Column of Honor: 02.07.09: Battle of The Books

Hello everyone and welcome to the Column. This is a special edition, breaking from the normal format of the column. Next week I will be catching up on the results from 1/31/09 (Caged Collision PPV Tapings) and this weekend’s Proving Ground 2009 weekend, as well as all of the news and updates on ROH and especially the TV deal and tapings that are coming up soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy “The Battle of the Books”.

The Battle of the Books: Adam Pearce vs. Gabe Sapolsky’s Vision of Ring of Honor in 2008

In January 2009, Kayfabe Commentaries released “Gabe’s book of ROH Secrets”, a special interview with former ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky. On that DVD, Sapolsky opened his booking sheets and laid out all his plans for what would have happened in November and December 2008 had he remained booker. It was a very open and honest interview and Sapolsky didn’t hesitate in telling the viewers what his agenda would have been.

November and December have come and gone, and the real shows, booked under the current team headed by Adam Pearce have long since passed as well. The question remains, which version of ROH history is better—what actually happened or what could have been? This edition of the Column of Honor examines and tries to answer that question. I am putting each show heads up in a Battle of the Books, with the intent of finding out just who had the better line up, the better finishes and the better end-of-year presentation all together.

I’ll show you the card for each event and the finishes for each match if available. Then I’ll provide an anaylsis and comparison of the shows and come to a conclusion as to which show had the advantage. At the end of each round I’ll award a point per show as to which one I liked better and by the end we shall see who has won the battle of the books.

Some notes before we begin:

-I have watched all of the shows available on DVD with the exception of All Star Extravaganza IV (and I was in attendance for Final Battle 2008).
-Gabe Sapolsky’s concentration would have been on three things—helping Tyler Black get to the next level; helping Davey Richards get to the next level; pushing Nigel’s as a champion whose title run is only getting stronger.
-Sapolsky also had a more definite and ordered plan for the November shows than the December shows, because as he points out, he didn’t get to match order and specifics until two to three weeks before the event in question.

So without further ado…
THE BATTLE IS ON!

=ROUND ONE=

November 7th, 2008 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The French Connection	Sapolsky’s Version
Erick Stevens vs. Eddie Edwards (Stevens goes over)	Kenny King vs. Erick Stevens (Stevens goes over)
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kenny Omega & Kenny King (Briscoes go over)	Kenny Omega vs. Rhett Titus (Omega goes over)
Necro Butcher vs. Brodie Lee (Necro over by DQ)	Eddie Edwards vs. Jay Briscoe (Edwards goes over)
Jerry Lynn vs. Delirious (Lynn goes over)	Necro Butcher vs. Mark Briscoe (Necro goes over)
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (Richards goes over)	Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black (winner gets tag title shot in Dayton, Aries & Danielson go over)
Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black (Aries & Danielson go over)	IWS vs. ROH Graduates (IWS goes over for hometown crowd) / Brodie Lee Squash
Nigel McGuinness vs. Go Shiozaki vs. Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (ROH World Title Elimination Match)(Final is McGuinness vs. Steen, McGuinness goes over)	Delirious vs. Jerry Lynn (Lynn goes over)
	Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (Richards goes over, shorter match with a clean finish)
	Nigel McGuinness vs. Go Shiozaki vs. Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (ROH World Title Elimination Match) (Final is McGuinness vs. either Steen or Generico, McGuinness goes over)

Analysis: This was a first time market, with Steen & Generico as the big hometown / home country heroes this weekend. You also had the Age of the Fall vs. Team Work rematch, which at this point fans had seen before, and the rematch between Strong and Richards which ended up being a very solid, very worthwhile match to watch. A lot of matches had already been set up at this time, so the major attraction matches on card remain the same. You can see that Sapolsky had a lot more booked for main show, but he defends himself on the Secrets DVD by showing the match times and adding it up to under three and a half hours, which was his ideal time sequence for each ROH show. The IWS vs. ROH match in reality happened on the pre show, but Gabe uses it here as popcorn match for the undercard. You also have many of the same winners on each card. Sapolsky was going to give a big push to Omega, which is definitely the right move especially since they were running in Canada. However, he also puts Eddie Edwards over Jay Briscoe (ala the upset win against Roderick Strong from Death Before Dishonor VI) and both Briscoes end up losing their singles matches. Necro vs. the Briscoes had been done to death by this point, and even if it was a new location, fans would have ended up watching it on DVD.

Advantage: Since most of the matches line up so closely, what determines the advantage here are the undercard matches, as well as the strength of what actually went down on the show. I happen to like the undercard bouts on this show, Briscoes vs. King and Omega especially with its interesting storyline twist for the “Two Kenny’s” team. Even with the start of more frequent unclean finishes (such as the DQ in the Necro-Lee match), I have to give the advantage to Pearce’s booking and what actually went down at “The French Connection”.

Score: Pearce 1, Sapolsky 0

=ROUND TWO=

November 8th, 2008 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Bound By Hate	Sapolsky’s Version
Jerry Lynn vs. Davey Richards (Richards goes over)	Erick Stevens vs. Delirious (Stevens goes over)
Delirious & Brodie Lee vs. Rhett Titus & Kenny King (Titus & King go over by Count Out)	Tyler Black vs. Kenny Omega (show stealing match but low on false finishes, Black goes over and cuts promo)
Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens vs. Go Shiozaki & Eddie Edwards (Strong & Stevens go over)	Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Edwards (Danielson goes over in a slower paced match)
Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs (Dog Collar Match) (Aries goes over)	Jerry Lynn vs. Davey Richards (Richards goes over clean, Strong and Stevens angle inadvertently helping each other to make the save for Lynn)
Grizzley Redwood vs. Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne (Redwood goes over)	Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs (Dog Collar Match) (Jacobs goes over, collapsing on Aries for the win)
Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega (Three Way Match) (Danielson goes over)	FIP Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Erick Stevens vs. Kenny King (Shiozaki goes over) / Brodie Lee squash
Nigel McGuinness vs. Necro Butcher (ROH World Title Match) (Necro over by DQ)	Nigel McGuinness vs. Necro Butcher (NON-TITLE) (Necro goes over clean with a victory roll)
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe(ROH World Tag Team Title Match) (Steen & Generico go over)	Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (ROH World Tag Team Title Match) (45 minute draw)

Analysis:“Bound By Hate” was one of the better shows of the last few months with some terrific standout matches including the Aries / Jacobs dog collar match and the surprised revelation of the Danielson vs. Omega vs. Black three way match, which was a late change to the card. The crowd was burnt out a bit for the two main events, but both were definitely worth watching, the tag title matches specially. Again, the card that was to be retains a semblance of the real card, but with different undercard matches. We are also now starting to see some definitive differences in finishes. The most important change is in the main event where in reality Steen & Generico finally received that big win over their rivals of over two years. Meanwhile, in Sapolsky’s version both teams fought to a forty five minute draw to end the night. On the other end, the Necro / McGuinness bout would have a clean finish, an upset one at that, as opposed to a DQ and a bunch of run ins that actually happened. Saposlky was starting a babyface push for Black around this time, not based on the traditional wrestling turn of one team mate betraying another (as we would see happen in reality between Black and Jacobs). Sapolsky wanted Black to be ROH’s equivalent to Barack Obama, preaching change and positivity outcomes through hard work. Meanwhile, Jacobs’ descent into madness and chaos would parallel, with Jacobs becoming increasingly erratic and unstable. Saposlky also states that he was hesitant to give Danielson vs. Edwards away, but bleh, I’d rather not see it at all.

Advantage: I have to say that I like what actually happened in the tag team title match far better than what Gabe had planned. I wanted to see a definitive winner in that one, and really have that definitive winner be Steen and Generico, who had just won the tag titles. Not to mention they didn’t pick up a fall in the Iron Team match in late October, but then they lose the previous night in Montreal, are we really going to see the hometown heroes return to Canada only to go winless? I don’t like that thought at all. However, I like Gabe’s plans for Necro vs. Nigel far better than what went down—it would have helped Necro get over even more in the wake of hype for The Wrestler and possibly slotted him for future title shot where he would have a legitimate chance of winning the belt. I can’t agree with Jacobs going over in the dog collar match and thought the way things actually turned out for that match to be perfectly fitting of their feud. That and the tag title matches are the real draws of this show and you don’t want to mess around with those. Pearce’s version of “Bound By Hate” wins this round.

Score: Pearce 2 Sapolsky 0

=ROUND THREE=

Sapolsky admits that the last Dayton show (Battle for Supremacy) “sucked”. He was going to do his best to bring a far better card to Dayton this time around as a make-good to a very loyal crowd. Meanwhile, “Escalation” has been universally panned by fans as being one of the worst shows of the year, basically due to the bait and switch of the title match, Nigel turning on his “hometown” crowd where he had stayed relatively a good guy amid his heel run and several wonky finishes that were not well received by the crowd.

*Note: At this point Sapolsky had not set match order, so I have tried to order them by main event and undercard as much as possible.

November 21st, 2008 – Dayton, Ohio
Escalation	Sapolsky’s Version
Davey Richards vs. Brent Albright (Albright goes over)	Davey Richards vs. Erick Stevens(Richards goes over + post match angle with Stevens and SNS Inc.)
Go Shiozaki vs. Rhett Titus vs. Sami Callahan vs. Grizzly Redwood(Four Corner Survival) (Shiozaki goes over)	Six Man Mayhem: Kenny King vs. Delirious vs. Ruckus vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus vs. Grizzly Redwood (Mark goes over, but could have changed)
	Jay Briscoe vs. Jigsaw (Jay Briscoe goes over) / Brodie Lee Squash
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Irish Airborne (Briscoes go over)	Jerry Lynn vs. Brent Albright(winner gets a title shot) (fifteen minute draw OR Lynn goes over)
Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero (Knockout Match) (match ruled a no contest)	Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero (Knockout Match) (Strong goes over)
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (ROH World Tag Team Title Match) (Steen & Generico go over)	Ashley & Neveah vs. MsChif & Rain (SHIMMER Tag Title Match)
Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli (Danielson goes over)	Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Nigel McGuinness & Claudio Castagnoli (Black & Jacobs go over with Black using the Phoenix to pin McGuinness; McGuinness shakes Black’s hand and tells him to “come after the belt”)
Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries (Non Title Three Way Match) (Aries over on Black)	Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson (ROH World Tag Team Title Match) (Steen & Generico over on Aries)

Analysis: Sapolsky played it smart with fan expectations on the ROH World Title match. He knew that most fans would anticipate there not being a title switch the night before the biggest PPV match in ROH (Danielson vs. McGuinness), so he completely avoids that problem by booking Nigel in a tag team situation. He also makes Nigel and Claudio the de facto faces by putting them against Jacobs and Black, although by that point I’m sure Black would also get his fair share of cheers, while Claudio would get his fair share of boos. The Strong vs. Hero knock out match ended up being a disaster of a finish with fans being confused as to what and why the official ruling of the match was. Sapolsky booked a clean finish for the match AND had Strong, the face going over, which was critical because Strong had been getting bounced around and knocked over by Sweet & Sour Inc. He needed a win and he would have gotten one as opposed to what actually happened. Sapolsky was also on the way to turning Austin Aries heel, so a loss here wouldn’t have hurt him so much. In fact this would have been the tag title shot that many fans were waiting for Team Work to get, as they had been working hard for over a year to earn a shot. It would have, according to Sapolsky, also been the last time they teamed up together.

Advantage: It would have been a nice gesture for Dayton to have what looked to be Danielson and Aries’ final match together as a team, as well as solid to what could have been really great card when all was said and done. It just seemed that everything on “Escalation” was just average or below average for an ROH show, as opposed to what Gabe had booked, which on paper was great, with plenty of attractive matches and likely great in ring. Pearce had Danielson and Catsagnoli booked against each other, but aside from that I don’t think I’d take anything of what actually happened over what could have happened on this card. Lynn vs. Albright would have been really fun, as would both tag team main event bouts. Plus, it would have been really cool to have that SHIMMER tag title match happen, as I’m all for more of all four in the ring, especially in ROH. I’d take Sapolsky’s show for this one, all the way.

Score: Pearce 2, Sapolsky 1

=ROUND FOUR=

November 22nd, 2008 – Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Rising Above 2008	Sapolsky’s Version
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (World Tag Team Title Match) (Steen & Generico go over)	Ultimate Endurance: Steen & Generico vs. Delirious & Tyler Black vs. Ruckus & Jigsaw vs. Phoenix Twins (ROH World Tag Team Titles) (Black wins first two falls but Steen & Generico over on Delirious) / angle with S&G / Briscoes
MsChif vs. Sara Del Rey (SHIMMER Title Match) (MsChif goes over)	MsChif vs. Sara Del Rey (SHIMMER Title Match) (Del Rey possibly goes over and regains the SHIMMER Title)
	Roderick Strong vs. Jerry Lynn
Silas Young vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Alex Payne vs. Sami Callahan (Four Corner Survival) (Claudio goes over)	Claudio Castagnoli angle-show long storyline of Claudio demolishing people, laying out Bryan at the end of the show after the title match
Roderick Strong, Brent Albright, & Ace Steel vs. Davey Richards, Go Shiozaki, & Chris Hero (Sweet & Sour Inc. go over)	The Briscoes vs. Brent Albright & Erick Stevens (Briscoes go over)
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries (I-Quit Match) (Aries goes over when Jacobs is forced to say “I Quit”)	Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries (I-Quit Match) (Finish not concrete-but likely Lacey would say to both of them that if one you really love me, you’ll quit, and Jacobs would quit)
Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH World Title Match) (McGuinness goes over clean)	Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH World Title Match) (McGuinness goes over clean)
Bonus Matches: Rhett Titus vs. Delirious (Delirious goes over)	Davey Richards squash
	Kenny King vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Silas Young
Bonus Matches: Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Black (Joe goes over)	Samoa Joe vs. Chris Hero (Joe goes over)

Analysis: The Pay Per View, as it happened and as Sapolsky booked it, end up interestingly similar as far as the main match combinations go, but again the undercard is strikingly different as well as with different outcomes in several key matches. Both versions do conclude the Pay Per View in the same way—with Nigel McGuinness having bested Bryan Danielson in their latest and possibly most important battle for the title. It’s said to hear that Danielson was not going to win the title back from McGuinness here as I felt a babyface win after such a build up would have been a tremendous moment. Nothing beats the drama and then catharsis of the “good guy” winning in the end. Alas, that was not to be. Sapolsky booked Joe, feeling he had to go back to him to do extra business at this point. He booked Joe against Hero, which is smart in a way because while Hero was up there as the in-ring leader of The Inc. he would have been able to take the loss against Joe no problem. It is also the match many fans from the ROH vs. CZW period never got to see (although that issue is so far from over that how influential that hook would be is debatable). However Pearce booked Tyler Black in that role, which was a risk but ultimately one that paid off because the fans got behind both men and it ended up putting Black over just as much as it did Joe. The big revelation about the Jacobs-Lacey angle would have been that Jacobs wouldn’t have hurt Lacey in that parking lot scene but that he threatened to hurt himself unless she disappeared from the wrestling scene. This is the big dramatic soap opera like stuff that ROH is accused of not having but when it’s out there, boy is it out there. I don’t really like or buy that self-mutilation twist, because it’s not where that whole scene was going and wouldn’t likely have matched up with all of the reaction and fallout from the event in the weeks after the event. I much prefer Pearce’s version with Lacey getting her own form of vengeance for what happened, then walking out on both men, on her own, and it being her own decision. Although on the other hand, I do love the idea of love saving Jacobs and Lacey and “love conquering all”, but I guess I would have had to see it actually take place before making a final call on it.

Advantage: It’s a close call, because I love the undercard that Gabe built up for his version of the Pay Per View. I really like the idea of doing Ultimate Endurance for PPV with those teams in particular, as well as saving The Briscoes vs. Steen & Generico for a Pay Per View main event (but I’d still go with Steenerico winning in Canada back in Toronto). I like Lynn vs. Strong as a PPV opener and I dig the whole Claudio going insane and destroying people angles. That said, I think the major factors in the other direction are the outcome of the Aries / Jacobs “I Quit” match and the Joe match against Black. I’m very glad those matches happened the way they did, and with both versions of the book not giving Danielson the title, I’d have to just barely give the edge to Pearce’s version.

Score: Pearce 3, Sapolsky 1

=ROUND FIVE=

*Note – At this point Gabe has a mishmash of possibilities that are mostly not organized specifically into dates. I tried my best to separate and organize what I could into the most likely possibilities for each date based on what he said during the interview.

December 5th, 2008 – Collinsville, IL & December 6th, 2008 – Nashville, TN
Wrestling at the Gateway & Southern Hostility	Sapolsky’s Version
Kenny Omega vs. Kenny King (Omega goes over)	Tyler Black wins & promo / Davey Richards wins
Rhett Titus & Sal Rinuaro vs. Grizzly Redwood & Bushwhacker Luke (Titus & Rinauro go over)	Go Shiozaki vs. Erick Stevens
	Haze & Titus blowoff (not in a singles, likely mixed tag)
	The Briscoes vs. Kenny King & Sal Rinauro
Erick Stevens & Brent Albright vs. Davey Richards & Bobby Dempsey vs. Irish Airborne vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (Tag Team Gauntlet Match) (Briscoes win the gauntlet)	MsChif vs. Sara Del Rey (SHIMMER Title)
Necro Butcher & Ace Steel vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (Necro & Steele over)	Austin Aries vs. Delirious
Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black (Black goes over)	Necro Butcher vs. Jimmy Jacobs (Necro goes over)
ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jerry Lynn & Bryan Danielson (Lynn & Danielson go over)	Nigel McGuinness vs. Jerry Lynn(ROH World Title Match) (Nigel goes over and Jerry Lynn walks out of the company (for now) in anger)
The Briscoes & Kenny Omega vs. Kenny King, Sal Rinuaro, & Rhett Titus(Briscoes & Omega go over)	Go Shiozaki vs. Roderick Strong OR a combo of Strong, Albright, Lynn & Stevens (except Strong & Stevens) vs. Sweet & Sour Inc.
Delirious vs. Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne (Delirious goes over)	Tyler Black wins & promo / Richards wins
Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Rey vs. Serena Deeb vs. Ashley Lane (SHIMMER Four Corner Survival)(Del Rey goes over)	Jigsaw / YRR (King & Rinauro) match and angle
Brent Albright & Erick Stevens vs. Davey Richards & Larry Sweeney(Albright & Stevens go over)
Irish Airborne vs. Grizzly Redwood & Buchwhacker Luke Williams (Redwood & Luke go over)
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson (NO DQ Match) (Danielson goes over)	Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson (NO DQ Match)
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jerry Lynn (ROH World Title Match) (Nigel goes over)	Nigel McGuinness vs. Brent Albright vs. Necro Butcher (Three Way ROH World Title Match) (Nigel goes over)

Analysis:It’s a bit difficult to compare a half-formed card and match possibilities to a fully formed and actualized card like the two shows that ran in St. Louis and Nashville. The major difference is that Sapolsky would have run the McGuinness vs. Lynn title match the first night of the double shot. He didn’t give any indication of doing the Danielson & Lynn vs. McGuinness & Castagnoli match, which ended up being the highlight of the 12/5 show. Black vs. Aries, which was another marquee match on the 12/5 show that worked out very well, wouldn’t take place on Gabe’s card. On the other hand, he did book Necro vs. Jacobs in the blow off to their feud, which would have been a great thing to see and again continues the push of Necro as something special. McGuinness vs. Albright and Necro would have made sense in Gabe’s booking scenario since Albright would be on a roll while Necro had that non-title win against McGuinness in Toronto. Sapolsky also indicated that if the advance in Nashville was low, he would scratch what he had set up for the Nashville show and run Survival of the Fittest (which had been cancelled with the postponement of the Florida shows), with Davey Richards going over in that edition of the tournament. I’m a mark for the SOTF tourney and would have likely enjoyed watching it.

Advantage: Again, it’s a bit unfair to judge a fully formed card against a half-formed card, so the winner of this round is based strictly on the merits of the main events and I’ll only give one point for both shows. Given that the tag match main event in St. Louis worked out so well and we still ended up with the title match between Lynn and McGuinness that weekend, I have to give the advantage to Pearce’s booking on this one.

Score: Pearce 4, Sapolsky 1

=ROUND SIX=

December 26th, 2008
All Star Extravaganza IV	Sapolsky’s Version
Kenny Omega vs. Rhett Titus (Omega goes over)	Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Roderick Strong or Davey Richards
	Claudio Castagnoli vs. Grizzly Redwood
Erick Stevens vs. Chris Hero (Hero goes over)	Kensuke Sasaki vs. Erick Stevens
Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Brent Albright & Roderick Strong (Sasaki & Nakajima go over)	Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoes (ROH World Tag Team Titles) (Steen & Generico go over, Briscoes full heel turn)
Takeshi Morishima vs. Go Shiozaki (Morishima goes over)	Austin Aries vs. Mike Quackenbush (Aries goes over to tease heel turn)
Nigel McGuinness & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The American Wolves (Three Way Elimination Tag Match) (Briscoes go over)	YRR vs. Vulture Squad
Austin Aries vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Marufuji goes over)	Necro Butcher vs. Brodie Lee
Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, & Delirious vs. Kevin Steen, El Generico, & The Necro Butcher (AotF goes over)	Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji (ROH World Title Match) (McGuinness goes over)
Bryan Danielson vs. Jerry Lynn (Danielson goes over)	Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (Fight Without Honor) (Danielson goes over)

Analysis: Some interesting “mirror” movements develop between this show and the real Final Battle 2008, where the big two matches that Gabe planned here for Philly were saved for New York. That and the presence / absence of Jerry Lynn creates some major booking changes. Sasaki and Nakajima are placed in some interesting singles matches that would have been fun to watch, likely with the Kensuke Office going over big time (but against heels and lower card guys that may not have upset the crowd too much). I also like Stevens being featured against Sasaki over Hero because it gives Stevens a big opportunity to step up against a huge name in international pro wrestling. Hero was becoming too dominant over the faces at this point and I don’t think Stevens benefited all that much by being placed against him on this one. The other major item of importance is the Steen & Generico vs. Briscoes feud, with here being the location that the big win finally happens for the champions. The question is whether or not that would be too late. I would have also hoped for the flip flop between Danielson-Morishima and Danielson-Claudio (see below), because I would have personally wanted to be witness to the former match over the latter considering it had the greater history in New York.

Advantage: I think Gabe’s card as he had lined up betters the actual card in just about every way—more major and important marquee matches, huge developments including blowoffs important to Ring of Honor history, the better Danielson match, the better use of McGuinness, even Mike Quackenbush making a rare appearance. This would have been one hell of a card.

Score: Pearce 4, Sapolsky 2

=ROUND SEVEN=

December 27th, 2008
Final Battle 2008	Sapolsky’s Version
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kenny Omega(Omega goes over)	Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli (or possible flip flop with Danielson / Morishima in Philly)
The Necro Butcher vs. Chris Hero vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Rhett Titus (Four Corner Survival) (Lynn goes over)	The Briscoes vs. Kenny King & Jason Blade
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (World Tag Team Title Match)(Steen & Generico go over)	Brodie Lee & Delirious vs. Ruckus & Jigsaw (Ruck & Jig go over)
Brent Albright, Roderick Strong, & Erick Stevens vs. Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, & Go Shiozaki (New York City Street Fight) (Albright, Strong and Stevens go over)	Austin Aries vs. Naomichi Marufuji(Marufuji goes over)
Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (International Dream Tag Team Match) (Briscoes go over)	Necro Butcher vs. Jimmy Jacobs (Jacobs goes over)
Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black (#1 Contender’s Match) (Aries goes over)	Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Takeshi Morishima & Davey Richards or Sasaki / Nakajima (ROH World Tag Team Titles) (Steen & Generico go over)
Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji (ROH World Title Match) (Nigel goes over)	Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black (ROH World Title) (Black goes over with a backslide and wins the ROH World Championship, Jacobs wants the belt, Black says no, Jacobs turns on Black. Aries hits the ring, but turns heel kicking Black and hits the brainbuster, Aries and Jacobs staredown and Aries leaves)
Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson (Fight Without Honor) (Danielson goes over)	Steel Cage Warfare: Roderick Strong, Erick Stevens & ?, Brent Albright vs. Sweet & Sour Inc. (Hero, Shiozaki, Sweeney & ?)(Dempsey as mystery partner for faces, Pearce as mystery partner for heels) (Strong & Stevens survivors over Hero, Shiozaki & Sweeney)

Analysis: Going into watching the “Secrets” DVD, my biggest concern was that Gabe was not going to book the Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson blow off that so many fans were waiting for ever since their series of matches in 2007. My greatest hope was that he would be booking the Tyler Black title win for Final Battle 2008. As it turns out my greatest fear was alleviated and my greatest hope was confirmed. Black winning the ROH World Title in front of the record New York City crowd would have been unbelievable, and the post match angle would be memorable and dramatic due to its uneasiness and tension between Black, Jacobs and Aries (closely similar to the tense post match at Death Before Dishonor III). It would have also been a terrific moment to see the good guys win Steel Cage Warfare and Dempsey reject Sweet & Sour Inc (as he just recently did at the last PPV tapings). Aries and Jacobs are featured in singles matches here, with the Marufuji match that took place in Philly in reality ending up taking place in New York in Gabe’s plans. Jerry Lynn’s absence is also definitely felt, as he was one of the heroes of the day at Final Battle 2008.

Advantage: I liked Final Battle 2008 a lot and felt that the last three matches were worth the price of admission. It was a show worthy of New York City, including the unforgettable Danielson vs. Morishima final showdown. However, if I had the choice, I would have loved to see Black winning the World Title. I think it was the right moment for it (not to say ROH can’t get another “right” moment for it in the future, but Final Battle felt like it was a great time to pull the trigger on it). The decision to have Black win the ROH World Title in New York in and of itself is enough of a factor that I am selecting Gabe’s version over what really happened. The rest is just icing on the cake.

Final Score: Pearce 4, Sapolsky 3

It was close, but in the end, Pearce takes the battle of the books with some strong shows in November and two solid and well played shows in December, but Sapolsky’s strength in booking “the big show” is clearly still present, because his closing 2008 shows look far superior over the actual shows.

Regardless of who won the contest, you can see a lot of similarities between things that happened in angles and what would have happened under Sapolsky had he continued the book. It’s sort of surprising that while both Pearce and Sapolsky had different roads to get there, both managed to end up at many of the same destinations for the characters—Aries going heel, Black going face, Jacobs’ descent into madness, Bobby Dempsey finally standing up for himself, Strong and Stevens forming a cohesive tag team. Yet there are also some very subtle and important differences, for example Lynn’s anger at his loss to Nigel and coming back later on (while Gabe had him bitter Pearce has him more determined to prove himself) or the use of The Briscoes in tag action.

Perhaps a difference would have been made in the finishes of the matches. Sapolsky had plenty more clean finishes than Pearce, but while I dislike many of the DQs and non contests and such found in the November and December shows, the main events ultimately had clean endings and the right person usually went over. One of the biggest disappointments when watching Gabe’s plan unfold was seeing how Steen & Generico did not receive the clean win in their home country against The Briscoes. They got that victory in November and I think that went a long way towards solidifying their tag title run as valid and legitimate.

I myself am a bit surprised that by the end of the series I had liked more shows booked by Pearce and his supporting crew over what Sapolsky had planned. I guess I didn’t know the ending of this book until I had reached it.

You can order a copy of “Gabe’s Book of ROH Secrets” and find out more about what Sapolsky had in mind for 2009 in ROH as well as his appraisal of several criticisms of his run as ROH booker by going to http://www.kayfabecommentaries.com.

I’ll be back with my normal format next week, catching up on all of the Ring of Honor results and news from the last few weeks. Thanks for reading!
BROOKLYN!
–Ari—