Column of Honor 07.02.11: Howl

Oh my lord…I can’t believe it happened again! Turns out some newsworthy events happened this week and I had some stuff to say about them. Welcome to The Column.

Davey Richards, newly crowned the ROH World Champion, embraced Eddie Edwards in the middle of the ring, his tag team partner and someone who for the previous thirty minutes had been one of his toughest opponents ever. He reached out to his training partners, protégés and trainers also at ringside, who had been his best friends and his closest family he had known these past many years as he travelled on the road of his professional wrestling career. Together they celebrated the moment that they were living—the ascension of a man who many thought was the best wrestler in the world but who had now finally proved it to be true.

It was an emotional release by a wrestler the likes of which not seen in quite some time. His words dripping with both euphoric glory and humble appreciation, Richards thanked his brothers, thanked Edwards and thanked the fans for supporting him all along his journey to the top. However, his final thoughts and his final words were for his deceased grandparents, simply shouting at the top of his lungs out to record-setting Hammerstein Ballroom crowd and to the rest of the world within earshot on internet Pay Per View, “I did it!”

In that triumphant howl, Davey Richards cemented his place in the Ring of Honor history books. He emerges from the wolf-versus-wolf battle for positioning and pride as the lead wrestler in the promotion-the ROH World Champion. Richards finally came through with the big win one year after taking Tyler Black to the limit at Death Before Dishonor VIII and six months after being brought to his own by Roderick Strong at Final Battle 2010. Richards vowed that he next title shot would be his last one if he failed, but this time, the hunt was successfully completed, even though it came at the expense of his brother wolf.

Ring of Honor is now just two months away from its first television tapings under the corporate umbrella of Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is clear that Richards will be the top protagonist for them, exemplifying the Ring of Honor wrestling style and the kind of effort one should expect from the wrestlers on its roster. If his to-the-limit-and-beyond effort this past Sunday night is any indication, it is going to take a hell of an effort from future challengers to take it away from him.

In fact, both Richards and Edwards went above-and-beyond in their efforts for this match. They let the beast out and delivered an all-time classic filled with the hardest of hard-hitting strikes (with several direct-shot kicks that flat-out plastered the faces or the backs of their head), crazy rapid-fire headbutts from each and the smoothest of submission and counter wrestling. It was complimented with some death-defying risks such as the jumping double stomp through the table, a sickening 2K1 bomb by Edwards onto Richards head off the apron and a Kid Kash-sized powerbomb reversal into a super hurricanrana off the top rope that defied belief (and for a second, gravity). It at times borrowed from the strategy of Mixed Martial Arts fights, successfully incorporating arm-breakers and knee-bars as well as the now more traditional Kurt Angle-esque ankle locks. Though many times the moves were not fully locked in, therefore avoiding the appearance of those deadly instant holds being unrealistic, it was perhaps one of the most realistic matches using that psychology since the heyday of Bryan Danielson versus Nigel McGuinness from the Driven 2007 Pay Per View.

There was also the psychology of partners who knew each other and could reverse holds based on that knowledge, and a thrilling sub-plot where Edwards had hurt his ankle and Richards was hesitant to attack it, until Edwards slapped him in the face several times and yelled at him to “do it!”, demanding Richards show no remorse and complete the move. Indeed, that was what Richards would do, snapping Edwards’ leg into the ropes and working the limb. Edwards had gotten what he had asked for, both in that moment and during the entire match as a whole. He told Richards back at Supercard of Honor VI that he needed to know who was the better man and if he was better than him, going so far as to threaten to quit if his tag team partner and brother wolf didn’t agree to the title fight. By the end of the night, Edwards had his answer.

It was a very close back-and-forth match until the final moments, when Richards began to overwhelm Edwards with massive kick volleys to the back of the head that scrambled him up to the point where he couldn’t counter or dodge the onslaught. Until then, the champion had several moments where the challengers was in compromising positions, including working towards the Achilles Lock and later reversing Richards’ own ankle lock hold. However, Richards survived and worked through all of the pain and persevered, as did the champion when he was pressed on offense. Edwards survived two series of kick rushes including knockout buzz saw kicks to the head. However, Richards caught him dead-to-rights in the final series, chopping Richards down to a seated position. Both men knew it was over, and this time Richards did not think twice. In a moment echoing the finale to Shawn Michaels versus Ric Flair from Wrestlemania XXIV, he told Edwards “you’ll always be my brother”, just before knocking him out with a final direct-hit to the face for the pinfall.

Both men laid down in a hot mess of battle-weariness and exhaustion. The crowd grew silent for a good long time, looking at the uncomfortable car crash scene unfolding in front of them as referees and other personnel rushed to help both recover. Richards’ protégé Kyle O’Reilly and his own mentor Tony Kozina were there to help Richards, who stayed down for a long time, before he and Edwards were both able to get back to their knees and then to their own feet, for an embrace of respect and appreciation for the fight they just put each other through. Just as Richards had done for Edwards when he won the ROH World Title from Roderick Strong at Manhattan Mayhem IV, Edwards wrapped the strap around Richards’ belt and made sure that Richards knew it was his time to shine.

Don’t worry for Edwards’ place in the Ring of Honor universe though—as both that upset title win back in March against Roderick Strong and his efforts this past Sunday have solidified his status in the upper-echelon of the promotion. He is now a Made Man, losing nothing in defeat having come so far already in career growth this year. In fact, he probably gained more than his share of new fans by wrestling such a high-quality match that has garnered almost unanimous rave reviews. He will no doubt continue knocking on the door of the ROH World Title either as 1-A protagonist or even possibly in the antagonist position down the road.

As for Davey Richards, he is now at the beginning of what could become one of the better Ring of Honor title reigns in the entire nine-and-a-half year run of the promotion. He is being given the opportunity to be the face of the company at its most important juncture. He will be front-and-center for the Sinclair Broadcast Group’s television show and with a roster of talent once again in transition, dealing with comings and goings at a rapid pace, he (and Edwards) will have to be a constant. That’s an awesome responsibility to hold-but a fantastic new challenge and goal to complete.

Davey Richards wasn’t the only one baying at the moon this past Sunday at Best in the World. Kevin Steen made his presence known, as well as his true intentions towards his former partner-in-crime Steve Corino, his sponsor Jimmy Jacobs and to Ring of Honor as a whole. The madness spread by Corino back in late 2009 that enraptured Steen and motivated him to betray his former tag team partner El Generico had never actually gone away. By the end of the first half of the show, Steen made sure that his howl was heard loud and clear.

Steve Corino had been claiming for months now that he was a changed man-that he recognized he had been evil for most of his career and was looking to make amends. Some fans believed him but many wrestlers on the ROH roster had their doubts. Then Corino unveiled Jimmy Jacobs as his sponsor and revealed that it was Jacobs who had been the one who helped Corino begin to change. Corino wanted Jacobs to accompany him for ROH shows as someone who would be able to keep him on the straight-and-narrow, because Jacobs was someone who had also been evil and was on his way to making an effective change in his life.

Jimmy Jacobs was escorted out of Chicago Ridge, Illinois at Supercard of Honor VI before Corino wrestled against Mike Bennett. However, Jacobs was granted permission to be at Corino’s side for future events after a protracted debate with ROH officials. Yet Corino wanted more than one man in a war against The House of Truth, he wanted to bring in a man whose psychotic actions had pushed him to the brink and cost him his place in Ring of Honor. Steve Corino reached out to Kevin Steen, wanting him to return to ROH and moreover wanting ROH officials to let him back in. Even Jimmy Jacobs could be seen bristling at Corino pushing for this to happen. That was a bridge too far for Jim Cornette and other senior officials, who stated that Steen would not be allowed in the Hammerstein and furthermore if he did show up, then there would be severe consequences for Corino and Jacobs as a result.

It was too late though, as Corino revealed that he had already purchased a plane ticket for Kevin Steen to New York City. Steen, for his part, wrote in an online blog that he was a changed man and only wanted an opportunity to prove that change was genuine and real. He claimed he would wait outside of the building and if the company allowed him to come inside during the Best in the World event, great and if not he would support Corino as best as he could from the concrete streets of Manhattan.

As it turned out, Corino let the wolf in the door, sneaking him in somehow through the tight Hammerstein Ballroom security. As Corino took the microphone, he drew attention to Kevin Steen’s presence in the front of the first balcony, emerging in plain clothes among the fans. The New York City crowd exploded in exuberant shouts of “Steen! Steen! Steen!” and “Mister Wrestling!” It turns out they really missed that crazy son-of-a-gun.

As Kevin Steen rushed through the balcony crowd (running right past where my friends and I stood) and down the stairs to the ringside area, Hammerstein security and ROH officials swarmed to meet him. The fans, and Steve Corino wanted him to stay, begged to Jim Cornette to let him stay. While Cornette was eventually talked into shaking Kevin Steen’s hand in a begrudging form of acceptance to his presence, Steen was still asked to leave the building.

However, the excitement was not over, as Michael Elgin went on to defeat Steve Corino and afterward The House of Truth including its cult-leader Truth Martini would continue the attack. It was up to Kevin Steen to save the day once again—and he somehow managed to get back in the building one more time and make it through to ringside, where he took out Elgin and cleared him from the ring. He followed that up by blasting Truth Martini with a monstrous Package Piledriver. New York City exploded in approval.

A funny side-note is that I had gone downstairs to the merchandise booth after the match proper had concluded and was about to re-enter the main part of the seating areas when I heard and saw the Steen run-in. A big burly guy who was obviously a young wrestling trainee or otherwise employed by ROH was working the curtain and checking tickets for re-entering customers. As he pulled back the curtain and noticed Steen had returned, he looked at me and said quite mournfully “Oh man! How did he get back in?” I responded “Yeah, that’s going to be a problem.” So it was.

Steve Corino was delighted to see his old friend had saved him—it seemed to confirm to him that Kevin Steen was ready to embrace change. ROH officials once again rushed the ringside area but Corino kept pushing—he begged for Cornette to let Steen speak his peace. Corino had to have hoped that whatever Steen could say at this moment would be enough to allow for a truce between both sides and grant Steen a return-ticket back to the promotion. Cornette was not happy, but he acquiesced and Corino gave Steen the microphone.

“My name is Kevin Steen…and F**k Ring of Honor!” With that statement, he beat the hell out of Jimmy Jacobs and gave a monstrous Package Piledriver to Steve Corino. Officials and young wrestlers once again rushed to pull Steen away from the chaos, in effect having to carry him out of building, actually passing the area right near where I had just re-entered a few minutes before. It was a moment that had echoes of Steen’s heinous actions at Final Battle 2009. Steen deked out the fans, the promotion and his supposed very best friend in the world. Kevin Steen had just added another chapter in his very sordid story in Ring of Honor, in like a lamb and out like a crazed lion drunk on the bloodlust of a kill.

If Best in the World 2011 gets written down as an all-time classic Ring of Honor show, it will be because of the incredible quality of the main event, the two title change and the insane Kevin Steen angle. Absolutely, it was a great show, but perhaps not quite a top ten all-time show if one is considering top-to-bottom action. Obviously though, this will be a fondly remembered show for years to come since it had a main-event that is near or at the vaunted five-star rating (or just on the basis of the near-unanimous praise it has been given). What makes this show so memorable is that Richards-Edwards match was everything it was hyped up to be and more and that said match was seen in front of the largest live viewing audience (not broadcast Pay Per View, which were taped) and that it took place at the beginning of the Sinclair Broadcast Group era. As far as first impressions go it was pretty darned good. However, underneath the excitement and rapture of the Richards and El Generico title wins lay a solid but below-average-for-ROH undercard and a tag team title match that has received very positive reviews from some but also has received criticism for being weighed down by its excessive length and slow pace. It wasn’t a bad match per se and had some “wow” moments, but it was definitely flawed.

El Generico defeated “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels (without Truth Martini, who had been taken out in the Steen angle) to win the newly reinstated ROH Television Title in what should end up as Daniels’ swan song for the promotion before heading back full-time with TNA / Impact Wrestling. The masked luchador will walk into the August 13th SBG tapings as the TV champion, as his two matches in Richmond and Charlotte have already been signed and neither of them involves a TV Title defense. So in all likelihood the title being on the line here was a means to an end, given Daniels has been pushed pretty hard on TNA television and likely would not have been able to appear both on their shows and on ROH’s newly syndicated one. El Generico has always been very popular with the fans, but last year’s feud with Kevin Steen put him over the top and legitimized him further. 2011 has seen him continue to soar with fantastic performances. This championship win and the fans’ glowing reception and acceptance of it are an indication that despite his name, El Generico has plenty of personality which can be maximized and built around. His colorful persona and fan friendly attitude will serve him well on the new TV show.

The match itself was a fantastic display of El Generico’s athleticism and heart pitted against Daniels’ heel swagger and arrogance. It is a shame that Daniels cannot stick around longer, because the “Biggest Television Star on the ROH Roster” persona which he debuted on a recent Videowire promo is fabulous material that could have been mined for a good long time. As it was, watching Daniels put himself over by chanting “I’ve still got it” for him and putting the belt around his waist on during a referee’s count-out call was super enjoyable. Meanwhile, Generico was in top babyface form, pulling out his fantastic luchador sequences, dives and the flip Van Terminator, the crowd going wild for all of it. Daniels’ BME with the belt on met Generico’s boot directly to the jaw. That was followed up by Generico with a wicked Turnbuckle Brainbuster that put the finishing touches on Daniels.

Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin wound up retaining their titles in the four-way elimination bout over The Kings of Wrestling of Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli, The All-Night Express of Kenny King & Rhett Titus and The Briscoe Brothers, the latter of whom despite being positioned as the primary antagonists to both ANX and the champions was surprisingly eliminated first. The All-Nights eliminated The Briscoes about twenty-four minutes into the match, securing their first victory over their bloody rivals since winning the Manhattan Mayhem IV bout that actually resulted in the new chapter between the two teams with a double turn for each. The Briscoes were hated in New York City back in March but all four teams definitely had a decent rooting section going for them throughout the match and each team also received its share of boos throughout the forty-minute bout.

The Kings of Wrestling, whose future in ROH is uncertain with an offer from WWE in play, actually eliminated the ANX next with the usage of the “Golden Elbow Pad”. Charlie Haas tore off the elbow pad from Chris Hero and threw it into the crowd, which resulted in staff members and security comically sprinting around to that area to get it back from the fans. Finally, after an ungodly amount of slow-down and silence, Claudio Castagnoli unleashed an amazing (even by his high standards) UFO airplane spin to wake everyone up into the finish, where soon after Haas and Benjamin netted the final fall with a double-team Spinebuster / Alabama Slam move.

It was an anti-climactic finish both because it seemed to come out of nowhere (even in a forty-minute match) and that move had never been established as a finisher for Wrestling’s Greatest. In fact, Haas and Benjamin have used four different finishes in their major matches for 2011 and have yet to settle on one, which has resulted in fans not knowing for sure when the match is over and thus not popping as loudly as potentially possible for their victory—a problem that needs to be corrected as soon as possible.

I know that for me, that tag title match was actually a low point, as live in the building it felt way too long, as if time had stopped. There were moments where the action picked up into frenetic sequences such as the multiple dives (with Chris Hero in particular shining brightly after a huge jumping moonsault) and Shelton Benjamin scorching the Earth with a huge jumping double top-rope biel onto both Claudio Castagnoli and Kenny King (a suicidal spot for all men involved that thankfully clicked) but then the pace would be shut down. Multiple heat sequences, some sloppy moments (which were probably more apparent in-person than on camera) and eliminations not beginning until twenty minutes worked against this match.

Afterwards, The Briscoes ran right back in and waylaid the tag champions with a series of vicious steel chair shots to the back while The Kings looked on and reveled in the pain being inflicted on Haas and Benjamin. The All-Nights eventually made their way back to stop them, holding steel pipes in their hands. The attack garnered The Briscoes a huge amount of heat and their “Day 1” heel persona definitely has given them a fresh new lease on life. It is clear that in the coming months they will be positioned as the originals bent on unseating the champs while stewing in the anger that the fans appreciate outside “sports-entertainers” more than the guys who were Ring of Honor before ROH went to television.

The first half of the show was the very definition of solid but unspectacular, with the exceptions of the Steen angle and Jay Lethal’s return (which was well received by the fans who both chanted vulgarities at TNA and then popped the most for Lethal’s “Macho Man” Randy Savage tributes which were such a large component of his TNA run). Lethal not only looked great in a win against “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett with his physique but was also on-point in the ring. He made a fantastic impression with the fans with a unique post-match ROH cheerlead (at times this show felt like forced indoctrination into a cult of “ROH”, not necessarily on the part of the company’s promotions, but almost as if expected and pushed along by the fans in attendance). Rhino’s Gore of Homicide through the table (which despite his winning of the match looks to be the end of The Notorious’ One’s return to ROH for now) was spectacularly vicious. Steve Corino versus Michael Elgin was enjoyable and the effort from both men was there, but unfortunately by its very nature had to take a back seat to the “before” and “after” involving Kevin Steen’s surprise entrance.

Colt Cabana and Tommaso Ciampa (accompanied by Prince Nana and Mia Yim) kicked off the internet Pay Per View broadcast focusing on Cabana’s ability to wrestle circles around his opponent and Ciampa’s impact moves. Ciampa definitely rebounded a lot from a bad match against Grizzly Redwood last time in New York (and his effort against Adam Cole at Defy or Deny certainly indicates his potential). However, his powerbomb-into-double knees which took the win looked awful and led to boos (in a match which had been getting over very well with the fans until then). He definitely needs a different finisher against larger opponents. Overall, the first half of the show was fast and did its job of providing decent-to-good action, but obviously paled in comparison to the events of the second half.

In a pre-match bonus, Generation Me (also known as the YoungBucks) won their match against Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly via disqualification thanks to interference from The Bravado Brothers, who have been upset with the ungentlemanly treatment they’ve received from Kyle and Adam. The match was a fantastic spot-fest while it happened, with everyone hitting moves cleanly and impressing the crowd, which actually favored Gen Me right-off-the-bat. I expect with the larger crowd more people knew of them, having the bigger name value appearing for TNA and having made their bones in ROH when their first New York appearance was at this very venue (the downstairs portion of the Manhattan Center). One would have to assume that the DQ call was more politics in play because Cole and O’Reilly should have won as the team that will be in the promotion more than the guest-stars. They are young but should play a key part of the tag team division throughout the rest of the year. Their moves are unreal and their tag combos quickly sold any fans that hadn’t seen them before on their act. Gen Me and Cole / O’Reilly double-teamed (well, quadruple-teamed, actually) on The Bravados after the match and Max and Jeremy hit More Bang for Your Buck as payback for the interference.

The wrestlers weren’t the only ones unleashing their howl throughout the Best in the World 2011 event. The fans’ reaction was a mixed bag, to say it in the most polite terms. Part of it has to do with the law of averages, since more people in attendance usually means more rudeness and especially with general admission in the balconies (except for first row, first balcony which was ticketed). This was a super-schizophrenic crowd in that no clear majority could be found for many wrestlers and there would be just as much hate and verbal diatribe for someone as there would be love. It also felt like one could have no problem playing “Fan Reaction Bingo”. Here was an anti-TNA chant, scratch that off the list, the pro-John Cena chant done to piss off the crowd, scratch that one off, the “You F**ked Up” chant which was strummed up at the very slightest perceptive slip up (which wasn’t really all that bad) and so on. BINGO!

Then again, when New York City is at its best and it’s most inspirational, when they go crazy for Generico brainbustering Daniels to death, for Steen’s return and psychotic heel actions or for Richards versus Edwards, there is nothing else like it. The building was shaking at several times due to fans’ stomping their feet and the cheers at point were some of the loudest I’ve heard. It’s mind-boggling in its duality, but that’s New York for you and to a larger extent the collective professional wrestling fan base as well.

Most talent received new music for the show (or had just recently begun using them on other house shows in April and May) and some of it was great and some not so much. The best of them were likely Steve Corino’s new uptempo rock mix and The All-Night Express’s fast-paced rap number which was on-point for their character and very much head-bounce inducing. I expect it to help them get over immensely if they keep that track (Kenny King is also working hard to get over that “X” movement with his arms—hopefully it catches on). In another music-related note, The Kings of Wrestling were once again led out to the ring with a live rendition of their theme by Cody B Ware.

There is no doubt that Ring of Honor’s Best in the World 2011 is an instant-recommendation for purchase via replay on GoFightLive or when it is released on DVD, based on the quality of the title matches, the Kevin Steen insanity and the overall newsworthiness of the entire show. While the future of ROH’s newest television endeavor is uncertain, let it be known that the Sinclair Broadcast Group era began on a huge high note, a howl unleashed by the entire company that their vision of professional wrestling was here and they were going to make a go of it.

Yet every howl slips into the air and dissipates eventually, as if it was never screamed out in the first place. It is still unclear just how far Ring of Honor’s battle cry will carry them into this new era of syndication and somewhat larger exposure. They have the middle-level markets but not the major cities, which will have to catch the show through the internet until the show is added to other networks (and that’s a big if). They’re hoping big time that when they howl, enough professional wrestling fans are there to howl back.

A synopsis of the ROH press conference that features plenty of introductory clips. It aired on several SBG station newscasts, so more of a EPK and advertisement for the promotion than a real story. Still, take what you can get and this one looks pretty good, take it.

The champions showing some edge and emotion here—really the first time they’ve lost their cool in the promotion. They vow to take out their anger at The Briscoes on their next opponents. Poor souls.

Looks like Generico’s Spanglish is improving slowly but surely. Though I don’t know if it’s smart to challenge Roderick Strong to a steel cage match as he does pretty damned well in that stipulation, including wins over Jack Evans back in 2007’s Caged Rage and not one but two Steel Caged Warfare wins (Caged Collision versus Sweet & Sour Incorporated in 2009 and the eponymous Steel Cage Warfare of Generation Next versus The Embassy from 2005). Buena suerte, El Generico, nuevo Campeon de la Televisia, que lo necesite.

For lo tho ye walk in the valley of the shadow of death, thou shalt not fear it, for in it lies the miracle of Truth, that there is no life so rich and full that cannot be ripped asunder and no life so meager and wanting that cannot be built upon and improved. Ergo, listen ye well to this treasured advice found within The Book of Truth, for these words are worth their weight in gold. So sayeth The Truth, so sayeth The House:

And the Samoan Tribe grew and multiplied. Reverend Amituanai Anoa’i betrothed Tovale, had nine children and begat six sons, Afa, Afoa, Tumua, Peteroni, Sipa, and Sika. Afa begat three sons — Samula (who would be called Samu), Afa Junior (who would be called Manu) and Lloyd. Sika begat Matt and Joe. Junior begat Rodney. Reverend Anoa’I’s daughter Vera was betrothed to Solofa Fatu who begat Solofa Fatu the second, Eddie and Sam. Solofa the second betrothed Talisua Fuavai who begat Jonathan (who would be called Jimmy) and Joshua (who would be called Jey), tho lo these days no one could tell the two apart. The high chief Peter Maivia was exalted as a blood brother of Afa and Sika. Peter betrothed Leah who begat Ata who betrothed Rocky Johnson who begat Dwayne Johnson, who begat Ahmed Johnson who begat Ezekiel Jackson.

-From the Book of Samoans, Chapter 1 Verses 1- 7 in The Book of Truth

-Official numbers for Best in the World via Wrestling Observer / Dave Meltzer: 2,500 in attendance and 2,100 internet Pay Per View buys, officially making it the most-successful iPPV event in company history.

-My first ever ECW house show was back in 1999 at The Hammerstein Ballroom during the TV tapings. It was the tournament for the ECW Tag Team Titles. During one match Rhino and Tommy Dreamer brawled right in front of me, so close that I had to stand on a chair to make sure they didn’t bowl me over while they brawled. I forgot how huge and thick Rhino was, but seeing him live and in person once again this past Sunday at The Hammerstein reminded me. He dwarfed Homicide in mass and bulk but still managed to keep up with him. Rhino hasn’t signed (as yet) with ROH, but I wouldn’t mind them picking him up and keeping him as The Embassy’s bodyguard / hit man.

-Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin signed ROH contracts this week as well, which made sense to expect considering the promotion kept the belts on them. For those who might criticize ROH for bringing in and pushing ex-WWE guys, so far, Haas and Benjamin have most certainly proven themselves and earned their place in ROH. WGTT have been a part of some of best tag matches this year. Rhino did a very good job in his role this past Sunday. If someone can contribute to the promotion and keep up with the expectations of the style and the tone, then it shouldn’t matter where one comes from.

-Ring of Honor’s final decision on Kevin Steen was handed down earlier in the week. He is banned from shows and there will be no mentions of him on DVDs, their website and other ROH related ventures. Even their message board censors his name and threads with him as subject are locked, though as of this moment he is still mentioned in the title history and results pages (that would be a lot of editing work needed to be done).

Steve Corino and his son Colby asked for some privacy after the events of this past weekend through their Twitter accounts and Steve actually stopped posting for a few days this week to put over the situation. He is heading over to Japan for the next little while to tour there and “to clear his head”. Meanwhile Kevin’s Twitter account has not-so-subtly changed back to @killsteenkill from the previous @steenischange from the prior week and he has been doing some fantastic Tweet-work (if such a term exists, if not I just coined it) in response to everything going on. It should also be noted that El Generico had it right on his Twitter as through the miracle of Google Translate he was able to warn everyone including ROH officials, Corino and Jacobs not to trust Steen and that he was still and evil man. The guy would know.

Of course, you have to expect Steen back at some point, whether its him busting though the doors, sneaking his way in (I mean, hey, if he can get into Hammerstein Ballroom of all places without being discovered, no sweat doing it anywhere else ROH runs), buying a ticket giving him the right to a seat and so on. My own thought is that Steve Corino will petition Jim Cornette to reinstate Kevin Steen; so that Corino can be the one to compromise him to a permanent end (thanks again John Cena!) He created the monster, now he should be the one to destroy it. Of course, that will challenge both his and Jimmy Jacobs’ new ideology of reform from their evil ways. Regardless, if this angle leads to Steen vs. Corino and Steen vs. Jimmy Jacobs grudge matches during the Fall and Winter, count me in because those would be awesome.

-New matches signed for Richmond, Virginia on July 8th: The American Wolves team up just two weeks removed from their war for the title. They wrestle against Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin here. Haas and Benjamin have their second defense of the ROH World Tag Team Titles, wrestling against El Generico and Colt Cabana. That should be a good one though perhaps not as light-hearted as one might expect (see the WGTT’s promo against The Briscoes, above). The ROH Tag Team Contender’s Lottery tournament has now been set with Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman on one side of the bracket and Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. The Bravado Brothers on the other. Somehow I don’t think this is Fair to Flair, so to speak, as The Bravados have to face a Briscoes team even more ruthless than usual.

-The Bravados don’t get any reprieve the next night either (July 9th) in Charlotte, North Carolina as they wrestle Haas & Benjamin in a non-title bout. Ostensibly that looks like a squash match (as it was earlier in the year on an episode of ROH on HDNet) but both matches this weekend will put The Bravados to the test and see if they can hang in the ring, not just as clever and cute characters but as effective contributors to a division that needs more depth and competent teams that can go. Also signed and billed as the main event is Roderick Strong versus new TV Champion El Generico in a non-title Steel Cage contest. Generico’s promo seems to indicate he wants this to be the final match in their series, which began with his ROH World Title shot at So Cal Showdown II and expanded into a larger issue against The House of Truth and Strong’s manager Truth Martini.

The American Wolves wrestle Davey Richards’ own protégé Kyle O’Reilly and his tag partner Adam Cole in what should be an awesome match. I doubt Richards or Edwards will take it easy on these guys, so we’re looking at some stunning state-of-the-art tag team action from both sides. The interesting story will be if there are any cracks in the Wolves’ team, or if any develop should they be on the losing side on both nights of the ROH weekend.

Also on the card are two singles matches that expand on The Briscoes / All-Night Express feud as Jay Briscoe wrestles Rhett Titus and Mark Briscoe wrestles Kenny King. The stipulation of these matches involves the other tag partner being handcuffed at ringside during these matches, and then switching off for the next one. Ideally that would be to avoid interference, but if one doesn’t expect shenanigans and a fight to break out during that exchange, one has not seen too many of these situations. Cross-reference: Chyna / Sergeant Slaughter from the WWF Attitude era.

-As noted, Roderick Strong is back from his tour of Japan starting with that weekend’s shows. The House of Truth is now down to just Strong and Michael Elgin, though newswires note that Truth Martini is demanding ROH officials give his newest recruit a shot, so look for a new addition shortly.

-I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the most talked about promo this past week in CM Punk’s worked-shoot from this past Monday’s WWE Raw show, where he name-dropped Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Colt Cabana among others while insulting Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and John Laurenitis. It was a shocking nuclear bomb aimed at the heart of WWE, effectively waking everyone up from a kayfabe slumber for the first major incorporation of reality (rumors of Punk’s departure, his contract which may-or-may-not be over and the current watered-down corporatized version of WWE wrestling) since the Joey Styles worked-shoot where he “quit” back in 2006. Daniel Bryan also had somewhat of a shoot interview on NXT discussing Michael Cole and the negative treatment of his perceptions while in WWE, but Punk’s promo obviously contained the larger forum and the more important implications on WWE programming (at least in the near-future). It was also covered by some pretty heavy mainstream outlets, which is just insane to think about that a wrestling promo would gain so much attention.

Believe it or not, I actually missed it as it happened live as I did not see the show due to personal obligations. However, thanks to the power of social media and the internet, the promo popped up in no time at all and I saw it just a few hours removed from its actual occurrence. This was one of those moments, like the ECW Invasion angles or the Joey Styles shoot or The Nexus formation, where I think “that’s more like it!” It is crystal clear that WWE can give wrestling fans these heart-skipping moments where the excitement isn’t just because lines between reality and storyline are somewhat blurred, but it is that there is an actual interesting story to be told—something that breaks convention but makes sense, something inspired and mind-blowing that captivates interest and makes one actively question and engage in the product. The promo also sold Pay Per Views. Why WWE can’t do this more often is the eternal frustration of wrestling fans who want more quality out of what they watch on Mondays, Fridays and the occasional Sunday. CM Punk did that with his promo and WWE is following up on it very well heading into Money in the Bank and the title match against John Cena. Whether CM Punk stays or goes (and if it’s the latter, more is the shame for WWE) he will go down as having accomplished something special and memorable in the last months of his WWE run—speaking truth to power about the current wrestling environment, even in the form of a shoot angle. I don’t know that any real changes become of it, but at least it was fun to watch.

At the beginning of the year, “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett vowed that within one year that he would become the Ring of Honor World Champion. So let’s see how he’s done so far, eh?

…Losing to Jay Lethal is no way to gain contention for the ROH World Title. Anyways, be sure to keep track of how Mister Bennett’s progress is doing. That man, he’s quite the prodigy at winning championships.

I’m still going strong on Twitter so head on over to TwitterNation and follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.

After some technical difficulties I made my second appearance in as many weeks with Greg DeMarco on his podcast to discuss the major stories coming out of Best in the World 2011. DeMarco and Patrick O’Dowd also provide an excellent interview with “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce, plus more from quite-possible inebriated Steve Cook and the lovely Buggy!

Speaking of both gentlemen, DeMarco hosts his broadcast partner O’Dowd and Aaron Frame for this week’s 411Mania Buy or Sell discussing those very issues and more. Also, if you missed out on last week’s Buy or Sell, which featured DeMarco and myself previewing Best in the World 2011, you can go back and check out whether we were right or wrong with our predictions by clicking here.

More Best in the World 2011 coverage: Michael Ornelas provided the Play-by-Play (and a five-star rating, guess which match?) while Colin Reinhart chimed in with his postmortem X-Review of the iPPV.

Jack Bramma completes his look back at ROH’s first iPPV with Part Two of Final Battle 2009. You can still read Part One here.

Kevin Ford continues his CHIKARA focus with two reviews of recent shows, Aniversario and His Amazing Friends and The Legendary Superpowers Show, both of which commemorated the promotions’ ninth year anniversary.

Mike Campbell has a singleton review of the special attraction return of Samoa Joe to Ring of Honor as he wrestled against Tyler Black from the end of 2008.

Wow, two in a row. Who knew? Once again, I may or may not be back next week, with results from Richmond, a preview of the Charlotte show and other stuff if my brain doesn’t jam. Thanks for reading.

BROOKLYN!
DAH EM BAH SEE FOR-EVAH! EH!
–Ari–