Column of Honor: 12.18.10: Final Battle Without Honor or Humanity

Welcome to the Column. I felt the title to this week’s column was very appropriate given Kevin Steen’s Twitter handle is, after all, @killsteenkill. Just have to wonder if Generico has a Hanzo sword on him or not.

Amid a final flurry of hype and promotion, several last-minute breaking news stories have emerged that have changed the outlook of some of the matches that will take place on tonight’s Final Battle 2010 internet Pay Per View event in New York City. Among these changes include a legitimate injury and a story-telling twist that confirmed what would be the last match on the show.

First off, some results and fallout from last night’s show in Plymouth, Virginia. Results are courtesy the ROH message board:

1. Challenge Match
“Pretty Boy Pitbull” Kenny King over Adam Cole

8. Ring of Honor World Tag Team Title Match
ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling: “That Young Knockout Kid” Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli w/ Shane Hagadorn over The American Wolves of Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards to retain their ROH World Tag Team Titles when Hero KO’d Edwards…described as “incredible, must see…make sure you watch this match!”

As one can see by the results of the show, unfortunately, there was a last-minute scratch to both of ROH’s weekend shows including tonight in New York City. Kenny Omega had to be pulled from the shows due to a legitimate dislocated ankle injury. According to the press release from ROHwrestling.com, ” Omega dislocated his ankle in training and is unable to put any pressure on it to even walk. We wish Kenny a speedy recovery.” ROH stated they would look for a replacement, which we now know is Sonjay Dutt. Not the choice I would have made, as Dutt was very uneven in his last run with the promotion last year. His Manhattan Mayhem III match was balls to the wall awesome (which is why I’m assuming last night’s reprise was also very good) but his feud against Delirious was abysmal. However, it is understandable considering pickings were slim as to who was out there and the difficulties of booking someone under very short notice. Hey, it could have been worse: it could have been Ricky Reyes. While the clamor is always there for someone like a Chuck Taylor, Jon Moxley or Ricochet, anyone who thought ROH might bring them in forgot that those men are signed to Dragon Gate USA and it probably wouldn’t be the best option for any of them politically to take a booking with Ring of Honor.

There was a bit of a “scare” with the last story released on ROHwrestling.com when it was announced that Steen vs. Generico was “canceled” from the show. In actuality, this is a kayfabe cancelation and the match will happen, but it will be “unsanctioned” and will take place after the official show has concluded. Here is the press-release, in full, from rohwrestling.com:

After weeks of meetings and discussions, ROH officials have deemed both El Generico and Kevin Steen a major liability and have decided to cancel the El Generico vs. Kevin Steen “Fight Without Honor” bout from the OFFICIAL card this Saturday, December 18th, 2010 in New York City. “Final Battle 2010” will contain a total of 7 matches with the ROH World Championship match being the last official match of the event.

“The Final Battle at Final Battle” will take place this Saturday without the sanction of ROH officials. If Generico loses, he will unmask and if Steen loses, he will quit Ring of Honor! This could be one of the most violent and historic matches in ROH history. Viewer discretion is advised.

This is an easy way to make this match a main-event bout without putting out the importance of Richards versus Strong in the ROH World title match. As well, it gives an out for sometime down the line for a Steen return should he lose this match and be forced to leave ROH. Steen can later claim since the match was “unsanctioned” he doesn’t have to abide by the stipulations. Of course, that is all hypothetical theorizing, since the actual match hasn’t even occurred as yet.

This announcement also has led to the usual argument from some when the ROH World Title is not the main-event of a show, that this means that the champion (in this case Strong) handily retains the title…but as always I want to point out my usual counterpoint: It’s just the case that there have been many times when the ROH World Title has not been the main-event of a show if a major attraction or grudge match is also on the card. Bryan Danielson won the ROH World Title in 2005 and that title match was second from the top behind AJ Styles versus Jimmy Rave. As well, Nigel McGuinness won his ROH World Title in the sixth match of Undeniable in 2007, though that was the conclusion of the Pay Per View taping and there were “bonus” matches which took place afterwards.

Anything can happen with these matches and the way ROH set-up its shows for 2010 can be changed depending on the outcome. Richards, if he becomes champion, can be featured through promos and highlight packages. Strong, if he loses the title, can be shown “already in the ring” for the matches he wrestled on those tapings. Of course, if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t go all-in on that possibility.

Also of note was the small but subtle comment about the match receiving “outside funding” so that it could continue to take place. So where did this “outside funding” come from? Colt Cabana? Steve Corino? Colby Corino’s piggybank? Prince Nana? Donald Trump? Paris Hilton? Dana White? SarahPAC? The Salvation Army? BP? The Federal Government’s tax break bill? Or did the boys in the back take up a collection because they wanted to see both men whup on each other? I may be making too much of it, true, but it is interesting that ROH would slip that point in on a kayfabe news release. Then again, ROH isn’t CHIKARA and they don’t always have intricate clues for fans to follow and put together like this was an episode of Murder She Wrote or Matlock. As Jim Cornette once said on an episode of HDNet: “This isn’t CSI: ROH”.

On the other hand, all week on Facebook and Twitter, Prince Nana has been making cryptic comments about tonight’s Final Battle 2010 event. Of course, it could all just be Nana doing his part to hype and promote the last major ROH show of the year. Here is a selection of his updates and you make the call:

– Next sat is a big night for some people.. Will you be there live?
– Cudda, wudda, shudda peasants ( in accent) should be stoned.
– lol joy i got something this weekend in NYC…but too last min notice so next time we in ny/nj i got u..lol.
– Very confident moving forward.
– The end begins this SAT IN NyC…

Is it possible that Nana resurfaces on this show to make a grand statement? Will he reform an all-new, all-different Embassy? Will he have a new purpose for his role in ROH? Or will he not show up at all? We’ll have to wait-and-see.

The Briscoes have been training their father hard over the last several weeks for tonight’s showdown against The Kings of Wrestling and “that peckerhead” Shane Hagadorn. The following are several training videos they published online, demonstrating that Papa Mike Briscoe is not to be taken lightly. Of course, being recorded on a handheld Android phone in dim lighting, it doesn’t look (or sound) as best as possible (in fact, recalling early ROH Videowires), but the point is there loud and clear: don’t mess with dem Briscoe boys:

Tonight in New York City, Ring of Honor presents its last show of the year 2010, a huge year, a comeback year in terms of creativity and producing a top-notch professional wrestling product. Forgive the countdown meme, but it is the fifth internet Pay Per View ROH is offering through the Go Fight Live website, the fourth iPPV of 2010, the third to emanate from the Grand Ballroom in the Manhattan Center and the second in a row to take place there and the first anniversary of ROH’s addition of this new distribution platform. So it’s easy to understand that Final Battle is usually but especially this year an important show for Ring of Honor.

As has been the pattern for internet shows, ROH has packed the card from top-to-bottom with “A show” worthy matches, some of them bringing to a conclusion (or at least a resolution) to longstanding feuds, some featuring founding fathers of the promotion in high-profile attraction bouts, others shining the spotlight on newer and promising talent.

The last three iPPV presentations have demonstrated small but constant and consistent gains in the number of purchases. ROH used to run traditional broadcast Pay Per View and obviously that had more total purchases, but there is actually quite a bit more profitability with the internet Pay Per View format. Nonetheless, the relationship with Go Fight Live has been a learning process, with some positives and some set-backs in terms of the actual production and transmission of the shows. Transmission feeds have been killed one time on each of the last two shows, once for thirty seconds and another for six minutes. However, audio quality has been generally very good over the last few broadcasts. It would be wrong to have expectations of perfection, but it should also be noted that something, whether a small bobble or something more significant has gone array during each of these broadcasts.

Still, fans that have ordered and watched these shows (at one-third the cost of a regular WWE Pay Per View) ultimately walk away satisfied with the experience. When it comes to wrestling action and creating a big match feeling, ROH brings that in spades. That feeling will emerge in at least the top two main-event bouts on this evening, when Davey Richards attempts to win the ROH World Title against Roderick Strong and when Kevin Steen and El Generico put their rivalry to rest with huge stakes on the line. Let’s take a look at the matches on tonight’s card.

7:30 pm belltime
Manhattan Center (Grand Ballroom- 7th Floor)
311 West 34th St.
New York, NY 10001
(212) 279-7740

Watch the event live on iPPV at GoFightLive starting at 7:30 PM EST.

Roderick Strong versus Davey Richards: There is so much history involved between the two and it’s actually one of the deeper connections among wrestlers on the current ROH roster, going back and affecting years and years of ROH history. Unlike the Steen versus Generico feud, though there is personal animosity between the two there is also an athletic rivalry that drives the series forward. Like the many Austin Aries versus Bryan Danielson matches of ROH’s yesteryear, this grudge is about proving who the better athlete is and who the better wrestler is at the end of the night.

It was Davey Richards who convinced Roderick Strong to turn on long-time tag team partner and Generation-Next member Austin Aries at the Sixth Anniversary Show (February 2007). Strong felt he was being overshadowed by Aries, even though he was the one who (in his mind) carried the brunt and the weight of the championship team for over the course of their existence. Together the two formed the No Remorse Corps, a stable committed to brutalizing and wiping out the opposition, well, without remorse.

Soon after, Richards and Strong added Rocky Romero to their ranks. Together, they feuded with Aries and former Generation Next member Jack Evans in what became known as “Stable Wars”. The NRC would often dominate and get the best of Aries’ group The Resilience. Meanwhile, Richards and Romero achieved tag team gold in early 2008. However, frat-house mentality wormed its way into the group. Despite being the catalyst of its formation, Richards was disrespected and ill-treated by Romero and Strong.

Seeing opportunity for respect and success elsewhere, Richards “sold out” of the No Remorse Corps by joining up with Larry Sweeney’s Sweet & Sour Incorporated. The move essentially dissolved the NRC. Richards’ brutal beat down of Strong during the turn swung the fans’ sympathy. They now supported Strong and he became a people’s champion against Sweeney’s group for much of the rest of the year. He and Davey Richards fought several times during this time period, splitting singles matches (Strong won in Japan at Battle of the Best in September 2008, while Richards took the rematch at The French Connection in November of that year).

The Strong feud with Sweet & Sour Inc. concluded at Caged Collision (January 31st, 2009) where he along with Brent Albright, Jay Briscoe, Erick Stevens and Ace Steel battled and defeated The Inc. in a Steel Cage Warfare match. It would be the symbolic end of Larry Sweeney’s group, which splintered soon after. Strong would go on and continue a singles career, looking for his elusive first ROH World Title win. Meanwhile, Richards would join up with Eddie Edwards and form the soon-to-be dominant American Wolves tag team, which won the ROH World Tag Team Championships and held them from April through December 2009.

Now, at the end of 2010, the roles have been reversed: it is Davey Richards who is the people’s choice while Strong is more unpopular and disliked than at any time since his NRC days. Strong grew embittered out of more repeated failed attempts to win the title, blaming the losses on anyone but himself. He ended up aligning with Truth Martini, a life coach who led The House of Truth, a cult-like group of disciples who listened to Truth’s advice. While some viewed Truth’s management skills as minimal and didn’t take his group and his work seriously, it has led to success for Strong. He defeated Tyler Black at Glory By Honor IX and realized his dream of winning the ROH World Title.

Meanwhile, Richards has dabbled both in the tag division with Edwards and in singles competition. He had only two ROH World Title matches in the past year, a hard-fought effort against Austin Aries at the eponymous Aries vs. Richards event and a five-star classic against Tyler Black at Death Before Dishonor VIII which also unfortunately ended in defeat. Now, Richards has worked his way back into contention once again. He is matched up with his old friend and his constant rival in Roderick Strong.

I honestly believe this match can be as classic a wrestling match as Bryan Danielson vs. James Gibson from 2005 or as epic in drama and intensity as this year’s Richards vs. Tyler Black title bout from this past June. Strong and Richards have wrestled several times in ROH already this year, almost all of them at a high degree of quality and action. They also put together one of PWG’s best matches of the year. From an in-ring action point of view, these two are almost guaranteed to tell a great story packed with great striking, big moves and likely some limb-work psychology (Richards has possible submissions working on the neck or the legs / back, while Strong’s stronghold focuses on the back and the spine). The big question of course, lies in the results. Who will win this match and go forward in 2011 as the ROH World Champion?

Davey Richards is clearly the hot hand right now. A majority of the fans support him, believe in him, believe he is capable of having the best matches on any given show and believe that he should be the champion of the promotion. Roderick Strong, meanwhile, has been slapped with the “transitional champion” moniker almost from the moment he won the title. It is true he has been overshadowed ever since that point, by Homicide’s return, by Eddie Edwards winning the Survival of the Fittest tournament, by Davey Richards’ story, announcing he would be staying with ROH. In addition, Strong’s act with Truth Martini is hit-or-miss with ROH fans, some of whom don’t buy into Roderick’s contributions and some of whom don’t believe Truth is the right fit for Strong as a manager.

That is why even though on the surface this title match is simply about having a great competition between the two, the results actually have far greater impact on ROH and its future.

ROH has a history over the past few years of being late on pressing the trigger on championship changes. They were late on Nigel McGuinness winning the title, to the point that it created a backlash that necessitated a heel turn. They were late on Tyler Black winning the title, making it harder for him to shake the idea that he was a choker. He never could become as effective babyface champion as possible back when he was the hottest and most over with the fans in late 2008. Now they are faced with another such situation: do they wait on moving the title to Davey Richards and risk yet another popularity backlash? Or do they risk hurting Strong’s image in ROH going forward by having the least successful title run in terms of defenses since Low Ki? Do they go with someone who the fans believe can be that next great ROH champion or do they give Roderick Strong a chance to prove that he is the one who can be a great champion?

It’s a bit of a booking conundrum going forward, one that if ROH is not careful could end up biting them in terms of fan backlash. It could be another Final Battle 2009 one-hour draw situation all over again, in that instead of focusing on all of the positives fans simply remember the one negative event that they disliked.

A slightly underlooked storyline point is the role of Truth Martini in the match itself. One of the points used to build the match has been Richards, Jim Cornette and others pointing out to Roderick Strong that Truth Martini cheated to help him win matches on many different occasions. Strong has denied the possibility of these actions. Even though there is video proof, he refuses to watch them (well, Martini has order him not to because The House of Truth doesn’t look back on the past but rather looks forward to the future). However, he has claimed that if he saw or learned that Truth had been helping him to win that it would be unacceptable. He even went so far as to suggest that if he found out that Truth was helping him, he’d hand over the title to Davey himself. This is something that ROH may go to in terms of the finish of the title bout—Truth Martini cheats to have Strong retain the title. Then, Strong can either tell Martini to shove off (which given there are HDNet episode with he and Truth still together seemed extremely unlikely), or he could reveal that he knew about Truth helping him all along and he didn’t care-thus completing the story of his heel turn. Again, this is a sub-plot and just a possibility, but given there has been interference as a part of all of the iPPV title bouts this year, there seems to be a good chance for Truth’s involvement at some point.

It all comes down to this: mask versus career. Fight Without Honor. An unsanctioned, anything-goes environment. No forgiveness for the fight that is to come and no regrets for whatever happens next. El Generico and Kevin Steen are ready to finish-off the most-bitter and arguably the most-consistently violent feud in ROH history. At the end of the night, one man will finally prove to be the better of the other, and one man must either give up his very identity as a professional wrestler or the other must leave the promotion in which he achieved his greatest successes (and created his most prized beautiful portraits of disaster and destruction). In that regard, this isn’t just a “Fight Without Honor”, but it is a battle without honor or humanity.

To call this a blood feud would be an understatement at this point. This is the makings of a life-long wrestling feud, the kind that fans truly believe in and buy into-ala Homicide and Steve Corino or Eddie Kingston and Chris Hero. The ones that you can’t ever be sure isn’t the real deal after all. The kind of effort and build from one part of this feud to the next has been that epic and that compelling.

This finale to the year-long feud was brought about in the aftermath of the last major Steen vs. Generico match-the double chain tag match at Glory By Honor IX. El Generico and Colt Cabana had survived bloodloss, being entrapped with chains, being thrown through tables and more to win that match. Colt Cabana was able to powerbomb Steve Corino on a chair, transition into the Billy Goat’s Curse reverse Boston Crab and crank down until Corino tapped out. However, Kevin Steen stole victory from the jaws of defeat when he attacked Generico post match. In the fray he was able to snake Generico’s mask from his head.

Exposed and embarrassed, Generico completely stopped his attempt to deliver a turnbuckle brainbuster. He covered up and immediately dropped to the outside, where Cabana ushered him quickly backstage. Meanwhile, Kevin Steen reveled in the utter joy of unmasking his former tag team partner. He didn’t stop there. Using his mentor Corino’s blood, a steel chair and the Generico mask and with Steve’s son Colby as witness, he recreated the bloody depiction on his T-shirt of a headless Generico with the words “Mr. Wrestling” written in blood on the chair. It was both a shocking, despicable act and a stroke of wrestling booking genius. Steen wore the mask over his head as he marched out to the back.

Steen would actually wear the mask several times and mockingly insult Generico, or alternatively use it as a hand puppet, pretending to have conversations with it and also mockingly insult Generico. Meanwhile, in the weeks after the attack Generico was shown wearing his spare pair—his original mask. Later on, he would wear an all-black mask, symbolic of the blackness that now invaded his soul. Generico was now not just intent on fighting back against his former partner, but on revenge for the indignity of having a part of his very identity stolen from him.

In late October, Colt Cabana defeated Steve Corino in an “I Quit” match, not just gaining the win but also forcing Corino to make assurances that their issues would now be buried. With that, Cabana made it clear to Generico that he needed to take the reign and finish his issues with Steen, move past it and move onwards. However, he was going to have to do it without Cabana as an active partner. He had to learn to stand up on his own two legs deal with these issues.

Meanwhile, Kevin Steen was sick and tired of dealing with Generico. He laid out the challenge—he had Generico’s mask, but wasn’t able to expose Generico fully to the world. He wanted another match with Generico and if he won, Generico would be forced to unmask of his own accord. To sweeten the stakes (and because he was so confident he could beat Generico), Steen stated that he would give up his ROH career if he lost. Generico accepted and the date was set for Final Battle 2010. However, just because the end was in sight didn’t mean the war was any less heated. Steen and Generico fell further into the abyss, constantly interfering in each other’s business during several ROH shows in the fall, such that owner Cary Silkin declared the match would now be a “Fight Without Honor” and that both men were prohibited from any physical contact against the other for thirty days before the match. Steen and Generico were prohibited from attending the most recent slate of HDNet tapings..and both were forced to count down the days until this weekend.

So what can be expected of this now unsanctioned match? A lot of chaos, that’s for sure. There’s a huge amount of expectation now built into this finale, so the storyline explanation of dropping the “sanction” of the promotion gives a green light for all-out fighting and more usage of weaponry and hardcore spots. The feud has already seen the usage of chairs, tables, ladders, wrenches, thumbtacks and barbed-wire baseball bats, so god only knows what these two have cooked up for the last-match of the feud.

From a psychology stand-point, this has always been about the archetype of the big bully against the small underdog. I expect the match to continue to have that as its base, but with the added twist of a darker and more-twisted Generico who is not only willing to fight but who now has no compunctions about giving as much pain and suffering back to Steen as he is able.

In addition, there are a few storyline notes that these two could choose to hit during this fight. First of all, the “Fight Without Honor” moniker is the equivalent to no-disqualification and without any DQ calls it’s a good-chance guess that Steve Corino and his son Colby will once again look to intrude upon and become involved in the match. Colby has now run-in and caused trouble on the last two New York City shows, so this could be the point where Generico does something to him as comeuppance. Last time out at Glory By Honor IX, fans were chanting “kill the kid”. Imagine the kind of reaction the NYC fans will have if Generico actually does get his hands on the kid and say, blasts him with an ole boot or a half-nelson suplex through a chair? Yes, Colby is just a teenager, but the fans will revel in the moment, because in this world of wrestling, his actions (though manipulated by his own father) have necessitated such a payback.

Another sub-plot will be if there is any involvement from Colt Cabana. It is true that he has stepped away from the feud and wants to focus on the sport of wrestling and not the blood feuds. However Colt may be forced to become involved if Corino and his son interfere. It would be a three-on-one situation and the balance of the match would be thrown completely in Steen’s favor. A great storyline point would be to ask the question of if Cabana’s friendship with Generico means more to him than his own desire to leave the feud behind to advance of his own career? Now obviously, Cabana’s involvement is not guaranteed or even hinted at in the last few weeks, but it would be a nice tie-in to the entirety of the feud and his importance in it.

Finally, El Generico has consistently tried and failed to execute the turnbuckle brainbuster on Steen throughout the last year. It is Generico’s deadliest offensive move and a sure-fire match-ender, no questions asked. Obviously, Generico successfully using the turnbuckle brainbuster (even if he doesn’t win) would be an amazing moment, both because of the visual effectiveness of it and the emotion it would generate from the fans with its execution. Readers know that I am sucker for those “full-circle” moments sometimes found in professional wrestling and well, that would be it.

Steen vs. Generico is a match with a lot on the line and it is the “unofficial” main-event of the night. All eyes will be on this one, because if Generico loses he must unmask and that is a career-changer. If Steen loses he is gone from ROH and that is a company-changer.

When Chris Hero smashed in Mike “Papa” Briscoe’s face in with a forearm smash, he could never have foreseen the day would come when he might actually have to fight him in a wrestling match.

Not that Hero was entirely to blame for the situation, considering Papa Briscoe hopped the rail and “got in the boys’ business” as he would say several months later. However, the consequence of that interaction was to take a feud that was about fighting over the ROH World Tag Team Titles (and the Kings’ use of the golden elbow pad to win them back in April) and turning it into something personal. You just don’t hit a man’s father, much less The Briscoe boys’ father and walk away unharmed.

Thus, the bloody brutality of the no-disqualification title match at Death Before Dishonor VIII, which Hero and Claudio barely escaped as champions.

Yet, to hear Hero and Castagnoli tell the tale, it had nothing to do with their actions or that of their manager. Jay and Mark Briscoe had delivered a thunderous Jay Driller to Sara Del Rey at Supercard of Honor V in May and this was simply eye for an eye. When The Kings of Wrestling defeated The Briscoes last month on HDNet in what was billed as their last title match, once again under suspicious circumstances (Shane Hagadorn interfering and kicking Jay Briscoe in the groin), it was what “dem boys” had coming to them. Papa Mike Briscoe couldn’t stand to see the injustice anymore. He ran into the ring and laid a whupping on Shane Hagadorn, pummeling him with fists to the head. Hero and Castagnoli pulled Hagadorn out the ring before more damage could be done, but the message was sent.

In response, The Kings of Wrestling labeled Jay, Mark and Mike Briscoes a public menace and demanded ROH and HDNet bar them from shows when Hero and Castagnoli were set to wrestle. They threatened to sue the Briscoe family if they ever showed up on TV again. They were also refusing to grant them any more rematches. In fact, they stated they would no longer give any tag team a title match until they could defeat them in a non-title match and prove their worthiness as contenders. Jim Cornette called them out on their bluff by bringing in the Briscoe family on a recent episode of HDNet to lay down a non-title challenge against The Kings. Hero, Castagnoli and Hagadorn had no problem with this…until they signed the contracts and realized what they had really signed up for at Final Battle 2010…a six-man grudge tag team match with The Kings of Wrestling and their manager Shane Hagadorn up against the entire Briscoe family, Jay, Mark and Papa Mike!

So what can fans expect out of this match? Well, The Briscoes and The Kings have never had a bad match in all of their battles, this year and going way back to their original two-match fray in 2006. This is going to be another romp-‘em, stomp ‘em affair. There might be some technical demonstrations of wrestling ability and power on either side, but make no mistakes, there are too many combustible elements involved for this not to break down at some point into a Pier-Six brawl.

Mike Briscoe has made his intentions known…he is heading right for Shane Hagadorn as soon as possible. ROH is basically selling this match on the idea that Mike is going to beat the crap out of Shane and give him his just desserts. That’s all well and good and it will probably get over like crazy with the New York City fans. In some ways though, I feel that if ROH wanted to put the focus on that part of the storyline so much that perhaps they shouldn’t have booked Hagadorn to take such a humiliating beating at the hands of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin just three months ago in New York. However, that’s hindsight being twenty-twenty and my guess is that won’t really matter in the end—the fans are going to love seeing Mike beat up the snot-nosed punk and that’s a win for all-involved.

As for who will come away with the victory, well, the title isn’t on the line, but that doesn’t necessarily have to mean that The Kings will lose here. They can find a way to worm a win and have a post-match fracas where Mike Briscoe brings down the thunder on Shane then. On the other hand, The Briscoes could use a win in this feud and The Kings have been uber-dominant in the tag division for eight months now and could stand a loss.

An interesting match—pitting two former TNA wrestlers, one of whom officially signed to ROH and the other committed to independent scene for the foreseeable future. Though not outright said, this has been promoted ostensibly as a “number one contender’s match” or at least a “next in line” match. Those who have read the spoilers for HDNet know if that is the case, then the outcome of this match is somewhat predictable (and this is not the first time that ROH has done itself a short-term disservice in telegraphing certain results because of announcing matches in advance). That makes the job more difficult for both Daniels and Homicide to imbue the match with the sort of drama and volatility that makes for better crowd-reception for close-calls and the finish stretch of the match. They have their work cut out for them.

That said, as far as in–ring move-for-move wrestling action goes, I have much confidence in both men, now long-time veterans of the business, in delivering the goods. Daniels has been on a huge roll in ROH with high-quality efforts against Richards, Strong, Tyler Black, Eddie Edwards and others. His moves are executed with technical proficiency and polish. Homicide hasn’t been back as long and has been in both very good matches and below-average efforts. My guess is that he will come through in his first match for ROH in his hometown of New York City. Homicide is always at his best in NYC. I expect the fans to be very much into Homicide’s entrance but I’m guessing a split crowd with the “Let’s Go Homicide” and “Let’s Go Daniels” chants.

A match featuring Daizee Haze and Sara Del Rey that feels fresh and inspired…will wonders ever cease? The origins of this match begin with the ten-minute draw Del Rey and Haze recently had on an episode of HDNet. Del Rey interrupted a post-match interview with Haze backstage. Heated words exchanged and a challenge was issued for each to find a partner and see who could be the dominant team. Haze enlisted Awesome Kong, who has extant issues with Del Rey stemming from a series of matches the two had in the Spring and early Summer. Kong and Del Rey are 1-1 in singles matches and Kong would love to settle the score. She readily agreed to team with Haze.

Del Rey’s choice was a bit of a surprise: Serena Deeb was just released from WWE, but before her stint there with ROH legend CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society she had a major grudge rivalry with Del Rey in SHIMMER, Ring of Honor’s sister promotion. Deeb is a solid wrestler (though she almost never had an opportunity to show it in WWE) and a fine choice for a tag partner. However, it should be wondered if Del Rey and Deeb will be able to co-exist. Well, maybe not—Ring of Honor doesn’t always abide by the rules and history set forth by SHIMMER during Ring of Honor shows, so it remains to be seen if ROH will take the Del Rey-Deeb relationship into consideration,, with Deeb being a reluctant partner here or if instead she will embrace a full-on heel role.

This is another chance for the Women of Honor to shine and make a case for continued usage in the promotion. If anything, these four women are very capable of having a good-to-great wrestling match. The intangibles are time and crowd reaction. The NYC fan base has varied in their reception to women’s wrestling over the years. However, back in May they lauded Kong’s return to ROH and gave her a Hero’s Welcome. It remains to be seen if hearts and minds remain with Kong and the others enough to support the match. It could be pretty or it could be pretty ugly.

The signing of TJ Perkins to this weekend’s events was a surprise, but a well-received one from many online fans who know his credentials. Perkins, who has wrestled in ROH both as himself and under the hood as Puma, is one of those independent wrestlers who always had the talent but perhaps not the emotional outreach to hook the fans completely into their act. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of his matches, so I’m hoping to see that he has improved in that respect. He is likely to play more of a heel here matched up against the once-again happy-go-lucky Cabana. The storyline for Cabana is that he wants to be tested on his wrestling and focus on wrestling good matches. The question is does that mean for this match we get the Cabana who meshed well against Eddie Edwards (and who once had awesome technical classics against Nigel McGuinness) or will we get the Cabana who used his comedy spots to make fools out of his opponents? The answer to that should determine the overall quality of this match.

The scheduled rematch between these two teams originally scheduled for Fate of An Angel II was a scratch. Instead, the match was rescheduled for New York City. The All-Night Express have a title shot on the way and are being pushed more seriously as contenders for the tag titles. They won the first match in Chicago and given they are the senior team it’s likely they win here as well. Don’t under look Cole and O’Reilly though, they have gelled as a team very quickly and each, while young, has plenty to offer in the ring and in providing an entertaining match. My guess is that they will very much impress the live crowd and cement their place on the ROH roster entering the new year.

Coming off the loss of the ROH World Television Title, former champion Edwards could use a few good wins to break the pain. At the least, the crowd should be very polarized in support of him instead of the face / face dynamic with the Omega match. Expect Dutt to heel it up here but also to use his flying to offset Edwards’ technical ability. Edwards’ game plan would be simple—to work the leg and set up for the Achilles Lock.

-Ring of Honor rescheduled their 4/29 and 4/30 Dearborn and Toronto double shot, pushing it a week back to 5/6 and 5/7. This is because UFC is running their Pay Per View event on 4/30, their first ever in Toronto. That is sure to be a gigantic UFC show and would probably have hurt the ROH show somewhat, so this is a smart-enough move.

-Interested in results from the last set of HDNet tapings? Check them out here and here.

-I will say this much, I’m all for Christopher Daniels winning singles gold in ROH. However. I can’t say I agree that switching the Television Title at the last tapings was the right call to make, considering how it complicated the chronology and continuity of the promotion (and they were doing so well with this all year). Why wouldn’t it have been smarter and easier on everyone involved to save the title change for the first set of tapings in 2011 or to build up an Edwards versus Daniels title match at the February iPPV in Chicago and pull the switch there?

–SPOILERS: The following matches were either announced or being built up for the 2/26 February internet Pay Per View in Chicago:

ROH World Title Match: Champion (Roderick Strong or Davey Richards) vs. Homicide
(unconfirmed) ROH World Tag Team Title Match: The Kings of Wrestling (if still champions) vs. The All-Night Express
Two out of Three Falls, 30 Minute Time Limit, ROH TV Title Match: Christopher Daniels (c) vs. Eddie Edwards
Number One Contender’s Match: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team of Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin

-Believe it or not, but Cliff Compton, a.k.a. Domino of the Deuce & Domino tag team in WWE worked a dark match during the HDNet tapings. Compton is a part of the OVW roster and he wrestled current OVW champion Matt Barela, ultimately losing the match. All I have to say is “Ayyyyy, Hickory Dickory Dock…” .

Head on over to TwitterNation and follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein. I provide up-to-date links to my columns, major and breaking ROH news, random comments about WWE Raw and Smackdown and whatever else strikes my fancy.

This week’s 411 Buy or Sell is myself and Sam Berman discussing Final Battle 2010 in plenty more detail. Yeah, booooy.

Michael Ornelas provides your weekly review of the newest episode of ROH on HDNet, this week with the final build to Final Battle 2010 (heh, get it?) and Austin Aries against Roderick Strong in non-title action.

“Mr. Controversy” Aaron Hubbard covers the right, wrongs and ridiculous of last week’s episode of ROH on HDNet in this week’s Wrestling 4R’s.

Kevin Ford reviews CHIKARA: Scornucopia, which featured some of the promotions’ original members returning to action as well as some more CHIKARA vs. BDK goodness.

I’ll be back next week with my review and live thoughts Final Battle 2010 iPPV and whatever else shakes out. Oh and my Final Column 2010 year-end series is just around the corner! It will feature the 2010 ROH yearbook, year-end awards and my annual Top 100 Ring of Honor matches of the year. Till then, thanks for reading.

BROOKLYN!
–Ari–