Shining a Spotlight 7.03.08: ROHate

A bit of a shorter column this week due to me going out of town and of course, busy weekend for everyone. But it’s enough for me to get out something that’s been on my mind lately and feel like getting out there.

As some may have noticed, a lot of us here at 411 have, over the last couple of years, extolled the virtues of Ring of Honor. And for almost as long, we’ve had a lot of readers accusing us of being all but paid for by ROH to boast about them. Pick any column about ROH (especially Ari’s terrific Column of Honor) and you’ll see plenty of “ROH SUCKS!” type comments. It’s been around for quite a while and it does bear wondering what it is that creates such a bias.

I mean, the fact is ROH offers one of the best promotions around. It’s got top notch talent, great fan base, a locker room apparently free of massive politics and thus strife, good booking with strong storylines and, most importantly of all, knows its place in wrestling and follows a good business model. They know they’re never going to topple WWE, no one is as it’s too ingrained in the public psyche. They’re content with providing small wrestling fans a great outlet. Overall, you’d think this is a promotion that would have a near universal following yet it’s hardly the case.

It does seem a majority of ROH haters are mostly TNA fans. Their accusation is that ROH doesn’t really count as they don’t have a national TV deal or really big-name stars, that they don’t work from big arenas and don’t really make money. Personally, I feel that last point is somewhat laughable seeing as how it’s been six years and TNA has yet to make a serious profit. Of course, WWE fans will also dismiss ROH as small-time and not that big as it’s not making huge money. But that’s kind of the key to their success, that they know their place in the wrestling world and are able to handle it well. Unlike TNA, they’re not going for the audience they want but the one they already have. It’s paid for them well so far…but that’s also led to problems.

It’s been said before but ROH is in a classic Catch-22: They’re too small to be a big promotion but also too big to really count as an indy. After all, most indy promotions don’t have their own You Tube channel and regular PPVs. ROH also does well with their touring and house shows although I do think they need to promote them better. I mean, it’s a bit jarring that I’ll see flyers for small independent shows at my local high school yet quite often I won’t know an ROH show has been in Chicago until after it’s done. Surely a company that works You Tube can afford to put an ad in the local newspapers. That unfortunately keeps ROH from really rising as high as they could.

I think some of the bias comes from the attitude that ROH is just too small to really count. I know a lot of WWE and TNA fans pretty much cling to the idea that those are the only two companies around. Despite their good deals with international markets and the Internet, ROH is still considered little more than one of the number of small indies running around. There is, sadly, a rather elitist mentality at times with some fans who consider anything not the “big two” to be small-time and ROH seems to fit into that category. A common refrain is that ROH doesn’t really merit so much attention because they don’t have the mainstream success of WWE or even the attention of TNA.

I admit that does raise an important point, which is the simple fact that at its heart wrestling is a business and the whole point is to make money. Oh, it’s terrific that ROH puts on amazing bouts and top-notch cards, of course, but this is a business where bigger is seen as better. As I pointed out before, ROH is doing decent business with a good model, one that is arguably better than TNA’s. After all, unlike TNA, they’ve been doing regular touring for a while and charge for house shows. They don’t have the vast majority of their cards take place at a theme park studio before a non-paying audience. They’ve also got a good fanbase via the Internet and it shows in the passion of the audience when shows take place. Not to mention, they’ve always had a good deal with their DVDs. But at the same time, they just don’t’ have the mainstream knowledge that WWE or even TNA do and that hurts them and makes them look more second-rate.

The mentality of fans also plays into some of this bias. For the most part, TNA fans are like other wrestling fans, passionate but reasonable. However, a lot of them (and oddly, these are the ones who usually post “ROH sucks” comments) put TNA on a much bigger pedestal than they really are. To hear them tell it, WWE is on the verge of going out of business and TNA will be the biggest promotion around, which is blind worship to say the least. So to their mindset, there’s no way in hell ROH can be any big threat because if WWE is inferior, than surely ROH is too. I know, it makes little sense but it happens.

That’s not to say ROH fans can’t be a tad elitist either. I get the pride they have in their product and in themselves for keeping ROH going so long. I understand it’s a bit like the ECW faithful, that they can be so passionate although they don’t count themselves “part of the show” like ECW fans did. But there can be a bit of a blind side with some ROH fans, elevating some matches to bigger than they really are and ignoring some problems (like a few matches that really are a tad dull but are called just amazing). Yes, it’s great to be passionate about your fave promotion but, like with some TNA fans, ROH ones can take it a bit far.

I also think the puro style of ROH may turn some fans off. I know some will argue the point but wrestling was always as much entertainment as it was athleticism although most fans are more used to the entertainment aspects today. It’s amazing that ROH emphasizes pure wrestling action (or at least usually does, more on that in a minute) but the sad fact is, some fans could care less about a forty minute Danielson/McGuiness technical marvel, they want wild action with chairs and hard hitting brawling. Sadly, ROH seemed to cater to that with a video a wild back emphasizing such action, giving the idea more that they were the second coming of ECW.

The ECW/ROH comparisons have been made a lot already and some of them make sense. I mean, ROH is based mostly in Philadelphia and has run shows in the same arenas ECW frequented. They have the same passionate fanbase and mix of great technical action with some hard-hitting stuff and sustained through sales of tapes (okay, DVDs) of shows. But ROH also has a good business sense, something Paul Heyman often lacked. They do retain the great addition that their locker room is mostly free of politics and strife. There’s no real sense of a “glass ceiling” in ROH and that really does help keep things under control, which is a hell of a lot better than either WWE or TNA can do.

Of course, a lot of guys in ROH are looking to jump to the big leagues. Most, like Danielson and McGuiness, are smart enough to know they wouldn’t be used well by either WWE or TNA and are content being the big fishes in a small pond. But others see the success of Samoa Joe and CM Punk and want to follow that. It’s only natural, really, it happened with ECW and so many of the other promotions over the years. But ROH is a bit smarter than ECW in that not only do they have better contract systems but, more importantly, they embrace the idea of getting fresh talent and doing their best to promote better angles and keep the action going well. Gabe Sapolsky is a great booker, he’s proven that and that’s kept ROH going so well for so long. Although, recent events have made me wonder.

Maybe it’s just me but it does seem that ROH is starting to show a bit too much “entertainment” into things lately. True, they’ve always mixed in the melodrama at times, they have to as that’s what angles rest on so much. But when I watch the stuff with Delirious and Titus trying to vie for the affections of Daizee, it seems more something you’d see on SmackDown or Impact than an organization that champions wrestling so much. Oh and don’t get me started on the whole “attempted rape” of Allison Danger a while back that was so over the top Gabe actually apologized for it and killed the angle dead. ROH has established a rep for its great in-ring action, for avoiding the cartoonish stuff but it seems to be letting more and more in now. That can be a bad move as one needs only look at TNA to see how a company can go downhill fast for too much emulating of the more over the top aspects of WWE. Of course, TNA has rebounded a bit in the last few weeks in terms of good wrestling so surely ROH can avoid that.

But that still leaves the problem of ROH being too small to really get ahead. It’s to their credit they’ve been smart enough not to go too far. Their forging alliances with CZW and FIP has allowed them to consolidate more indy talent and do more shows, which is great for the bottom line. Keep in mind, from the start TNA was formed with the idea that they could become the second-biggest promotion after WWE. ROH, on the other hand, has been content to keep themselves as a top-notch indy company only. That’s good for them, especially given these hard economic times as fans aren’t going to be as free with money for gas and tickets so staying in their local markets helps. But, again, that gives the impression of them as second-raters which is where so much of the attitude against them rises.

The recent partnership with the NWA makes me a bit worried as well. On paper, it sounds good as it offers more indy talent to work with and the fact the NWA belt still has a history and some prestige to it. But it also means ROH has to work with the NWA politics. As anyone who’s followed the history of the organization knows, the NWA promoters can often make Vince McMahon look like the model of fairness and good business tactics. TNA had some problems working with the NWA, worked out as so many guys with TNA are expert politicians (like Nash and Jarrett to name but two). But as I noted above, ROH doesn’t have as many guys used to such things and that goes for the top guns as well. If Sapolsky and the others think they can negotiate ROH stars for the NWA belts easily, they don’t know the viper’s pit they’re getting into.

Despite those problems and some worries, ROH still offers one of the best “pure” wrestling promotions around, a refreshing break from TNA and WWE so it’s baffling so many fans are against it. I do wonder if it’s a case of people simply jumping on a bandwagon and hating something because it seems the “in” thing to do (see the anti-John Cena wave) and if many really do follow ROH enough to form a justifiable opinion. They do offer some great action and have worked in some more “entertainment” aspects of things lately but still put the wrestling first. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a good model and it’s worked for them well. Yes, it’d be good for them to rise more but they’re smart enough to take their time. The rise in more skits and angles makes me wonder if they’re closer to a TV deal than we think and are “testing out” how to work them.

It’s very tricky for an independent wrestling company these days with the rising gas prices and slow economy. But ROH has done very well for six years and may be able to increase that now. They are successful. Not in WWE or even TNA standards but they’ve last much longer than most believed and keep turning a decent profit. They’ve got a fanbase that’s loyal and workers who seem the same. So the haters can mock it for being too small or too dull or no big stars. But at a time when so many people bitch about how stupid WWE and TNA are, you’d think they’d be overjoyed to see an alternative out there, one that’s still putting the in-ring action first with some great talent to make it work. Of course, the sad fact is that hate doesn’t conform to logical thought so for ROH fans, simply get used to the fact there will be haters. But take solace that, for now, their slams are mostly misplaced.

Also around 411mania:

The Fink books the Rock’s Return.

The Way I C It and Don’t Think Twice continue the look at Benoit while the Shimmy bravely continues its Report Card.

Evolution Schematic begins a look at the Undertaker.

Thoughts From the Top Rope looks at WWE as the Punk Era begins.

Merholz asks if Night of Champions was Worth Your Wealth.

Brooklyn Brawling examines the IC title.

Tim does his Take on post-draft WWE while Scripted Through Sin’s look is a bit marred by Punk’s win, making it sound like “Dewey Defeats Truman.”

Julian counts down the Top 50 matches of the century so far.

The Wrestling Doctor examines how WWE can restructure itself.

Whacky Wrestling Theory talks about…hair?

Don’t forget Ring of Honor, Ask 411, Fact or Fiction, Triple Threat, 3 R’s and the rest.

Have a great 4th of July. For this week, the spotlight is off.