Column of Honor: 12.08.07: Green X-Mas

Happy Hannukah to all out there who celebrate the occasion. May your bellies be filled with Latkes and Jelly Donuts.

Welcome to the Column.

Ring Toss
-Weather Changes Trios Tournament 2007
-ROH Results: Unscripted III in Chicago Ridge, IL
-Man Up Podcast
-ROH Call
-ROH News
-Hero’s Sandwich
-Honorarium
-Dear Delirious: Green X-Mas
-Name That Tune
-Ringtones
-Independent Buy In
-OUT

Weather Changes Trios Tournament 2007 into Unscripted 3

Mother Nature is no friend of Ring of Honor. Last weekend a major snowstorm in the Midwest created a series of events that forced the cancellation of the much hyped Trios Tournament ’07. A car accident that involved Jack Evans, Human Tornado, Necro Butcher and Ruckus occurred due to hazardous weather and road conditions. Several other wrestlers were having trouble getting to the event, with several coming in about halfway through the event. This meant that three major wrestlers would be missing in action from the tournament.

Instead, for only the third time in ROH’s history, ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky threw out the original script to present Unscripted III, a show of new matches, some of which heavily relied upon local talent. The main events became a one on one match between Jimmy Jacobs and Bryan Danielson and a six man tag main event with The Briscoes and Erick Stevens fighting the No Remorse Corps. Last weekend was further proof that sometimes its not about if the wrestling is good enough that determines the quality of a show, but rather if the day is sunny and there is no snow or ice in the sky.

Well, okay, maybe that is a touch melodramatic, but no one can argue that Ring of Honor has had a strange history with winter weather conditions. Last year a snow storm (as well as a TNA pay per view the next night) was a major determining factor in the card having to be changed up. That show became known as Unscripted II and featured the shocking (to some) return of CM Punk to ROH, even though he was under contract, for one night only.

In September of 2006 ROH was not allowed use of what was at the time their Connecticut venue and were forced to put on their show outside. The tent show took place in the rain, which in itself harkened back to the Generation Next event where ROH was also forced to put on a show outside. Likewise that show was also besieged by heavy rain. Still, the show went on.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor hail…

According to Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Online, ” The big story this week was a car accident involving Necro Butcher, Ruckus, Jack Evans and Human Tornado. Butcher was driving his TRUCK~! Th[r]ough Indiana and they hit a patch of ice. The guy behind them also hit the ice and rammed into them, actually sending them into a ravine. Jack ended up suffering a concussion, but thankfully that was the worst injury. A bunch of ROH staffers went to pick them up and they ended up getting to Chicago around midnight. The Midwest was just battered with ice and snow this weekend, and seven people were reported dead as of Sunday morning..”

If the snow had not got ROH, then injuries may have played a factor inaffecting the show. F4W also was reporting that “Strong and Tornado were also banged up after Friday night. Strong had a huge bruise on his side and ended up doing limited work Saturday night.”

So with the scrubbed concept, the show relied heavily on exhibition matches as well as the ongoing faction warfare taking place between several stables within ROH. The middle portion of the show featured a the Hangmen 3 dominating the competition, meanwhile Jimmy Jacobs stole the show by defeating Bryan Danielson in a twenty plus minute match, hitting his new finish, “The End Time”, a DDT from the top rope and turned into a guillotine.

The win was a bit of a shocker as The Age of the Fall had been dominating tag team matches, but hadn’t yet wrestled in any major singles matches. The battle did have good continuity; Danielson had defeated and dominated Age of the Fall member Necro Butcher at the previous night’s show in Dayton, OH. The win propels Jacobs up the ladder at a time when his faction can use the momentum to solidify its presence in ROH. The Age of the Fall had faltered a bit in terms of visibility and momentum, despite an unforgettable build up and introduction into ROH and domination of the tag team scene over the last several months. Faction warfare had threatened to overwhelm their presence, but now they are back as legitimate thorns in the side of ROH wrestlers.

It also makes me very happy to see that Age of the Fall are mixing it up with main event talent such as Danielson. In a previous column I had called for the use of the bigger names currently on roster to fight Age of the Fall before it was too late. Now, for better or for worse, for win or for loss, that is beginning to happen.

Fan reaction to the show was mixed. Some were hailing it as good to very good given that ROH had to make the best of a situation. Other fans were knocking the show, calling it the worst ROH show of the year. I will personally reserve judgment about the show until I see it for my own eyes, but it’s clear that ROH couldn’t have put on a show up to its previous expectations. What they did to replace the removal of the Trios Tournament concept should still be judged on the merits of its own content, but no doubt with an asterisk to remind us about what factors played into the creation of the card. Could there have been a better booked card? That remains to be seen at least on my part.

In the meantime, booker Gabe Sapolsky released an apology on the ROH message board for not informing the fans about the official talent no-shows during the shows. Instead fans were simply told that the talent was on its way and would make it, albeit they would be late. Halfway through the show it was clear that was not going to happen for Evans and his company. A relatively nasty board post came up about this issue of being informed in a timely matter of which talent would not make it. Now, the post had a decent point but it was put forth so rudely and brusquely that it made me angry. This person took no consideration for the health and well being of the wrestlers, even after fans on the board had learned of the car accident, but weren’t 100 percent about the condition of the wrestlers. Amazing considering the events involved and that someone could have ended up seriously hurt. Gabe didn’t have to apologize, but it was pretty classy of him that he did so.

The joke of this all is that fans on the ROH message board had been ribbing Gabe Sapolsky constantly because he would make an error in repeatedly referring to the show in newswires as “Trios Tournament 2008” even though it was still ‘07. Now, it’s looking as if the tournament won’t take place until next year, if at all.

ROH Results: Unscripted 3: 10/01/07 in Chicago Ridge, IL

Matches
-Austin Aries defeated Tyler Black via pinfall with the brainbuster / 450 combination.
-SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey defeated Lacey in a non-title match via pinfall with a German Suplex.
-Dingo defeated Dan Lawrence in a Six Man Mayhem match that also included Trik Davis, Silas Young, Danny Daniels and Seth Skyfire. Dingo pinned Lawrence with a Full Nelson (Dragon) Suplex.
-Claudio Castagnoli defeated Chris Hero in what became a two out of three falls match. First Fall: Castagnoli pinned Hero after the Alpamare Waterslide. Second Fall: Hero quickly pinned Castagnoli via Hero’s Welcome. Third Fall: Castagnoli submitted Hero with an arm bar submission.
-Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn defeated Ernie Osiris and Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne via pinfall. Pearce pinned Osiris after a spike piledriver.
-BJ Whitmer and Delirious fought to a no contest in a no-DQ match.
-Jimmy Jacobs defeated “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson via submission via the End Time DDT / guillotine.
-The Briscoes and Erick Stevens defeated The No Remorse Corps of Roderick Strong, Davey Richards and Rocky Romero. Mark pinned Richards after the Cutthroat Driver.

Angles and Issues

-Sweet & Sour Interruptus: After Castagnoli had thoroughly and vigorously defeated Hero in their singles match, super agent Larry Sweeney came out and announced he had negotiated with ROH officials that this match would become a two out of three falls match. Hero quickly caught the second fall within seconds of the match being restarted. After Castagnoli had fought back to win the third fall, Hero once again attacked his arch rival, further injuring a shoulder that had been worked on during the match.

-Ella, ella, ella: Whitmer had challenged anyone in the back to a match, and who should come out but Delirious! They proceeded to have a brutal brawl, which included the use of umbrellas as foreign objects! I MUST SEE THIS.

-FINALLY, the Mask: In an angle I have been asking to happen for months on end, BJ Whitmer and the rest of the Hangmen Three ripped off Delirious’ mask and proceeded to attempt to hang him with his own mask! Again, I MUST SEE THIS. The ROH student squad came out to make the save, but were beaten down and Albright threw Mitch Franklin into the crowd. Again, I MUST SEE THIS.

Folks, this is good stuff right here. You might not think Whitmer or Pearce are the most interesting wrestlers in or outside of the ring, but how can you deny that this is anything but an awesome angle and sequence of events?

-Your body is an Allison Wonderland: Apparently The Age of the Fall have a second girl with them and her name is Allison Wonderland. Think about that and read it again slowly. That is an excellent word play, but the best part is that she had the name even before she was brought in for AotF. At any rate, this girl was attacked by Daizee Haze, but Jimmy Jacobs speared her (although I don’t know if it was out of her shoes again). Jacobs then stated “I just destroyed this pretty little thing, now I want to destroy the best in the world.” That led to the match against Dragon.

-Nigel Knows When to Rub It In: ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness, who had been previously attacked from behind by Bryan Danielson during the Glory By Honor VI Night Two event, made sure to rub in that Danielson had just lost to Jimmy Jacobs. This brought out Chris Hero to call out Nigel on the fact that Hero had “won” the ROH World title. McGuinness and Danielson brawled to the back, and Roderick Strong came out and stated that he was going after Nigel’s belt as well. This led into the main event six man tag.

411 Podcast: Man Up Review

Its myself, Larry and Christi Csonka breaking down the ROH Man Up PPV, which I have given a perfect 10. In addition I made sure we did a healthy dose of “Dear Christi” questions, to satisfy the legion within the Christi-an Coalition.

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411’s back with another huge podcast broadcast! Larry and the Wife have returned to breakdown the ROH Man Up PPV, with the Column of Honor’s Ari Berenstein as their special guest! The three discuss Danielson almost being blinded as Morishima retains the ROH Title, the NRC outlasting the RESILENCE and the Briscoe’s MANNING UP against Steen and Generico, as well as the debut of the Age of the Fall in what was another great PPV effort from ROH!
Check out the latest podcast of Larry and the Wife below!
TO STREAM: Simply press the play button on the podcast player.
TO DOWNLOAD: Right click on the DOWNLOAD HERE link below and then save the mp3 file to your computer.

OR
DOWNLOAD HERE
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ROH Call

ROH Champions—As of 12/08/2007

ROH World Champion—Nigel McGuinness (champion since 10/06/07, 2 successful defenses)

Next Defense:: Austin Aries, New York, NY 12/29/07

V.1 defeated Jay Briscoe, wristlock submission (10/21/07 San Francisco, CA)
V.2 defeated Chris Hero, wristlock submission (11/02/07 Philadelphia, PA)

ROH World Tag Team Champions— Jay and Mark Briscoe (champions since 03/30/07, 18 successful defenses)

Next Defense: vs. Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero, 2 out of 3 falls New York, NY, 12//29/07

V.1 Ultimate Endurance: defeated Pelle Primeau & Mitch Franklin, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw, Hallowicked & Gran Akuma (4/27/07 St. Paul, MN)
V.2 defeated Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) (4/28/07 Chicago, IL)
V.3 defeated BJ Whitmer and ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima (5/11/07, Hartford, CT)
V.4 defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal (5/12/07, New York, NY)
V.5 defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero) (6/09/07, Philadelphia, PA): 2 out of 3 falls- 2 straight falls
V.6 defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal (6/22/07, Dayton, OH): 2 out of 3 falls- 2 straight falls
V.7 defeated El Generico & Kevin Steen (6/23/07, Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.8 defeated Jimmy Rave & Genki Horiguchi (7/17/07 Osaka, Japan)
V.9 defeated SHINGO & Susumu Yokozuka (7/17/07 Osaka, Japan)
V.10 defeated “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness (7/27/07 Long Island, New York)
V.11 Steel Cage Match: defeated. Kevin Steen & El Generico (8/24/07 Hartford, CT)
V.12 defeated Kevin Steen & El Generico (8/25/07 New York, NY): 2 Out of 3 Falls – 2 straight falls
V.13 defeated Austin Aries & Matt Cross (9/14/07 Detroit, MI)
V.14 Ladder Match: defeated Kevin Steen & El Generico (9/15/07 Chicago Ridge, IL)
V.15 defeated Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero (11/02/07 Philadelphia, PA)
V.16 fought The Age of the Fall to a double disqualification (11/3/07 New York, NY)
V.17 No DQ match: defeated The Age of the Fall (11/3/07 New York, NY)
V.18 defeated Davey Richards & Rocky Romero in a match taped for PPV (11/30/07, Dayton, OH)

FIP Heavyweight Champion: Roderick Strong (since 11/10/2006)
SHIMMER Champion: Sara Del Rey (since 6/2/2007)
Top of the Class Trophy (For ROH Students): Ernie Osiris (since 11/02/2007)

Top Feuds & Pairings:

-Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero
-Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
-Roderick Strong vs. Nigel McGuinness (FIP / ROH title rivalry)
-The Age of the Fall vs. The Briscoes
-The No Remorse Corps vs. The Vulture Squad
-The Vulture Squad vs. The Age of the Fall
-Delirious / Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Albright, Whitmer and Adam Pearce (The Hangman’s Three)
-Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli

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

Ring of Honor to Distribute DVDs to Retail Store in 2008

ROH promised to make a huge business announcement this week and they did so with the news that they would begin to distribute DVDs to retail chains, beginning in April 2008. Fans have been waiting a while for ROH to make a distribution deal, especially since sister companies FIP and SHIMMER had already been available for sometime now.

There is a catch though, as initially the retail DVD releases won’t be ROH shows but rather compilations of past matches. There will be themes for each release, as seen in the in the first two titles “Blood Stained Honor” which will be more bloody, brawl style matches and “Stars of Honor”, which focuses on current WWE and TNA wrestlers who made it big in ROH.

A press release states:

Ring Of Honor and KOCH Vision have reached an agreement to release a series of exclusive ROH DVDs. The first two DVDs are set for an April 1st release in retail outlets nationwide.

“Blood Stained Honor” and “Stars Of Honor” will be the first two releases. Both DVDs will be 180+ minutes and feature new commentary tracks on some classic matches. As a bonus the packaging will include a ROH limited edition trading card. There will be six cards total. The suggested retail price will be $14.98.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Ring Of Honor,” ROH President Cary Silkin said. “This will make the ROH product very accessible to a whole new audience. We are very proud of both these DVDs and feel they will be great for any new or longtime ROH fan.”

It’s interesting to note that the release states that this is a series and the agreement calls for not just two but many more DVDs (the actual number has not been disclosed). This could be the beginning of a very exciting time for ROH as it gets more of its product into the stores, into the hands of the consumer who purchases their wrestling DVDs at stores such as FYE and the like. Clearly the DVDs are meant for newer fans as sort of a primer or introduction to Ring of Honor. Only one match on these two DVDs is from 2007.

Let’s take a look at the match listings:

Blood Stained Honor:
-Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe in a Steel Cage – 3/13/04 (features new commentary)
-The Second City Saints (CM Punk and Ace Steel) vs. the Prophecy (Dan Maff
and BJ Whitmer) in a Chicago Street Fight – 7/24/04 (features new commentary)
-CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave in a Dog Collar match – 5/07/05
-Generation Next (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans, and Matt Sydal)
vs. The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, Abyss, and Prince Nana) in Steel
Cage Warfare – 12/3/05
-Colt Cabana vs. Homicide in a Ghetto Street Fight – 2/25/06
-Team ROH (Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce, and BJ Whitmer) vs. Team CZW (Chris Hero,
Super Dragon, and Necro Butcher) – 4/22/06
-Colt Cabana vs. Jimmy Jacobs in a Windy City Death Match – 2/24/07
-Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe in a Boston Street Fight – 8/10/07

Of the two compilations I think that “Blood Stained Honor” has the better matches and not even because of the bloods and brutality involved. These are some of ROH’s best matches of the last several years, with almost all four star plus matches with great action, heated moments and capture dramatic points in ROH history. Quite frankly this is a no brainer buy, with many of these matches still holding up today. Joe vs. Briscoe was brutal for its time and still is today one of the bloodiest matches. The Chicago Street Fight is also action packed with violence, chairs, tables and ladders, but it’s also a dramatic story being told with Punk trying to rally the Second City Saints and his hometown crowd to help gain the win against the arch-rivals The Prophecy. It’s hard to have an excellent dog collar match because of a lack of mobility, but Punk vs. Rave is an excellent dog collar match with tons of movement and tons of violence, plus the dramatic multiple chair shot finish. I love the inclusion of Steel Cage Warfare because it was a fun match and also because many wrestling fans are huge marks for elimination style matches and for cage matches. This one has the best of both of those worlds. Plus now the entire world will get to hear Alex Shelley call me a fat boy. The other matches are all well worth the inclusion.

I’m surprised but glad that they included the Boston Street Fight from August ’07 as it’s a recent match in the current ROH style and it involves four men who are currently wrestling for the company. Although the match will still be almost eight months old by the time the DVD reaches store shelves! I think its important for ROH to spotlight the wrestlers under contract in these DVDs while obviously using the name value of their alumni currently in WWE and TNA to draw in potential “off the street” customers.

Stars of Honor
-Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk – 12/4/04 (features new commentary)
-Homicide vs. Antonio “MVP” Banks – 2/19/05 (features new commentary)
-James (Noble) Gibson vs. Roderick Strong – 4/2/05 (features new commentary)
-Bryan Danielson vs. Brian “Spanky” Kendrick – 4/2/05 (features new commentary)
-Matt Hardy vs. Homicide – 8/12/05
-Matt Hardy vs. Roderick Strong – 8/13/05
-Christopher Daniels vs. Christian Cage – 7/29/06
-Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki and Homicide – 8/13/05
Bonus material:
-The History of Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk
-Larry Sweeney confronts Bruno Sammartino
-Mick Foley and CM Punk promo

The “Stars of Honor” DVD actually has a few weaker matches that have me puzzled why they were included–the Strong / Gibson match from April ’05 should have been replaced with their far better match from October that was Gibson’s last match in ROH. The Antonio Banks match is an effort just to purely capitalize on MVP’s name value and it’s a very weak match. I understand including two Matt Hardy matches, as that is a very core fan base and if they see two of his matches are on the DVD, his fans are almost a lock to pick it up. I also like that the match with Strong is included because it’s the match where Strong was put over very strongly (err…sorry for the pun) and helped to get him to the level he is at right now.

That said, the inclusion of Joe vs. Punk III is a brilliant move, considering they are two of the most successful ROH alumni, or at least the ones who have the biggest name value. Having a feature on their history is a great bonus. Hopefully it’s not just a rehash of when Punk did commentary while showing clips of the first two matches and is an actual history piece. Although it wouldn’t be that entirely terrible if it was just the Punk commentary, because that was quality as well. Danielson vs. Kendrick is a wise inclusion, mostly because Spanky puts Danielson over in that match and it will help to cement Danielson as legitimate in the eyes of casual / first time viewers. The Joe / Lethal vs. Homicide / Ki match is a wild riot of a match that I think anyone who is just into four dudes having at it will enjoy.

And before I forget…Larry Sweeney and Bruno! Good call on this one. Sweeney deserves to be featured this one ends with Nigel coming out for the save, so that puts him over to a potential new crowd as well.

I’d recommend both DVDs, especially at the value price of fifteen dollars (even with the ten dollar sale it would cost far more to buy the DVDs with these matches one by one). However, I would tell anyone interested in these to buy the Blood Stained Honor as a clear first choice.

Briscoes to Defend vs. NRC at Fifth PPV

The 12/29 PPV #5 taping is beginning to take shape. Just signed is a big ROH World Tag Team Title Match. Jay & Mark Briscoe will put the ROH World Tag Team Titles on the line against FIP Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero in a 2/3 Falls Match!!! The Briscoes have won 8 straight falls in this kind of match. Can Strong & Romero stop the streak and win the titles?

I’m a bit mystified as to why The Briscoes aren’t putting the straps on the line against Age of the Fall for the PPV. The continuity is right there from the third PPV that The Briscoes would put up their titles against AotF in order to get at the guys who got them right after their brutal ladder war. Instead the fourth and fifth PPVs will be devoted to tag title defenses against the NRC, when that isn’t the main feud in continuity for The Briscoes. This is not to say that they shouldn’t fight the NRC in any combination or that it will be a bad match. Quite the contrary I believe that the NRC are great opponents for The Briscoes. Strong, Richards and Romero can match Jay & Mark in the brutality department, have a great diversity of attacks to utilize and also have tag team cohesion. It just strikes me as a bit strange not to see The Briscoes vs. AotF on PPV when all directions were pointing to it.

So do Jay & Mark continue their “two straight” gimmick in this match? At this point I think the streak is an impressive achievement for them, something that can be used to give a great rub to the team that can unseat them in this type of match. Will the NRC get at least one fall? They have been pushed very strong on PPVs previous to this, although they come up with a loss against The Briscoes on the fourth PPV (to be shown in January. Do you keep The Briscoes super over as they have been on PPV shows, or do you spread out the shine just a bit more equally this time in order to keep both teams hot?

…and why do I have this strange feeling that by 12/30/07 when The Age of the Fall has their best chance to win the tag titles, that none of the questions above will matter?

Trios Tournament Does the Limbo

There is no date yet for when the “Trios Tournament” will be rescheduled. The “Trios Tournament” was canceled in Chicago due to severe travel problems due to ice on the roads. Some wrestlers didn’t arrive at the building until after bell time. Others were involved in a car accident and never made the event. We are relieved to report that besides some bumps and bruises everyone is ok from the car accident. We want to thank the fans of Chicago for understanding the circumstances that led to “Unscripted III” and for being a great crowd. ROH is at its best when it faces adversity and that is because of the support of the fans. ROH is set for its return to Chicago on 1/26. Already signed is ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong. We won’t know the stipulation or what titles are on the line, if any, in this match until January.

I’d hope that ROH can reschedule the tournament as soon as possible. There are quite a few shows coming up quickly after Final Battle 2007 weekend and it would be good to do them on one of them. Maybe the Boston or New Jersey dates? I’d hope that eventually the tournament and some of the other matches slated for the card, such as Danielson vs. Delirious and Stevens vs. Aries, get re-booked onto cards in early 2007.

The other item of note is the confirmation of McGuinness vs. Strong for the ROH title, should Nigel keep the title heading out of FB ’07. The contenders for Nigel’s title run are being set and Strong should be someone who is a recurring title match recipient.

Boston Show Moved to Boston College
From ROHHelp via the message boards:

The Ring of Honor event scheduled for Roxbury, MA on Friday, January 11th has been moved to Boston University in the Case Gym. The address is 285 Babcock Street, Boston, MA 02215.

All tickets for Roxbury will be honored at Boston University.

Already signed: ROH World Tag Team Champions Jay & Mark Briscoe; Bryan Danielson; No Remorse Corps of FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero; Claudio Castagnoli; The Age Of The Fall of Jimmy Jacobs, The Necro Butcher & Tyler Black with Lacey; Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey & Bobby Dempsey; Brent Albright & BJ Whitmer of The Hangmen Three with Shane Hagadorn; The Vulture Squad of Jack Evans, Ruckus & Jigsaw with Julius Smokes; Kevin Steen; Erick Stevens; The YRR of Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Jason Blade & Chasyn Rance plus more names will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

This venue change will come as a relief to some in the MA area, as Roxbury Community College was thought to be not the best area. There was even an incident involving gun fire before the last show in August. I will say that this venue has some of the best fans attending the show—they come across as enthusiastic and not at all jaded. I also liked the aesthetics of the venue and how the crowd looked filled up around ringside.

Looking at the talent roster for the show gives us an indication that ROH is carrying over all of its regulars from the end of 2007. The stables are all going to be represented. Plus the YRR will be back on an ROH show. They gave a good and solid undercard performance during the Motor City Madness 2007 show. They weren’t as on the ball or as well received the next night during the Man Up bonus tapings, but I think they should be given more of a chance to work on their act and using them in a low card capacity wouldn’t be so bad at all. The major negative is that it does add in yet another heel team on an already heel heavy roster. The lack of a major babyface stable besides The Vulture Squad (who, despite their win in the scramble tag match last week have yet to really break out from the pack) is definitely showing itself. A balance needs to be restored.

Also of note is that ROH is not going on a five week intercession like they did last year between Final Battle 2006 and their first show of 2007. They are starting back up quickly, showing that they want to maintain their momentum and also shows the impact of adding and maintaining venues in their touring circuit.

In Memoriam: Tammie and Joseph Hamaoui

It is with great sadness that we have to report the loss of Tammie and Joseph Hamaoui. She was a big part of the ROH/FIP family. Tammie was the wife of FIP promoter/ROH production staff member Sal Hamaoui. FIP has postponed live events until further notice. Condolences can be sent to: Moss Feaster, 13401 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, FL 33774.

This news came rather suddenly over the weekend and obviously it is a very deep and personal tragedy. I can only send my own best wishes and condolences during this time.

Hero’s Sandwich

So, it’s that time again, its time for your one blast of honest journalism on this website, its time for your Hero’s Sandwich, with yours truly, your idol, your icon, and the single greatest HUMAN BEING alive today, Chris Hero. I’m stepping away from my vigorous training schedule for a few moments to address all of you simpletons yet once again, so, I’m going to keep this short and sweet and say all the things that I have to say this week in as simple of a way as humanly possible. So, you might want to know what’s on tap for this week, so let me enlighten you.
First, I need to speak of a few things from last weekends’ events, then I’d like to talk about the upcoming Raw 15th Anniversary “spectacular”, then I need to address the “shoot promo” cut by my favorite Polynesian last weekend, and finally, I’ll offer another message for Brooke Hogan in her time of need.

So, if you haven’t heard by now, last Saturday night’s Trio’s Tournament never came off, due mostly in part to what ROH told the fans, weather issues. My ROH insiders have told me that it wasn’t the weather that led to the cancellation of the event, but rather the looming victory of Tank Toland and myself in this event. The ROH powers that be didn’t want us to gain all the top spots in the company, so instead of having us win and gain control; they straight up cancelled the entire event. It’s just sad to know that Cary and Gabe are so scared of me gaining control over the ROH World Title. Don’t they know that Chris Hero means money? That Chris Hero is the only real draw on the roster these days? I mean, who else could the possibly see as a moneymaker? Aries? Danielson? McGuinness? Those guys couldn’t draw money with a crayon! They’re just second rate to me, and I hope in time that Cary and Gabe will wake up and smell the coffee before its too late and ROH has gone the way of the dodo bird, if you know what I mean.

So, instead of me winning another tournament, I was forced to face my nemesis, Castagnoli in a match, which became a series of matches. Now, I know that all of the haters out there will say “you lost, Chris”, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While it is true that I lost the first and third falls of the best 2 out of 3 falls match, as everyone knows, the second fall is worth double points, so in reality, we wound up tied. Problem is that the moronic ROH officials didn’t know about this rule of the best 2 out of 3 falls match, so they declared Castagnoli the winner. What a sham. As Larry said after the match ended, we will have Todd Sinclair’s job as a result of this oversight, and by the next time you see an ROH DVD or attend a live event, you will never see that fat-pants wearing jackass in the ring. He’s a joke and the reason why ROH officials are looked down upon all around the world.

I also need to take a second to address the actions of Blobby Dempsey on Saturday night. While it is true that he did come in handy at certain points in my match with the “Swiss Idiot”, but in my estimation, it was his fault that I lost any of those falls at all. Just having his blubbering, corpulent frame even near the ring is a distraction, and I think I might have to chain him to a radiator or something in the back. That way, he can’t screw up my matches anymore. And besides, I don’t like the attitude that he’s starting to develop as a result of the “fans” supporting him. I don’t know why or how that’s happened. Look at him, for god’s sake! He’s a fat bastard with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I really enjoyed head-butting him after the match, and I can only hope that a blow to the head like that knocked some sense into him, like I did to McGuinnes when I beat him down after his match. Damn, that was fun, beating down not one, but two talent less hacks in less than an hour. I can’t wait until we hit NYC later this month and I get to end my issues with all of these people, once and for all. First, I’ll rid ROH of Castagnoli, then I’ll win the ROH Title, and then I’ll beat the life out of Blobby. Sounds fun, huh?

Now, onto non-ROH related issues. So, I’ve been told that the WWE is celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Monday Night Raw this week. Let me say this first. I was contacted by the WWE a few weeks back and they begged me to make my debut for their company on that very show, because they know that Chris Hero means ratings. I politely declined the offer because I couldn’t see myself working with less than top level in ring talents. They might have “superstars”, but most of them can’t wrestle their way out of a paper bag. It would be an insult for me to have to try and carry all of them 300 nights a year. I’m good, but I’m not THAT good. In fact, I don’t know that ANYONE is that good. Wait, no, I take it all back. I really am THAT good… that damn good, even. Oh sorry, wouldn’t want to infringe on anyone’s copyrights. Sure, it would be cool to be the number one guy on the top rated wrestling program on television, but you know what? I cannot in good conscience leave the ROH until I have captured the World Title and shown the entire wrestling world what it is to be a true champion. There aren’t too many of those around anymore, so I think the kids need a HERO right now, you know?

Speaking of heroes or at least “wanna-be” heroes, I saw my old, round Polynesian buddy on the PPV last weekend unleash a “shoot” promo against the older wrestlers on the TNA roster. While what he said may or may not have been true, it was so painfully obvious that it was all a great big set up and none of it was said in a truthful manner. See, when I speak, it’s always a shoot… and that’s a shoot! I think that’s why the whole thing between TNA and me never worked out, you know? I’m way too much of a loose cannon for them to deal with that they couldn’t even think about putting a live mike in my hands. I have a feeling that the thin-skinned talent on the TNA roster would all start to cry if I told them what I think about them. Too bad they gave the job to “Captain Corpulent” instead of giving it to a real trailblazer like myself. Oh well, their loss, and Sweet & Sour’s gain.

Finally, I’m going to reiterate my offer to Brooke Hogan from last week. If you need any comforting in your time of crisis, give me a call. You know you want me, so “holla atcha boy”, you know? I can satisfy you in ways that you can’t even imagine, and I can also help your mom move out of the house, as I’m really good at packing and moving boxes. You know you need a real man, not a steroid filled freak like your dad, so you know what to do. Have your people call my people, and we can do lunch, and then, if you’re lucky, I can be YOUR HERO, baby, I can…. well, you figure out the rest.

And that’s that for yet another week. I’ll be back in seven days with more words of wisdom, so please try to fully ingest all of the knowledge that I’ve left you with for this week. Do your best to fully comprehend what I said, and just how great I truly am. On second thought, relax your brains because you’re sucking up too much of the world’s oxygen trying to figure that out. With that in mind, I bid you farewell for yet another week. This has been your weekly dose of enlightenment; this has been your Hero’s Sandwich. Sayonara, suckers!

Honorarium

-Low Ki was given his release this week from TNA and immediately buzz picked up about him coming back to ROH. Is it possible? I’ve written many times about how I think this doesn’t have a very realistic chance of happening. Ki had his problems in ROH, namely job-itis and wanting more money for his services. Gabe Sapolsky has said that he is never coming back. I’ve said before that there is no “never” in wrestling, and that there’s always a chance…but this one might be as likely as my NY Jets ever winning The Super Bowl again. Sure its possible, but I wouldn’t ever get my hopes up about it.

Though I have to admit…the thought of Ki coming back sounds very good—there are so many new and different wrestlers for him to work with, quite a few of them would be matchest hat would be high draws. McGuinness vs. Low Ki, Hero vs. Low Ki, Castagnoli vs Ki, hell even Generico vs. Ki would be great. Not to mention we would have rematches up against Danielson and Aries. He’s always been able to deliver in the ring and the fan base still loves him and his character regardless of his backstage troubles. The only problem is whether or not Ki would agree to doing jobs against these guys. It’s a huge risk to take that Ki would be brought in and not want to lay down, really the largest issue with him.

All that said, I think ROH should in fact make the effort to bring him in—because he still has the name value, the in ring work and the buzz factor to help ROH continue to add fans.

-I received the Shawn Michaels DVD and the Bret Hart autobiography at the same time last week. The irony did not go unnoticed by me. I could write a huge column about either one, especially about how both of them discuss the other (and how differently each treats Montreal), but I think that will have to wait for another day.

-Speaking of waiting for another day, I just got in my shipment of new ROH DVDs, so that means the other Indie DVDs I have yet to watch must take a backseat.

-I have discovered the goodness of Guitar Hero. I admit that I was more than a tad skeptical about the whole thing, after all—if I wanted to play the guitar, I’d you know, play the guitar. However, in the short amount of game time I had with it I have converted to the GH theory. It’s not nearly as difficult to work as I thought it might be, but then again, I did play it on easy.

-To keep on this tangent I’ve also finally dusted off the Mega Man Anniversary Collection and am working my way through them all. I’ve beaten Mega Man 3 and 6 so far and to be honest it was much easier than I remember these games being when I was a kid. …but then again, I did play it on easy.

YES! RECURRENT JOKE!

-I guess maybe I should talk a bit about wrestling, since this is a wrestling column. So um…how about that Carlito?

….(whistles)…

Nothing?

…sure is quiet in here.

Moving on then…

Dear Delirious

What’s up everyone? It’s holiday time once again. Right now we’re in the middle of the festive holiday of lights known as Hannukah and soon enough it will be Christmas time. Therefore I’m here with my good jolly old elf of a friend in Delirious. Ttogether, we’re going to present a very special, Green Christmas themed edition of Dear Delirious!

BAH HUMBUG!

Hey you got it right this time Delirious! Good job! Anyway folks, the Menorah is lit up, we have a green pine in the living room all spiffy and decorated. Santa brought in a whole bag of letters, so let’s get right to it and start to answer them!

Dear my bloke Delirious,
It has been repeatedly brought to my attention that there is a segment of fans that have turned against me. These fans think I rely of my bloody lariat too much and that I have become a bit of complainer. Are they putting me on? At any rate I need to know what I can do to get the fans back on my side. Cheers mate!
-N.McG.

BAH BAH BAH BAH, CHARITY BAH! SALVATION ARMY BAH BAH BAH! BAH NO WORK, BAH FANS GET BAH COAL!

I would agree here. It’s clear that you need to build up your reputation to once again truly enjoy the solidarity and universal support by the fans. People need to see you in a more positive light. Charity is the work of the angels, so maybe focus your efforts in that direction this Christmas. Finally, if the fans just don’t “get it” as it pertains to your talent and ability, just level them with a lariat! I’m sure Santa will give them a lump of coal in their Christmas stocking.

Dear Delirious,

I am one of your students in wrestling school. Some of my little friends in that class say that there is no Ring of Honor. Bryan Danielson says “if you see The Cattle Mutilation, then it is so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Ring of Honor?
-Ernie O’Sirus

Ernie, BAH your little BAH friends (Mitch Franklin and Pelle Primeau BAH?) are BAH BAH wrong. BAH BAH BAH affected by the skepticism BAH BAH skeptical, internet wrestling community age. BLAHBLABLAH BAH believe except they read on the internet. BAHBAHBAHBAH not comprehensible by their little minds. BAH minds, Ernie, BAH BAH BAH marks or smarks, are little. In this great wrestling business BAHBAH, man is a BAH jobber in his intellect as compared with the BAHBAHBAHBAH world of wrestling BAHBAHBAH, as measured by the BAHBAHBAH reviewing a match as five stars. BAH

Let me take it from here Delirious.

Yes, Ernie, there is a Ring of Honor. It exists as certainly as ROH World Title matches and addicted wrestling fans exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Ring of Honor! It would be as dreary as if there were no Ernie O’Siruses. There would be no childlike faith then, no audience chants about how this is awesome, no classic promos and matches to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight of piledrivers and planchas. The external light with which childhood fills the idea of being a mark would be extinguished.

Not believe in Ring of Honor! You might as well not believe in Delirious. You might get Bryan Danielson to put on the television to see if you can find the wrestlers on Final Battle weekend, but even if you did not see Ring of Honor on TV what would that prove? Nobody sees Ring of Honor on TV unless it’s a Pay Per View, but that is no sign that there is no Ring of Honor. The most real things in the world are those that neither marks nor smarks can see. Did you ever see Delirious dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that he couldn’t beat Danielson one on one. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the ring.

You tear apart the ring and see what makes the wrestlers bounce off the ropes, but there is a backstage curtain covering the unseen world of professional wrestling which not the most cynical smark, nor even the united beliefs of all the most hardcore marks that ever went to a wrestling show could tear apart. Only suspension of disbelief, promos, chain wrestling, passion to the business, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the beauty and glory beyond. Is it all fake? Ah, Ernie, in all this world there is nothing else more real and abiding than Ring of Honor.

No Ring of Honor! Thank God! ROH lives and lives forever. A thousand shows from now, Ernie, nay 10 times 10,000 shows from now, ROH will continue to make glad the heart of the wrestling fan.

BAH BAH BAH! HO HO HO BAH!

Last one!

Hey Delirious, I saw you in Dayton and I loved the show! I never marked out harder in all of my life. Speaking of harder, I also saw that Sara Del Rey at the show last week and boy did something of mine get harder! Look, I need to contact her ASAP, so if you can give me her email or phone number that would be appreciated. I don’t think she can resist me, because after all I answer questions about wrestling! Del Rey loves questions about wrestling! I know because I bugged her with about 200 of them in Dayton. Anyway I have a dream date with Sara and my left and right hands so if you don’t mind…
S. Cook

BAH? Ari, BAH BAH this guy? BAH BAH BAH weirdo, stalker BAH. BAH NEVER get Sara Del Rey phone number, BAH BAH BANANA PHONE! RING RING! POLICE? BAH BAH BAH! RESTRAINING ORDER!

I’m sorry Cook, you heard it right there from the man. It looks like you’ll just have to keep dreaming because Sara is just not for you. I, on the other hand, am about to board Sweet & Sour Inc. Super Jet 001, to conduct, some, shall we say, highly classified negotiations, with Larry Sweeney and one Ms. Sara Del Rey. Let’s just say it will be a very merry Christmas for myself this year. It won’t be Jack Frost nipping at my nose this year, it will be the luscious lips of Sara Del Rey.

And that will do it for the Green X Mas edition of Dear Delirious. D, it’s the last time you’ll be in the column for the year, what do you say?

BAH BAH X-MAS AND A BAH BAH NEW YEAR!

YEAH! (Thumbs up!)

Going Home

Name That Tune Week 13

Every week I’ll include an excerpt of music lyric and I’ll ask you guys to guess the song. The catch is that it will be a wrestler’s theme! All promotions are up for grabs, but I’ll focus mostly on the independent scene.

Here was last week’s clue:

Clue: ROH, alumnus
Lyric: I exploit you, still you love me
What’s the name of the song and the artist?

The answer: “Cult of Personality” (by Living Colour)

Thanks again to Chris Landsell for his suggestion and as it turns out a lot of readers were on the same wavelength. Many a comment about how Living Colour was a way underrated band, how this was a great theme for CM Punk and that this song kicks ass on Guitar Hero 3. Let’s the check out the cult of winners.

This week’s winners (by order of receipt):
You_think_you_know_me
soulpower
Matt Interante
Brett—who, like Matt, praises the track for being on Guitar Hero 3.
Holsky316–Love that song. It’s the cult of… it’s the cult of… it’s the cult of… it’s the cult of… it’s the cult of…. it’s the “Cult of Personality” by Living Color. Great music for Punk’s title run.
Frank Omara
Gillan Borum
Mitchell Rose
Andy R.
Sharvey04

Good work crew! We had our regulars and a few new entrants this week. Now let’s keep up the momentum and play Name that Tune! for this week, December 8th, 2007!

Clue: ROH alumni, body part
Lyric: “I lost all train of thought as I entered the room.”
What’s the name of the song and the artist?

Send in your answers here and if you’re correct I’ll list your name in next week’s column!

Ringtones

411’s own Michael Weyer wants me to elaborate on the new ROH Retail DVD releases:

As our resident ROH expert, what’s your take on ROH doing those special DVDs for retail stores? Myself, I think it’s long past overdue to give more fans who aren’t as familiar with the company a chance to see how great it is. I admit, the “bloody battles” one is a bit off-putting as it gives the idea of ROH as another ECW, which it isn’t. But the “major stars” one is better to showcase awesome action from Joe and Punk. I hope this leads to more like big sets for Danielson and McGuiness and I’d love to see a DVD chronicling the awesome CZW feud. So think this might get ROH more visibility and enhance their strength in the wrestling landscape?

I agree, these DVDs are definitely as you put it, “long past due”. I’m hoping though that ROH begins to incorporate current ROH action into these major mainstream releases. I understand the marketing idea behind putting out two compilations of past ROH shows, with matches from wrestlers who have now made it big in WWE and TNA, but in a way I think they are falling into a trap, the same trap used by TNA in its TV shows. I think fans will be intrigued to see guys like Joe and Punk in their early days, but if ROH wants that to translate into more active purchases of its current product, in needs to release comps with current matches and current contracted talent being the major focus. I would also think they’d want to release their PPVs to a wider audience through this deal and that’s what I’m hoping happens. Get “Respect Is Earned”, “Driven” and “Man Up” into the stores ASAP and let wrestling fans who buy their DVDs there discover the current generation talent.

**The Independent Buy In**

2007

**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night One (Strong / Romero, CIMA / Cross, Deliirous / Generico, 8 Man Tag)
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 6 (MsChif / Melissa Last Woman Standing, Rebecca Knox / Allison Danger Pure Rules)
**PWG Hollywood Globetrotters (Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong and Jack Evans; Cape Fear (El Generico and Quicksilver) vs. Arrogance (Chris Bosh and Scott Lost); B-Boy vs. Frankie Kazarian; Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin.)
**PWG Beyond The Thunderdome (Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. AJ Styles and Chris Daniels); Cape Fear vs. Arrogance; Joey Ryan vs. Chris Sabin)
**PWG Enchantment Under The Sea (Cape Fear vs. Briscoes; Matt Sydal vs. B-Boy; Super Dragon and Davey Richards vs. Arrogance; Austin Aries vs. Kevin Steen)
**wXw World Lightweight Tournament 2006 (Ares / Baron von Hagen, Pac / El Generico, Quackenbush / Roudin, 5 Way Tournament Match)
**ECWA Super 8 Tournament 2001 (Danielson / Low Ki, Danielson / Reckless Youth, Low Ki / Billy Fives, Danielson / Spanky)
**ROH FWA IPW:UK Frontiers of Honor 2 (Sydal / Richards, Cabana / Burridge, JC Thunder / Nigel McGuinness, Danielson / Brookside / Stone)
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night Two (Necro Butcher/Super Dragon, Hero/Horiguchi, Evans/Castagnolli)
**PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Night Three (Generico / CIMA, Hero, Claudio, Necro, Romero / Cabana, Quicksilver, M-Dogg 20, Delirious, Generico / Sabin, Richards / Strong, Evans/ Horiguchi, Richards / CIMA)
**Chikara The Crushing Weight of Mainstream Ignorance (Quackenbush / Akuma, Steel / Steel, Sweeney / Kingston, Hair vs. Mask: Jigsaw / Icarus)
**Chikara King of Trios Night One (Order of the Neo Solar Temple / Los Ice Creams, Miyawaki, Yago & KUDO / Iron Saints, Sweeny, Eliis and Ryder vs. Neo Solar Temple POSEDOWN, Shima Xion / Nobutaka Moribe)
**SHIMMER Volume 7 (Daizee Haze/Cheerleader Melissa, Mercedes Martinez/LuFisto, Sara Del Rey/Nattie Neidhart)
**Chikara King of Trios Night Two (Sabin, Shelley and Dutt vs. Quackenbush, Jigsaw and Shane Storm / Hallowicked, Cheech and Cloudy vs. Lince Dorado, Pantera and Sicodelico Jr. / Olsen Twins vs. Miyagi and Yago / Quack T-Shirt Squad vs. Boyer and 2.0)
**Chikara King of Trios Night Three (Pantera, Lince Dorado & Sicodelico, Jr. vs. Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Shane Storm / Kings Of Wrestling vs. Kudo, Yoshiaki Yago & Miyawaki / Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Shane Storm vs. Kudo, Yoshiaki Yago & Miyawaki / Ricochet vs. Claudio Castagnoli / Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray / Mokujin Ken vs. Mecha Mummy / Matt Sydal vs. Hallowicked)
**UWA Hardcore: Hour of the Dragon (Ultimo Dragon / Black Tiger, Chris Sabin / Josh Prohibition, Mike Quackenbush / Claudio Castagnoli, Tyler Black / Josh Ambercrombie)
**Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter One (Samoa Joe / Eddie Kingston, Larry Sweeney / Bryan Alvarez, Josh Ambercrombie / Austin Aries, Hydra / “Old Timer” Jeff King) **Fight Sports Midwest: Chapter Two (Alex Shelley / Low Ki, Mike Quackenbush / Tiger Mask IV, Human Tornado / Josh Ambercrombie)
**CHIKARA: Rey De Voladores (Chris Hero / Claudio Castagnoli, Chuck Taylor / Lince Dorado, Cheech & Cloudy / F.I.S.T. (Gran Akuma & Icarus), Chuck Taylor / Ricochet / Pac / Retail Dragon)
**SHIMMER Women’s Athletes Volume 8 (Sara Del Rey / Mercedes Martinez, Daizee Haze / Tiana Ringer, Nattie Neidhart / Portuguese Princess Ariel, Allison Danger / Lufisto)
**CHIKARA: Anniversario? (Hero / Quackenbush, Hallowicked / Kingston, Pantera & Lince Dorado / Castagnoli & Sweeney, Worker Ant / Hydra, Player Uno / Shayne Hawke)
**CHIKARA: Maximum Overdraft (F.I.S.T. / Briscoes, Mike Quackenbush / Black Tiger, Hero & Castagnoli / El Pantera & Lince Dorado, The Colony / Los Tres Deliriouses, Daizee Haze / Sara Del Rey—2 out of 3 Falls)
**SHIMMER Women Athletes Volume 9 (MsChif / Amazing Kong, Cheerleader Melissa / Sara Del Rey, Tiana Ringer / Nikki Roxx, Lexie Fyfe & Malia Hosaka / Allison Danger & Cindy Rogers)
**PWG: Passive Hostility (PWG Tag Team Titles: Super Dragon & B-Boy / Cape Fear of El Generico & Quicksilver, PWG Title Three Way: Joey Ryan / Human Tornado / Kevin Steen, Scorpio Sky, Chris Bosh & Scott Lost / Kazarian, Sabin & Shelley, Richards / Romero)
**SHIMMER Women Athletes Volume 10 (Daizee Haze / Amazing Kong, Del Rey Nikki Roxx, Melissa / Lacey, Amber O’Neal / MsChif, Allison Danger / Cindy Rogers, Perez / Ariel)
**PWG: Based on a True Story (PWG Title: Joey Ryan / Human Tornado, Loser Leaves PWG: Kazarian / Scorpio Sky, Colt Cabana / Rocky Romero, Bosh / Steen)
**PWG Holy Diver Down (PWG Title: Human Tornado / El Generico, PAC / Kevin Steen, Arrogance / Motor City Machine Guns, Karl Anderson / Frankie Kazarian)
**FIP Unfinished Business 2007 (Dog Collar Match: Erick Stevens / Steve Madison, TLC: Sal Rinauro / Seth Delay, FIP Heavyweight Title: Strong / Albright, Jack Evans / Gran Akuma, Sweeney / Claudio Castagnoli )
**TNA: Instant Classic: The Best of Christian Cage (NWA Title: Jarrett / Cage, Barbed Wire Six Sides of Steel: Rhino / Cage, Against All Odds 2007: Angle / Cage, Destination X: Joe / Cage)
**UWA Hardcore: vs. Toryumon Japan Night 1 (Jushin “Thunder” Liger & Puma / Ultimo Dragon & Kazuchika Okada, UWA Canadian Tilte: Alex Shelley / MDogg20 / Josh Prohibition, Sonjay Dutt / Brian Lee / Chris Sabin, Larry Sweeney / Passion Hasegawa, Dan Paysan / Daisuke Hanaoka )
**UWA Hardcore: vs. Toryumon Japan Night 2 (Jushin “Thunder” Liger & Ultimo Dragon / Motor City Machine Guns, UWA Lightweight Title: Lionel Knight / Hiromi Horiguchi, UWA Canadian Title: Josh Prohibition / Kazuchika Okada, Derek Wylde / Daisuke Hanaoka / Puma, M Dogg 20 / Brian Lee)
**FIP Battle of the Belts (Eddie Graham Memorial) (Stevens / Strong, Strong / Jay Briscoe, Jay Briscoe / Sweeney, Stevens / Delirious, Stevens / SHINGO)
**PWG Giant Sized Annual # 4 (PWG World Title: El Generico / Bryan Danielson, PWG World Tag Team Titles: Roderick Strong & PAC / Kevin Steen & El Generico, Danielson / Necro Butcher, Aries / Romero, Fergal Devitt / Davey Richards, Karl Anderson, Bino Gambino & Scott Lost / TJ Perkins & The Young Bucks)
**WSX: The Complete First (And Last) Season (Episodes 1-9, Web Shows 1-9, Extras)

The ROH List
**Fifth Year Festival: NYC (Samoa Joe / Morishima, Homicide / Rave, Briscoes / Cabana & McGuinness, Albright / Whitmer, Evans / SHINGO / Xavier / Jacobs)
**Fifth Year Festival: Philly (Homicide / Morishima, Sydal & Daniels / SHINGO & Evans, Briscoes / Generico & Steen, Castagnoli / Aries, McGuinness / Perkins)
**Fifth Year Festival: Chicago (Morishima & McGuinness / Joe & Homicide, Cabana / Jacobs, Strong & Richards / Aries & Cross, Daniels & Sydal / The Briscoes, Albright / Castagnoli)
**Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool (Joe / McGuinness, ROH World Tag Team Titles: The Briscoes / Doi & SHINGO / FIP Title: Strong / PAC, 2/3 Falls: Delirious / Matt Sydal) **Fifth Year Festival: Finale (Joe / Homicide, Fight Without Honor: McGuinness / Rave, ROH World Tag Team Titles: Doi & SHINGO / Richards and Strong, Sydal / PAC, Falls Count Anywhere: Whitmer / Jacobs)
**All Star Extravaganza III (ROH vs. Dragon Gate 8 Man Tag, Strong / Evans, Mochizuki / Richards, Cabana / Sydal / Hero / Pearce, Homicide / Daniels)
**Supercard of Honor II (CIMA, SHINGO and Yokosuka / Dragon Kid / Saito / Mochikzuki, Strong / Aries, Whitmer / Jacobs, Evans & Doi / Richards and Romero, McGuinness / Hero, Daniels & Sydal / Delirious & Jay Briscoe)
**Fighting Spirit (ROH World Title: McGuinness / Morishima, Jay Briscoe and Erick Stevens Mark Briscoe / El Generico & Kevin Steen, Evans & Delirious / Strong & Romero, Claudio / Romero, Cabana / Williams)
**The Battle of St. Paul (ROH World Title: Morishima / Aries, FIP Title: Strong / Daniels, Delirious / Stevens / Romero / Evans, Albright & Pearce / Homicide & Cabana/ ROH World Tag Titles Ultimate Endurance)
**Good Times, Great Memories (ROH World Tag Team Titles: Briscoes / Murder City Machine Guns, Roderick Strong / Jack Evans, ROH World Title: Morishima / SHINGO, Austin Aries / Rocky Romeo, Adam Pearce / Colt Cabana, 6 Man Mayhem: Deliirous, Quackenbush, Hallowicked, Jigsaw, Akuma, Primeau)
**A Fight at the Roxbury (Four Corner Survival: Quackenbush / Hero / Castagnoli / McGuinness, ROH World Title: Morishima / Jay Briscoe, El Genercico / Matt Sydal, Steen / Briscoe, Danielson / Rave)
**Respect is Earned (ROH World Tag Team Title: The Briscoes / Castagnoli & Sydal, Danielson & Morishima / McGuinness & KENTA, Marufuji / Romero, Tag Team Scramble, Toland / Albright)
**Domination (ROH World Tag Team Titles, 2 out of 3 Falls: Briscoes / Hero & Castagnoli, Steen & Generico / Jigsaw & Quackenbush, Morishima / Strong, Sydal / Hallowicked, Lacey / Daizee Haze)
**United We Stand (Danielson & McGuinness / Marufuji & Morishima, KENTA / Rocky Romero, NRC vs. Resilience)
**Live in Tokyo (ROH World Title: Morishima / McGuinness, Briscoes & Marufuji / Sydal, Ricky Marvin & Atsushi Aoki, Danileson / Go Shiozaki, Fight Without Honor: Delirious / Strong )
**Race to the top Tournament Night 1 (ROH World Tag Titles: The Briscoes / Danielson & McGuinness, Evans / Steen, Quackenbush / Sydal, Hero / Stevens, Richards / Jigsaw, Delirious / Generico)
**Race to the top Tournament Night 2 (Generico / Claudio, Claudio / Quack, $10,000 Tag Team Challenge: Danielson, Aries, Sydal, Mark Briscoe / McGuinness, Strong, Delirious, Jay Briscoe, Generico / Hero, Evans / Albright)
**Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 (Boston Street Fight: The Briscoes / Steen & Generico, ROH World Title: Morishima / Castagnoli, Danielson / Sydal, Pure Wrestling: Hero / McGuinness, Richards / Evans)
**Death Before Dishonor V Night 2 (Philadelphia Street Fight: NRC & Sydal / Resilience & Delirious, ROH World Title: Morishima / Albright, Quackenbush / Danielson, McGuinness & Castagnoli / Hero & Jigsaw, Del Rey / Lacey, Steen / El Generico, Briscoe / El Generico )
** Caged Rage (Steel Cage ROH World Tag Titles: Brisoes / Generico & Steen, Steel Cage: Evans / Strong, ROH World Title Elimination Match: Morishima / Castagnoli / Albright, Resilience / Richards, Blade & Edwards, Hero / Hallowicked )
** Manhattan Mayhem II (Two out of Three Falls: ROH World Tag Titles: Briscoes vs. Generico & Steen, ROH World Title: Morishima / Danielson, Hero / Castagnoli, Aries / Evans / Strong, Ruckus / Edwards, Cross & Stevens / Quackenbush & Jigsaw)
** Motor City Madness 2007 (ROH World Title: Morishima / Stevens, Marufuji / Generico, Jacobs / Hero, ROH World Tag Team Titles: The Briscoes / Aries & Cross )

This section needs your help! If you want to recommend some good independent wrestling to your fellow internet readers out there, drop me a line for the column.

I’m running out of time and column space, so unfortunately no links this week. I’ll have a double helping of them next week. There’s plenty to read and plenty of ROH love to go around. Final Column: 3 weeks and counting! BROOKLYN!