Column of Honor 05.15.10: The Imperfect Perfect Match

Welcome to the Column.

Last week Ring of Honor ran its annual Supercard of Honor show to a packed house (estimated attendance: 1,300 to 1,500) at the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center in New York City. This, the fifth version was one of the better ROH shows of the year, but with some caveats: there were several polarizing finishes, including one that garnered a huge heel reaction for one of ROH’s most beloved tag teams of all-time after what was until then a match of the year contender. Multiple referee bumps in the main event also occurred, which in ROH is still a rare event. Still, there was plenty of quality in-ring action, special attraction bouts with great effort from the wrestlers and a super hot crowd that made going to the show (and eventually purchasing the DVD) worthwhile.

Quick tip to those going to ROH shows at the Grand Ballroom—take the elevator instead of the stairs, but do listen carefully to the elevator operator, because they work there and know the exact capacity of each bank.

Some exclusive T-shirts not sold on ROH’s web store (as of yet) were available at the merchandise stand, including an orange El Generico shirt (actually sold for a while now) and a brand new American Wolves shirt, with a vertical design on the front of a heart torn by wolf claws and bleeding red, white and blue and the phrase “The Hunt Never Dies” on the back with the same red, white and blue bleed. I was so impressed with the shirt that I bought in on a whim.

Ring of Honor dropped the curtain promptly at the previously advertised 7:30 PM bell time with The Briscoes versus Kenny King and Rhett Titus. Jay and Mark entered the ringside area to a crowd that was only about half-full, as many ticket holders were still filing in after wading through deep and slow moving lines outside the Hammerstein Ballroom. It appears that ROH is now dedicated to starting the show on time (especially in New York City, as this is the third show in a row ROH has not waited for the lines to sort out), so fans need to be aware and adjust plans accordingly. However, the fans that were already seated in the building were plenty loud enough—they gave The Briscoes a very loud ovation and were very much into the opening contest. It was a good omen for the rest of the show, when the crowd would be at full capacity.

It was a typical Briscoes match, but an entertaining one—multiple exchanges of control in lieu of traditional face-heel psychology, Mark Briscoe being wacky Mark Briscoe and flying around all over the place, then later utilizing his kung-fu moves to pop the crowd, etc. Rhett Titus was especially impressive this go around with his use of the over the top “Ladies Man” gimmick and playing around with that in his selling (moves backfiring and his own partner hitting him in the “gentleman’s area” and so on). The Briscoes eventually won with a Doomsday Device, throwing one onto the other in a prone vertical position on the mat. The fans loved to see The Briscoes destroy King and Titus in this one, but their feelings about the brothers from Delaware would change later in the night, for very good reason.

The loss provoked an argument between King and Titus, with King confronting but Titus wanting nothing to do with it, only for King to peel him back and confront him again. This received a huge pop from the crowd who wanted to see the two fight other (not necessarily that one should turn face, mind you). However, this was the ol’ Midnight Express swerve, where the two heels teased an argument and then hugged it out and reconciled by the end of the bit. By the time that both men had reached the entrance ramp, they had done just that, raising each other’s arms in a moral victory.

Grizzly Redwood got in more than his share of offense against the larger though less burly Erick Stevens (I mean, the man looked svelte), which surprised me as I thought this one would be a very quick and demonstrative squash to shine on Stevens. Grizz actually hit his big moves and had the crowd supporting him—though they laughed somewhat at the beginning when Stevens plastered him and launched him into the air, there were also moments when they bought into Grizzly winning in an upset. As noted in last week’s preview, the New York crowd has picked up on Grizz as an underdog favorite ever since his effort during the Four Corner Survival match at Glory By Honor VIII this past September. First Bobby Dempsey and now Grizzly Redwood… New York City really loves its underdogs. Well, except for Alex Payne.

Regardless of Grizzly’s repeated comebacks (coming the closest with his barefoot-springboard into a spinning DDT), Stevens eventually caught up to the little logger, thanks of course to a little help via Embassy leader Prince Nana (perfect in his role as manager, roaming around ringside and dishing out abuse to Grizzly when possible) and former panhandler-turned-fashion plate Ernesto Osiris. Stevens leveled Grizzly with a closeline that met Grizz in mid-air leap, then finished the job with the Doctor Bomb finisher for the obvious three-count.

What was not so obvious was who would run in for the save—as of all people, no one would have picked Balls Mahoney (formerly from ECW and WWE) to come on down to ringside. Yet there he was, to the tune of ACDC’s “Big Balls”. The New York City faithful still remembered what those opening guitar chords of that song meant, and they gave Balls a very loud and overwhelming pop. They chanted “Balls” with him in time to the music and in time with his punches as he wiped out Nana, then Stevens and eventually killing Ernesto Osiris with the Nutcracker Suite (Michinoku Driver). Then, having cleared the ring of the villains, Balls and Grizzly went through the song one more time, with all the fans chanting along.

Balls’ appearance was one of those out-of-nowhere wacky moments, but it definitely worked with this crowd. It was a nice surprise. He popped the crowd and got them to have some fun early in the show. The fans amused themselves for a few minutes singing “Big Balls” and losing themselves in the frivolity of the situation and that was it. Anyone who has a real problem with something so innocuous and entertaining has a real problem.

From there on in ROH hit a wave of momentum that carried them through to intermission. The atmosphere of the crowd was pumped up and for of all things, a woman’s wrestling match, which was a rarity these days in Ring of Honor. Of course, this was no ordinary woman’s match, being the return of Kong to the independent scene—therefore this match was viewed as the special attraction that it had been billed up to be in the hype for the show.

Sara Del Rey entered to a very strong and loud reaction from the crowd, which was actually sort of surprising. Then Amazing Kong came out to an even larger, almost deafening response. As expected, the crowd immediately let Kong know of their support for her after recent confrontations with radio DJ and now ex-TNA employee Bubba The Love Sponge. They chanted “F**k You Bubba” and “F**k TNA” almost as soon as she entered the ring. Kong couldn’t help but laugh in mirth at these chants, nodding to the crowd in approval. However, the fans didn’t end their support of Kong there, or for Del Rey and the singles match that was still to take place. The crowd was there every step of the way for this one and they chanted and applauded for both women throughout the match. The New York City crowd has to be given credit for staying with it, because the reaction women’s matches in ROH are always a crapshoot. Not this time.

Kong and Del Rey proceeded to make that support count, electrifying the crowd with a very hard fought tit-for-tat battle. Both have a hard hitting style and both were unafraid to use it, much to the delight of the fans, who ooohed and ahhed at almost every strike and connected move. Kong’s first big miss was on the Awesome Splash attempt, which was an air ball and the crowd went nuts for Del Rey moving out of the way. The crowd roared for Kong’s big comeback, including a spinning backfist and Amazing Bomb. Earlier in the match Del Rey could not complete a massive German suplex, but when she did it on the second attempt the entire audience roared in awe, enjoyment and approval. It was a very close two-count, and almost immediately Hero, Claudio and Hagadorn sprang into action around ringside. Hagadorn distracted the ref, Claudio made a move towards Kong and Hero did an end around and tossed his “golden elbow pad” (which some believe to be loaded, but that’s only conjecture) to Del Rey. She wrapped it around her elbow and forearm and then smashed Kong in the face with a roaring elbow that must have done Chris Hero proud (well, he was beaming widely after the match).

Both Del Rey and Kong received loud ovations after the match and deservedly so. It was the best woman’s match in Ring of Honor in quite some time. It compares well with Kong’s matches wrestling for SHIMMER, ROH’s sister promotion run by announcer Dave Prazak. It was also right up there with the Kong vs. Del Rey singles match that took place in that promotion—perhaps better, because that match ended with a ten-count finish (Kong couldn’t answer the referee’s count) in order to protect Kong whereas this match concluded with a concrete and definitive pinfall victory by Del Rey. That Kong did the job here to the longstanding female member of the ROH roster indicates that Kong won’t be making encore appearances for ROH, and she confirmed as much in an interview during this week, terming it a “one-night stand”. However, for one-shot, she and ROH sure made the most of it, and I doubt many fans would complain if she did come back for future fights against the likes of Daizee Haze, MsChif or Cheerleader Melissa.

The screeching strains of Marilyn Manson’s “Disposable Teens” filled the Manhattan Center as fans slammed down on the guardrail in unison with the beat of the song. Christopher Daniels was back in a big way on this night in New York. His entrance was cut down just a bit from its usual length, but its bombast and intensity were still there and the reaction from the crowd let him know he was missed dearly (it should noticed that with this song and The Kings using “We Are The Champions” as entrance music on this night that ROH is slowly starting to reincorporate mainstream music into their shows—with any luck we may hear “Gimmie Back My Bullets” blasting out of the PA sometime soon). Daniels just has an instant connection with the ROH fan base, and his deep tie to the beginning of the promotion means he will always have a place on the roster if he is available (although he has not committed to ROH past July). New York City continued its rallying cry against TNA, but Daniels stopped them and had them chant “ROH” instead as he had done the previous night in Manassas (as he may going back to TNA soon, that was probably the smart call for him). The fans also showed support and positive reaction to ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards, showing he has been brought up a level or two in the fans’ esteem.

Theirs was more of a technical wrestling showcase, built early on back-and-forth Irish whip passes and developed from who won control of them and went on from there. As far as technical excellence, these two had it in spades, with their chains and passes hitting in pinpoint accuracy and timing. The fan reaction started off more subdued, although they popped for the end of each exchange and grew in volume as the match went on until they were completely wrapped up in the battle. By the end of the match they were calling out to Daniels for the “B.M.E.”—and he delivered with the picture perfect springboard moonsault for the three-count. The match was very good, roughly ***1/2 to ***3/4 and honestly it could have gone on somewhat longer and no one would have complained.

Daniels impressed with his offense, hitting big moves like his springboard Arabian moonsault to the outside and the STO—he wasn’t skimping on the effort even though he could have easily done so. However, the one weakness in the match was also on the part of Daniels—as Edwards would start to work on the leg with wicked moved like snapmaring the leg or using the ropes as a standing half crab. However Daniels didn’t sell the leg much at all—until after the match. He would continue to try for big aerial dives and impact sequences that necessitating using his leg without selling the injury. That lack of adherence to psychology was a disappointment for me, but didn’t bother much of the crowd, if at all. They were very much into the wrestling itself and the interactions between Edwards and Daniels.

Jim Cornette was out next to make a special announcement for the September 11th return date to the Hammerstein Ballroom. It was nice to get a small break from the action in order to catch a breather, but Cornette sure can build up the hype—he delayed actually saying what it was for as long as he could and the way he phrased it, you would have though the President of the United States would be live and in person for the next show. Or “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Instead, Cornette announced that Terry Funk would be coming in for an appearance and autograph signing, which was met with good but not overwhelming applause. Plus, the way Cornette phrased the announcement made it seem like Funk was coming in to ROH for the first time ever, but long time fans will recall that Funk actually already appeared and wrestled for the promotion. He fought CM Punk at Glory By Honor 2 in 2003 in an angle where Raven chose Punk’s opponent and vice versa. Punk defeated Funk via referee stoppage from a figure four, then Raven and Tommy Dreamer ran in to make the save.

It is clear that Cornette is using his connections and pull with the legends of his time such as Funk as well as using The Midnights and referee Tommy Young during The Big Bang intermission show. That’s very admirable and ultimately it will be enjoyable to see Terry Funk in person, but if ROH really wants to pop their fan base and encourage even more ticket sales then it’s high time to go back to booking the known Japanese names that are popular to the independent wrestling scene. Huge names like KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji, Kota Ibushi or Katsuhiko Nakajima would be big ticket movers for the NYC audience.

That announcement led us to intermission, where I had to come face to-face with an awful and newly discovered truth—that Stuart Carapola does not like CHIKARA wrestling. Shame, Stu, shame.

Intermission ended with what was more of an extended angle than a real match—as Austin Aries mocked Delirious with a sort of fake apology for attacking him and Daizee Haze until the big guy couldn’t stand to hear A-Double talk anymore and went on the attack. Aries was quite hilarious here and had a few very classic lines including saying he couldn’t give Delirious his Pick Six spot since he had been bumped off the previous night, but that he would give him his Pick Seven spot instead. He also offered Daizee a single white flower (which she accepted with some hesitation, but held on to it for most of the match) and gave Delirious some “Golden Snack Cakes” (and not Twinkies, as that would have set the fans afrenzy and presumably they would have to pay rights fees for usage of that trademarked terminology) as a peace offering. Then Aries dared the crowd to try to turn that into chant, which they did, quite easily enough. In a showing of massive chutzpah, Aries not only announced ROH had in fact granted him a manager’s license, but that he wanted Delirious to be his first recruit.

Delirious and Daizee were not buying any of this, and Delirious went on the attack. The crowd was actually quite cold in their reaction to Delirious and cheered more for Aries than anything else during this segment. This may have been a combination of Aries winning them over with his stand up shtick (even though it was obvious he was working heel) and the people once again tiring of the Delirious character (this despite an extended absence from live shows in order to sell his throat injury at the hands of Aries and allow for an overseas tour). Regardless, Delirious had most of the offense in this one, even stuffing Aries in the face with the delicious Golden Snack Cake. The short (five-minute) match ended when Delirious put Aries in a chokehold and refused to let go, resulting in a disqualification.

Side-note: I applaud ROH, Aries or whoever it was that made the decision to use New York’s proclivity to chant “Twinkies” from the last few shows to their advantage. Hey, if you can’t beat them, join them, sort of. In using the Twinkies in storyline, ROH is actually incorporating that chant into their show and taking away some of its underlying power to antagonize and interfere in the atmosphere of the matches. Lo and behold, referee Todd Sinclair, who had been the prominent victim of the chant during previous shows and especially during title matches, received few chants during the main event. The volume was so low it came across as not being there at all. It’s doubtful these chants will cease to occur, but by Aries taking it and using it, it’s more likely to become “his” rather than directed at Sinclair, which can only help eliminate the problem those chants caused in the first place and redirect it into a more positive usage.

In the aftermath of the match, Aries was saved by his run-in buddies (and likely the men he will actually manage) Kenny King and Rhett Titus, who attacked both Delirious and Daizee Haze. They teased hitting Daizee with the spike piledriver (their injury-causing move of choice since they used it to eliminate Lynn last summer), but Delirious was back in for the save.

As opposed to the ROH World Tag Team Title match later in the card, the DQ here didn’t bother me so much, because not only was this a last second addition to the card but it was not a marquee or main event match. Aries and Delirious are just at the beginning of the program and likely the major parts of it will not be happening in NYC (well if I was booker I would definitely avoid it, judging by the reaction of the crowd it would probably be better to anchor the feud on television as well as the St. Louis / Chicago tour stops).

Kevin Steen and Colt Cabana took the title “No Disqualification 34th Street Death Match” quite literally, as by the end of the night both men had gashes in the back of their head, had been driven into the mat surrounded by pools of their own blood, smashed chairs into each other, stuck each other with thumbtacks, crashed through tables and on top of ladders and even incorporated barbed wire into a crossface submission (after which Cabana was forced to tap out). This sort of stipulation and style of match had been out of practice in this era of Ring of Honor wrestling, but Steen and Cabana were determined to bring it back for this feud, which is certainly warranted (and even welcome by the fans judging by their reactions in both the New York and Chicago brawls) between Steen’s betrayal of El Generico and the bloodlust each side has demonstrated. The feud between Steen and Generico and the story of the bad blood necessitates the usage of this sort of weaponry—although unprotected chair shots certainly need to be limited (there were one or two more here, but not in any other match on the card).

Still, the fans went bananas at the hardcore style match, oohing and ahhing at moments such as Cabana being dumped to the outside and bumping off a table at an awkward angle, or being powerbombed on top of a ladder. Cabana returned fire, taking off Steen’s shirt to expose more of his skin on the back (avert your eyes!) and then throwing him off the top rope onto the collection of tiny thumbtacks. Steen’s expression of pain will be a must-see when the DVD is made available for purchase.

However, the true masterstroke belonged to Steve Corino, who made a surprise appearance to interfere on behalf of his client Steen. He had not even been booked or advertised for this weekend’s ROH events, set up in order to sell the amazing bloodletting he endured just a few weeks back during the violent Chicago Street Fight that Cabana and Generico won. However, Corino’s sudden involvement wasn’t the only ace up his sleeve.

In what has been an under looked development in the story, Steve Corino used his own son Colby to play mind games with Colt Cabana. It was Cabana who was looking to close the match with a Colt 45 onto thumbtacks when El Generico’s music played over the PA. This was puzzling, because like Corino, Generico was not booked for this show. Instead a skinny (but athletically built) young man in a cape and lucha mask rushed out. He distracted Cabana, who didn’t know what to make of it…and Steen used the distraction to attack Cabana. This masked luchador then shed his protection and revealed to the fans his identity! Steve Corino was beside himself in glee for having used his son to trap Cabana, even rubbing his hair in a fatherly “good boy” manner. Corino has frequently referred to himself as a legend on recent ROH shows, but he should really call himself “Genius”. This is a psychological move and apt storyline advancement that Corino is so low that he would manipulate and use his own son to achieve his goals. Here’s hoping that ROH follows up on that point in the future.

A small side-story to the aftermath of the match involved the ROH student who swept up the carnage. Actually, this poor guy (who looked suspiciously similar both in build and facial features but not in height to one Chuck Taylor) first garnered the attention of the fans after the conclusion to Aries vs. Delirious, as he attempted to clean up the crumbs and remnants of “Golden Snack Cakes”. The fans harassed him with the infamous “Sweep it Up, A**hole, Sweep it Up” chant, so much that he couldn’t help but give them the ol’ “stick it” hand gesture, which popped the crowd . However, as it turns out he was only making it worse for himself, as ring announcer Bobby Cruise let him know he had missed a spot, to which then the rest of the NYC crowd let him know he had missed a spot. He went back in and cleaned it up, then back out, but oh no, Cruise called him back one more time (what a rib). The fans actually gave him a nice ovation when he was done, even chanting out “sweep of the year”. The guy took a bow in response.

However, the night would not end on a very good note for this young stagehand. He attempted to sweep the thumbtacks out to ringside after the Steen-Cabana showdown, which did not prove to be a wise decision. Booker Adam Pearce, who was already out to sell the damage done to Cabana as the referees carried him to the back, noticed that he was getting the tacks all over the ringside mats. He began to chew this guy out and rightfully so, as that would have resulted in a dangerous situation for the rest of the wrestlers on the show and possibly the fans. It took several other referees and stagehands a few more minutes to clean up the ringside area and give the “all-clear” for the show to continue.

That led us to what would become simultaneously the greatest moment of the show and its most frustrating—the ROH World Tag Team Title match between current champions The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli with manager Shane Hagadorn and stablemate Sara Del Rey at ringside) versus The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin). This had been a heavily advertised, much-anticipated match that was planned and booked far in advance. This was set-up as a dream match, one-of-a-kind face-off, and for nearly twenty minutes it proved to be exactly that…until the finish of the match brought one of the highest highs ever experienced in the Grand Ballroom to a screeching halt.

Kings of Wrestling versus Motor City Machine Guns was the definition of an “imperfect perfect match”, if that makes any sense. Literally EVERYTHING about that match was right and NOTHING about that match was wrong up until The Briscoes came out for the DQ. There were so many amazing moments where both teams dazzled the crowd and each other with speed and their tag team offense. The crowd was probably as raucous and loud as it could have been, and even better was sustained in that volume for the entire twenty-minute match. I would have given it five stars with a clean finish—it was that perfect.It was on its way to being a certifiable match of the year if it was a few minutes longer and had a clean finish. The only reasonable excuse I could think of after the show for the decision was that if politics with TNA got in the way—and as was soon learned, that is exactly what happened.

The Machine Guns may not have frequent opportunities to show off their skills in TNA, but they are truly one of the most cohesive and impressive tag team combinations in wrestling today—both in the mainstream leagues and on the independents. Their Ring of Honor matches against The Briscoes, Age of the Fall and now against The Kings of Wrestling reveal the real talent and ability they only hint at in short three-minute television spots. Last week at the Hammerstein, Shelley and Sabin’s speed and timing were on another level and yet somehow matched by Hero and Claudio’s effort.

Both teams used the hit-and-run on each other, but Sabin and Shelley were the ones scoring the points off of that strategy. Their blitzkrieg of offense was so fast and furious that it’s almost a vain hope that the ROH production staff managed to capture the appropriate camera angles to do it justice. The Machine Guns scrambled and stayed one step ahead of The Kings, and then Hero and Claudio did the same while Sabin or Shelley looked for the hot tag. Highlights included Sabin hiding behind turnbuckle poles out of reach of The Kings, both he and Shelley taking flight to the outside and their double team kicks and grapples. Hero and Claudio responded with double teams using combinations of elbows and uppercuts, as well as the crowd pleasing big swing into a running seated dropkick. Both teams hit almost every combination move in their arsenal, save the KRS-1 for The Kings and The Made in Detroit for the Guns.

The crowd grew louder and louder for every sequence and with every passing moment. It was as if the fans were not only giving back everything they were getting, but they had both the will and the energy to do so for as long as the wrestlers wanted to continue to go in that ring. Being in that moment of crowd rapture and response is the very best of what it is to go to a live Ring of Honor show. It could be felt during Joe vs. Kobashi in 2005 and it was felt when Tyler Black won the title this past February.

The finish was the equivalent of having the best sex of your life, only to have your mother and father AND your grandmother and grandfather walk in on you at the same time.

Chris Hero was going to attempt once again to use the golden elbow pad and apparently The Briscoes were so insulted that they had to run right out right then and there and attack The Kings for the disqualification. Yeah.

Suffice to say, the NYC fans were not happy about this turn of events. They immediately booed The Briscoes (and more than a few were simultaneously booking the booking of the match). The Briscoes then got their hands on Sara Del Rey, delivering a thunderous spike Jay-Diller on her to leave her laid out and unconscious. This was the fulfillment of what they teased during the 8th Anniversary Show, which The Kings stopped then but couldn’t prevent here. The fans initially popped for that move (as always, the fans love it when violence happens against women), but that quickly turned once more to boos, as their disgust over the disqualification finish would not be assuaged. There was even a heavy “F**k The Briscoes” chant, which caught Jay and Mark off guard and did not make them happy. Considering how perpetually over they are in 2010 Ring of Honor, the booing was as shocking an occurrence as when Samoa Joe was given the same chant during his title match against CM Punk during All Star Extravaganza II…and that was simply for putting his feet on the ropes!

While all of this chaos was happening, The Motor City Machine Guns swiftly walked up the ramp and to the back, without so much as a goodbye (although it was likely the best decision to leave before the crowd turned on them as well). Just twenty minutes prior, they had walked out a hero’s welcome and chants of “Motor City” and “F**k TNA”. It turns out TNA was the one doing the screwing around during this match.

Could ROH have negotiated to book a better finish? Perhaps a forty-five minute draw would have worked, although not at the pace these teams were setting. They could have done a toned down first twenty minutes and then ramped it up to that insane pace and effort. It’s likely that there wouldn’t have been the kind of backlash that occurred during the Final Battle 2009 sixty-minute draw between Tyler Black and Austin Aries. That can be said due to the insane amount of effort given by these four wrestlers and that the match was going second-from-the-top. It was still relatively early in the night and there would have been enough time to pull it off (the show ended around 11PM, so another half-hour still wouldn’t have even put the show close to the record length of a show in New York City). Another possibility could have been a draw resulting from a double ten-count, with all four wrestlers being unable to continue due to the harsh blows sustained during the match. There have only been two double-down draws in ROH history, both involving Jay and Mark Briscoe (once at Fifth Year Festival: Finale in Liverpool and another on HDNet for the initial Pick 6 rankings, though that match was restarted and eventually won by Jay Briscoe).

The fans were left with the buzz of such an amazing match, but forced to come down from it and move on. In a way, ROH was lucky that the fans didn’t boo longer, louder and more derisively. New York City nearly had a riot during Glory By Honor VI Night 2 in 2007 when Sapolsky booked an Age of the Fall vs. Briscoes tag title match to go two minutes before a disqualification. They were angry at the thought of being deprived of a great match with such a BS finish (not knowing they would come back to that match later in the night, though that move still backfired because the crowd was far less into the reprise as a main event than when they first believed it was happening). This time around, the negative reaction was still there (a short “refund” chant began but didn’t carry over to the larger body of the audience). Yet it was not to such an intense degree because they had seen such high-level action leading up to the BS finish.

News broke the next day that ROH had to change the previously planned finish in order to “make all parties happy”, thus further implying that TNA refused to allow the Machine Guns to job against the ROH World Tag Team Champions (or at the least served as convenient damage control). TNA’s involvement was later confirmed by several wrestling sources, thus somewhat mitigating the backlash against the booking and helping to ease the perception of the match as being the best it could have possibly been up until it had to end.

Ultimately, this match compares well to the Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind WWF Title match during the In Your House: Mind Games Pay Per View in September of 1996. That match featured HBK and Mankind going toe-to-toe in a very heated, state-of-the-art (for 1996) battle for over twenty-minutes, but concluded when Vader and Sid ran in for a disqualification finish. That match was amazing while it lasted, but left viewers with a bittersweet taste due to the lack of a proper finish. It is remembered an imperfect perfect match, much like Kings of Wrestling vs. Motor City Machine Guns will go down in history as the perfect match that could have been, but for the finish.

ROH has come so close to restoring its former luster with a string of excellent shows that have put the focus on the in-ring action and the storyline feuds, so to see a match end like this (even though as its come to be found out that their hands were tied) is to knock them back down a peg in the minds of the fans. They are indeed so close to returning to their former glory in terms of the right booking and letting the wrestling speak for itself, but for these moments when the booking goes askew of what the fans want to see happen (i.e. clear, decisive and mostly clean finishes).

Funnily enough though, I liked the lead in to the finish of the Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong main event title match, which involved three referee bumps prior to the real finish, which was Black retaining the title after delivering a Super God’s Last Gift from the top rope for the (clear, clean and decisive) win.

The main event was twenty minutes, began with a fast pace but with a crowd playing catch-up as a result of still living in the finish to the last match. By the middle portion the fans were invested in the match and it settled in as a very good, three-and-a half star match, focusing more on what each man could kick out of and how much punishment each could sustain. There were the repeated backbreakers and submission attempts from Strong, while Black countered with his impact offense, including an interesting new twist on a snapmare driver.

Then the wacky, almost over-the-top lead-in to the finish, when Tyler Black knocked into a referee while attempting to hit Strong. This led to a sequence where several other referees attempted to run down and count a pinfall for either man. After Black kicked out, Strong hit the second referee out of anger (though no disqualification call for Strong) and a third referee was wiped out before the eventual finish, which was clean and unquestionably a win for Black. Strong would not shake hands with Black after the match and had words for both him and Jim Cornette. He blamed the referees for screwing him out of the win and demanded another rematch. The criticism was absurd (though I guess it was meant to portray Strong as “losing it”)—the referee bumps could have helped or harmed either man, but in the end Black pinned him with a big move as decisively as possible. Still, look for a future rematch between the two men somewhere down the line.

As anticipated, the New York City crowd was once again split in regards to Tyler Black, at about 65 / 35 against him. The majority negative response could be attributed to a number of factors, including support from a large number of Roderick Strong fans, a larger attendance with a more casual crowd compared to the show in February, the reaction of those fans who go to the show just to see a title change and of course those who just plain don’t like Tyler Black and don’t want him to be ROH World champion.

For some reason, ROH just has a lot of trouble galvanizing fan support around a top babyface and sooner or later the fans turn on whoever is in that position—from McGuinness to Lynn and now Black. While ROH seemed to have broken through with Black in New York at the last show when he won the title, ultimately the smaller crowd that was won over in February did not sustain its support or was swallowed up by the larger attendance for this show, which included fans who were not there to see Black finally pull through and prove his so-called “worthiness” to be the champion. Hopefully ROH does not yet again “give-in” to the “whims” of their fan base—for too often they cater to the “what can you do for me right now?” mentality.

Ultimately, Supercard of Honor V lived up to the name of its predecessors due to the overall strength of the entire card and the quality wrestling from beginning to end. It places behind the first three “Supercard” shows and ahead of last year’s version due to having a deeper card and better in-ring matches (despite last year’s show having my match of the year in Davey Richard versus KENTA). Steen vs. Cabana was damned brutal (in a good way), Edwards vs. Daniels was a really entertaining wrestling match and Kong vs. Del Rey delivered on the potential and had the crowd going crazy for a woman’s match, which in ROH these days is a rarity.

ROH is on an upswing since the beginning of the year, regaining a lot of its mojo with featured feuds involving Aries, Black and Strong, the continued presence of Davey Richards, the rise of The Kings of Wrestling to the tag team scene and the bloody war between former tag team partners Kevin Steen and El Generico. However, ROH is not yet back to the lofty standards it set in years past, and needs to be more careful with overbooking their finishes. Some were questionable and debate-worthy, although they did not detract from my own personal enjoyment of the show (but others certainly could have felt that way). I understood why they happened. Sometimes you have to deal with a little bit of the imperfect to get as close as possible to perfection.

1. WWE Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Christian: Readers know I enjoy a classic face vs. face match with the focus on the spirit of competition and clean wrestling. This match had all of that in spades. Kingston is looking so much better through the magic of Memorex, while Christian is as a sturdy and dependable a wrestler as can be found on the current WWE roster. Kofi used his quickness while Christian worked reverses and counters based around those moves and voila—an enjoyable and watchable television match. It’s a shame the booking undid Kingston’s tournament win, but I had a sneaking suspicion Kofi’s run would be short-lived at any rate thanks to McIntyre and his “in” with Vince McMahon. I didn’t figure it would be the minute after he won the title, but that’s the breaks in modern WWE.

2. Peilgro Abejas!: A wonderful and fitting sequel to Paul London’s previous out-of-this-world promo with Bryan Danielson. Unbelievably, London is so off-the-wall during this promo that he manages to get Generico to break character and crack up laughing not once, not twice, but SEVERAL times. That, my friends, just never happens, so you know London has got to have some mystic ju-ju powers working for him. Yes, after watching this video it surely can be inferred that London is certifiable, yet these stream-of-conscious promos are so earnest and he appears so genuine it’s hard to hold that against him. It’s like he’s both Bill AND Ted at the same time. He also speaks pretty good Spanish, thus making him the perfect fit for El Generico, who of course speaks no English AND no Spanish (well, little, at any rate). Together they are the Danger Bees, new PWG Tag Team Champions! All they need now are some yellow and black striped tights.

3. Rhett Titus taking pratfalls / The Big Show breaks stuff: Every time Rhett comes into the ring, he manages to become tied up in the ribbons thrown by the fans at ringside. During his entrance for the opening contest against Skullkrusher Rasche Brown on the Gold Rush DVD, Titus becomes so tied up in the ribbons that he trips and takes a huge fall, which entertained me greatly. Likewise, I enjoyed the physical comedy of Big Show tearing up Jack Swagger’s personal belongings on this week’s episode of Smackdown. Dude can smash up a trophy, that’s for sure…and his “Ooops, I did it again” face is priceless.

4. Vickie Guerrero: EXCUSE ME! EXCUSE ME! EXCUSE ME! Ah, sorry. It’s just so fun to say that over and over again, almost as much fun as it is to “love to hate” Vickie Guerrero when she says it. Honestly, I had a feeling that WWE was only planning on Vickie’s return to GM duties on Raw being just a one-off, but I also knew she would knock it out of the park and make them reconsider. She is an amazing heel character in front of a live audience and definitely deserves another round as GM of Raw even though it means WWE is only repeating the heel GM paradigm what they have already done with her twice (one before on Raw and once on Smackdown) and a million times ad nauseum. Still, when Vickie is the one in that role, it becomes worth watching. She makes it seem fresh and new again.

5. Josh Matthews & Michael Cole: Their banter on WWE NXT as they argue about the progression of the “Rookies” has become a guilty pleasure of mine. Cole popped me big time with the mention of Michael Cole Bingo—which was a terrific Photoshop image from last year that used all of his “VINTAGE” catchphrases. I think this snarky side of Michael Cole is great and I wish he would bring it full force on Monday nights—let Jerry Lawler back up the good guys and do the job Cole is doing now while Cole explores this side of his on-camera personality.

By the way, bonus props to Matt Striker last week for slipping in a reference to Prince Nana during commentary for the Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler Intercontinental Title qualifier. That was a super cool yet subtle wink towards fans in the know. Believe it or not, Ring of Honor gave Striker one of his first big breaks in the days after his scandal with the NYC Department of Education. They booked him for two shows, Sign of Dishonor and Escape From New York during July 2005, although his matches did not make it to DVD.

Striker even gets in little tidbits in VIDEO GAME form. Just last week I was playing Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 and heard him refer to “the STO-Space Takedown Ogawa”. An OGAWA reference on a WWE video game-get outta town…

–defeated Austin Aries on February 13th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Davey Richards (Toronto, ONT, CN on 06/19/10)

–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Phoenix, AZ on 3/27/10
–Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in a Triple Threat Match in Charlotte, NC on 4/3/10
–Tyler Black defeated Kenny King in Dayton, OH on 4/23/10
–Tyler Black defeated Chris Hero in Chicago Ridge, IL on 4/24/10
-Tyler Black defeated Roderick Strong in New York, NY on 5/8/10

ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) (champions since 04/03/10, 1 successful defense)

defeated The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) on April 3rd, 2010 in Charlotte, NC to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (Toronto, ONT, CN on 06/19/10)

-Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin by DQ after The Briscoes interfered in New York, NY on 5/8/10

–defeated Davey Richards in the finals of the HDNet Tournament on March 5th, 2010 in New York, NY to win the championship.

Next Defense: vs. TBD

–Eddie Edwards defeated Colt Cabana in Philadelphia, PA on 3/6/10
–Eddie Edwards defeated Petey Williams in Mississauga, Ontario on 3/20/10

Pick 6 Series

Rankings as of: 05/09/10

1. Roderick Strong
2. Christopher Daniels
3. Kevin Steen
4. Chris Hero
5. Davey Richards
6. Kenny King

-Goodbye Daniel Bryan. Long Live Bryan Danielson!

-ROH announced its two main event title matches for the upcoming Death Before Dishonor VIII internet Pay Per View in Toronto, Canada on June 19th, 2010. They have pulled the trigger on the anticipated Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards ROH World Title bout. Richards is ranked 5th on the Pick 6 list, so the title match fits logically within the rules of that ranking system. I like the title match (more thoughts on that in this week’s 411 Buy or Sell), although the more obvious fit was Richards vs. Christopher Daniels, as was teased when the latter made his surprise return to the company at The Big Bang iPPV in April. However, it seems that match may be pushed forward to the ROH on HDNet television tapings instead. That may be the best plan amid rumors that TNA is attempting to negotiate a new contract with Daniels. Meanwhile, The Kings of Wrestling and The Briscoes will rematch for the ROH World Tag Team Titles (Kings defeated them for the titles in April). No word on if a stipulation will be added to this match or not.

Add the officially announced first singles confrontation between Kevin Steen and El Generico and this show looks like another very worthy offering from ROH. However, they will face some stiff competition that weekend, competing for consumer dollar and viewership against the likes of a UFC show telecast on Spike that very night, a WEC mixed martial arts show the next night on Versus and WWE Fatal Four Way on Pay Per View.

-ROH also officially announced its first show in Louisville, Kentucky at The Davis Arena, home to Ohio Valley Wrestling. The show, called The Bluegrass Brawl will take place Thursday July 22nd as part of a three-show weekend that also includes stops in Collinsville on the 23rd and Chicago Ridge on the 24th. Cornette has been working hard to set this show up in his beloved Kentuckiana and has loaded up the perks for the show, including a free autograph session two hours before the main card and special VIP seating locations and ticket packages (which I believe were also done for OVW events). There will also be general admission tickets sold at a lower price. Capacity for these shows is limited to 400 people. I expect the area’s fan base will come to the show out of a loyalty to Cornette and what he has meant to that venue and that region over the years. However, it’s a question mark as to how they will react to the style, pace and booking of an ROH show. You can read the rest of the hype about the show, including the VIP packages, what they entail and ticket costs through this link.

-HDNet has been picked up by Comcast cable service in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Seattle and Portland and will begin broadcast later this year. This is a positive development for Ring of Honor in that it increases exposure to their show, especially in two of their key cities (Philly, where the show is taped and Detroit, a mainstay stop on the tour circuit). This comes after HDNet had lost service earlier in the year in several cities with companies not renewing contracts.

-I know I didn’t really comment much on SoCal Showdown (bottom line—it’s worth buying), but it should be noted that from that DVD onwards Dave Prazak is joined by Joe Dombrowski on commentary. The eerie thing is how much Dombrowski sounds like Eric Bischoff. It throws me EVERY time and I get scared that Easy E is going to come out from the stage with that smile on his face to the tune of “I’m Back”. I guess I’ll have to get over this…until Dombrowski starts talking about “back leg front kicks” and the like.

As for how these two are doing together on the stick, it’s a solid commentary combination and it allows for Prazak to continue to lean heel on color while Joe fills in the details. One criticism I have for them is that Dombrowski loves to talk about the stories behind the matches, but in doing so he spends less time with what is actually going on in the ring. Often that is to the detriment of the play-by-play call as there have been times on these DVDs where some important sequences happen and both men are caught in discussion of the story, or even worse, about other issues happening in ROH. Dombrowski has to work on timing those background stories so that his adding depth to the match that’s going on doesn’t interfere with describing what is actually going on in the match.

Although I do have to give him credit for using the “SOL and you know what that means” during his commentary on Gold Rush. That’s not a bad thing; that’s a good thing.

-In late breaking news, ROH has announced they will begin production on a Best of ROH on HDNet DVD series, with volume one set to be released on June 2nd. The first DVD looks to focus on the first three months of the show and will feature the following matches:

1. Grudge Match: Tyler Black vs, Jimmy Jacobs- Episode # 1
2. Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries- Episode # 3
3. Austin Aries vs. Kenny Omega- Episode # 4
4. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black- Episode # 6
5. Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries- Episode # 7
6, Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black- Episode # 8
7. World Tag Team Title Match: Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Rhett Titus & Kenny King- Episode # 9
8. Jay Briscoe vs. Kenny Omega vs. Kenny King- Episode # 10
9. World Tag Team Title Tables Match: Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The American Wolves- Episode # 11
10. ROH World Title Match: Jerry Lynn vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries- Episode # 12

Looking at that list, the last two matches really stand out as important, as it’s an important title change made available to the public and one of the best matches of the series to date. The first two Black vs. Danielson matches also make this a must-buy when it’s released. The other matches are solid to very good. Good decision by ROH and HDNet—as it has been much requested by fans to do something like this. Focusing on the first twelve episodes also ensures there is room for future DVDs in the series and that at the least fans will be able to fill in their collection with the most important and best matches from the television show.

-I’ll leave you with these words of wisdom: don’t tug on Superman’s cape and don’t try to get into a chop fight with Roderick Strong.

When did supercard of honor not feature Dragon Gate, NOAH, or Japanese guys? Supercard 1-3 were awesome due to dragon gate. And where was Davey Richards on that card? if we were getting a inconsequential match in Daniels v Edwards, why not the American Wolves vs The Prophesy (w/ 1 night return of Xavier)

Posted By: Guest#6143 (Guest) on May 08, 2010 at 01:39 AM

Ring of Honor no longer has a business association with Dragon Gate following their bitter breakup in 2008 after disagreements about the show they co-promoted in Japan. That and their current association with Gabe Sapolsky and the DGUSA imprint brand guarantees that there will not be much if any interaction involving DG wrestlers inside of an ROH ring. While ROH still has ties with NOAH and other Japanese wrestlers, NOAH has a shoestring roster at this point, not to mention the guys ROH usually brings in from that promotion Marufuji and KENTA have been busy. Marufuji is the current VP of NOAH and is also an ambassador to the other Japanese promotions, with whom he has made crossover appearances. He simply has too busy a current schedule to come in for a guest spot. Meanwhile, KENTA has been recovering from his injuries and is set on an early June return. Maybe ROH will bring him in later in the year, but my guess is NOAH will want to use him first and as much as possible in order to attract more ticket sales for their summer 2010 shows.

I usually like ROH Matches, but Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards was dissapointing.

Posted By: Denton56 (Guest) on May 08, 2010 at 02:20 AM

You know, I have been reading quite a bit of mixed reviews about the Richards vs. Edwards television tournament finals, such that I’m starting to think maybe I watched a different match, because I really don’t see what some are talking about regarding them going “soft” or sloppy work. There were no visible gaffes aside from one moment where Richards lost his grip on an Irish whip, but quickly recovered. I don’t know, to me, kicking someone in the stomach as they are heading with downward force from the apron to the mat sounds pretty fierce to me. In my opinion, these two put on a real good back-and-forth that demonstrated each knew the other’s favorite moves, then went on to the “one part of the body” psychology finishing off with some nice technical exchanges working in and out of the submissions until the finish. It worked for me—but it seems not for everyone.

Literally the only problem I have with Eddie Edwards is his retarded ass name. Small gripe but goddammit.

Posted By: STG (Guest) on May 08, 2010 at 12:38 PM

Lenny Leonard would like to have a word with you, though I get where you’re coming from.

My only real concern with Tyler/Roddy is that neither man could cut promos to hype the match all that well. Roddy needs to go full-on heel and get a mouthpiece. I don’t think he’d be a good fit in the Embassy, but what ever happened to Larry Sweeney’s return? He’d be a great mouthpiece for Roddy and it would play off their past with each other to show how desperate Roddy is to get the title. It also sets up an eventual Embassy/Sweet n Sour feud down the line.

Posted By: Guest#6779 (Guest) on May 08, 2010 at 01:15 PM

Most fans know that Strong’s weakest quality has been his promos, but while unspectacular these days they are also far from horrible. I think most people just get an impression and let it stick in their heads and with Strong it has always been “don’t give him the mic”. I don’t believe that phrase is applicable anymore, and while he is certainly not on the level of Austin Aries working the crowd, he did a fine job building up his role during The Big Bang iPPV. There wasn’t a lot of time from television to show to promote this match, but there was a decent enough angle with Strong claiming he would “protect” Black until he received the shot, and Black taking offense to that. I didn’t like the promos these two cut on the recent Video Wire so much—definitely a lateral move or a step back from the effort these two have given in other recent promos. I thought the match itself delivered and didn’t even mind the referee bumps at the end, since they added rather than detracted from the chaotic atmosphere already happening during the match.

As far as a future heel turn from one of these two, as of now the pieces are in place where either can do so and it would make sense. However, I hope It won’t be Black because that would mean yet another example where ROH gave in to the fans’ treatment of top baby faces in the company. Strong and Sweeney would be an interesting combination at this point and you are right in that there are some nice ties to the past (as explained in the Top 20 Face / Heel Turn feature I wrote just a few weeks back), but Sweeney’s lack of involvement on the independent scene as a whole should clue us in to the likely idea that he won’t be doing anything soon with ROH.

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

It’s myself and J.D. Dunn discussing Japan, ROH and PWG the latest edition of 411 Buy or Sell feature.

Michael Weyer is in with this week’s Shining a Spotlight, dividing the wrestling business into different eras.

Next week it’s the Column’s third-annual List Issue! Until then,

BROOKLYN!
–Ari–