Column of Honor: 02.13.10: Eighth Anniversary Show Preview; The New “Big Three”

Welcome to the Column.

= Eight Years In, WWE, TNA, ROH are “Big Three” =

Eight years after the end of the Big Three in professional wrestling, it is amazing to realize that history has repeated itself. It’s wound and found its way to here in 2010, with another version of the Big Three (or maybe the Big One, Smaller Two and WAY Smaller Three). There is the ruling mainstream giant wrestling machine, considered the ultimate place to be in the industry. There is the second-place company, working to compete for that number one spot. It’s decided to go “All-In” by taking a huge chance and moving to Monday nights, their competitor’s territory. They want to go head-to-head and usurp first place. Then there is the third promotion, the underground and independent alternative, with a smaller presence on television but priding itself on providing great wrestling talent and great wrestling matches. A decade ago these promotions were WWF, WCW and ECW, but now, in the twenty-first century, those promotions are WWE, TNA and Ring of Honor.

As much as ROH sought to shake off comparisons to ECW in years past, they are now undeniably loud and clear. A niche product with passionate fans and passionate talent? Check. Stronghold in the Northeast? Check. Wrestlers moving onwards from the small promotion into the larger wrestling leagues, to be replaced by other, hungry talent looking to make their mark on the professional wrestling world? Check.

Of course, it was at the eight year mark that ECW folded and went out of business. After eight years, ROH is still alive and kicking despite several close calls and the booking switch in 2008 that had many critics and even fans believing ROH wouldn’t survive the next year.

The major reason accounting for that difference is that ROH has grown its company slower and more carefully than ECW, which meant their evolution and growth took far more time and cautious planning even though the progressions are somewhat similar. ROH expanded the tour circuit first, then added on Pay Per View, then stripping that in order to focus on developing their first ever television program through HDNet (ECW had its syndicated Hardcore TV early on in its lifespan before adding national television in 1999). ROH is now looking to take their next logical step with their television product by expanding into other countries, beginning with the official announcement of their television deal with Dahlia TV in Italy. They’re hoping to bring the product into other countries in the future, which will help add to their financial resources and increase their reach to new audiences.

ROH, like ECW before it, booked a veritable “Who’s Who” of past and current stars. It is unbelievable that over the last eight years ROH has been able to book wrestlers such as Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, Terry Funk, Great Muta, Jushin Liger, Kenta Kobashi, the late Mitsuharu Misawa, Raven, Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, Christian Cage, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Eddie Guerrero and others. The names are undeniable, as are many of the moments etched into ROH history—Guerrero versus Super Crazy on the first show, the Midnight Express reunion in 2004, Joe vs. Kobashi in 2005, CM Punk and Ricky Steamboat’s feud, Austin Aries vs. Jushin Liger—there are a veritable highlight reel worth of Superstars and Champions that have made their way into and through ROH.

In addition, ROH created or helped to evolve a whole slew of this generation’s wrestlers, and they too have provided so many undeniable moments of excellence—Generation Next taking over the program, Homicide winning the ROH World Title from Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries winning the ROH World Title and unseating Samoa Joe, Low Ki gaining revenge on Christopher Daniels and The Prophecy, the ROH vs. CZW war, Jimmy Jacobs unveiling The Age of the Fall, Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson’s tremendous rivalry and on and on.

Much like the original ECW, ROH just can’t compete with those larger promotions in terms of contracts or a wrestler’s career aspirations, so when a wrestler believes that he or she has outgrown ROH, off they go. In exchange for their departure, fans receive incredibly emotional and memorable farewell moments. CM Punk’s incredible goodbye, Mick Foley throwing the elbow down on Prince Nana, on down to Bryan Danielson’s Final Countdown—these are the perfect bittersweet examples of ROH’s place in the wrestling fans industry.

The major factor that most detractors of ROH never seem to realize is that a wrestling company doesn’t have to be the number one promotion in the industry to be profitable OR to provide a great product to its fan base. Ring of Honor will never be as mainstream and as profitable as WWE and maybe they cannot catch up with TNA in the wake of their desire to take it to the next level. ROH does not aim for those nigh impossible goals of being bigger than WWE; it does aim for being the better wrestling product. Whether or not it has outdone WWE or TNA in that department, whether or not it is doing it now or will be able to do is in the future will be a matter of frequent and most likely furious debate among wrestling fans.

Nonetheless, ROH continues grow and broaden its reach. The internet has been ROH’s best friend in terms of spreading their brand awareness. The expansion has been exponentially assisted by the decision to use social networks websites such as Facebook and Twitter to plug their product and the television programming. Following those feeds grant access to a constant stream of information about ROH: news, videos, promos, plugs and even links to other wrestling websites with reviews of their shows and DVDs. In addition there are now multiple messengers able to disseminate information about the product with many ROH and wrestling fans adding on the wrestlers on the roster as “Friends” or becoming “Fans”. There is now a true “network” of honor from which ROH can contact and develop its clientele base. It makes it seem like ROH is larger and more widespread than ever before.

Ring of Honor may even have it tougher than ECW did, because not only do they face competition from above, but also from below. This generation’s independent wrestling scene is filled with very worthy promotions, including PWG, CHIKARA and most recently former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky’s new promotions Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE. These and other independent companies (some of whom, like Jersey All-Pro Wrestling, have been around longer than ROH) are very active and present on the World Wide Web, and have benefited greatly from the new independent boom of the last eight years. The storylines and quality matches from these companies have blurred the lines between is truly the best on the independent scene, at least from the perspective of critical acclaim and review if not online presence, discussion, and ultimately, purchase and profit—the bottom line of any business.

Now in its eighth year, Ring of Honor continues to be the predominant independent wrestling company. WWE and TNA is the definitive Top Two in the mainstream wrestling world, but ROH has found its place and secured itself the third spot on the list thanks to its television and internet presence and its overall quality of product. Wrestlers, bookers and owners have come and gone, but the company remains active and viable. There has been and will continue to be criticisms of the new booking regime, but by-and-large there seems to be some definite positive progress being made in this, the second year of ROH’s most crucial change. Intriguing storylines like the Steen vs. Generico feud and the burgeoning feud between The Kings of Wrestling and The Briscoes along with the of excellence in the tag team division, the securing of the top wrestlers on roster such as Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, Austin Aries and Tyler Black all add up to ROH continuing onwards through yet another year of existence. ECW was dead and buried at eight years old—but ROH seems to be prepared to surpass that mark and continue to find itself in this new era of the Big Three.

= Eighth Anniversary Show -February 13th, 2010-New York, NY=
7:30 pm belltime
Manhattan Center (Grand Ballroom- 7th Floor)
311 West 34th St.
New York, NY 10001

ROH World Title Match- There WILL Be A Winner-Austin Aries defends vs. Tyler Black
There will be three judges at ringside who will determine the winner if the match ends in a draw. The judges will be Roderick Strong, Kenny King, & Jim Cornette

ROH is walking the tight-rope here. It was a great risk to book the rematch back in New York, the scene of the crime. The crazy thing is that the hour draw and rematch was intentional. ROH has done what it could in the two months between the Final Battle 2009 hour draw (met with mixed reaction to say the least and no, it wasn’t just the weather situation) and this, the final rematch (so they say) between Black and Aries. They have tried to address and to adjust to the controversy of the way the match was wrestled and the unrest the New York fans had with the outcome. Black and Aries have cut promos on the television show, including a special package for YouTube (see below), Black has written a blog about the match and ROH on HDNet Executive Producer Jim Cornette has basically apologized for the events in kayfabe language.

Has the effort been enough? Did it convince anyone of Black’s abilities, or change the minds of any detractors? Will the build to the anniversary show stem any uncivil reaction from the fans in New York? Or is it already too late? Are they dead in the water before they even begin because the fans in attendance won’t give them a chance?

A large number of ROH fans have rejected Tyler Black due to his character having too many failed opportunities at the title and essentially having all appearances of a choker. The repeated failures have stripped much of the enthusiasm and excitement about Black, even from ardent supporters. As a result, Black comes into this match at the coldest point in fan reception and buzz, where logical booking indicates he is likely to win the title. Win or lose, will that lead to a different storyline direction for Black- whether it be a heel turn or the portrayal of some sort of psychological breakdown?

As I wrote yesterday during 411 Buy or Sell, if ROH wants the best possible reaction for this main event, Black and Aries will need to wrestle the kind of aggressive and action-oriented match they should have had but didn’t back in December. If Black can quickly dominate or impress the NYC crowd with what he does in the ring, then he and Aries can make them forget about everything else but what is going on in the match.

In a nod to the Flair-Steamboat series from WCW 1989, e three judges will render a verdict should the match not conclude in a pinfall or a submission. Ares chose his protégé Kenny King to be a judge and current storyline indicates that King will likely be in the tank for the champion—there has been no foreshadowing of a face turn in the episodes of HDNet that have aired hyping this title match (although future episodes do have a disagreement between the two and some cross words exchanged). Strong looks to be in the tank for Tyler Black, having already promised the first title match if he wins. However, Strong and Black have an uneasy tension growing, with Black winning a singles match on HDNet because of Aries’ interference in the match which he did not see. Strong could always vote against Black in a swerve of some sort, as could King with Aries. Jim Cornette is the impartial third arbiter and could provide the decisive vote if necessary.

This match cannot end in the judges’ hands if Black is to be taken at all as a legitimate champion. It would only weaken him more than ever to have Strong and Cornette “give” him the win and the title belt. As well, shenanigans by Aries and King will likely not be received well, although I expect King will try to become physically involved and Strong would put a stop to it.

The outcome of this title match is very important for the short term, although it may pale in comparison to what ROH hopes to accomplish during “The Big Bang” iPPV April 3rd in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, this show and the main event have some import concerning the future of ROH in New York City. Fans in attendance at Final Battle 2009 loved the undercard but were not happy with the main event. A bad match here would mean the third below average outing for Aries as ROH Champion in NYC. ROH has done a lot to make Aries a great heel through the angles on television (throwing popcorn at Black, cutting some excellent promos on him as well) and Black knows he needs a homerun performance here, so maybe they pull it out.

World Tag Team Title Match-Jay & Mark Briscoe defend vs. The Dark City Fight Club

The Dark City Fight Club was well received by the New York City faithful when they wrestled and dominated Cheech & Cloudy in September for Glory By Honor VIII. Now they have a huge chance to impress on this major ROH event. The Briscoes love to fight, so the comparable styles should lead to a really effective hard-hitting match. It’s DCFC’s first title opportunity in ROH and I expect them to lose but give a solid first effort.

First Time In ROH-Roderick Strong vs. Brian Kendrick

There have been mixed reviews for Kendrick in the ring since his return to the independent scene—solid, but unspectacular has been the general consensus. So this match becomes something of a question mark—it could be average or it could be really good when all is said and done. Strong is on a hot streak in terms of in-ring effort, but his last match in NYC against King fell a bit short of the mark with some surprising bobbles on his part. However, Strong should be able to get something more than solid out of Kendrick, considering they fought in PWG recently. They should be able to build off of that effort and their better sense of familiarity with each other. This is likely the only appearance for Kendrick in ROH, as he is being used by TNA and has appeared on their PPV and television programming (although no word on contract status). So fans, enjoy this ROH original while you can.

Special Challenge Match-El Generico vs. Davey Richards (with Shane Hagadorn)

These two are golden in singles competition and just as much against each other, having feuded in tag team matches for the better part of 2009. It should be one of the better matches of the show, although there is an outside chance of some sort of screwy finish or run-in given Steve Corino and Kevin Steen are on the show. They will want to victimize Generico and play some psychological mind-games. Meanwhile, Richards is all about the physicality, so expect some trademark brutality, including strong strikes and attempts to rip the Generic luchadore limb from limb. Generico makes an excellently sympathetic babyface and I expect NYC to be really behind his comebacks and really into and supportive of this match in general. Hopefully it gets a clean and satisfying finish.

Grudge Match-Colt Cabana vs. Kevin Steen

Originally scheduled as a “confrontation”, this has now shifted into a singles match in the wake of a verbal tete-a-tete occurring on the latest Videowire (see below). Now, as Berlin once sang, there are “no more words and no more promises of love.” Well, in an open letter to Cabana, Steen did eerily proclaim he loved Cabana and that he would hurt him, meanwhile explaining why he hates Cabana, CM Punk, Generico, the fans, his mother, your mother, this cute puppy (ARF! ARF!)…you get it. Go ahead and read it, so that you too can be sufficiently creeped out by the language of that blog promo. Expect this match to be the opposite of their Survival of the Fittest 2009 qualifier, i.e. less about wrestling and the haha and more intense and brawl-oriented. Depending on placement of the match, Corino and Generico could be involved. Above all other matches I expect this one to have a DQ finish or be thrown out due to the referee losing control of the competitors.

Grudge Tag Team Match- NO RULES-Necro Butcher & Eddie Kingston vs. Erick Stevens & Joey Ryan with Prince Nana

There could have been a better use for Eddie Kingston in his return to New York City after winning the Fight Without Honor against Hero, legitimizing himself in ROH and becoming massively over with his hometown crowd. Instead…he’s battling the perennial mid-carders The Embassy. Sigh. That said, Necro Butcher and Eddie Kingston together as a combination—that could be awesome, or…it could be ugly as hell. Or it could be both. Thank goodness for the no rules stipulation, which hopefully guarantees there won’t be some sort of screw finish. Just let these guys go out there and beat each other up. Stevens and Necro actually had a very solid promo package about the events on HDNet when Stevens smashed Necro with a chair to turn heel and join The Embassy (see below). It helps to add some depth to each of their characters, which helped perk up my interest in this match. Expect Necro or Eddie to get their hands on Nana, but whether or not it helps or backfires on them remains to be seen.

Four Corner Survival- Pick 6 Series Match-(4) Kenny King vs. Rasche Brown vs. Delirious vs. Steve Corino

This is a huge opportunity for Rasche Brown to show off against higher-order competition besides the students and jobbers he has been manhandling as of late on HDNet television. Brown has been entertaining in multi-man matches before, so I think he’ll find his role in the match rather easily and will be able to impress with his high-impact / big man offense. Watch out for his flipping spear—it’s an impressive visual to say the least. Delirious also performs well in mutli-man matches using his wild persona to interact with three other men instead of just one. He’s a dark horse to win. King puts up his number four spot in the Pick 6 and it should be interesting to see what happens here and if it plays into his participation in the main event at all. Remember, a loss for King in this match doesn’t take him off the Pick 6 list, but it does drop him one spot and bumps the number six man (in this case, Roderick Strong, which could play into the Black vs. Strong rivalry). Corino was moved into this match as a result of Human Tornado retiring and thus scrubbing that singles match—disappointing as that would have been a unique combination and would have played into the Steen-Generico feud (Tornado having been Generico’s sometime tag partner in PWG). Corino has been involved in ROH almost since the beginning of the promotion. He’s not the biggest or the best wrestler in the ring, but he is definitely great when providing heel chicanery and master manipulation against his opponents.

The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) will be in tag team action!!!

Originally Chris Hero was involved in the Four Corner Survival match, but the fallout from the Human Tornado retirement created a chain reaction that led to the Kings being put together. Since there is no announcement of competition, expect their opponents to be some of the ROH students—the combination of Alex Payne & Bobby Dempsey wouldn’t surprise me, or perhaps Andy Ridge, having already debuted in NYC during the pre-show of Final Battle 2009. Regardless of the competition, The Kings are clearly the ones being spotlighted and therefore expect them to take the win. However, since the feud with The Briscoes is just underway, it wouldn’t be out of the question for The Kings to make themselves a nuisance during the tag title bout or for there to be involved on this show elswehere.

Also of note, Jim Cornette will be available for a free meet & greet session and Brian Kendrick will be available for a (pay per) autograph session.

Counting down my personal favorite wrestlers and moments of the past week in wrestling:

1. Shawn Michaels: HBK’s mental breakdown is fascinating serial storytelling. Two years ago Michaels’ pathos was about his hesitation to end Ric Flair’s career at Wrestlemania XXIV, and now he is risking his own career for one more match against The Undertaker and one more chance to end The Streak. I loved the superkick on Teddy Long this week on Raw, how HBK at first tried desperately to convince Long to bring him into Smackdown so that he could be get into the Elimination Chamber match (and thus fight Taker and take his title, forcing a Wrestlemania match). When Long calmly and delicately told Michaels that wouldn’t be fair, Michaels walloped him with a superkick, beautifully captured by the camera. Then he “walked away” from his career in nihilistic futility. This is getting so good.

2. Bret “Hitman” Hart: I have been watching old school Survivor Series Pay Per View matches all week (more on that later) and that allows me to see Hart in his prime. I re-watched Hart’s involvement in the tag team elimination match in 1989, the Dream Team vs. The Million Dollar Team from 1990, Flair’s Team vs. Piper’s Team from 1991, Hart vs. Michaels from 1992, vs. Backlund in 1994 and vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 1996.

3. Jim Ross: Continuing the retro-theme here, when I re-watched the 1996 version of Survivor Series, I was struck by how awesome Jim Ross was on commentary. Maybe one of the best commentating jobs in all of modern WWF / WWE history. This was about a month after the quasi-heel turn where he introduced Fake Razor and Fake Diesel, which at the time was a huge insult to longtime fans but now is an incredibly funny rib, especially knowing Kane was playing Diesel—can you imagine the reverse? JR still had an edge in his commentary and was talking off-the-cuff about EVERYONE, from McMahon on down to King, Sunny, Lou Albano and so on. Plus, he still had a “pure sport” build for match commentary, which made everything come across more believable and impressive. There were some classic lines of commentary throughout this show, especially for Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin: “He won’t quit! He doesn’t know HOW to quit!”; “Austin wouldn’t let go of the hold. He wouldn’t let go of the hold! He almost pinned himself!” I miss JR’s commentary and I think WWE misses it dearly right now as well.

4. CM Punk: Six beautiful words: “Go get me JARED from SUBWAY.” I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard from a one-liner in quite some time. The general absurdity of that statement and the earnest conviction Punk had in his tone of voice when saying it to Luke Gallows and Serena MADE that moment a highlight. Although, if Punk really wants a Minister of Propaganda, how about someone almost as crazy as him? How about Bob Backlund? He was always pure and clean in his training and preached to the fans about saving them from their sinful ways. I’d think he’d be a perfect fit into the Straight Edge Society. Punk and Mysterio also had an awesome match to start Smackdown this week, very competitive just plain fun. Plus the Go To Sleep Cross was an out-there, out of this world idea and is PERFECT for his character the way it is set up now.

5. Christian: A surprise appearance on Raw was very enjoyable, although losing to Sheamus was expected and continues to demonstrate that Captain Charisma will be in the middle of the pack when he leaves ECW for either Raw or Smackdown. Regardless, he is a personal favorite.

As of 02/13/10

ROH World Champion: Austin Aries (champion since 06/13/09, 13 successful defenses)

–defeated Tyler Black & Jerry Lynn on June 13th, 2009 in a Three-Way Elimination Match in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Tyler Black (New York, NY on 02/13/10)

–Austin Aries defeated Nigel McGuinness in Chicago Ridge, IL on 6/27/09
–Austin Aries defeated Tyler Black, Jerry Lynn, & Nigel McGuinness in Toronto, Ontario on 7/24/09
–Austin Aries defeated Grizzly Redwood in Philadelphia, PA on 8/14/09
–Austin Aries defeated Alex Payne in Philadelphia, PA on 8/15/09
–Austin Aries defeated Bryan Danielson in Philadelphia, PA on 8/15/09
–Austin Aries defeated Bryan Danielson in Chicago Ridge, IL on 9/19/09
–Austin Aries defeated Petey Williams by countout in New York, NY on 9/26/09
–Austin Aries defeated Delirious in Collinsville, IL on 10/9/09
–Austin Aries defeated Davey Richards, Kenny Omega, & Roderick Strong in Philadelphia, PA on 11/5/09
–Austin Aries defeated Davey Richards in Novi, MI on 11/13/09
–Austin Aries defeated Kenny Omega in Mississauga, Ontario on 11/14/09
–Austin Aries defeated Colt Cabana in a Steel Cage Match in Chicago Ridge, IL on 12/5/09
–Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black ended in a 60 minute time limit draw in New York, NY on 12/19/09

ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) (champions since 12/19/09, 1 successful defense)

defeated The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) on December 19th, 2009 in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Dark City Fight Club (New York, NY on 02/13/10)

–Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated The Young Bucks in Philadelphia, PA on 1/9/10

Pick 6 Series
Rankings as of: 02/01/10
1. Claudio Castagnoli
2. Kevin Steen
3. Chris Hero
4. Kenny King
5. Tyler Black
6. Roderick Strong

The Pick 6 Series matches scheduled for March 5/6, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA are as follows:

3/5 – (1) Claudio Castagnoli versus Mark Briscoe

-Whether it’s as “Bryan Danielson” or “Daniel Bryan” (which is the name ring announcer Savannah refereed to him on the latest FCW tapings from a few days ago), I am just hoping that I get to see ROH’s “Best in the World” wrestle on WWE television very soon. Honestly, “Daniel Bryan” is a perfectly fine name and if it is indeed a legit change, it could have been, far, far worse…just ask Desmond Wolfe, or Scotty Goldman.

-Ironically, as WWE and Vince McMahon undertook steps to end Survivor Series as a regular annual Pay Per View (BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!), I was going through much of the Survivor Series anthology this week, watching matches from various years. The first half of 1989 (through the tag match), 1991 (Flair’s Team vs. Piper’s Team and the fallout from The Gravest Challenge), 1992 (Nailz vs. Big Boss Man—believe it or not, Nailz was quite scary and imposing as an ex-con, although perhaps that’s because it may not have been that far from the truth; Perfect Team vs. Savage & Flair, Hart vs. HBK), all of 1994 (I had not ever seen that PPV until now) and all of 1996 (which I have frequently watched over the years with my personal VHS copy).

Survivor Series 1996 was incredibly interesting and special because you could tell WWF was trying to put the emphasis on debuting all of these new wrestlers, and in hindsight knowing how it would all shake out, for guys like Rocky Miavia, Flash Funk or even Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon). It’s also before several big changes in the Attitude Era, so Triple H was still the Greenwich snob with the snooty accent, Steve Austin was quickly gaining popularity, Mick Foley was still one-hundred percent the Mankind character and Psycho Sid was incredibly over with the Madison Square Garden audience (and Sid totally encourages it with his fist bumps to the fans at ringside). Shawn Michaels receives a mixed reaction, but mostly boos. Think a modern day John Cena reaction, or even Tyler Black. He has a heck of a wrestling match even with the split crowd. It’s incredibly weird to see Sid doing head scissors reversals and such in that match, but don’t worry, he spends most of it doing the big man offense. I recall the title change took me completely by surprise, considering HBK was looking to be a long term champion and the possibility of an amazing Michaels vs. Hart rematch that could have happened at In Your House the next month.

I guess that I am rather upset by the decision to end Survivor Series and Vince McMahon blaming the name or match concept when it’s so obvious that the reason the 2009 show didn’t sell was because of the way they pushed the top title matches. I don’t buy into the believe that the elimination matches were passé, and as with anything in pro wrestling or storytelling, it’s not the concept but the use and framing of the concept that determines its success or failure. In recent years there were awesome moments like DeGeneration-X, The Hardy Boys and CM Punk racking the clean sweep, Smackdown versus Raw teams in 2005 or Shawn Michaels making the unlikely come from behind efforts only to lose in the end. Survivor Series was a large part of the beginnings of my enthusiasm for wrestling and I just hope that someday soon McMahon realizes this is still a viable, money-making concept, if they just put in the effort to do so.

ROH on HDNet Episode 44 Thoughts:

This is the first of three episodes where there is multiple in-ring promos involving Tyler Black, Austin Aries and Jim Cornette, setting up the title match at Eighth Anniversary Show and the deal with the three judges. I get what ROH was aiming for and generally they are solid wrestling segments that progress the storyline. Cornette is there to help fill in the blanks, smoothly transition the segments and also to help get Black back on track and over with the crowd. Unfortunately, even in Philly, the crowd reaction for these segments is not that great, with only the superkick to Aries during the Black vs. Strong match (Episode 45) and the final Aries-Black pull-apart (episode 46) really sparking loud reaction. It’s not a good sign when sa “next work champ” or “Tyler Black” chant only has a handful of people chanting along.

In the end, I just don’t know if ROH has done enough to fix the problems with this feud, and my gut feeling is that they haven’t. I don’t even know if I’m convinced—and I really, really want to give this title match the benefit of the doubt.

I do like that within the first ten minutes of this program fans are able to see the ROH World Champion and the ROH World Tag Team Champions. It gives the show extra presence from the main event wrestlers. Let’s have more of this on a regular basis—when you push the champions, you push the importance of those championship matches.

The lights went out during the taping of The Briscoes vs. Cheech & Cloudy match. Now normally I might criticize ROH and HDNet for not editing that out, but Mike Hogewood provides a very humorous and clever explanation about why they may have gone out—that C&C paid someone off in the back to turn the power out so they could get in a quick cheap shot. Explanation accepted! Good job Hog.

The Briscoes look one-hundred percent here and provide an enjoyable match with their hard hitting offense and double teams. Cheech & Cloudy get a piece of the spotlight with an excellent new double team- a catapult into a flatliner. NICE! Afterwards, a Briscoes interview is interrupted by The American Wolves, who received a mixed reaction with slightly more cheers than boos. This is a good promo by Richards & Edwards, but DCFC interrupt and come out to stake a claim as well, with a lot of pushing and shoving—its good work in setting up the future of the division and who’s in contention for a title shot.

Rasche Brown cuts Bobby Shields down in an incredible looking spear, even doing a flip out of the move due to his momentum. You know, I wouldn’t be too surprised if Brown is a future ROH World Champion in the waiting and in the making. He is being built up as a force to be reckoned with and I think fans may embrace him because of that—he looks, acts and executes his matches like he is an unstoppable ass-kicking machine. Can he go that main event length and put on that kind of quality match? Maybe, maybe not—it remains to be seen, but perhaps he doesn’t even have to do that kind of main event match—just keep it short and brutal, like the beginning of the Takeshi Morishima ROH title run. Then push the storyline of him being tested in longer matches as a championship run wears on. Maybe I’m being crazy, but hey, you never know.

This week’s main event is a Pick 6 contender’s match between Generico and King, two men who were NOT part of the initial six who won—which they just finished going through LAST WEEK. I mean, at least tell or show the fans some of the changes in the list from action from the last few DVDs, showing how King made it on the list. NOT good ROH.

I’m not sure, but I think Kenny King was singing the chorus to “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie when he was choking Generico with his boot over the ropes. King excels at catching his opponent from flying off the ropes onto his shoulder and spinning them off into another move, usually the Uranage. It’s quite impressive. He also gets in a brutal double knees on the outside sending a blinded Generico head-first into the barricade.

The Coronation and Brown’s Burning Hammer finish look similar and they were back-to-back finishes on this show. Yeeesh. QC maybe?

Then we get the MAIN EVENT INTERVIEW on “The only hour of pro wrestling on Monday Nights”. Okay, okay, I know, it’s a necessary one to set up the judges for the Black vs. Aries match. A-Double is awesome here with his references to asking Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown. By the way, here are four wrestlers (Black, Aries, Strong, King), all wearing denim pants with different tops (Aries classes it up with a button down / vest and jacket combination. Strong has a sports jacket. Still, this looks like ROH on HDNet Casual Friday?

Say, where could I buy those denim pants? They’re very hip.

ROH on HDNet Episode 45 Thoughts:

Delirious vs. Rhett Titus…I think I’ve seen this one somewhere before… So, someone threw a paper towel roll at Titus during his entrance, and he spun around the ring deflecting it away. I have to say, with Rave gone and likely not coming back any time soon, I think the fans should move their toilet paper throwing habits onto Rhett Titus. It’s too fun and fan interactive to let go by the wayside.

Delirious is munching on green paper in the corner…EXCELLENT character moment. I wonder if his tongue turned green as well.

In a backstage interview Steve Corino is “stylin’ and profilin'”, rocking the business suit in his backstage promo with Kyle Durden. Decidedly NOT denim. It’s an amazingly good look for him, works to give him more of the appearance as a “mastermind” behind the Kevin Steen heel turn. Corino asks Alex Payne about the FB 2009 incident and Payne tells Corino he and Steen should be ashamed of what they did. Steen sneaks up behind him and attacks—you know, that makes him a hero in my eyes.

Colt Cabana vs. Sonjay Dutt is another disappointing Cabana match on HDNet. I have no idea what it is but I am having some real problems getting into his television matches (although I usually like what I see on DVD). Sonjay Dutt apparently decided he should not sell the Colt45, walking to the back and preening to the camera after the match like nothing happened. GREAT (as in, NOT great).

Main event of Black versus Strong is pretty solid, albeit their SOTF finale is superb and this is a touch under the twenty minute draw from The Omega Effect. What stands out, as many have already noted, is the Austin Aries: Spectator Supreme moment early on in the match. Aries has the tub of popcorn and wine—GOLD! He throws the tub of popcorn and as Aries swigs the wine, Black blasts him with the superkick to the face! Now that was good stuff! It was a perfect backwards fall from Aries that fold the chair closed. Looking as good as it possible could have and again just the little things that keep my hopes alive that this 8YAS match still can work. If only they had more time to use this for promoting the match.

You know…I think I’ve just had a Eureka moment! Bear with me a minute…let me dig this out…wait, no, that’s my El Generico bobblehead…there’s my Briscoes Beer neon bar sign…Necro Butcher USB hub…ah-ha! Here it is!

The OFFICIAL Ring of Honor Food Combination Chart

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So yeah, back to the match. There’s some great unique angles and reverses on moves (Black’s specialty and he really should get more credit for it than he does). The best is Black uses a springboard quebrada backflip into the Paroxysm…beat that AJ Styles!

So, anyway Black botches a springboard moonsault late in the match, but maybe it was intentional? After hearing from Lance Storm on Wrestling Observer Radio that Sabu used to botch moves intentionally so fans would chant “You Fucked Up” and be wrong, I’m just not sure anymore. MY WHOLE FAITH IN THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN SHAKEN! Aries comes back to the ring and tries to get involved again, knocking into Strong and hurting him enough for Black to take advantage (although he doesn’t see A-Double) and win the match with God’s Last Gift.

ROH on HDNet Episode 46 Thoughts:

Some humorous juxtaposition as there is a camera shot of some children enthusiastically cheering in the audience, followed by the graphic “Commentators”…I didn’t realize HDNet hired that young.

We gets a Misters of Wrestling squash match against Alex Payne and Bobby Dempsey, although both Payne and Dempset get in more offense than you’d expect (or in Payne’s case, want). Steen has “kill” written on his wristband. Yeah, dude is really starting to be on the edge of sanity there, such that Delirious is now his next door neighbor and next to where Ultimate Warrior lives in the van down by the Parts Unknown River. Steve Corino matches his colors black red and white with Steen—what fashion sense! So Corino and Steen demolish Payne, again making me want to write poetry and songs in their honor.

The Wolves have a backstage promo to hype the main event against The Young Bucks. It’s a wise decision not to go babyface with The Wolves (just yet anyway)…while they talk about proving they are the best tag team in the world, it’s clear they’re not doing it for the fans, but for themselves. I like Edwards’ comments that whatever pain they inflict upon The Young Bucks will be on the fans’ conscience because they voted for it to happen. Pretty good point, although between The Wolves and Dark City Fight Club, they were screwed six ways from Sunday no matter which way the fans voted.

So that leaves DCFC to fight the jobbers Bravado at this point in the show, and feeling slighted, they decide to commit near-mass murder on those hapless fools.

There is a decent but too short video package and interview with Prince Nana about his background…I dare say something like this should have been run about him months ago.

Then an Aries in-ring promo along with Kenny King, who has some excellent kiss-ass to the champion about how he is still ruggedly handsome with a busted lip and how he can rock a stained dress shirt, like no other. Next on Bravo-Project ROHnway.

I can’t see how KIng is going to turn face at any point in the near future with an act like that. It all breaks down with a fantastic line of sexual innuendo from Aries that makes Black rush out and the top babyfaces have to contain him and pull him to the back while Aries and King continue to antagonize him. Pro Wres 101 folks.

The main event is Young Bucks vs. American Wolves take 2. The Briscoes out to interrupt the proceedings, “up the ante a lil’ bit” and offer a title shot to the winner of the match. The best thing about this match is the hard-hitting aspect of both teams—no reprieve, very few slow moments in this one. Lots of tag strategy. Richards shines with his strikes while Edwards gets the spotlight with his fantastic looking codebreaker variant, this time done while springing back into the ring. A perfect last second pull down by Richards prevents the hot tag from Matt to Nick. More Bang For Your Buck is kick out of (!) but Matt gets a jack-knife cradle for three to win the match and a title shot against the champs. Excellent, four star-plus effort from these guys.

-I liked “Welcome to the World” as a theme for Wrestlemania more than “I Made it”. Freaking Kevin Rudolf, making insanely catchy singles and horrible albums.

– Betty White is getting the rocket to the moon push this week. Who decided this and why? Not that I have anything against Betty White, but it sure is strange to see all of this coverage about her right now. Snickers commercial, a “grassroots” effort for SNL to bring her in as a guest host, will she challenge Sheamus for the WWE Title next? Thank you for being a friend.

-Have a very Delriious Valentine’s Day, thanks to Delirious’ self-portrait heart.

I seriously don’t think that this is “career suicide”, like some people say, it’s just a bussiness decision which invovled Richard’s use of another company as leverage.

Posted By: PJL (Guest) on February 06, 2010 at 11:30 AM

I believe the above is a very accurate analysis of what goes into the contract negotiation process for athletes. Is this what happened with Richards? Maybe that’s what it turned into, but I don’t believe Richards intentionally wanted it to be that, or that he had the intent to manipulate Sapolsky so that he could get a better deal from ROH. He wanted to work for both companies, but ended up caught between the two and ultimately had to choose which one he felt would be best for himself and his future. As well, you can see the kind of pay scale the independents truly have—a guy like Richards who worked his way towards becoming a top name for his company was only making $350 a shot for house shows before this raise. It again indicates that an independent wrestler is dependent on working multiple shows in many different promotions in order to even begin to make a decent living. Although I do believe many are forgetting money made from merchandise and autographs / pictures, which help to add to the weekly take but of course is inconsistent and varies from show-to-show. That is why many independent workers have regular jobs (work to feed the wrestling habit) and why many independent wrestlers do want to take that next step to TNA or WWE for (generally speaking) better pay and guaranteed money…except for Richards, who chose not to go to WWE despite a contract offer. As he wrote in his email that was leaked to the internet, he wrestles for the fun of it and has his ambulance job when he doesn’t wrestle.

“It’s easy to sympathize with Gabe Sapolsky in that Richards played an important role in DGUSA and was going to be a crucial to EVOLVE.”

Posted By: Guest#3069 (Guest) on February 06, 2010 at 01:47 PM

Again, very solid analysis and I agree with most of your points—Gabe should have had the wrestlers he wanted to focus on the most nailed down to written contracts. Verbal agreement doesn’t always cut it on the independent scene. So it wasn’t surprising to read a recent Facebook entry he made where he flat out said he was starting to sign talent for DGUSA / EVOLVE to written contracts. He learned his lesson quickly.

ROH’s actions in re-signing Richards (and Strong, and others who have done so such as Aries and Black) were fair business practices. It was in their best interest to protect their assets, so that is what they did and in doing so offered a better deal to their talent. It worked out this time around to their benefit.

I see your analogy and while it does work for the situation, I can still see the other side of the coin—that Sapolsky was told by Richards they would be in business together and then something different happened than what he expected. It’s very disappointing when you make plans and believe in people that will help you with those plans and then it doesn’t work out. So on that level, I sympathize with Sapolsky, who is trying to do business and find his place on the independent scene in a post-ROH employment position. Again though, I am surprised at his naiveté and lack of foresight, especially given how hard he worked for ROH and his experience level in the world of professional wrestling.

Calling it a “chess battle” is certainly a good theme for a (quasi-) professional looking column, but it sure looks to me like Sapolsky & ROH are playing checkers, not chess. On one of those goofy, tiny little travel boards, too, not even a full size checkerboard.

Posted By: Lukodactyl (Guest) on February 06, 2010 at 08:11 PM

Fair enough, how about we call split it down the middle and call it “Sorry!” Ah, I loved that game when I was a child, sliding across the board and knocking people out of position. As far as New Japan vs. Dragon Gate, that news of New Japan wanting to do business with Richards comes directly from the Wrestling Observer. I also know Richards isn’t anywhere close to being the be-all, end-all for professional wrestling, much less in Japan. Of course it’s not a full scale war between the companies, but don’t tell me there isn’t politics in Japan wrestling just like there is in American pro wrestling. There is definitely competition, there is definitely a desire to be the number one company and Dragon Gate has done a great job the past two years of growing their audience and improving their standing in the professional wrestling market. Why wouldn’t we believe that New Japan wouldn’t want to knock them down a peg or two? I’m sure it doesn’t have anything to do with a ROH vs. DGUSA war, but competition is competition.

I’m of two minds when it comes to Richards as the ROH champion. On the one hand, there are few wrestlers in ROH who are as hot right now as Richards, and you only need look at someone like Tyler Black to see what happens when you don’t strike when the iron is hot.

Posted By: Michael L (Guest) on February 06, 2010 at 09:33 PM

Striking while the iron is hot, as you termed, has been one of ROH’s largest problems these past two years and a lot of it was due to ROH wanting to do longer term storylines (which while great, isn’t always the way to go), insisting on putting Jerry Lynn over for the ROH World Title when the majority of the fan base was clearly against it, and the time disparity that occurred in negotiating between the DVDs, PPVs and TV tapings (which has been corrected as of late and is less distracting now, but still took its toll on wrestlers and storylines). Aries has been a successful champion and I believe a lot of fans are really coming around and understanding what this new persona is all about, especially with his promos and antics the last two months. However, his time as champion could be up tonight, and we could be moving on to Black, or Strong, Hero, or Richards in the coming months.

Head on over to TwitterNation and follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.

Aaron Hubbard has this week’s ROH on HDNet report, with American Wolves vs. Young Bucks in one hell of a television main event.

It’s myself and Michael Bauer in this week’s 411 Buy or Sell with plenty more coverage of ROH’s Eighth Anniversary, plus Human Tornado and more.

Ryan Rozanski has a DVD review of PWG Against The Grain.

Kevin Ford has a review of AIW Absolution 4.

Also, sometime next week I will be on the J & K Fun Hour through Pro Wrestling Ponderings, covering results and my opinions about the ROH anniversary show.

That will do it this week for the column. Next week results and show fallout from tonight in NYC.
BROOKLYN!
–Ari–