Column of Honor: 07.14.07 Second Anniversary Column Part One

RESPECT IS EARNED– SEND IN YOUR FEEDBACK!

If you’ve watched the debut ROH Pay Per View, email me your comments, a thumbs up, thumbs down and general thoughts / comments.

Two years in and Column of Honor is continuing to roll on through the internet landscape. This past year has been particularly fruitful with some longer columns, the inclusion of Hero’s Sandwich and of course the four part Final Column feature. I’ve received email from readers from all over the world, from places such as England, Australia, Israel, Puerto Rico and Japan. An incredibly large percentage of which has been positive and so I send my thanks to all the readers who give up a bit of their free time to read my prognostications and predictions gone awry and the general silliness of me answering questions in the persona of Delirious.

Independence Day

From the muddy banks of Philadelphia to the shores of the Hudson, a rag tag group of rebel soldiers are stationed, ready to fight for their independence. They know they should have certain inalienable rights, such as the right to free speech in promos, the right to bear forearms to the face of their opponents and most importantly, freedom of wrestling expression. It is for these rights these men have risked all, their lives, their wrestling careers and their reputations. Luckily for them, they have some great leadership at the helm.

Now, this will not be an easy war for any of them, for they are sorely outnumbered. If you look across the wrestling globe, you see the landscape. Most countries have accepted the form of Sports Entertainment, an unruly and uncouth form of dictatorship and tyranny if there ever was one. In the Kingdoms of McMahonistan and The United Panda Republics of Carter, there is only one way to go about living a life—the sports entertainment way. Sure, plenty of slaves and serfs toil at work on the lower mid card-slefdom seen and seldom heard. Many they too would like a better way than rigid, by the book promos and a routine, assembly plant style of work. Yet it is the upper class who rule with an iron fist, demanding things be done their way or no way at all. These lower class plebians have “No chance in Hell” of ever making it through their way, so its live under tyranny, or “you’re fired!”

That is until a revolution began. For five years they have planned and worked hard. They have shown the world that there is another way. They have thrown off the shackles of the Sports Entertainment monopoly have accepted Wrestling Democracy as their weapon of choice. They are ready to fight back and they are ready for their independence.

Up at Fort William Henry, General Bryan Danielson is stationed with his men of Honor. There has been word of a possible invasion and ambush, and Danielson has sent a spy to investigate the proceedings and to give word if such an action were to happen.

General Danielson has also sent the No Remorse Corps, a wild pack of aggressive soldiers to create strategic attack points if and when the invasion occurs. The never say die platoon nicknamed The Resilience of Lieutenants Matt Cross and Erick Stevens are covering another flank. With good men such as these at the ready, General Danielson is confident no attack will go unheeded.

Just then, a huge shout could be heard from young Private, Mitch Franklin: “The British are coming! The British are coming!”

“The British are already here, you bleeding gidit,” responded Sergeant Nigel McGuinness, special consultant from the Royal Air Force (RAF). “we’re on the same team here!”

“Oh…sorry,” responded the often confused Pvt. Franklin. The poor befuddled man then turned around and was shocked at the man stationed next to him. “The Swiss are coming! The Swiss are coming!”

“HEEEEEEY!” replied Captain Claudio Castagnoli. “Don’t worry, I am with you as well.”

“Really?” asked Sgt. McGuinness. “I thought the Swiss were always neutral in wartime.”

“Not this time,” began the Sgt. Pepper bedecked Captain. “This time…it’s personal.”

“Shhh, You have until five to be quiet!” commanded General Danielson. “I’m seeing something on the radar about 10 clicks north of our position.”

And so he did…and it was getting closer…and getting louder. Was it an attack from those vile forces of Sports Entertainmentism? No…it was…it was… Austin Aries…launching himself from the sky and into a perfect 450 Splash! This was Danielson’s spy and he had come rushing back to foretell of the enemy’s attack!

“The Sports Entertainers are coming! The Sports Entertainers are coming!” he warned with a clarion call.

“All wrestlers at the ready!” General Danielson commanded. This was the moment he and they all had been waiting for. Using the leadership skills he had been born with and developed his career, Danielson began one of the most stirring and inspirational promos ever heretofore heard on this wrestling planet.

“…and remember…” he concluded “they may take our lives…but they will never take…our WRESTLING FREEDOM!”

With that, the men rushed into battle. The BAH BAHs of Delirious burst in the air gave proof through the night that Ring of Honor was still there.

And so it was and so it went for days and weeks on end, until that faithful day, July 20th, 2007. On this day, these men had battled on through to win a Pay Per View debut on In Demand cable television networks. It was a day of victory, a day for rejoicing. There were many rolls of toilet paper thrown and many chants of “ROH! ROH! ROH!”

These men of Honor had declared themselves to be a sovereign and independent country. A United States of Honor, as it were. It was their Independence Day.

ROH Preview: ROH in Japan: Monday, July 16th, 2007—Tokyo, Japan

It’s finally here—months after announcing the tour and with weeks of hype building up the cards, Ring of Honor will make its debut this week in Japan. Ring of Honor receives much coverage in Japan thanks to the wrestling magazines and their close ties to Pro Wrestling NOAH and Dragon Gate. It began with several smaller crossovers and one shot appearances and has bloomed into multiple ROH wrestlers appearing on tours in Japan and vice versa for Japanese talent. Joe vs. Kobashi set the tone for some of the epic appearances of foreign wrestlers from NOAH. While Dragon Gate wrestlers CIMA and SHINGO made their ROH debut in August 2005, it was March 2006’s Supercard of Honor that put the exclamation point in the presence of Dragon Gate on Ring of Honor shows. Japanese wrestlers have become champions in ROH; its current World champion is one of the more promising Japanese Heavyweights to come through the ranks in a long while.

So it all leads to July 16th and 17th on two shows in Japan—one “co-hosted” by ROH’s partners in NOAH, the other “co-hosted” by ROH’s partners at Dragon Gate. ROh has chosen to run at Differ Ariake, a very well established Japanese Hall. Their could be record crowds for an official ROH show here. There are many questions to be answered, such as crowd atmosphere and the reception these wrestlers will received. Some of the matches on the cards are incredibly unique and strong, and others are underwhelming and average on paper. There is no turning back now however, and the next two shows will tell a huge story about the future of the international relationship between ROH and its foreign fans.

Let’s take a look at the cards. Each of these shows had its slot of matches announced in advance and therefore there does seem to be some hype and expectation surrounding them, especially the main events:

Differ Ariake
1-3-25 Ariake, Koto-Ku
Tokyo, Japan 135-0063
Ph: 03-5500-3731

ROH World Title Match
Takeshi Morishima defends vs. Nigel McGuinness

The history of the last five months of the ROH World title scene has been the on again, off again relationship between McGuinness and the current champion in Takeshi Morishima. In the verbal and then physically battle between Samoa Joe and NOAH, Nigel McGuinness had leaned himself closer with NOAH and with Morishima. McGuinness became a sort of unofficial spokesperson for Morishima in the early months of the champion’s reign. However, McGuinness also made his intentions for the ROH World title clearly known. He wanted to be the champion, and he wanted to face Morishima for the title. At This Means War II, Nigel faced off in a tag match against Morishima, while just two months prior he was teaming with this man against Joe and Homicide. The next night McGuinness challenged Morishima. He threw everything he had against the champion, but at the end of the night, he too succumbed to the massive offensive arsenal of the big man from Japan.

From then on, McGuinness would be in search of a title rematch, and that meant his alliance with Morishima would be at an end. McGuinness found himself again on the opposite corner of Morishima (and former champion Bryan Danielson) in a tag match on the debut ROH PPV. Another tag match, this time on the same side of Danielson, saw McGuinness finally break through and defeat Morishima by landing a huge lariat on the champion.

The question is: can McGuinness do the very same thing in a one on one match? If the answer is yes, then at the end of this show, fans in attendance will be looking in the ring at a new ROH World champion. If the answer is no, then Japan’s homecountry hero will look to dominate and destroy the challenger.

The fight will be very difficult indeed for McGuinness, for perhaps he has given up too much of himself to Morishima. Does the dominant title holder know the ins and outs of McGuinness from both teaming up with and then fighting against him? Or has McGuinness kept a trick or two up his sleeve to surprise and shock Morishima just when it will do him the most good?

Morishima has come into ROH and aside from his first loss to Samoa Joe, he has conquered the company. Now he returns to his homeland the conquering hero. No doubt countless fans will be there to witness this homecoming of international proportions. Morishima cannot afford to disappoint his fans and his country with a loss here, even if it is to another member of the NOAH roster.

Dream Six Man Match
Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe & Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA, Ricky Marvin & Matt Sydal

The Briscoes in their first match for Pro Wrestling NOAH walked out huge winners and new GHC Jr. Tag Team Champions. They won several non title matches throughout the rest of that tour but they lost those belts on their first defense to Ricky Marvin and Kotaro Suzuki (widely considered one of the top candidates for Match of the Year for 2007). The Briscoes made their mark with the fanbase and their most recent tour has seen them rack up some impressive performances in the NTV Cup. The Briscoes have the opportunity to once again fight Marvin in this match, as well as two other frequent sparring partners in KENTA and Matt Sydal, each of whom they have fought in several different tag matches. Tagging with them is KENTA’s frequent tag partner (especially in ROH) in Naomichi Marufuji, which is interesting in and of itself. Marufuji and KENTA have fought each other in singles matches throughout the years and each time these men have fought like warriors. Another factor will be team cohesiveness. Marfuji and The Briscoes don’t have much in common. KENTA and Marvin and Sydal are three different wrestlers and personalities. How will the chemistry between these different teams mesh with each other?

Special Challenge Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiozaki

Go is a decent all around wrestler, possessing a good build and enough power to do some damage if he gets control. His german suplexes in particular are very dangerous. However, Bryan Danielson possesses the moniker of “Best in the World” and he proves that title when he steps inside in the ring. His technical wrestling and grappling skills are superb, as are his submissions. Danielson overmatches Go in every category, so I cannot see this match lasting very long at all. If Jun Akiyama could take out Go in four minutes on a show this year, I don’t see why Danielson couldn’t do the same.

Fight Without Honor
Delirious vs. Roderick Strong

5 Things You Need to Know About This Match:
1. Delirious was injured by Roderick Strong, on the receiving end of a concussion. He has not forgotten about it and it has almost become a point of obsession for the man in the green mask.
2. The concussion did not, in fact, alter Delirious’s voice pattern or behavior in any real fashion…which is kind of disappointing in a way.
3. Strong has dominated the feud in both singles and tag matches.
4. Delirious bit Strong in a strange and disturbing backstage segment on one of the more recent videowires.
5. A “Fight Without Honor” ends feuds, so this particular struggle may end on this show. If it is a loss for Delirious however, will the green machine be able to get past the trau of these last few months?

Grudge Tag Team Match
Jack Evans & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero

Jack Evans is looking for revenge against the members of the NRC. Evans had his block knocked off by Romero and as the story goes, suffered a severe concussion which took him out of ROH action (in reality he has been on an extensive tour of Japan with Dragon Gate). Evans teams up with NOAH’s Suzuki, a small but dynamic wrestler who can fly and can strike and has an assortment of wild and out of control tag team moves. He is a very good partner for Evans and a very dangerous opponent for Richards and Romero. Now these two guys aren’t necessarily chopped liver themselves, but if they think this one will be a cakewalk, they will soon be corrected as to their dispositions. They will have to work hard for this win and a win is not a given for the NRC, even if they have steamrolled their competition in recent months.

Special Attraction Match
BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Rave

Both of these men haven’t exactly lit the world on fire in recent months. Whitmer is on a major losing streak and it doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. Rave was surprisingly well received by the ROH fans upon his return at The Battle of St. Paul, but he has been lost in the shuffle and directionless since then. These two will need to take their frustrations out on each other, and to the victor goes the spoils.

ROH Preview: ROH in Japan: Tuesday, July 17th, 2007—Osaka, Japan

Osaka Furitsu Taiikukan
3-4-36, Nanba Naka, Naniwa-ku,
Osaka, JAPAN
06-6331-0121

ROH World Tag Team Title Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe defend vs. Shingo & Susumu Yokosuka

Yokosuka replaces the injured BxB Hulk, who was to replace the injured YAMATO (more on that later). SHINGO and Yokosuka have worked together in the past on ROH shows, such as the recent Supercard of Honor II. They will do well as a challenege here for The Briscoes. I’m sure SHINGO, especially is going to want to have a great match for the DG centric crowd, to show them just how far he has come in his many matches against Jay and Mark. SHINGO and Naruki Doi won the tag belts when they “weren’t supposed to” and I couldn’t nor wouldn’t put it past him to do it again. Jay and Mark however, may be at the peak of their abilities as a team. They continue to put together move after move until their opponents say “no mas”. They have great unity and chemistry as a brother team and they seemingly cannot be stopped. I don’t see The Briscoes leaving Japan without the straps around their waist.

Dream Tag Team Match
KENTA & CIMA vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero

Well, certain Puro fans are creaming their jeans at the thought of KENTA and CIMA teaming up for this one. What can fans expect from those two? Well, um…KENTA will do a ton of crazy and painful looking kicks, while CIMA will fly around the ring and do some devastating head drop moves. Well…just saying. Again, Richards and Romero have their figurative backs against the wall here, because the level of competition is increasing for them by the match. If they don’t come up with a divide and conquer / isolation strategy that will work, then they may become the equivalent of a sushi roll in front of a starving Sumo wrestler. I expect KENTA and CIMA to walk away from this match with their hand held in victory. Perhaps there will be a future one on one match between these two—now wouldn’t that be something?

Dragon Gate Rules Six Man
Matt Sydal, Ryo Saito & Dragon Kid vs. Delirious, Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino

This is the Dragon Gate equivalent to the NOAH six man tag showcase from the Differ show. In this case, it’s a gaijin and two DG wrestlers up against a gaijin and two DG wrestlers. If it were me, I’d actually switch sides with Sydal and Delirious for a better stylistic fit. As is though, I think we’ll still be in for some wicked crazy moves and moments from these six. It could be a show stealer as well.

Grudge Match
Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong

What Roderick Strong is Probably Thinking About This Match
“Him? AGAIN? Isn’t this like the fortieth time I’ve fought Jack since Tuesday? Why won’t he just go away?”

Special Challenge Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave

Danielson had an excellent title match against Rave at the Fourth Anniversary Show, and most recently these two faced off against each other in Roxbury, MA on the 6/8/07 card. There really isn’t an issue between the two here, just ROH trying to bring across some “authentic” ROH action to the Japanese fans. That means matching ROH guys against each other. I particularly like the possibility of a chess game with submissions as Rave tries to get his heel hook set in on Danielson. Unfortunately for him, Danielson is too well versed in submissions and will outplay him in that particular game. I’d also hope to see some of each of these guys’ personality on display—especially Danielson, who has a chance to really come across as a big star here.

Special Attraction Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. BJ Whitmer

If Nigel wins the title the previous night, this should become a title match. Whitmer was the first challenger to Morishima and so being the first challenger to McGuinness wouldn’t be as huge a shock as some might feel. All that put aside, we’re talking two guys who do well with power and impact matching up against each other. It may not be the most spectacular match of all time, but it should be good considering both men have fought each other in various Mid West independent promotions over the years.

ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 07/14/2007

ROH World Champion—Takeshi Morishima (champion since 02/17/07, 11 successful defenses)

Next Defense:: Nigel McGuinness , 7/16/07, Tokyo, Japan

V.1 defeated BJ Whitmer via pinfall / backdrop driver (2/23/07 Dayton, OH)
V.2 defeated KENTA via pinfall / backdrop driver (3/04/07 Tokyo, Japan)
V.3 defeated Nigel McGuinness via pinfall / backdrop driver (4/14/07 Edison, NJ)
V.4 defeated Austin Aries via pinfall / backdrop driver (4/27/07 St. Paul, MN)
V.5 defeated SHINGO via pinfall / backdrop driver (4/28/07 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.6 defeated KAZMA via pinfall / backdrop driver (05/06/07 Tokyo, Japan)
V.7 defeated BJ Whitmer via pinfall / backdrop driver (05/12/07 New York, NY)
V.8 defeated Jay Briscoe via pinfall / backdrop driver (6/08/07 Roxbury Crossing, MA)
V.9 defeated Roderick Strong via pinfall / backdrop driver (6/09/07 Philadelphia, PA)
V.10 defeated Jimmy Rave via pinfall / backdrop driver (06/23/07 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.11 defeated Adam Pearce via pinfall / backdrop driver (06/23/07 Chicago Ridge, IL)

ROH World Tag Team Champions— Jay and Mark Briscoe (champions since 03/30/07, 7 successful defenses)

Next Defense: SHINGO & YAMATO, BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka, 7/17/07, Osaka, Japan

V.1 Ultimate Endurance: defeated Pelle Primeau & Mitch Franklin, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw, Hallowicked & Gran Akuma (4/27/07 St. Paul, MN)
V.2 defeated Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) (4/28/07 Chicago, IL)
V.3 defeated BJ Whitmer and ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima (5/11/07, Hartford, CT)
V.4 defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal (5/12/07, New York, NY)
V.5 defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero) (6/09/07, Philadelphia, PA): 2 out of 3 falls- 2 straight falls
V.6 defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal (6/22/07, Dayton, OH): 2 out of 3 falls- 2 straight falls
V.7 defeated El Generico & Kevin Steen (6/23/07, Chicago Ridge, IL)

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

New DVD Releases: Reborn Again, A Fight At The Roxbury and Respect is Earned…well, sort of.

ROHwrestling.com is now taking orders for its next releases, including “Reborn Again” (5/11/07 Briscoes vs. Morishima / Whitmer) and 6/8/07 “A Fight at the Roxbury” (Morishima vs. Jay Briscoe). They’re also taking preorders for the DVD to Respect is Earned, but it won’t be released until August 20th, as previously announced. Of note is that there is no box art yet revealed for Respect is Earned and that the show will be split over two discs, with the first disc being the PPV presentation and the second being the “bonus matches”. Now this is an issue for this show in particular because that is not the chronological order of the matches on that card. However, this particular subdivision won’t be a problem with future PPVs, since the last taping in Chicago allowed for this specific type of division. So again, completists and the extreme sticklers for continuity are going to be in for a disappointment, but it really shouldn’t make a huge difference to most fans and / or new fans who buy the DVD of the PPV they watched and say “hey look at all these other matches we get! Cool!” Well, maybe they won’t be that enthusiastic, but whatever.

Dragon to challenge ROH Champion
In one of the main page articles hyping up the Morishima vs. McGuinness match, Bryan Danielson is quoting as issuing a challenge for the winner or whoever else is champion to fight him for the ROH World title on August 25th, 2007 in Manhattan, NY. This will be in all likelihood the main event of the show and will be Danielson’s first title shot since losing the belt in the very same venue back in December of 2006.

Dragon Gate Injury Follies
Well, it started with last week’s announcement that YAMATO was out with an injury and would not be able to wrestle on the July 17th, 2007 card in Osaka. He was replaced with BxB Hulk, a wrestler many message board fans had been hoping would make an appearance on behalf of Dragon Gate on an ROH show. …but then, little did we know…

BxB Hulk suffered a broken jaw and will be forced to miss the Osaka event. We hope to have news of a replacement soon.

Finally, Gabe Sapolsky announced the replacement of BxB with Susumu Yokosuka, who had previously made an ROH appearance at the All Star Extravaganza III / Supercard of Honor II double shot this past March. It will be Yokosuka teaming up with SHINGO (capitalize my friends, always capitalize) to fight The Briscoes for the ROH World Tag titles.

For a while it seemed like the injury bug would wipe out anyone on the DG side for that match, but the “Madden Curse” so to speak has not yet hit Yokosuka. Well, there are several days left…

Brackets for Race to the Top Tournament

This week’s newswire announced the first four brackets for the tournament that will take place over two days on July 27th and July 28th in Long Island and Edison. These are the first round matches announced thus far, with the rest to be announced in the upcoming week:

-Erick Stevens vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, Tank Toland & Bobby Dempsey
-Delirious vs. El Generico
-Matt Cross vs. Brent Albright
-Jack Evans vs. Kevin Steen

Hmmm…it looks like someone is following my booking sheets for that Stevens vs. Hero match. No no, just kidding, I wouldn’t flatter myself to think that for real. These four pairings represent fresh matches for ROH (although Delirious vs. El Generico and Evans vs. Steen has been done elsewhere, particularly in PWG) and a commitment to the idea behind the tournament to give ROH some different combinations. Hopefully the tournament will mix things up a bit and shoot off a few new feuds to go into the Fall.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
We have a major development for the Philadelphia Street Fight scheduled for “Death Before Dishonor V: Night 2” on August 11th in Philly. At the time this match was set, Austin Aries was not a part of the ROH roster. Now that Aries has signed with ROH he wants to get his hands on the No Remorse Corps of Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero. As leader of The Resilience, Aries has been given the option of bumping Delirious from the bout so he can team with Resilience members Erick Stevens & Matt Cross in this no rules match. However, Aries knows that Delirious also wants to get his hands on the NRC, especially in Philadelphia. Aries has challenged the NRC to find a fourth teammate for what promises to be a wild and violent brawl. It didn’t take long for the NRC to reach a deal with Larry Sweeney for Matt Sydal to be in this match. Of course, Sydal has past issues with Delirious and Aries so he is more than happy to join the NRC for one night only in Philadelphia. ROH officials have decided not to sanction this bout so that these two teams can really fight it out. August 11th in Philadelphia will see Aries, Delirious, Stevens & Cross vs. Strong, Romero, Richards & Sydal in a Non-Sanctioned Philadelphia Street Fight. This gives this year’s “Death Before Dishonor” a theme of non-sanctioned street fights as night 1 in Boston will see Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico in a Non-Title Non-Sanctioned Boston Street Fight.

This…sounds awesome. The combination of a number of different feuds and storylines meshing together here is what ROH is all about. From Delirious’s grudge with the NRC to Aries return and leadership to Matt Sydal’s involvement affecting both Delirious (with whom he has a long standing rivalry) Aries and Strong (where Sydal was always out to out-do them, but especially Aries), its all fitting together like pieces to a large puzzle. It makes sense from the building up of storylines and as a match itself it has the potential to be one of the best team grudge matches since Steel Cage Warfare. Bravo ROH. This match, like Cage of Death at last year’s Death Before Dishonor IV, is something to go out of your way for and see live and in person.

Despite all my rage I’m still just a rat in a cage
“Caged Rage” will come to Hartford on 8/24. More details coming in the upcoming weeks right here in the ROHwrestling.com Newswire.

Ah. Bullet with Butterfly Wings. Nothing like a Smashing Pumpkins reference on the week of the release of their return album. Remember when Bret Hart tried to co-opt that song for a promo and got the lyrics all horribly wrong? Good times. Great memories.

Well, so what exactly will “Caged Rage” be? Is it an all cage event like “TNA’s Lockdown”? Will it be the return of Steel Cage Warfare, which hasn’t been seen or used since December 2005? The event could involve the NRC and The Resilience, or perhaps other wrestlers fighting for a prize, as in the old Scramble Cage days. Lots of options and lots of speculation to be sure.

The Hey What Now?
Chicago fans have started a new trend in Ring Of Honor. The “Hey Wave” is officially here.

Um…sure…but is it better than the ROHbot arm? HEYYYYYY! Can the ROHbot arm do the “Hey Wave”? Now that would be something!

Replays on TVN
“Respect Is Earned” will debut on iNDEMAND and in Canada on Viewer’s Choice and Bell ExpressVU on July 20th at 8pm. Right now the PPV is airing with regular replays on both the DISH Network and TVN cable systems. Catch ROH on the DISH today and July 13th, 15th, 18th & 22nd. Check your listings for channel and time. Give us a chance to earn your respect with these replays on TVN cable systems (check local listing for channels):
July 11 @ 9am
July 12 @ 12am
July 13 @ 12pm
July 15 @ 4am
July 16 @ 9am and 10pm
July 17 @3pm
July 19 @ 4pm
July 20 @ 8am and 12am
July 21 @3:30pm
July 23 @ 6am and 2am
July 26 @ 2pm
July 29 @ 11:30am
July 30 @ 8am
Aug 1 @ 8am and 2am
Aug 3 @ 6am and 8pm
Aug 4 @ 8am, 5pm and 3am
Aug 6 @ 6pm, 9pm and 1am
Aug 9 @ 9am and 3:30am
Aug 16 @ 5pm

Lots of dates to choose from, so if you haven’t seen it yet and you have the TVN networks, pick a day and a time and go for it.

ROH and CHIKARA in the News
From wrestlingobserver.com:

Mike Quackenbush defends the NWA jr. title against Black Tiger (Rocky Romero) on 8/5 in Philadelphia at the Alhambra on the CHIKARA Pro show that also includes the Briscoe Brothers.

While this isn’t an official ROH sanctioned match, I thought it would be of interest given the wrestlers involved. Quackenbush has been getting good reviews for his ROH matches and Rocky Romero does a good job with the Black Tiger gimmick, so this could be a heck of a treat for both ROH and CHIKARA fans. Also, don’t forget the Briscoes vs. F.I.S.T. (Akuma and Icarus)!

ROH and Japan in the News

These matches are for the Wrestlejam series of shows that will occur after ROH’s two show tour. It looks like many of the ROH talent get an extended stay. The source for these matches comes from dgusa.puroresufan.com

7/15/2007 Fukuoka, Hakata Star Lanes
1. Genki Horiguchi, Gamma, Jimmy Rave vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Lupin Matsutani, Jorge Rivera
2. The Turboman, Turboyan vs. Black Thunder, Turbo Muscle
3. 3 Way Match: Yasushi Kanda vs. Delirious vs. Super Shisa
4. Ryo Saito, Matt Sydal, Anthony W. Mori vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Muscle Gang
5. Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: Taku Iwasa vs. Austin Aries
6. SHINGO, Cyber Kong, Jack Evans, El Generico vs. CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, PAC

7/16/2007 Kagawa, Takamatsu Symbol Tower 1st Floor Hall
1. SHINGO, Cyber Kong, Lupin Matsutani vs. Yasushi Kanda, Masaaki Mochizuki, Austin Aries
2. K-ness, Dragon Kid vs. Akira Tozawa, APE Kimata
3. The Turboman, Turboyan vs. Black Thunder, Turbo Muscle
4. Taku Iwasa, Keni’chiro Arai vs. Super Shisa, Jorge Rivera
5. Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu~PWG Title: Genki Horiguchi vs. El Generico
6. CIMA, Ryo Saito, Susumu Yokosuka, PAC vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Gamma, Muscle Gang

7/18/2007 Kanagawa, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
1. Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, PAC vs. Genki Horiguchi, Gamma, Jimmy Rave
2. The Turboman, Turboyan vs. Black Thunder, Turbo Muscle
3. Ryo Saito, Matt Sydal vs. Lupin Matsutani, Delirious
4. Yasushi Kanda, Super Shenron vs. K-ness, Jorge Rivera
5. Taku Iwasa, Keni’chiro Arai vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Austin Aries
6. Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: CIMA vs. El Generico
7. SHINGO, Cyber Kong, Jack Evans vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Muscle Gang

7/19/2007 Tokyo, Korakuen Hall
1. The Turboman, Turboyan, K-ness vs. Black Thunder, Turbo Muscle, Gamma
2. Taku Iwasa, Keni’chiro Arai, Jorge Rivera vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Yasushi Kanda, Super Shisa
3. Ryo Saito, PAC vs. Delirious, Super Shenron
4. Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: SHINGO vs. Austin Aries
5. JAM CUP~$10,000 Naniwa Elimination 3 Way 8 Man Tag
CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, Matt Sydal vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Jimmy Rave, Muscle Gang vs. Cyber Kong, Jack Evans, El Generico, X

7/21/2007 Gifu, Gifu Chamber of Commerce
1. Susumu Yokosuka, Anthony W. Mori, Austin Aries vs. Jack Evans, Lupin Matsutani, m.c.KZ
2. Challenge Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Jorge Rivera
3. Taku Iwasa, Keni’chiro Arai, APE Kimata vs. Masato Yoshino, Muscle Gang, Diablo (Kageki)
4. ~Gifu Special~Fukumen Ichikawa vs. Muscle Outlaw’z~
Dragon Kid, K-ness, The Turboman, Turboyan, Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa vs. Naruki Doi, Genki Horiguchi, Gamma, Black Thunder, Turbo Muscle
5. Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Jimmy Rave
6. CIMA, Ryo Saito, Matt Sydal, PAC vs. SHINGO, Cyber Kong, Delirious, El Generico[

7/22/2007 Hyogo, Kobe Sambo Hall
1. Ryo Saito, Susumu Yokosuka, PAC vs. Gamma, Muscle Gang, Jimmy Rave
2. K-ness, The Turboman, Turboyan vs. Genki Horiguchi, Dr. Muscle, Black Thunder
3. Taku Iwasa, Keni’chiro Arai vs. Anthony W. Mori, Lupin Matsutani
4. Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: Yasushi Kanda vs. Jorge Rivera
5. CIMA, Dragon Kid, Matt Sydal vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Austin Aries, El Generico
6. Open the Triangle Gate: Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong, Jack Evans vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Magnitude Kishiwada

Due to Hulks’ injury, the Triangle Gate match will be a decision match to crown the 15th champions.

Also, looks who is on the card…one Austin Aries. Aries is not booked on the ROH shows in Japan (and actually a few other gaijin talents listed here as well), so you think maybe he could fly in a little early and make a special appearance or two for the ROH shows? Hmmm, one wonders…

NTV Cup Update with Standings and Potential Winners and Such.

I think the Puro guys like Matt Adamson and Matt Short can give you all better coverage on this, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that NOAH’s NTV Cup is gearing towards its conclusion with two matches and one show left to go in the series. The remaining matches take place July 15th, 2007at Budokan with KENTA and Taijii Ishimori (5 points) facing off against Kota Ibushi and Naomichi Marufuji (6 points). Meanwhile The Briscoes (5 points) take on Kotaro Suzuki and Ricky Marvin (5 points). The teams of Davey Richards and Bryan Danielson (3 points) and Rocky Romero with Atsushi Aoki (2 points) are out of the running. At least Danielson and Richards didn’t get goose egged at the end like they seemed to threaten last week. It looks like Ibushi and Marufuji are most likely to win, but the other teams can draw or tie for the cup under the right conditions.

Other Newsbits:

PWinsider.com reported that “In TNA related news, Big Vision Entertainment is going to release a “Before They Were Stars” DVD on Samoa Joe in which they will use pre-TNA footage consisting of Full Impact Pro and Ring of Honor footage from before Joe signed a TNA contract in 2005.”

Now this is interesting in that I’m hoping that Big Vision reaching an agreement with ROH to use the footage—I mean I guess they’d have to in order to avoid litigation, right? If so, it could be a great break for ROH and FIP to get more exposure through the retain chain stores via this release. More people seeing Joe matches is good in my book, so long as everything is done through the right channels.

Adverts for the ROH PPV are on Fight Network, including special taped pre show hosted by Mauro Ranallo and Dan Lovranski, which use footage from Pro Wrestling NOAH and older ROH shows and promos from Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness hyping the company and the major differences between them and other wrestling shows (thanks to the ROH message board and poster wrestlepalooza).

That will cover it for part one. Click here for Part TWO!
–Ari–