Column of Honor 12.29.07: Final Column 2007 Part Three

And now…
The Column of Honor Year End Awards 2007

Wrestler of the Year—Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness (tie)
2. Takeshi Morishima

-How do you make a call as important as this when the year breaks down as one of the best for both of the top qualifiers? It’s almost impossible to separate current ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness with “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson in this year’s vote, much like it is impossible to separate the one from the other given their near two year in ring rivalry. I know that after much consternation that I cannot do so. So maybe I’m taking the coward’s way out, but in reality I feel like I’m giving each their just due when I list both of them as tied for my choice of 2007 ROH Wrestler of the Year.

In the wake of Bryan Danielson’s absence and the departure of the TNA contracted talent, one wrestler stood out and made the most of the opportunity to improve his career. Nigel McGuinness’s year was a success and filled with heart, spirit and determination. It showed in both the storylines and his in ring performances. McGuinness became the face of the company and he was the consistent main event talent aside from Morishima and The Briscoes. He was the lead good guy, the voice of the honorable wrestlers in storyline and his march to winning the ROH World Title was the lead story of the year.

McGuinness is different in his behavior and attitude from previous top face wrestlers. He is a more reserved and a more soft-spoken person. Maybe it is the British side of him coming through, but within his stoic external self lays a considerable amount of charm and affableness. The sense of humor he has shown back when he was ROH Pure champion is second to none and when it comes out in promos and little nuances in his matches it is enjoyable. That said, this year was more about showing the fans that when the chips were down, Nigel would be there to pick them up.

He opened up the year feuding with Samoa Joe and Jimmy Rave and riding a wave of popularity due to an improved in ring effort focused on high impact strikes and of course his variety of deadly lariats. The momentum was in full swing after gaining a pinfall on Joe in a tag match in Chicago and winning the war against Rave in his hometown of England. McGuinness used the positive momentum to launch himself into the main event scene on a regular basis in 2007.

You talk about heart, spirit and determination—then you have to talk about Bryan Danielson. Although he only ended up putting in about half a year’s worth of in ring time in ROH or any other independent promotion, those six months can easily match up to anyone else’s full year. It took drive and willpower for Danielson to work just as hard and just as well as he did in 2006 as ROH champion, but he has managed to do so. Luckily for Danielson, his skills and abilities have ensured that he has remained highly in demand all year.

In the ring Danielson made sure to evolve his style—he added new Mixed Martial Arts grapples and submissions, especially expanding his repertoire of holds and stretches. The match between McGuinness and Danielson exemplified this new hybrid of chain and technical wrestling. It’s a combination that is different enough to be fresh and similar enough to retain a sense of comfort.

Danielson just brings that something extra to the table, whether it is inside or outside of the ring. While in previous years I have heralded him for his technical ability and last year I glowed about how far he had come with his character, persona and wrestling promos, this year has seen Danielson has become the total package…and I don’t mean Lex Luger here. Danielson’s character is that of a “professional wrestler” and yet he goes beyond that archetype of performer. He has found the ability to excite a crowd with that “pure” wrestler character.

Danielson also has shown that he knows how to build a match, much like a building a house. He starts with the foundation and then moves upwards. The greatest thing is that just when you think he is going to put a roof on that sucker, he builds that one more floor. I guess that is a huge metaphor for the way Danielson has specialized in providing exciting and dramatic finishes to his matches. Just when you think it’s over, that he may get his opponent with the Cattle Mutilation or the MMA elbows, or that his opponent has him dead to rights, the match keeps going with a timely reversal, dodge or block. Danielson has mastered the dramatic finish and it shows in his fantastically memorable matches against KENTA and Nigel McGuinness.

I would be remiss to ignore the impact and the presence of the man who was ROH World champion for most of the year. Takeshi Morishima is certainly not the most technical wrestler, nor is he the biggest “monster” wrestler in the history of the sport, but his in-ring performances (in at least the non-squash matches) were surprisingly dramatic and as the biggest man on the roster he was ROH’s own version of Vader–a ruthless mountain of a man who brutalized anyone in his path. The challenges lined up and he put them all down, usually with the dreaded backdrop driver.

While Morishima finished most of his opponents off with the devastating head drop, in the ring he was certainly no one-move wonder. Morishima took risks that some big men would not dare, going to the top rope on frequent occasions, usually to perform a diving dropkick. He also used his mass and power well–squishing opponents where he could and outright pummeling them no matter what the circumstances. Morishima has the tools and the weapons, but mostly just the outright physical advantage, to take all that his opponents dished out and to give it right back to him. He demonstrated this over and over again in his eight month run as ROH World Champion.

Tag Team of the Year—The Briscoes
2. Kevin Steen & El Generico
3. No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Rocky Romero & Davey Richards)

-2007 was going to be “The Year of the Briscoes” from the very start. Sure, there have been a few bumps in the road, namely a few bumps and bruises on the bodies of Jay & Mark Briscoe, but for the most part the year has begun and has ended with The Briscoes being the top team in the Ring of Honor tag division.

The road to the top began even before the start of the New Year, as The Briscoes put on a phenomenal performance against The Kings of Wrestling in New York City for Final Battle 2006. The Briscoes had been heels in a feud with Samoa Joe and Homicide in Fall of ’06, but as with most face and heel switches in Ring of Honor, the fans decided that they really, really liked The Briscoes after all. So they did a bunch of damage to Pelle Primeau and Mitch Franklin (dressed as Santa’s Little Elves), did what has now become a trademark for the team, the “Man Up” call and response with the crowd. Then they tore the house down against Hero and Castagnoli.

A few weeks later Jay & Mark Briscoe had won their first tag team gold in quite a while, but it wasn’t in Ring of Honor, rather in Japan. Jay & Mark defeated Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. It was their first tour of NOAH and they came in and dominated as a gaijin team on the loose. They capped their short stay in Japan by losing to Kotaro Suzuki and Ricky Marvin in what many have hailed as one of the best matches of the year, not just in Japan but all over the world. The match featured a blistering fast pace, new variations on tag team cohesiveness and the beginning of what is being referred to as “springboard interceptions”.

The Briscoes came back to ROH with intent to win the ROH belts as well and that is exactly what they did at Fifth Year Festival: Chicago. However, they may have defeated Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal just a bit too easily, as they immediately lost the tag straps during their first defense. Like the NOAH belts, the Briscoes were learning that it was easy come, easy go, if they didn’t man up enough.

Their fight against each other at Fifth Year Festival: Finale would prove to be a turning point. They toughened each other up by blasting each other with everything they had, refusing to back down from the other. The match concluded in a ten count draw, a rarity in the sport of professional wrestling. However the match brought the two brothers even closer together and they vowed to regain the tag straps. They did so in a rematch against Naruki Doi and SHINGO, but at the cost of a severe concussion due to Mark Briscoe under rotating on an attempted Shooting Star Press to the outside.

The Briscoes have taken so many unbelievable risks this year, maybe more than should ever be expected out of a professional wrestler. They have taken many stiff chair shots, ladder shots, and they have bruised and bled themselves in the ring like no other wrestlers on the roster. Mark Briscoe “has paid the price” this year, as mentioned above. He not only lost his front teeth at the hands of his own brother in an in-ring accident (despite the myth Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard attempt to propagate on commentary), suffered a severe concussion and later on hurt his leg in a motorcycle accident. The risks Mark takes in the ring with his high flying moves don’t help to keep him safe, but they wow the fans like no other. Jay hasn’t been sitting idly by either; he has taken his lumps–being the victim of the Age of the Fall and being hung upside down from a great height while just pouring blood like a running faucet–what an insane thing to do. Jay has also been bumped and bruised by Necro Butcher this year. Taking chair shots and side slams through chairs from that dude isn’t exactly my ideal dream job. Yet The Briscoes take it and keep on coming.

I don’t know whether or not we should look up to The Briscoes for the insane risks they take for the entertainment of their fans or to rebuke them for being senseless in times when wrestlers should know to take better care of themselves. I’m not in their shoes and I can’t be. I never will be–therefore I stand over here, in the audience, just watching in awe and praying that every time they go into a match, they “Man Up” and make it out okay.

The Briscoes have created magic in the ring–the magic of pseudo (and sometimes all too real) brutality and violence, yes, but also the magic of what it means to be a tag team wrestling in a tag match. Some on the internet do not hesitate to criticize them from straying from what has become traditional tag formula, a heel-face dynamic that has been famous ever since the historic Rock N’ Roll Express-Midnight Express feud from the mid 1980’s. The Briscoes nix the “Ricky Morton” role (unless they’re reigned in by someone like Chris Hero who can do that style so well) in favor of frequent tags, back and forth momentum switches and the borrowing of the Puroresu ethic of building up a match with bigger, badder and more violent moves. Their psychology is based on being able to withstand and recover from crazy looking, painful hits, and then give back just as much if not more so. In other words: MAN UP.

That style has more oftentimes than not led to successful matches that the fans eat up. The crowd loves to chant for them and loves to see what they bring to the table in the ring. This year they have had classic, match of the year caliber matches all over the ROH touring map. They’ve had great ones against The Kings of Wrestling, Claudio Castagnoli & Matt Sydal, Kevin Steen & El Generico, The Motor City Machine Guns, The No Remorse Corps and The Age of the Fall. They have been in the main event of at least eight shows this year and even were the main event of the show where Mitsuhara Misawa sought to make his mark in ROH.

The Briscoes were incredibly important to ROH in 2007, in the same way that the team of Austin Aries & Roderick Strong was so valuable in 2006. They were the backbone of the tag division. They were the standard bearers in the ring. They had name value and face value. The stories were built around them and they delivered by being charismatic beyond expectations. Fans loved The Briscoes in 2007. So did I.

Worst Tag Team of the Year—PACMAN Jones & Ron Killings….er, sorry… wrong promotion.
Irish Airborne

-What, did you think I would have chosen Jason Blade & Eddie Edwards here instead? Surprisingly, no. Blade & Edwards, like Irish Airborne, may not be much more than a generic “hooray” and “come on baby” style babyface team, but unlike Jake and Dave Crist, they have actually had several solid to decent performances in the ring. This includes a “Rockers” style underdog win against Chris Hero & Tank Toland at Fighting Spirit and an honest-to-god compelling performance against The Resilience during Caged Rage back in August. Irish Airborne meanwhile, have not fared as well in ROH this year. Their in ring performances remain below par, most notably a sloppy and uninteresting bout against Kevin Steen & El Generico while the latter team was at their hottest peak of the year. Besides, something about them just irks me…whether it’s their god awful ugly back tats or the Randy Orton look-alike act from Jake (or is it Dave?), these guys just don’t work for me. Let’s put it this way, given the choice I’d rather see a Blade & Edwards match over an Irish Airborne match…well, wait…hmm…is it too late to change my pick? Can it be a tie?

MVP of the Year—The Briscoes
2. Nigel McGuinness
3. Bryan Danielson

-Not only did The Briscoes prove their worth on every show, most usually they were either THE show or they stole it. As a tag team they were the main event in 2007 a total of eight times, but most importantly they were on just about every show in 2007 and always contributing something important to the overall product. The MVP is the one you call upon the most and in 2007 The Briscoes were called upon to perform and put on a display for the fans. Their insane tag combinations and freewheeling, fun personality kept them hugely over with the fans. They are sometimes wacky, most of the time ass kickers and one hundred percent worth watching every time out. Even those who criticize the Briscoes for their work in the ring, they have to be watching just to see if they will crash and burn.

Debut of the Year—Erick Stevens
2. Jigsaw
3. Mike Quackenbush

(A note about this award: This award refers to wrestlers who debuted in ROH action in the last year, as opposed to rookies, because guys like Quackenbush who have been on the indie scene a while now should not be considered rookies.)

-Wrestlers who make first time appearances for Ring of Honor don’t usually win right off the bat. In fact it sort of became an unofficial joke among fans that everyone gets jobbed out on their first match. However, Erick Stevens was different. He came up from Full Impact Pro having come into his own in the last twelve months working with top talent there such as Roderick Strong and Steve Madison. He immediately went to the pay window. Two squash matches that lasted a total combined time of about a minute and a half later and Stevens was on the ROH map. In the last year he was brought into The Resilience and became their “clean up hitter”, equalizing the brutality and carnage of the No Remorse Corps with brutality of his own. Stevens is impressive, a mass of a man in the line of a Scott Norton. He has power and he is quickly learning the in-ring game of psychology and showmanship. While the “stable warfare” storyline under impressed, the constant positive of the storyline was seeing Stevens learn and grow in the ring. His shining moments came at the end of the Philadelphia Street Fight at Death Before Dishonor V Night Two, when it was just he up against his mentor (and in ROH, his enemy) Roderick Strong. The show of courage and “fighting spirit” he put on for the fans in attendance was dramatic and memorable. Stevens is over with the fans, but it isn’t just the “Choo Choo” gimmick that gets him a pop (although it helps). As a face, Stevens comes across as a very likeable, inspiring wrestler. As a heel, imagine the viciousness and brutality he will show. There is a very bright future ahead for Stevens in 2008, whether or not it is with or against his former partners in the Resilience or on his own.

Jigsaw was a revelation in the second half of the year. Back in the day, it was almost unheard of to see masked wrestlers in ROH. In a promotion as serious and dedicated to wrestling as sport, masked wrestlers didn’t seem to fit in (unless your name was “The Great Muta”). Then wrestlers such as Puma paved the way towards masked wrestlers becoming more accepted in ROH and finally Delirious and El Generico broke through to become “over” enough to the point where masked wrestlers aren’t questioned anymore. Jigsaw came in and got over due to the quality of his work, his in ring ability and let’s face it—that is one hell of a cool mask. He went from a wrestler on the under card making appearances every so often to being brought into a faction and playing a good role in the current ROH rivalries.

Fans had been waiting for five years to see Mike Quackenbush wrestle in ROH. The success of CHIKARA these last few years and an increased exposure to Quackenbush’s work and interviews no doubt has led to more fans of independent pro wrestling to pick up the following fact: Quackenbush is an awesome talent. He no doubt deserved to be in ROH for the longest time, but his interests and goals led to his unavailability to perform there. Finally 2007 was the right time for all involved to come in and show the fans just how good he is in the ring. Quackenbush is a master of many styles and it shows in his moves. His speed and technical acumen are as impressive as his showmanship Quackenbush was able to have several good to very good matches against the likes of Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli. There was even the long awaited (within ROH anyway) dream match of Quack vs. Dragon which took place. Hopefully in 2008 there will be more of Quack in ROH, perhaps even becoming involved in a story or rivalry within the company.

Comeback of the Year—Bryan Danielson (which wrestlers who have returned to ROH action have “come back” the best in ROH action.)
2. Kevin Steen & El Generico
3. Austin Aries

-Another category that I had the top candidates in mind but I had so much trouble deciding where to place them. How do you decide what is the better comeback? What separates a man coming back from not one, but two very serious injuries; two wrestlers who failed in an initial run but came out of nowhere to be one of the very best and exciting tag teams of the year; a wrestler who was told he couldn’t return and that he couldn’t wrestle being freed from limbo and returning to the company with renewed vim and vigor? Danielson faced physical adversities, Generico & Steen had to give everything they could in order to further their careers and Aries was fighting to continue his career and finally won out. While I’ve graded the comebacks and assigned placements, each in its own right has to be celebrated and acknowledged with great aplomb.

Breakout of the Year—Claudio Castagnoli (which wrestler or performer “broke out” from the pack and stood out and made an impact within ROH this year)
2. Chris Hero
3. Bobby Dempsey

-HEYYYYY! Sorry, that was predictable, but then again if there was anything as constant and true it was Claudio Castagnoli’s performances throughout 2007. A year ago, Castagnoli was almost on his way out of the company. Now he remains one of the mainstays and has broken out not just for his character, but for his in ring gamesmanship which was stepped up several levels in mid-2007. Claudio initially “broke out” because of a “break up”–the dissolution of The Kings of Wrestling. When Claudio was able to go it alone, initially he found some trouble finding his place. He went on a mini-losing streak. A full face turn helped rally the crowd around Claudio. The man who had once betrayed the company to side with the enemy CZW forces had now found himself on the side of the angels once again. The breakout continued with fantastic performances in the eight man All Stars tag between ROH and Dragon Gate at All Star Extravaganza III and tag title matches teaming up with Sydal (and yes, one more time with Chris Hero) against The Briscoes. Finally, Claudio’s breakout was cemented in July thanks to ROH pushing him hard in the Race to the Top Tournament and giving 120% effort in a title match against then champion Takeshi Morishima.

All year I had been wondering about the ups and downs of Chris Hero, but as it turns out ROH was just waiting for the right place and the right time to push the guy. Maybe they were lulling the Hero Haters into a false sense of security, but now I get the sense that Chris Hero is going to be a huge part of ROH and its booking now and for a long time to come. 2006 was the story of Hero being a humongous, annoying pest with the CZW feud and his run with The Kings of Wrestling. In 2007 Hero broke out playing up the role of the “prime time player”, a primadonna of sorts only engaging in action when the terms and conditions had been met to his liking. Yet he never lets us forget that he is the number one man in the promotion during his interviews and in his interactions with the crowd. His antics in and out of the ring as a part of Sweet & Sour Incorporated have been some of the most entertaining and fun moments for ROH this year. He has broken through not as a killer heel, but as a cowardly and comedic heel. Who knew?

Speaking of cowardice and comic timing, I would be remiss if I didn’t give it up to Bobby Dempsey in his role as the foil / lackey for Sweet & Sour Incorporated. For a long time Dempsey was floating around the pre-show as a student wrestler, but in 2007 he was given an important role to fill. In the absence of Colt Cabana, someone had to bring the funny. Amazingly, it came from Sweet & Sour Inc and Bobby Dempsey. Dempsey is the perfect fall guy for Tank Toland, his trainer / tormentor as well as the rest of SNSI. It’s gotten to the point that Dempsey is so over with the crowd in his role that chants of his name echo loudly during Chris Hero matches. Those chants are for Dempsey, both in sympathy for his character taking so much abuse but also for being an effective entertainer. It’s also the springboard for excellent heel heat for Chris Hero & company. Congrats to Dempsey for finding a place to belong in ROH, such as it is.

Most Honorable—Nigel McGuinness
2. Claudio Castagnoli
3. Delirious

-Its too bad being honorable isn’t so “cool” as it used to be, because I’ve gotten the feeling that even though Nigel McGuinness has done nothing but honorable and altruistic actions this year, it isn’t all that appreciated by the ROH fan base. That indifference in attitude won’t halt me from praising Nigel McGuinness this year as the most honorable wrestler in ROH.

Nigel began the year attempting to defend the honor of professional wrestling itself. When Samoa Joe began to badmouth and disrespect the wrestlers of Pro Wrestling NOAH, Nigel took Joe to task. Nigel felt a sense of loyalty to NOAH because he had become successful in his tours there. Joe had begun to seem affected by bitterness because he was not as successful in Japan as he thought he should have been. Joe called out men like Morishima, KENTA, Marufuji and “the old man himself”, Mitsuhara Misawa. Yet it was Nigel who was the first-responder. He felt it was only right he come to the defense of men who he thought were honorable and were not being treated with respect. While a lot of fans sided with Joe (and I have to admit, that included myself) due to his popularity and legendary status within ROH, you cannot take away from Nigel that he tried to do what he considered to be the right thing in this situation.

Other instances where McGuinness demonstrated that he was a true man of honor included his developing rivalry against Chris Hero and Sweet & Sour Inc. Nigel would help to stop Sweet & Sour Inc. from “taking care of” wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino. This was a courageous act born out of respect for a wrestling pioneer and true champion. McGuinness also put a stop to the annoying presence and antics of Johnny Fairplay by crushing him with a huge lariat and sending him on his way.

Finally, McGuinness has attempted to conduct himself with honor in the ring. He is one of the few wrestlers who always offers a handshake in the tradition of the code of honor. This is by no means an inconsequential action—so few wrestlers in ROH nowadays follow the handshake code and it is a testament to Nigel that he does so—not to mention a great call back to a bygone era of ROH.

Claudio and Delirious also earn runner up spots in this category due to their efforts of being honorable and / or “fighting the good fight.” Claudio has been at war with Sweet & Sour Inc. and especially Larry Sweeney, who he considered a black mark upon the world of honor that is ROH. Claudio has completed a huge turnaround from his days as the CZW loyalist / ROH antagonist. He has earned his forgiveness from the fans and has earned back their trust—Sgt. Slaughter might be proud to say that in a way, he got his “country” back.

Delirious has been the victim of many an unfortunate attack this year. He was concussed by Strong and he had his masked staple gunned to his face by The Hangmen Three. Yet he has never given up and never given in to the traumatic events of 2007. He has always put his best foot forward and tried to gain redemption by giving it right back to the tormentors. He scored a huge victory over Strong in Japan and now has his sights set on Pearce, Whitmer and Albright.

Most Dishonorable—Chris Hero
2. Kevin Steen
3. Adam Pearce & Shane Hagadorn

-It was a close race, but Chris Hero just edged it out to repeat in winning Column of Honor’s Best Heel award. In 2006, Hero was an arrogant pest representing the interests of CZW and The Kings of Wrestling. One year later, Chris Hero is still an arrogant pest, but from now on he represents the interests of only one man–himself.

You begin the year with Hero turning his back on his long time partner and protégé Claudio Castagnoli. Double C betrayed ROH in 2006 to side with Hero. However, when Claudio was set to leave the WWE, Hero was contacted and signed by Super Agent “Sweet & Sour” Larry Sweeney. Sweeney had not one use for Claudio, so when he was surprised by Claudio’s announcement that he wasn’t leaving after all, he acted fast and made Hero decide: either his past in Claudio or his future with Sweet and Sour. Hero chose the latter. It paid immediate dividends in the form of an ROH World Title shot in January 2007.

Hero’s obnoxious behavior really began to spiral out of control starting in March 2007 when he and Sweeney confronted Bruno Sammartino. They were both set to beat up an elderly wrestling legend and they would have had no compunctions about it. Meanwhile, Sweeney enlisted men and women such as Tank Toland and later Sara Del Rey to become Hero’s entourage and thus, the formation of Sweet and Sour Inc. Chris Hero was Sweeney’s top client and both of them never let anyone else forget it.

Constant promises of Hero heading to the top, combined with Hero’s in ring chicanery have made him one of the biggest headaches ever seen in the company’s six year history. Hero doesn’t wrestle unless his demands are met in terms of money, perks and other match related stipulations. Then when Hero gets in the ring, he begins a stall session that even Larry Zybysko would think was taking an excessively long time. A routine of needless acrobatics to show off his fitness, delay tactics to frustrate his opponents, multiple abuses of Bobby Dempsey and announcements made by proxy through mic man Bobby Cruise are all a part of The Chris Hero Show. Then when he’s gone through all of this and actually decides to wrestle, Hero makes sure to go through the least common denominator in order to ensure a win. Bobby Heenan would approve of this “win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat” mentality, but I do not. Many fans do approve of his tactics, chanting “Chris is Awesome” but many others side with those who find his actions reprehensible and disgusting, showering him with chants of “F**k You Hero”.

Hero has continued his rivalry with Claudio Castagnoli, destroying Double C’s Race to the Top trophy and attacking him in the eye with it. Hero and Sweeney also effectively corrupted Matt Sydal at Driven, when he betrayed Castagnoli and attacked him from behind. In constantly proving to be a thorn in Claudio’s side and the work of his perpetual hype machine, there can be no doubt that there is no one else more dishonorable in Ring of Honor than Chris Hero. I bet you though, that he would take this as a compliment, and begin once again to chant “Chris is Awe-some.”

Kevin Steen could have won the award outright were it not for a babyface turn very late in the year. While Steen’s attitude and behavior as a face is not altogether that much different from his antics as a bad guy, it still proved costly. Steen loved to mug for the camera, oftentimes delaying the cameraman so that he could focus more on Steen’s mug. He would shout out to his mom after laying someone out viciously. It was vile and rude, but it was also very humorous. Steen showed no sympathy or heart in his war with The Briscoes. He hated them and wanted them to feel pain until they coughed up the ROH World Tag Team Titles. Sneak attacks, chair shots and ladder shots were all part of his repertoire of attacks against the tag champions. He just didn’t care about them making it out of the match okay, so long as in the end he got what he wanted. His constant abuse of his partner El Generico should not go unlooked. They have a symbiotic relationship, but it seems like Steen has at times abused Generico physically and verbally way more than would be necessary. Why did El Generico put up with all the abuse? He knew that teaming up with Steen was his best chance of success in the tag division. Steen knew that too and took advantage of it by controlling his partner’s actions, even sometimes forcing him to do heelish actions even though he didn’t want to do them. Now THAT’S what being dishonorable is all about.

The “You Fucked Up” Award—
You Fu*ked Up Moments 2007

Non-Kayfabe

-Sports Plus in Long Island closes: Well, let’s put it this way. I had a very distinct and clear love-hate relationship with Sports Plus and the Long Island crowd. The atmosphere was often one of the worst in the touring circuit. The fans were downright apathetic and at times you could hear crickets chirping, most of the time literally. However, it didn’t start out that way—it wasn’t always a cesspool of negativity and indifference. The first two shows in Sports Plus, taking place at the tail end of 2005, were terrific. The first show had the epic Punk heel promo where he disgraced the ROH title and the second show was Danielson’s title win and Mick Foley’s goodbye appearance for the company where he signed free autographs after show in a tremendous gesture of goodwill. However, things seemed to make a downturn from there. The shows became less and less received even though the crowd numbers were always large. The quality of the DVD products therefore suffered (witness 2006’s How We Roll). So by the time Sports Plus closed down, maybe it was an “Old Yeller” moment. However, the new venue, Deer Park community center, isn’t much better. It’s smaller and not as comfortable, that’s for sure. Crowd reaction is still mixed at best. Not to mention that after appearing there in July, ROH will wait seven months to return to the area and to that venue (February 2008). Smaller venue, irregular shows, same apathetic crowd…maybe Sports Plus wasn’t so bad after all.

-ROH fires Mary Kate Grosso as photographer: The long time photographer for ROH was fired around the same time ROH began to start its PPV taping. Mary Kate was a phenomenal photographer, whose action shots appeared on many of ROH DVDs. She was also extremely fan friendly in that she let the fans look at the many photographs she took through an online database, thus allowing fans not in attendance to have an extra “sneak peak” of the event before it hit DVD. Mary Kate was also extremely nice to fans in attendance at the live shows. While I’ve never talked to her in person, I always saw her with a smile and she seemed to have a genuine affection for the business and for her job. I don’t have the exact specifics of the events that led to her departure, but I do know that it is a shame that her skills and abilities are not being put to use by ROH.

-PAC crashes and burns in NYC. I feel really, really bad for PAC. He has done so well in other American independent wrestling companies and has impressed with his daredevil act of high risk moves. However, when called upon he can also go with technical and chain wrestling. Unfortunately for him, he went for the latter in his New York City debut wrestling for ROH and the crowd was having none of it. The fans wanted to see him do flippy flops and risk his life doing 2160 degree corkscrew planchas with his anti-gravity boots. When they didn’t get it and instead received a (gasp!) wrestling match, it was over. When PAC screwed up several moves due to nerves and the pressure of performing on such a huge stage, then it was really over for him (the missed moves subsequently were edited off the Manhattan Mayhem II DVD). Hopefully PAC gets another chance to wrestle in ROH during 2008 and redeems what was an unfortunate series of events in New York City.

-Jimmy Rave goes on a tirade in Deer Park, LI, quits ROH, shows up in TNA and does NOTHING in his debut and future appearances. Well, that was certainly a smart decision there. Unfortunately for Jimmy Rave, he went from being featured in ROH in the beginning of 2007 to being injured off and on for the better part of four months. It was a very unfortunate situation for him, but surprisingly it seemed to actually get Rave just a bit more over with the crowd, who while usually hating him, popped heavy for his return and for a subsequent appearance in NYC. On the other hand, Rave along with BJ Whitmer never ceased to be an internet whipping boy in certain circles of the internet. Anyway, Rave’s frustrations about his injuries and his spot in the company led him to asking for his release from his ROH contract. He got the release and signed with TNA, as had been rumored due to his connection with Vince Russo (having appeared for him as a central figure in the Ring of Glory shows he booked before rejoining TNA creative). Rave is now teaming with Lance Hoyt in a go-nowhere team and sometimes is lucky enough to get a few minutes of television time, most likely jobbing to someone higher up on the food chain. I guess things aren’t too bad for him though—he does get to hang with Christy Hemme…and that might make him the envy of all us internet losers out there quick to cut him down.

-Sideways Promo Style From First Quarter 2007: Who were the ad wizards who came up with that one? I know sometimes you should be different and change for the sake of change, but this was ill advised to say the least. The wrestler promos went from being filmed head on, like any standard wrestling promo, to a three-fourths angle where it looked like wrestlers were having a conversation with someone else off to the side of the camera, just wide of the camera shot. It didn’t fly in WCW in 2001 and it certainly didn’t work here. Luckily ROH switched back to the more standard form of filming promos before any classic monologues were affected.

Kayfabe

-Johnny Fairplay enters the Ring of Honor and gets his head taken off for the effort. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU F*** A STRANGER IN THE A**! Johnny Fairplay thought he could just slide on into ROH through his contacts in Sweet & Sour Incorporated, well think again. Nigel McGuinness reminded Mr. Fairplay why the promotion is based on honor and respect. McGuinness delivered it straight to Mr. Celeb-reality courtesy of a murderous lariat.

-Bobby Dempsey messes up his workouts at the track. Poor, poor Bobby Dempsey. No, really, I mean it. Poor Bobby Dempsey. The man was Charlie Brown to Sweet & Sour Inc.’s Linus on every show. This is what happens when you…join up with the cool kids because you want to be popular. You get to be the lackey, the one most picked on…and you better take it or they kick you out and it gets a million times worse. From taunting him with Death by Chocolate cookies to making him workout in those ridiculous silver shiny gym clothes to being the fall guy for many evil machinations by Sweeny & Hero, Dempsey has proven to be this year’s greatest proverbial punching bag. Bobby, shape up next year or be ready to be shipped out.

-Jason Blade’s Entrance Music I hate really, REALLY annoying entrance music. It’s even worse when it’s dragged out. I hated it when Steve Corino used long (and ear bleeding) entrance music, hated it when Allison Danger began to use long entrance music that sounded like Pacabel’s Canon if it were played through a warped glass funnel. And I liked both of them as wrestlers! Imagine how I feel when a wrestler I don’t have much use for comes out to an overly long theme. Blade’s entrance music was obnoxious to the ears, an orchestra combined with a fire alarm ringing to herald…who exactly? What did Blade do for ROH this year to merit such an overbearing theme song and corresponding visual effects such as strobe lighting? I won’t knock Blade for the time and effort he’s put in on the independent scene, but you need to make a bigger name for yourself in ROH before you get entrance music that overly long.

Shows of the Year

Man Up–There has been a multitude of praise that I have already heaped about this show and I’m about to add some more to the pile. Two hours of a near perfect pay per view product that featured matches all (in my opinion) above three stars and several at near four stars and two that were OVER four stars. I loved the opening match Four Corner Survival because it was a fast paced, non stop thrill ride featuring four top talents. Each man had been built up over the previous two PPV shows so when the show started off with them a fan watching would instantly recognize we were starting with some of the best talent in the promotion. The Resilience vs. No Remorse Corps series was an incredible success both in terms of telling the story of two factions fighting it out as well as showing the talents of each individual member on the roster. Danielson vs. Morishima II, while not quite on the level as their first encounter is nonetheless compelling viewing and sets up the incredible tone of hatred and Danielson’s need for revenge in their third match (Glory By Honor VI Night Two). Finally the Ladder War has already been talked about on the same level as WWE’s TLC tag match series of 2000-2001 and with good reason. These men put their bodies on the line in one of the more dangerous matches of the year. The PPV also featured the debut of The Age of the Fall, which was built up throughout the show and then delivered on an insane cliffhanger ending, which continues on the DVD bonus portion with Jimmy Jacobs speaking about his new faction while underneath Jay Briscoe, pouring blood literally like a faucet on top of him. The DVD portion features one of the better women’s matches of the year in the promotion (with Amazing Kong~!), more Age of the Fall action and the final match between Matt Sydal and Delirious before Sydal headed off to WWE developmental. Perhaps the only other show that competes with the quality and consistency of this one would be Driven. I give this PPV the edge because all of its feature matches were taped on the same show (the Four Corner Survival from Caged Rage with the formation of Hangmen 3 was only shown in clip form). Meanwhile Driven as a PPV was helped by Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness from Philadelphia. Although in the end they both end up being about the equal of each other and it says a lot when you can have this sort of debate with two ultra-high quality shows as this one and…

Driven –Not to give anything away, but what can you say about a show that has one of the greatest ROH matches of the year other than it deserves to be placed in the upper echelon for show of the year? The Pay Per View itself has been so widely praised and appreciated that it is in serious contention for many wrestling website’s PPV of the year category. In one show fans were able to see a classic one-on-one wrestling encounter between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness with a dramatic finish and a fantastic reception from the live crowd. There was a terrific six-man tag team match that spotlighted the NRC-Resilience feud and made stars out of all six in just a twenty minute segment. Then we had the return of Austin Aries to ROH in one of the more dramatic and emotional moments of the year. The Briscoes and Kevin Steen / El Generico tore it up. Hell, even a one minute squash was the best possible squash you could ever hope to see as Albright just destroyed Pelle Primeau. The DVD extras are also tremendous and add so much value to the overall package. Chris Hero fought Nigel McGuinness in an entertaining encounter that highlighted each of their personalities and wrestling style. Meanwhile KENTA and Bryan Danielson had another over four star encounter that played off their previous match in ROH and continued a fantastic rivalry. There were two other solid matches and we even got the PPV preview show thrown in as well. Fans got the most bang for their buck with this show and I give it the highest recommendation to anyone looking to get into ROH or looking to get someone else into ROH.

Good Times, Great Memories – Another amazing card up and down the line and were it not for the two Pay Per View broadcasts above this would be EASY Show of the Year. Regardless of what I think of it, Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Briscoes has been almost universally praised as one of the top matches of the year and even though its not in my top 10,. It will be on the list of many. It is for many the very definition of what a tag team match should mean in the year 2007 and certainly it highlights the important point that the ROH tag division is still the best of the “big three” with plenty of active competition and believable contenders for the title, but with one dominant team that rises above all others. There are excellent twists and turns on this card, from Christopher Daniels’ mock farewell promo to Tank Toland taking on Bobby Dempsey as his fitness trainee. This is also the last card with many of the “old guard” of the ROH with TNA talent era (MCMG, Daniels, Homicide and Aries, at that point) as well as the farewell of Colt Cabana, Allison Danger and SHINGO. All three go out with a bang, Cabana in fine Cabana form, Danger in a fitting “full circle” in his relationship / obsession with Daniels and SHINGO with a balls out performance against Morishima in what was the best match of the Dragon Gate wrestler’s ROH tenure. Strong and Evans fight it out in a match almost as good as their ASE 3 showdown. All that PLUS another classic Jimmy Jacobs promo and a memorable goodbye from Cabana (and the DVD is filled with Cabana’s best moments in ROH) make this the first non-PPV show that you should purchase if you want to find out what the best of ROH in 2007 was all about.

Respect Is Earned – The first Pay Per View taping took the normal high-levels of the NYC crowd and amped it up even further because of the first time nature of the event and ROH did deliver. Fans had no clue about what they would see during this show, so this DVD represents a very interesting case study in crowd reaction. ROH gave the fans plenty of reasons to cheer though, as there are two fantastic matches from the PPV and a slew of good bonus matches to add onto the value of the DVD. Sydal / Castagnoli vs. The Briscoes and the post match brawl and angle with Generico & Steen have achieved second place status in my favorite live moments, right below Joe vs. Kobashi. The “all star” main event for the PPV of Danielson & Morishima vs. KENTA & McGuinness also delivered, looking even better on PPV than it did live. Needless to say Respect Is Earned has earned a definitive place in ROH’s history.

Death Before Dishonor V Night One – I can’t say enough great things about the Boston crowd that has attended ROH shows over the past year. They have impressed me so much with their enthusiasm and the general positive vibe I get from the DVD’s from the Roxbury location. The crowd was given a GREAT show here, capped off with a hell of a street fight between The Briscoes & El Generico & Kevin Steen. This match was absolute non-stop brawling–always something happening, always something else to react to. The crowd got into the match as well, running around the seating areas to follow all the hectic action. This is a show, like many shows on this list, where the entire under card was solid and there were many highlights that helped to support the main event match and make the DVD that much more of a compelling purchase. Hero and McGuinness had a wonderful reprise of a PURE wrestling style match, and the inclusion of the Project 161 / AotF angle within that match makes it a worthy note in the annals of ROH history. The Resilience sweep of their matches also makes for a very positive “underdog wins” vibe in the middle of the show. Although the match against Sydal was only an average Danielson match, he has a very funny segment with Larry Sweeney in the negotiation of Sydal’s share of the money from the Race to the Top Tournament $10,000 tag victory. Cap that off with Castagnoli vs. Morishima in a great ROH World title match and one of the closest two and nine-tenths counts of his entire run as champion and it is very much good times with this. This is a great example of a night one of a double shot ending up being even stronger than the second night of action.

Fifth Year Festival: Finale – The “can’t miss” show of the entire Fifth Year: Festival series, with the first Liverpool show running a close second. ROH ran two immensely strong cards for their second UK tour in the promotion’s history. Delirious and Colt Cabana kicked off the show with one of the best comedy matches of the year–these two are just damned fine master of wrestling comedy, so when they match up against each other, laughs are a guarantee. BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs battle in a Falls Count Anywhere match that just happens to be one of my personal favorite matches of the year. The match just goes everywhere around (and up) the building and Jacobs bleeds a gusher–good times. Unbelievably the brutality of that match would later be kicked up a notch in the brother vs. brother “Man Up” match of Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe, where fans in the audience went crazy as the brothers tore each other apart in a back and forth battle that actually used the rarely seen ten count draw finish–and it was acceptable given the action that proceeded it. The crazy matches continued with a marquee grudge match of Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave in the Fight Without Honor–which used a guardrail to amass a series of painful looking (and probably painful for real) spots. Doi & SHINGO successfully defended their newly won tag belts in an awesome match against the NRC. Finally Samoa Joe says goodbye to the fans of ROH in a very fitting finale against Homicide. So much action and many newsworthy moments, plus the amazing England crowd make for very compelling viewing.

All Star Extravaganza III — An incredibly eventful card filled with fulfilling matches and shocking returns–who could have ever expected Jim Cornette and The Motor City Machine Guns to make their marks here? The main event of the ROH vs. Dragon Gate All-Star team is filled with fun and non stop action, representing athleticism and competition at its purest (that is not actually a PURE title match, hah). The Briscoes win the gold again, but that is dampened by Mark’s brutal injury. It is a very scary moment that takes a bit to recover from, but the show does move on and finishes strongly. Speaking of, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans have a back and forth battle that focuses on Evans’ speed and their knowledge of each other’s actions. Mochizuki and Davey Richards have an insane strike fest. Erick Stevens debuts in quick and brutal squash fashion, defeating Alex Payne in near record time. Oh and there was some promo at the end of the show by Jimmy Jacobs that may just very well be one of the finest moments of dramatic monologue in ROH history. All together ASE 3 proved worthy of the mantle of a Wrestlemania weekend ROH showcase.

Manhattan Mayhem II — As with Live in Tokyo, if we’re just considering the under card this may not have impressed as much. However, we are not just considering the under card, but rather we must consider the incredible second half of the show, filled with spectacular matches, hot crowds and two of the fiercest title defenses of the year. Its so very hard to encapsulate the atmosphere of Danielson vs. Morishima in words, but it was an awesome experience on the level of some of ROH’s biggest main event level matches. The fans were literally willing Danielson to overcome Morishima’s onslaught and win the title, but it was not to be. The Briscoes and Kevin Steen / El Generico bring their long standing rivalry to its penultimate point. Some fans were disappointed that Steen & Generico never even won a fall in the two of three falls contest, but they had the crowd biting on everyone of their desperation attempts to hold on and win the match. Even the PAC crash and burn event doesn’t come off nearly as bad as did live.

Supercard of Honor II — Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer highlight this show with their feud ending Steel Cage match. Jacobs’ promo in this one may be second only to the one taped for All Star Extravaganza III (see below for complete transcripts of each promo). Then Jacobs went out and did the match, with his body paying a physical price for giving one of the best matches of his ROH career (the emptiness of which would later fuel his darker turn in character). The Dragon Gate crew wanted to reprise their highly praised six-man tag match from last year’s Supercard of Honor. They didn’t hit the mark of their first try, maybe because in some ways we’d seen what they were all about and expected it already, but as it was it turned out to be a very worthy main event match with very cool and innovative action. Strong and Aries had their one-on-one encounter and it was a war as expected, building up in a frenzy to its finally. All that plus another entertaining Homicide & Cabana tag match against Albright & Pearce (hmmm…a foreshadowing of the Hangm3n Three?), the insane pop of Nigel lariating Johnny Fairplay into LaLaLand (where he belongs) and a solid under card get this show onto the list. It doesn’t rank as high as All Star Extravaganza III due to that show having the better Jacobs’ promo, the better main event featuring Dragon Gate wrestlers and all of the appearances from the likes of Cornette, Shelley & Sabin and Bruno Sammartino.

Live in Tokyo — If we’re considering just the first three matches, this gets nowhere near the list. Of course, the show goes back to back to back to back with the next four matches, all highlights. Danielson vs. Go Shiozaki opened up a few eyes in Japan about how good Danielson is inside the ring as it did open some eyes back in America of the potential in Shiozaki to become a key player around the international scene in the years to come. Delirious became a unique and unexpected spokesperson for the company as well as obtaining a measure of revenge against Roderick Strong in a weapon filled Fight Without Honor. Then The Briscoes & Marufuji tore it up against Sydal, Ricky Marvin and Atsushi Aoki. Finally Nigel received a ton of emotional support from the fans as he challenged hometown boy Morishima for the ROH World Title. The match equaled the effort of their first title match, but once again McGuinness left without the gold around his waist. This run of four very good to great matches tied together with the unique experience of watching ROH in Japan in front of a Japanese crowd and videotaped by producers of the NOAH TV program (and bonus matches too!) make this DVD a worthy pick up.

The Battle of St. Paul — This show snuck from out of nowhere to be one of the most consistently solid and quality shows of the year. Every match on the card turned out to be something worth viewing, whether it be for a unique combination of wrestlers (Tag Team Ultimate Endurance), the debut of new talent (Mike Quackenbush!), the return of another (Jimmy Rave) and a classic big man vs. little man title match in the main event (Aries vs. Morishima) that turned out to be something really special. I also enjoyed the Homicide & Cabana team up against Pearce & Albright, as that match tells a nice story of the faces on a hot streak and then slowly being torn down by the power of their opposition. In addition, the video and audio quality are terrific on this DVD and the fans are very energetic and into the action.

Worst Shows of the Year

Reborn Again —This was clearly a transitional show (as suggested in the very show title) to deal with the loss of the TNA contracted talent and to set up events for the PPV taping that would occur the very next night. The first four matches were okay-ish but substandard for what fans usually saw on an ROH card and quite a few of the wrestlers in those matches were not ROH regulars, thus exposing how weakened the roster was at that time. Danielson’s return was the highlight of the show and it was a clear sign that he would need to be counted on more than ever when he wrestled THREE times…in a row on one night. Sure they weren’t the heaviest matches in the world, but it again underscored a lack of depth on the show. Marufuji and KENTA clearly were saving themselves for higher profile matches the next night. Meanwhile Nigel McGuinness’s arm and neck were hurt and so to save him for the PPV taping he was pulled from the main event…in favor of BJ Whitmer, who at the time was no one’s choice to be in the main event position. Ugh. The Danielson segments are fun to watch but the combination of all the other factors relegate this one not just to mediocrity but to the very worst of ROH shows, because clearly this one could have been so much more with just a little bit more effort and a little bit less concern for the PPV taping.

Battle of the Icons —What happens when you mix in two screwy finishes (the I Quit match and the Fall Count Anywhere match), an incident of involuntary projectile vomiting (Jimmy Rave), a crowd more concerned about creating less than clever chants (“Kiss 2 Bill”—thanks STU!) and two grannies and a manger stealing the main event spotlight from the ROH champion and a huge star? You get this show, stemming from Edison, NJ, home of the freakiest crowd in 2007. I’ve said this before, but ROH shows in January are often some of the weakest of the year, and that was certainly proven true with this show. The worst of it all was that Homicide and Samoa Joe could have been an epic encounter, but the crowd turned hostile from the start and it ended up just being average. I would liken it to soggy cereal floating in milk for quite sometime. While this one had potential and a few bright spots (the six man tag that ended up being Generation Next’s final call), the overall weirdness factor makes this show one for the ages, but probably not in the way it was intended.

–Fifth Year Festival: Dayton — This show ended up having Pelle Primeau’s breakthrough match, but overall this was also a very weak show. Originally it was supposed to be a main event of Homicide vs. BJ Whitmer, so that shows you its marginality in the grand scheme of things. Whitmer ended up challenging Morishima for the ROH World title, but Morishima had just won the title so a title change was just about the least likely possibility even given we didn’t know Morishima would be sticking around at the time. In addition there were several low lights, including Jimmy Rave having just a god awful match with Sterling James Keenan

Worst Matches of the Year (in no specific order):

-PAC vs. Davey Richards (Manhattan Mayhem II, Manhattan, NY, 8/25/07)
-Sara Del Ray & Allison Danger vs. Jetta & Eden Black (Fifth Year Festival: Finale- Liverpool, UK 3/4/07)
-Four Corner Survival: Matt Cross vs. Shingo vs. CJ Otis vs. Trik Davis (Fifth Year Festival: Chicago- Chicago, IL 2/24/07)
-Two out of Three Falls: The Briscoes vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong (Dedicated Boston MA 1/26/07)
-Jimmy Rave vs. Sterling James Keenan (Fifth Year Festival: Dayton Dayton OH 2/23/07)
-Jimmy Rave vs. BJ Whitmer (Fifth Year Festival: Chicago Chicago Ridge, IL 2/24/07)
-Open the Dragon Gate: Matt Sydal (c) vs. Austin Aries (Fifth Year Festival: Dayton Dayton, OH 2/23/07)
-Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Ernie Osirus & Mitch Franklin (Honor Nation Roxbury, MA 10/05/07)

The Best MatchPromo Not Many Will Ever See
-Homicide’s Farewell Promo in NYC (Respect is Earned, 05/12/07 Manhattan, New York)

-It was a moment I almost missed, but was lucky enough to see. Homicide’s appearance was a surprise to most fans and a very welcome one at that. Although I had read a rumor his appearance during ROH”s very first PPV taping was possible, I didn’t believe it. The fans exploded into cheers, filling The Grand Ballroom with a thunderous pop for the New York native. Homicide and J-Train (at the time) had their last respects for the crowd, including draping a Rottweilers T-shirt on the mat and pouring a 40 on it! Homicide said goodbye to his fans in a way only he could. Unfortunately for the rest of ROH’s fan base, they will never be able to see this great and emotional celebration as ROH was not allowed to show the farewell promo on PPV or DVD. The farewell was a special and unique moment just for the fans in attendance on that night.

Comedy Moments 2007

-Cabana vs. Delirious series—including Cabana dressing up as Big Daddy in England, switching Delirious and Matt Classic masks in Long Island and getting the referee so twisted up he didn’t even know what to do.
-Sweet and Sour Incorporated Squat Off challenge between Tank Toland and Sara Del Ray (Respect Is Earned). Dempsey falling down. Tank saying “get that junk off the floor” to Del Ray. AND we still don’t know who won!
-Delirious’ antics during the Dragon Gate six man match at Live in Osaka: “Matty Matty Matty Matty Matty!”
-Sweet and Sour Inc. vignettes at the track—may have been the most gut-busting series of skits I’ve ever seen in ROH. From Dempsey being forced to run a lap on the track and falling down repeatedly, to Chris Hero putting Doritos in front of him to taunt the poor man, my god, what a great stroke of genius these were.
-Jack Evans extolling the virtues of “Mega Teriyaki” at a Japanese McDonald’s (Live in Osaka)
-Chris Hero’s extended stall session in the title match at Dedicated vs. Homicide as well as his super extended aerobics sessions against Nigel McGuinness at Driven and against El Generico during Glory By Honor VI Night Two.
-Joe leaving in the middle of his final match to go to the bar in Liverpool venue for a celebratory drink.
-The Briscoes interviews: the great one during a video wire outside the baseball diamond; the insanely hysterical line Mark gets off in a promo that “we may not be the best team in the solar system but on this planet…”, the use of a skeleton as a prop to show what they were going to do against Kevin Steen & El Generico (Death Before Dishonor V Night One), the wacky “HEY!” promo they did with Claudio Castagnoli on a Video wire.
-Hero vs. Cabana vs. Pearce vs. Sydal (All Star Extravaganza III)
-Attack of the Grannies as they battled J-Train in a promo-off at Battle of the Icons. “Fuck him up grandma” indeed.
-Cabana’s running commentary to Doug Williams at Fighting Spirit, including sitting on his stomach and shouting at the top of his lungs “I just ate at McDonalds!”
-Jimmy Loves Lacey moments: Jacobs beats up smarmy sleazy dude at the Bowling alley bar for hitting on “his” girl; learning about Lacey’s love of Ferris Wheels through her MySpace profile (IT ACTUALLY IS LISTED THERE); the value of credit cards: “what’s another couple thousand dollars in debt?”
-Mitch Franklin doesn’t understand the rules of Ultimate Endurance (Battle of St. Paul).
-J-Train calls Jack Evans “white chocolate” and introduces Vulture Squad member Ruckus at Manhattan Mayhem II with “TRANSFORM! TRANSFORM! TRANSFORM!”
-“Dammit Jimmy, they broke my watch, those bastards!”-Bryan Danielson to Jimmy Jacobs at Chicago Spectacular Night 2 (Dec. 2006).
-Kings of Wrestling press conference at Black Friday Fallout (Nov. 2006)
-Crowd chants of “Mullet! Mullet!” at SHINGO during his matches.
-Kevin Steen’s many hilarious in match statements: “Hi Mom!” To Erick Stevens as he’s being lifted up: “Can we maybe talk about this?” To BJ Whitmer: “That guy [in the crowd] is right, you suck!” During ROH Driven: “Hey! He’s not following the rules!” and “You’re not even from Samoa!” following a Samoa Drop by one of The Briscoes.
-Chris Hero / Bobby Cruise Microphone Madness.
-Chris Hero (of Bobby Dempsey in the sauna): “Five bucks says he dies!” (Race to the Top Tournament Night 2)
-The NRC tries to pick up chicks on the Las Vegas strip.

We continue tomorrow with PART FOUR as the 411 writers get their turn to speak on the year in ROH!