Dragon Gate USA: Open The Freedom Gate - Philadelphia, PA - 28/11/09

The first thing I noticed here was that, compared to what I've just seen on ROH or the DG shows in Europe, the picture quality is much clearer, which certainly improves the experience. The crowd, which is lit rather than in darkness, appears to be a good number as well. The show features four themed qualifying matches, and a Four Way Elimination match with the winners, to crown the first Open The Freedom Gate champion.

Generation New: Matt Jackson vs Nick Jackson vs Gran Akuma vs Hallowicked vs Lince Dorado vs Johnny Gargano - The first qualifier features six of the new faces that have had good showings and/or success on the first two DGUSA shows, but as up and comers the six of them only have one space in the finals to fight for. This is basically a sprint from the opening bell, and it's immediately noticeable that while Akuma and Gargano are heels (and got booed during the introductions), that has no relevence during the actual match. Gargano also desperately needs to learn how to throw forearms, as his exchanges (with Akuma mostly, which makes no sense) are embarassing. The only real story in the match is a possible confrontation between the Young Bucks, and Hallowicked and Dorado are basically background performers. After a couple of teases, and after hitting Hallowicked with More Bang For Your Buck, the Jacksons finally get to square off for an exciting one minute sequence at the 6:30 mark, then it's big dives all round before Akuma pins Gargano with a moonsault at 9:29. A fun spotfest.

Redemption: BxB Hulk vs Brian Kendrick - This is a battle between two men who lost on their DGUSA debut, hence Redemption. Kendrick doesn't show much here in the way of exciting offense, with a lot of WWE-esque heel routine stuff, but it actually works well in the context of the match as the crowd were behind Hulk anyway, and Kendrick does take every offensive move that gets thrown at him. Hulk wins with a tight roll-up at 12:23. I definitely enjoyed this.

After the match, Kendrick is sat slumped in the corner of the ring and refuses to budge when Bryce Remsburg urges him backstage. Kendrick ends up cuttting what appears to be a good promo in terms of riling up the crowd, but it also seems a bit rambling and the audio isn't as good on the DVD as the picture. Several more officials and seemingly random people come to ringside, then the camera follows as an unnamed guy climbs into the ring, grabs the mic from Kendrick, and says something along the lines of "hearing a lot of talk but not seeing any action". The guy then blasts one of the random ringsiders, who looks just like Lucky Cannon from WWE NXT, and he and Kendrick work together against everyone else in a convincing scene that kinda resembles the 'riots' Gabe booked in ROH in 2003. I'm assuming this is the DGUSA debut of Jon Moxley, but as he's someone I've only read about to this point and he wasn't named, I guess I'll have to wait and see...

Salute to Skayde: Super Crazy vs CIMA vs Mike Quackenbush vs Jorge 'Skayde' Rivera - Well, this is an odd one to say the least. They obviously wanted Skayde there as a tribute, but this being in the Arena, the crowd are massively behind Super Crazy over everyone else. Crazy supposedly has heat with Rivera, and when Rivera sells a 'leg injury' from a Crazy low dropkick, Crazy is the only one who doesn't buy it and wants to keep attacking. CIMA does some OTT "oh no poor Skayde" facials, yet the crowd don't care in the slightest and Crazy gets the crowd chanting his name with slight expression changes. Rivera then stops selling the ruse, and we go back to what the rest of the match is like - three quarter pace lucha style, because Rivera is old and that's his top pace, and Super Crazy is looking quite chunky as well. Thankfully, CIMA rolls up Rivera for the pin at 9:19. This really isn't all bad, but the bad bits are really bad. The overall package is something you kinda can't help but watch. I guess that's a thumbs up for one-time viewing...

Next Level: Davey Richards vs YAMATO - Yet another entry into to the body of great work amassed by Richards in 2009, and for YAMATO another fine singles showing in Philly to go with the opener at Historic Gate. Richards works the arm towards a Kimura submission, and YAMATO eventually starts working over Richards leg in response. The only problem with working Davey's leg is that, as usual, it doesn't stop him running full pelt into that dive into the crowd when the time comes. In an interesting comparison to a couple of recent ROH events, there's a nearfall for Richards from a German suplex which gets a major crowd response, mostly because it really did seem like YAMATO was down for three here. After also dropping Richards on his head in a couple of other hurty ways for nearfalls, YAMATO wins with Galleria in 21:25. I can't remember if this turned out to be Richards' last DGUSA appearance, but if so it was a great way to go out.

With all four finalists set for the main event, there's a musical interlude with a quick look at their preparation. Shadow boxing appears to be the order of the day, except for YAMATO who is laid out on the floor looking knackered.

Jigsaw vs Eddie Kingston - A fun little eight minuter here. Mike Quackenbush joins us on commentary and pushes a story about how Jigsaw and Kingston are both from the same class in CHIKARA, Kingston mostly leaving CHIKARA behind, and how they have a deep history there with Kingston not really respecting Jigsaw. They sell the story somewhat, but Kingston in Philly is still a fan favourite, and when Jigsaw gets the pin with a top rope double stomp, Quack's shout of "He Did It!" doesn't really ring true. The match was still good for what it was.

Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino vs SHINGO & Dragon Kid - Holy. Crap. I simply don't have the words for this. Yoshino makes Kid tap to Sol Naciente at 19:56 to end an incredible match. This match simply ties in everything from the two Yoshino vs Kid singles matches in DGUSA before this and the Doi vs SHINGO main event from Historic Gate into twenty minutes of brilliance. It's so good, the Young Bucks are booed for even suggesting they're in the same league when they come out to issue Speed Mucsle an open challenge for a match down the line. Simply essential viewing.

Ooh look, here's Jon Moxley - this time complete with caption - cutting a convincing promo outside in the parking lot. As mentioned, there's a distinct Heath Ledger/Joker air about this. I look forward to more from Moxley.

Open the Freedom Gate Title match: Gran Akuma vs BxB Hulk vs CIMA vs YAMATO - This elimination match to crown DGUSA's first champion simply has no way to follow the tag match that went on before it, and naturally suffers as a result. YAMATO still looks drained from his efforts with Davey Richards to boot. CIMA carries the opening portion with his crazy facials and his attempts to work with Akuma & YAMATO, but even though they're not having any of that, he still doesn't ally himself very well with Hulk, and is pinned by a YAMATO roll-up following an Akuma low blow just past the 5:00 mark. The crowd are somewhat aghast at that.

Akuma and YAMATO then work over Hulk 2-on-1, and much like their tag match in Chicago, it only works as a watchable experience to a certain degree. Hulk has to wait for miscommunication to make his own comeback, but does then come up with some very exciting sequences. I reckon it would have worked better if Gran Akuma had been eliminated by the flurry ending in the Phoenix Splash, but instead it's the (miscalled) FTX at about 11:30 that puts him away. So, to crown the first ever Open The Freedom Gate Champion we end up with the pairing that opened up DGUSA in BxB Hulk vs YAMATO. YAMATO actually gets booed here, so that's a bonus. Most of the spots are based around both guys being exhausted, so it makes logical sense and delights the crowd when Hulk has more left in the tank and drops YAMATO on his head one time too many, scoring the pin at 15:54.

Davey Richards arrives on the scene and challenges Hulk (well, actually he kicks him and helps YAMATO stomp him down a bit), but Dragon Kid arrives on the scene for the save, and as he has the first title shot there's a bunch of motioning between him and Hulk before BxB Hulk finally gets to celebrate with his shiny new belt, and that's our show.

Overall, this is probably the third best of DGUSA's three shows so far. The title tournament suffers overall from the weird fourteen man format, and the title match isn't the best match on the show. That said, this is anything but a bad show, and the storyline progression side of things is coming along nicely - this show leaves you with BxB Hulk vs Dragon Kid as Hulk's first title defence, with Davey Richards (supposedly) and YAMATO as credible challengers, and SHINGO vs Masato Yoshino and Speed Muscle vs The Young Bucks as potential matches to be excited about. There's also the little matter of the absolutely stunning Doi & Yoshino vs SHINGO and Kid bout, which in my mind is my #1 independent bout of 2009 at this point and in my top 3 matches of that year overall. So, another must-see show then...

DVD Extras

Thankfully, they didn't do a FRAY! at this event, instead opting for two pre-show matches:

Kyle O'Reilly vs Adam Cole - Mindless fun, with emphasis on the mindless as they are doing fighting spirit spots before reaching the 4:00 mark. O'Reilly combines a couple of Davey Richards-esque running strikes, a tornado DDT and a brainbuster for the pin at 6:20.

Jon Moxley vs B-Boy - I remember when B-Boy, especially in CZW, was a fairly major independent name, and his performance here including a bunch of hard chops and headdropping suplexes brings it right back. Moxley looks competent in-ring in between taking a beating and one botched spot which he works into the chaotic nature of his character. The crowd DO NOT like Moxley's victory by Fujiwara armbar at 8:44 and boo him out, which is encouraging.

Sadly, there is still a FRAY! on the DVD, from night 2 of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup on 21/11/09, which was hosted by FIP and as a weekend was supposedly something of a precursor to EVOLVE. CZW World Heavyweight Champion Drake Younger outlasts Scotty Vortekz, Brad Attitude, Arik Cannon, Flip Kendrick, Dave Cole, Chris Jones and Marion Fontaine. I hate the FRAY! format and couldn't get anything out of this. Oh, and Drake Younger, World Heavyweight Champion?

BxB Hulk & YAMATO vs Roderick Strong & Jay Briscoe - This is from the FIP Third Anniversary Show, 28/09/07. Just to set the scene further, Roderick is FIP World Heavyweight Champion - which again makes me say Drake Younger? Really? - and Mark Briscoe is out injured so Jay is teaming with Roderick rather than defending the FIP Tag Titles. This is by far the best outing from FIP to feature on one of these DVDs so far, but also highlights how far YAMATO in particular has come since. BxB Hulk pins Jay Briscoe with the FTX at 15:58 to end a solid encounter.

Open The Triangle Gate Title Match: BxB Hulk, PAC & Masato Yoshino vs Akebono, Don Fujii & Masaaki Mochizuki - Finally, our Bonus DVD main event is from the Summer Adventure Tag League III in Aichi, Japan, on 16/8/09, with World-1 defending the Triangle Gate titles. We get the full experience here, with entrances including a dancing girls one from BxB Hulk. The match does a good job of making Akebono into an attraction rather than the elephant in the room, with the World-1 team bouncing around and some intriguing interaction between the big man and Yoshino. Eventually the champions manage to get Akebono out of the in-ring action, and then triple team Fujii enough that Yoshino earns submission victory with Sol Naciente Kai at 16:56.

That tag match was a bit tasty. Nearly finished Civil Warfare - another spectacularly dire Manassas show.

From PWInsider


Apparently they'll be facing The Kings Of Wrestling. Might have to end my 2 year absence for buying ROH dvds to get this when its out.

Damn, I want to see that match.

Civil Warfare – 7/5/10

ROH’s Manassas shows have generally been some of the weakest in company history, and with a bundle of bonus matches padding out this disc, you get the feeling this one isn’t going to be either.

Eddie Edwards vs. Bobby Dempsey – the gimmick is that if Dempsey lasts ten minutes, he gets a TV title shot. Edwards does his best to make Dempsey look competitive before making him tap to the Achilles Tendon Hold in around seven minutes. Essentially this is a re-run of Aries Lucky Lottery gimmick by the looks of things.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jay Briscoe – these two never really got out of first gear. Jay Briscoe wriggles out of the UFO and rolls up Claudio. After the match both tag partners run in, leading to...

Chris Hero vs. Mark Briscoe – a decent little match – better than the encounter that preceded it anyway. Del Ray distracts the referee and Hero wallops Mark with the loaded elbow pad for the win.

Eric Stevens vs. Roderick Strong – this is Stevens first high profile singles match in what seems like years, and it’s against former arch nemesis Strong. Predictably this match is nowhere near the standard of their previous work. Stevens is saddled with the Pearce “interact with the crowd constantly” edict, and with his main event with Black just 24 hours away Strong doesn’t seem too interested either. The finish came out of nowhere too, Strong hitting the flying Yakuza out of nowhere for the pin.

Kenny King vs. Colt Cabana – well, the participants in this one might argue that they had the crowd involved from start to finish; but for the DVD viewer, watching King and Cabana lark about while the crowd chant incessantly for snap mares and other moves is pure torture. This abomination is perfectly capped off with the Pearce finish, as Kevin Steen runs down out of nowhere and attacks Cabana for the DQ.

Christopher Daniels vs. Kevin Steen – Steen is officially so fat now that he has to wear at-shirt in the ring. Although by no means a classic, this was easily the best match of the night. It’s kind of surreal watching Daniels in an ROH ring again, as I didn’t think he’d be back after he left in 07. Never say never in wrestling I guess. He’s still as good in the ring as ever, and carries Steen to a decent singles effort. The Fallen Angel wins in around 15 minutes with the triple jump moonsault.

Austin Aries & Rhett Titus vs. Tyler Black & Delirious – the fact that Rhett Titus is in the main event tells you everything you need to know about thus show really. Aries does his usual tag match phone-in job, although for once this works into the storyline – Delirious is desperately trying to get his hands on Aries, who naturally keeps running away. There is one bad bit of psychology though, when Delirious finally gets his hands on Aries...and the first thing he does is give him an Irish whip??!? I know they were trying to transition into a spot where Titus could clobber Delirious, but it needed a bit more thought than that lads. An ok main event ends when Black gives Titus the kick to the head, and that’s all she wrote.

Overall – typical Manassas event – shite crowd, average in ring action. To be bought from traders only – no point in wasting $20 on this. To be honest, they should have released it as a double set with SCOH 5.

A shortish review from me here too, as I'm not feeling great at the moment, and again, the show is a bit shit...

Reverse The Curse - Chicago Ridge, IL - 5/12/09

Colt Cabana opens the DVD with a promo which doesn't seem to convince himself that he's got a realistic chance of winning the title in the main event, let alone anyone else. We'll see how Aries vs Cabana in a Cage works out in 2009, as they did it once already way back in 2005.

Joey Ryan vs Rasche Brown vs Sami Callihan vs Shane Hollister - A really blah Four Corner Survival to open things from an in-ring perspective. Callihan and Hollister have a couple of reasonably hard hitting exchanges, but Hollister doesn't show anything else. Brown's basic power repertoire isn't nearly as over as last time in Chicago, but they seem to want to start an angle where Prince Nana wants to hire him anyway. Ryan does some sleaze and not much else before pinning Hollister withe the Moustache Ride (middle rope swinging neckbreaker, which is also the definition of blah) at 10:06. Next, please...

Pick Six Series: Kevin Steen (1) vs Claudio Castagnoli - The highlight of this is Steen's pre-match - well, not promo, exactly - more like a lament. He talks about his knee being in a state, not really being in shape, his own surprise at beating Chris Hero for the #1 spot in the Pick Six, and how he'll battle because "the #1 spot is all I have". In comparison, Claudio gets an entrance where they change camera angle for each of his different poses, just to show how in shape he is. It's no real surprise, then, when Claudio batters the leg and makes Steen tap in just six and a half minutes to his own Sharpshooter. The match isn't bad, it's just the story is short and to the point.

The Young Bucks vs The House of Truth - This didn't do much for me, the HOT working over Matt Jackson in generic fashion for the most part, with choking and the odd double team the order of the day. It's therefore typical that this is the match where House of Truth actually pick up an ROH victory, taking advantage of a blind tag when the Jacksons attempt More Bang For Your Buck, and a distraction from Truth Martini, to score a pin with a handful of tights in 8:49.

Pick Six Series: Roderick Strong (3) vs Kenny Omega (5) - A weird one, this. I can only assume that our boy Kenny isn't used to wrestling face vs face matches, as he controls almost the entire match here as if working heel, and as a result his charisma doesn't come out and the match doesn't build any real kind of dynamic. Roderick gets practically no offense in bar a few chops until a small flurry at the 12:00 mark, then another at about 17:30, then suddenly puts together his usual combo ending in the Gibson Driver and that's it for Omega at 20:26. Both guys drop a place in the Pick Six as a result of Claudio's earlier victory, so overall this felt a lot like a waste of 20 minutes...

Necro Butcher vs Erick Stevens - There's some good and bad here as Erick Stevens gets his first singles match as part of the Embassy. Unfortunately, while a pre-match brawl that starts as Stevens jumps Necro is good, once they get in the ring and start the match we get 6:37 of boring clubbering. Necro wins by DQ after Stevens blasts him with a chair, which Necro completely no-sells and loads of jobbers rush out as Stevens and Necro again try and tear it up at ringside. Let them fight, but please don't make me watch them wrestle...

Pick Six Series: Tyler Black (4) vs Kenny King - Now, I liked the intensity of this one a lot. Tyler seems particularly focused on making King pay, albeit within the rules of the match, for taking out Jerry Lynn. The usually cocky and arrogant King is knocked off his stride, and seems unsure of his ability to handle Tyler working him over. Of course, when he finally does get the advantage over Tyler, King's cockiness floods back and that just makes Tyler all the more determined. Both guys athleticism comes in as the match moves along towards the faster paced closing sequences, and there's some good nearfalls before Tyler puts King away with a reversal into God's Last Gift at 20:17. My choice for match of the show, and a good sign that Tyler is almost ready for the big belt at this point.

The Briscoes vs The Dark City Fight Club - More clubbering in this one, some good action as well with some suplexes and the odd double-team, but the big problem is they never seem to get above third gear. Mark Briscoe suddenly pins Kory Chavis with a sunset flip out of the corner at 12:11. I guess this gives the Briscoes some momentum heading into Final Battle.

World Title Steel Cage Match: Austin Aries vs Colt Cabana - This is probably the only match on the card that actually gets the crowd really into who's going to win, but it's purely down to Cabana being in his home town, rather than particularly good action. Cabana manages to work some of his usual goofiness into the early going, which kinda sets up the fact it's not going to be a super intense Cage encounter. The Cage itself also seems a bit short, as when they attempt to climb out, just standing on the top rope has their head height over the top of the Cage.

So, it's slow climbing or trying to get through the door for the most part here. They do a couple of falls from that height, but nothing overly extravagant. Cabana has a half hearted attempt at bleeding, which is just about enough to increase the drama of him surviving the brainbuster and Last Chancery. Aries then bleeds more violently, but not until right near the end of the bout, so it doesn't add much to the overall drama of the match. He survives the Billy Goats Curse, then there's some scrambling for the door from both men, then Cabana gets a big Hogan-esque routine going where he pastes Aries into each side of the Cage, then smashes him with the Flying Asshole, only for the Cage to give way and Aries crashes to the floor for the fluke victory at 26:15.

Overall, this was watchable the once, but I'm not going to be seeking repeat viewings of this as any kind of Cage classic. Aries staggers out of ringside with a maniacal smirk on his bloody features as an exasperated Jim Cornette looks on, and a frustrated Cabana is left in the ring. Cornette promises to get him back in the Pick Six so he can win the belt elsewhere then have his first defense in Chicago, as he's now barred from every challenging for the title in Chicago again. Good luck with that ever happening.

With only one of the three longer matches on the show really being worth a second viewing, a Chicago crowd that seemed smaller in number than usual and dead for the most of the action, and a series of bland matches on the undercard, I'd say this one is a show to miss.

DVD run time is 2 hours, 50 minutes - plus as a bonus you get the return to ROH of Pelle Primeau, teaming with Grizzley Redwood to defeat Alex Payne and Bobby Dempsey in a six minute pre-show match. Great!

Just saw this on PWinsider...

Why would WWE want Black ?

Shit.

Well that's surprising. I was never sure he was the kinda guy they'd go for, and I thought he'd be quite happy headlining ROH at the moment, but I guess you have to take those chances when they come.

Good luck to him if it's true.

'Cause he's tall.

Hey, let's face it, we all thought 'Why would WWE want Punk?' ages ago. That said, Tyler isn't the best promo.

Hmmm, nobody saw that coming. This leaves ROH with a bit of probelm to say the least, especially with Richards mooted to be leaving in Dec. One of the companies main problems over the past 18 months is that roster has become increasingly stale due to a seeming disinclination to bring new guys in. They need to create some stars and fast. Off the top of my head, John Moxley, The Cutler Brothers, Johnny Gargano, Chuck Taylor and Kyle O Reilly are guys I'd like to see in ROH.

Supercard of Honor 5 – 8/5/10


The Briscoe Brothers vs. Kenny King & Rhett Titus – a solid tag team opener. After a miscue between Titus and King the Briscoe’s hit the Doomsday Device on the latter at the fifteen minute mark. The Briscoe’s’ contracts are up as far as I know, but in the absence of an offer from the E I guess they’re staying put for the time being.

Grizzly Redwood vs. Eric Stevens – two wrestlers that no-one gives a fuck about, to be exceedingly blunt. Stevens wins with the Doctor Bomb, then for some reason Balls Mahoney runs in and wipes out the Embassy.

Sara Del Rey vs. Amazing Kong – as regular readers will know I rarely watch women’s Matches, but I’ll make an exception here. Amazing Kong, fresh from battering BTLS, makes her way to ROH to face Del Rey, who many call the best female wrestler in the U.S. This is one of the best big man vs little man matches I’m seen in awhile – well, you know what I mean. Kong batters Del Rey for the opening few minutes, before Del Rey starts working the arm and slows Kong down. Kong misses the Awesome Splash off the second, but kicks out of a German suplex from Del Rey. Del Rey gets the win with a forearm shot with the loaded elbow pad. Hopefully there will be a rematch somewhere down the line.

Christopher Daniels vs. Eddie Edwards – an extremely good match-up. Some nice technical stuff in the early going, Edwards works the leg for a bit, then some good back-and-forth before the finish. Daniels is wrestling like he has something to prove, and its a testimony to Edwards progression in the last 12 months that he didn’t look out of step at all in this one. Daniels picks up the win with the triple jump moonsault.

Austin Aries vs. Delirious – Aries is good on the mike, but the fact that he cuts a promo before every match has led me to start skipping his promos. Dressed in full suit, he tries to apologise to Delirious for injuring his throat, but naturally he’s having none of it. Aries wins by DQ after three minutes after Delirious chokes him with one of the tassels. Titus and King run in, but Delirious and Haze manage to fight them off. Let’s face it, as no-one really cares about the Delirious/ Aries feud, turning the match into a post intermission angle was a pretty decent move.

Kevin Steen vs. Colt Cabana – Last Man Standing – another ultraviolent battle between these two. Several wince inducing spots here – Cabana going over the top to the outside through a table which didn’t break; Steen getting slammed on the side of a ladder, then being sent off the second onto a pile of thumbtacks. Tremendous finish too. A midget that comes out dressed as El Generico turns out to be Colby Corino; and his Dad uses the distraction to hit Cabana with a low blow. Colby then pulls a barbed wire baseball bat from underneath the ring: but Cabana gets hold of it and wallops Steen. However, the heels regain control, and after holding Cabana in a Crippler Crossface with the barbed wire bat held across his face, he fails to meet the ten count and Steen gets the win.

The Murder City Machine Guns vs. The Kings of Wrestling – nice to hear both teams come out to some proper entrance music as opposed to the generic HDNet shit. As you expect, this was a scorcher of a match - until the finish. Hagadorn throws Hero the loaded elbow pad, and the Briscoe’s run in for the DQ. The crowd are furious, and they have every right to be. Originally the plan was for the Kings to go over, but TNA nixed it a few days before the show (clearly Eric hadn’t had his power fix that week.) But you can’t do a DQ for a main event match like that. 30 minute draw would have been an acceptable outcome. Pearce – you goofed boy. Still, before the finish we got 20 minutes of some of the best tag wrestling you’ll see all year.

Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong – this was a very good match, prevented from attaining classic status by the crowd - who for some reason booed Black out of the building, and pretty much sat on their hands for the first 25 minutes. After some solid chain wrestling at the start Strong quickly takes over and works the back. Black hits an F5 on the floor for the Pearce Spot – wrestler beats the count at 19 – but you could hear a pin drop when Strong got back into the ring. The finish was tremendous though – three ref bumps!!! It sounds like TNA at its worse on paper, but it actually worked really well. Black superkicks Todd Sinclair, so Paul Turner comes out, but gets Roderick Strong powerbombed on top him in the corner. Then a third ref who I’ve never seen before comes running out, trips over at ringside much to everyone’s amusement, before getting clattered. At this point the crowd stopped sulking and actually got into the match. Eventually Black wins with a top-rope superplex.

Overall – the show lives up to its name, with four must-see matches.

I hate it because it necessitates a title change, so the new champion will just kind of be champion by default, and we'll never know what the original plan was. Like when Nigel got hurt.

Maybe, but sometimes bookers do better when they have to think on their feet. Some of Gabe's best booking stemmed from short-term exigencies; and more often than not his worst angles were the ones he'd sat and thought about for a while. Short-term it looks like the belt is going on either Richards in Charlotte or Strong in NYC.

I think Strong deserves at least a small title run. He's not the guy to carry the company, but this could be the perfect circumstance to get the belt on him short-term.

I agree Strong deserves a run, its a shame it may come about because their hand was forced though.

Hmmm, I'm a bit sceptical about giving guys belts as a kind of wrestling equivalent of a gold watch. There's no doubt that Strong is world-champion calibre - he really picked himself up in 2009 and never looked back. But if you give him the belt, who do you put him in a program with? ROH has always struggled to produce more than a couple of top line babyfaces at a time. Say you put him in a program with Richards; but everyone knows he's on his bike in December. Maybe have Richards win the belt at FB, vacate it and have some sort of tournament? There may be huge flaws with such a plan, I'm thinking off the top of my head here.

It is tricky, and to be honest I don't know if they should go either way - Richards or Strong. What about someone slightly left-field like Hero or something?

My moneys on Jimmy Jacobs to take the belt. Strong and Davey are too easy and predictable. Definitly not A Double again. I wish it would be Hero, but his tag team commitments means it won't be.

Jacobs may not be a long term champion, but it'll give a chance for a great promo guy to hold the belt, much like Raven of the 90s. It'll come full circle, Jimmy introduced Black and ends Black.

........ So you think a guy who's not been with the company in over a year and had a bit of a public falling out with the owner is going to win the belt?

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

I do hope Davey Richards takes it, but I see Strong being the more likely choice at GBH. Still, Strong vs Richards at FB title vs career sounds better than Black vs Richards did.... But then I am an utter mark for every time Strong and Richards beat the shit out of each other.

Hasn't Jacobs completely left ROH? I remember he had a big sendoff after a feud with Black but got the impression he wasn't coming back. Ignore, read post above.

It's annoying as ROH has invested alot of time getting Black over, but I think with Richards you'd have a popular guy who can cut a half decent promo and wrestle ROH style matches, Strong is too bland on the mic, although I'm big fan of Martini as a manager.

I would like Chris Hero to get the title. I love Hero, great look, killer matches and probably the best promo they've got. But my left field pick would be Kevin Steen.

IMO ROH is stale at the moment. It needs a kick up the ass, and needs to grab peoples attention. Something out if left field would tigger peoples interests again.

Now this is just my opinion, I'd love to see Richards win the belt, bit it's very unlikely if he's retiring. I can't buy into Strong as champion.

You can't buy into Strong as champion, but you can buy into a multi-coloured hair psycho midgit who has a fetish for bloody brawls and gimmicky matches, as champion?

Double post...

Who has also been involved in ROHs most emotional feuds. Who the fans did connect with? Strong and Richards are hardly giants? He can get a feud over, and that's something I don't see in ROH at the moment (bar Steen-Generico) He'd be a man who would act like he would die for the belt.

He wouldnt need to hold it long, but I bet my last pound the man who took the belt of Jacobs would be alot better for it than if he took it off someone generic looking and lame promo skills.

This is simply what I'd like to see, something different, something you didn't see coming.

Steen isn't a bad outside shot as champion; although personally I don't think he's good enough to be a top line singles guy. Hero has the qualifications, but I can't see them splitting up the Kings at the moment.

It's getting the expected mixed reaction on the ROH forum. Some obvious "lolz NXTs next breakout star!" comments, along with how he'll never get anywhere unless he sucks up to Vince's son-in-law etc.

It got me thinking as to how many ROH wrestlers have gone on to WWE? My knowledge isn't great so I can't think of too many:

CM Punk
Matt Sydal
Danielson
Low Ki
Paul London
Brian Kendrick
Nigel was nearly there but had to go to TNA instead

Not sure if there are any others who got development deals but didn't make it etc?

There's only one thing to do. Terry Funk for champion.

Colt Cobanna is missing from that list mucker. Matt “M Dogg 20” Cross was jobbing on Superstars the other week, but that doesn’t count.

I'd honestly completely forgotten about Colt. Which is strange as he was always one I liked, and looked forward to seeing how they used him. That turned out a bit shit didn't it?

I’d given up on WWE at that point so didn’t see any of his run. I believe it was pretty naff though. Wasn’t his little internet show quite popular though?

Yeah, the Internet show seemed to be doing ok, which is why his release seemed a little strange. I never quite got why they'd give him that time if they didn't intend to use him.

As Cabana himself said : as a PG friendly wrestler he's one of the best around, so it was a touch baffling why they released him.

And I bet he cries himself to sleep every night now.

Having a think about who can replace Tyler and fact that if you can either go with Davey (who's possibly leaving if not working the fans, and if he is going will feel like a temporary solution) or Roderick Strong (who if he wins will have the stigma of only having won the belt because the champion was leaving). Giving it to Hero or Claudio means breaking up one of the best acts in wrestling at the moment (suppose they could make Hero champion and put Claudio with Ares). Austin Aries has been there twice and in a promotion with longer title reigns than most, it doesn't feel like five minutes since Aries was champion anyway.

So, my left-field choice - Jay Briscoe. Sick of the Briscoes really (though not as much as I used to be when Gabe was cramming them down everyone's throats), I've long wanted them to break up because I think Jay's good enough to be at that level for ROH. I'd have Mark go heel (back in the day I'd have put him in Sweet and Sour) but I'd not do the traditional turn, I don't think anyone would really believe a Briscoe vs. Briscoe feud at this point, I'd just have Mark join the Kings or the House of Truth and have Jay tell him he loves him, he's his brother, but fuck he's hanging around with a bunch of morons. Down the line you know someone from one of those factions is gonna get into a feud with Jay over the belt and then you have the dynamic of Mark being on the opposite side but having the brotherly connection, and if they never feud, it's easy to put them back together in a year or two's time if they're still around.

All that said...isn't a certain someone's TV/iPPV no-compete up around the time of Tyler's farewell? Hmmmm.

A decent idea - but Jay simply doesn't have the singles pedigree to be even considered for a World Title run. If it's the case that the Briscoes are hanging around (everyone assumed that when their contracts expired in May they'd head up North), then they definitely need to split and go their seperate ways. I always envisioned Mark as the face and Jay as the heel for some reason. I agree there's not much mileage in a lengthly Briscoe vs Briscoe program - but their four matches against each other in ROH have all been straight up wrestling affairs - I wouldn't mind seeing them in a hardcore type match-up - maybe Mark and Generico vs Steen & Jay?

I just think he'd be accepted and an instant main event level star which they're really gonna need soon, whereas Strong would feel forced, Richards would feel like a placeholder, Aries a rehash etc.

I think I also thought of Jay as the babyface because he's the older one, where you can play the younger Mark as being "led astray".

Whichever way you look at it, the news has really thrown the cat among the pigeons for ROH. They need to find some new talent from somewhere, and fast. Could we see them kiss-and-make-up with Gabe and use some DG/ Chikara talent? Stranger things have happened.....

Like he was by Chris Daniels eight years ago, when he joined The Prophecy.

Few other names that made it to TV or had developmental deals
Mickie James
Joey Matthews (Mercury)
Serena
Daivari
Matt Striker
Kazarian
Ace Steel
Teddy Hart
Shantelle Taylor (Taylor Wilde)
Angel Williams (Angelina Love)

Then you have those who were ECW guys but went through ROH before being in WWE
Nunzio
Tony Mamaluke
Super Crazy
CW Anderson
Mikey Whipwreck
Danny Doring
Masato Tanaka

I would go for El Generico or Steve Corino as my left field choice! El Generico because he can have a main event caliber match against pretty much anyone And Cornio could play a heat drawing heel and carry a feud with his mic skills!

I would have the title reign last 2/3 months max. Then have Hero beat El Generico or Roderick Strong Beat Cornio to start a lengthy title reign!

Continuity AND consistency of character.



If it's only 2 or 3 months I suppose but I just don't 'feel' Generico in that role, and I wouldn't have Steve Corino in that role in a supposedly forward thinking workrate-minded promotion. As far as Hero taking the belt, I don't think he's the worst choice but it'd be a crime to break up the Kings at this point, there's plenty of mileage in them yet.

Jay Briscoe and Bryan Danielson remain my choices!

Totally agree with not breaking up the kings but I had two thoughts on this!

1. If Tyler Black not off till September plus the 2/3 month title reign that’s 4 month for them to build up a reason to break up the Kings Of Wrestling then fued over the belt!

I think the Indys has a lot more decent tag teams to add to the mix then main event level guys

2. Claudio wins the TV Title and King Of Wrestling control all the gold for a couple of months really pushing down people throats that no one can touch them! Until a Face team comes to the rescue

Generico certainly has the talent to be World Champion - but unfortunatly I don't think the fans see him as a credible figurehead for the company. I'd love to be proved wrong, as I think he's been ROH's most consistent performer since he started working there, but I can't see it happening.

Apparently the chances of Joe coming back to ROH are fairly slim (no pun intended) on the grounds of money.

What about Homicide? He's done bugger all in TNA for months and super over with the ROH crowd, surely he could come back for a big run? I can't imagine TNA caring enough to turn him down for a contract release.

Didn't he ask for his release but TNA said no so he tried to get himself fired by saying negative things about TNA in a few interviews but even that didn't work.

I just looked at the ROH Roster page it really is slim pickings! http://www.rohwrestling.com/roster.php

They need some fresh talent and fast! But who would you bring in??

I would go for John Moxley as a quick main event contender! His in ring work is pretty standard but he is a good story teller and great promo guy much like Eddy Kingston.
And maybe Egotistico Fantastico, Adam Cole and Jonathan Gresham to pad out the midcard

I actually like the idea either of Generico winning the title for a VERY short run - in a defense sandwiched neatly between some more "obvious" threats to the title - just because it would be a hell of a shock, and a great "feel good" moment. Then terminate it within two or three weeks because as mentioned, you don't really hang your flag on Generico. Let Roddy then take it on, through Final Battle (bye bye Davey) and into 2011.

OR

Hero winning the title, but AS WELL as continuing as half of the Kings rather than instead of. Double shots can feature a Kings match one night and a Hero title match the other, and you can SLOWLY build a jealousy/split storyline between them.

Homicide already tanked as champion once, it would be commercial and aesthetic suicide to put the belt on him again. If they wanted to bring a few guys in at once it wouldn't be a bad idea to have them all invade as some kind of anti-ROH faction - "supposedly we're not good enough for the premiere indy promotion" etc. But Pearce doesn't have the imagination to pull something like that off.

I dont agree with this. The reason Homicide's run bombed was because the whole thing was about the chase, with him getting screwed over and finally making a pledge to win gold before the end of the year. The reaction was great when he finally won it at FB but from then on it lost all steam, a common fault when doing the 'underdog/mis treated chase' storyline in wrestling. Homicide has spent the last several years getting exposure from TNA and has taken part in some great matches as part of LAX and would be a worthy man to figurehead the promotion for a while at least.