Column of Honor: 05.24.08: Ring of Honor Renews PPV

Thanks to thecubsfan for the correction in last week’s column. Jack Evans has been linked to wrestling with AAA, not CMLL, as I erroneously stated in last week’s column.

Ring of Honor Provides New Pay Per Views in ’08-‘09

Ring of Honor is set to continue its series of Pay Per View broadcasts for the next year. ROH announced this week that they will return for a 2008-2009 season of PPV broadcasts after completing its initial contracted slate of six shows. The dates and locations of the seventh and eight PPVs have already been announced for June 7th in Philadelphia, PA and July 26th in Detroit, Michigan.

The next few months will be very busy, filled with the progression of many angles feuds that have been built in early 2008. We’re looking at the Sweet & Sour corporate takeover building steam and the explosion of hatred between Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs that may consume both men.

in addition, the show before “Respect Is Earned 2” (the name for the seventh PPV) will feature the tag tournament to crown new champions. That means going from the sixth to the seventh PPV there will have been multiple title changes that may or may not need to be explained to the PPV audience at home. They will definitely see new champions on the as yet named seventh show. Even if it is the No Remorse Corps who once again wear the titles it will be as a different combination of wrestlers. As Ricky might have once said to Lucy, there’s some ‘splaining to do.

On the same weekend as the seventh PPV, the contents of Larry Sweeney’s briefcase will be revealed and its contents have been trumped up by Sweeney in promos and by ROH in news pieces to provide a life changing scenario to the world of ROH. My personal speculation is that it is Nigel McGuinness’s contract, but it could be that or seemingly a number of different storyline Deus ex Machina which will alter the course of the company. Since the contents will be revealed in time for PPV, continuity on both the PPV and non PPV events could be irrevocably shifted.

The eighth PPV comes at an interesting time for the company’s schedule. It is sandwiched in between ROH’s debut in Canada and their double shot to Virginia and New York with the Motor City Machine Guns. Whatever angles or storylines that start or develop on the previous PPV, they should continue quickly due to the short length of time in between tapings.

Who will be ROH World Champion on these shows is also going to be a question that needs to be answered. Nigel McGuinness has been featured as champion going on three Pay Per Views and if he remains champion will eclipse Takeshi Morishima’s time featured on PPV as champion. Then again, time is moving onward and a title change is certainly feasible during this period of time. The Canadian debut should have some major matches signed because ROH would want to make a great impression on the fans there. Would ROH change the title there? There hasn’t been a World title change at any previous “debut” show for a location, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that ROH wouldn’t green light it.

Then again, with the PPV the next night, would ROH want to walk into their next tapings with a new champion and not present the match to their PPV paying audience? Yet, if ROH does another title change for PPV, that would be the second consecutive switch in a row for that format. The DVD purchasing customers would once again be forced to wait for PPV and then have the series of shows twisted around and out of context. It’s an interesting question as to what to do, one that once again raises questions about the continuity issues within the usage of ROH PPV.

As Ring of Honor gets set to continue its usage of the Pay Per View broadcast, several improvements must be made. Video and audio quality has always been an issue for me in that while it is up to previous ROH standards or slightly better, the broadcasts always come across as far inferior in video quality to WWE or even TNA. I’ve always felt that the DVD versions of the PPV come across as way better in quality in these regards compared to the PPV broadcast. To respond to this, ROH needs to amp up their editing and production values even beyond what they have done over the past year. They have to use the first year of PPV as a stepping stone—keep what worked and look to improve on what did not.

I’m really happy to see Philadelphia get a repeat visit to PPV land, as I remarked quite a while back that the Danielson vs. McGuinness match from “Driven” was one of the better looking matches and came across very well on television. The National Guard Armory in Philadelphia taped very well for that match and I’m hoping to see the same results for the upcoming “Take No Prisoners” PPV that debuts next week.

On the other hand, I have to admit that I am shocked that New York City has not received a third PPV, especially with the use of the Hammerstein Ballroom. That’s no offense mean to Detroit because ROH fans there have also been receptive and enthusiastic to the product and they deserve d to host their own PPV no doubt. Yet just one week after said event ROH comes to the Hammerstein, its largest and most professional looking building. ECW ran many of its Pay Per Views from that location and as WWE fans will recall it was the host of the first two ECW One Night Stand revival shows. Hammerstein Ballroom looks beautiful and I just can’t imagine it wouldn’t look great for ROH on PPV.

The only reason I can see ROH not running a PPV taping there for the August 2nd show is that said weekend is already being sold on the appearance of the Motor City Machine Guns. Considering that they are TNA contracted talent and not allowed to appear on PPVs, I’d imagine ROH would not even want to make the appearance of impropriety that they would put MCMG on PPV. They certainly don’t want people in TNA nervous that they would somehow put them on their PPV.

Although numbers for the PPVs still are not officially released, information from PWInsider states that they are still on the consistent high end of expectations and so they will continue onward for the foreseeable future. The pros and cons of this set up for Ring of Honor are now known; now they need to be addressed or improved upon in the coming year.

ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 05/24/2008

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 15 successful defenses)
–defeated Takeshi Morishima in Edison, New Jersey to win the championship.

Next Defense:: vs. Darren Burridge, Doncaster, UK, 06/20/08 (for 1PW in England)

V.1 defeated Jay Briscoe, wristlock submission (10/21/07 San Francisco, CA)
V.2 defeated Chris Hero, wristlock submission (11/02/07 Philadelphia, PA)
V.3 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (12/29/07 Manhattan, NY)
V.4 defeated Go Shiozaki, London Dungeon (wristlock submission) (01/20/08 Tokyo, Japan,)
V.5 Steel Cage Match: defeated Chris Hero (01/25/08, Dayton, OH)
V.6 defeated Roderick Strong, Jawbreaker Lariat (01/26/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.7 defeated Bryan Danielson, London Dungeon (02/23/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.8 defeated Tyler Black, London Dungeon (03/16/08, Philadelphia, PA)
V.9 defeated Larry Sweeney, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/22/08 Crystal River, FL)
V.10 defeated Austin Aries, Jawbreaker Lariat (03/29/08 Orlando, FL)
V.11 defeated Erick Stevens, London Dungeon (04/11/08 Boston, MA)
V.12 defeated Kevin Steen, roll up holding the ropes (04/12/08 Edison, NJ)
V.13 defeated Kevin Steen, Jawbreaker Lariat (04/19/08 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.14 defeated Claudio Castagnoli, London Dungeon, (05/10/08, Manhattan, NY)
V.15 defeated KENTA and BJ Whitmer, Jawbreaker Lariat to Whitmer (05/15/08, Tokyo, Japan)

**

ROH World Tag Team Champions—VACANT)
–Jay Briscoe vacates the ROH World Tag Team Titles after defense against Age of the Fall, 5/10/08
–Tournament to be held on June 6th in Hartford, CT to determine new champions

Next Defense: N/A

**

Sweet & Sour Incorporated Presents The Intergender Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Of The World —Chris Hero & Sara Del Rey (champions since 01/12/08, 2 successful defenses)
Status Unknown since Del Rey has left Sweet & Sour Inc. as of 3/14/08
Del Rey has rejoined Sweet & Sour Inc. as of 5/09/08, status of title still unknown

V.1 defeated Ernie Osiris & Alexa Thatcher (01/12/08, Edison, NJ)
V.2 defeated Kyle Durden & Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne (01/26/08, Chicago Ridge, IL)

**

FIP Heavyweight Champion: Roderick Strong (since 02/16/2008)
-defeated Erick Stevens via count out to win the title (FIP title can change hands on count out)
SHIMMER Champion: MsChif (since 4/26/2008)
-defeated Sara Del Ray via pinfall with the Descrator DDT to win the title
Top of the Class Trophy (for ROH Students): Ernie Osiris (since 11/02/2007)

**

Top Feuds & Pairings:
-Nigel McGuinness defends the belt against top contenders
-Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio Castagnoli
-Austin Aries / Jimmy Jacobs
-The Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes
-Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. No Remorse Corps
-Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong
-Sweet & Sour Inc. “Corporate Takeover”
–ROH World Tag Team Title Tournament

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

Lance Storm Returns to ROH in Canada and Detroit

Lance Storm will make his long awaited return to Ring Of Honor on July 25th in Toronto, Ontario at the Ted Reeve Arena and July 26th in Detroit, MI at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. Tickets to both events are on sale now at www.ROHwrestling.com or by calling 215-781-2500.

Lance Storm is sure to make the 7/25 debut in Toronto even more special and the 7/26 Detroit show bigger. Stay tuned for more about Storm in the upcoming weeks.

Well, first off, as much as I enjoy Lance Storm and thought the world of his appearances to ROH, I have to say the line in that press release that “Storm brings credibility to ROH” irks me. Storm = credible. For sure. However, ROH is more than credible at this point in their existence that to say Storm “brings” credibility to ROH is more than a bit ridiculous.

Small and semantic aside put aside, Storm returning to ROH is a plus in my book, especially in his home country of Canada. Even though he will not wrestle on these appearances, he will likely be involved in some sort of skit, segment or skirmish involving some of the ROH roster. Even if that’s not the case and this appearance is just for autographs and a hype up speech it’s a good additional selling point to the Canadian fans who follow ROH.

Storm has always had positive things to say about his experiences with ROH and often talks up his match against Bryan Danielson from Better Than Our Best as one of his best matches. It’s the right time and right places to bring him back into the fold within ROH and hopefully his inclusion will yield some good results.

Brackets for the ROH World Tag Team Tournament Announced

The newswire last week revealed the eight teams involved in the tournament for the currently vacant tag titles. This week the brackets were released:

First Round Matches:
A) Jigsaw & Ruckus with Julius Smokes vs. Adam Pearce & Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney & Sara Del Rey
B) ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness & Go Shiozaki vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
C) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Delirious & Pelle Primeau
D) Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs. FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong & Davey Richards
Semifinals:
A winner vs. B winner
C winner vs. D winner

Finals:
A/B winner vs. C/D winner

The most interesting brackets are B and D. Nigel and Go team up once again and they match up right away against the principal favorites in the tourney in Kevin Steen and El Generico. While Nigel doesn’t have to be booked strong in the tournament to keep a lot of heat around his World title reign, it should be interesting to see him matched up against a guy who was just challenging for the world title Maybe it will be a case where Steen + Generico will be enough to put down the ROH World champion…and maybe that could lead to future title shots for either one down the line…maybe say in time for the Canada debut? Makes sense.

Bracket D matches two other strong teams in TEAM WORK (that’s what all the kids are calling them these days) up against the NRC in Strong and Richards. Now that is NOT the combination that previously held the tag straps, which is a bit of a head scratcher as you’d think ROH would want Richards and Romero as the flag bearers of the NRC in the tag team division. Danielson and Aries should win that one en route to a flare up with the Age of the Fall. That would mean those two teams would fight on back to back nights, which is usually a wrestling no-no, but I could very well see it happen anyway.

According to ROH, Claudio Castagnoli, Eddie Edwards and Daizee Haze have also been officially added to the card.

Nigel McGuinness to Defend ROH World Title in England

From a press release from 1PWOnline.com:

Yes. You read the correctly. 1PWOnline can exclusively reveal today that the Ring of Honor World Title will be defended in Doncaster on June 20th, when Champion NIGEL MCGUINNESS faces off with 1PW’s own DARREN BURRIDGE at UNDERGROUND X.

Plus, this match will be filmed for an upcoming ROH DVD release!

An extensive press release like this seems to telegraph that McGuinness will be champion through at least June 20th. That would take us through the June 7th PPV taping for Respect is Earned 2 and would telegraph a title retention on that PPV. Of course, things can change as the weeks roll on.

There Will Be Blood

OH will return to Chicago on June 28th and the first match has been signed. This one was only natural after what happened last time in Chicago. June 28th will have the first singles match between these two hated enemies. Chicago will witness Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs!!!

Interesting to note that Jacobs has wanted to get into Aries’ head and attack him through a mental game more than a physical one, at least according to his promo from the Hammerstein Ballroom. Of course, the inevitable must occur and that is there two go at it in a physical contest. This one is likely to degenerate quickly into a brawl and may not even have a finish in order to emphasize the hatred these two have for one another. The feud started in Chicago so hopefully the heat and crowd reaction continues in Chicago for this pairing of wrestlers.

Go Ahead, Give It a Call

Larry Sweeney announced on the voicemail (215-781-2250) of the Sweet & Sour Inc. offices that Adam Pearce will reveal what is in the briefcase at the June 7th Philadelphia event. Sweeney says it will “shock” everyone.
This is somewhat older news and I even made mention of it last week, but I include it to get the number of Sweeney’s hotline out there. It is somewhat consistently updated and always a bit of a hoot to listen to…because it basically Sweeney cutting a terrific promo about what his group is going to do next. It also gives me flashbacks to the old WWF, WCW and ECW hotlines.

ROH Home Theatre Station

Aries vs. Danielson: The Rivalry Will Be Televised Promo

Um…yeah…that’s a pretty awesome hype video for that match right there. These two are teaming up nowadays but even so, I want to see the match, so that tells you they got it right with this one.

ROH Videowire: May 22nd, 2008

Card for “Take No Prisoners” PPV on May 30th, 2008

Ring of Honor’s next PPV debut’s THIS FRIDAY. Here is the line up:

Nigel McGuinness defends the ROH World Title
Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson
ROH World Tag team Championship Match: No Remorse Corps (c) vs. The Vulture Squad
No DQ: Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes
Kevin Steen vs. Roderick Strong
Four Corner Survival for an ROH World Title Shot on the same night: Delirious vs. Go Shiozaki vs. Tyler Black vs. Claudio Castagnoli

;

1. Batista: An angry Batista looking out for revenge is a fun Batista to watch.
2. Cheerleader Melissa: An absolute joy to watch wrestler. She is deserving of every bit of praise she gets. See below for my inclusion of SHIMMER volumes 15 and 16 for more about Melissa and why I enjoyed her matches this week.
3. Tommy Dreamer: I forget where WWE was for this past week’s ECW on SciFi show, but dude was over like nothing else. Sometimes the fans like to get behind a sentimental favorite. I think a lot of fans, more than some backstage at WWE would like to think, remember the good old days of ten years back when Tommy Dreamer was at the apex of popularity and success within ECW. I remember being big into Dreamer in those days. He’s one of the very few left of the “ECW Originals” to wrestle in WWE, so in many ways he represents the legacy of that bygone era.
4. Mr. Kennedy: I didn’t think it would…but the Mr. Kennedy with anti-authority karate chop action actually is growing on me…although who he’s going to be anti-authority against now that Regal is out for 60 days is another question entirely.
5. Jayson Quick: and boy is that an ever appropriate name. Can you say standing shooting star leg drop?

I knew you could boys and girls.

Honorarium

-Oh William Regal. William, William Regal. Damn.
Are there no heroes anymore in the wrestling business? Does anyone truly conquer their demons these days?

–Supercard of Honor III Thoughts:

Go is proving himself every show. Delirious vs. Go Shiozaki is a great opener with some genuine comedy that keeps a smile on my face for a long, long time. The “go / stop” motif worked as did Delirious strategy of avoiding the YIKES chops.

Sometime during the match a little kid yells “3” at the referee to argue a count—you tell ‘em kid!

Dingo and Bushwacker Luke are the Aussie-New Zealand connection! As I wrote elsewhere, when these two and Alex Payne are altogether in a good match, you know you are on the verge of a tremendous card. NO offense to them in any way, but they aren’t always featured in the most positive of lights on ROH programming. They and the YRR are ON in this one. The double team Mattering Ram spot got super over and the crowd responds very well to them.

This is the second show in a row that Larry Sweeney has rejected the cheers of the crowd and that has resulted in genuine heat. He needs to keep this new behavior up and soon enough he will get the entire crowd hating his guts.

Strong vs. Stevens is one of those ‘nutsiest, craziest” brawls that you’ll see break out every so often in ROH. Think Whitmer vs. Jacobs from a while ago when they spiked the ref, spiked the rules and just went at it. Chops busted Strong’s blood vessels and it looks disgusting. The refs get trounced and they may have just surpassed “guy who asks fans if they want to help take down the ring” as number one dirty job in ROH.

This was a hard, hard, HARD hitting match. These two are filthy. Strong chops Stevens in the face and my god does it look vicious. After a while it gets kind of silly to keep fighting without a referee to administer a decision, but it works for the crowd so it’s okay. Stevens come back gets some very loud respond from the crowd. They wanted to see him whup ass.

ROH brings it down with the Mohawk shaving angle. There goes all my easy Mohawk jokes.

Briscoes vs. Age of the Fall is a great brawl, on point with terrific brawling and a fast pace. The Briscoes have these great brawls that work and then some that fall on their face. This one works and in fact works maybe better than it did like thanks to quick camera cuts that are ALL done at the right time to get the best action. ROH camerawork is far from guaranteed to do that so for this all to look great is a definitive plus.

Fans that are into FIP or the Florida independent scene will really enjoy the cameo appearance of Mr. Milo Beasley playing “homeless bum in the wheelchair # 1”. He goes unnamed, but not unutilized in this street fight.

And oh yeah…one word… TRAMAMPOLINE! TRAMPAMPOLINE! TRAMPOLINE!

(where my old school Simpsons fans at?)

You won’t want to miss the awesome spot off that…shade of The Spirit Squad what!

Then Mark of course goes fucking nuts with the Jimmy Snuka dive and yep…it’s just sick as hell.

Of course the finish to the match is incredible, with impeccable timing. It plays off the Briscoes vs. Marufuji & Sugiera match from earlier in the year. Jacobs torques his way into The End Time…it’s really unbelievably cool.

BxB doesn’t have the dancers for his match, but he does do his whole routine and it comes off as a high energy performance that the crowd appreciates.

So yeah Generico & Steen vs. Shingo & BxB hulk was only four and three-fourths stars in my book…severe disappointment in my book if you ask me… oh yeah… TOTALLY underperformed…

Okay, let me be serious so as to not get fifty million negative comments. As I mentioned in my write up that I cross linked last week, I thought this was one hell of a match that along with the Dragon Gate six man and the Aries vs. McGuinness rematch makes this DVD a super must buy.

These are two evenly matched teams, both in the classification of physical appearances to the wrestling style and performance of both teams. They combine to have a hell of a match. Although the major sticking point for me is that it’s never clearly stated if this match is contested under Dragon Gate rules or not, if you can just accept that they are then you’ll enjoy the ride a lot more and really get into the flow of things. Speaking of flowing, that’s the best description I can say for BxB, he flows through his moves, he seamlessly flies through the air, does cartwheels and dives and spins and everything. It’s very impressive when he makes these complicated sequences look easy. .

However, one of the big highlights of the match actually comes from the Canadian side. El Generico gets a double jump flip senton to the outside that is unexpected and simply breathtaking. Then Shingo’s power moves at the end of the match prevail with a super angle slam and a vicious version of the Last Falconry.

I like that there was small clip of Erick Stevens shaving off the rest of his mohawk. Even though the NRC humiliated him, he stands resolute and finishes the job, no doubt planning for payback.

-There is still a split crowd for Nigel McGuinness, which mystifies me because I thought we were long since past the split crowd controversy. Now that we’re supposed to boo for him, the cheers from the Florida fans are that much more audible and noticeable. I guess ROH can’t help but win for losing.

The dropkick in the corner medley was intense as was the work on the 450. There is a fake out on the concussion suicide dive spot from Rising above and instead of a McGuinness crash and burn we get an Aries crash and burn, which is the turning point late in the match that allows Nigel to mount too strong an offense for Aries to come back from. In my mind the Rising Above match was better and better off without the delay at the end of the match cause by the crash and burn (as Nigel had to drag Aries from the crowd over the barricade and then back into the ring and Aries had to sell the dead weight the entire time), )but this one was not that far behind. four and half stars on this one for me (I gave the Rising Above match four and three quarter stars and remains my current match of the year).

There isn’t all that much to say about the Dragon Gate six man…mostly because I stopped taking notes. It was first time in a while that I have taken notes while watching a show at any rate, but I stopped due to the fact that it was such a great match that I couldn’t help but stop and watch. Here is what I wrote: “awesome, awesome, awesome, AWESOME, awesome match–top three worthy It isn’t just an exhibition match this time around. You get the sense of faction warfare, especially with the post match walkout of one man from each time when they don’t want to do the post match handshake.” I had this match at four and three-fourths stars and in my mind it surpasses the first match by a good deal. Definitely a great capper to the show.

If I could sum up Supercard of Honor III in one phrase it would be: WOW. Just, wow.

**The Independent Buy In**

**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 15 (SHIMMER Title: Sara Del Rey / Amazing Kong, Daizee Haze / Sara Stock, Cheerleader Melissa / Alexa Thatcher, Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew / Ariel & Josie, Sereena Deeb / Jetta) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation

Why You Should Buy In: Sara Del Rey is at the climax of her SHIMMER title run as far as defenses for the title within SHIMMER itself. This DVD also features two of TNA’s knockouts in Amazing Kong and Cheerleader Melissa. Although Melissa has only appeared as “herself” and not as Raisha Saeed once on TNA programming, Melissa is just Melissa here and she is awesome—pure ass kicker and 100 percent worth watching your time watching. As is Kong, although I will admit, I am more than a bit intimidated by her when I write that.
Match of the DVD: While Del Rey vs. Amazing Kong is a great title match and a marquee match that is worth the purchase of the DVD, the match of the show is Daizee Haze vs. Sarah Stock for the number one contender spot to the SHIMMER title. There is a ton of good lucha here and with only a few exceptions the passes are all smooth, fast and very believable. You get the sense of a real competition here between the two as they struggle to move beyond a stalemate and we see Stock slowly but surely gain control.
Positives & Negatives The only suggestion I would make would be to change Sara Stock’s music, as it’s a bit too dark and somber (is it her entrance music in CMLL? I would venture a guess that it is so). Even though she has appeared on a few shows in Berwyn, Stock almost gets no initial pop when she comes through and I believe it’s because fans don’t react to the entrance music at all… Kong vs. Del Rey is a big time match but the one thing that most clearly comes to mind as I think back on it is the massive crowd pop when Del Rey successfully converted the Royal butterfly. The entire crowd came unglued in a way I’d never seen them react before. Cheerleader Melissa vs. Alexa Thatcher is a terrific mid card match that serves as the first real big opportunity for Thatcher to show her stuff in SHIMMER> Previous to this, she’s sort of been a jobber a bit too much, but here she looks great against Melissa (and after a terrific mid card match against Ariel, its clear Melissa is incredibly valuable to providing good to great matches all the time due to her gifts and talent in the ring). Thatcher isn’t just a pretty face, she has some good stuff in the ring and makes a very competitive go at it here in this match…MsChif & Daffney are an awesome act and their “scream queen” shtick works for entertainment, especially with their constant “gotchas” to the ref. Lacey & Rain vs. Ariel & Josie is another good mid card tag. While The MNHWC shine more in the next DVD (see below), they do great heel work here to get Ariel and Josie over as the pure hearted babyfaces. By the way I henceforth dub those ladies Team Smile, as they come out to happy go lucky pop music and Ariel both ladies have infectious smiles as babyfaces. They can sell happiness to a depressed emo. Jetta debuts and is very…purple. She and Serena Deeb have a good match, also worth watching, if just to marvel at the constant motif of Jetta going for moves into the turnbuckle and ending up bonking her head. Nicole Matthews and Ashley Lane make their SHIMMER debuts here as part of tag team action. As noted by Larry Csonka in his review, Lane is very Torrie Wilson ish in her appearance and very thin. I mean, almost disturbingly thin. Nicole Matthews I could almost see more as a babyface than a heel, but she is paired up with Portia Perez due to their Canadian roots. Matthews displays more heel tendencies on volume 16 than here. Of note is a very beautiful Northern Lights Suplex she throws during the match. Amber O Neal as usual seems to open the show and I have to admit, I have been crushing on her since forever. She is hawwt. Yes, I did just write that and yes, I am ashamed. O’Neal fights Eden Black, and as always I must note that I don’t understand how someone whose nickname is “The Jezebel” is a babyface. But oh well… It should be noted that both volume 15 and 16 feature slightly upgraded lighting for the entrances of the SHIMMER ladies, which is always a good thing.

**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 16 (SHIMMER Title Two Out of Three Falls: Sara Del Rey / Sara Stock, Amazing Kong / Cheerleader Melissa, Daizee Haze MsChif & Eden Black / Lacey, Rain & Jetta, Portia Perez & Nicole Matthews / Ariel & Josie, Sereena Deeb / Jetta) (NEW ADDITION) High Recommendation

Why You Should Buy In: Its Sara vs. Sarah II and this time its for the SHIMMER title. Sara Del Rey defends the SHIMMER title against International wrestler Sarah Stock in a two out of three falls match. The title match plus an indie dream match of Melissa vs. Kong and a fantastically entertaining six man tag filled with goofiness make the bulk of the purchase value for this edition.
Match of the DVD: Sara spelled without no h vs. Sarah spelled with an h, and Amazing Kong vs. Melissa a close second (more on that below). Del Rey vs. Stock is a wrestling match and that’s exactly what you’ll get—lots of good wrestling. It’s a well paced and competitive bout that goes the full three falls and shows how well matched these two are against each other. The fans are way into this match and that is impressive considering this one is at the tail end of a night’s worth of tapings.
Positives & Negatives: On this DVD and on Volume 15 you can clearly see Cheerleader Melissa just simply enjoying herself as a wrestler. She looks like she is having fun, smiling, interacting with the crowd and fully accepting of the cheerleading namesake. She sells her determination and relentlessness in the match against Kong on this DVD. Her screams and fiery comebacks work to ensure great crowd response. Fans love to embrace and scream along with those who display passion and a “never say die” attitude. Melissa vs. Kong has so many “oh my god” moments like the frankensteiner (!) and the powerbomb… The pre match promo from the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew introducing Jetta as their honorary member is so out there goofy. I laughed so hard at the “high five” moments and Lacey gets quite a few verbal riffs going. The wackiness extended to the six man tag and a very entertaining opening stall session filled with shenanigans and misdirection! Major props to the fans that created the cardboard cut outs of the SHIMMER wrestlers. They do a fantastic job with them. The MsChif light up one is my favorite, but this edition features some good stuff with both Amazing Kong and Portia Perez and both of those are actually used by the wrestlers to bonk each other on the head. Speaking of Ms. Edge of Seventeen, she has developed into a great heat magnet. The SHIMMER crowd has embraced their role of making fun of her looking like she’s underage, and she has responded in kind with her disdain for the crowd. An awesome little moment sees Portia leaving her hand out and a fan at ringside slapping hands with her, obviously against her wishes. She runs right up to him and screams at him that she didn’t give him permission to touch her. Earlier on during her entrance she also claims she didn’t authorize the fan to make the poster of her. That is genius touches of heel there…Daffney vs. Cindy “Pinky Tuscadero” Rogers unfortunately gets derailed because of the recurrence of Daffney’s knee injury. I think if it’s that bad she needs to go back to just being a manager for MsChif; they can still do their act together even if they don’t wrestle in tags…I didn’t realize it at the time I was watching the DVD, but there are additional Easter egg bonus materials included to up the purchase value of the show.

2008
**CHIKARA “Cibernetico & Robin” (Torneo Cibernetico: Kings of Wrestling vs. Dorado’s Luchadores, The Olsen Twins / Cheech & Cloudy, Quackenbush / Donst, The Colony / BLK OUT ) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA “Brusied” (Kingston / Donst, Campeones de Parejas: F.I.S.T. vs. Incoherence / Castagnoli / Taylor, The Colony / Brodie Lee & Olsen Twins, Cheech & Cloudy / Osirian Portal ) High Recommendation
**Pro Wrestling NOAH “Special Budokan Double Shot”7/15 & 9/9/07 (Determination League Semi Finals & Finals, NTV Cup Finals)High Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 (Castagnoli / Williams, Evans / Pac, Black / Shelley, Aries / Strong, PWG Tag Titles: Generico & Steen / Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka)Medium Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2 (CIMA / Tornado, Steen / Butcher, McGuinness / Richards, Kid / Yokosuka) Low Recommendation
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 (the entire show) High Recommendation
**Shimmer Volume 11 (Sarah Stock / MsChif, Sarah Stock / Cheerleader Melissa, Sara Del Rey / Cindy Rogers, Nikki Roxx / Lacey, Daizee Haze / Malia Hosaka, Allison Danger / Hosaka)High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Volume 12 (Del Rey / Lacey, Del Rey / Sarah Stock, Haze / Lacey, Portuguese Princess Ariel / Josie / Nikki Roxx / Portia Perez, Melissa & MsChif / Lexie Fyfe & Hosaka)High Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 13 (Melissa / Portuguese Princess Ariel, “Dark Angel” Sarah Stock / Daizee Haze, Portia Perez / MsChif, Del Rey & Roxx vs. Rain & Lacey, O’Neal vs. Melissa) Medium Recommendation
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 14 (SHIMMER Title: Del Rey / Lacey, Nikki Roxx / Amazing Kong, Two out of Three falls: Allison Danger / Cindy Rogers, Portuguese Princess Ariel / Amber O’Neal) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA The Battle of Who Could Care Less (Incoherence & Tim Donst / BLK OUT, Claudio Castagnoli & Equinox / Hero & Hawke, Lince Dorado & Pantera / Olsen Twins, Quackenbush & The Colony / F.I.S.T. / Osirian Portal) High Recommendation
**CHIKARA The Sordid Perils of Everyday Existence (Campeones de Parejas: Incoherence / Cheech & Cloudy, Lucha de Apresta: Chris Hero / Equinox, F.I.S.T., Ellis, Ryder / Quack / Donst / Super Smash Bros.) Medium Recommendation
**CHIKARA Chapter 11 (Hallowicked / Kingston, Colony / Super Smash Brothers & Shane Storm, Tex-Arkana Title Match: Alvarez / Sweeney, Quack, Trik Davis & Helios / Shayne Hawke & The Osirian Portal, MIYAWAKI, Hasegawa & Pantera / Cheech & Cloudy & Delirious) High Recommendation

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

Catch Larry’s review of SHIMMER Volume 16 for more information and play by play on said DVD.

J.D. Dunn provides two retro reviews from ROH back in the day. First its Paul London, Amazing Red and Christopher Daniels wrestling in the Round Robin Challenge II. Then Samoa Joe vs. Homicide with the ROH Title up for grabs at Do or Die.

Jarrod Westerfield talks Project 161 and Adam Pearce and the briefcase in his latest edition of Scripted Through Sin.

That’s going to do it for this week. Apologies again for the shortage of “department” features or links, but its a ‘gotsta go” situation here. As usual though, when I say a shorter column, its only relative to me turning out like a huge double parter. Anyway, Name That Tune and My Two Cents returns next week, as well as my thoughts on Take No Prisoners and more additions to the Independent Buy In. See ya then.

BROOKLYN!
-Ari-