Column of Honor: 11.03.07: Glory By “Glory By Honor VI” Part Two

Reader’s Choose the Feature: Winner: Ring of Shame!

Last week and in honor of WWE Cyber Sunday I put up my first ever poll for the column, where my readers were able to pick which feature I would write about in this week’s edition. Thanks to the readers who voted. Here are the results:

88 votes total
Dear Delirious: 16% (14 votes)
Honor Culture: 6% (5 votes)
Briscoes’ Guide to Manning Up: 22% (19 votes)
Black T-Shirt Squad: 18% (16 votes)
Ring of Shame: 39% (34 votes)

It was a clear and almost run away vote for Ring of Shame, a feature I haven’t run in almost a year. You the readers demanded it and now its back, although as far as topic matter goes, maybe you’ll have received more than you bargained for.

Ring of Shame

While I remain one of the more positive Ring of Honor homers cheerleaders, boys with a high school crush for ROH on this here website, I have to admit…sometimes ROH has gotten it wrong. While I usually choose to look on the sunny side of all things honorable, sometimes there’s an incident or a match that has occurred in Ring of Honor that…well, wasn’t quite honorable. From Kevin Steen blowing a snot rocket onto a downed opponent to Pac blowing up like some defective Russian missle in New York City, these incidents are far from what I expect out of Ring of Honor, but more like a company that was named…Ring of Shame. Hence, I give to you the column of honor equivalent of Wrestlecrap, the crying, groaning and embarrassing moments in ROH history..

By the governing body of the New York State Honorability Commission, elected into the Ring of Shame for November 2007:

Vomit is not your Friend, Jimmy Rave

Many ROH critics on the internet cite their dislike of BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Rave due to these two wrestlers being boring and pedantic. Their wrestling matches are often hate inducing. Some of the more virulent fans many have even made the comment that watching a Jimmy Rave match makes them sick to their stomachs. Well, there is video evidence for sure of at least one person who has vomited during a Jimmy Rave match. That man…is Jimmy Rave himself.

Now before we get too deep into this, let me say that seeing another person vomit is usually no laughing matter…well…maybe a little bit. See when a person vomits it is a reaction caused by their body to get rid of some kind of bile that is disrupting their system. It is a cleansing response done instinctually by your body, much like a sneeze or a hiccup. It’s very hard to control such an action—sometimes vomit happens. So one shouldn’t necessarily be ashamed when one projectile vomits up their lunch…except…if it happens to occur in public…in a wrestling ring…viewed by nearly 1,000 fans live and many more through the power of DVD video recording for posterity.

It was Jimmy Rave versus Nigel McGuinness at Battle of the Icons this past January in New Jersey. Interestingly enough, even though it was an “I Quit” grudge match the decision was made for this match to start the show. The match ended with the refree calling for the bell out of interest for Nigel’s safety, but to the anger of the fans and my own puzzlement, no one said “I Quit”. How can you lose an “I Quit” match by not saying those words? This match is your answer.

This was still during the time frame where Jimmy Rave was given his last very serious push to the top. Rave had been built up as a “killer” with his vicious new heel hook / ankle lock variation and was submitting everyone left and right (“including some insomniacs”, the internet haters might have said at the time). He was scheduled for an ROH World Title shot against Homicide the very next show. Therefore, Rave was given the spotlight of this match but also both a pre and post match promo.

Before the match he held up a roll of toilet paper, his scourge and mortal enemy. Many a fan had decided to heave-ho the two-ply bathroom tissue at Rave during his entrance. However, ROH officials had now prohibited such actions and Rave took great delight in reminding the fans he was the one responsible for the restriction. Anyone who was caught throwing toilet paper at him would be thrown out of the building, he claimed.

Of course five seconds later some fan chucked a streamer at him. Oh well, best laid plans and whatnot…

The feud with Nigel McGuinness had ignited the last time they were in Edison, New Jersey, in part thanks to Nigel hitting Rave with a roll of toilet paper. It was for Rave a sign of ultimate disrespect, especially since Rave had actually gone to the trouble of making nice with Nigel after the match, even giving Nigel a rare post match handshake. Nigel threw the tissue from behind and nailed Rave square on the back. Rave snapped instantly and took out his hate and vitriol for Nigel’s use of the crapper helper.

That led us to January and this match, an “I Quit” match where Rave upped the stakes and made it no disqualification. Although, come to think of it, aren’t “I Quit” matches by their very nature without disqualification? Way to be redundant ROH! It’s like saying the same thing, over and over again, the same thing, I tell you. Anyway, little did Rave know at that moment that he held the 1,000 sheet roll that he would need at least 500 of those sheets to help clean up the mess he would make in the ring just twenty minutes later.

The match began and actually was pretty decent, if a bit slow in pace, maybe too slow for an opening match. The fans in New Jersey at points remained deathly quiet, save for when Nigel and Jimmy brawled out to ringside and into the crowd. They came out right through my section, where a bevy of fans carrying Union Jack flags in support of Nigel raucously chanted for Nigel as he made his way past them to take out some hurt on poor Rave.

The psychology of the match was sound enough and looking back on it very smartly done. Of course Nigel focused on Jimmy’s arm in preparation for his arm submission, while Jimmy looked to hurt the leg and ankle of Nigel in preparation for his finishing move. Nigel used some harsh looking hammerlock slams on a chair outside, and later on would hit a unique hammerlock variation of the Tower of London, one that has not been seen since this match. Rave countered by slamming Nigel’s leg into the guardrail and began to pound the ankle with boots and weardown holds. Also look for an incredible sidestep and drop down Rave does in order to apply the heel hook. It was smooth as silk.

It was at this point that things were going well in the match and for Jimmy Rave. No one could have anticipated what nauseating circumstances would occur next.

Rave performed the “Dusk to Dawn” satellite headscissors into a crossface. He had Nigel cut off from the ropes and clearly in trouble. Rave shouted “tap you son of a bitch!” at his rival. Then it happened.

Cue Vince McMahon impersonation from Beyond the Mat: “he’s gonna puke! He’s gonna…he’s gonna… he’s gonna PUKE! He’s gonna PUKE! He’s gonna PUKE!

Sidenote: Oh man did I ever laugh at that moment…over and over and over again. Boy did Vince ever want to see Droz heave ho. Dude was committed to seeing it through.

It’s about 4:50 into the thing. Enjoy.

As the referee goes to ask Nigel is he wants to give up, Jimmy seems to tuck his head into his shoulder. Then he picks his head up…and spews out the putrescence from his mouth. Todd Sinclair reacts in shock, and a gasp of horror and revolt gushes forth from the crowd. But one time isn’t enough, no, Jimmy bucks his head forth and vomits up some more…much more. In fact, a minute after he threw up you can clearly see on video that almost one side of the ring is fully wet from the liquid bile.

Of course, have you ever watched someone sneeze or hiccup? It isn’t a pleasant sight. In fact, often the very action of watching someone capitulating their bodily orifices causes discomfort. The gag reflex, like the yawn reflex, is most powerful in humans. Watching someone throw up, in turn makes you want to thrown up. In fact that was my exact reaction at the moment of seeing Jimmy puke, both live and reliving that wonderful and magical moment through the marvel of home video. In fact I almost want to vomit now as I write this.

Rave looked out of it…his eyes were closed shut and he was sweating up a storm. It was so bad that even booker Gabe Sapolsky came out to check on what had happened.

Both Nigel and Jimmy were ultra-professional in their work and did not let the vomiting incident get in the way of the match. They continued onwards and headed towards the finish. The crowd even got back into the thick of the action, even after being aghast (or laughing) at what had just occurred.

Maybe one of the most unintentional funny moments out of this whole shameful incident was that as Jimmy and Nigel went to the finish, you can clearly see some ROH students running down with towel paper and cleaners. As Jimmy holds Nigel with the anklelock on the ring ropes, you can spot some clean up on aisle 11 going on. Good timing guys. You couldn’t wait just a few seconds more until the match was over?

Vomiting incidents in ROH are not exclusive to Jimmy Rave. There has been one other major incident of public vomiting that being of course the infamous Teddy Hart incident which I have covered in a previous edition of Ring of Shame. There the vomiting was a reaction to doing about fifty moonsaults off the cage. Teddy’s stomach was probably doing more loop de loops than any rollercoaster at Six Flags. Of course that would only mean that his stomach was just as loopy as his head, if only temporarily.

Battle of the Icons was an incredibly infamous show that not only had this Ring of Shame moment, but several others, including the Attack of the Grannies (as referenced many a time this year in the column) and the “Kiss 2 Bill” references during the Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer last man standing match. It is a true testament to the wackiness and insanity of Edison, New Jersey that I could spend the next three Ring of Shame articles devoted solely to the hijinks within that venue.

Other Inductees to the Ring of Shame:

The Carnage Crew Bag Incident
The Jeff Hardy Boo Bird Scandal
Slugger
Teddy Hart Jumps Onto People
Konnan Stinks Up ROH
The Franchise Can’t Be Saved
The Night Jay Lethal Is Waiting For

Honorarium

-Every year I buy Halloween candy and chocolates and every year no one comes to Trick or Treat and every year I end up eating all of the candy and chocolates. I will never learn.

-I actually watched the first half hour of TNA Impact this week, as I had some time to kill. It wasn’t too horrible, although for a half hour of wrestling programming once again TNA does not let me down by only having one match worth about three minutes total time in the ring. At least I didn’t mind the initial Kevin Nash and Kurt angle promos / skits (although then again I didn’t watch the whole show and wasn’t subjected to it for two hours). Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin got over like a million bucks and I don’t even mind that it took 8 X-Division wrestlers to take out a pair of overweight guys. I thought it was a cool moment.

At 9:30 p.m. I went to check stuff out on the internet and before I knew it was ten o’clock. Time for Law & Order: Criminal Intent and this week was a Vincent D’Onfrio episode! TNA who?

-It might just be Halloween but I have this eerie feeling that next week CM Punk will lose the ECW title back to John Morrison.

ROH Preview: Glory By Honor VI Night 2 featuring Misawa and Pro Wrestling NOAH, New York, NY November 3rd, 2007

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

GHC Heavyweight Title Match
Mitsuharu Misawa defends vs. KENTA

So long have we been discussing the politics and the outside factors surrounding this match that what has been neglected in the discussion is the action that we will see in the match itself! As far as in the ring, we’re looking at the psychology of challenger vs. champion and accomplished veteran vs. up and coming superstar. Both men will look to set the tone with strike exchanges and both men are certainly proficient at them. While Misawa’s fastball has certainly gone down in terms of velocity, the guy can certainly sill hit a mean strike whether it be a forearm or slap or elbow. KENTA will counter will kicks and strike combos. Who will go down first?

KENTA is going for the upset and will not hesitate to bring out his bigger offensive weapons like the Falcon Arrow and the Go 2 Sleep, but the larger question is whether or not he can successfully execute these moves on the heavier man. Who has the most heart? Misawa certainly is looking to leave his stint in America with his pride, reputation and his title all intact. The answer to who will win may certainly reside within the mind and will of Misawa himself—is he ready to do what it takes to win in the main event of one of ROH’s largest shows? He’s done it before many a time in Japan, now he will have to do it right here in New York City.

Special Challenge Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima

The third match in the series between these two proficient professional wrestlers and it all comes back to the venue where it all began. The Grand Ballroom is the location of their first interaction during the Respect is Earned show, and the building wherein they fought for the first time back in August. Back then Danielson had an effective strategy of chopping the big man down with strikes and working on a leg submission, but he did not execute it with enough thoroughness to fully exploit the damage done during the match. Morishima threw some massive bombs at Dragon and by the time it was all over had done major injury to the former champions’ eye and orbital bone.

That eyesight has to be a question mark for this match—how much has it healed? Will Morishima look to open up the wound, much like he did in their second encounter? If he does, Dragon is going to have to do one of two things—he has to avoid the massive fists and boots of Morishima at all costs or he has to get angry and immediately counterattack. Patience is not a virtue in this match and Dragon will certainly have to go after the bigger and more powerful Morishima if he wants to have the advantage throughout the encounter.

The one major difference between this rubber match and the first two fights is that this is no longer about the ROH title. For Danielson, this has to be about proving to himself and to the world at large that he can indeed defeat what had appeared undefeatable for nine months. If Danielson can’t do it, then he loses ground to current ROH champion and now long time competitive rival Nigel McGuinness.

Grudge Match (Tag Titles Will Be On The Line If Briscoes Retain In Philly)
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. two of Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black and The Necro Butcher with Lacey

The Age of the Fall have been a constant thorn in the side of The Briscoes over the last two months. No, actually they have been more like a buzz saw directly to the face of The Briscoes, just carving them up over and over again, leaving them a bloodied mess of jagged edges and broken bones. The Briscoes have not only been humiliated time and again, but they have lost time and again. The losses come against not just a tag team, but a whole subculture of societal discontent. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black targeted The Briscoes from the start and they have followed through with beat down after beat down, with Necro Butcher providing the X-factor that makes The Age of the Fall nearly unbeatable.

The biggest problem for the current champions is that they don’t know which two of the three major members of AotF they will fight in this one. It’s the old “Freebirds” philosophy that has proven well over many years. The challengers are now actually in the position of having the psychological AND the physical advantage in this one.

The Briscoe Brothers are going to have to man up like never before if they want to leave New York City this time around still as the ROH World Tag Team champions. Hell, they may not be able to leave this time around, unless it’s with the assistance of a stretcher. Bottom line, this will be their toughest tag title defense to date and that’s considering this or any of their previous title runs.

Special Attraction Match
Jack Evans, Ruckus & Jigsaw with Julius Smokes vs. Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero

It was a little over three months ago that Julius Smokes shouted the magic words “Transform!” over the PA speakers in the Grand Ballroom. Indeed, from that moment on, the world of Jack Evans was transformed, from the “fourth” member of Generation Next to the leader of The Vulture Squad, a whole new type of outfit. The V-Squad made a quick impression with several wins, but has since cooled off thanks to losses against The Age of the Fall and the No Remorse Corps.

Now Evans and his crew will try again to outfight his former tag partner and confidant in Generation Next: Roderick Strong. The leader of the rival No Remorse Corps remain as strong and confident as ever. The NRC’s win-loss record is no longer spotless, but they remain tough competition against anyone on any given night. They remain without mercy and especially against Evans. Strong is going to take any opportunity to stick it to his former buddy. It’s more vicious strikes, submissions and tortuous holds performed by the NRC onto their opposition. The V-Squad will counter with stealth, speed and flight. A little more magic from Julius Smokes wouldn’t hurt either.

ROH vs. NOAH
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Naomichi Marufuji

This will be the dark horse candidate to steal the show. It is a showcase for Claudio as much as Marufuji, as the former grappler’s break out year has demonstrated that he can perform to high standards when given the opportunity. Marufuji has proven extremely successful against the American based competition, but he has never fought Claudio before in ROH and may find him a tough challenge. Claudio will move quickly and with ultra finesse, ultimately confusing and outmaneuvering his opponent. Marufuji may find himself quickly behind the eight ball in this one and looking to come back. If he tries to strike with Claudio at this point he will find himself neutralized thanks to Claudio and his European Uppercuts. The impact of a euro uppercut is tantamount to running into a brick wall over and over, and I don’t think Marufuji will like how that feels all too much. Marufuji may find it best to go to an air attack against Claudio, who does well against the high fliers but oftentimes loses his hold over smaller opponents as they use their velocity and momentum to their advantage. Both men will go to their high impact moves and from that point on it may be a matter of who can get that last big move before his opponent. A win by Claudio in this match up is perhaps a mild upset but this writer almost considers it to be a very possible outcome.

Race To The Top Rematch
El Generico vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey & Bobby Dempsey

Chris Hero has found his groove again (and if you doubt it, just ask him and he’ll let you know) with a streak of wins over the last few shows and his Survival of the Fittest 2007 Tournament win. You can expect him to be at the peak of aggravating behavior and his entourage will follow suit. Hero wants to take out El Generico as payback for the masked generic luchador being responsible for his ouster during the Race to the Top Tournament back in July. Hero will look to outwit, confound and dumfound the masked man, who may not be able to deal with Hero at this level of his arrogance. Will El Generico’s “Hail Mary” type moves such as the Roll Through Tornado DDT and Brainbuster from the Top be enough to get the win? If he doesn’t have the brains and tenacity of his tag partner Kevin Steen In his corner to counter Sweet and Sour Incorporated, the answer may very well be “no”.

Plus more to be signed with: ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness; Austin Aries; Brent Albright & BJ Whitmer with Shane Hagadorn; Kevin Steen; Delirious; Daizee Haze plus others!!!

Going Home

Name That Tune Week 8

Every week I’ll include an excerpt of music lyric and I’ll ask you guys to guess the song. The catch is that it will be a wrestler’s theme! All promotions are up for grabs, but I’ll focus mostly on the independent scene.

It was almost a shutout of Name That Tune respondents this week until just ONE reader snuck though at the last second and came up with the right answer. It was a lot more difficult to come up with the answer without a major clue! Or maybe it wasn’t as “tricky” as all that, if you really think about it…

Lyric: “super suspicious, super delicious.”
What’s the name of the song and the artist?

No clue this week as I think that’s been helping people a bit too much. This is a tricky one, so good luck!

The answer: “#1 Da Woman” by Tricky (Cheerleader Melissa’s theme)

This week’s winner:

Adam Nelson

So you see, I DID give you all out there a clue after all, but only one person was enough of a super sleuth to figure it out.

Okay, we’re still going for difficulty but no trick or treating this week. I have a clue front and center in Name that Tune! for this week, November 3rd, 2007!

Clue: Gabe Sapolsky’s favorite phrase, Jared Leto
Lyric: “division will unite.”
What’s the name of the song and the artist?

Send in your answers here and if you’re correct I’ll list your name in next week’s column!

Ringtones

I received quite a few responses based on my editorial about the Current.com video documentary about ROH. Some respondents were right with me on this one and others thought I wasn’t cutting the guys in charge any slack. Here’s what came through the mailbag.

First one in was JustinShaq:

I completely echo your sentiments on wrestling fans in the ROH greenlight video. They were 2 crazy, those fans were obxious and annoying, i often feel that as fans we have a duty to support the sport of wrestling by being intelligent yet excited that’s why i tend to just watch a wrestling instead of screaming bloody murder. Intelligence should be showed more often at wrestling events because then people could take it more seriously.

I think “intelligent yet excited” as you put it is what I try to go for when I attend the live shows, but oftentimes that is not what I see from the fans around me, or should I say hear in the comments. For example, last time I was at a show, Manhattan Mayhem II, my friend and I sat next to a very cool dude who was taking in his first show and was given the ticket by a friend who couldn’t make it. This guy was way cool and very excited by the show he was watching. On the other hand, there was seemingly four or five guys in back of use who were total jack asses and making negative comments about just about everything, including how fake stuff was, plus repeatedly using obscenities. Now the curse words I’m not upset about, because well, it is a wrestling show (besides I curse up a story as well, such to the point that at another show a young girl told me to “stop (my) potty mouth”), but its the rampant negativity that got to me. Contrast that to this video where it was both the cursing and the derisive comments made against the WWE that I disliked… because the impression it left was a negative one. Of course the experience of being around any fans will be left behind once the show is over, but this video is now online and viewable to anyone at any time for the near future.

Next up, on the taking me to task side of things, is mllorusso:

Hey man what the hell is wrong with that video? I’m guessing you’re an older fan like myself, so why don’t you want this video to represent ROH in their quest for a TV deal? Come on, there has not been good wrestling on TV since WSX. Don’t tell me you didn’t like that shit. WWE or TNA has not shown an entire show full of wrestling since forever so cut ROH a fucking break, let them show street fighting and curse happy fans. That is wrestling, so let it be and embrace it. I for one want to watch wrestling again. So let the masses vote for that fuckin video won’t you.

I already pretty much detailed my main bones of contention in the editorial. 1. I don’t like how it portrays the ROH action as predominantly “hardcore”. Yes, it is a part of ROH and when it happens its usually good stuff, like a cage match or street fight, but the doc short makes it seem like it dominates the product. There was maybe fifteen seconds of clips from other matches and that’s it. 2. I don’t like how it portrays ROH fans because it makes us seem uncouth and unruly, or alternatively, geeks. Every five seconds a fan is cursing. Do we really want to have that be the impression non fans have the ROH product? 3. The hypocrisy of billing ROH as a “wrestling show” and having Larry Sweeney, the epitome of comic sports entertainment right now in ROH talk up that point.

I also said the video did some things right, such as show the wrestlers in a very humane and honest way. Claudio, Nigel and Rocky / Strong did a great job being honest with their experiences. Cary comes off as very classy and a great leader for the promotion.

Also, I think you’re misinterpreting what that whole video vote deal is all about. This isn’t for a full time TV show or even for a TV deal. The documentary would be shown on “Current,” which is a digital cable channel only seen by a small amount of viewers. Current is like a rotating jukebox of video shorts created by aspiring directors or just common people. Sort of like a TV “you Tube” channel. It’s a great concept, but in and of itself its not going to lead to anything big for many if all of these people who are creating videos. ROH is not going to get on Spike or even Versus because of this video. If they want to do that, they’ll negotiate with those networks on their own.

I did remove the part of my editorial asking people not to vote for the video. You’re right to say people should vote for it if they want, so I took that line out. My opinion hasn’t changed, however. Overall I don’t like that clip and I would not show it to prospective fans or potential execs who could give ROH a shot on TV. I would love for ROH to get on TV just like you but I wouldn’t use this as a promotional calling card.

Next up is Truthslayer, well known on the ROH boards:

First of all let me take the time, since this is my first time in responding to one of your great articles, that your Column of Honor is a great thing and a true service for ROH as it helps get the word out about there great product. To be truthful I wish more of the wrestling sites would devote this type of time to ROH as they always take the time to say how great of a product it is yet don’t seem to want to take the time to actually promote it which I find aggravating to put it mildly. All of that said I look forward to your Column of Honor every Saturday and even when I don’t agree with your assessment of things I can understand where you are coming from and just agree to disagree. That said in your latest Article you posted your opinions on the ROH promo vid on currnent.com and I think you are very wrong and overly harsh in your judgment of this Video. First of all your easement of the fans bashing on WWE and coming off looking like the ECW fans from Beyond the Mat is a bit much. To me these fans where stating what they felt and as can be seen just about ANYWHERE on the net many fans are sick of the quality and direction of the product in WWE. To the point that many blindly fallow TNA just because it’s not WWE. These frustrations have been brewing for a long time and I do feel that if you stuck a camera and mic in front of the fast majority of Die-Hard wrestling fans that you would get comments such as these. Now it’s true that there are those that are always going to hate anything Vince is part of but at no point in this video did I feel these where those type of fans, and those are the fans that don’t need to be listened to. The most bloodthirsty of these fans would seem to be the women who still looked like saints compared to many of the hardcore, no pun intended, ECW fans. The fans in this video seemed more like advocates for ROH and not zealous fanatics of ROH like many ECW fans could have been labeled. You seemed to be upset that this video would show the stereotype of what many feel die-hard wrestling fans are. Well there is truth to that but a lot of fans are geeks, at least for wrestling, and it would take more than one 7min intro piece to change that. You would need to do a documentary on wrestling fans more along the lines of Trekkies before that is ever going to change, though it really didn‘t change what people thought of Trekkies I guess. Back to my point I think this video did a great job of showing how the ROH is different from WWE and the fact that there is a fan base out there that wants something Different from WWE. Notice that they didn’t bring up TNA as how many people out side of die-hard wrestling fans really know that much about TNA however most people know who and what the WWE is so comparing yourself to them the way they did in this video was far from a crime. Even in ROH’s own intro video there is some WWE bashing while not to the extent that the fans went to I also think seeing the passion that the fans had for the product is a good selling point. Its like when WWE put ECW on Sci-Fi then the TV executives saw what the fans where like and got scared. Would you want that to happen to ROH? The fans are part of the show much the same way they where part of the show in ECW to not showcase those fans in a video that is meant to sell the ROH product would be a mistake in my opinion. I respect your opinion but I do think you are wrong in this for this Video did it’s job which was to sell ROH to someone who has never seen it before and get them interested . I wouldn’t be so fast to judge it so harshly as to say “Don’t vote for it” as that just seems very silly and very “If it can’t be done the way I want it done then I don’t want it”.

I’m a hardcore ROH fan myself for many, many years, but I won’t hide my feelings on things I see that I don’t necessarily like. I definitely not looking to say things are “my way or the highway” and agreeing to disagree is more than fine by me.

To respond to some of your points:

The Beyond the Mat comparison: If we’re talking about the “bloodthirsty nature” of the ECW fans depicted on BTM as opposed to what we see in the ROH documentary short, then yes, the fans are different. However, what is not different s the use of curse words and the direct flip offs to WWE, much like the ECW fans did on the documentary. I’m of the belief that ROH should focus on promoting its product, not putting itself in direct comparison to WWE. In fact, WWE doesn’t even need to be mentioned. I think this is a mistake that TNA has fallen into, that by mentioning the opposition you are also taking time away from promoting your product, even if its done to differentiate your product. Let’s focus on what ROH is, not what it isn’t. Unfortunately most of the fans shown commenting in the short documentary split the time between one or the other.

To be honest, the fact that it was the women who were front and center as far as using profanity to promote the product, now that I think about it, that did disturb me. Not to be sexist by any means, but when the first thing you see as far as audience participation is a woman screaming “you sick fuck”, well that can be off putting to say the least. Maybe its my own personal preference, but also overall I would prefer not to have fans using profanity to promote the product but I’d stipulate that maybe that profanity was also a result of being captured candidly, live at the show. Maybe if these same fans were away from the live aspect of the show and the documentarians conducted “sit down interviews” with the f fans, the cursing would be cut down or completely gone. And again that’s where I find fault within the choices made by the producers of the short film. Where’s the “That was Awesome” chant when we need it?

Point taken about how it would be hard to change the stereotype of wrestling fans as “geeks”, or if it were even possible to do so. Or even if that was a bad thing at all. Hey, we’re all geeks in some way, as I’ve told my students many a time. My main opposition to the “Geekery” I guess was how GLF came across by being interviewed during a match, Again this was probably a choice made by the documentarians and not GLF himself, but the impact was nonetheless clear and damaging in my mind.

Yes the video shows that there is something “different” and something “else” out there besides WWE and TNA. However, it is my belief that any documentary on ROH would necessarily show that to be the case. I just don’t like how this particular documentary spreads that message across–again I refer to the mixed messages sent by promoting the “pure” wrestling and wrestling as sport aspect of ROH but showing the Philadelphia Street Fight as the major and dominant example of what ROH action was all about. It comes across that the something “different” of ROH is the same thing you could find in any ECW match or any WWE hardcore match in 2000. And I think if TV executives saw that street fight, as great as it was, without the proper context as the major example of ROH wrestling, then it would be even more of an uphill battle to get them ob TV.

In looking back on what I wrote, I did probably go too far in telling fans not to vote for it. Ultimately, fans should do what they want. My opinion remains unchanged, but I will rescind my “call to action” so to speak and such as it was.

411’s own Michael Weyer chimes in on the subject:

Anyway, saw that ROH clip you were talking about and at first, I thought you were being too hard on it as it showed the passion of fans and talk of how they were doing real wrestling. But then the match clips started and I saw your point exactly. They make ROH look like a second ECW which it’s not, emphasizing gimmick matches and spots rather than the great in-ring technical battles they put on so much. Where the hell was Danielson who would be a great highlight for it?

Anyway, good notes on how it failed and keep up the great work showing a promotion that really deserves more attention than TNA does lately.

These were absolutely and exactly my points. ROH has always maintained, especially by Gabe, that ECW is “dead” and while the spirit of ECW lives on through ROH and the independent scene, that they are not the “second” ECW, but rather the first ROH. The focus on the street fight creates the perception that all of ROH wrestling action is like this. Indeed, where the hell was Danielson for all of this? He more than anyone should have been a focal point of the piece, as he was there for the beginning and he is still here now, perhaps better than he ever has been.

The anti-WWE reaction in these pieces is also flatly ridiculous the more I think about it because ROH fans have always been more anti-TNA than anti-WWE. I tend to think more fans have resented TNA for holding back or stealing from ROH. With WWE, its WWE so what can you do? Besides, in its past history ROH AND the fans have been very accommodating towards former WWE wrestlers. Just a small sample size of WWE wrestlers who have been accepted by ROH fans: Ricky Steamboat, Mick Foley, James Gibson, Spanky (once he was released the first time) and even right now with Brent Albright. You can not like the content of the WWE product as much as you want, but you can’t deny that ROH had plenty of former WWE wrestlers make their impact as well.

We finish up this week’s mailbag with frequent emailer John Maberry:

Hey man – I don’t know about you, but this has got to have been the longest week of my life. The anticipation for Saturday is killing me! I don’t even know what to do with myself these next two days leading up to the event. I have made the transition to the balcony this time, as almost getting hit in the kisser with a chair by Bryan Danielson and having a 300 lbs. Asian girl almost land on you is enough to make anybody retreat. I’m coming with two of my good friends, one who has been dying to come to an event for months now (he’s also from Barcelona, so even though he lives here during the school year, I guess ROH could lay claim that fans are coming from all over the globe for this event).

Last, I wanted to make mention of Nigel McGuinness. I know we are all extremely upset about his injury and that he is unable to perform this weekend. I am in no way glad that he is unable to perform this weekend and would have loved to see the lineup we were all expecting to see. But with him out for the weekend, I think it really spares ROH from overstacking their Night 2 card. Sure the card would have been flawless with the GHC Title Match, what most likely would have been Aries-Nigel and Danielson-Mori III, and the sleeper match of Claudio-Maru, but anything else beyond this would have been too much. In fact, even this might have been too much. It goes back to that old arguement that too much of a good thing isn’t necessarily a good thing in itself. It’s like ordering a BK Triple Stacker – it looks good and probably tastes good too, but you’re no doubt bound to regret it the next morning..

My friend Chris and I stay in the balcony because of the better view from a bird’s eye position, and we’d done front row to death it seemed throughout 2006 so it was time for a change of pace. Although having Alex Shelley claim to have slept with your mom last night and Claudio Castagnoli telling you to move out of the way while you comment on his fashion sense with ties, that does have its merits. It’s really cool that you’re bringing friends to see the show. Its something I try to do whenever I can, or if not live, at least spread the word as much as possible.

I see your point about “overloading” a show with too many marquee matches…although it worked for an unforgettable show like Manhattan Mayhem I, sometimes too much is too much. Although I can’t help but be upset that we’re not going to get Aries vs. McGuinness, because that match would have rocked. I was so looking forward to that one.

**The Independent 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)
**ECWA Super 8 Tournament 2001 (Danielson / Low Ki, Danielson / Reckless Youth, Low Ki / Billy Fives, Danielson / Spanky)
**ROH FWA IPW:UK Frontiers of Honor 2 (Sydal / Richards, Cabana / Burridge, JC Thunder / Nigel McGuinness, Danielson / Brookside / Stone)
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night Two (Necro Butcher/Super Dragon, Hero/Horiguchi, Evans/Castagnolli)
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night Three (Generico / CIMA, Hero, Claudio, Necro, Romero / Cabana, Quicksilver, M-Dogg 20, Delirious, Generico / Sabin, Richards / Strong, Evans/ Horiguchi, Richards / CIMA)
**Chikara The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance (Quackenbush / Akuma, Steel / Steel, Sweeney / Kingston, Hair vs. Mask: Jigsaw / Icarus)
**Chikara King of Trios Night One (Order of the Neo Solar Temple / Los Ice Creams, Miyawaki, Yago & KUDO / Iron Saints, Sweeny, Eliis and Ryder vs. Neo Solar Temple POSEDOWN, Shima Xion / Nobutaka Moribe)
**SHIMMER Volume 7 (Daizee Haze/Cheerleader Melissa, Mercedes Martinez/LuFisto, Sara Del Rey/Nattie Neidhart)
**Chikara King of Trios Night Two (Sabin, Shelley and Dutt vs. Quackenbush, Jigsaw and Shane Storm / Hallowicked, Cheech and Cloudy vs. Lince Dorado, Pantera and Sicodelico Jr. / Olsen Twins vs. Miyagi and Yago / Quack T-Shirt Squad vs. Boyer and 2.0)
**Chikara King of Trios Night Three (Pantera, Lince Dorado & Sicodelico, Jr. vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Shane Storm / Kings Of Wrestling vs. Kudo, Yoshiaki Yago & Miyawaki / Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Shane Storm vs. Kudo, Yoshiaki Yago & Miyawaki / Ricochet vs. Claudio Castagnoli / Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray / Mokujin Ken vs. Mecha Mummy / Matt Sydal vs. Hallowicked)
**UWA Hardcore: Hour of the Dragon (Ultimo Dragon / Black Tiger, Chris Sabin / Josh Prohibition, Mike Quackenbush / Claudio Castagnoli, Tyler Black / Josh Ambercrombie)
**Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter One (Samoa Joe / Eddie Kingston, Larry Sweeney / Bryan Alvarez, Josh Ambercrombie / Austin Aries, Hydra / “Old Timer” Jeff King) **Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter Two (Alex Shelley / Low Ki, Mike Quackenbush / Tiger Mask IV, Human Tornado / Josh Ambercrombie)
**CHIKARA: Rey De Voladores (Chris Hero / Claudio Castagnoli, Chuck Taylor / Lince Dorado, Cheech & Cloudy / F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus), Chuck Taylor / Ricochet / Pac / Retail Dragon)
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 8 (Sara Del Rey / Mercedes Martinez, Daizee Haze / Tiana Ringer, Nattie Neidhart / Portuguese Princess Ariel, Allison Danger / Lufisto)
**CHIKARA: Anniversario? (Hero / Quackenbush, Hallowicked / Kingston, Pantera & Lince Dorado / Castagnoli & Sweeney, Worker Ant / Hydra, Player Uno / Shayne Hawke)
**CHIKARA: Maximum Overdraft (F.I.S.T. / Briscoes, Mike Quackenbush / Black Tiger, Hero & Castagnoli / El Pantera & Lince Dorado, The Colony / Los Tres Deliriouses, Daizee Haze / Sara Del Rey—2 out of 3 Falls)
**SHIMMER Women Athletes Volume 9 (MsChif / Amazing Kong, Cheerleader Melissa / Sara Del Rey, Tiana Ringer / Nikki Roxx, Lexie Fyfe & Malia Hosaka / Allison Danger & Cindy Rogers)
**PWG: Passive Hostility (PWG Tag Team Titles: Super Dragon & B-Boy / Cape Fear of El Generico & Quicksilver, PWG Title Three Way: Joey Ryan / Human Tornado / Kevin Steen, Scorpio Sky, Chris Bosh & Scott Lost / Kazarian, Sabin & Shelley, Richards / Romero)
**SHIMMER Women Athletes Volume 10 (Daizee Haze / Amazing Kong, Del Rey Nikki Roxx, Melissa / Lacey, Amber O’Neal / MsChif, Allison Danger / Cindy Rogers, Perez / Ariel)
**PWG: Based on a True Story (PWG Title: Joey Ryan / Human Tornado, Loser Leaves PWG: Kazarian / Scorpio Sky, Colt Cabana / Rocky Romero, Bosh / Steen)
**PWG Holy Diver Down (PWG Title: Human Tornado / El Generico, PAC / Kevin Steen, Arrogance / Motor City Machine Guns, Karl Anderson / Frankie Kazarian)
**FIP Unfinished Business 2007 (Dog Collar Match: Erick Stevens / Steve Madison, TLC: Sal Rinauro / Seth Delay, FIP Heavyweight Title: Strong / Albright, Jack Evans / Gran Akuma, Sweeney / Claudio Castagnoli )
**TNA: Instant Classic: The Best of Christian Cage (NWA Title: Jarrett / Cage, Barbed Wire Six Sides of Steel: Rhino / Cage, Against All Odds 2007: Angle / Cage, Destination X: Joe / Cage)

**UWA Hardcore: vs. Toryumon Japan Night 1 (Jushin “Thunder” Liger & Puma / Ultimo Dragon & Kazuchika Okada, UWA Canadian Tilte: Alex Shelley / MDogg20 / Josh Prohibition, Sonjay Dutt / Brian Lee / Chris Sabin, Larry Sweeney / Passion Hasegawa, Dan Paysan / Daisuke Hanaoka ) (NEW ADDITION)

**UWA Hardcore: vs. Toryumon Japan Night 2 (Jushin “Thunder” Liger & Ultimo Dragon / Motor City Machine Guns, UWA Lightweight Title: Lionel Knight / Hiromi Horiguchi, UWA Canadian Title: Josh Prohibition / Kazuchika Okada, Derek Wylde / Daisuke Hanaoka / Puma, M Dogg 20 / Brian Lee) (NEW ADDITION)

UWA Hardcore, well that’s sort of a misnomer because UWA doesn’t run a “hardcore” style wrestling promotion per se. It’s a good independent promotion up in Canada that features among other Josh Prohibiton and MDogg 20 Matt Cross as well as TNA talent such as Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt.

UWA also has a very good relationship with Ultimo Dragon and that is where the idea for this show comes in, as a sort of crossover between UWA and Dragon’s school, known as Toryumon.

Both nights feature excellent and fats paced action from different independent wrestlers, although there are many moments where we go “over the top indy” and having near deaths due to overreaching on dives and cringe inducing bumps (cough, cough, masked straw thin Japanese wrestler Brodie Lee I’m looking at you) that make you ask “why the hell would he do that?” Yet on the average we’re talking about good to really good wrestling action, unique matches and shows that are well worth the money.

The highlights of both shows come from the interactions between Ultimo Dragon and another special guest star, Jushin “Thunder” Liger. Yes, that got you going right? On night 1 both men are in tag team action against each other (Dragon with his top student Kazuchi Okada and Liger with U.S. independent wrestler / New Japan gaijin Puma). It is a well put together match that spotlights Dragon and Liger against each other and both pull out many of their well known moves. It’s a finely paced match.

After the tag meatch, both men are challenged and then attacked by the Motor City Machine Guns, working heel and being great at it. The challenge is made for Night 2: Dragon and Liger vs. Motor City Machine Guns. That’s a dream match and half and again, worth the money for night 2 right there.

Some of the other Toryumon wrestlers who made an impression on me were Hiromi Horiguchi, brother of Dragon gate star Genki Horiguchi. Hiromi has a great “babyface” charisma and an interesting moveset, although he almost kills himself and his future in wrestling during a horribly blown spot in his match in Night 2. Also impressive from Toruymon is Passion Hasegawa, who looks like a Japanese Tito Santana and does a comedy gay gimmick wearing pink tights with frills. He is hysterical with Larry Sweeney in night 1 as they do one of the best strut offs ever. Sweeney loves to use the strut off as a comedy gimmick, but the moves are better than just about any previous I’ve seen. Machine Gun with hip swivel! High-larry-ious.

On the other hand, Brian Lee has some impressive moves but is the very definition of a crash and burn spot artist. He hits a lot of cool stuff, but it’s the moves that miss which hurt the worst. Also, Toshiya Matsuzaki is the smallest wrestler I’ve seen that is not a mini. He is almost dwarf size in comparison. He makes Pelle Primaeau look like Andre the Giant in comparison. I just cannot find what he does in the ring believable and even Claudio Catsagnoli can’t do much here in a big man-small man contest. Against him

On the UWA side, Lionel Knight has struck me as watered down Jay Lethal, but he has just enough charisma that if he truly wants to he can separate himself from being typecast as such. His post match promo for Night 2 (after losing the UWA lightweight championship) goes in the wrong direction—he comes off much too much like a fiery babyface wanting justice than the cowardly heel who uses every excuse in the book to justify his actions.

MDogg 20 has a few girls with him—negative chemistry here with the ladies. He does perform much better in the ring. Except when Brian Lee almost kills himself on a botched spot. Noticing a pattern here?

Josh Prohibition does the top heel act here and uses his cockiness and bravado to the fullest extent possible. He is definitely someone who needs to be brought into ROH or given a look in the near future. He has been around the independent scene enough and has the chops to succeed.

Derek Wylde is only featured in one match but he has a good look and good height. He can wrestle and get over with the crowd, so I’d like to see more of him as well. I also got into Dan Paysan’s act (loved the entrance song) and he definitely has potential, but needs to not fall into “let’s get all my moves in” mode. These shows also once again reinforce my opinion that I like TJ Perkins TONS better as the Puma character. I get into his matches with the mask on, but without it…eh.

The video and audio quality for these shows are very good and this time around I had no problems whatsoever with the DVD-Rs playing in my various systems. However, as I mentioned with the “Hour of the Dragon show” and I’m sure with most UWA shows the commentary is a problem. Joe E. Slick, obviously influenced by Joey Styles, can get down right atrocious and annoying. It’s a half Joey Styles, half Howard Cosell job that totally gets to me and I end up having to either put the thing on mute or listen to something else on my iPod while watching the action. Let me repeat, I cannot stand this guy as a commentator. He does a good job as ring announcer, but we need someone else calling the action.

If you’re a Liger, Ultimo Dragon, Alex Shelley or Chris Sabin fan, these two shows are definite recommendations.

The ROH List
**Fifth Year Festival: NYC (Samoa Joe / Morishima, Homicide / Rave, Briscoes / Cabana & McGuinness, Albright / Whitmer, Evans / SHINGO / Xavier / Jacobs)
**Fifth Year Festival: Philly (Homicide / Morishima, Sydal & Daniels / SHINGO & Evans, Briscoes / Generico & Steen, Castagnoli / Aries, McGuinness / Perkins)
**Fifth Year Festival: Chicago (Morishima & McGuinness / Joe & Homicide, Cabana / Jacobs, Strong & Richards / Aries & Cross, Daniels & Sydal / The Briscoes, Albright / Castagnoli)
**Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool (Joe / McGuinness, ROH World Tag Team Titles: The Briscoes / Doi & SHINGO / FIP Title: Strong / PAC, 2/3 Falls: Delirious / Matt Sydal) **Fifth Year Festival: Finale (Joe / Homicide, Fight Without Honor: McGuinness / Rave, ROH World Tag Team Titles: Doi & SHINGO / Richards and Strong, Sydal / PAC, Falls Count Anywhere: Whitmer / Jacobs)
**All Star Extravaganza III (ROH vs. Dragon Gate 8 Man Tag, Strong / Evans, Mochizuki / Richards, Cabana / Sydal / Hero / Pearce, Homicide / Daniels)
**Supercard of Honor II (CIMA, SHINGO and Yokosuka / Dragon Kid / Saito / Mochikzuki, Strong / Aries, Whitmer / Jacobs, Evans & Doi / Richards and Romero, McGuinness / Hero, Daniels & Sydal / Delirious & Jay Briscoe)
**Fighting Spirit (ROH World Title: McGuinness / Morishima, Jay Briscoe and Erick Stevens Mark Briscoe / El Generico & Kevin Steen, Evans & Delirious / Strong & Romero, Claudio / Romero, Cabana / Williams)
**The Battle of St. Paul (ROH World Title: Morishima / Aries, FIP Title: Strong / Daniels, Delirious / Stevens / Romero / Evans, Albright & Pearce / Homicide & Cabana/ ROH World Tag Titles Ultimate Endurance)
**Good Times, Great Memories (ROH World Tag Team Titles: Briscoes / Murder City Machine Guns, Roderick Strong / Jack Evans, ROH World Title: Morishima / SHINGO, Austin Aries / Rocky Romeo, Adam Pearce / Colt Cabana, 6 Man Mayhem: Deliirous, Quackenbush, Hallowicked, Jigsaw, Akuma, Primeau)
**A Fight at the Roxbury (Four Corner Survival: Quackenbush / Hero / Castagnoli / McGuinness, ROH World Title: Morishima / Jay Briscoe, El Genercico / Matt Sydal, Steen / Briscoe, Danielson / Rave)
**Respect is Earned (ROH World Tag Team Title: The Briscoes / Castagnoli & Sydal, Danielson & Morishima / McGuinness & KENTA, Marufuji / Romero, Tag Team Scramble, Toland / Albright)
**Domination (ROH World Tag Team Titles, 2 out of 3 Falls: Briscoes / Hero & Castagnoli, Steen & Generico / Jigsaw & Quackenbush, Morishima / Strong, Sydal / Hallowicked, Lacey / Daizee Haze)
**United We Stand (Danielson & McGuinness / Marufuji & Morishima, KENTA / Rocky Romero, NRC vs. Resilience)
**Live in Tokyo (ROH World Title: Morishima / McGuinness, Briscoes & Marufuji / Sydal, Ricky Marvin & Atsushi Aoki, Danileson / Go Shiozaki, Fight Without Honor: Delirious / Strong )
**Race to the top Tournament Night 1 (ROH World Tag Titles: The Briscoes / Danielson & McGuinness, Evans / Steen, Quackenbush / Sydal, Hero / Stevens, Richards / Jigsaw, Delirious / Generico)
**Race to the top Tournament Night 2 (Generico / Claudio, Claudio / Quack, $10,000 Tag Team Challenge: Danielson, Aries, Sydal, Mark Briscoe / McGuinness, Strong, Delirious, Jay Briscoe, Generico / Hero, Evans / Albright)
**Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 (Boston Street Fight: The Briscoes / Steen & Generico, ROH World Title: Morishima / Castagnoli, Danielson / Sydal, Pure Wrestling: Hero / McGuinness, Richards / Evans)
**Death Before Dishonor V Night 2 (Philadelphia Street Fight: NRC & Sydal / Resilience & Delirious, ROH World Title: Morishima / Albright, Quackenbush / Danielson, McGuinness & Castagnoli / Hero & Jigsaw, Del Rey / Lacey, Steen / El Generico, Briscoe / El Generico )

This section needs your help! If you want to recommend some good independent wrestling to your fellow internet readers out there, drop me a line for the column.

ROH @ 411 This Week

It’s a huge week of ROH write ups for 411mania as we have tons of columns and even new reviewers covering ROH shows. Let’s take a looksee:

It’s Glory By Honor weekend commentary in this week’s 411 Buy or Sell. Also get a low down on what the 411 writers think will happen at Glory By Honor VI in the ROH Roundtable Preview.

Michael Weyere does a cross comparison of how TNA and ROH builds up new stars in this week’s Shining a Spotlight.

Bayani does an excellent analysis on the current ROH World Title situation and why ROH is in a position where its okay if Nigel stays as champ in this week’s Truth B Told.

There are quite a few suprising mentions of ROH, Chris Hero and independent wrestling on the usually mainstream oriented Fact or Fiction.

Alex Mattis chimes in with his thoughts on Glory By Honor VI and Misawa in this week’s The Best of the Rest.

Steve Sullivan also gets a few words in on Nigel’s injury with this week’s Happy Go Sucky News Report. Man is that title ever disturbing.

This week’s reviews get started off with the dynamic duo of Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler covering ROH Live in Osaka and Race to the Top Night 1.

Brad also reviews FIP Stronger Than Ever, which I guess is a pun on Roderick Strong.

Mike Campbell also returns to the world of ROH reviews with his look at Night of the Grudges and Paul London vs. AJ Styles. An oldie but a goodie, as they say.

J.D. Dunn underrates some of A Fight at the Roxbury, as I think it’s a really enjoyable all around card. And he didn’t comment nearly enough on Bobby Dempsey running around the track.

Robbie Brooksbank debuts as a new and intrepid ROH reviewer with his look at At Our Best.

Honor Bound Links

My dog ate the latest edition of The Hamilton Avenue Journal.

Corke finally reveals the TRUE Seventh Dimension: David Wills

All is forgiven Dunn thanks to your awesome review of WWF King of the Ring 1994.

It’s great to have Stuart Carapola back in the saddle writing for 411 and even greater that he is tackling one of my favorite themes Pay Per Views with his look back at Survivor Series/

HR / LR looks at Cyber Sunday as a concept.

I often wonder why Larry Csonka didn’t name the 4R’s after himself… the 4C’s, ah yes, “Cash”, “Crack Hos”, “Calories” and “Condescension”.

(allegedly)

Rob Halden thinks Rikishi is an idiot and I can’t say I disagree, except that I would also nominate TNA as well for their role in hiring the guy in the first place.

Finally Steve Cook, the Dear Abby of our swell website.

Next week we begin “Classic Promos” Month as I’ll feature some old school promos of ROH yesteryear. I’ll also have results and a write up of Glory By Honor VI in NYC. Thanks for joining me and I hoped you enjoyed the show.

Brooklyn! DAH EM BAH SEE!
–Ari—