wrestling / Columns
Column of Honor: 11.19.11: A Generic World Champ?
Welcome to the Column. This is hitting press before results of Survival of the Fittest 2011 go up, so did I get it right or was I horribly wrong again? I’m crossing my fingers and closing my eyes, but since that never worked for my childhood Bowling league party raffle I doubt it will do any good here either. Lots to get to, so let’s get to it.
This weekend El Generico will wrestle for the Ring of Honor World Championship against Davey Richards at Glory By Honor X in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. It will be his second major opportunity this year to be put in a main-event title hunt position for ROH. He wrestled last for the ROH World Title back in January of this year against Roderick Strong in Los Angeles, California for the So Cal Showdown II event.
El Generico had incredible momentum and an air of legitimacy coming off his major win at Final Battle 2010 against Kevin Steen, his tag partner turned bitter enemy. Generico had won big and so that momentum carried through to better positioning on the card and being used more often as a featured attraction. However, the last few months have not been so kind to Generico in ROH. He won the ROH TV Title in June but was only a transitional champion to Jay Lethal. He has seemingly disappeared from the promotion’s spotlight until now and this latest title shot comes in-between ROH’s most important shows of this year, Best in the World 2011–where Davey Richards bested Eddie Edwards for the ROH World title—and Final Battle 2011, where those two will surely rematch once again.
That’s not to say this has been a bad year for El Generico’s career in independent wrestling. In fact, Generico has had great success in many different promotions not just in terms of getting bookings but also in being booked to win throughout the year. This included major championships and tournaments for promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and CHIKARA. As well, El Generico’s popularity among the independent fan base has continued and only grown in the past year thanks to his constant and fantastic in-ring efforts and just his overall likeability as a wrestling character.
Back in January, El Generico was coming off that big win against and getting credit for the overall win of the feud at that point. With all that going for him it seemed for the first time in his ROH run that El Generico could definitively be believable in being the ROH World Champion or at the least having a major and fruitful role within what is arguably the number three wrestling promotion in America. All that success and positive value happened despite Generico’s skinny frame, unconventional wrestling gimmick and ultimate underdog status. In fact, those so-called weaknesses actually help to make him one of the more popular and fan favorite acts on the independents.
El Generico was unsuccessful against Strong and in reality his title match was just a stop along the way for the championship plot triangle that developed between Strong, Edwards and Richards. This weekend’s title match against Richards will very likely prove to have the same function-a great in-ring effort by both wrestlers, but a match more about the spirit of competition and in providing the fans a great match worth their ticket money rather than telling the story of El Generico’s rise to the top and becoming ROH World Champion.
As well, the second half of the year has proven to be more difficult for Generico, in the sense that much of the momentum he generated from the big win against Steen has dissipated, due to decisions made by ROH booking. -as eventually Generico did win a series of matches against Strong (once he had dropped the ROH World Title to Edwards) and he did unseat Christopher Daniels for the ROH TV Title in the first half of the year in. However, Generico lost to Jay Lethal during the inaugural television tapings for Sinclair networks. He has all but disappeared from sight since then, making only sporadic appearances on TV (one appearance in the first eight weeks of the show, as opposed to the current champions, who are almost on every week and not being present for the November tapings).
It is clear that Generico was put on the back burner until earlier this month when he was placed in an upper-card bout against Mike Bennett. Amazingly, Generico was actually booked to win that match (amazing given Bennett’s down-our-throat push), likely to give him some shine in preparation for this weekend’s title bout against Davey Richards. However, ROH hasn’t done a one-eighty as far as giving Generico higher priority-in fact, his singles match last night against Steve Corino was a last-minute announcement. How odd for someone who is a featured act for Glory By Honor X not to have a match publicized for the ROH show the night before that big event. Well, not really odd, so much as another piece of evidence of how ROH has taken El Generico for granted…and to their detriment.
However, does all of that mean that El Generico should not ever, could not ever, and would not ever become ROH World Champion? Is El Generico, as a wrestler and as a gimmick somehow unfit to win Ring of Honor’s major championship? Or, is it that Generico can actually be a great World Champion, if only given the opportunity? Is it that ROH has failed thus far to see the talent and potential great usage of him in a championship role?
In reality, all of the perceived negative qualities about El Generico provide the fundamental basis for his being able to be a great champion for any promotion. That’s not just speculation or theory, either. Generico has proven to be a great champion in the past and currently with his runs in that position for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. If Generico didn’t have the chops or the legitimacy to be champion, PWG wouldn’t have booked him to win the World Championship in their recent show Steen Wolf. CHIKARA wouldn’t have put him over long-time veteran Sean Waltman (who wrestled as 1-2-3 Kid for that weekend, not as X-Pac) for their annual Rey de Voladores tournament.
Here are just a few of the qualities Generico would bring to the table as Ring of Honor World Champion:
A Sellable Underdog Top Champion – There has never been in Ring of Honor a wrestler as an underdog babyface in the position as top champion. Instead, there have been many wrestlers like Samoe Joe, Bryan Danielson and Low Ki as dominant bad-ass representatives for the promotion. Even Jerry Lynn was not portrayed as an underdog but rather a veteran and experienced champion who made good on a final chance for glory. That strategy generally worked because the ROH fan base loves to live vicariously through those kind of champions (though the Lynn and Tyler Black runs were troubled due to other factors that inhibited fan acceptance). El Generico would be the first of his kind-a POPULAR underdog champion who the fans WANT to support every step of the way.
Underdog = Unpredictability = Ticket Sales – One of El Generico’s greatest assets is his ability to be the ultimate underdog that rallies back and has the potential to win against great odds and high-risk competition (and oftentimes does). This ability would work even better with El Generico as a champion since every match could seem like the one where he would drop the belt. That suspense and intrigue is valuable for every title defense and every ROH show where the belt is at stake. Sometimes ROH goes through those times where you just know the title is not going to change hands on a show. Sometimes wrestlers do a great job of suspending fans’ disbelief about it, but at the end of the night nothing was going to change that notion in the back of their head and that becomes reaffirmed when the closing bell rings to end the match and there was no title change. El Generico as champion would make every defense one that is not taken for granted by fans, and hopefully, not by the promotion.
Fighting Champion – El Generico would be a fighting champion, like Richards, continuing to take on all comers. He could fight the heels or he could go toe-to-toe against fellow babyfaces in a battle where competitive spirit and the battle would be the predominant focus. Generico is of course best against bigger opponents, but he can also match speed with the likes of Ricochet, TJ Perkins or The Young Bucks. He even has shown the ability to fit into brawling match environments, like the crazy street fights teaming with Steen against The Briscoes from 2007-2008 or fighting against Steen in chain matches and steel cages throughout 2010. Every match and every situation during Generico’s ROH World Title run would be Generico at his best—showing off his abilities but also proving himself to be worthy of being the champion.
Exciting Matches, Exciting Defenses – Almost every El Generico match is a very good match because he mixes speed and agility of his luchador style with fantastic selling of massive beat downs by his opponents. He is able to get on offense and shine but then generates sympathy and heat because of his size and body language. That all leads to a fantastic comeback sequence where Generico powers back and excites the crowd with his rally offense. During his comebacks, he becomes the super hero, with more strength than one would think possible of a mere mortal wrestler. He fires back with killer offense that makes it very believable that he can win the match with one big move, or by slinging them together one after the other. This is basic wrestling match psychology 101 (as Raven might explain almost-but-not-quite to the point of annoyance on any one of his multiple shoot interviews). El Generico has become a master of it. Generico’s exciting matches mean that his title defenses would be exciting as well.
Appealing to Multiple Demographics: One of the things that confounded me as to why ROH took the TV Title off Generico so quickly is that as popular as he now, there was a great chance that he would have skyrocketed once he was exposed to a larger audience through the new television series. El Generico appeals to many different types of wrestling fans, including adult males, women and children. He even appeals to the Lucha Libre audience because of his gimmick, which borrows from their tradition but pays it homage and tribute with the best of intentions (and people would see that and like that).
Its simple economics: ROH should want to attract as many fans as possible to the show to make as much money as possible. El Generico in a featured role such as TV or World Champion puts the spotlight on him and lets those fans (especially the newer ones) know he is important and that he is not just a joke. Generico can also win over doubters very easily through his in-ring efforts. This ability to appeal to multiple demographics is just begging to be taken advantage of. I don’t know why ROH didn’t do it with Generico as TV champion, but should he win the World Title the opportunity is there just the same to make money (and a lot of it) with him in the championship position.
In all likelihood, El Generico will not be the ROH World Champion after tonight’s big bout in Chicago Ridge. Davey Richards is doing well in the position and it is his time right now to shine. Does that mean it is impossible that El Generico will never be World champion in ROH? Absolutely not- El Generico could be ROH World Champion and absolutely should be champion one day very soon. There is a way to get there and it’s been done before. In fact it was done just last month in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
The way to get El Generico the ROH World Title is through Kevin Steen.
Imagine the newly reinstated Kevin Steen running amuck and reigning down terror in ROH for 2012. Imagine him defeating Davey Richards and unseating him as ROH World Champion through the most nefarious of ways. Imagine everyone taking their best shot at Steen, only to fall one-by-one. The only man who would be left to stop Steen was the man who put him out of the promotion in the first place-El Generico.
Of course, that may be a pipe dream, a fantasy scenario that can’t come to fruition because for whatever reasons, it seems like El Generico is being held back in ROH. I can’t understand it. I don’t agree with it.
The old cliché is still reliable—don’t judge a book by its cover. That is El Generico to a “T”. Even the name itself is more irony than playful word pun at this point in his career. El Generico would not be a generic world champion and deserves to be pushed as a major player in the main event scene. He’s proven his worth his legitimacy not in spite of, but because of his gimmick. Delirious (current ROH booker), of all people must know that because of his own success with his unorthodox wrestling character.
Yet if either ROH executives or Sinclair Broadcast Group officials can’t see that much is true, then there are some serious problems with the vision of the promotion that need to be addressed, far bigger than even just one wrestler who is better than the push he has been given in this new corporate ownership.
Belltime: 7:30pm
Frontier Fieldhouse
9807 Sayre Ave.
Chicago Ridge, Illinois, 60415
ROH World Title Match-Davey Richards defends vs. El Generico
A match like this booked for what is usually a major ROH event reminds me more of the big showdown style title matches that happened on the mid-major shows ROH used to run in previous eras, like Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe at Midnight Express Reunion in 2004 and again at Fight of the Century in 2006. Yes, it is plausible the title could change here, but it is far more likely that this match is just a means to provide an entertaining and high quality main-event while not sacrificing the really, really major match that ROH wants to run, which is the Richards vs. Edwards ROH World Title re-match at Final Battle 2011.
Don’t get me wrong though-this match should be tremendous and it certainly has been so in the past both for ROH and other promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Richards and Generico wrestled many times in singles and tag matches over the last several years in ROH as part of the American Wolves vs. Steen/Generico feud. They had a fantastic bout during the 8th Anniversary Show. No doubt they’ll do it again here. No doubt that they can and will create moments during this one where the fans are so enraptured by the action and heated competition that they will bite on near falls and false finishes. This one could also go some time, maybe upwards of 30-45 minutes, though typically their previous matches have topped out under a half-hour.
One more thing to keep an eye out for is that Kevin Steen has threatened through his Twitter page to appear at this show and cause some trouble, which could mean bad news for the likes of Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs, but also perhaps for El Generico (as Steen reminded him on a recent episode of television, his hatred for the masked man will never die) and Davey Richards, who Steen has also targeted with insults and derogatory remarks. Steen may decide to crash the party on the main event and if that happens, then his presence is going to dramatically impact the finish of the match.
World Tag Team Title Match-Shelton Benajmin & Charlie Haas defend vs. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)
This is the title opportunity that Kenny King and Rhett Titus earned with their win at Ladder War III over The Briscoes at Death Before Dishonor IX, though this match feels more like an after-thought now that The Briscoes have earned their own title shot for Final Battle 2011 and have been positioned on television to feud with Haas and Benjamin. It’s hard to fault ROH for getting their ducks in a row so far in advance for their major show (especially since other promotions have a hard time doing so), but the air has been let out of the tires here. No doubt I expect all four to go for the gusto and if anything King and Titus may try too hard to have the performance of their career here. Will King and Titus rise to the occasion? They did very well in the main event slot against The Briscoes, so I think they’ll pull through. More worrisome is the so-called Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team of Haas and Benjamin. Now, I still like them a lot and believe they deserved to get their run with the titles, but they have also been irregular in terms of quality in-ring effort as of late, which is surprising considering their pedigree and their vast knowledge and experience levels. Will they be sloppy here again?
Non-Title Proving Ground Match-World TV Champion Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong with Truth Martini
I’m going to start referring to Jay Lethal as TLL (Time Limit Lethal) because many of his recent matches have gone the distance. If that happens here (or if he loses outright) then Roderick Strong will receive a TV Title match within 90 days. This is a good combination-both because it’s a fresh pairing with Lethal’s return that actually hasn’t been done a lot in ROH (I believe they crossed paths during Generation Next’s formation back in ‘04) and they are talented in terms of telling a great in-ring match filled both with internal psychology and good action. I expect this to help fill out the under-card quite well and Lethal may even sneak over a win here. Also be on the lookout for the involvement of Mike Bennett, who has been petitioning for another TV Tile match and may try to make that statement into physical reality by taking on Lethal before, during or after the match.
Tag Team Challenge Match-Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Young Bucks
These two teams mixed it up a little bit in 2009 and just had a fantastic outing for PWG, but this is their first new match in ROH this year. I dislike so much that The Briscoes have not encouraged the fans to boo them in recent months as they did during the beginning of the heel turn in the Spring, but it absolutely is so hard to hate them when they’re cranking out amazing promos like the one they did to promote this match. All due credit because they took what was just a mid-card match and spiced it up with their statements on that promo (which is available below and naturally, not safe for work). The Bucks have been sort-of heel (at least at the last iPPV) but really haven’t been overt about it on TV yet. Nonetheless, given the choice of the two I expect Chicago to go nuts for support for Jay and Mark, making it easy for The Bucks to work heel here. They do an awesome job of being sneaky arrogant devilish bastards, so that should end up working well for all involved. Expect The Briscoes to take this one on their build to the tag title shot in December unless Haas and Benjamin get involved.
Special Challenge Match-“Die Hard” Eddie Edwards vs. Kyle O’Reilly
I was very pleased to read the news piece announcing this match just a few days after last week’s column hit the press. Though it seems to be just an exhibition match on the surface, there is great history and depth to this match. Edwards kept O’Reilly in the Achilles Lock just a weee bit too long during the Wolves vs. Future Shock tag bout at No Escape. Obviously that caused tension between Edwards and Richards, who is O’Reilly’s trainer and mentor. Edwards profusely apologized and O’Reilly is said to claim that it’s all water under the bridge. Fans will see if that’s the case here, but I’m expecting whether or not things get testy for this match to impress. It’s going to be about the tit-for-tat of strikes and the strategy game played by both men. And then they’re just going to go for broke and massacre each other. Whether or not Edwards uses the new choke submission is something to look out for, as well as any subtle or overt hints of his going heel. Maybe there will be a post-match confrontation with Richards. We shall see.
Singles Action-Jimmy Jacobs with Steve Corino vs. “The Dominant Male” Tommaso Ciampa with The Embassy
Ciampa’s running a singles-winning streak in ROH and I don’t think it will stop here with Jimmy Jacobs. More’s the shame since Jacobs is super over in Chi-town thanks to his work in AAW and his previous run for ROH where many formative angles and matches in his career happened here. This may actually be Jacobs’ first good opportunity to just go out there and have a great match, all eyes on him. The Bennett match on TV was all about pushing Bennett and his match against Generico in New York was swallowed up by anticipation for Kevin Steen’s inevitable appearance at its conclusion. This time around Jacobs has the floor and hopefully the time to do his thing while also helping get over Ciampa. By the way, as I wrote on Twitter, I prefer Kevin Kelly’s nickname for Ciampa, “The Sicilian Psycho” over ROH’s given nickname “The Dominant Male”. That just sounds like Ciampa is going to start a three-man Chippendale’s stable with Marcus Alexander (Buff) Bagwell and Scotty Riggs.
(That’s a WCW/ American Males reference for you young’uns reading this).
Four Corner Survival-Adam Cole vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett vs. Grizzly Redwood
This is your basic filler four-way to round out the card though with Cole and Elgin in there the action should get pretty good at times. Cole should get some time to impress. Poor Redwood, I get the feeling he is going to get demolished again by either Elgin or Bennett (maybe both), though surprisingly he does his best work in four-man matches just like this one (see his work at Death Before Dishonor VIII). If Elgin takes Survival of the Fittest 2011 (this is being written before results of that show hit the net) I’d say it’s a lock he takes it. The same deal goes for Bennett.
–Davey Richards defeated Tommy End in Barcelona, Spain on 07/04/2011.
–Davey Richards defeated Chase Owens in Kingsport, KY on 08/04/11.*
–Davey Richards defeated Colt Cabana in Carrolton, GA on 08/06.11.
–Davey Richards defeated Roderick Strong in Chicago, Illinois on 08/13/11.
–Davey Richards defeated Daga in Tulancingo, MEX on 10/15/11.
* These matches are not as yet officially recognized by Ring of Honor on their records page, but as they did occur as billed “ROH World Title” matches for the live crowd in attendance they are listed here for posterity.
–Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe in Toronto, ON on 5/7/11.
–Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli), Jay & Mark Briscoe and The All-Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) in New York City, NY on 06/26/11.
–Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated El Generico & Colt Cabana in Richmond, VA on 07/08/11.
–Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) in Chicago, IL on 08/13/11.
— Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas defeated Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) in Collinsville, IL on 11/06/11.
–Jay Lethal went to a time-limit draw with Mike Bennett in Louisville, KY on 10/01/11.
–Jay Lethal went to a time-limit draw with El Generico in Louisville, KY on 11/05/11.
Oh yes. This. This was awesome. Freaking Hysterical. That’s it. No. Really. That’s all. End of Story.
-ROH television is apparently doing well or at least decently enough in the ratings in its first two months on syndicated television through the Sinclair networks. The show gets roughly the same ratings as TNA, according to Dave Meltzer in the November 14th, 2011 cover dated issue of The Wrestling Observer. That’s somewhat impressive given the major differences in exposure, no major television markets for Sinclair networks, less brand name awareness and poorer time listings for the show compared to TNA.
On the other hand, these ratings haven’t yet translated to boosting house show attendance and in fact the Collinsville show number this past weekend was down from usual house show numbers, only getting about 325 paid attendance. ROH wants to use TV in localized markets to push house shows coming to those towns. While the bulk of that work hasn’t yet been done and it is relatively early in ROH’s new TV era, this show attendance isn’t a great sign at all that the strategy can work.
-More from Meltzer about the current talent contract and pay situations: Most of the wrestlers are working with 18 month contracts and the pay is a lot better than when Cary Silkin was running things and the company is spending tons more money than before. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin have signed two-year deals. Among the added expense is that the guys are being flown in as opposed to driving across country and the company is taking care of hotels, so expenses are much higher, plus there is a larger production crew. They flew everyone in to Louisville the day before the show to take care of doing promos the night before and I believe the guys were paid for the extra day.
-Apparently Delirious could not wrestle two weeks ago due to a contractual loophole in his Sinclair deal which made it a conflict of interest for him to be both an executive (booker in this case) and one of the wrestling talents on the show at the same time. That was a weird and unfortunate situation and one that should have been looked into and confirmed before promising and promoting his return to the ring.
On the one hand, I can buy that as the reason because as opposed to the Pearce era, now Ring of Honor is corporate-owned and with that perhaps comes more stringent guidelines and delineations between active competing talent and office staff. It’s like Vince McMahon, when he had both an active performer contract AND his CEO contract with WWE-I doubt he would have been able to work as an on-camera talent otherwise. On the other hand, since Delirious is always possible for getting back into action (even though he has chosen not to get involved for the most part), you’d think Sinclair and Delirious would have inserted language into his contract giving him the ability to work on the shows without coming under a conflict of interest.
On the third hand, perhaps Delirious thought at the time he signed the deal that he would not be going back into the ring for ROH again while booker and then later changed his mind, or never thought of it until it was too late. On the fourth hand Goro, if that latter point is the case, that’s a distressing lack of foresight. Any hand you choose though, the ultimate result was that Collinsville (and the larger ROH fan base who would have purchased the DVD to watch Delirious return) was promised a match, then had it taken away and the substitution (Andy Ridge fought Tommaso Ciampa) was of far less perceived value and quality than what was initially slated. All due respect to Ridge when I write that-I like him and he can really develop into something good in the years to come, but obviously this was not well comparable to seeing Delirious return to action.
-ROH is planning on running the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore, MD on a more regular basis as a home for their television tapings. In fact, I believe the plan was to move their headquarters of operations from Philadelphia to Maryland. I heard this rumor a while ago and while I think it’s great that ROH is running in Baltimore, I would say that it is a mistake to commit to any one place right now for television tapings. ROH made that choice with Philadelphia for their ROH on HDNet series and the frequency of the events (and the content) burned the audience and the city out such that they had to let the city lie fallow for an entire year before returning (in January 2012). Why make the same mistake twice?
Really, I am quite baffled that ROH has not decided to do what WWE does, which is rotate venue and city from date-to-date. Furthermore, they have never used their most valuable and highest attended market, New York City for these tapings. I don’t write that because I’m a New Yorker-I write that because it makes the most sense to do a major TV tapings at Hammerstein Ballroom. The venue looks great on television and the fans would be rabid, loud and passionate about the show. They need to do this with other major cities like Toronto, Charlotte, Philadelphia (once it’s restored to its former strength), Chicago, etc. Now, one of the counter arguments would be that ROH in running TV tapings NYC or the other major cities would deprive that area of the usual ROH experience. The solution is pretty easy-run a double shot in the city, one night for the TV Tapings and one night for the house show. Attendance for both shows would be strong especially if the cards themselves are strong. Do this once or twice at the most for each major city for each calendar year and that’s that.
-There are two major praise-worthy segments of ROH television which I recently saw that I have to make mention. The first is the Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly match from episode 6, which I thought was fantastic and one of the better matches of the series (behind Richards vs. Strong, Lethal vs. Generico and Kings of Wrestling vs. Haas and Benjamin). O’Reilly really stepped it up here (as I presume, he will again when he wrestles against his mentor Richards) and it felt like he belonged in there against Strong. His trademark offense still impresses and by adding submissions to his repertoire he adds an extra layer to what he can do in the ring. He also captures the attention and the emotion of ROH fan base relatively easily. A year or so back I was reading comparisons of him to Bryan Danielson and I didn’t see it. However, now I can understand where these comments were coming from-it’s not just his look, but a quiet but present connection he is making with the fans because of his demeanor along with his displays of fighting spirit and determination. Right now I’d like to see O’Reilly keep at it with his Future Shock tag team with Adam Cole, but he certainly has a bright future in singles-action in the years to come.
The second must-watch segment involved Kevin Steen’s return to ROH television (and his first major appearance in the promotion not involving him invading the company, though he still manages to cause major havoc with this video). This was a video that was sent by Steen and his legal team threatening action against Jim Cornette and potentially against ROH as well if he wasn’t reinstated back in the promotion. Sure it was one of the campier skits ever done by ROH, but it was hysterical, entertaining and effective as well. It reminded me of the classic Chris Jericho promos in WCW where he went on the streets of DC and consulted the Library of Congress—wrestlers out there in the “real world”, interacting with others. It was funny.
The players (some wrestlers, some character actors, one even both a wrestler and a lawyer) were fantastic. No doubt Jim Cornette doesn’t think highly of lawyers and ROH and SBG went to the trouble of using men who looked like they could be some of the skuzziest, sleaziest lawyers around. Blood suckers, all. The guy who looked like Michael Moore with a long white beard was just amazing. This guy:
Of course, it was Kevin Steen who tied it all together, providing his motivations and explanations clearly and well-stated for what he was doing. Now, sure he wants back in because “ROH is the best promotion”, which is a cloying statement I didn’t expect Steen to make, but it makes sense that he is lying about that part and because he wants to get in and be able to cause havoc with the promotion. My guess is that 2012 will be exactly that story played out on both TV and house shows…and it will be just great to watch it all unfold.
-However, the major turn-offs of the TV show remain ever-present and very dangerous as far as discouraging viewers from watching. The video quality of the show, especially the camera work and lighting issues are absolutely retched. These are issues worse than taping promos for newswires in the pitch dark (which happened recently but was also to be found during the Sapolsky era as well) or one camera angle being ruined and so a house show needed to be packaged with another as a bonus (ahem, ahem…looking at you Buffalo Stampede II). This is full-blown, anger-induced- “how could they do this and let it make air?” material.
White-lighting and bleaching have always been one of my pet peeves, but it was worse than ever on the episodes I watched this week…and part of that is likely due to where the camera is pointing (right into the light, which even I who has no training in technical work knows is total amateur hour). Then the camera catches the wrestlers moving and it creates this strobe light effect that seriously could make someone have an epileptic fit or seizure. I’m usually okay with that kind of stuff, but this was so bad that it was giving me headaches and made me nauseous. This kind of lack of quality control is inexcusable and has to stop, not just for the benefit of their established and consistent fan base but for being able to maximize their potential to grab and keep new viewers. A wrestling fan who gives ROH a first shot by watching the SBG show is not going to be impressed with how it looks. The HDNet show had its issues, but its look, video-camera quality and professional shots were miles ahead of where ROH is now in this new SBG series. SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE WITH VIDEO QUALITY, CAMERA WORK AND PRODUCTION.
-ROH has all-but-announced that Wrestling and MMA legend Dan “The Beast” Severn was Eddie Edwards’ selection to be his coach and to help him train for Davey Richards at Final Battle 2011. That selection certainly appears to be from out-of-left-field, especially given previous foreshadowing of Nigel McGuinness backing up Edwards in his confrontation with The House of Truth a few weeks back, not to mention subtle teases from Truth Martini in blog posts through the rohwrestling.com website and the disappearing act of former American Wolves manager Shane Hagadorn (who could have resurfaced here in a major role getting in Edwards’ ear). All three were the prime suspects, but Edwards hinted at Severn on television where he mentioned “There are two Wolves, but at Final Battle there will only be one Beast.”
I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It makes some sort of logical sense given Richards has his “Team Richards” camp which is based upon MMA fighting and training camps. So Edwards needs to go to another guy well-versed in MMA and fighting skills in order to counteract Richards. Sure, fine. However, I don’t know that Severn resonates with the current ROH audience, or that he is worth the cost of bringing him in when someone else would be just as well. It’s not that ROH hasn’t had connections to MMA before-Ken Shamrock was a special guest referee for the Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson face-off at Round Robin Challenge I, the second-ever show for the promotion). Of course, this could all just be a red-herring (ROH only announced that this was rumor and not confirmed) for someone else who could be pulling the strings (psychological or purse-strings) for Edwards’ training.
At the beginning of the year, “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett vowed that within one year that he would become the Ring of Honor World Champion. So let’s see how he’s done so far, eh?
ROH World Tag Team Titles Won: 0
ROH TV Titles Won: 0
Days Left to Reach Goal: 42
This week I’m going to step back and be kind to Mr. Bennett, because I so happened to really like this inspirational message that he wrote on his Twitter:
Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
That is certainly a good message that resonates strongly with me. Okay Mike, you have the week off from my poisoned pen, but don’t think this means you’re winning me over!
Twitter me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.
-Check out the newest episode of Podcast of Honor through Pro Wrestling Ponderings, featuring myself, Chris Gee Schoon Tong and Matt Waters. Listen fo an extended preview of both Survival of the Fittest 2011 (which is over, so you can see just how right and just how badly wrong we were) and Glory By Honor X (which is tonight, so very much still relevant).
-T.J. Hawke reviews CHIKARA High Noon.
-Shawn S. Lealos logs in a weekly ROH SBG TV report and this week’s edition is herewith coverage of the latest episode and American Wolves vs. House of Truth. Then catch Jeremy Thomas’ 4R’s postscript from that episode.
-Kevin Ford came back for a once-in-a-blue-moon special edition of The CHIKARA Special.
Thanks to everyone for reading and the feedback. Until then:
BROOKLYN!
DAH EM BAH SEE FOR-EVAH!
–Ari–
