Column of Honor: 12.30.10: Final Column 2010 Part Five: ROH Year-End Awards

2. Tyler Black
3. Roderick Strong
4. Kevin Steen / El Generico (tie)

2009: Davey Richards
2008: Nigel McGuinness
2007: Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness
2006: Bryan Danielson
2005: James Gibson

This is the second year in a row that Davey Richards has won Column of Honor Wrestler of the Year joining Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness as two other ROH wrestler to earn that feat.

– In 2010, Ring of Honor needed a bad-ass professional wrestler that fans could get behind. Davey Richards was that bad-ass professional wrestler.

Davey Richards took the mantle of “The Best in the World” given to him by Bryan Danielson in September 2009 and he has lived up to every expectation of that moniker. He was often responsible for or a part of the best match on any given ROH card this past year. He used both a fierce striking game and a superlative technical wrestling and submission skill set in order to create these great wrestling matches. His intensity was unmatched—he lived and breathed in that ring and the fans lived and died with his efforts in all of these matches.

Even more than his superlative efforts in wrestling the kind of “ROH Style” that fans want to see, Davey Richards made people believe in him. Fans believed in what he said—that his straight-talk about his life was genuine and real. That goes a long way towards developing popularity and support. When he talked to fans in many promos about what was going on in his life and how that reinforced his belief in himself as a professional wrestler, that formed a huge bond of trust between him and the fans. No one since Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe before him had been so honest and forthright in talking to the fans about their situation. He made people want to get behind him and to support him in his number one goal of becoming ROH World Champion.

Richards was also incredibly valuable in The American Wolves tag team, as both he and partner Eddie Edwards could headline or contribute to drawing an audience on any card when they joined forces. The Wolves were just the main event against The Kings of Wrestling last week in Plymouth, MA. While it seems that they will no longer be a regular team, their terrific efforts from the past year in wrestling the likes of Colt Cabana & El Generico, The Super Smash Brothers and The Youngbucks need to be recognized and appreciated. Those matches only add more reasons as to why Richards is so deserving of this praise and attention.

Tyler Black was supposed to be what Davey Richards was for the fan base—the “people’s champion” that everyone could root and cheer for. It is true that he was the protagonist for the first half of the year and he also racked a huge body of work in the ring. However, Black never could shake off the mistakes of the booking of his placement in 2009 (which was never his fault but became his cross to bear). Richards was able to pass him by in both popularity and match quality because he was in the promotion for the entire year. Efforts against Tyler Black, Roderick Strong, Christopher Daniels, El Generico, Kenny Omega and even against his partner Edwards in the TV Title tournament are just a few of the highlights from this year. These were major matches with big stakes and Richards handled each one as if it was the most important match in the world. It is that effort and that ability that is once again recognized in awarding Richards Column of Honor’s Ring of Honor Wrestler of the Year for the second year in a row.

-As for Tyler Black, there is much for him to be proud of as far as his accomplishments in ROH and in elevating his career, despite the controversial crowd reactions continuing into 2010. The fact of the matter is that Tyler Black is a professional wrestling success story. He became ROH World Champion in three years’ time, faster than the likes of Homicide and Bryan Danielson. He won the belt in a terrifically well-received title match at 8th Anniversary Show and gave his all in carrying the weight and responsibility of that title throughout the remainder of his run in ROH. It was his excellent efforts against Aries, Strong, Hero and Davey Richards that gained the attention of WWE. Simply put, Black was an impressive wrestler and wrestled in impressive matches. Perhaps he was a better heel in those last two months of his title run than as a babyface in the first five, but Black never shirked from his responsibilities in either role and he was the face of the promotion for much of the year.

– Roderick Strong has been on the top of his in-ring game for quite a while now, perhaps going back to Survival of the Fittest 2009 and the finale against Tyler Black. He wrestles with incredible self-confidence, is so smooth in the ring and oh yes, he can chop the hell out of anyone. Strong contributed to terrific wrestling matches this year, established a definitive heel personality (although ROH did him no favors by positioning him as a face in many matches during the Spring and Summer) and improved in his promos by keeping things simple and straight-forward. He isn’t the flashiest guy in the world, but he can wrestle incredibly well and that is one of the most important traits to have in Ring of Honor. Strong finally became ROH World Champion this year and it seems there is a lot of confidence in him to get the job done in that regard entering 2011.

-It might be cheating to assign a tie for fourth place, but it’s extremely difficult to separate Kevin Steen and El Generico from each other, even though they were no longer a tag team but rather bitter rivals this year. These two engaged in some of the more brutal and extreme brawls of the year and they sacrificed so much to tell the story of their feud that they need to be appreciated together for those efforts. Both Steen and Generico are super talented wrestlers and are perfect examples of the idiom “don’t judge a book by its cover”. Those who give each wrestler a chance to show what he is about realize these two are great wrestlers, great personalities and absolutely worthy of watching them wrestle, whether against each other or other opponents.

2. Jay & Mark Briscoe
3. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
4. The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)

2009: The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
2008: The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black)
2007: The Briscoes
2006: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
2005: BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs

-The Kings ruled over the tag team division for most of 2010 and therefore their place as the best tag team of the year is both undeniable and richly deserved. There had often been chatter and hope from some ROH fans that one day Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli would reform The Kings of Wrestling tag team that so effectively dominated the tag team scene in all of independent wrestling from 2005-2006. There was so much potential in the team but it had been cut short by the false-start of Castagnoli’s signing with WWE. Claudio never got there, but the pieces had already been put in motion to end the Kings’ run as CZW, CHIKARA and ROH tag team champions.

There would be a three-year Diaspora between Hero and Castagnoli. They feuded against each other in ROH with Claudio the face and Hero the heel. However, by late 2009 Claudio was a “Very European” heel gentleman aligned with Prince Nana and Chris Hero was still doing his thing in singles with the accompaniment of Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Rey. There were hints of The Kings reforming in those Fall and Winter months, little bits of interaction that indicated there may have been something going on behind the scenes between the two. Finally, the two publically launched their reunion at Final Battle 2009. Their attack against The Briscoes indicated they were immediately headed for the ROH World Tag Team Titles and that is exactly what happened.

Hero and Castagnoli have a long and storied friendship going back years, but their chemistry, cohesion and ability to be a great tag team has never been more thoroughly proven that in their work this past year. Their timing was to the second, their combinations looked simultaneously effortless and impressive and their ability to be an antagonistic force against other teams such as The Briscoes or Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas were without peer in the promotion. Only Claudio’s other team on the independent scene, his BDK unit with Ares in CHIKARA comes close to the kind of heel presence and effectiveness of Hero and Castagnoli together as The Kings. In addition, Hagadorn and Del Rey provide the figurative icing on the cake for the whole heel act—they are the entourage to be reckoned with and if ignored will come back to haunt opponents in the worst way imaginable.

The Kings not only dominated the tag division, but they had a huge international presence, representing Ring of Honor in trips to Peru and Japan. They attended press conferences and media interviews and they put the best foot forward in these events, pushing themselves as a pre-eminent tag team act and Ring of Honor as the wrestling company to watch them. They not only looked like champions, they acted like champions no matter where in the world they wrestled.

The Kings got the job done in the ring with top-class efforts against Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team and Motor City Machine Guns (despite the ugly DQ finish). They defended the title regularly, making it through tough defenses against The Briscoes and the tandem Colt Cabana & El Generico. They emerged from the Tag Wars 2010 tournament still the champions, defeating three other teams in the elimination finals. They even made it through the most dominant tag champions of 2009 in The American Wolves. Sometimes they had to use the (allegedly) loaded elbow pad, but many other times they showed they didn’t need to cheat and they didn’t need to pull the shade over anyone. They conquered opponents with the KRS-1 or the Power & Glory Plex (superplex and moonsault combination) and other times all it took was a good one-two combo of the KO-Euro (knockout elbow and European uppercut). Regardless, The Kings ensured when the title was on the line that no one could defeat them, no matter what. After all of those defenses, it seems like The Kings are still the team to beat and could roll into and out of 2011 still as the champions. They are just that great—and that’s why they wear the crown this year.

-The Briscoes were perhaps more visible for ROH than at any other time in their nine-year history with the promotion. This was the first full-year since 2007 with Jay and Mark Briscoe teaming up together without any injury problems from either man plaguing them. The first four months as champions were well-spent with excellent title defenses and spearheading the tag division’s presence on HDNet. Their feud against The Kings was a major program for much of the year and they busted their butts in the ring wrestling, brawling and even at times bleeding their way through these matches, some which were the best-ever of their entire career. The back-end of the year saw them in a mini-feud with The All-Night Express, but the primary target was still The Kings. Their Papa, Mike Briscoe, even got in the action and his presence was fun and entertaining and added another dimension to the Briscoe boys that refreshed the act.

-The American Wolves of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards didn’t wrestle together as regularly as they did in 2009, but they made the most of their matches together. They were the personification of wolves in the ring and they tore through matches with viciousness and relentlessness. They still had the great tag team combinations and their comebacks were some of the best of the year. It’s a shame ROH doesn’t seem to want to keep open at least the possibility of these two teaming in 2011 even if on an irregular basis, because there is so much left for them to offer and add to the tag division.

-The All-Night Express took on Austin Aries as their official manager and became more serious and more focused—and that effort paid off with an improved 2010. They smoothed out the wrinkles in ring and have demonstrated they can do what it takes to garner real and genuine heel heat with the fans. While Aries no longer accompanies them, they still retain an extra level of confidence and swagger in their promos. Judging by the tag match against O’Reilly and Cole from Final Battle 2010 they also have quite the bag of tricks to use for matches in the next year.

=Worst Tag Team of the Year= Any combination of The Embassy (especially with Prince Nana & Ernesto Osiris)

Runner Up: Ricky Reyes & Aiden Chambers

2009: Silas Young & Alex Payne
2008: Rhett Titus & Rex Sterling / The Vulture Squad
2007: Irish Airborne
2006: Matt Sydal & Friends

– This just was not The Embassy’s year. Not only did they not have any major victories, but they were often in some of the poorest matches on any given ROH show in terms of quality. The worst combinations were whenever Ernesto Osiris or Prince Nana were placed in a team with other Embassy members. Nana has always been twenty times the manager than he is a professional wrestler. Since he is positioned as a manager, whenever he is booked for a match, his involvement must be limited and his offense short and to the point. Therefore his contributions are negligible and bring down the match (see his impromptu placement in Tag Wars 2010 against The Briscoes). Osiris had a very refreshing gimmick change last year when Nana taught him a new fashion sense, but it has done little to improve him in the ring. He is much better off at ringside as Nana’s stooge than as an active contributor. That’s not the say that the regular batting order of Erick Stevens, Necro Butcher and Shawn Daivari have performed any better as a tandem. Stevens was the best of the bunch, but most of his time until right before his hiatus was occupied with fighting Grizzly Redwood. Necro was unmotivated for most of the year and Daivari was always just there. Put together in tag matches usually just exposed how mediocre The Embassy had become in 2010.

2. Davey Richards
3. Tyler Black
4. Kings of Wrestling

2009: Austin Aries
2008: Jimmy Jacobs
2007: The Briscoes
2006: Bryan Danielson
2005: James Gibson

-Kevin Steen’s brand of epic villainy in 2010 will go down as one of the most memorable in all of Ring of Honor history. The cliché is true: every great hero needs a great villain, but Steen was perhaps THE greatest villain of the year. His every movement, every word, every furl of his eyebrow was compelling and kept the viewer glued to the seat. So is that what makes Steen the MVP of the year? The year-long feud between Steen and Generico ran on just about every show in some form or another. It made Steen’s actions and the very thrill of watching to see what he would do next an intrinsic part of attending a ROH show this year. Fans paid to see what Steen would do or say next…and whether that disgusted them, angered them, made them laugh or made them cry, it was Steen’s ability to generate all of those emotions throughout the fan base that made him so valuable a commodity to ROH (and why it is bittersweet that he will be absent from the promotion in 2011 at least for a little while). Now add to that Steen’s in-ring prowess—that for someone his size, he can both fly through the air (almost as well as Generico) with a moonsault or swanton and that he can also go in long and brutal matches. Steen fought (and bled) in many hardcore matches, sacrificing many bumps and bruises and countless liters of blood to one cause—telling the great wrestling story of the year. It paid-off big time for ROH—and that is why Steen is the MVP of the year.

2. Balls Mahoney
3. Cassandro el Exotico
4. Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly

2009: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
2008: Kota Ibushi
2007: Erick Stevens

(A note about this award: This award refers to wrestlers who debuted in ROH action in the last year, as opposed to simply rookie wrestlers.)

-In a weaker year than one would expect for debuting wrestlers, The House of Truth of Josh Raymond & Christian Able stood out as the most deserving. The House began humbly as a lower card tag team in the journeyman style. They had their life coach Truth Martini in tow to guide them, but came up short in losses to the likes of The Briscoes. However, their turn-around began with a series of wins on HDNet, including tandems such as Up in Smoke and Super Smash Brothers. In addition, they became consistent contributors to every ROH show, providing solid undercard bouts, drawing solid heat from the crowd with their heel act while shining light on the babyfaces who were usually their opposition. Interestingly The House spent the middle of the year in a mini-feud against heel stable Austin Aries, Kenny King and Rhett Titus. They were given the spotlight in several tag team matches where they engaged in games of one-upmanship (some cleverly done, others falling flat with the audience). The House were then connected to ROH stalwart Roderick Strong on the way to his destiny of winning the ROH World Title. Raymond and Able gained increased exposure through this program, capping off with their run-in during the main event title bout at Glory By Honor IX. Together, they had the in-ring chops and some interesting double teams that made them a workhorse unit. Unfortunately, this incarnation of The House was divided when Raymond decided to retire from professional wrestling. Able has since been put on the injury disabled list, but he should be able to return and reform the team with a new partner in 2011.

-Balls Mahoney was the surprise guilty pleasure of the year for Ring of Honor. The former member of the Original ECW and WWE ECW made his presence felt at Supercard of Honor V and again at Glory By Honor IX. He ran in on the former show to help ward off a post-match attack on Grizzly Redwood by The Embassy and then teamed up with “The Littlest Lumberjack” against Erick Stevens and Necro Butcher on the latter event. Balls was given very warm welcomes from the NYC crowd for both appearances and justifiably so, because in the end these cameos were all about the fun and entertainment value of Balls being Balls. While Mahoney is the farthest from “ROH style” one would imagine, he was able to contribute meaningfully to those undercard attraction bouts, giving the fans something to cheer (and chant along).

-Cassandro el Exotico is not your standard luchador, but rather a cross-dressing act known as “The Queen of the Ring”. Despite the outlandish gimmick and costuming, Cassandro is a very talented in-ring competitor. He proved just as much during his first and only appearance for ROH this year at The Big Bang in Charlotte when he tangoed with “Addicted to Love” Rhett Titus. The meeting of the two gimmicks was a match made in heaven. The fans loved Cassandro being able to unnerve Titus by turning the tables on his own act. Unfortunately Cassandro suffered a broken leg during this bout, cutting the triumph of this debut. Still, he manned up, going above and beyond the call of duty by wrestling to a finish, even executing a flying move before getting the pin. Cassandro’s gutsy one-night stand deserves recognition and here is where it is given.

-Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly recently debuted on the scene as a tag team unit, making waves with some very impressive showings. They have won several matches against ROH students and undercard teams on HDNet, but lost against more veteran combinations such as The All-Night Express and the team of Steen & Corino. Still, what they’ve shown is plenty of promise and potential for future success. O’Reilly had wrestled for ROH in 2009 against Chris Hero on HDNet and both had made pre-show appearances throughout the past twelve months. However, this new tandem works well together and shows plenty of talent, such as O’Reilly’s striking that takes after his mentor Davey Richards and Cole’s dives and agility. They are definitely a team to look out for in 2011.

A quick honorable mention goes to the tandem of Scorpio Sky & Scott Lost, both of whom were much requested by fans to wrestle for ROH. They finally made it to ROH with appearances for the West Coast shows and put up some very good matches against ROH teams in losing efforts. Lost, like Raymond, also retired from wrestling this year, which is a definite loss for his fans and for his home promotion PWG.

2. Christopher Daniels
3. Homicide
4. Colt Cabana

2009: Prince Nana
2008: Jerry Lynn
2007: Bryan Danielson

-Steve Corino had just returned to ROH for another go at the end of 2009. Corino had several stints with ROH, serving as an important contributor to its history. His antagonistic exploits included founding “The Group”, a rebel, anti-authority stable and Corino’s hardcore feuds against Homicide. However, there didn’t seem to be anything obvious for Corino to do with this new run, at least at first. He was mostly placed wrestling in preliminaries on HDNet (which were not really all that great) and he kept making vague statements about wanting to make an impact that shook the foundation of the promotion.

Corino’s huge comeback year in 2010 began by fulfilling that promise for creating huge impact in ROH. He did so by convincing Kevin Steen to turn on his long-time tag team partner El Generico. Corino adapted business suit attire and became Steen’s spokesman. He took Kevin Steen on as a protégé of sorts, a disciple of chaos, violence and evil that could make waves and gain everyone’s attention.

Steve Corino has stated in interviews that being paired with Steen this year was one of the best moments of his career. He is absolutely correct. The duo of Steen and Corino led to one of Corino’s finest years as a heel, as an interview and as a wrestler. It was his words that helped to flesh out and explain Steen’s heel turn. He also gave warnings to Generico and Corino, using his ability to talk to unnerve and annoy simultaneously. Later, Corino would joyously describe the kind of terror and pain they would cause. The words were perfect and then the actions backed it all up, as Steen had obviously hit the point of no return in his morality and ethics. Then of course were the several times that Corino and Steen took to the mic on HDNet to perform play-by-play and color commentary. Corino held nothing back with his searing insults of the opponent and his unrepentant declarations of love and support for Steen. It was an incredible performance, a bizarre circus of the surreal—and it made for great professional wrestling.

Since Corino’s greatest strengths are talking and bleeding in hardcore bouts. He did this often and he did it incredibly well in such matches at the Chicago Street Fight at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2. He was greatest this year when he worked hardcore style, brawling and using weapons shots. He also bled buckets. There is just a sort of must-see charisma to Corino when he is that kind of environment and it’s not because of the ECW connection since he has done this before in previous runs with ROH.

However, Corino wasn’t just great in the Generico feud. He also had a terrific hardcore reprise against Jerry Lynn at Phoenix Rising, which used their past ECW history as a jumping off point to create a great match. He and Steen would pair up against The Kings of Wrestling in a very intriguing heel vs. heel match for the tag titles in November. He had two very good non-title efforts against Tyler Black, demonstrating a clear understanding of psychology and giving Black two more matches where the fans were supporting him instead of having some misplaced resentment for past booking errors.

All told, both in the ring and out of it, Steve Corino presented a compelling presence in the promotion. He wasn’t just Steen’s wingman in heel treachery, but someone who rediscovered what worked about his first runs in ROH and applied it in this new endeavor. It led to a revitalized presence and a career year. Now that’s what a comeback is all about.

-Christopher Daniels gave fans one of the best surprise returns in Ring of Honor history when his music kicked in and he marched down the ring in Charlotte during The Big Bang. His immediate challenge to Davey Richards kick-started his return and even though it took six months for them to fight the match ended up being worth the wait. In the meantime, Daniels was immediately positioned in the upper card and had some fantastic matches against the likes of Tyler Black and Roderick Strong. While some fans pine for Daniels regaining his cult-leader persona from “The Prophecy” days of ROH 2002, Daniels has done well with the veteran role thus far, bolstering the ranks of the ROH roster and adding to the potential quality of any given ROH show.

-Meanwhile, when Homicide announced that he had left TNA, it was clearly inevitable that he would return to ROH and likely at the Glory By Honor IX internet Pay Per View. Still, the return was held off right until the very end of the show…and the wait paid off with an incredible crowd response and one of the best mean mugging pose-downs of the year with Homicide and Strong in the ring jawing back-and-forth. Homicide, like Daniels, has been positioned in the upper mid-card right away and it’s the right call with both of them given their history with the promotion and their viability as draws. However, Daniels has been far more productive in the ring thus far compared to Homicide, who it seems still needs time to find his post-TNA sea-legs. Still, Homicide had some very enjoyable matches against Necro Butcher and Jay Briscoe and a solid effort (but not as good as it should have been) against Steen. That’s okay though, because the fourth-place pick, Colt Cabana had undergone the same scenario and found his way again.

-It was great to see Colt Cabana return to ROH in 2009 because of his character and comedy antics. However, it did take him some time to dislodge himself from the OVW / WWE style and find his rhythm in ROH style matches that balanced his shtick with quality wrestling. Cabana’s huge turnaround actually came when he was programmed into the Steen / Generico feud. It exposed a more serious side of him both on promos and in the ring. This is a side that sometimes was shown, like his major blood feud against Homicide in 2006, but never stuck around for long. This might have been the longest Cabana has gone with a serious demeanor (at least insofar as matches involving Corino and Steen) and it worked wonders. His rallying cry promos galvanized fans into supporting both him and Generico, and his willingness to take big weapon shots and blood lettings upped the kind of “badass” reputation that Cabana doesn’t usually have in his comedy matches. My hope is that even though Cabana has left the confines of this serious feud that he takes the lessons of the last year working that style and applies it to his matches in 2011. Less laughter and more wrestling with heart and effort has brought him back, all the way.

2. Kevin Steen
3. Kenny King

2009: Davey Richards
2008: Tyler Black
2007: Claudio Castagnoli

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

– Eddie Edwards has stepped out from the pack and become a proficient singles wrestler over the past twelve months. The former ROH World Tag Team Champion became ROH Television Champion in March by wrestling a technical classic against Davey Richards, his own tag partner in The American Wolves. The win firmly established Edwards as ready for the next step-up in ROH. Edwards was put over constantly by Richards as contributing so much to the team and now Edwards has been able to stand-up and stand-out all on his own in ROH. It says a lot that he is now one of the consistent highlights of any given ROH show (for example, Champions’ Challenge, when he headlined in non-title action against ROH World Champion Tyler Black).

Edwards broke-out both on DVDs and on HDNet through continued proficiency in the ring throughout the year and honing a tough, ready to take on all-comers persona. Though the “Ten-Minute Hunt” was hit-or-miss, it did have the advantage of giving Edwards increased spotlight. His popularity increased in all of ROH’s tour stops throughout the Spring and Summer, though Edwards’ strongest cities continue to be in his hometown of Massachusetts and in New York, where he will be over for a long time to come due to his decision to wrestle Ladder War 2 in September 2009 despite a major injury.

Perhaps the clincher for the break-out year was Eddie Edwards winning the 2010 Survival of the Fittest tournament, where again he had to endure a legitimate injury to claim the prize. The fans appreciated his dedication and determination to compete and he was rewarded with a great crowd reaction when he won. Edwards has proven his worthiness in being one of the top faces for the HDNet program. Now that he has officially dumped Shane Hagadorn as a manager (and holds a ROH World Title shot in his back pocket), there is little doubt Edwards can continue to progress even further in the coming year.

-Kevin Steen broke out from the pack this year like a bomb crater in the middle of an urban metropolis. As the old cliché goes, whenever there was trouble, there he was. He became a true top heel act in rapid (and vicious) fashion. Kenny King experienced several career highlights in ROH this year, including participating in the main event of several shows and receiving his first ROH World Title opportunity (Pick Your Poison) against Tyler Black. He tore it up with Davey Richards at The Big Bang iPPV. King and his partner Rhett Titus became a more serious and focused tag team and as a result improved their position on ROH roster and have become legitimate threats to win the titles in 2011. He still has some work to do to smooth those final rough edges, but King definitely made an impression this year.

2. Colt Cabana
3. Davey Richards
4. The Briscoes

2009: Bryan Danielson
2008: Bryan Danielson
2007: Nigel McGuinness
2006: BJ Whitmer
2005: Samoa Joe

-It’s not easy fighting a bully, but for an entire year that is exactly what El Generico has done, even if at first he didn’t want the burden. El Generico hit a deep funk after being betrayed by his former friend and one time-co-tag team champion Kevin Steen. He didn’t want to fight someone who had been his friend for so long. However, El Generico (with the help of Colt Cabana, see below) faced his fears and conquered the situation, despite the constant psychological and emotional wear-and-tear by Steen and his co-conspirator Steve Corino. The masked luchador fought back against the bully, standing up for himself. That act of courage brings honor and respect to Generico and a new wave of popularity with fans that believed in him and supported him as he stood against his transgressors.

Generico didn’t just do it once, but he did it over and over again throughout the year-in bloody street fights, in singles confrontations against Corino and Steen, in steel cage matches and in chain matches. Generico braved through it all in order to show Steen and the entire world that he would not be stopped. Even when Steen once again scarred his mind by pulling off his mask and claiming it for himself, Generico did not back down from the fight, retaliating on HDNet with a massive attack on Corino and accepting Steen’s challenge to the mask versus career match at Final Battle 2010.

It is true, however, that this war will have a cost on Generico’s spirit, perhaps forever. Generico’s disposition has changed and been changed over time, becoming more vicious and relentless against his enemies. Those actions were more out of necessity than by choice. It was the spirit of vengeance that has come out of him to finish off the feud once and for all. However, now that the feud with Steen has seemingly ended, Generico must now calm his darker side. If it persists Generico may not make it to next year as an honorable person. However, that all remains to be seen and for now the past year of fighting the good fight deserves praise and recognition.

-Colt Cabana’s friendship and support had a lot to do with Generico’s willingness to stand up for himself. Colt was one of the few wrestlers who came out from the back during the initial attack on Generico at Final Battle 2009. He was just as confused as everyone about Steen’s actions and intent. Initially, Cabana worked on trying to understand Steen’s point of view and work on some sort of reconciliation. However it didn’t take long to realize that Steen wouldn’t have any of that. He and Corino warned Cabana not to choose sides or become involved in defense of Generico, or face the consequences. Cabana did not back off from his support of his friend. It drove him closer to Generico. Cabana became Generico’s support system and for the next year he would do his best to motivate and drive Generico onwards to fight and to win, no matter who he fought but especially against Steen and Corino. Cabana’s motivational promos and speeches were excellent-they fired up not just Generico but also the fans who watched them on HDNet, DVDs and YouTube clips. Cabana deserves a ton of credit for helping Generico when he needed it most and he also deserves credit for knowing that he had to step away from these issues in order to allow Generico to settle them for himself. Like the dad who holds the bicycle for his kid, Cabana stopped pushing and allowed Generico to ride the bike on his own. That is exactly what has happened.

-Davey Richards was faced with some monumental decisions this year—he had job opportunities outside of wrestling and a life waiting for him beyond the boundaries of the squared circle. Richards had signed a new contract with ROH at the beginning of the year. Yet, Richards claimed he would be retiring at the end of 2010 in an interview conducted halfway through the year. Richards had enjoyed newfound highs of popularity with Ring of Honor fans since the tail end of ’09 and had become one of the hottest acts of the promotion. Losing Richards as a draw would be tough, especially in light of losing ROH World Champion Tyler Black (who signed a contract with WWE and departed in September). However, on the same Pay Per View as Black’s last match, Richards reaffirmed his commitment to Ring of Honor by signing a new one-year contract with the promotion. Richards’ decision to stick it out in wrestling one more year was not made lightly, but it was certainly appreciated by ROH fans who wished to support his rise in the company and who so well enjoyed his in-ring expertise.

-Meanwhile, The Briscoes not only well defended their ROH World Tag Team Titles, but they didn’t back down from a fight when they lost them against The Kings of Wrestling. They sacrificed their body and their blood during the rematch at Death Before Dishonor VIII. They also stood up for their father when Chris Hero attacked Papa Briscoe at the HDNet tapings. Jay and Mark were right there to put a stop to the fight and made sure everyone understood that family meant the most to them and that anyone who put their hands on their dad was sure to feel their wrath.

2. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli)
3. Tyler Black
4. Austin Aries

2009: The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)
2008: Nigel McGuinness
2007: Chris Hero
2006: Chris Hero
2005: Homicide & CM Punk

-From hero to heel in just one year’s time, Kevin Steen became the bane of the ROH roster and El Generico’s worst nightmare. Steen’s heel act was shocking, sickening and in some ways, perversely thrilling. Steen was the personification of villainy, acting without remorse or recrimination and wholly because he felt he was justified. Steen’s matches, interviews and countless attacks on everyone from his mortal enemies to innocent ROH students forced everyone to reckon with his presence. It was impossible to anticipate Steen’s next actions, whether it was kissing a random fan at ringside, perpetrating an escalating series of attacks on Generico and Cabana, licking his own blood, recreating the design of his T-shirt with Steve Corino’s blood to write “Mr. Wrestling”, wearing Generico’s mask or using it as a hand puppet to mock him. Steen could use his own hands to get the job done but he had no problem leveling others with chairs, smashing them through tables and ladders or even pressing barbed wire into their face. You didn’t know what he was going to say or do next, but he made you want to find out.

For all of his villainy, Steen wasn’t a one-man crime spree. No, he had back-up, in the form of Steve Corino, as well as Steve’s son Colby from time to time. Together, they were a terror for anyone and everyone in their path. Steve had no compunctions about cheating in matches to gain advantage or lying and using misdirection to turn situations into his favor. Colby appeared at opportune times, when the master plan called for it. That Corino was to go so low as to use and manipulate his own child for their gain speaks volumes about their capability for extreme lengths of dishonorable depravity. As well as Corino’s parenting skills.

Steen and Corino manipulated Tyler Black, “setting him free” from the pain of having to kowtow to the Ring of Honor fans. While Black was heading out the door regardless, Steen’s attacks on HDNet and their match at Salvation became the storyline turning point for Black’s heel turn. Steen made the most of his interactions with and about Black at this time, from his words with him after their match to the phone call with Corino. This was just a side-plot for Steen and Corino’s story, but it was used to demonstrate the extent to which they could cause wreckage in the entire promotion and not just against Cabana and Generico.

The tandem of Steen and Corino was a match made in hell-and that is why they both won this year’s award for most dishonorable wrestler of the year. I’m sure they would be proud of the accomplishment.

=The Moment I Never Want to See Happen Again= Austin Aries wearing Daizee Haze’s clothes

– Austin Aries had kidnapped Haze during the post-match fracas of his six-man bout during Hate: Chapter II. The next night in Chicago during Salvation, he wrestled against Roderick Strong in his normal attire, which is usually notable for an excessive level of flamboyance in pattern or color choice. However, Aries added an extra level of “shock-and-awe” later in the night when he returned as manager for All-Night Express against the tandem of Jerry Lynn and Delirious. After being chased to the back by Delirious early on, Aries would return, with a change of dress. That is to say, he was wearing Daizee Haze’s two-piece wrestling attire, an image that like staring at the sun could burn one’s eyes if looked at directly. Now, it is not necessarily the cross –dressing that was most disturbing about this moment. Think about this: When Delirious discovered Haze in some sort of storage unit the previous night (shown on a Videowire segment), she had on her wrestling attire. Haze wasn’t on this show and no indications were given on commentary that she was backstage. So how did Austin Aries manage to get his hands on her clothes in the first place? Did he, Titus or King try to sneak into the women’s locker room without getting caught? That is an extraordinary amount of effort used in playing such a mind game. Delirious was angered appropriately enough, but it certainly made many in attendance and those watching at home very uncomfortable. Even worse was when Delirious stripped Aries of that gear after the match, nearly exposing Aries’ little A-Doubles. Thanks, ROH, really.

-Close second this year would be Davey Richards and Kevin Steen exchanging spit-takes at each other during their brawling-filled escapade at Champions’ Challenge.Too many fluids flying in the ring tends to make me queasy and well, let’s just say when watching that moment I almost did a Jimmy Rave during Battle of the Icons.

Non-Kayfabe Atrocities Perpetrated in the Name of Man

-Tru TV / “Fan Attack” Bullshit: So Ring of Honor and TruTV have a working agreement because their show “All Worked Up” features ROH security guard Zach (one of the stalwarts of the promotion’s security force and full disclosure, someone who has helped me out in the past) and other wrestling personalities such as Austin Aries and Prince Nana on their show. TruTV’s tag line is “Not reality. Actuality.” As it turns out, actuality is not reality either. They taped several times during the past year at ROH shows, wherein Zach and other security guards would stop “fans” from getting “all worked up” and doing such things as jumping the rail or trying to attack wrestlers. Of course, most of the time these are not real fans, but audience plants that are used to tape footage for this TruTV show. In other examples, wrestlers such as Austin Aries goaded fans and rode them so hard with comments and confrontations (making sure to stay on his side of the ring) that it was the equivalent of begging these fans to try to do something, which in my view is getting very close to a borderline of fan manipulation.

In my opinion, using ROH shows to tape these faked altercations and presenting them as the real deal is the wrong move. It doesn’t shine a positive light on the promotion and its fans, but rather reinforces the negative stereotypes of professional wrestling. ROH has always been a promotion that has tried to avoid insulting the intelligence of its customers. However, showing incidents such as fake fans planted in the audience “attacking” wrestlers only for guards to “eject” them from the building is a true sign of disrespect to the paying audience. Most fans just want to go to the ROH shows, cheer or boo their favorite wrestlers and enjoy themselves. They spend money on merchandise, on concessions and on tickets to future shows. 99.99% of the time they do not get themselves physically involved and the very rare occasions where that happens doesn’t need to be shown on a national cable channel (small or large), much less be “simulated” by plants. This just goes to show once again that reality television is just as fake as professional wrestling. Hopefully ROH will recall what the “H” stands for and refrain from taping future segments for TruTV (or for their own DVDs) that misrepresent fan behavior at ROH shows.

-Go Fight Live iPPV Issues & DVD Production Problems: Ring of Honor always has been and likely always will be above all else an independent promotion. That designation has its positives but also its negatives, mostly when discussing production and the limitations therein. I don’t expect perfection knowing that about ROH. However, it’s not too much to ask for an improvement of the standards for acceptable video and audio quality, especially when paying for a product. Especially also when competing brands (CHIKARA and PWG) have consistently recorded and presented shows with a higher standard of quality with far less resources than the “flagship” wrestling company of the independent scene. That’s why this year it was especially disheartening to discover (and have to watch) a repeated lack of video and / or audio quality on several Ring of Honor DVD products.

While Ring of Honor presented some of its DVDs with substandard picture and audio, its internet Pay Per View broadcasting partner GoFightLive also had its share of technical problems. It is true that the business of streaming feeds to mass groups such as this is still in early stages and nothing will be one-hundred percent perfect the first or second go-around. That doesn’t excuse the fact that there were also many of the same issues on the third and fourth shows. Perhaps they were even worse than the original broadcasts. They ranged from slow feeds to audio leveling issues to hearing background noise during backstage interview segments or video packages all the way to the worst scenario: the feed dying and several minutes of matches cut whole cloth as what happened during the double chain match at Glory By Honor IX. The issues that occurred were simply unacceptable, even for the fifteen dollar price point and even with the knowledge and those issues would be corrected on the replays (which customers have a lifetime right to watch). Fans demand more when giving their money (and their time) towards supporting this new method of entertainment transmission.

Most infuriating was when ROH released its DVD for best show of the year, the Death Before Dishonor VIII internet Pay Per View, with the same standard of quality as the live transmission from the GoFightLive broadcast. Packaged with that show was the previous night’s show in Buffalo as a bonus, although that non-iPPV show suffered from even worse recording issues, notably the horrible contrast and lighting issues from one of the three cameras used in the presentation. So to say that show was a “bonus” is sort of like saying receiving spoiled milk in addition to a rotten tuna fish sandwich is a bonus. Why ROH couldn’t have tried to cut out that one particular camera out of the final product and / or simply go with the stationary camera as much as possible for that show is beyond me.

That’s not to say that ROH got it all wrong this year with production or that they didn’t attempt to correct problems when they occurred. There was a recall of the Bluegrass Brawl DVD when ROH determined the recording was not to their satisfaction. The release of that DVD was delayed in order to bring it up to acceptable standards and in fact, viewing that DVD one can see the work paid off. The show while not the greatest from a wrestling perspective was actually one of the better looking overall shows and had quality picture and audio. In addition, Ring of Honor decided to add a “commentary on / off” option for its DVDs in late 2009 order to give fans the option of watching the show as it actually happened, with the audio levels of the show not swallowed up or funneled by a commentary track.

However, ROH needs to make a commitment in 2011 towards figuring out its production issues and solving them for good. A solution is well within their grasp. ROH always looks much better when using the HDNet cameras. In fact, one can see a clear difference in quality between HDNet cameras recording segments of the iPPVs for recaps and the actual internet stream and DVD master. Why can’t both sides come to an agreement to rent and to use two of these cameras (one stationary, one hand-held) for all of ROH’s house shows? There are solutions to these issues and fixing them would be a win-win for both the promotion and its fan base. Even this cannot be done to improve production; it is baffling to believe that nothing can be done.

-The Embassy Curse : Five years ago, Prince Nana’s Embassy was warring against Generation Next in one of the hottest feuds of that era. Two years ago, Nana returned to ROH to restart his stable. However, things were never truly the same as they were back in 2005. The Embassy was booked in never-ending mid-card feuds that resulted in all involved (face or heel) being worse off than when they started. Then “The Crown Jewel” of the group, Jimmy Rave, left the promotion and the situation became even worse. For months, Nana wasn’t given a real go-to guy (what Rave had become) for his stable and Embassy programs continued to be a “conveyor belt to nowhere”.

This past year Erick Stevens and Necro Butcher, two major Embassy opponents, switched sides and joined the stable. The additions made storyline sense (in that “if you can’t beat them, join them” and they did it for the money) but there was never any real progression for either man after the switch. Inevitably they and The Embassy were no better than before. At the end of 2010, both of them were put on hiatus and other regular Embassy members such as Shawn Daivari have lost and lost and lost. As such, it doesn’t even seem as if there is an Embassy stable anymore (note: this is being written before Final Battle 2010. It seems that no matter who is the ROH booker, no one knows how to book The Embassy into an interesting program. That is a real shame, not only because Prince Nana is an outrageously entertaining performer and manager but because those of us who remember 2005 realize that The Embassy can be a hell of a great stable, if used properly.

-ROH Misses Out on Booking Bryan Danielson : I will rescind this if there was an “unwritten rule” that was never publicized when Bryan Danielson (a.k.a. Daniel Bryan) was released by WWE that he couldn’t make appearances for ROH. However, there were reports at the time that the company was negotiating with Danielson and couldn’t come to terms on an agreeable price for his return (even a one-off) to ROH during his two-month period of free-agency before return to WWE at Summerslam. As a result, one of Ring of Honor’s founding fathers never made a return home during a time when not only was he available but also incredibly hot and worth the booking fee. For a company that spent over ten grand per appearance for Ric Flair, who meant little to ROH fans, it is ridiculous that they never could come to an agreement for Danielson, who meant everything to ROH fans and likely would have been worth the expense in terms of additional ticket, merchandise and autograph sales. Definitely not the mind-boggling miss of say, not booking the second Samoa Joe versus Low Ki ROH match, but pretty darned close.

-Stalling Out the TV Title : When is a Television Title not a Television Title? When it is not defended on TV of course! That was exactly the case with the ROH TV Championship, as the title was not actually defended onscreen in the first four months of existence, despite first winner Eddie Edwards making frequent appearances on HDNet. Instead ROH went with “Ten-Minute Hunt”, an idea to find a worthy challenger for Edwards (if anyone could last ten minutes with him in the ring in non-title competition) that didn’t actually find anyone worthy. The go-nowhere angle severely damaged the early momentum of the new title (when it is most crucial in establishing and legitimizing its presence). Even worse was that the few times Edwards did defend the title from March through July, it was on ROH house shows, which were sold as DVDs. Results of these defense were never mentioned on HDNet, much less highlights of the matches. Thankfully, the “Ten Minute Hunt” went the way of the Dodo and Edwards began defending the TV Title on a more regular basis on the actual show where he is the representative champion.

-The End of the Pick Six: What is the sound of a ranking system dying and no one noticing? The Pick Six, established in the Fall of 2009 as a way to determine appropriate contenders to the ROH World Title, quietly slipped into the good night without an official announcement from ROH when the booking changed from the hands of Adam Pearce to Delirious. The Pick Six was somewhat complicated and at times not always followed through as best as possible, but it did give form, substance and some consistency towards determining the worthiness of upcoming challengers. Though I don’t oppose a new booker changing part of the promotion he or she doesn’t like, it would be a nice and respectful gesture to the fans of the promotion to at least declare the decision. It didn’t have to be made a big deal of either, just a one-sentence statement by Hogewood or Prazak on HDNet that the Pick Six was being dropped in favor of other methods of determining contention and a blurb in a newswire on the official website. That’s all. However, instead fans who were following along had to figure it out for themselves, which is not just frustrating but also dissatisfying. ROH’s determination of top contenders is now back to the far vaguer want and will of booking top programs as it happens, which truth be told is no different than most other wrestling promotions. Just don’t surprised then, if Tyler Black for some reason is released from his WWE contract and winds up back in ROH next year, that he receives twelve title shots in a row without a problem. RIP Pick Six, you deserved better both in life and in death.

Kayfabe Mess-Ups of a Royal Magnitude

-Shane Hagadorn Insults The American Wolves: Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards were a vicious and dangerous tandem and Hagadorn knew that because he had travelled with them for the better part of two years. Yet he still decided poking the wolves with his finger was the way to go when he told them he was the driving force behind their team and their winning ways and not them. It resulted in several incidents of pummeling from Richards. WRONG MOVE SHANE!

-Papa Briscoe hops the rails: Look, no one is saying that Mike “Papa” Briscoe isn’t a tough man—after all, he raised Jay and Mark and taught them the ins-and-outs of “Man Up” while they were young ‘uns. You know, like Frank from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Or not. Anyway. Mike is NOT a professional wrestler and he made the mistake of every fan jumping the rails to try to fight someone who is a professional wrestler. He tried to get some of Chris Hero and “That Young Knockout Kid” responded by knocking out Cletus and Festus’ dear old daddy. WRONG MOVE MIKE BRISCOE!

-Purple Tights dares to get in the way of Steve Corino : Woe is it to be the young man without a name who challenged Steve Corino on HDNet this past summer. Simply known as “Purple Tights”, this poor fellow was subjected to several criminal wrongdoings, including verbal mocking and berating by both Corino AND Kevin Steen (dangerous in the ring and on a live mic) and of course the incredible uncomfortable position of being thumbed in the nether region during an abdominal stretch. Like in the back of a Volkswagen. WRONG MOVE PURPLE TIGHTS!

Final Column 2010 concludes tomorrow with my rundown of the Best and Worst ROH shows of the year, a recap of the best and worst matches of the year and more!