411’s ROH Roundtable Preview: Danbury and Edison, October 24th & 25th, 2008

Heyyyyy! Welcome back to the ROH Round table. Ring of Honor is back in action with a double shot weekend for the first time in about a month. It’s a doozy of a weekend as special guest stars Homicide and Hernandez from TNA make their return to Ring of Honor and for the first time they will fight together as a team in an ROH ring! The ultimate dream match of LAX vs. The Briscoes will be presented to a rabid Edison, NJ crowd. In the meantime, Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs will begin the ending of their feud with the first in a three match series. This match will be anything goes, so expect lots of weapons and violence between the two. This weekend also marks the CHIKARA invasion of two up and coming tag teams on the independent scene. The Osirian Portal of Amasis and Ophidian may be rookies with about a year of action, but they have just captured the CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas (tag titles) and will look to make a big impression by fighting ROH’s current best tag team in champions Kevin Steen & El Generico. ROH alumni Cheech & Cloudy make their main show return after a lengthy absence and they will fight against The Age of the Fall…can they make it an upset over established ROH stars? All that plus veteran Jerry Lynn will fight in two very interesting attraction matches, against Claudio Castagnoli and Tyler Black! Let’s see what our intrepid 411 Staff thinks about these events, starting with:

ECW reviewer and 411 Buy or Sell Editor, Michael Bauer!

Jarrod Westerfield, of Scripted Through Sin.

Samuel Berman, our resident Cool Kid at the Roundtable.

…and me, Ari Berenstein, of Column of Honor.

**

One Year Ago: (results from ROHwrestling.com)

Honor Nation- Boston, MA 10/5/07
1. Brent Albright & Adam Pearce beat Matt Cross & Erick Stevens (411 Mania Said: Adam Pearce & Brent Albright 7-2)
2. BJ Whitmer beat Delirious (411 Mania Said: BJ Whitmer 5-4)
3. Nigel McGuinness won a Triple Threat Match over El Generico & Hallowicked (411 Mania Said: Nigel McGuinness 5-3-1-0)
4. Claudio Castagnoli beat Chris Hero (411 Mania Said: Chris Hero 5-3-1)
5. Necro Butcher beat Jay Briscoe
6. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black beat Mitch Franklin & Ernie Osiris
7. Austin Aries defeated Bryan Danielson in the first match in their Best of Three Series
(411 Mania Said: Bryan Danielson 6-3)
8. Jack Evans, Ruckus, & Jigsaw defeated Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, & Rocky Romero (411 Mania Said: Jack Evans, Ruckus & Jigsaw 5-4)
9. Takeshi Morishima beat Kevin Steen to retain the ROH World Title (411 Mania Said: Takeshi Morishima 9-0)

**

Undeniable- Edison, NJ 10/6/07
1. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black beat Jack Evans & Ruckus (411 Mania Said: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black 9-0)
2. Daizee Haze beat Sara Del Rey (411 Mania Said: Daizee Haze 4-3)
3. Bryan Danielson beat Chris Hero
4. Adam Pearce, Brent Albright, & BJ Whitmer beat Delirious, Kevin Steen, & El Generico (411 Mania Said: Adam Pearce, Brent Albright & BJ Whitmer 9-0)
5. Austin Aries beat Roderick Strong (411 Mania Said: Austin Aries 8-1)
6. Nigel McGuinness defeated Takeshi Morishima to win the ROH World Title (411 Mania Said: Takeshi Morishima 7-2)
7. Claudio Castagnoli beat Jigsaw
8. Rocky Romero & Davey Richards beat Erick Stevens & Matt Cross (411 Mania Said: Erick Stevens & Matt Cross 5-2)
9. Necro Butcher beat Jay Briscoe (411 Mania Said: Necro Butcher 5-4)

**

ROH from the Round

HOMICIDE AND LAX COME TO ROH
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH 2008 – DANBURY, CT

Ruckus vs. Rhett Titus

Michael Bauer: Time is short for me this week, so these will be fast. The Vulture Squad is back and Rhett is… well…

Winner: Ruckus

Jarrod Westerfeld: I don’t believe Titus is a big enough deal now to get wins over someone like Ruckus, so we default to the high flying balla’ to pick up the win here.

Winner: Ruckus

Samuel Berman: Wow, do I not care about this match at all. I mean like not even the slightest bit.

Winner: Ruckus

Ari Berenstein: Rhett Titus’s career in ROH has been a bit quiet since his run against Delirious. I have no idea where they’ll plug him in next, but he didn’t even get a win against the green lizard man, so I don’t see he has much of a chance here.

Winner: Ruckus

411 Staff Picks: Ruckus (4-0)

Sara Del Rey vs. Portuguese Princess Ariel

Michael Bauer: The Death Rey simply does not lose in an RoH ring. I think it is in the contract Larry Sweeney drafted.

Winner: Sara Del Rey

Jarrod Westerfeld: If I’m not mistaken, then Ariel is new to the ROH universe here and will be welcomed with the typical greeting by eating a loss here at the hands of Sara Del Rey.

Winner: Sara Del Rey

Samuel Berman: Don’t know anything about Ariel, and neither will most in attendance I’d imagine. Sara in a walk.

Winner: Sara Del Rey

Ari Berenstein: Sara will NOT win in a walk. She’s been getting it too easy in ROH as of late and Ariel is plucky enough to give her a challenge. I don’t expect a long match, but Ariel will get more than a two minute beating at the hands of Del Rey…before she loses to her, anyway.

Winner: Sara Del Rey

411 Staff Picks: Sara Del Rey (4-0)

Jigsaw vs. Jason Blade
Note: Jigsaw has been pulled out of the Danbury and Edison events. These picks were posted before that news had been announced and are left in just for the fun of it.

Michael Bauer: Unlike Ruckus, Jigsaw faces someone on the rise. I think the YRR would be done justice getting a win over the weakest stable in RoH.

Winner: Jason Blade

Jarrod Westerfeld: It’s Jason Blade. The last time there was ever a conceivable hope of seeing him do anything big and noteworthy was probably back in late 2005, so alone here against Jigsaw who does seem to have some momentum around him despite being the jobber of the trio, Vulture Squad, [Blade] hasn’t a prayer.

Winner: Jigsaw

Samuel Berman: I only care about this marginally more than the Ruckus vs. Titus match, and mostly because Blade is solid and I just watched a good Jigsaw match from 2006 in CHIKARA. Man, he was SO much more interesting under a mask. Blade wins to start establishing the YRR in ROH.

Winner: Jason Blade

Ari Berenstein: It’s funny that CHIKARA, in two appearances, is actually using Jigsaw without a mask better than ROH has done so over the last seven months. HA HA…ha. Anyway, Jason Blade and the YRR are FIP favorites and since Blade has upped his personality from cardboard to construction paper since adding on this YRR gimmick I expect him to be put over.

Winner: Jason Blade

411 Staff Picks: Jason Blade (3-1)

Jay Briscoe vs. Brent Albright

Michael Bauer: This is the definition of a brawl without the No DQ stipulations. Albright losing the NWA Title is now just a footnote and Briscoes will want to look real good here.

Winner: Jay Briscoe

Jarrod Westerfeld: If Albright is really hurt then the default answer here is Jay Briscoe as a means to protect Briscoe for the long run. If anything, this could be used to drive forward the storyline feud between Albright and Pearce, the only problem is I doubt the NWA is going to keep notes on what ROH does with one of their guys for that big storyline given that they’re no longer working together, so there’s no consequence here.

Winner: Jay Briscoe

Samuel Berman: Why is this happening? Unfortunately, this is just one of the many matches this weekend about which that question could be asked… Anyway, Albright is sort-of getting a big singles push and Jay doesn’t need the win or anything, so that equals a win for Tulsa’s own. Fun fact: my ex-girlfriend went to Albright’s rival high school (she went to Jenks, he went to Union).

Winner: Brent Albright

Ari Berenstein: These two should be teaming up against Sweet & Sour Incorporated, not fighting each other. Hell, maybe they end up getting interrupted by Sweeney and his cronies and that actually happens. However, I have to predict based on what’s given and so I’ll give the win to Jay Briscoe in a semi-upset, since he could use a good showing to up the LAX vs. Briscoes match the next night.

Winner: Jay Briscoe

411 Staff Picks: Jay Briscoe (3-1)

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jerry Lynn

Michael Bauer: I love this matchup. Lynn gives Claudio a tough test and vice versa. Lynn now has his job secured, so I think he can job at least once this weekend.

Winner: Claudio Castagnoli

Jarrod Westerfeld: Claudio is still a top heel act in the company and Jerry Lynn is a flash in the pan act that isn’t going to become a big figure in the company as a consistent act. If anything he’s going to be like Raven, Ricky Steamboat or Mick Foley; a prop that is used to help build up ROH’s stars, and what better way to do that then to have Claudio either go over here for the one-off shoot, or to eat the loss here and build up an actual storyline between these two. I’m going with the former, though.

Winner: Claudio Castagnoli

Samuel Berman: I just watched Lynn’s match with Nigel from Chicago and really enjoyed it. Hopefully he can pull out another impressive match here, and it could actually work well using a similar dynamic. Lynn pulls out a close win with his veteran know-how leading to a post-match beating and a rematch down the line.

Winner: Jerry Lynn

Ari Berenstein: Westerfeld is being way too harsh on Lynn as I think he has a ton of value and use to ROH. Maybe he won’t be a major attraction “draw” in the sense of bringing tons of fans to the shows, but even if not, he is still really good in the ring and there is some very intriguing story paths that you can go with him. I agree with Sam that Claudio needs a new rival besides Danielson to fill up some time as we head into the end of ’08 and I believe Lynn could be that man.

Winner: Jerry Lynn

411 Staff Picks: It’s a Push (2-2)

No DQ: The Necro Butcher vs. Delirious vs. Mark Briscoe

Michael Bauer: This match makes so little sense, yet it looks like too much fun. You never want to bet against Necro in a No DQ Match, but how do you go against Briscoe? Delirious east the pinfall regardless.

Winner: NECRO~!

Jarrod Westerfeld: Necro has the track record that he doesn’t win many of his singles matches he’s involved in, but given that this isn’t a singles match his track record speaks of him being more successful. So for that thought alone, we go with Necro as the choice.

Winner: The Necro Butcher

Samuel Berman: Again, why is this happening? Aren’t the Briscoes out of this feud after Steel Cage Warfare? (Actually, I don’t think so, but Brad & Jake thought so on the most recent podcast over at The Cool Kids’ Table, so I figured I’d push the point for the sake of argument (and for the cheap plug.).) Anyway, Delirious could use the win, but I’d bet they have Necro win because of his shot at Shiozaki and his potential shot at Nigel. I’ll go with my heart rather than my head, though.

Winner: Delirious

Ari Berenstein: And I’ll go in the complete opposite direction of everyone else here and go with CRAZY Mark Briscoe to take this one, pinning someone with his cut-throat driver. Necro and Delirious interacting is always fun and should be a great pairing due to the tie-in with The Age of the Fall. Mark will win though to continue the push to LAX-Briscoes.

Winner: Mark Briscoe

411 Staff Picks: Necro Butcher (2-1-1)

FIP World Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Austin Aries

Michael Bauer: Aries is not winning the FIP Title. If he was, then why have Stevens lose it beforehand?

Winner: Go Shiozaki

Jarrod Westerfeld: The FIP title needs a stable champion so Shiozaki needs to win here, no other way of putting it. So Shiozaki gets back the loss he ate from Aries from the Sixth Anniversary show back in February.

Winner: Go Shiozaki

Samuel Berman: Aries doesn’t need the title and moving it on an ROH show would be counterproductive. End of discussion.

Winner and STILL FIP World Heavyweight Champion: Go Shiozaki

Ari Berenstein: Great upper mid card match, will have a ton of crowd reaction when all is said and done. Shiozaki gets back the win from Sixth Anniversary Show.

Winner: Go Shiozaki to retain the FIP World Heavyweight Title

411 Staff Picks: Go Shiozaki (4-0)

Iron Team (30 minutes, most falls wins, Non-Title): ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. LAX vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Chris Hero & Davey Richards with Larry Sweeney
Note: In case of a tiebreaker, the match will go to sudden death.

Michael Bauer: This match will be nuts. It’s crazy though because Hero and Richards seem so out of place in this match. I have to imagine they have the fewest pinfalls, if they even get one. Well, I’m sure they will as I predict seven pinfalls in a minute as every person except the first person to get killed hits their finisher for a pinfall. Picture it… Richards down, Tyler hits the Pheonix Splash for 3, Hernandez hits the Border Toss for 3, Generico with a Brianbusta for 3, Hero’s knockout punch gets 3, Jacobs hits whatever he has now for 3, Steen with a Package Piledriver for 3, and Homicide ends it with a Cop Killa for 3. Now that alone would be worth buying the DVD.

Winners: LAX in Sudden Death (LAX 4, Steen-erico 3, Age of the Fall 3, Sweet N’ Sour, 1)

Jarrod Westerfeld: I could see each team picking up at least one fall victory for their camp with Steen and Generico never eating a loss to protect them, and with LAX not eating a loss either. I could actually see this thing breaking down to a sudden death between the two teams as Steenerico and LAX sit at 3 victories apiece between them. At this point one of these teams has to lose, and because it’s for the tag titles the obvious choice is Steenerico retain while Age of the Fall sweep up 1 fall shy of making that sudden death. A really good twist here could be that both falls for AotF picked up both of their falls over Steenerico, and Steenerico never got a victory over them in the course of this bout, furthering these two clashing for the straps over the next year. That could be one possibility that I could welcome because the tag titles need some legitimacy, and Steenerico is the unit that can bring it to the straps so long as they have a good challenge to their throne.

Winner: Kevin Steen and El Generico

Samuel Berman: This match’s rules give me a headache. If it were still the MCMG, I’d be convinced they would win just so they had a legitimate claim on a title shot, but now I don’t know if LAX winning would do anything to help anyone. Jacobs & Black winning would make sense giving their opportunistic nature, but something tells me that ROH wants to give credibility to Richards & Hero as a team. No better way to do that then to put them over two of the company’s best teams and a pair of featured guests. Richards & Hero, as well as the champions each get two falls, while the Age of the Fall and LAX get one win apiece. Sweet ‘n Sour picks up the win in overtime when Richards puts away Generico.

Winners: Chris Hero & Davey Richards

Ari Berenstein: I think the fans will be popping like crazy for Homicide and the first five to ten minutes will be all LAX, all the time as everyone wants a piece of them. Homicide gets the first fall for his team with the Cop Killer as the crowd goes wild. At the end of thirty minutes it will be LAX with 2, Steen & Generico with 2, Age of the Fall with 2, just sneaking in with a submission in the final seconds. Hero & Richards get 1, leading to a three way sudden death match and Steen & Generico coming out on top of that one with a win over LAX (I don’t anticipate them coming back any time soon, so a win by the ROH Tag Champions over them would help to push them over the top and LAX could get their win against The Briscoes tomorrow so it could be said they went over a major team in ROH). After the match Homicide and Hernandez chases away Age of the Fall and give the ROH tag champions their respect to send the crowd home happy.

Winners: Kevin Steen & El Generico (3-2-2-1)

411 Staff Picks: Steen & Generico (2, 1-LAX, 1-Hero & Richards, 0-AotF)

**

ROH Videowire: October 21st, 2008

**

LAX VS. BRISCOES DREAM TAG
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH, 2008 – EDISON, NJ

A team representing The Age Of The Fall (Delirious & ?) vs. Cheech & Cloudy

Michael Bauer: Well, who joins Delirious? I’d guess it would be Joey Matthews as I just don’t know who makes any sense. Still, Cheech and Cloudy are in a Do or Die spot here. And no way Steen-erico loses.

Winners: Cheech and Cloudy

Jarrod Westerfeld: Would this be the time that ROH brings back one of the dozens of members of the Age of the Fall that hasn’t been seen in the ROH-verse for some time now? Such as Delirious teaming up with Joey Matthews? Or how about Zach Gowen? I’m going to bank on it being Matthews once more and go with The Age of the Fall to be the victors of this exchange.

Winner: Delirious & Joey Matthews

Samuel Berman: No clue who Delirious’ partner will be, so I’ll say it’s Black pulling double-duty. I’m a big fan of Up in Smoke, so I have high hopes for this one. I’ll say they look good, but can’t pull out a win against the Age of the Fall. Still, they’ll impress enough to be invited back in the future.

Winners: Delirious & Tyler Black

Ari Berenstein: Well, I’ve already laid out the case in 411’s Buy or Sell that Cheech & Cloudy could, should and will pull off the upset special here, so it would be poor form to back away from that selection now. Delirious and the mystery partner represent the “B” team (quote, enquote) in that it is a less powerful combination of AotF not featuring Jacobs or Black. Therefore an upset loss would not be hazardous to Age of the Fall but would quickly put Cheech and Cloudy (a.k.a. KC “Cloudy” Day) back on the ROH map.

Winners: Cheech & Cloudy

411 Staff Picks: It’s a Push (2-2)

ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas The Osirian Portal (Non-Title)

Michael Bauer: Like I just said, no way Steen-erico loses to the CHIKARA’s version of Tag Team Champions.

Winners: Steen-erico

Jarrod Westerfeld: The Osirian Portal is having one hell of a year now, but Steenerico are the tag champions and have to win this easily to protect their image as the champions.

Winner: Kevin Steen and El Generico

Samuel Berman: Again, no way will the outsiders get the win, but Amasis & Ophidian are a VERY entertaining team and should quickly get over with the live crowd. Amasis in particular is excellent, especially given how little time he’s been in the business. The champs win, but the outsiders look good along the way.

Winners: Kevin Steen & El Generico

Ari Berenstein: Again, I have to be consistent with my answers in 411’s Buy or Sell. I said there that Steen & Generico would likely win here and I still stand by that thought. No upset special here, but I think the fans will enjoy The O.P.’s act, if they aren’t cynical or mocking about it. You never know with the Edison crowd…but I think they’ll get into it.

Winners: Steen & Generico

411 Staff Picks: Steen & Generico (4-0)

Brent Albright vs. Davey Richards with Larry Sweeney

Michael Bauer: Interesting match here. Richards might need a boost after the Tag Team War, but Albright just might need it more.

Winner: Brent Albright

Jarrod Westerfeld: This could be used to build up the storyline of Albright trying to force the hand of Sweeney of bringing back Pearce and the NWA title to ROH so that he can avenge the loss he sustained over the title in the eyes of ROH fans. I’m kind of doubting that, but even with that out of my mind I can’t see Albright picking up a win here as it furthers the Sweet n’ Sour Inc. unit as looking that much stronger.

Winner: Davey Richards

Samuel Berman: Davey should win here by way of chicanery so that these two can get into an extended issue. Sweeney interference will abound.

Winner: Davey Richards

Ari Berenstein: Should be a good mid card match either way, with Richards working hard to get back in the mix and re-debut himself in front of an east-coast ROH crowd. I have Albright eating a loss on the last show, so I give him the win here, with a post match beat down by Richards and save by Strong to set up some more tag matches for later shows.

Winner: Brent Albright

411 Staff Picks: It’s a Push (2-2)

Jerry Lynn vs. Tyler Black

Michael Bauer: Like I said, Jerry Lynn can job at least once. Tyler Black is the best guy in the world he can job to as he continues to be built as a major contender.

Winner: Tyler Black

Jarrod Westerfeld: This might be the oddity where I believe Jerry Lynn actually gets a win here and starts to pull Tyler Black away from the Age of the Fall unit just enough to start stirring up the pot for a Tyler Black face run, next year.

Winner: Jerry Lynn

Samuel Berman: Black succeeds where Claudio failed the night before, furthering his ‘young badass who can’t be put away’ persona. Imagine if all the veterans needed to out-think Lynn to beat him, but that Black didn’t need to because he’s just so gosh-darn talented. That’d be a fantastic dynamic. Plus, this win could be one of the things Black points to [in order] to earn himself another ROH World Title shot, especially one before Castagnoli.

Winner: Tyler Black

Ari Berenstein: I am in one hundred percent agreement with what Sam says above. Lynn should be winning against other wrestlers so that a win by Black against him means that much more for Black’s career, especially going forward into an important 2009.

Winner: Tyler Black

411 Staff Picks: Tyler Black (3-1)

FIP World Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. The Necro Butcher
Michael Bauer: Necro is not winning the FIP Title. Though I would laugh really hard if he did.

Winner: Go Shiozaki

Jarrod Westerfeld: The FIP title needs a stable champion right now so Shiozaki has to get the win here, but I’m kind of believing that Necro Butcher might needs this one to boost up his stock value, as well. But I’m going to believe that Necro gets the FIP title sometime next year, not now.

Winner: Go Shiozaki

Samuel Berman: No title change. People will hit other people hard. Move along.

Winner and STILL FIP World Heavyweight Champion: Go Shiozaki

Ari Berenstein: Over / Under on Necro’s hard punches: 9 Over / Under on the number of Go’s chops: 13. Place yer bets.

Winner: Go Shiozaki to retain the FIP World Heavyweight Title

411 Staff Picks: Go Shiozaki (4-0)

Anything Goes: Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs

Michael Bauer: Match one of the final three battles between these two. With an I Quit Match ending it and a Dog Collar Match in the middle, the Anything Goes match seems to be the right spot to give Aries the first fall.

Winner: Austin Aries

Jarrod Westerfeld: I think that Aries will pick up the win here for the sole fact that it can infuriate Jacobs to further this feud before the actual blow off to this epic tale.

Winner: Austin Aries

Samuel Berman: Now that this is a part of a three-match series, I think Aries will go over, just to have Jacobs pull out two big wins with his back against the wall. This will be amazing if their match from June was any indication, but I’m looking forward to the next two matches (Dog Collar and “I Quit” respectively) far more than this one.

Winner: Austin Aries

Ari Berenstein: I dunno, I’m a bit upset that the “end” of this feud is being telegraphed so long in advance. Will a three match series really settle things anyway? Anyway, Aries has dominated Jacobs in the ring thus far, so I’m expected a heel win here to set up the next two matches. For once in the feud, the pressure will be on Aries to get the job done.

Winner: Jimmy Jacobs

411 Staff Picks: Austin Aries (3-1)

Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. LAX (Homicide & Hernandez)

Michael Bauer: Dream Match no question. This match will be balls to the walls and Edison is lucky to get it. With LAX taking the Iron Man Mayhem, I have to give The Briscoes the nod here.

Winners: The Briscoes

Jarrod Westerfeld: I think this’ll be just like the Murder City Machine Guns feud with the Briscoe Brothers, but with the reverse here as LAX will probably get the victory here as a means to kind of appease TNA by keeping their talent strong on [ROH’s] product, or possibly to rub it in their faces as to how to utilize the team and best put on a tremendous match with them by giving them time and a lot of freedom to get to the desired finish. Either way, this will be ROH’s way of trying to gain TNA’s trust to keep up this current relationship and talent exchange with them.

Winner: Homicide and Hernandez

Samuel Berman: I don’t have LAX winning the night before, so this is where they get their victory. The Briscoes don’t need the win anyway, as they’re perpetually over in the fans’ eyes and have an upcoming title shot anyway.

Winners: Homicide & Hernandez

Ari Berenstein: I laid out my ideology in my pick for the Iron Tag match and in the Buy or Sell column, but to reiterate, this is the best venue for LAX to go over. Its close enough to Homicide’s hometown of NY, it puts LAX over one ROH team instead of three and it sends the fans home happy.

Winners: LAX

411 Staff Picks: LAX (Hernandez y Homicide) (3-1)

Also in Edison will be a Six Man Mayhem match featuring Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs.Ruckus vs. Rhett Titus vs.Jason Blade vs. TBA (replacing Jigsaw).

It’s sure to be an interesting weekend with LAX in town and as ROH sets up the final two months of the year. Be sure to tune into 411 for the latest results and information on these shows and we’ll see you in two weeks as ROH travels back to Canada!

–Ari–