Column of Honor: 08.14.10: Part One: Sunset on Tyler Black in ROH

Welcome to the Column. It’s a double-issue week and there is plenty to write about, so let’s get to it!

Ring of Honor World Champion Tyler Black has signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and will finish up his run with ROH by the Glory By Honor IX internet Pay Per View on September 11th. For the second year in a row that event will bring major changes to the ROH roster and the direction of the company during the Fall and Winter season.

Last year, Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness said goodbye to Ring of Honor at Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown, creating a need for ROH to elevate talent to the top of the roster. They filled that need by bringing Tyler Black’s title chase to fruition, breaking up Kevin Steen and El Generico as a team and beginning their blood feud, reuniting The Kings of Wrestling as a dominant tag team and using Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards in both singles and tag team action to boost the upper card. These moves resulted in a huge comeback for ROH both creatively and in their wrestling product after what was at times a harshly criticized 2009.

Now Black’s departure combined with several other developing factors is once again bringing about the same situation for Ring of Honor that they faced in September 2009—top stars leaving the company and the need to adjust and to adapt. This is altogether nothing new for the company, which almost from the beginning has been forced to deal with the departures of its talent to WWE and TNA. It’s a vicious cycle borne of being an independent wrestling promotion (albeit one with television presence) and not having enough money or visibility to compare with the bigger companies. They help to elevate young and aspiring wrestling talent, give them the opportunity to make a name for themselves and then they move on and the process starts again.

ROH has managed to survive eight years of this system. Wrestlers such as Danielson, McGuinness, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels James Gibson, Brian Kendrick, Colt Cabana, Homicide, Alex Shelley, Matt Sydal and others have walked in and out of the company, only for ROH to respond by building up their next slate of talents and incorporating them in the upper card and main event of their cards. In that respect, Ring of Honor almost works like the puzzle game Jenga. Pieces are pulled out of the puzzle and carefully placed on top and the hope is that as this is happening, the structure remains intact.

WWE is attempting to stockpile its developmental league Florida Championship Wrestling, working on promoting younger talent and pushing many wrestlers quicker up the chain to the main brands than before, especially for use on their NXT program. Tyler Black is likely not the only talent in ROH or on the independent wrestling scene that they are looking to add onto their roster. They have a demand for wrestlers and the supply is obviously ROH and elsewhere on the national and international circuits.

ROH will be forced to deal with other departures and roster changes in the near future in addition to Black leaving for WWE. Davey Richards had been vocal about retiring from professional wrestling at the end of the year. Richards has been one of the best wrestlers on the ROH roster from both a character and especially regarding his in-ring work. His in-ring skills and popularity with the crowd have increased exponentially in the last two years, becoming a legitimate draw to both the hardcore and casual Ring of Honor fan. Richards very much did live up to Danielson’s word last year when he often spoke of him as the next in line to be the “Best in the World”. He managed to connect with the crowd in that they have responded to his persona and the passion he puts into his performance, a very crucial and important determinant in maintaining the ROH fan base.

However, Richards has other interests besides wrestling, including a budding professional career as a medic. He has stated in interviews that he wants to follow up on that direction and that he knew he would only remain in professional wrestling for a finite time. Whether or not he actually leaves ROH at the end of the year or if ROH can convince him to stick around remains to be seen, but the specter of his departure hangs in the air. Interestingly, Richards will miss Glory By Honor IX for a month-long tour of Japan, which means ROH will have to experience how it will be without him sooner rather than later.

In addition, Roderick Strong had a try-out with TNA this weekend, wrestling in a dark match before the iMPACT! Tapings in Orlando. Nothing has come out of that appearance yet and ROH wrestlers have on occasion worked try-out or dark matches with both WWE and TNA while under contract. However, that Strong is looking for other opportunities is just another part of the story that when pieced together shows a concerning outlook about the future direction of ROH for the end of the year and entering 2011.

It has been reported by the Wrestling Observer that the super-secret double-probation start-up wrestling promotion in Florida supposedly owned by the Wilpon family has under contract a number of ROH and other independent talent. If and when that promotion begins, the impact of their presence on the wrestling scene could be huge—taking both current talents and many other prospective wrestlers ROH could use to shore up the holes in the roster. There is no word on the sort of exclusivity deals in place, but depending on the nature of the contracts, there could be huge changes in store how independent professional wrestling looks in the near future not just for ROH but all around the country. However, this could just as well end up being another fly-by-night promotion with a money mark and a dream, coming to an end all-too-quickly.

Perhaps some fans will be upset more than usual because Black happened to be the ROH World Champion who chose to leave the promotion while still very much the center of attention. Tyler Black was built up for a long time to be the top name. He was poised to remain a critical part of storylines for the rest of the year. Instead, Black has decided to leave before the complete story of his time as champion was told. There is a sense of just as things have been going great, that something like this happens and interrupts it.

The first half of 2010 for Ring of Honor has been as strong as some of the best years ever for the company, but there are consequences for that creative success. The increased attention and positive reviews of major shows and their internet Pay Per Views have led to more awareness of the wrestlers and their talent. It’s remarkable how much this situation mirrors ROH’s 2004-2005 run of successful shows and top programs, which gained rave reviews and increased exposure for the company. It led to the signing of Samoa Joe to TNA (among others) and CM Punk to WWE.

Apparently, Black’s efforts landed him on the radar of WWE and they offered him a deal. Black had posted on his Twitter account a curious tweet simply stating “choices, choices”. It now appears that deliberation was about the move to WWE.

Tyler Black did not mean as much to the company as Danielson or McGuinness in their time at the top of the promotion, but ROH will be still challenged to keep going and survive when he leaves. Black has been pushed from the beginning of the HDNet era, at first as the heir apparent to Danielson and McGuinness and then as their marquee champion. He has not always been the most popular champion with the hardcore ROH fans, but he was the face of the company in 2010 and at 24 had many more years of potential use and marketability. His title defenses have been praised highly, including the Death Before Dishonor VIII match against Davey Richards, which many are referring to as the match of the year. It certainly appeared before this news broke that Black would be a long-term champion and that there were many more chapters to be told in his story. Instead, Black’s run in ROH will come to an abrupt end by September 11th.

In a way, this situation is reminiscent of CM Punk’s departure for WWE in 2005, although unlike that situation, Black’s signing with WWE is the first-ever example of an active champion signing with another company. CM Punk had been confirmed as leaving the company already when then-booker Gabe Sapolsky did the unthinkable and put him over the reigning champion Austin Aries on what was supposed to be his last night with the company (Death Before Dishonor III). It turns out that was not actually Punk’s last scheduled date and that he had been given permission by WWE to stay longer.

The surprise win and Punk heel turn was the beginning of a super hot storyline for the company- “The Summer of Punk”, where challengers lined up left and right to attempt to win the ROH World Title and stop Punk from leaving for WWE with the belt. The ROH World Title had built up quite a bit of prestige by that time (in particular for the dedicated fans) thanks to a hugely successful near two-year championship run from Samoa Joe and a good follow-up in Austin Aries’ six-month reign.

At first, ROH fans had no idea when Punk’s last date would be with the company as he wrestled through the end of the July and wound up still champion. However, it became more obvious that Punk would be winding down his run with the promotion in August with his last show being in his hometown of Chicago. He would lose the ROH World Title that weekend in Dayton, Ohio to James Gibson, who fans had also discovered was leaving for WWE. In that respect the ROH Title situation would still remain on shaky ground, but Gibson also vowed to stay on as long as needed. The instability with the ROH World Title would continue until that September when Bryan Danielson became champion. He would go on to hold the belt for fifteen months. Meanwhile, Punk’s last match would be against long-time close friend Colt Cabana and he received a hero’s sendoff.

It is a huge question mark as to if Black will receive a fond farewell. The ROH fan base, at one point completely solidified behind Black have been mercurial in their reception of him throughout the last year and a half. In particular, he has never been able to move beyond the grudge they held against the booking of the run up to his becoming champion, which was teased and delayed so often that it made Black appear to be a choker. Of course it was not necessarily his fault or his choice, but he still bore the cross as the fans turned on him and his overexposure in the main event scene.

The problems did not end when he became ROH champion. There have been moments where Black has been able to galvanize the fans around him, like his actual title win in February, but more often than not, they have booed him and wanted to see his opponent win the title from him. He was public enemy number one in Mississauga during his title match against Davey Richards, although he began to turn them around based on the incredible performance he and Richards delivered that night. It seemed that would be the key factor in changing the fans’ minds about Black, but it didn’t really stop the hate. Black has been able to remain mostly popular in Philadelphia, site of the HDNet tapings (perhaps on the strength of his match against Nigel McGuinness from the Take No Prisoners PPV in 2008), but elsewhere he has been challenged to find the traction that would make him widely popular right off instead of forcing him to continually prove his worthiness with fantastic in-ring performances.

There is no doubt that Black is a very talented wrestler in the ring—athletically reminiscent of AJ Styles with a very fast-paced style that involves performing moves and sequences that can wow an audience and are not normally done by other wrestlers. The one major weakness is his promo abilities. Black’s promos have been uneven over the last year and sometimes truly rough in terms of content, tone and delivery. He had been improving and showing more confidence in his promos since the lead-in to the title match with Richards this past June, but still nothing on the level of true promo kings like Aries or Steen. It is therefore interesting that WWE signed him at this point in his development. They are a promotion that values talking skills above in-ring work. On the positive Black will have excellent opportunity for Black to develop his mic skills with capable WWE agents such as Dusty Rhodes and (when he is able to recover from his recent health problems) Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. They can help him to hone those mic skills, much like Jim Cornette did in the last year.

The WWE experience certainly won’t be easy, especially if he winds up in NXT. WWE has shown it won’t hesitate to make a mockery of their talent through that quasi reality / game show format. That kind of “Welcome to Sports-Entertainment” treatment goes double for wrestlers who made their bones on the independent scene, including both Bryan Danielson in season one and Low Ki (Kaval) in season two. WWE insists on breaking down their “rookies” before building them up, regardless of whether or not the wrestler has proven to have a good character and a following and even if their own fans in the “WWE Universe” are telling them (through their reaction and cheers) who they like and want to see succeed.

The season one NXT rookies were lucky enough to have a huge angle to help salvage the damage done to their characters. The wrestlers on subsequent seasons may have to find another way to recover from the embarrassments of kissing contests and keg carries. Tyler Black could certainly suffer the same fate if he is to be featured on an upcoming season of that show.

Black had wrestled around the Mid-West before coming to ROH in late 2007. His biggest exposure had been in the Wrestling Society X promotion that briefly ran on MTV. It was there that he teamed up with Jimmy Jacobs to form the tag team D.I.F.H. with a gimmick of having an emo-wrestler (Jacobs) paired with a more aggressive wrestler who loved to mosh down to the ring. Months later, Jacobs brought Black into Ring of Honor as a part of The Age of the Fall angle. Jacobs claimed he was giving Black a chance that ROH officials never would. Together, they were revolutionaries who sought to change the system. Initially Black wrote many of the blogs that were placed on the Project 161 and Age of the Fall Viral websites. His words demonstrated an intriguing character with a lot of potential, and his in-ring talent quickly shined through as well.

Black and Jacobs won the ROH World Tag Team Titles from The Briscoes at Final Battle 2007, although they only briefly held them for a few months, losing to the No Remorse Corps in an Ultimate Endurance match in January 2008. They would regain the titles during a tag team tournament at Up For Grabs in Hartford Connecticut in June of that year. Their second title run would last through September, losing to Steen & Generico at the Driven 2008 Pay Per View.

Along the way, Black was slowly but surely getting over with the fans as a hot prospect who could deliver some exciting matches. His first major showcase came in a losing effort against Bryan Danielson at Breakout, where he memorably slapped Danielson in the face several times in the match to show his youthful indignation and then again at the end of the match after he had been defeated. That match turned heads and was the beginning of a highly praised rivalry against Danielson throughout the next two years.

Black’s major break-through would come in March 2008 when he had the chance to main event a Pay Per View with ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness at Take No Prisoners. He walked into the show as a complete underdog, yet won a four-corner survival match to earn the main event slot. He then worked a brilliant match against McGuinness, fighting back against sure defeat several times and coming close to winning the title. He had the Philadelphia crowd going crazy and believing he would win—a sure sign that when it was time he could be the man at the top of the promotion.

Gabe Sapolsky indicated during his Book of Secrets shoot DVD that his plan was for Tyler Black to win the ROH World Title by the end of 2008. He would organically make a face-turn due to the fans already reacting so positively to his in-ring performances and Black would be the representation of a man who brought about “change” to the promotion. However, Sapolsky was replaced as booker in mid-October and plans did indeed change. Instead of winning the title, Black completed his face turn at Final Battle 2008 as his former tag partner Jimmy Jacobs turned on him and broke up their partnership. However the world title win that most fans at the time wanted to see would be delayed for another fourteen months.

Black would spend the first half of 2009 both feuding with Jacobs and attempting to win the ROH World Title. Black dominated the feud with Jacobs, but it was lackluster and failed to reach its potential given Jacobs’ promo ability and both men’s talent to have intense grudge-style wrestling matches. Black’s multiple losses to Nigel McGuinness in title opportunities (including the damaging one-hour draw that wasn’t at Injustice II that the fans hated) proved to be more of a hindrance than help to Black’s progression. Instead of Black becoming the “next world champ” as many fans had thought, desired and chanted at the shows, Black was quickly becoming known as the guy who couldn’t get the job done. Instead, veteran Jerry Lynn would be the one to defeat McGuinness at Supercard of Honor IV.

Black would again fail to win the title at Manhattan Mayhem III after cashing in a guaranteed title shot and inserting himself into the scheduled Aries vs. Lynn title bout. Black pinned Lynn to eliminate him from the match, but then Aries would pin him and win the title, becoming the first-ever two-time ROH champion and beginning an eight-month long run. The storyline for Black became “the long journey” where Black continually attempted to work his way back into contention, only to lose or come up empty. The most controversial moment of this storyline was the one-hour draw in New York during the first iPPV, Final Battle 2009, during which the New York crowd completely turned on Black and booed both him and the match. There were others who truly believed that this was the moment where Black would win the title and hated the decision to create an NWA -influenced draw that pushed back Black winning the title yet again.

There would be one more shot for Black at 8th Anniversary Show in February 2010, where he would finally unseat Aries for the ROH World Title. The show had less attendance than Final Battle, a sign that some fans did not appreciate being jerked around by the booking of the December show. Incredibly though, those fans in attendance reacted very positively when Black won. It seemed to indicate a change for the better as far as the acceptance of Black as a champion even after all of the delays. However, this reaction was short-lived and in hindsight was generated mostly from the incredible drama and catharsis of the moment as well as the live crowd knowing they were about to witness a title change happen live and in-person. ROH announced Black’s first title defense wouldn’t be until the April 3rd Big Bang iPPV (bypassing four ROH shows including the important Wrestlemania weekend events) and Black he once again became wrapped up in the “love him / hate him” syndrome that most fans had with him and seemingly have with most babyface champions in ROH.

So what happens next with the ROH World Title? The powers that be in the company have five weeks with which to play and several opportunities to change the ROH World Title up through and including the Glory By Honor IX internet Pay Per View, although the odds are most likely on the change happening at that show. There are two HDNet television tapings set for August 20th and 21st in Philadelphia where the title can change hands. It would be the first ROH World Title change on the television show, a moment of historical importance that could add attention to that product. It would be difficult, but not impossible to time the title change and keep in continuity with the build to Glory By Honor IX.

ROH also hosts events in Richmond and Charlotte on the 27th and 28th, with Black fighting Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards respectively. These are scheduled as non-title. However, Richards is in the Pick 6 contender’s list (on which a wrestler must place in order to qualify for an ROH World Title match). It wouldn’t be too difficult to alter the booking to make that a title bout. Richards could “spring” the title match demand on Black either in the newswires or before the match takes place.

However, in all likelihood Black’s title run will come to a head in New York City, site of both his greatest setbacks and greatest victories. Much of the advertising and promotion has been built around Black, including ROH’s new Glory By Honor IX sub-site, where Black is prominently featured on the main page. What happens to Black’s reign as champion is now a selling point to fans to buy the event on internet Pay Per View or witness it in person.

ROH could book a four-corner survival or multiple-man elimination match at the Pay Per View, much like the one at Redemption between Punk, Daniels, Gibson and Samoa Joe. There are also echoes of the ECW Anarchy Rulz Pay Per View in 1999, where fans knew going in that Taz was leaving for WWF and a title change would be guaranteed to happen. One such match is already happening on the next slate of HDNet tapings (participants to be named and it may not end up being for the title, though a top match of that level is being hinted). The Glory By Honor IX title match could also simply wind up as a singles between Black and whoever is designated top contender for the show.

Luckily for ROH, they have built up several possible choices for the next champion and there is some room to move and adjust as needed.

Christopher Daniels returned to Ring of Honor in April 2010 and has been positioned as a forefather of the company and also self-professed “Best in the World”. He recently fought Tyler Black to a twenty-minute draw on HDNet. Though he didn’t defeat Black, he would have a claim to a shot given his number two position on the rankings. Daniels winning the title would play up a lot of ROH history as Daniels was on the first show and the first main event. He has always been a favorite and would be a very legitimate choice for champion.

Roderick Strong is number one on the Pick 6 rankings and has been consistently featured all year as a top contender for the title. He has already received two title matches this year and is known for “being the bridesmaid but never the bride” when comes to the ROH World Title. He has come up empty after fifteen title shots in over five years with the company. This could be his moment to shine. ROH recently added Truth Martini as Strong’s “life coach”, ostensibly to help Strong with interviews (although results have been mixed thus far with Strong perhaps being better than Truth during promo segments). A manager and a stable like The House of Truth could be the last piece of the puzzle needed to push him to the top of the promotion on the back of Truth’s manipulations.

Davey Richards is the people’s choice to be champion. He gave Black his best title match of his run so far at Death Before Dishonor VIII. That was an epic match and any follow-up will be hard to live up to the effort, although not impossible. However, Richards is ranked sixth on the rankings list and is in danger of being pushed out of contention. There is also the real worry about his probable retirement, so he remains a dark horse at this point unless ROH wants to give him his moment and work with him in the short-term. Richards is also booked for Japan throughout September and will not appear on the Glory By Honor show, so if the title is to change hands it would have to be in Charlotte and he would not be available for one of ROH’s bigger shows of the year.

Judging by reports, Kevin Steen also had a great title bout with Black in Chicago last month. Steen has been on another level with his feud against Generico and Colt Cabana. The in-ring work has been violent and compelling, enhanced with some of the most maniacal and awe-inspiring heel promos in the history of the company. Steen’s character could easily make for one of the most terrifying champions in the promotion’s history. However, he has been booked for a match at Glory By Honor IX already (see below), but ROH could transition the title to him at the TV tapings if they wanted and incorporate his becoming champion into recent storylines where Steen has tried to “save” Black from himself and the fans.

There is also one other option, albeit an improbable reach, if “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson were to return to the promotion he left just one year ago. A Danielson return or surprise title win could provide the shock of the year for ROH. There is some excitement and positivity regarding Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin’s debut for ROH. However, Danielson’s return in some form would mean a lot more to the long-time ROH fan. Danielson has been invaluable to ROH over the last eight years and the fans have been asking for him to return ever since he was released from WWE. It was so highly expected that the lack of his appearance in ROH while wrestling for other independents is that much more glaring and disappointing.

It is true that Danielson’s long-term status as an independent wrestler is uncertain, but at least for the short-term it would provide a lot of help to ROH and some comfort to its fans to see one of the best wrestlers in the history of the company return, if just for a short period of time. A few months of Danielson back in the company could help soften the blow of losing their champion while giving ROH some time to prepare and elevate other wrestlers who could take those next steps and create newfound stability in the upper card / main event scene. Danielson is wrestling for EVOLVE in Rahway, New Jersey earlier that afternoon and would be able to make it to New York City with just enough time to spare. However, it is unwise to get hopes up for an appearance which does not seem to be coming.

Of course, the conspiracy theorist viewpoint would be that this whole “Tyler Black to WWE” could be another CM Punk situation, where he is supposed to leave on one date, but then stays on for a longer period of time.

Ring of Honor has always been about more than just one wrestler, but rather about promoting an alternative wrestling style to WWE and TNA, one based more on athleticism and the spirit of competition. It is a style which appeals to a niche of the wrestling market, but it has grown and developed and survived through the years. It has been able to live on past the departure of its major stars over the years because they have managed to continue to provide the professional wrestling product their fans want to see. ROH should be able to weather this next storm if they have continue to provide the style the fans want to see and enough compelling wrestlers with the talent to wrestle that style. Ultimately, consumer confidence is the key—the fans must believe the promotion will continue to deliver what it stands for in order to have the best chance of continuing past the losses of Black and (eventually) Richards.

Whatever happens next, ROH and those in charge will try to move on as they have done many times before. It’s nothing new in their world. As long as there are enough pieces in place, the Jenga puzzle doesn’t come crashing down.

1.Motor City Machine Guns vs. Beer Money, two out of three falls: The best match of the week on television, bar none, as both teams make the case that it pays dividends when TNA simply lets these guys do what they do best week after week. Shelley and Sabin are arguably the tag team of the year

2. Tyler Black vs. Christopher Daniels : ROH has a definite addition to their “Best-of” DVD series when the time comes to release matches from 2010. Lots of action, plenty of innovative counters and dodges, and a finish that while inconclusive definitely did not suck. Hopefully Daniels and Black match up during the HDNet tapings or during GBH 9. More on this match in my recap in part two of this week’s column.

3.Win a Date with Todd Sinclair hosted by Bryan Danielson & Adam Pearce: I love that this works both as a promotional tool but also as a very entertaining riff on dating. The reactions from some of these “contestants” are priceless and I nearly died from laughter. Cried tears too. Plus it’s always a great thing to see Danielson acting just totally wacky. No charisma, WWE? I give you exhibit A.

Kudos to Danielson and Pearce for looking out for their pal Sinclair and trying to get him the hook up. Men, women, jump on it!

4. “We Want Low-Ki” chants: I wonder just how the heck those fans on Monday Night Raw knew that Kaval was Low Ki…hmmmm. The fans tell you what they want to see, and no matter how many losses or embarrassing situations, the WWE fans know that Ki…err, Kaval, is the real deal.

5. Randy Orton and Sheamus talk-off: I really liked that Sheamus beat Orton to the punch as far as their war of words, essentially out-pointing him on a verbal debate. A few years back Sheamus would have had to take a verbal ass-whupping, but here he was able to stand up for himself and make a claim that he would be able to beat Orton. Sure, Randy had the upper hand at the end of the segment in terms of physicality, but that worked too.

PLUS, here’s a BONUS Fave Sixth, which should speak for itself:

Alex O’ Keefe has created another incredible promotional video to plug the upcoming iPPV. This man makes ROH look great.

-The next match announced for Glory By Honor IX is a Chain Match between the two warring sides of Generico and Colt Cabana up against Kevin Steen and Steve Corino. Each man will be bound to one of their opponents with the chain, which can and absolutely will be used as a weapon. It will likely be very violent and very bloody, as most of the Steen vs. Generico matches have been.

-ROH is gearing up for a packed two nights of television tapings on August 20th and 21st in Philadelphia. On August 20th Delirious will fight Austin Aries in a steel cage match, while on the 21st Colt Cabana & El Generico team up to fight Steve Corino & Kevin Steen in another cage match. These bouts will up the ante for both feuds and bring more oomph and relevance to the HDNet shows. Also planned, as mentioned above, is a Four Corner Survival match for HDNet that has been advertised as rivaling the Aries / Danielson / Lynn / Black four-way from last year. Those are some mighty fine fighting words, as that is one of the best matches ever to run on the HDNet program.

-The August 18th Wrestling Observer has the following report about Roderick Strong’s TNA try-out: “Roderick Strong looked great in the ring but the impression we were given is some didn’t think he showed enough personality.” Well, yeah, that’s been the book on Strong for years now—why is anyone in TNA surprised? Oh wait, yeah.

-More matches for August 27th in Richmond, as Steve Corino will challenge Roderick Strong for the number one spot on the Pick 6. It is interesting to note at how unafraid ROH has been of late to book heel vs. heel matches for their house shows. The House of Truth are heels, but have fought other heels such as Austin Aries and the All Night Express during the course of the last several months. I find that very admirable and it demonstrates that even though ROH has taken a more old school tact in booking feuds since Jim Cornette arrived they aren’t afraid to “mix and match” the wrestling equations and come up with something different.

The Kings of Wrestling have also thrown out an open challenge to any tag team for that night in Richmond, although coincidentally most of the other tag teams will be busy wrestling that night in the semi-finals of Tag Wars 2010.

-Eric Bischoff said an insult about ROH that was immediately disprovable.

Kings Highway & Selected Poems, an e-book of original poetry and photographs is now available for through AriBerenstein.com and the “BUY NOW” button directly above (you don’t need to have a PayPal account to purchase).The e-book is twenty-eight original poems (34 pages total) in a .pdf format, for $7.50.

-With PayPal Account: After signing in and completing the purchase, you will be returned to ariberenstein.com to the download page. You will receive an e-mail within 24 hours with a password for the download page. Enter the code and you will be able to open and download (right click, save as) the file (.pdf format).

-Pay with the Credit Card Option: After entering your information (DON’T FORGET YOU MUST INCLUDE AN ACCURATE EMAIL ADDRESS), you will be taken to the receipt page where PayPal gives you the chance to print out a receipt. This is a legal requirement. After that, you must click on the “Return to Merchant” link in order to return to the site. You will receive an e-mail within 24 hours with a password and link to the download page. Enter the code and you will be able to open or download (right click, save as) the file (.pdf format).

The poems explore the life and scenery in Brooklyn and Manhattan, from the famous Times Square to the Kings Highway train station. The route is homeward bound to the neighborhood of Old Mill Basin in Brooklyn, from childhood to adult life and back. The poems range from dramatic verbiage to light-hearted humor, but they all represent my experience in the city I love and call home. Sample poems from that e-book are already available for free on my website. More information can be found on the purchase page, which will go live on Monday. Thanks in advance for your support!

I’ll be right back with Part Two of the Column with more thoughts on CHIKARA, ROH on HDNet and the Death Before Dishonor VIII DVD