Column of Honor: 01.27.07

Welcome to the most news packed Column of Honor in Column of Honor history. This past week has held a breakout of epic Ring of Honor news just about every day of the week.

Doug Gentry Passes Away at 34 Years of Age

I want to start today’s report with the death of Doug Gentry, one of the very few and select men directly involved behind the scenes in Ring of Honor during their formative years of 2002-2004. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer and Mike Johnson of PWInsider both reported the passing as a result of a severe heart attack resulting from complications of heart disease. Genrty was also in need of a heart valve replacement and was in serious condition for the last few days.

Mike Johnson goes deeper into detail about Gentry’s condition: “Gentry, who was only in his early 30s, had been diagnosed with a rare bacterial infection of the heart several weeks back after several months of feeling fatigued. He had been undergoing antibiotic treatment in preparation for surgery on a heart valve that had been clogged due to the infection. Gentry was hospitalized last night after having trouble breathing, was diagnosed with pneumonia on top of everything else he had problems with and passed away this morning.”

Along with Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky, Gentry was a nucleus of the promotion from the very beginning. Meltzer reports that “Gentry was the on-paper owner of ROH and RF Video after the Feinstein scandal. When Cary Silkin purchased the complete ownership of ROH from Gentry, who Feinstein transfered his stock to, he was no longer part of the company.”

Gentry also did color commentary with Jimmy Bower (Chris Lovey) under the name “Ray Murrow”.

Johnson further reported, “If it had not been for Gentry, Ring of Honor as everyone knows it simply would not exist today, in any form. By March 2003, ROH had been in the red for some time and Gentry helped recruit Cary Silkin, a friend dating back a number of years, to come on board as an investor. Without a doubt, had Gentry not cultivated that business relationship, ROH would have been another independent that had a solid run, only to fail. Had it not been for Gentry, ROH would have ceased to have existed following the Philadelphia event where Samoa Joe first won the ROH championship from Xavier.”

Gentry had most recently continued his friendship and business partnership with Rob Feinstein, including contributing to several shoot tapes and their fledgling wrestling promotions.

Obviously I send out my condolences and heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Doug Gentry. 34 is way too young for someone to go, especially someone who seemingly worked so hard for the sport we all know and love. The man has a special place in Ring of Honor history that despite the controversies of the past needs to be recognized and appreciated. I for one did not know of the story mentioned above about how Doug was responsible for bringing Cary in as an investor until just now. That is very remarkable to think about how Doug may very well be responsible for ROH being alive and well in its current incarnation and with its current fanbase. He appears to be a silent hero of the wrestling world, as there are many silent heroes in life. Once again, my thoughts and well wishes go out to his loved ones.

ROH Results: 1/26/07 Braintree, MA-2007 Season Begins

Onto happier thoughts as Ring of Honor began its 2007 after a five week “off season” that gave time for its roster to rest up and get ready for the upcoming year as well as set the tone for upcoming storylines and match ups.

Matches
-Rocky Romero defeated Davey Richards with an ankle lock submission.
-Jack Evans defeated Eddie Edwards via pinfall after the 630 splash.
-Delirious and Pelle Primeau defeated Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn via submission with the Cobra Stretch on Hagadorn.
-Jimmy Jacobs, Brent Albright, and Lacey defeated Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer, and Daizee Haze when Lacey pinned Daizee after Jimmy Jacobs smashed Haze with a senton through thru a table.
-Samoa Joe defeated Nigel McGuinness via submission (Koquina Clutch).
Jimmy Rave won the Four Corner Survival match via submission on Christopher Daniels (heel hook) in a match that also included Jason Blade and Shingo.
-ROH World Champion Homicide retained his title via pinfall against challenger Chris Hero with the Cop Killa.
-In a two out of three falls match, The Briscoes defeated Austin Aries and Roderick Strong two falls to none. Fall # 1: pinfall on Strong via spike Jay Driller. Fall # 2: pinfall on Aries after spike Jay-Driller.

Angles and Issues

-There was indeed a ten bell salute for Doug Gentry at the beginning of the program.

-Champion’s Promo: As has been the case with previous title runs, the ROH World Champion kicked off his title reign with a show opening interview. Rebecca Bayless conducted the interview with Homicide, which was rudely interrupted by “Sweet and Sour” Larry Sweeney. This was a diversion to allow Chris Hero a chance to attack from behind, and both men brawled around the ring while Julius Smokes got at it with Sweeney. Rocky Romero, who in the past was aligned with ‘Cide in The Rottweilers, made his return to ROH for the save and helped the champ clear the ring.

-Romero’s Complaint: However, we were not done with Rocky just yet, as he wanted to know why Homicide had fallen out of touch with him over the last year. Smokes intervened, saying they should not handle dis bidness out in public. This is an interesting angle that may very well set up a future championship match or a grudge feud between these two men.

-Rave Angers Joe: Jimmy Rave stirred up some trouble with Samoa Joe post Joe’s match with Nigel as he attacked and put on his twisting ankle lock. Nigel came in for the save.

-Strike Two: As the Briscoes claimed in an article on ROHwrestling.com, the former GHC Jr. champions did indeed take two straight falls in their match against Aries and Strong. While the latter team is already scheduled for a title shot in the coming weeks, certainly this win solidifies a championship match for the northern redneck duo.

Return Date: June 8th, 2007

Take The Pepsi Challenge & Win! WEEK THREE

Week three of this honorary Pepsi Challenge, and I have yet to really hear from anyone out there about it! The time is running out for your chance to win a DVD and tell us about how honorable a Ring of Honor fan you actually are!

So once again, this is a challenge to the ROH fans who read this column who have friends who follow WWE. Give them the Pepsi Challenge (ROH Death Before Dishonor III, Sign of Dishonor, Escape From New York and Redemption). Lend them your copies of ROH DVDs, or even better, buy them some DVDs as an early birthday present or whatever. Sit them down in front of the tele, Clockwork Orange style (well, then again, maybe not) and challenge them to see which product is better. If they do not at least acknowledge that ROH has some great wrestlers and great matches, I’ll eat my ROH Ski Cap.

Anyway, I’m gonna up the stakes here. The person who sends me the best story of how they convinced a WWE fan to give ROH a shot will WIN themselves a copy of Straight Shootin with Jim Cornette & Bill Watts Volume 2. send your story in. Deadline will be one week from now, 2/04/07. THIS THE LAST WEEK-get on it!

ROH Call
ROH Champions—As of 01/27/2007 –Heading into “Battle of the Icons” 1/27/07 Edison, NJ

ROH World Champion—Homicide(champion since 12/23/06, 1 successful defense)

Next Defense: Samoa Joe, 1/27/07 Edison, NJ

ROH World Tag Team Champions—Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal (champions since 11/25/06, 1 successful defense)

Next Defense: Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, 2/16/07 Edison, NJ

ROH News
(via the ROHnewswire… and other sources when attributed

It’s Official, Ring of Honor Lands in Japan

Last week there was word going around the internet that ROH would make its debut in Japan on 7/16 and 7/17, running shows with the help of Dragon Gate and NOAH, its two biggest allies in Japan. ROH officials confirmed that to the case in a press conference on Monday. Here is the news item from ROH:

Word has already leaked all over the internet and a press conference was held in Japan, but now we are making it official. Ring Of Honor will be headed to Japan in July for two shows. These will be authentic ROH shows. The first night will see ROH work closely with Pro Wrestling NOAH to present an event in Tokyo at Differ Ariake. The second night will see ROH work closely with Dragon Gate to hold an event in Osaka. There will be much more news including several huge announcements about these events in the upcoming months. These will be two of the most important shows in ROH history.

The Japan announcement is no doubt a huge moment for Ring of Honor. It’s a continuation in the expansion of ROH overseas, gives its talent international exposure, and of course it will sell a boat load of DVDs. There are some questions about the Japan excursion, such as the extent of the involvement of the NOAH / Dragon Gate contingent as well as how well the Japanese fans will take to ROH wrestlers and matches. Another question is if there will be any inter-promotional matches, and who would go over. More on these issues and more of ROH vs. Japan in next week’s column.

MORISHIMA Coming to America

Even MORE huge news from the land of the Rising Sun was the official announcement of Takeshi Morishima making a four show run in Ring of Honor as a part of the Fifth Year Festival run of shows. Here is an excerpt from the press release:

The Morishima Announcement
Monday, January 22, 2007

ROH’s debut at the Windy City Fieldhouse in Chicago on 2/24 will see a gigantic tag team main event. It will be Morishima & Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe & Homicide!!! Tag matches don’t get any bigger than this as the NOAH vs. Samoa Joe feud reaches its peak.

Immediately when the news was announced that Morishima would receive a title shot, my thoughts went to the possibility of Morishima as the next ROH champion. The Briscoes won (and lost at the end of their tour) the GHC Jr. Tag Team titles, so could this be a tit for tat situation of trading titles? It is a realistic possibility, made even more possible should Joe take the ROH title tonight in Edison from Homicide. Morishima vs. Joe has been built up for months now, and there is of course a ton of excitement for that fight. It would be enhanced that much more with the title fight possibility. There could also be a possibility that there are more matches booked for Morishima if he were to win as champion and that ROH is withholding that information for the time being (although I admit that’s just my speculation and I don’t want to spread any rumors).

I’m a bit surprised the match came so soon and will happen almost immediately at the 2/16 show, but I will given ROH a ton of credit for living up to their word of doing a Joe vs. NOAH match and having his opponent be a true homegrown NOAH talent.

Dragon Gate Stars Return to Ring of Honor
News slipped out from Dragon Gate USA about which Dragon Gate wrestlers would wrestle for ROH during the Wrestlemania weekend double shot in Detroit. The following wrestlers will make appearances: CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki (ROH debut), Susumu Yokosuka (ROH debut), Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi, and Shingo Takagi.

My Puro knowledge is lacking so I can’t say all that much about Mochizuki and Yokosuka except that there is a lot of excitement for their inclusion on the ROH boards. The other wrestlers are familiar to ROH fans as having made appearances during last year’s shows during Wrestlemania weekend. They may look to make history repeat again with epic matches during this timeframe.

Chris Hero To Tour with NOAH
Green Destiny is reporting that Chris Hero will be one of four gaijin to participate in NOAH’s Navigate for Evolution ’07 tour. It will be Hero’s first tour of Japan for NOAh and the first since wrestling for the Big Japan promotion. Here is the list of appearances on the tour, and you will note that these shows run concurrent to most of the ROH “Fifth Year Festival” where Hero’s agent, Larry Sweeney has claimed he will not wrestle.

2/15 Korakuen Hall
2/17 Differ Ariake
2/18 Kyoto KBS Hall
2/21 Fukuyama Big Rose
2/22 Tsuyama Gym
2/24 Osaka Central Public Hall
2/25 Zepp Nagoya
2/28 Mito City Gym
3/2 Odawara Arena
3/4 Nippon Budokan

Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting
ROH’s most hate-filled feud is coming to this Saturday’s show in Edison, NJ. At the last Edison event BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs beat each other senseless in a match that never had the opportunity to even start. The bloodbath settled nothing, but now this Saturday will see Whitmer and Jacobs go at it again. It will be BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs in a Last Man Standing contest. There are no rules and the only way to win is to knock your opponent down for a 10 count!!! This promises to be an epic battle this Saturday in Edison.

Also signed for this Saturday in New Jersey is a mixed tag match as Colt Cabana & Daizee Haze battle Brent Albright & Lacey. Can Cabana & Haze get revenge?

Comments about these matches in my ROH show preview later in the column. I just wanted to throw the Elton John reference in there for kicks.

In Other Breaking News, Rave Has Lost His Mind
If you saw the new ROH Video Wire you saw Samoa Joe slap Jimmy Rave. Now Rave has challenged Joe to a match. It will be Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave on 2/23 in Dayton, OH. This will be a very special event as it is five years to the day of the very first ROH show. Can the heel hook make Joe tap?

Rave has a history of upsets during anniversary shows, especially in Dayton, so a win here may indeed be in the cards for young Mr. Rave. With that said, Jimmy, ARE YOU HIGH? ARE YOU DRUGS? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND. You are a dead man.

Talent Pool for Liverpool
In case you missed it the majority of the talent roster for the Liverpool, UK events on March 3rd and 4th has been announced. ROH will bring only the best possible matches to the UK including title bouts, dream contests and grudge matches. Just added to both nights are: ROH World Tag Team Champion Matt Sydal; FIP Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong; Jimmy Rave; BJ Whitmer; Colt Cabana; Davey Richards plus more will still be announced including talent from SHIMMER and the UK.

Sydal and Richards were very popular the last go round in England, Everyone else is a regular on the roster, so it’s no surprise to see them here on the roster.

Fountains of Wayne will write the Sequel to “Joe Rey” About HER
SHIMMER star Sara Del Rey will make her return to ROH on 2/16 in Manhattan and 2/24 in Chicago.

I’m a big fan of Del Rey—a great wrestler. It will be good to see her in New York City.

Highlight Reel
There is a new roster video up at www.ROHvideos.com and on Youtube. You can watch it for free to see Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Roderick Strong, The Briscoes, the women of honor and many others. This is the first of two roster video rosters. The other one will be released in a couple of weeks. If you’ve never seen ROH before make sure you check out this video.
Not much more to add except that you should check it out—lots of good clips from the last few months of shows. It’s actually one of the most well put together clip packages that ROH has done, as they’re (finally) really upping their game with their videos. Although of course, the standard “I wish they would just have a roster page on their website” complaint still applies here.

NO MORE BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS! Well, okay, maybe a few more…
There will be an announcement that will change the face of ROH next week in the ROH Video Wire. No it doesn’t have to do with TV, and it’s not what you think.

This is of course, the big announcement of an ROH Prison Yard match between Kikutaru and Delirious.

You know…usually, the day or the week before Chris Hero has one of his big matches I tend not to hear from the man. This week, however, in the days before Hero was to challenge Homicide for the ROH World title, I received this message from a “special” person connected to Chris Hero. So, fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), there will be a special “Hero’s Sandwich” column. It’s a memorable one at that. Well, just take a look and see for yourselves…

Hero’s Sandwich

A good day to all of you reject humanoids, it is your favorite Super Agent, the man of the hour, the man with the power, “Sweet n Sour” Larry Sweeney here in place of your hero, Chris Hero, who is currently involved with last minute training for his huge matches this weekend, in Boston, Massachusetts and in Edison, New Jersey. I’ve taken the time here in lovely Redondo Beach, California, where the men are men and the women are women, to write this little missive in Mr. Hero’s stead. Of course this takes time away from my tanning and working on the LOOP defending my IWC-IWCA Tex-Arkana Title, but I will bear that burden according to Mr. Hero’s contractual obligations to 411 and this column.

Now, Mr. Hero has worked diligently in preparing himself both physically and mentally for his ROH World Title match with that slimeball menace Homicide, as well as for the three way match with the greatest has-been in the world, Christopher Daniels (with that tramp, Allison Danger) and the biggest never will be, Claudio Cast-AG-NOLI. I don’t know how many times I told Chris that he should not get involved in any matches without my direct approval, but he insisted in dealing with that Swiss idiot sooner, rather than later. After long hours of discussion, Chris finally realizes that Castagnoli has never been anything more than an albatross around his neck, just weighing him down, and holding him back from the singles domination that we all know lies in front of my client. Of course, I’ll be the man to take him there, to the top of the wrestling mountain, right where I, I mean he, I mean we, belong.

Now, onto my plan for Mr. Hero, once he becomes the ROH World Champion. First, I will make the match for tomorrow night a NON-TITLE match, because neither of the aforementioned jabronies deserves a title shot. After another victory by Mr. Hero, I will help him hold ROH hostage for their 5th Year Festival. Mr. Hero deserves to be paid in a way that measures up to his superstar status, and until Gabe Sapolsky and Cary Silkin recognize this, Mr. Hero will not; I repeat WILL NOT wrestle at any ROH events. What Mr. Hero WILL DO is go global with the title, as I have secured him contracts all over the world. Whether here in the United States at a Pro Wrestling Guerilla event, a CHIKARA PRO event, or a CZW event or world wide, Mr. Hero WILL NOT work for ROH until he is the highest paid superstar on the entire roster. Just to prove all of this to you, check Mr. Hero’s upcoming bookings. That’s right. CHRIS HERO will be a featured visitor on Pro Wrestling NOAH’s “Navigate for Evolution Tour 2007”. That is all my doing by the way. Evolution. That’s exactly what Chris Hero is. The next evolution of professional wrestling. If you need any more evidence, just check the results from this weekend’s events, and it will be abundantly clear that Chris Hero is indeed, the next evolution.

I could go on for days talking about the greatness that is Chris Hero, but alas, the fun must end, and I must help my client go through his final preparations for his takeover of Ring of Honor. Just one last thought, directly from Mr. Hero himself. Mr. Hero wanted me to convey to you the following words of wisdom. “You’re all a bunch of pimply-faced losers, and that in a matter of hours, your tiny little lives will go from bad to worse, as I, Chris Hero, become the ROH Champion. Suck on that, you dolts! This has been your Hero’s Sandwich. Adios, suckers!”

With that in mind, let’s live the lives of men and women, well, as much as you losers on the internet can be men and live with a woman that’s not your mother. Sayonara losers.

…This has been Hero’s Sandwich.

Well, obviously Sweeney and Hero’s vision of what was to happen last night is far, far removed from the truth. Sweeney and Hero proven wrong—can you imagine? It must be a solar eclipse or something. Yeah…or something. Well, for all the running of the mouth they did in this column, they sure failed miserably. I’m sure I’ll catch hell from them next week, but for now, I couldn’t be happier. HA-HA!

Honorarium

-I hate to say this, but it seems to me that Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal are goldbricking their title run as ROH tag champions. They won the title almost two months ago but have only defended the belts a grand total of ONCE. Now, to be fair, Matt Sydal became injured on the date Daniels and Sydal were supposed to defend their titles against former champs Aries and Strong.

And yet…maybe this injury was just what we call “a likely story.” Maybe Matt Sydal came down with a case of the, shall we say, nervous breakdown, when it came time to defend against a team he has had no luck against in tag matches. Maybe Sydal just didn’t want to face the music one more time that Aries and Strong have been better than him in the ring and will in all likelihood continue to do so.

Also, look at the upcoming title defense schedule. In the midst of ROH picking up the pace of its shows and running seven shows in the next four weeks, Daniels and Sydal are scheduled to defend those ROH title just ONCE. Sydal had not been booked for this weekend’s double shot and on last night’s show Christopher Daniels was in singles action and will go at it solo again on tonight’s show in Edison, NJ. Don’t tell me that ROH couldn’t have booked these men in a tag title match on either of these shows! They could have and they should have made these men defend those straps.

It seems to me like Daniels and Sydal are avoiding title defenses and doing the bare minimum to make it as champions. Even worse is that ROH officials seem to be letting Daniels and Sydal get away with it. Surely they would not have been so carefree and laisse faire with Hero and Claudio as tag team champions. Don’t look now, but I think I may have just defended the Kings of Wrestling. This whole situation has become Problematic and worrisome, in every aspect. If Daniels and Sydal want to build any type of legitimacy or reputation as ROH tag champions, they need to do it soon.

-ROH just released both nights of the Chicago Spectacular. I want you all to take a very close look at the cover to Night Two. To me it seems like the cover of night two, especially with the ovals framing the wrestlers, is pitting these two teams in a game of FAMILY FEUD!

So what if these wrestlers WERE preparing for a game of Family Feud? Top five answers on the board!
What is the sound a sheep makes?
Delirious: “BAH BAH BAH”

Survey Says!
DING!
Number one answer!

“We asked 100 people, which current baseball player who is not currently in the hall of fame should be included in that prestigious tradition?”
Danielson-“Baseball? Who cares about baseball? I’m the best wrestler in the world!”

X

-Ultramantis Black has become one of my new favorites in professional wrestling. He is an absolute hoot to watch in the ring and to listen to on commentary for the Chikara DVDs. I honestly don’t know if his gimmick could work in the much more serious environment of Ring of Honor, but I think it would be worth a shot to bring him in and see what could happen, if just once. I mean, hell, Delirious and El Generico got over and they are hardly the most orthodox in appearance, so why not an “Insect Evil do-er” such as Ultramantis?

-Outside the box observation—have you ever noticed on cooking shows or food tasting shows when the host eats the food, it never gets messy? How does that happen? Like if I ate a Philly Cheesesteak, it’s going all over the place…on the table, on my lap, whatever. If someone like Rachel Ray grabs a hold of that Cheesesteak, its perfectly placed and the bite is perfectly executed. No muss no fuss. Maybe it’s just me—maybe I’m a sloppy eater. Nah—it’s not me—it’s the food! Yeah, that’s right, I blame the food!

Man am I good at passing the buck these days.

Monday Night ROH

The wrestling television and shows that I tuned in for during the week:

Saturday 01/20/07: Chikara: The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance (Eddie Kingston vs. Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero vs. Shane Storm, Mike Quackenbush vs. Gran Akuma, Arik Cannon vs. Jon Moxley, Jigsaw vs. Icarus) – Finishing up my run through the Chikara DVD that I began last week, I found myself with a bit of extra time on Sunday and popped this in. Overall, I was not disappointed by what I saw here. The matches here were a bit more on the serious side than the three previous matches I saw…well, except that there was a match with a guy dressed up in a clown mask whose occupation when he is not wrestling is that of a “unionized traffic regulator”—of course I am speaking of Shane Storm. Anyway, some of the highlights included a surprisingly good Eddie Kingston promo that sets up the reasons why he absolutely can’t stand Larry Sweeney, Mike Quackenbush making his in ring singles return for Chikara and doing a fantastic job of it against Gran Akuma, and a heated contest between Jigsaw and Icarus.

I will complement Chris Hero here by saying he really does a good job fitting into the fun and loose environment of Chikara while at the same time retaining many of the qualities that make him a good heel in ROH. The Kings of Wrestling (which in Chikara also includes Gran Akuma and Icarus) are the top heels and have the run of the place, but Kingston and Quackenbush have agendas to stop them from doing their evil doing. I was also impressed with Akuma on this and the other DVD I purchased, as he has a very solid set of moves (including some dazzling strikes) and an even better execution of them. Quackenbush was really fun in his match against Akuma. Quack’s character is sort of parallel to Chris Hero’s because while Hero has the “superman” get up and acts villainous, Quack is the quintessential wrestling super hero.

Some of the wrestling was right on and some of the wrestling was loosey-goosey and indie-riffic. Guys like Shane Storm and Jigsaw (and a few of the wrestlers on the other DVD I purchased) are missing something in their execution of moves. The main event of Jigsaw vs. Icarus (mask vs. hair) is a grudge match, so while it might be apropos, they still come off as trying too hard to impress with big moves. Icarus makes a much better showing on the Cibernetico DVD, which was three months later.

Monday 01/22/07: Chikara: Cibernetico Forever (entire show) I enjoyed the previous show so much that I took it upon myself to watch the entirety of the second Chikara DVD I had purchased. This show is filmed at the ECW Arena, and its weird, because in some ways the venue is a much more professional location for the shows, and yet some of the character of the show is lost by going away from the smaller and quaint location in Hellertown. Although, you can’t deny the advantages of a full stage entrance and wider space in ringside as provided by the New Alhambra.

On this DVD set you get a nice appearance by Reckless Youth (Tom Carter) who still has what it takes in the ring. I was not all that impressed with his run in ROH as a more technical, pure wrestler, but here Youth breaks out some fun and innovative moves and really shines in his match against Rorschach. You know, Rorschach seems to be the same height and has similar body structure as Jigsaw…have they ever been in the same place at the same time?

Excalibur (well known from PWG) makes his Chikara return and is just EN FUEGO throughout his entire appearance. He cuts an awesome anti video game promo on Player Uno (who is dressed up as Luigi Mario and comes out to The Legend of Zelda theme song as done by System of a Down). Uno is incredibly green (both in the ring and with his ring attire) and screws up quite a few times, but Excalibur holds the match together. Then he absolutely rocks the house on the mic alongside Ultramantis Black. Excalibur usually has quite a few great one liners when he does commentary for PWG shows but he is absolutely balls to the wall hysterical here—so much so that even Ultramantis just lays back at times and lets Ex do his thing. Both of them literally save me from the boredom that is Arik Cannon vs. Max Boyer, who do a technically solid but unemotional and “routine” wrestling match, only saved by two nice looking high impact moves by Boyer at the end of the match. I would say you should suffer through his match just to hear Excalibur on the stick.

Final thing to comment on (as this response is just running way too long now) is the Cibernetico match, an hour plus long sixteen man tag match with elimination rules. The match continues several themes including the Kingston vs. Sweeney feud. The cool thing here is that the 8 man teams are in “Batting orders” so the whole psychology becomes the match ups and how Kingston can get his hands on Sweeney. The tease for their inevitable confrontation is well handled, maybe even too well handled as they don’t interact nearly enough and by the end of the match it’s a bit of a let down as you want to see them go at it more. So then again maybe it did do its job of building up to another one on one confrontation. Quackenbush and Hero matching up in the ring several times are great moments in the match and the crowd reacts huge to the pairing. This match also solidifies Icarus as someone to watch for, as he is put over strong. He is someone with the Chris Jericho look and charisma, and that’s always a plus in my book. An excellent match that spotlights a ton of wrestlers—hell even Cheech and Cloudy look great in this one. To make a long story longer, pick these shows up.

Tuesday 01/23/07: ECW on Sci Fi (entire show): Punk wrestled a decent match but Burke does too many chinlocks, Monty Lashley Cor Von still hasn’t changed back to his rightful name, Lashley and Test fought while I changed the channel. NEXT!

Thursday 01/25/07: UFC Fight Night Live! (entire show) Rashad Evans knocked the living hell out Sean Salmon. Dude was sent into next week. It was actually kind of scary heading out of the show when they didn’t acknowledge Salmon’s condition, but reports surfaced afterwards that he was up and relatively well. Elsewhere, Heath Herring got an awesome Undertaker like entrance (cowboy hat and jacket and all), but he didn’t deliver to the hype built up about him over the course of the show. Blaming the ground game in MMA for his loss was also hellaweek. It’s MMA, not Boxing. There is more than one way to win. Oh, and Hulk Hogan was there. Woo.

Friday 01/26/07:WWE Smackdown (Greasers vs. jobbers, King Booker vs. Finlay, London / Kendrick / Ashley vs. MNM): For the second week in a row, I snuck a look at Smackdown during the middle of the show. I caught the tail end of Deuce and Domino…and while what I said in Fact or Fiction still holds true, I still love their characters and hope they continue to be featured on the program. Booker and Finlay was a good solid brawl, except there seemed to be a false start as Finlay had something in his eyes in the beginning of the match Always great to see London and Kendrick, but if they really were the greatest tag team of this era as JBL claims, you’d think they’d be featured more on joint Raw and Smackdown pay per views, especially, you know, the one coming up.

Wrestling Society X (Debut show) Well, on the one hand, Evans and Sydal on national cable television are freaking sweet. On the other hand, all the explosions and destruction was so over the top and silly that it nearly killed it for me. Overall though I have to give it a thumbs up—it’s short enough and fast paced enough to be really entertaining. The downplaying of the musical guest also was a nice surprise, as it was the wrestling that dominated the show and not the other way around as I had feared. Plus, any show that has New Jack on doing his deal should be an automatic must see.

ROH Preview: Battle of the Icons 1/27/07 in Edison, NJ

Inman Sports Club
7:30pm belltime
990 Inman Avenue
Edison, NJ 08820

ROH World Title (If Homicide is still champion)
Homicide vs. Samoa Joe

ROH fans are keenly aware of the history between these two men. Homicide was the most frequent challenger to Joe’s title back in 2004 and not once could he unseat the dominant Samoan. Now, the shoe is on the other foot as Joe is the challenger to Homicide’s title. However, the pressure is still ALL on Homicide. There is nothing in his past to suggest that he has the answer to take out Joe. Joe meanwhile has been in the challenger’s position before, as recently as Chicago on 12/07/06 and right here in Edison on 8/5/06 against Bryan Danielson. While he has not come away with victories on these occasions, he has kept the battle close enough to the point where a title win was very possible.

Another thing to keep in mind is the mind games between these two wrestlers. Joe has buddied up to Homicide over the last few months, becoming an ally in the champion’s time of need against Jim Cornette’s forces. Does Homicide believe Joe has been setting him up all along to get in position for a title match? Does Joe feel he is owed something here because he stuck up for Homicide? Friendships could break down very easily—as it was tentative at best in the first place.

Homicide’s title run is in a such a precarious position right now—as the most immediate challenge may be too much to handle. Not to mention future challenges by Rave and Morishima if ‘Cide can somehow win here. The Road of Homicide as a challenger may be over, but there is an even tougher road ahead for the notorious one as a champion.

I Quit Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave

After a Summer and Fall of greatness, Nigel has taken quite a fair share of losses. These losses have mostly come from Jimmy Rave, whose new heel hook submission has been the key to his winning streak. Perhaps Nigel has come to regret challenging Rave to become more serious in his in ring action. The verbal taunting certainly has backfired on the Brit to this point An I-Quit match does him no favors, because he has quit so many times before to that heel hook that I can easily see it happening again. I haven’t even mentioned that Nigel has forsaken the arm submission he had used in 2004-2005 for a more high impact attack focused on strikes and “home run swing” moves. He may not be able to make Rave say “I Quit” with a submission—he may need to beat it out Jimmy.

Last Man Standing
BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs

The Jacobs-Whitmer feud continues to rage onwards. These two have been going at it in some form or another for ten months, so while this is a common pairing, in no way is this a common or stale feud. Jacobs’ emo character continues its evolution into something darker and more filled with hate. Meanwhile, Whitmer still thinks he owes Jacobs, Albright and Lacey payback for the pain they’ve inflected on him. A last man standing match is certainly in with the in crowd these days (as it was featured in TNA two weeks ago and in WWE on Sunday) but this is certainly the right match to use the stipulation. Truly there may only be one man left standing in Ring of Honor by the time this whole situation is settled.

Six Man Tag Team Match
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Jack Evans
vs.
Delirious, Davey Richards & Shingo

Get ready for the unofficial reunion of Generation Next as Jack Evans continues his come back in ROH. Aries and Strong are coming off a disappointing loss to The Briscoes and if that gets in their head they will be in trouble. They need a win here, but Delirious, Davey and Shingo are not pushovers. Expect a fast and furious match in the vein of the six man from Final Battle 2006, and maybe a “mullet” chant or two for Shingo.

Tag Team Challenge Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes

A rivalry going back to 2004 gets reignited here and The Havana Pitbulls reform to fight The Briscoes. This match could be really good in quality or get stuck in traction (as in my opinion a lot of Pitbull matches in 2004 fell into a holding pattern of big move, nothing, big move, nothing). As for a winner, The Briscoes are too hot to be stopped right now. They are on the way to a title shot, and Reyes and Romero will not be the ones to stop them.

Three-Way Match
ROH World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels with Allison Danger vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney

Don’t forget that Christopher Daniels still has issues with Claudio stemming from the handshake of doom from The 100th Show AND that he and Sydal took the tag titles away from the Kings of Wrestling. From that angle, this could be a very dangerous match for the Fallen Angel. Also intriguing is what the interaction will be between the former KoW wrestlers. Will they fight each other? I’d actually like to see them not fight each other at all during this match and keep the intrigue alive as to what happens next.

Mixed Tag Team Match
Colt Cabana & Daizee Haze vs. Brent Albright & Lacey

Colt has a decent track record of winning in Edison, but matched up against Albright he could be in for a lot of trouble. Albright has become a beast of the ring, just attacking and destroying the competition in his path. Colt needs to rely on his comic timing and his craftiness to get the edge against the more powerful Albright. You can’t forget about the women in this match, as now Daizee will be even more keen on gaining satisfaction against Lacey after the loss she took last night in Boston.

Grudge Match
Adam Pearce vs. Pelle Primeau

The ROH underdog has his hands full with the Horace Grant of the ring. Pearce is solid and deadly when he wants to be, and Pelle seemingly doesn’t stand a chance. However, that is usually when Pelle gains the upper hand.

Going Home

Ringtones

Frequent emailer Paul (Chl0roperfume) writes in this week:

It’s weird how you were sick, then I got bronchitis 4 days later. You got me sick through e-mail :(. But in actuality, this is a downtime because there’s not much ROH to talk about. The only thing worth noting is turning Joe heel. I’d look at him in the same sense as Steve Austin. The guy is neither heel nor face. He walks that fine line and as is the standard case with ROH Fans, they’ll cheer for whoever they want to. Personally, I’ll cheer for Joe regardless. They could have him slaughtering helpless midgets day in and day out a la King Kong Bundy and I’d still cheer for him. I’ll cheer for him over Misawa or anyone else from NOAH they bring him in against (with the exception of KENTA). Turning him heel wouldn’t hurt his rep that much as far as ROH goes. He’s almost there already as most think he’s crossed the line with the whole NOAH deal.

The Great Khali sucks. I don’t get it. They want to put him on Wrestlemania against Hulk Hogan, but he was too terrible to wrestle the Undertaker at Summerslam. Hogan has to be carried in any match he is in, there is NO WAY he could wrestle Khali. It would be an absolute train wreck. If I were Hogan, no amount of money could get me in the ring with him. Although, his ego will probably get the best of him.

I don’t think you can get sick via email, so I accept NONE of the blame for your sickness! HAHA. And of course, no sooner than you say that there is no ROH news to discuss, a ton of stuff happens to change all of that.

I definitely don’t want to see Joe go heel, at least not yet, maybe not for another year or two. I agree that Joe is neither face nor heel (or maybe it is that he is both) and depending on the situation the way the fans react determines his status. It’s something that Joe himself states in a shoot interview. Of course fans are going to cheer for him for a majority of his opponents, because of who he is and what he represents in the eyes of the fans.

Rave became a laughing stock towards the end of his run with The Embassy and post Embassy, but that makes sense because you have to tear down someone before you rebuild him (see Claudio’s losing streak during the late spring to lead to his tag title win in September). Rave actually came off as a very serious heel in his feuds against Styles and Punk in 2005, but after losing those feuds and then losing the Generation Next war, there was a definite weakness in The Embassy. Hindsight is 20-20 and all that but maybe they should have been protected a bit after their loss against Gen next.

Kiss2kill is a new favorite song of mine and I hope it becomes Jimmy Jacobs new entrance theme song. Those videos have really gone a long way for Jimmy in the past year.

As far as Khali, well, I enjoy him for the interviews in a
laugh at him not with him sort of way” but I don’t EVER want to watch one of his matches. Total turn off TV time when he’s in that ring. Hogan-Khali, well, its a necessary evil given its Wrestlemania 23. And I’d rather see that than Cena-Khali and ruin the WWE title match.

Jean (Blackmunk) is in once again with a ton of opinions and such:
Just wanted to give some observations and opinions on some topics in your recent “Column of Honor”:

– I recently watched the CHIKARA show too. When I first saw and heard Ultramantis I just wanted to take the DVD and throw it to the trash, he was just so goddamn annoying. But after watching some more of his stuff I actually started to like him. Hydra is the silent star of the team though. Him doing ONE Pushup and completely marking out because of it is just great. Even greater is a promo on another CHIKARA-Show, where Hydra was pushing “weights”. These “weights” actually consisted of ONE tiny little broom. But that would be enough to push Young Hydra to his limit, with Ultramantis being the ruthless Coach. One BIG criticism I have about CHIKARA though, is the length of certain Matches. I don’t remember if it was this show, but on one CHIKARA Show the longest Match of the whole Show was a 6 Man Tag Match between Los Ice Creams and The Colony. It went on for 25 MINUTES. I mean, I love having some comedy but that is just freaking too long (especially if these Matches are longer than the Hero, Quack and Cannon Matches). Just like the Lance vs. Lance Match. I absolutely LOVED the gimmick, but I don’t need to see these two wrestle each other for 15 minutes. I’m pretty anxious to read your opinion on the rest of the show and on some of the other talent, like Arik Cannon. I thought it was solid-pretty good, though nothing you really need to see. Still much better than a TNA-PPV though 😉

Hey Jean, thanks for writing in again and I’m sorry about the delay in response. It’s been a pretty busy week in work.

Your idea for Rave and Nigel is pretty damned good. I actually am hoping that Prince Nana returns soon–he is somewhat missed as a great manager and comedic foil. I think Rave winning on 2/16 is possible but Morishima being involved in an ROH title match problematizes all of that. If Rave beats ‘Cide, that’s fine and I can accept that (even if NYC will be tearing down Grand Ballroom in anger), but I don’t know if he can get away with a win on Morishima in that context. Otherwise I’d say go for it.

TNA pay per views during 2005 and the first half of 2006 were super awesome. Great matches and good wrestling angles such as the Daniels-Joe-Styles X title clashes, the Lockdown main event cage matches, and two Cage vs. Abyss matches (very fine big man-little man bouts). You could argue (and I would) that Jeff Jarrett stupidity dominated the show and that some angles just didn’t make sense, but in the end the wrestling always delivered. Nowadays, that’s a bit more difficult to state with confidence. The wrestling matches are good, but nowhere near the level of the earlier PPVs. Not to mention there are a lot more interference finishes, screw jobs, dusty finishes, you know, the usual Vince Russo bullshit shit.

Your Ted Petty and IWA: MS recommendations are duly noted and will be added to the list.

I don’t really hear the resemblance in voice between Bryce and Dave…but I wasn’t looking for it. I may have to go back and check.

Ultramantis and Hydra are an awesome team and they are one more reason why I love the Indies. I haven’t seen the second Lance Steel vs. Lance Steel match, but I thought the first one was decent length and a good story with the wacky deal with the body armor and the Boston crab. I can understand your criticism of match length though, especially since some guys are obviously green and not ready to go that long.

Unfortunately I have to say I am not an Arik Cannon fan, although I’ve given him several chances and several viewings of his matches. I’m all for a guy his size going out there and giving it a go (and I’m not one to talk about physical appearance), but I think his body mass makes him look awkward in the ring. I don’t see that “it” in him. In that his wrestling is tentative and the promos I saw from the Chikara DVDs are weak. I won’t completely write him off, as I know he has been around the Indies for a while, so maybe I am missing something, but right now, he doesn’t do it for me.

**The Independent Buy In**
Support independent pro wrestling, ROH or non ROH, I don’t care. But if you out there are spending so much time complaining about how WWE sucks, then dammit, spend some money so you won’t have to spend so much time complaining. This list stays in the column and will be added to as the year goes on. Remember: don’t bow out, BUY IN!

2007

**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night One (Strong / Romero, CIMA / Cross, Deliirous / Generico, 8 Man Tag)
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 6 (MsChif / Melissa Last Woman Standing, Rebecca Knox / Allison Danger Pure Rules)
**PWG Hollywood Globetrotters (Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong and Jack Evans; Cape Fear (El Generico and Quicksilver) vs. Arrogance (Chris Bosh and Scott Lost); B-Boy vs. Frankie Kazarian; Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin.)
**PWG Beyond The Thunderdome (Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. AJ Styles and Chris Daniels); Cape Fear vs. Arrogance; Joey Ryan vs. Chris Sabin)
**PWG Enchantment Under The Sea (Cape Fear vs. Briscoes; Matt Sydal vs. B-Boy; Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. Arrogance; Austin Aries vs. Kevin Steen)
**wXw World Lightweight Tournament 2006 (Ares / Baron von Hagen, Pac / El Generico, Quackenbush / Roudin, 5 Way Tournament Match)

If YOU (yes, YOU!) would like to contribute your own additions to the Indy Buy In list, contact me and let your voice be known!

ROH @ 411 This Week

J.D. Dunn continues his run of 2005 show reviews with Trios Tournament show. Well, not the shining moment of ROH (aside from the babyface vs. babyface six man), but I guess this one had to come sooner or later.

Hot off the presses is his review of Back to Basics.

Samuel Berman continues to look at the mid card of independent wrestling (well, mostly ROH, but hey you and I can’t blame him for that can you? He knows a good thing when he sees it). He hits one of my absolute favorite ROH mid card matches in Christopher Daniels vs. Alex Shelley. See, dude has good taste.

There’s quite a few ROH related questions in this week’s Ask 411, temporary handled by the always well handled Ryan Byers

My FoF sparring partner for this week, Brad Garoon, hits the second night of the FIP Second Year Spectacular

Honor Bound Links

Speaking of Fact or Fiction, its self plug time. Check out me vs. Brad in the battle of wrestling opinion-nation. I’m also one of a googleplex (second week I’ve fit that word into the column) of 411 staffers giving their predictions for the Royal Rumble Roundtable.

Melchor says goodbye to the wrestling zone (once again, for now) in his last Saturday News Report.

Stuart Carapola hits his two-fer with That Was Then (Intercontinental Title Part 2) and Friendly Competition (TNA / ECW / WSX).

Samuel Berman starts his two-fer with the debut of The Box in The Attic. Yeah, I have a lot of those as well.

Bayani Domingo hits the biggest Rumble winning candidates. I should let him pick my Lotto numbers.

Scotty Flamingo continues his road trip adventure in TNA land.

The Ripple Effect tries to salvage ECW…please don’t try Zac.

Happy 1,000th to Larry Csonka, who had some kind words to say about me in his “shoot” interview (we should start to sell those puppies online). Larry is officially more prolific than The Bible.

Michael Weyer shines the spotlight on a worthy subject, World Class Championship Wrestling..

After a googleplex of links, once again we’ve come to the end of the road. No, I will not be quoting from Boys II Men. Next week sees the beginning of a feature line up change, as I’m chucking some of the old (Apocalypse feature is out for now) and bringing in some of the new (you’ll have to wait and see). I’ll have results and live takes from the 1/27 show in Edison, NJ, the latest breaking news from ROH and much more. Take care until then.

Brooklyn! DAH EM-BAH-SEE!
–Ari–