Column of Honor: 12.28.08: Final Column 2008: Part Two

ROH in Ups and Downs During 2008

Well, we have come to the end of another year in Ring of Honor. This one had more ups and downs than usual. ROH certainly has made its presence felt in the world of professional wrestling, but that increased exposure through PPV availability and internet reach also leads to more criticism and especially more negativity. Some criticisms of ROH are valid, some even made by me in this column and harped on over and over again when they aren’t addressed. There were certainly some faltering steps when it came to angles and follow ups on storylines, particularly earlier in the year. There were certainly improvements to be made in overall production values. On the other hand, some comments here on 411 and other sites seem based out of blind ignorance as well as pure hatred of what is “different” and “Other”. “Not mainstream? Its crap” is their mantra. While usually most of these comments should be disregarded as immature and erroneous belief, there comes a tipping point when the voices of the mob overrule those who write a think logically and reasonably. The internet wrestling community is sort of that “Lord of the Flies” setting where that sort of groupthink happens and ROH was right in the middle of it this year.

On the other hand, the biggest mainstream wrestling promotion has outdone itself this year as far as good wrestling product goes…and there is nothing wrong with that. There is no doubt that this was the year WWE rebounded from its creative slump both with captivating angles and with more quality matches than years previous, years where ROH could claim the difference between it and WWE or TNA was that it had the best in-ring product around. However, while WWE has caught up, ROH still had a tremendous depth of fantastic matches, maybe more great four star and four-plus star matches than at any other point in its history. Some who read that will scoff and say that’s ridiculous, but its true from an opinion and an objective standpoint, especially when I look back and compare what I’ve written and judged in years past.

Now, the additional matches could be due to the repetition of what became quality pairings during the year. Danielson versus Black and Aries versus Jacobs have been done multiple times. However, ROH has always had extended series of matches between wrestlers in its history. I think it’s that many of the upper card wrestlers like Danielson, Aries and McGuinness have become more polished versions of themselves in the ring that they can almost automatically come up with solid wrestling. However, ROH does need to work on and is beginning to focus on its lower card. Using vignettes and promos we have seen them begin to build up the younger and newer talent so that they can effectively fill roles in the company. I look forward to seeing where talent like Rhett Titus and Kenny Omega fit into the bigger picture in the year ahead. And yes, I still get a kick out of Grizzley Redwood, and no, there is nothing wrong with that.

ROH was working through some financial problems earlier in the year and according to rumor Cary Silkin almost closed the company after Glory By Honor VII. That ROH wouldn’t exist anymore is a shocking thought, one that hasn’t had to be addressed really since 2004 or 2005. Obviously the world would go on, but it would definitely signal the beginning of the end of what should be noted as the modern era of independent wrestling—beginning with the actualization of the use of the internet for mail orders and increased exposure to a product. This moment also included the awakening many mainstream fans using the internet had around 2002 -2005 and leading to the development of ROH, TNA, CZW, CHIKARA and PWG. Some other independents like IWA-Mid South and JAPW have been around longer than that, but realistically they didn’t grow beyond their own region until the internet independent boom created awareness of them.

So with the DVD purchasing business leveling out and a creative burnout seemingly in place, a change in the creative direction (whose outcome remains to be seen) seemed necessary. ROH took a hit off that…and continues to roll on. Cary Silkin once again seems willing to reinvest in his company and with upgrades in production it seems like ROH will stick it out for now. I haven’t seen much of the Adam Pearce run, but what I have seen on The French Connection is that the in ring action remains solid to really good. Will the in ring action hit the emotional heights of the Gabe Sapolsky era? Will the storylines be compelling enough to keep or to grow fan interest? These are the important questions that will need to have answered and soon.

ROH continues to expand and as such will continue to face growing pains connected to that. ECW only made it about eight years and ROH is just about to hit seven…without TV. Will this be the year ROH makes that big jump and if so will it help or hurt them in the end? 2009 could be the last year of its existence, or it could be a better year than this one.

Ring of Honor Yearbook Part 2

And now…

The Column of Honor Year End Awards 2008

Wrestler of the Year—Nigel McGuinness

2. Bryan Danielson
3. Austin Aries
4. Jimmy Jacobs

2007: Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness
2006: Bryan Danielson
2005: James Gibson

This is the second year in a row that Nigel has won this award.

-It’s not easy to carry a company as champion from the beginning to the end of a year—in this day and age multiple title changes over the course of a year are not only common, but necessary to keep the cycle of storylines going. There are so many shows and so many pay per view events in all of the major promotions that a title switch is an easy way to go about effecting change and keep fan interest. Nigel McGuinness has made it over a year as champion, but he did it not just with an effective character and a timely heel turn that caught fans’ emotions, he did it with a fantastic collection of in-ring efforts that were worthy to be found in the main events of Ring of Honor shows.

It’s amazing to consider that the whole Nigel heel turn came as a result of fans’ growing dissatisfied with Nigel being injury prone as well as his supposed over-use of his trademark move, the lariat. As to the first, injuries are a part of the industry, but Nigel’s character (and in real life as well) was the first ROH wrestler to actively contemplate the consequences of his actions. The fans didn’t like being reminded of the consequences—and when Nigel threw that in their face, they rejected him as their hero of choice. As for the lariats, it’s also quite interesting to note that the amount of complaining about the use of the lariat lowered as Nigel racked up great main event match after great main event match. You rarely even hear about it anymore, and why should we? He’s been able to take the lariat and work it into a frenzied finale of a match—with his opponent weaving in and out of attempts to hit the move and then being resilient when actually being caught with it. This sequence has made heroes of much such as Steen, Black and Danielson. The fans get so caught up in the wonderful drama of Nigel’s matches that they forget the complaints about his “Workrate” and naturally submit to the excitement of seeing if “this time, this time” someone will take Nigel off the top of the mountain. And even though the ROH World Title is most likely to change on PPV tapings, Nigel is able to make nearly every title defense believable to the point that the fans believe the title will change during the show they attend.

In the Pay Per View era of Ring of Honor, McGuinness has been involved in the main event of six of the nine shows that have aired thus far. Only Tyler Black had as many main event appearances on PPV. McGuinness’s title defenses have solidified the top of the card in the same way that Bryan Danielson’s title matches did in 2006. His in ring efforts as far as technical wrestling and heel work were the top of the class this year and should be celebrated.

Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries may have reached Shawn Michaels territory in that they cannot have a bad match even if they tried. Both men are so smooth in the ring and nearly flawless in the use of psychology and characterization. They know just the right applications of in-ring storytelling against different opponents, whether it’s a veteran versus upstart match (ala Tyler Black) or a grudge match filled with hatred (Danielson vs. Castagnoli; Aries vs. Jacobs) or just a straight up wrestling match where the better man prevails on any given night (when they fought each other on the Take No Prisoners PPV). Either as a team or in singles competition, you can count on them to deliver your money’s worth.

Jimmy Jacobs has upped his in-ring game tremendously and most fans don’t even realize it enough to give him due credit. He isn’t always the flashiest wrestler, especially as a heel (although he can still go airborne when he wants and maneuver around like a pro). Where Jacobs excels though is like with McGuinness, in the stirring up of the emotions in the ring. Where as you want to see Danielson and Aries hit their exciting moves, Jacobs makes you hate him so much that you don’t want him to be successful in hitting the spear or The End Time. THAT’S quite the compliment and quite the achievement considering the nature of ROH fans is to support the heels almost as equitably as the faces. Not Jacobs—this year, every stab of the spike and every back rake and choke made you hate him more.

Tag Team of the Year—The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black)

2. Kevin Steen & El Generico
3. The Briscoes
4. Team Work (Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries)

2007: The Briscoes
2006: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
2005: BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs

This is the second time that Jimmy Jacobs has won this award.

-It’s hard to argue with success…and with two tag title runs this year and constant main event matches on both PPV and non-PPV shows, The Age of the Fall were a smash success as a tag team and as a stable this year. They were the number one heel group in the company, being the focus of the tag team main event scene for a large majority of the year and provoking many rivalries against many teams. They were “most wanted” team in that almost everyone was gunning for them the moment they became champions. They feuded with and were usually victorious against the featured teams in ROH—The Vulture Squad, the NRC, The Briscoes, Danielson & Aries, and even Kevin Steen & El Generico fell victim to The Age of the Fall somewhere along the line this year. They could take a beating but come back even stronger during bloody street fights and no disqualification contests. Every time they won, they made you hate it even more that they were so successful, like the night they won the tag titles and the fans couldn’t help but throw trash at them. Instead of being offended, Jacobs and Black reveled in the hatred, actively sought it. Every time they spread their propaganda it made the fans want one of the tag teams in ROH to shut them up.

Steen & Generico finally shut The Age of the Fall up in early Fall and in doing so finally won the tag team titles that they had been looking to win ever since they returned to ROH in February 2007. Steen & Generico have an awesome act together, with Steen as big brother to Generico’s little brother. Steen might yell and bully Generico around a bit and be the boss of him, but when someone else tried to mess with him, that’s when Steen becomes the protector and goes on a tear of destruction against whoever is messing with them. Steen was excellent in many promos with Generico, whether it was pumping him up for an important singles or tag match, taking him to task for perhaps drawing a penis on a backstage wall, or even making Generico wait while he called his mom. You truly got the sense that they were a team and that even though Generico spoke no real English that Steen could communicate with him effectively and keep them on the same page. They had their fair share of memorable moments but the two that will stick in my mind this year is their reprise from Respect is Earned I of the challenge for the tag team titles on the stage at the Grand Ballroom at Sixth Anniversary Show, this time against the NRC, and secondly the gigantic celebration they had after the won the tag titles in Boston to close out Driven 2008. They just went berserk with their joyous celebration with the fans, and that kind of stuff is the best of emotional highs you can get when watching professional wrestling.

The Briscoes WERE Ring of Honor in 2007, and so this year may not have been able to measure up no matter what happened. As it was, this year was a bit of a “one step forward, one step back” sequence repeated over and over for twelve months (in a kayfabe and a non-kayfabe sense). Mark injured himself several times over the course of the year and each time it hurt The Briscoes’ momentum—worst of all when they won the tag titles for a fifth time, which while an excellent and history-making achievement, was short lived. The Briscoes took some losses to other teams like The Vulture Squad and The Motor City Machine Guns, but would come back and find their groove enough to receive more title opportunities. They continued to be undefeated in Pay Per View appearances (until Rising Above 2008, which while taped in November won’t air until January ‘09).

The Briscoes may have not had the most sterling W-L record in 2008, but they were still as entertaining as ever inside and outside of the ring. The highlight of their out of ring antics may have been the vignettes taped on their land. It was excellent seeing The Briscoes being The Briscoes and while most wrestling vignettes and promos exaggerate a wrestler’s personality, I really don’t doubt this was very close to the real Briscoes lifestyle—the farm, the dogs, the guns, the beer. Awesome.

Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries were the “Super-Team” of Ring of Honor—they were singles wrestlers who had common agendas and mutual adversaries throughout the year. It was enough for them to agree to team up more frequently in 2008 and handle those situations together. It was a real treat for fans to see them team up…and the effectiveness of their team caused the fans to dub them “Team Work” (the word play in that simple phrase is staggering in its multiplicity). When these two focused in on an opponent they were unstoppable…however, more often than not one of them at any given time was prone to losing their temper due to obsession or anger about the opponent in the ring. It would be entertaining to see Danielson try to control Aries when he would match up against Jacobs or Black, and vice versa when Danielson and Aries would team to fight Nigel McGuinness in tag action. Austin Aries seems on the verge of a heel turn, so the continuation of this team is not a certain fact—but at least fans will have a considerable body of matches from this year to look back on an appreciate—from bouts against The Age of the Fall to the Motor City Machine Guns…reach out and touch faith, because it’s the final countdown.

Worst Tag Team of the Year–Rhett Titus & Rex Sterling (Southern Navigation)
Runner Up: The Vulture Squad

2007: Irish Airborne
2006: Matt Sydal & Friends

-Titus and Sterling only teamed up once, so maybe it’s unfair to award them with this label, but well, if you saw that one match, then you know that once is enough for anyone to see them team up. There was no chemistry, no matching up on in-ring characters…and well, they both looked really bad in the ring that night. While The Vulture Squad may have been the weakest of the regular tag teams this year, at least they provided more than one very strong and memorable tag match and when they were on course and in the right groove during a match, they were worth watching. I have to include them more because of their jobber to the stars status than any really offensive in ring activity.

MVP of the Year—Jimmy Jacobs

2. Nigel McGuinness
3. Bryan Danielson

2007: The Briscoes
2006: Bryan Danielson
2005: James Gibson

This is the fourth year in a row that a Wrestler or Tag Team of the year has also won MVP of that same year.

-Take away any of these men from the show and you lose at least one guaranteed quality match and at most you lose that “it” factor that makes you leave the arena thinking you just witnessed a hell of an event. What separates Jimmy Jacobs from Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson at least in 2008, was the psychological factor. Jacobs was such an antagonistic presence all over Ring of Honor this year. He created action and reaction, from the tag division to his feud with Austin Aries, to his attack on Lacey to his influence on other members of The Age of the Fall including Delirious and Tyler Black. Jacobs provoked an emotional reaction (and anyone who remembers WSX will be aware of the irony of that phrase) from many fans…and that’s one of the most valuable qualities you can have. All three men here have that ability, but Jacobs used his to influence the world at large of Ring of Honor the most this year.

Debut of the Year—Kota Ibushi

2. BxB Hulk
3. Katsuhiko Nakajima
Honorable Mention: Human Tornado, Kenny Omega

2007: Erick Stevens

(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 Human Tornado who have been on the indie scene a while now should not be considered rookies.)

-Ibushi made four very strong appearances on four consecutive shows in four different cities. That is a hell of an accomplishment and a hell of a statement about his performances in the ring. The stuff he can do is impressive, even breathtaking in its form and function…if you’ve never seen him do it before. Like Jack Evans, the more he busts out those spots the more you can predict what will happen. However, it is the flawless execution that Ibushi brings to each move which helps to save that “spot-fest” factor from dominating your opinion of him. Ibushi also returned late in the year and was a strong part of one of the best matches of the year—the tag team bout in Japan that ended in a thirty-five minute draw.

Comeback / Return of the Year—Jerry Lynn

2. Joey Matthews
3. The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)

2007: Bryan Danielson

-Jerry Lynn was rocking the independent scene earlier in the year, but not a peep or mention of him coming into ROH. Then the perfect opportunity arose in pairing Lynn up against McGuinness, which was the last match Lynn had back in his first go with the company in 2003-2004. Lynn came back and proved that he hadn’t lost a step in the ring. He is not just a sentimental favorite—he can fly and move and grapple with the best of them on the roster and even those ten or twenty years his junior. Lynn returned for a lengthier run late in the year and started cranking out the quality matches, putting in worthwhile efforts against Kenny King, Claudio Castagnoli and Tyler Black.

Joey Matthews actually appeared in ROH back in 2002, but after his release from his WWE contract and putting some personal demons behind him, he returned to ROH action and looked really solid in his role. He helped fill up the numbers game in The Age of the Fall, but what really made him special was the experience he brought and the subtle but effective use of “WWE style”—a more methodical and minimalistic approach to matches. Matthews irked the fans pretty well, and he drew some effective heat against the faces he was pitted against. His swan song in ROH this year was getting his butt kicked by Austin Aries in the parking lot. The video sequence was too dark and hard to see, and I think he deserved a better exit than that given the effort he put in while he was here.

The Motor City Machine Guns made four appearances in ROH this year and each one was very special. Whether it was a rematch against The Briscoes, a dream match against Steen & Generico or Alex Shelley and Jimmy Jacobs crossing paths in tag team action…there was some unique and effective use of the Machine Guns in every appearance. Generation Next fans were even able to receive some closure to the Aries and Shelley saga, with both men leaving their issues in the past. It was a disappointment that the Machine Guns had to attend a convention in Japan and was scrubbed from bookings in late October, especially since Aries and Shelley were set to team against the AotF. Now too much time has passed for that pairing to really mean something in the context of the Aries vs. Jacob feud. At least I was able to see them live and in person in ROH once this year.

Breakout of the Year—Tyler Black

2. Brent Albright
3. “Addicted to Love” Rhett Titus

2007: Claudio Castagnoli

This award is for which wrestler or performer “broke out” from the pack and stood out and made an impact within ROH this year

-As if there was any doubt, let all doubt be removed. Tyler Black IS the breakout star of the year…and he made believers out of a lot of people, including myself. Now, I liked Black going back to when has making the rounds in the Mid-West. Then when he got a good break by teaming with Jacobs as a part of D.I.F.H. in the failed WSX promotion, I knew he could provide some great moments if he reprised that role with Jacobs in ROH. I just didn’t think that at his young age he was ready for THE main event scene of the indies, for THE top spot in the company. Well, after this year’s worth of Black in ROH, I do believe it now.

Tyler Black’s debut as a part of Age of the Fall was effective, but it was really in 2008 when he boosted his game to levels where everyone seems to be expecting him to be the next ROH World Champion. Black’s awesome matches against Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness and Austin Aries all have positioned him to be ready for that moment, and he hasn’t given anyone reason to doubt he will be successful in that role as well.

Most Honorable—Bryan Danielson

2. Necro Butcher
3. Brent Albright
Honorable Mention: Kevin Steen & El Generico

2007: Nigel McGuinness
2006: BJ Whitmer
2005: Samoa Joe

-Bryan Danielson has learned the value of honor…he regained much of his in 2007 (after such follies of 2006 such as betraying ROH not to join CZW but to attack Samoa Joe) , but 2008 was where his honor became more than about himself. His feelings about honor extended outwards towards the promotion he called home. He stopped Nigel McGuinness from depriving the fans of New York a title shot at the Sixth Anniversary Show, and lived up to an agreement he made not to attack Nigel in the head…even though it likely cost him the opportunity to win the World Title. Danielson has been fighting for honor ever since…fighting Age of the Fall many times in singles and tag action in support of his tag partner Austin Aries. Danielson stood up for what was right and decent in 2008. Meanwhile, Necro Butcher had to make a personal choice between who he thought were his friends and standing up for what really mattered in his life. He left The Age of the Fall and now fights for his family and his children. There may not be many things more honorable in the world than that. Brent Albright broke loose from the stifling yoke of Sweet & Sour Incorporated and has since stood up against “that scumbag” Larry Sweeney. He has tried to free Bobby Dempsey from his world of abuse and that earns thumbs up in my book.

Most Dishonorable— Nigel McGuinness

2. Jimmy Jacobs
3. Adam Pearce
Honorable Mention: Claudio Castagnoli

2007: Chris Hero
2006: Chris Hero
2005: Homicide & CM Punk

From Most Honorable to Most Dishonorable in one year’s time, Nigel certainly has achieved something notable here. While the fans are not completely blameless in the shift from face to heel, Nigel’s actions at this point are completely of his own volition. They are reprehensible forms of disrespect from verbal and non-verbal insult…to blatant disregarding of the rules of professional wrestling. He has even abandoned his adopted U.S. hometown, insulting Dayton, Ohio and calling it a dump (in worse terms than that). McGuinness was the most hated wrestler in ROH this year, even more than Jimmy Jacobs. The crowds actively wanted someone, anyone to take the ROH World Title from him. They’re still waiting. …Jimmy Jacobs as revolutionary leader got under people’s skin. His was a message the mainstream did not want to hear and they rejected and hated him for it. Even worse was Jacobs’ attacks on fan favorites like The Briscoes and The Vulture Squad. They even hated Jacobs for trying to corrupt Austin Aries and successfully doing so with Delirious. They resented him for holding back Necro Butcher, and I think they feel the same with him and Tyler Black—the fans are just itching to be able to cheer Black outright, but his ties with Jacobs put a damper on all that. …Adam Pearce is as reprehensible a soul as ever. This year Pearce sold his own agenda out for the right price, canceling The Hangmen and joining Sweet & Sour Inc. He used the NWA name to manipulate his way to high profile matches. He threw a fireball and took shortcuts in his feud against Brent Albright. Long story short, if McGuinness and Jacobs weren’t so reprehensible, Pearce could have locked up number one on the charts easily.

The Moment I Never Want to See Happen Again–Sal Rinauro Making Out with Becky Bayless

-Okay…okay…trying to control my anger here… but who in the hell thought Ring of Honor fans would want to see Sal Rinauro…Sal Rinauro… SAL RINAURO?!?!? in a vignette making out with a girl? Other than Sal Rinauro? And not only did we get to see it once, not only did we get to see it twice…it happened THREE TIMES on THREE SEPARATE DVDS! OMG UGGGH ON A STICK! If I could do a Total Recall and forget anything related to those segments, I would in a heartbeat. The worst part is…Becky Bayless liked it!

May I and other ROH fans never be forced to watch a tonsil hockey session between these two again!

The “You Fucked Up” Awards (Rob Feinstein / Matt Cross Memorial) 2008

Non-Kayfabe

-The Larry Sweeney / Allison Danger / Bobby Dempsey Segment: Larry Sweeney was going to start a talk show called “The Larry Sweeney Show starring Larry Sweeney”. It just so happened that the anniversary of ROH also happened to be Bobby Dempsey’s birthday. So when the opportunity arose, Sweeney thought no birthday present would be better than giving Bobby Dempsey a girl, finally after all those years of waiting and frustration. Well, they do say it’s the thought that counts. Now, this segment went off a cliff when Sweeney knocked out Allison Danger (after accusing her of sleeping with all of the boys in the back during her time with the promotion) and told Bobby to have at it. When Bobby refused, Larry snapped and pushed him on top of Danger, using some course and inappropriate language (even for a wrestling show) and even using his foot to grind Dempsey into Danger. It was supposed to be a symbolic metaphor for the announcement of Sweeney’s “hostile takeover” of the company. It turned into something far worse than a storyline takeover.

The segment elicited enormous amounts of raucous laughter from the crowed when it happened, but the aftermath was decidedly less funny. The internet soon lit up with complaints and outrage about this segment and the so-called used of “rape” in the segment, some from fans who were in attendance but mostly from those who weren’t even there to see what happened for themselves. It became a full blown incident that threatened to overshadow what was a spectacular anniversary show with a fantastic main event.

The real stupidity was when Gabe Sapolsky apologized for the segment and said the it wouldn’t make the DVD…then somewhat took back the apology and put it back on the DVD so we could judge for ourselves…then edited the segment so that all of the parts that could have been really controversial were left on the cutting room floor. What did make it was a heavily edited version that cut out what would have been viewed by many as the worst moments of the segment. Not only could people who were not in attendance live not make a fair and balanced decision, you had reviewers and fans who were watching at home asking what was the big deal? That’s an abysmal marring of credibility right there and a huge misstep from ROH this year.

I had no real problems with the segment, both live and after the fact. My defense of the presentation, although not a defense of the misogynistic treatment of women in wrestling, which I abhor) can be found here. Regardless, there is not a doubt that the reaction on ROH’s part after the Dempsey-Danger-Sweeney segment was a huge blunder and a complete “you fucked up” moment.

-Winter Weather Changes ROH Shows…Again…: ROH has been through some bad luck when it comes to the winter weather…with shows in Chicago and Long Island being forced to change up line ups due to inclement weather and bad travelling conditions. Jack Evans, Necro Butcher and Ruckus barely escaped disaster in a car accident on a highway when trying to get to the Chicago show. Hopefully someone in ROH has an almanac for 2009 and has made the best use of it by not scheduling shows when there are predictions for snow.

-Jigsaw Unmasks: One of the worst in-ring decisions of the year saw Jigsaw unmask and reveal himself to be…a tall, not-so-handsome, geeky looking white guy. Which we kind of all knew… but just didn’t want to have it right up in our faces, you know? The unmasking wasn’t done in a mask vs. mask or mask vs. hair situation, but rather because The Vulture Squad was constantly losing matches and they were blaming it on…Jigsaw hiding his personality and not being real. Um…yeah. Jigsaw is a solid wrestler and with or without the mask his in-ring abilities were going to be the same with or without a mask. Yet it wasn’t the same when he unmasked himself, in large part because the mask is what made the character work. The garb gave him a “cool” factor due to the mystery and because the mask itself was a cool design. When he unmasked…it was just awkward from then on in. Like a blind date gone wrong that you can’t get out of.

-Production on Take No Prisoners PPV: My greatest criticism of Ring of Honor has always been its production values and some of the problems in video and audio recording. While ROH is now taking steps to correct these longstanding problems and their video and audio has generally improved, this PPV was the low point in fucked up production. Massive amounts of white-washed video, including Dave Prazak looking like he didn’t have a face, horribly garbled microphones on promos, Nigel McGuinness apparently inside a darkened cave while looking at the monitor in the back and so on and so forth. It was so horrible that for the first time it really detracted from my personal enjoyment of what was one of the better in-ring PPV broadcasts of the year. Production throughout the entire first half of the year suffered with these kinds of problems. They finally got outside shots as right as possible with the Danielson vs. Castagnoli brawl in Cleveland that was filmed during a fireworks display and the post Ring of Homicide 2 public beat down of Brent Albright in Edison, New Jersey.

Kayfabe

-Daizee Haze Says She & Delirious Should Just Be “Friends”: Daizee learned the hard way that you can’t use the old stand-by’s to try to let down easy an unpredictable, nearly certifiable lizard-man who has a crush on you. Wrong move Daizee!

-Larry Sweeney Verbally Abuses Brent Albright: So let me get this straight—you’re going to talk down to and even slap a man who has a good foot on you in height and has more muscles than Brussels? (I don’t know what that means.) You’re going to get this guy angry? Wrong move Larry!

-Dempsey comes out of the “turtle” position during the Honor Rumble : Larry Sweeney’s best advice for Bobby Dempsey, maybe ever, was to duck and cover in the “turtle” position in the fifteen man over the top royal rumble style match. It was actually working really well for him, because other wrestlers would stomp him once or twice and then just give up on it. As soon as Dempsey stood up—bam—eliminated. Wrong move Dempsey!

2008 ROH Shows of the Year

Supercard of Honor III–ROH has managed to compete with Wrestlemania on Wrestlemania weekend when it comes to quality of the shows. Obviously ROH isn’t going to beat WWE in attendance or production value, but amazingly enough when it comes to matches on that night, you can put up a very good argument for it. ROH strongest shows when it comes to their wrestling emerge when the depth of the matches is so great than any one of five or six major matches can realistically main event the show and no one would complain. This is one of those shows. Starting with Go Shiozaki and Delrious in a fun comedy opener, the event also includes an honest to goodness good match involving Bushwacker Luke and Alex Payne. Then the show kicks it up and never looks back, with fantastic grudge matches (Stevens vs. Strong, Briscoes vs. AotF), a worthy sequel to McGuinness vs. Aries and the best of the Dragon Gate six man tags that have become an annual tradition. This show lives up to the billing of a “super card” as it seems to do every year—just this year it happened to be the best ROH show of 2008.

Death Before Dishonor VI –Certainly the best show I attended live that took place this year and just as well put together as ScoH III. It was a terrifically well paced show that built up from beginning to end and again, the top four or five matches could have switched places and you wouldn’t mind. The emotion behind the four way elimination title match can’t be forgotten…but it was a surprise to me just how electric the crowd became when Brent Albright defeated Adam Pearce for the NWA Heavyweight Title. I was worried the crowd wouldn’t be receptive to the match, but they got way into it. The atmosphere of the Hammerstein almost raises the bar by itself, and ROH lived up to the size and volume of the building.

Sixth Anniversary Show–The story of Nigel McGuinness’s heel turn began the show and we ended with one of the most impassioned title matches of the year. The crowd was fully behind Danielson and by the end of the night they had seen their hero fall and their hated villain triumphant. Along the way NYC was treated to the first Manhattan Center appearance of Human Tornado, Austin Aries and Go Shiozaki throwing down in a great match, Jimmy Jacobs’ dinner theatre as he courted Aries and of course the infamous Dempsey-Sweeney-Danger segment. The show’s first half was the just appetizer for the main course of four title matches, which gave the show some heft and significance. Amazingly all the titles were successfully defended when it likely seemed that at least one belt would switch hands.

Dragon Gate Challenge II– Four back to back fantastic matches featuring ROH vs. Dragon Gate wrestlers. The tag matches in particular stole the show, with BxB Hulk & SHINGO vs. The Age of the Fall and Steenerico vs. Doi and Yoshino the highlights. The world champion McGuinness opened the show against Delirious and set the stage for a well-executed and polished event. And Ring of Honor got to win a series against a foreign power, so much the better for the “hometown” fans in attendance.

Return Engagement–a.k.a. The Jimmy Jacobs Show, because he was everywhere on this one, starting from the revelations about Lacey and Aries, continuing with injuring Mark Briscoe and ending with the attack on Aries. Along the way Chicago actually had one of the better wrestling shows of their year, highlighted by The Briscoes vs. Machine Guns rematch (which got about 1/10th the hype afterwards but I think was at least twice as good as their original face off last year), a special attraction appearance by Kota Ibushi fighting against El Generico and the rematch between Steen and McGuinness. A lot of storyline development was packed in this show, and it was the hinge moment of the Aries-Lacey-Jacobs love triangle that dictated the course of the rest of the year.

New Horizons–My pick for best PPV of the year, given the combination of quality production and the excellence of the wrestling that we have come to expect from ROH. The McGuinness vs. Castagnoli rematch redeems their first effort from Manhattan in every way. The hot start commands attention and doesn’t let it go until the match ends. Then you have the best Danielson vs. Black match of the series and the unforgettable power bomb into the turnbuckle that broke the ring. Top that off with Aries and Jacobs ending the show with the spill of the ladder and you have an incredibly newsworthy show that was one of the more satisfying viewings of ROH on PPV.

Final Battle 2007–I may have been sick during some of the main event match between The Briscoes and The Age of the Fall, but that doesn’t take away from this show. It started off slow and with a bit of an iffy crowd but really picked up with some great mid-card matches (Richards vs. Marufuji and the surprise title switch in Stevens vs. Strong). The Four Way Elimination match with Hero, Danielson, Aries and Morishima was the definition of the word “fun” and was the highlight of the night for me inside the ring. Of course, the unforgettable moment of the show will be Nigel McGuinness having to face the New York City crowd and emotionally explain his decisions not to wrestle and his contemplations about dropping the title. Like Joe vs. Kobashi, this was a moment you really had to live through and experience in person as it was happening to fully comprehend what a wild and dramatic scene this was…and in many respects it was the crowd that made that moment what it was.

Respect Is Earned II— A solid, workmanlike show with far better production values than TNP. The second hour really sold the show, with Strong vs. Stevens, Age of the Fall vs. Danielson and Aries and McGuinness vs. Shiozaki representing the bulk of the wrestling on the show.

Take No Prisoners–a.k.a. Tyler Black rises to greatness. A fun Four Corner Survival and a hell of an effort in the main event solidified Black’s value to the promotion and brought the fans around to his talent. Personally I enjoyed the Danielson vs. Aries match a tad better, as it was all about the rivalry and the wrestling between the two.

Ring of Homicide 2–The very last show booked by Gabe Sapolsky and a hell of a note to go out on. Top to bottom solid in the ring, some very fun and unique moments including the main show debut of Brodie Lee and The Osirian Portal as well as a successful return of Cheech and Cloudy, and the more unexpected (but nonetheless awesome) resurfacing of Prince Nana. Homicide received a huge ovation for his return match and he and Hernandez worked hard to make sure the dream match vs. The Briscoes was what everyone expected from them. The mid card didn’t lag at all, and Albright vs. Hero, Black vs. Lynn, Aries vs. Jacobs, Six Man Mayhem and Necro vs. Shiozaki all lived up to their potential. It was amazing to think of how mediocre the Return of the 187 show ended up and just one day later the show the wrestlers was 200% better in effort and merit.

Rising Above— This ended up being one of the more interesting live experiences of the year.The Pay Per View portion of the show certainly lived up to the billing, with solid to very good undercard matches and a main event that put the topper on the show. McGuinness vs. Aries actually went on before intermission, I think in order to capture the crowd before it got too tired, but it was a hell of an effort from both men, especially from McGuinness who severely injured himself early on and fought through a concussion and blood loss. The nuclear heat of the crowd and the infamous Nigel Haters didn’t quite translate to the PPV show, but like the next night in New York if you were there live you experienced something surreal and almost bizarre in watching the reactions of the crowd, switching from support to hatred of McGuinness with every passing minute. That surrealness was certainly there several times during the show, from the crowd acting snottily towards Daniel Puder to its lack of reaction to Castagnoli vs. Marufuji when just six weeks previous they were loving the first match. Danielson destroying Morishima was also a memorable moment but the DQ finish wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

2008 ROH Worst Shows of the Year

–Transform—An uninspired and weak show aside from the first and last matches. It’s like getting rotten meat in between two decent slices of bread—it just doesn’t add up. Castagnoli and Aries underperformed expectations, and Steen vs. Albright and Danielson vs. Stevens pale in comparison to some of the other upper card attractions from other shows. It didn’t help that this was a January show and in Edison New Jersey, where they can be up or down in reception…and this time the crowd was generally quiet for everything and led to a very dull atmosphere.

–Bedlam in Beantown—Boy did the Boston crowd not like Erick Stevens getting the win at the four corner survival, doing an injury angle and then that being the reason he was dominated in a title match against McGuinness. Steen and Necro Butcher had a rather weak follow up to an excellent street fight in early January, but the difference being that match was a mid card match and this one ended up the main event of the show. Richards vs. Ibushi was the saving grace with excellent action.

–Battle For Supremacy—Not many people seemed to like the main event of Nigel McGuinness vs. Adam Pearce going title-for-title, but I actually enjoyed the match…it wasn’t the most action packed but it was different and fun to see them out-heel each other. Regardless, maybe they should have gone with a different match in the main event if they were going to pull out the dusty finish, which was the obvious but unpleasant choice for this scenario. But no, this show is on the worst shows of the year list not for the main event but for everything else on the card Interestingly enough, many people thought that Strong vs. hero was a great match, but I was bored through most of it and thought it was like watching someone play Pong for twenty minutes, substituting elbows and forearms for paddles and balls. Speaking of balls, it took plenty to book Austin Aries basically giving up the fight against Necro Butcher, and while I applaud the effort to execute an angle, it certainly didn’t make the paying customers happy to watch what was going on in the ring, basically losing a match they paid to see. The rest of the show again is weaker on the undercard than many of the other shows, even the B level shows.

–Return of the 187–A painfully lackluster shows that even the return of Homicide and a fun but fragmented Iron Tag match couldn’t save. Jason Blade nearly died twice in his match, Del Rey and Ariel wasn’t much and disappointed the SHIMMER fan in me, and the rest of the mid card was the definition of nothing much happening. The second half was a better effort with the main event, Lynn and Castagnoli had a very solid bought and Shiozaki vs. Aries actually tried to do some interesting and different things. Ultimately though, this was the placeholder show of placeholder shows.

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

-Brent Albright vs. Go Shiozaki (Night of the Butcher II, Chicago Ridge, IL, 8/16/08)
-Pelle Primeau vs. Rex Sterling (Fueling the Fire, Manassas, VA, 08/01/08)
– Jigsaw vs. Mitch Franklin (Injustice, Edison, NJ, 4/12/08)
-Jason Blade vs. Mike Bennett (Bedlam in Beantown, Boston, MA, 04/11/08)
-Bushwacker Luke vs. Shane Hagadorn (Take No Prisoners, Philadelphia, PA, 03/16/08)
-Yamato vs. Eddie Edwards (Battle of the Best, Tokyo, Japan, 09/13/08)
-Ruckus vs. Jason Blade (Return of the 187, Danbury, CT, 10/24/08)

Comedy Moments 2008

-Necro Butcher uses a potted plant to attack during the Rising Above PPV.
-Davey Richards calls Kevin Steen “tons of fun” (Sixth Anniversary Show)
-Mark Briscoe scratches his head with a gun (kids never do this at home!)
-Delirious saying “Nobu” over and over again (A New Level)
-Crowd in NYC chants “you got c**kblocked to Delirious after Rhett Titus interrupts Delirious.
-Zack Gowen tosses his cane up in the air and in accidentally comes down onto Tyler Black’s head (Final Battle 2007)
-Kevin Steen mocks the Jawbreaker Lariat by swinging on the middle ropes (Injustice)
-Steen and Strong jaw back and forth about who gave up during a resthold (Take No Prisoners)
-Dragon Kid gets on top of Ryo Saito’s shoulders in order to kuckle lock against The Briscoes.
-McGuinness and Pearce try to out-heel each other (Battle For Supremacy)
-Kevin Steen loses his shoe after doing a flip senton onto Age of the Fall and The Briscoes (Night of the Butcher II)
-Necro finds a belt in the ring and basically goes “oh, look, a belt!” (Night of the Butcher II)
-Larry Sweeney’s anti-motivational speaking for any opponents of Sweet & Sour Incorporated.
-Rhett Titus’s homage to Rick Rude tights with Daizee Haze’s face on the back of them.
-Danielson to Titus: “you’re pathetic” (paraphrase) as he is shown the “Haze” video.
-Grizzley Redwood living in an attic, chopping small trees and eating flapjacks…ain’t nothing wrong with that! (You Tube video)
-Homicide says “F**k You, Jesus Christ” to Tyler Black, because, well, I guess Tyler Black looks like Jesus Christ. (Return of the 187)
-Larry Sweeney shouts out “boomshakalaka!” (Return of the 187)
-Kevin Steen chides El Generico for falling under the charm of Ophidian during their match (Ring of Homicide 2).

Great Promos of 2008

-Tyler Black Calls for Change in ROH
-Jimmy Jacobs Story of Eric
-Austin Aries Explains to Jimmy Jacobs What He Did With Lacey

Great Vignettes of 2008

-Grizzley Redwood Chops Trees and East Flapjacks

-Claudio Castagnoli Big Swings Giant Logs

-Dave Prazak Interviews Nigel McGuinness

My Favorite Video Recap Package of 2008

Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson: A rivalry of competition

Top 10 DVD Covers of 2008

10. Rising Above: While the picture really doesn’t have much to do with the notion of “rising above” anything, it is an excellently shot frame of the main event, with Nigel and Aries being engulfed by the flames and referee Paul Turner in the middle asking them to respect the code of honor.
9. Double Feature: I love collecting ticket stubs and posters from events I attend like concerts and wrestling shows…and putting the focus on the matches themselves in a poster-like format works well. You instantly know what matches await inside.
8. Southern Navigation: Kind of weird for me to appreciate the stars and bars, but it is an artistic touch to frame the action shots with it. As I said in my original rundown of the show, the shot of Morishima belting Rocky Romero and the loopy facial reaction Romero has make this DVD cover.

7. Glory By Honor VII: The champions of five promotions that appeared on the show are all featured front and center with their titles in hand, on waist, or in the case of Nigel, on the back of his waist.
6. Bound By Hate: This DVD has another great framework with the chains wrapped around vertically and connecting in the middle of the box art. The chains of course refer to the dog collar and chain match between Aries and Jacobs. Then you have some really great pictures of both on the top half of the box as well as The Briscoes and Steen & Generico (the other marquee attraction).
5. Driven 2008: A maniacally laughing Larry Sweeney opening his arms and ready to unleash his villainy upon the world? Genius.

4. Return of the 187: One of the most lack luster shows of the year actually had one of the best covers to go with it. The show was all about the return of Homicide, so it makes sense to feature him on the cover, with the twist of the bull’s-eye target being pointed at him.
3. A New Level: The cover featured one of the more exciting and breathtaking photos of the year for ROH—a perspective of the Hammerstein Balroom and all the fans filling the ground and balcony sections. ROH never looked so good.
2. Take No Prisoners: An especially ironic photo montage of members from The Age of the Fall, with a cracked glass effect surrounding them all. It wouldn’t be too long before the glass broke on two of the four on the cover.

1. Fueling the Fire: I began the list with a picture of Nigel on fire and end with one as well. I like the visual statement it makes—the champion engulfed in flames, almost welcoming it. It’s very powerful stuff.

Predictions

It’s another year gone by, so now it’s time to look at how well my powers of prophecy were from last year to this. Should I become an oracle or do my predictions carry no currency in this venue?

Predictions from 2008:

-Nigel McGuinness will turn heel during his run as ROH World Champion.

DING DING DING! I saw it happening a mile away, even though I was personally against it.

-By the end of ’08 Chris Hero will be turned face, more out of the crowd demanding it than any attitude change by Hero.

No Some of the crowd still loves Hero, but he has buckled down, become a serious heel (for better or for worse) and there are no signs whatsoever of a face turn.

-One more stable will be disbanded by the middle of 2008.

DING DING DING! Not only did the Hangmen Three disappear, but the No Remorse Corps were gone by the middle of 2008… The Vulture Squad’s leader left for greener pastures and that team is barely hanging on.

-Jimmy Jacobs will eventually win the ROH World Title and The Age of the Fall will take control of ROH by the end of 2008.

No. For a minute there, it may have happened…but it seems like for now the age of The Age of the Fall controlling ROH has gone by the wayside.

-The pop for when Bobby Dempsey throws off the yoke of Sweet & Sour Incorporated will be ultra huge. But I sure hope that we don’t see a series of “Bobby Loves Sara” vignettes.

No. Bobby hasn’t become an independent man yet.

-There will be a face turn for Brent Albright, who will then become a serious challenger for the ROH World Title.

Half Credit. Albright broke free and became a mega over face (well, mostly mega over in New York City, but it counts) and while he hasn’t challenged for the ROH World Title yet, he definitely is in a far better position to do so now than he was at the end of last year.

-ROH will run a double shot of shows somewhere in Canada.

DING DING DING! Right on brother man and HELLOOOOO MONTREAL AND MARKHAM!

-Returns for the following talent: PRINCE NANA! (It didn’t happen last year but I’m eternally optimistic for the return of DA EM BAH SEE!) Also: Go Shiozaki, Human Tornado, Karl Anderson, Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin (the latter two will travel overseas to wrestle on ROH shows in America).

Three out of five picks there for half-credit.And we got to see NANA! That was some awesome stuff.

-Debuts for the following talent: Joey Ryan (who wants a mustache ride?), Josh Prohibition (team him up with Matt Cross as the Burning River Brigade!), Chuck Taylor (will make the ultra smarts in the front row cry), BxB Hulk, Joey Mercury and finally…

Two out of five picks there for almost half-credit

-FOUR WORDS: EDDIE KINGSTON FULL TIME!

Half Credit on this one. The people kept asking for it, and Kingston got some face time on ROH DVDs…but he didn’t stick around after all.

So all told… about five out ten correct for a 50% prediction rate. Wow, flip me in the air and call me a quarter. That ain’t half bad…okay that was the last one. So what’s in store for next year?

Predictions for 2009:

-Tyler Black will win the ROH World Title at the next ROH PPV taping in Chicago.

-Ring of Honor finally announces a TV deal, whether it’s with HD Net or another network.

-Contracts will be up in April or May of the year…and at least one person will leave to go to TNA or WWE.

-ROH will sign Paul London to a contract later in the year and after he has felt he had enough time off from wrestling.

-Daizee Haze WILL save Delirious from The Age of the Fall eventually, likely by kissing the man-lizard and awakening him from his insanity.

-The Briscoes will decide to split the team up and pursue singles action. They will remain babyfaces and will reform their tag team by the end of the year, making another serious bid to win the ROH Tag Titles.

-Mickey Rourke will make a guest appearance at an ROH show to second Jerry Lynn in a match.

-Sami Callahan and Kenny Omega will become regulars in ROH in 2009.

-Meanwhile, Prince Nana will be back at least one more time. Also, returns for: Human Tornado, Cheerleader Melissa, The Christopher Street Connection, Pelle Primeau, Brodie Lee and the tag team of Cheech & Cloudy.

-Debuts for: Tajii Ishimori stateside on an ROH show, Da Soul Touchaz, Alex Koslov and The Young Bucks.

-Christopher Daniels is the only major names of TNA wrestlers who haven’t returned to ROH yet. In 2009 he will do just that.

-Finally, three words: SEXY CHUCKY TAYLOR! He’s gotta make it in one of these days…

And with that… I’ll be in tomorrow with PART THREE of the Final Column feature!