielson was the tether between ROH’s past and it’s present. The character that Danielson portrayed may not have always acted honorably, but the person who was one of the most recognizable figures for the company certainly did. Danielson was the flag bearer, the gold standard and even a cheerleader for ROH these last few years. It was, after all, Danielson who encouraged the fans at the end of his main event match against Takeshi Morishima and after many other matches to “keep buying tickets to the shows” and to keep supporting ROH. Danielson could give you a match worth your ticket, worth the money you spent on the DVD. He could convince you that it was worth your dime and your time to keep the faith and keep supporting the ROH product and that is why his actions in helping to support ROH are exceedingly honorable.

For seven years Danielson exemplified the independent spirit and represented the company with his actions. While he chose to move on and become something more than what he was at the time, that decision in no way detracts or negates the accomplishments he had while wrestling for ROH and on the independent scene, likewise the honor he brought to bear on every show.

=Most Dishonorable=

The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)

2. Jimmy Jacobs
3. Chris Hero

2008: Nigel McGuinness
2007: Chris Hero
2006: Chris Hero
2005: Homicide & CM Punk

-The Wolves take another award and really in particular, this one is a cakewalk. You can’t beat the dishonorable nature of injuring wrestlers without remorse, mocking their opponents with incendiary comments and offensive pantomimes (who can forget Richards’ “crippled walk” mimic of Mark Briscoe during a promo for the ROH Videowire?) and generally doing anything they could in their power to retain their titles. The Wolves attacked El Generico from the blindside, beat up attendants and staff around ringside during their entrance and generally act like they own the place and no one can stop them, which for most of 2009 no one could and no one did.

Jimmy Jacobs was on his last legs in ROH this year, but that didn’t stop him from wrecking havoc on his enemies and corrupting his partners. Brainwashing Delirious and convincing him that Daizee Haze betrayed him was only the first step in his abuse. Jacobs treated Delirious like his lap dog, and when that dog misbehaved he was there to punish him, and then give him a hug to make it all better. This twisted relationship prevented Delirious from seeing the light about Jacobs until it was almost too late. Jacobs would also have plenty more vile actions in store for his former tag-team partner and now hated enemy Tyler Black. Jacobs spiked him, made him bleed and generally made life difficult for Black until Black struck back, stripping The Age of the Fall from Jacobs, winning the Steel Cage match at Violent Tendencies and ending Jacobs’ OH career at End of an Age

Chris Hero went to Japan and brought with him a special gift from Misawa, a green elbow pad. Trouble was, the elbow pad was (allegedly) loaded with some (allegedly) illegal metal or object. Hero would place that sucker on and BLAMO—his opponents would be knocked out. Hero and his manager Shane Hagadorn would claim that it was Hero’s natural “KO” power, but Eddie Kingston proved that the elbow pad was mightier than the sword and the true x-factor in Hero’s wins when he stole the pad and used it to knock out Claudio Castagnoli on an episode of ROH on HDNet. Using a loaded object to win matches, well, that’s just another dirty trick in the book of Chris Hero.

=The Moment I Never Want to See Happen Again=–Kevin Steen (or anyone else) using a snot rocket / Rhett Titus “Tea Bagging” his opponents

-What is it about using bodily orifices to humiliate opponents? Some Ring of Honor wrestlers just can’t seem to get enough of using their own bodies to emasculate and embarrass. Honestly though, seeing these insults of humanity and good taste occur during the shows is enough to make my gag reflex work overtime. I don’t pay my good money to go to these shows only to have to take some Pepto Bismol during intermission! I’m sorry but I DON’T want to see Kevin Steen blowing his snot and spraying it all over the canvas multiple times during a match—talk about unhygienic! Furthermore, I DON’T EVER want to see Rhett Titus thrust his “must” into the face of another opponent ever again. Dave Prazak would surely exclaim, “UNNECESSARY!” Maybe The Village Voice was correct when they ran that piece online. Seeing Titus “doing the do” surely won’t change their minds.

May I and other ROH fans never be forced to watch the mucus flow or male asses shake in another man’s face again!

=The “You Fucked Up” Awards (Rob Feinstein / Matt Cross Memorial) 2009=

Non-Kayfabe

-Wasted Opportunities: I know that if you compare the booking mistakes made in ROH, the errors, oversights, plot holes, storylines halted from Ring of Honor to WWE or TNA, the other promotions would beat them by far and come out looking far worse…however, the sins of another promotion don’t excuse that of ROH…and they made plenty of them this year, quite a few of which didn’t have to go down the way they did. More should be expected out of Ring of Honor, first because it professes in its advertising to be the better wrestling product and secondly because it is supposed to be and has been better in the past in terms of keeping a tighter plotline and telling the better wrestling story. Of course, former booker Gabe Sapolsky made plenty of his own mistakes, but I never backed away from identifying them at the end of the year and calling him out on it. So too must I rack up the list of what I deem “wasted opportunities” from ROH this year, and in hindsight, there are plenty of them. In no particular order:

The “A-Double Manifesto” is never revealed; The Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright feud takes too long and is stagnated with too many dirty, dusty and unsatisfactory finishes; Bobby Dempsey’s post-Sweet & Sour Incorporated run goes nowhere; The Ric Flair fiasco (see below); The Injustice II fiasco (forty-nine minute draw, too many run ins, restarts and promos during an ROH World Title match); Jimmy Jacobs vs. Tyler Black feud stalls out and when it kick starts in the Spring doesn’t have the same impact; Bison Smith vs. Bryan Danielson’s first singles match ends in a count-out, there are no further singles matches; first ever match for ROH on HDNet is Jerry Lynn vs. Delirious, neither the World singles or tag team champions appear on this debut episode; D-Lo Brown’s inexplicable heel turn that didn’t matter since he was cheered for the most part; Colt Cabana’s debut on HDNet…and on, and on…

-Generic Theme Songs: I can’t fully fault ROH for dropping the established theme songs of the wrestlers when they made the leap from DVD-only to television product. There was no way ROH could afford to pay the right’s fees to the songs. However there were major and negative by-products of the end to the use of real songs like “The Final Countdown” and “Gimme Me Back My Bullets”. The incorporation of generic instrumentals resulted in a short term lack of crowd awareness about who was about to enter the ring to fight, thus reducing energy and overall enthusiasm for matches. Not to mention, these generic songs sucked harder than most TNA sound-alike themes or any of Jimmy Harts’ WCW tracks back in the day, with the exception of one or two instrumentals (The Briscoes’ theme being one of the better tunes). Colt Cabana, Rhett Titus and Chris Hero at least were all smart enough to commission their own music with lyrics, so that at least these songs were unique and catchy enough to be remembered. While ROH fans have now become accustomed to the more generic themes, there is no doubt things just aren’t the same without them. Music is such an important factor in this day and age in keeping the fans excited and ROH suffered this year in at least not finding a way to keep using the most popular tunes for their most over wrestlers.

-Ric Flair Leaves in the Middle of Manhattan Mayhem III: Initially meant to be the special guest referee for the Jerry Lynn vs. Austin Aries World Title match, that was changed to special ringside enforcer when Flair began to get the itch to return to WWE. He signed a contract with them and at that point insisted he be removed from his figurehead position of ROH Ambassador. He would still complete his remaining contracted autograph signings but did not want to be involved in the in-ring storylines. Fair enough, except he had been booked and promoted for the New York City show with the thought that he would have a hands-on role in the ROH World Title match.

Instead what happened was that Flair told Cary Silkin, Adam Pearce and other ROH officials that he was leaving in the middle of the show, that he would do the autograph session and an in-ring promo and that was it. After pumping up the fans with woos and exaggerations of what he would do to the ladies watching the show who were a quarter of his age, Flair went to the back and promptly went out the door, never to be seen again on that night. All the while this was going on the fans in attendance had no clue as to what was occurring backstage. That is, until Austin Aries came out for the main event to Flair’s music and claimed that due to circumstances beyond ROH’s control Ric Flair would no longer be the special guest ringside enforcer.

Nigel McGuinness would take the role that Flair was to have. Originally Flair and Aries were supposed to have some minor tete-a-tetes in the ring. Instead Nigel did what Flair would have done around ringside, which was stop Aries from using the ropes for leverage on a figure-four, and point out that Black’s feet were on the ropes to stop a three-count.

Fans in attendance didn’t really find out the full extent of the Flair debacle until they got home and logged online to read the news about the fiasco of Flair walking out on ROH. For months the debate had raged among ROH fans as to if Ric Flair was truly worth signing to an appearance contract. Some thought he wasn’t worth the money, $15,000 per appearance. Some were insulted by the way Flair treated ROH, as just another pay date, another independent promotion. He called it “THE” Ring of Honor, claimed to not have watched any of the product and demonstrated no real knowledge about the wrestlers involved in the promotion. He cut generic promos for ROH’s videowire and the same Ric Flair promo on every stop. Sure fans enjoyed it for what it was, but it became nothing more than an ego boost for Flair and a boring set of reruns on every DVD in which he appeared.

As it turns out, Ric Flair was very much detrimental to ROH as whole, despite the initial bump in awareness. He never really put over any talent (Aries got over in playing against Flair, but it was Aries doing the heavy lifting, not Flair). Very simply put, ROH became money marks for Flair. He only cared about their money and for the possibility they would book his son Reid. Flair was out the door as fast as possible after Reid was busted for drugs and it became exceedingly clear that he wouldn’t be used by ROH.

-The TWINKIES MATCH: You don’t have to ask Mr. Owl to know how many Twinkies Todd Sinclair ate during the Austin Aries vs. Petey Williams ROH World Title match at Glory By Honor VIII. All you have to do is ask the fans in attendance in New York that night, or Williams, or Aries, or Sinclair himself. The crowd was so apathetic towards this title match that they preferred to do anything but pay attention or any sort of respect to the wrestlers in the ring. But hey, don’t blame the crowd—because I don’t think they would have reacted that way if it was Aries vs. Strong. The NYC crowd was seeing Williams for the first time since ever and the wind up to the match was very lame. No emotional connection + the predictability of Aries retaining his title on this show = a constant supply of “Twinkies” chants from the fans. Perhaps the most infamous fan moment in ROH of all time, ranking up there with the treatment of Jeff Hardy during the original Death Before Dishonor.

– The Handling of the Firing of Lenny Leonard: Ring of Honor had two major commentary changes in 2009, first with HDNet hiring Mike Hogewood to run the play-by-play of the television series in conjunction with Dave Prazak. The team at the time was Prazak and Lenny Leonard for the DVD and Pay Per Views, and while Leonard was reportedly never in consideration for the position at HDNet, he remained on as the second commentator for the DVD series. Then ROH changed their DVD production and distribution to an in-house deal, severing ties with FIP’s owner and DVD producer Sal Hamoui. At this time, they also decided to go with Dave Prazak and Chris Hero as the new commentary team for the DVDs along with Eric Santamaria filling in when Hero would wrestle his matches for the show.

It’s the right of any company to hire and fire their employees for certain reasons and in sports and entertainment businesses that includes wanting to go in a different direction with the talent involved with their product. However, what was objectionable about this move wasn’t the actual change in commentator, but how it was done. You see, ROH released information on one of their newswires about how Prazak and Chris Hero had finished recording commentary for the newest series of ROH DVDs (what would become The Final Countdown Tour DVDs) WITHOUT FIRST TELLING LENNY LEONARD HE WOULD NO LONGER BE DOING COMMENTARY. That’s right, no two-week notice for Mr. Leonard, who had faithfully worked with Ring of Honor for nearly four years by that point. Not even a one-day or one-hour notice. ROH simply moved on without telling Leonard he had been replaced. Leonard had to find out this news through the internet—worse, through a wrestling website’s message board. That may be as bad as when Eric Bischoff used to fire people via Fed-Ex. Maybe worse, because at least that method of future endeavoring was actually delivering the information directly to the person and not simply leaving him or her in the dark about an employment situation.

Of all the mistakes ROH has made this year in its booking, none are truly as egregious, tasteless and offensive as the handling of Lenny Leonard and his removal from commentary.

I know I used this photo last year, I just thought it was appropriate.

Kayfabe

-Grizzley Redwood Wants to Match Up Against Bison Smith: This happened in the middle of the eight-man elimination tag match between Team Cabana and The Embassy at Death Before Dishonor VII Night One. Deciding to nut up against a guy four times your size and three times your body weight? WRONG MOVE GRIZZLEY!

-The Ballad of Sal Rinauro: Sal wasn’t saving anyone and no one would be saving Sal when his path crossed with Eddie Kingston backstage at the HDNet tapings. Spinning backfist, knock out, goodnight Gracie. WRONG MOVE SAL!

-Adam Pearce Challenges Bobby Dempsey at Seventh Anniversary Show: Pearce put the bad mouth to LX TV / First Look New York’s George Oliphant when the latter was doing a feature on Ring of Honor wrestling. Bobby Dempsey was set to face Pearce as one of Sweeney’s last acts of revenge. Dempsey proceeded to Death Valley Driver Pearce to erm, death. Thirty seconds and Pearce was done. WRONG MOVE ADAM!

=2009 ROH Shows of the Year=

Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown–Perhaps THE DVD to buy not just out of all the final Danielson shows but out of all ROH shows this year. This one has the kind of lasting impression that can only be produced by an event as important as the Danielson-McGuinness final match and the Ladder War 2 spectacular. The Danielson post-match farewell ranks up there with CM Punk’s goodbye and Danielson gives his best speech ever. Not only that but you get a surprisingly great first half of the show with several standouts including the Four Corner Survival and brought to a jaw-dropping conclusion with the Wolves / Steenerico conclusion. The second half features Briscoes vs. Young Bucks in a match where The Bucks look and act and feel like they belong at the top of the card. Even the more infamous moments of the show need to be seen to be believed. The DVD bonuses round out the value of purchase, with bonus interviews and backstage footage with Danielson and McGuinness, plus more. I can’t recommend this show enough.

Death Before Dishonor VII Night One –If you want to watch a top-to-bottom card that represents the best principles of a Ring of Honor show , then you’ll want to get your hands on this show. Aside from the D-Lo Brown vs. Frankie the Mobster squash, every match is not only competitive and dramatic but also is compelling. You have Generico and Sonjay Dutt setting the table in a exciting bout, The Super Smash Brothers stepping it up against The Briscoes, An awesome eight-man elimination match that WWE Survivor Series 2009 wishes it had on its card, Kenny Omega and Kenny King proving they are the future of the promotion, LANCE STORM returning to action in a hell of a tag team match and an excellent four corner survival that was a worthy successor the very memorable four man from HDNet. Every one of these matches and every one of these moments delivers. This is the sort of show and the sort of effort from the wrestlers that deserves more attention and praise in the wake of all the criticism this past year. Even beyond The Final Countdown series, this is my favorite show of the year.

Supercard of Honor IV–As if I have to write anything more than “Davey Richards vs. KENTA” to convince you this is an awesome show. Yet, there is much more to it than that. Of course this is a noteworthy show for the title change and watching McGuinness sacrifice his body one more time to pass the title to Lynn is certainly a sight to see. As this is a Wrestlemania weekend show, you have a large turnout of fans who are excited to watch ROH. They get those two main events, plus a fun undercard with a little bit of everything—big guys, luchadores (well the six man tag with Incognito and Magno worked, but not Blue Demon Jr.’s involvement in the Four Corner Survival), even KAMALA (don’t worry, its kept short and in service of getting Bobby Dempsey over with the fans). Koslov vs. Danielson and Strong vs. Nakajima are two really solid and interesting matches that give you the kind of wrestling style you expect from an ROH show.

Rising Above 2008–This show will be most remembered for the two main events that closed out the Pay Per View: Danielson vs. McGuinness for the title and the “I Quit” finale between Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs. Both were the zenith of those feuds and paid off with definitive conclusions. Not to mention, both of those matches were outstanding in-ring efforts that combined action and drama. You also have the return of Samoa Joe to ROH as a DVD bonus in a one-of-a-kind match against Tyler Black. This PPV was also the beginning of the new camera cuts and an upgrade in video quality—the improvement shows throughout the program. The undercard is a good mix of multi-man matches. The SHIMMER title match of MsChif vs. Del Ray is probably the best one in ROH to date. While The Briscoes were injured and had to keep their title match against Kevin Steen & El Generico short, it was a hard hitting bout that kept the flame of that feud going. Really though, this show is about the top matches delivering all the way and they definitely did.

The Final Countdown Tour: Boston–A packed show that felt even more important and momentus when all was said and done considering the main event of Danielson vs. Richards. What a match! The Bucks vs. Cheech & Cloudy was a fast-and-furious opener; Delirious and Dutt was on-point; The Four Corner Survival worked; Steen vs. Edwards was tough to see to the end because of Edwards’ injury but all due credit to both for not slacking because of it; Strong vs. McGuinness was a slight disappointment but still had a good finish. A show whose parts add up to a great whole.

Final Battle 2008—An okay first half is brought back all the way with one of the best second halves of any show in the past year. Aries vs. Black, McGuinness vs. Marufuji and Danielson vs. Morishima. All three matches tore it up, ending 2008 on a very high note. That Danielson defeated Morishima on this night after so many matches against each other also provided the right kind of closure for their feud. You also get hints of the improvement Kenny Omega would have the next year, as well as The Briscoes gutting out a tough match against Kensuke Sasaki and Nakajima.

Bound By Hate–Kind of an “out of nowhere” show that demonstrated early on the potential of the new era of ROH. The most memorable moments will be Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs in the dog collar match and the triple threat between Danielson, Omega and Black. The Briscoes vs. Steen & Generico was a heck of a conclusion to the show and finally Steen & Generico proved they could defeat The Briscoes when the titles were on the line. Quality matches, memorable in ring moments and fantastic effort by everyone on the card.

Contention–The Virginia crowd is really coming into its own and it shows on this DVD—they help to lift up every match on this show, making it that much more entertaining. This is the breakout night for the “Snapmare” chant, and it’s not only an infectious chant, it’s an idea taken to heart to by most of the wrestlers during the show. Aside from witty chants and good crowds, you have another card that is top-to-bottom quality. The standouts though are the Steen & Generico vs. Young Bucks tag and the non-title main event of Tyler Black vs. Jerry Lynn. There is a ton of chemistry in that combination and the result is a spectacular match. Danielson and Kenny King also deliver big time.

Manhattan Mayhem III—It takes a second to remember all the good matches because this show is notable more for the title change and for the Flair incident. Yet there is a lot to love about this show when you think about The Bucks making a grand debut in New York City, Strong and Dutt providing a fantastic undercard bout, The Wolves and Steenerico doing it again and the great storytelling of the main event.

Take No Prisoners 2009— The main event is the true highlight of the show, presenting some unique combinations and exchanges between Aries & Nakajima on one side and Black & KENTA on the other. The rest of the undercard is at the last good and usually more so. The eight-man tag is fast-paced, non-stop action. Necro Butcher and Jimmy Jacobs brings their feud to a satisfactory and violent resolution. The Four Corner title match may be short but it packs a punch while it lasts. The quality of the video and audio are again at a high level and elevate the presentation of the DVD. All told, ROH left televised Pay Per View on a relative high note.

=2009 ROH Worst Shows of the Year=

–The Hunt Begins—A show filled with below-average matches in front of a dead crowd. The main event of the show involved Sylvain Grenier, which just about tells you everything you need to know, doesn’t it? The six-man match was worked at about half the quality of a normal main event to accommodate him…and in interviews that took place in the months after the show Grenier would constantly knock the ROH style as being too fast and lacking psychology. Sheesh. Black vs. Jacobs was technically fine and probably would have gone over better with a livelier crowd. However, as it stands it is a middling affair that did neither man any favors. The show was so apathetic that it had to be merged with the next night’s show to become Double Feature II and even then you probably wouldn’t have minded much if you cut ALL of the matches from this night from that DVD. The most entertaining match to me was one that was cut out of the DVD and included as a bonus on a later show—it was Daizee Haze vs. LuFisto in a match that went about five minutes. Both women had more fire and more personality in those five minutes than the entire Montreal crowd throughout the night.

–Validation—Jerry Lynn vs. Jay Briscoe is a decent title match, but probably not the best choice for a main event given the obviousness of a title retention. This was the show that Jerry Lynn flipped off the handle and told fans if they didn’t like what they saw they could go watch WWE. That was a great idea at the time since WWE was blowing ROH out of the water at least on Smackdown with terrific quality wrestling angles and matches involving the Smackdown Six 2009 (CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, Edge and Chris Jericho). Meanwhile Validation was a poor show where matches like Hero vs. Dutt that could have been really good missed the mark, newcomers Super Smash Brothers were dominated and squashed, fans were “treated” to the tandem of Alex Payne and Grizzley Redwood and I had to watch yet another Ricky Reyes match. About the only saving grace on this show was the ROH World Tag Team Title match with American Wolves defending against Danielson & Steen. The Wolves could do no wrong at that point, while just about everyone else on this show did.

–Escalation— The bait-and-switch early in the show of turning the ROH World Title into a non-title match really upset the Dayton crowd. It killed them for the rest of the show. Of course it was obvious the title would not change hands one day removed from a title match between Danielson and McGuinness that had been built up for six months. However, that doesn’t mean you penalize the fans who already purchased the tickets by taking away what was promised them. In addition, what on paper looked to be really good such as Richards vs. Albright or Danielson vs. Castagnoli were average and disappointing. In addition we had one of the more insulting finishes of a “Lights Out” (KO) match between Hero and Strong ending in a disqualification match due to interference. Yes, a DQ in what should have been a no-DQ match. This happened on an ROH show. Oh, also Irish Airborne vs. The Briscoes—wow did I ever never want to see that combination again, but here it was. The show was so much of a nothing that the DVD was sold on the basis of being able to watch months in advance of the release date the Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Black dream bout as a bonus match that took place the next night in Chicago.

–Eliminating the Competition–To think I wanted to actually travel to see this match on the basis of the main event four corner elimination match—thankfully that didn’t work out. This show started out with Bobby Fish vs. Papadon in a ten-minute battle against boredom that still boggles my mind to this day. As well, the balls on Fish to use “All Along the Watchtower” as a theme song. Albright vs. Castagnoli had their first match in the feud and while it was a good match, it also was mired by the horribly clichéd simultaneous submission / pinfall finish that resolves nothing and serves to piss off the fans in attendance because they did not get a clear winner. The best match was Danielson vs. Delirious, but that was also a match ROH fans had seen several times over the years, so it was nothing new and nothing special. Sami Callahan has one of his better efforts in ROH against Austin Aries, but that’s not a reason to spend money on this DVD. Other than that, more average, below average and disappointment to be found. Austin Aries called this a “B Show” in his promo and boy was he ever right.

–Injustice II—Your mileage will vary on the main event. There is some very dramatic and entertaining wrestling action in the Black versus McGuinness title match, If you’re not thinking about the TEN (count it, TEN) run-ins that happened during the match, the two re-starts, promos by Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson WHILE the match was still ongoing and the fact that the bell rang to signal a sixty minute draw when in fact the match had only gone forty-nine minutes. Trouble is, you probably won’t be able to get past all that. So anyway, if the overdone main event stupidity isn’t enough for you, you’ll be thrilled to watch the pedantic nature of the opener between Titus and Albright, enjoy the “talent” of Sean Denny and Damien Wayne looking horrible in the four corner survival…and oh yeah, there’s some-Grizzley Redwood vs. Chris Escobar for you as well. Fans will love the bait-and-switch of Aries’ title shot and that he calls yet another show a “B-show”, thus insulting the crowd that paid their hard earned money for a ticket. Aries vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs was a disappointment that confused fans because Jacobs and Aries were helping each other just weeks after beating the tar out of each other. Now, it isn’t all crap—the lumberjack strap match is fun and Danielson vs. Lynn is a worthy rematch from their first bout. It just isn’t enough to balance out the BS that takes place throughout the show and in the main event, which lucky for us, the likes of which hasn’t been seen again this year.

=Worst Matches of the Year= (in no specific order):

-ROH World Title: Austin Aries (c) vs. Alex Payne (ROH on HDNet, Philadelphia, PA, Aired 10/12/09)
-ROH World Title: Austin Aries (c) vs. Petey Williams (Glory By Honor VIII, Manhattan, NY, 9/26/09)
-Jimmy Rave vs. Necro Butcher (Manhattan Mayhem III, Manhattan, NY, 6/13/09)
-Grizzley Redwood vs. Alex Payne (Bound By Hate, Markham, Ontario, Canada, 11/08/08)
-Grizzley Redwood & Bushwhacker Luke vs. Irish Airborne (Southern Hostility, Nashville, TN, 12/06/08)
-Beard vs. Beard Match: Grizzly Redwood & Necro Butcher vs. Joey Ryan & Prince Nana w/Ernie Osiris (ROH on HDNet, Philadelphia, PA, Aired 11/16/09)
-Bobby Fish vs. Papadon (Eliminating the Competition, Danbury, CT, 02/27/09)
-Nigel McGuinness vs. Aaron Scott (ROH on HDNet, Philadelphia, PA, Aired 9/11/09)
-Delirious vs. Ricky Reyes (Never Say Die, Boston, MA, 05/08/09)
-Necro Butcher vs. Delirious vs. Sean Denny vs. Damien Wayne (Injustice II, Edison, NJ, 01/17/09)

Coming up in PART FIVE of Final Column 2009, we conclude the whole shebang with my Top 100 ROH matches of the year! Be there or be somewhere else!